Lost World: Discussion, Impressions and Fan Reviews

[Jet Prower]

I thought the cutscenes were... okay. It tried to tell a story using the same structure and pacing that Colors did, which doesn't exactly work. With Colors, most cutscenes were just fun little interactions between the characters and were for the most part dialogue-driven, rather than plot-driven. This structure works for Colors because these interactions don't require much overarching narrative or flow, they just exist for the sake of existing. I quite enjoyed it for that reason - I liked the portrayal of the characters in Colors very much (especially Sonic, who was hilarious), so I had fun watching them just... "hang out", basically.

 

With Lost World, the game actually attempts to tell a story. While this may seem like an improvement on paper, all it really does is prove that Colors had its script written with the structure of the game in mind, whereas Lost world doesn't.

 

Think of it this way - In Sonic Adventure, after fighting Chaos 0, the game "really" begins with Sonic lazing around at the pool, enjoying his day. Tails' plane crashes in the distance, and that's what gives Sonic a reason to take a run through Emerald Coast. Once you save Tails, he delivers some exposition about the Chaos Emeralds and tells you to meet him in his lab, thus giving you your next objective in a context that fits the game's story.

 

Lost World doesn't work that way. Rather, the cutscenes exist completely independently from the levels themselves, existing more as "rewards" for finishing the level than to explain why Sonic is going through this particular area, doing what it is he's doing. As a result, everything feels very disjointed. At the end of one cutscene, Sonic is in one location, while in the next, he's somewhere else entirely. Where was he? In the level, yes, but where was that level? What's its context? how does he know exactly where all of the animals are and how is that going to help him get any closer to the Deadly Six? 

 

The game simply lacks narrative structure, and the story suffers greatly as a result. The gameplay and story are completely independent from each other, so rather than working together to tell an effective story, they instead just get in the way of each other. While this works for a more dialogue-based game like Colors, where the actual plot is very light, it doesn't work for a game that actually tries to do something more.

 

For the sake of a metaphor, Colors is Sonic Rush and Lost World is Sonic 4. Though the physics engine in Rush works fantastically in the game it was designed for, taking it out and trying to apply it to a vastly different style only highlights its flaws and takes out its benefits. It does much more harm than good, and it's really just an awful way to design a game.

 

It just seems nothing can please the people if they can even complain about such a great story, when in the last few games there has been almost no story at all and all gameplay, which didn't last a super long time. Yes, the story may not be "exactly" the way you may want it to be where it connected to every single little thing, but it does what it needs to do and does it. It doesn't just glaze over itself to give you more running and that's it. It actually tells you a story. Yes, it is a reward for completing a level and what a wonderful reward it is, to actually get some good story to go along with the gameplay. I didn't get a disconnect from the story and such. Sonic is running around this large world trying to get where he needs to go. We know that already. Things just happen to happen from time to time, and it is addressed, simple as that to me.

[Voyant]

I honestly think this is one of the worst 3D Sonic games (in a world where we pretend 06 doesn't exist). It's slow, boring, and has some of the most dull level design I've seen in a flagship game, and even lamer bosses. It feels like a movie licensed platformer, one of those "we really don't have to bother" games. This is what people on here have been asking for all along, "make Sonic slow, herp!", "no boost, derp!", but you can see just how pointless Sonic is when he's reduced to just another platform series. There are tonnes of better platform series' out there, only Sonic has the speed and exhilaration which has now been thrown out of the window thanks to our complaining.

 

Sonic has now gone from 'It can be a bit awkward, but it's amazingly exciting in a way no other platform series is' to 'It's awkward'.

 

I can somewhat agree to this....I like Lost world, but I hope this is a one time only thing....

 

I want my speed back. D:

[Sami]

It just seems nothing can please the people if they can even complain about such a great story, when in the last few games there has been almost no story at all and all gameplay, which didn't last a super long time. Yes, the story may not be "exactly" the way you may want it to be where it connected to every single little thing, but it does what it needs to do and does it. It doesn't just glaze over itself to give you more running and that's it. It actually tells you a story. Yes, it is a reward for completing a level and what a wonderful reward it is, to actually get some good story to go along with the gameplay. I didn't get a disconnect from the story and such. Sonic is running around this large world trying to get where he needs to go. We know that already. Things just happen to happen from time to time, and it is addressed, simple as that to me.

 

I'll take a game that embraces its lack of a serious plot over one that stumbles about trying and failing to tell its story, thank you.

[Soniman]

I stil dont' get how it outright failed, i only thought it slipped up at the end, otherwise it was pretty consistent.

[Sami]

I stil dont' get how it outright failed, i only thought it slipped up at the end, otherwise it was pretty consistent.

 

I made the mistake of having expectations when people were calling it great and saying it got "dark towards the end". 

 

yeah sorry no off-screen "deaths" don't do it for me, especially when it's vague enough that you have no idea what even happened (I thought the Skype connection on their little tablet died at first).

[MegasonicZX]

I can somewhat agree to this....I like Lost world, but I hope this is a one time only thing....

 

I want my speed back. D:

I just hope they at least keep the parkour and try to refine it along with no 2d stages and maybe some puzzle solving elements in like 2 stages of the next game at least.

[azoo]

The game doesn't fare well not only for not justifying where Sonic was and why he was there, but also because it doesn't bother to explain anything.

 

The Zeti get no real introduction, no explanation as to who they are or why they do the things they do, and they don't even get a proper leave. You don't figure out why the Cacophonic Conch exists or why it functions in such a way (or how Eggman even got it), nor do you get an explanation for random objects such as Zazz's moon-head orb thing, or Zomom's block-head golem thing. 

 

You don't get any explanation as to why the Lost Hex was so special that Tails and Eggman magically knew about it (besides "lol geniuses"), no folklore or mythos to make it seem interesting or important as anything besides level pieces, nor any explanations as to where locations like the casinos, factories, or lava-bases came from; since Eggman probably wasn't behind most of it. In fact, how did the weirder worlds like the candy-land and the Hidden World Zones even come to be?

 

It's never explained why Eggman wanted to drain from the world other than to "rule" it, it's never explained why he had to go to the Lost Hex to do such a thing in the first place, and its never explained why he needed the Deadly Six's help to do it either. 

 

Tails is written to be a Geeky Stu that can magically rewrite Eggman's code in seconds for no real reason (as well as do billions of other things that write him out of plot issues), and the overall ending drops all possible issues in the story right there, without even thinking about it. Eggman loses, Sonic and Tails win, Deadly Six are dead (????????!!!!!!), day is saved. They literally just leave the planet without even thinking and leave it at that. Nothing really resolved on the planet itself, just "hey the generator's shut down lol" and that's it. 

 

They could've had a climactic ending that shows the destruction of the machine and thus it is rendered to smouldering ashes, but they just shut it down. And given the ambiguity of if the Zeti survived or not, if they're still alive can't they just come back and.. you know, turn it back on??

 

The script and voice acting had lots of charm, and the writing gave pretty great character interactions, but it's pitiful at telling a story. Its almost like a backwards Sonic Adventure.

Edited November 1, 2013 by Azookara

[The Deleter]

^Yeah rail grinding in SA2 when it came to switching from one to another was so........ugh.

How?

Jump without pressing the analog = jump above the rails and abuse their physics

Jump after pressing the analog for a while in the direction of another rail = switch rails correctly

Jump after pressing the analog for only a little while = get punished for your brashness by flying off the rails

It's not rocket science.

Edited November 1, 2013 by The Deleter

[Blue Blood]

How?

Jump without pressing the analog = jump above the rails and abuse their physics

Jump after pressing the analog for a while in the direction of another rail = switch rails correctly

Jump after pressing the analog for only a little while = get punished for your brashness by flying off the rails

It's not rocket science.

 

Jump without pressing the analogue stick = fly off the rails

Jump after pressing the analogue stick for a while in the direction of another rail = fly off the rails

Jump after pressing the analogue stick for only a little while = fly off the rails

Get lucky = don't die

 

It's not rocket science, it's a mess.

Edited November 1, 2013 by Blue Blood

[Tani Coyote]

Decent enough story with more meat to it than Colors and Generations; it wasn't flawless, but it had 25 minutes or so to Colors' 15, but we're a long way to go from SA2's 55. It was still adequate enough, though they probably could have squeezed in some more parts that have already been elaborated on.

Controls definitely need some work; above all, get rid of the Gamepad gimmicks. The Gamepad should be limited solely to ability to play separate from the Wii U, rather than actually being essential to gameplay elements like hints and Wisp powers. None of this "tilt the controller" or "tap the screen" garbage; buttons and joysticks are adequate enough (barring a game where use of motion would be explicitly required, a la Skyward Sword), and the sooner we smack Nintendo upside the head so they understand that, the better.

I do approve of the experimentation with gameplay style, and I hope they keep at it to make the next main title even better; I'd hate for them to scrap the idea because some critics weren't pleased with it. I have high hopes for the 25th anniversary title, definitely.

Also, while some of the levels were genuinely challenging, for god's sake, make a final boss that ISN'T the lovechild of Egg Nega Wisp and the Egg Emperor.

Edited November 1, 2013 by Ogilvie

[The Deleter]

Jump without pressing the analogue = fly off the rails

Vertically, and in a fun and controlled way, also allowing you to use the air dash and bounce to abuse the rail physics.

Jump after pressing the analog for a while in the direction of another rail = fly off the rails

Ah, no. Wait until he flails his arms, then jump. Boom. You're on the other rail. If you haven't been using this, you're doing it wrong.

Jump after pressing the analog for only a little while = fly off the rails

Well duh.

It's not rocket science, it's a mess.

A mess that's fantastically fun once you master it. I prefer a rail section that actually requires input as a platformer than an over glorified scripted cutscene/quickstep section. Lost world is a perfect blend of both, though, so I have no problem with it, either.

[Blue Blood]

Vertically, and in a fun and controlled way, also allowing you to use the air dash and bounce to abuse the rail physics.

Ah, no. Wait until he flails his arms, then jump. Boom. You're on the other rail. If you haven't been using this, you're doing it wrong.

Well duh.

A mess that's fantastically fun once you master it. I prefer a rail section that actually requires input as a platformer than an over glorified scripted cutscene/quickstep section. Lost world is a perfect blend of both, though, so I have no problem with it, either.

 

Mate, you're barking up the wrong tree. I've said time and time again that rail grinding has never been as fun or as well utilised as it was in SA2. But the fact of the matter is that for 12 years people have complained that rail switching in SA2 doesn't work properly and people haven't just been doing it wrong this whole time. There's just no arguing with that. While I hate grinding if it's just an auto-run & quick-step section, and long for the balancing and crouching mechanics to return, I don't want there to be any risk of death because Sonic doesn't do what you need him to do when switching rails.

 

Lost World's grinding is a competely different beast to SA2 anyway. They've nothing in common.

Edited November 1, 2013 by Blue Blood

[MegasonicZX]

Mate, you're barking up the wrong tree. I've said time and time again that rail grinding has never been as fun or as well utilised as it was in SA2. But the fact of the matter is that for 12 years people have complained that rail switching in SA2 doesn't work properly and people haven't just been doing it wrong this whole time. There's just no arguing with that. While I hate grinding if it's just an auto-run & quick-step section, and long for the balancing and crouching mechanics to return, I don't want there to be any risk of death because Sonic doesn't do what you need him to do when switching rails.

 

Lost World's grinding is a competely different beast to SA2 anyway. They've nothing in common.

I don't know man, ive been playing SA2 lately and the rail switching works for me 100% of the time except when you try to switch in locations that you shouldn't switch at (case in point, some railings in sky rail) and you only ever fall off if you try to do it too quickly but if you just jump above the rail it gives you a good amount of precise control.

[Your Vest Friend]

The giant pufferfish in Sky Road 3 still remind me of the final boss to Sonic Pocket Adventure.

[jords]

I been wondering too. The deadly six died or something. defeated?

I hope they didn't die, I'd like to see them again in other games.

[Kuzu]

The plot of the game is passable, its not very good, but still passable. This is mainly my bias for more character orientated stories come in however, but I will agree there is a lot of context missing from the plot points in this game; it doesn't really try to explain how or why things happen, they just move along.

 

I enjoyed it for what it is and its definite step in the right direction, but it has far too many flaws to ignore.

[JezMM]

I been wondering too. The deadly six died or something. defeated?

I hope they didn't die, I'd like to see them again in other games.

 

They disappear in a puff of smoke on Wii U, they fly away on 3DS.  That's all we know.

[azoo]

Okay so I've finally started playing the game. Got to Desert Ruins 4 and completed it so far.

 

Uhhhhhhh... I wasn't expecting this.

 

The game's hilariously slow. I thought that the slower platforming was because all the players decided they really needed to slow down and were pressing lightly on the sticks, but wow; you press as hard as you can and Sonic barely inches across the screen when jumping, crawls at a snails pace when moving around (yes, while with the run trigger), and as satisfying as Spin Dashing sometimes is, even it feels way too slow.

 

I mean seriously, what the hell? I wasn't expecting Unleashed speeds, but I mean.. no wonder there's so many dash-pads, Sonic almost never gets to the speed they offer, or at least in what I've played so far. No slopes seem justified too, since even when you have them around they seem to do absolutely nothing.

 

Parkour also seems rather twitchy and unresponsive at times (but occasionally satisfying), and so does using the homing attack (why doesn't it even work half the time?). The kick attack is alright and so is the bounce, but I rarely use either, and the somersault-roll thing is pretty annoying to use.

 

What gives, though? Theres very little flow to this game. I mean don't get me wrong, its been pretty fun as a platformer itself, and all the ideas are GREAT for a Sonic game, but.. what?? I'm just kinda dumbfounded at the moment.

Edited November 1, 2013 by Azookara

[Blue Blood]

Yep. The game is too slow. One you know how to use the spindash and run along walls properly (parkour controls take a lot of getting used to) it does speed up a fair bit, but that will also come with the trade off of the platforming in lots of stages. It also doesn't help that turning results in such a speed drop either. That's again where you'll want to master the spindash, because it'll lets you go infinitely without slowing down.

 

The little roll manoeuvre is totally pointless. It let's you move at walking speed over terrain that slows you down (goo, sand) or ice cause that's slippery. You can actually skate pretty fast on ice though, so you needn't bother with it.

[azoo]

Well I mean I've already learned how to use the Spin Dash and parkour pretty well so far, but everything about what I'm controlling is making it feel like I'm having to fight the game engine to hold my speed. Jumping, double jumping, homing attacking, even moving in the slightest wrong direction or hitting the wall at a slightly incorrect angle kills all horizontal speed and its jarring as hell. It doesn't help that Spin Dashing isn't even that quick, its just kinda sluggish too.

 

Whenever you're spinning around a loop without the aid of a dashpad and Sonic slows down dramatically going down the loop, then I don't even know what to think. I mean, at most I was expecting him to not be effected at all, but to slow down going down it? What???

 

Heck, the mach speed sections are even sluggish. Sky diving feels sluggish. EVERYTHING feels sluggish. I get the idea of learning to master the game to go really really really fast, but you can't even do that when the game's fastest isn't even fast enough! :v

Edited November 1, 2013 by Azookara

[Blue Blood]

Not gonna argue with you. This is as fast as you'll find the game going:

 

Both of those are incredibly satisfying to pull off. It's like boosting (not as fast), but you're not practically invincible and you have to control Sonic much, much more. Do something slightly wrong though and you'll slow down horribly.

 

The game could certainly do with upping Sonic's base speeds a fair bit.

Edited November 1, 2013 by Blue Blood

[MegasonicZX]

Not gonna argue with you. This is as fast as you'll find the game going:

 

Both of those are incredibly satisfying to pull off. It's like boosting (not as fast), but you're not practically invincible and you have to control Sonic much, much more. Do something slightly wrong though and you'll slow down horribly.

That's kind of the same thing with the classics though, if you mess up on something, your flow gets ruined but if you don't you can keep on going and you save more time. Heck its kind of the same thing in all of the games really.

[azoo]

In the classics, everything you do helps you pick up speed though. Going down slopes picks up speed, exponentially when rolling down them. When you move fast, you jump fast, because you hold forward speed. This is really different because it feels like everything is meant to make you slow down.

 

I'm at Tropical Coast Zone 3 right now. The rail stage. Because of the reasons listed above, I actually am enjoying this, even though enemies slow you a bit too much. XD

[Harley Quinn]

I haven't gotten the game yet, but the rampant Mario-esque designs, the lack of a conclusive ending, and the speed... It's a radical change, but look how most are on the fence about it (from a critic's/gaming blog point of view).

It must suck to be SEGA; if you're innovative, they pan you, if you aren't, they still pan you. SEGA created the problem, though, with its genre roulette.

[Indigo Rush]

So Lost World Wii U really is that slow?

 

Dang.