Lost World: Discussion, Impressions and Fan Reviews

[KittyNakajima]

I initially tacked this on to my earlier post, but I feel this probably should stand alone with a Spoiler alert.

 

That said, I'm fairly impressed. The characterization has definitely gotten better since Colors. I love the way they elaborated on the brotherly bond between Sonic and Tails and showed how they can also get on one another's nerves while being quick to help & make up with one another. The bit of tension between the two when Sonic decided to work with Eggman was palpable; Tails sounded almost outright insulted, if not hurt when Sonic tried to give his reasoning behind it.

 

As others stated before, it was actually refreshing to see a consequence for Sonic and his brash attitude. His break first, ask questions later had him more than reluctantly willing to aid Eggman out of a mixed sense of honor/guilt. It's definitely significant as a character flaw as you could see he still hadn't full learned his lesson when he was prepared to charge that rigged critter capsule when Tails got caught instead.

 

Definitely one major and interesting flaw to add to the characterization reqs for any fan fic writer worth their salt.

 

Tails on his own and in dialogue with Sonic was an eye opener. I got the sense that they were trying to write him as the kid genius that he is, with definite emphasis on the immature parts as well. The little guy has a mouth on him, which I have no doubt he developing as a result of hanging with Mr. Blue Smartass himself. And just like him, he's also gotten pretty boastful of his own specialized skills to the point where even Sonic has to kind of zone him out. 

 

The only thing preventing the both of them from being full of themselves is that they do have the ability to back it up. Tails pretty much pulled a fucking Macgyver on the Deadly Six with a sandwich toothpick of all things. If that's not a crowning moment of awesome for him, then I don't know what is.

 

Eggman was alright to me. While he hasn't fully gotten past using the Sealed Evil/Goon of the Week, he was both sly and cunning enough to play both Sonic and the Zeti along while improvising with his initial misguided plan. That and some of the lines he says in anger over the latter's betrayal pretty much cranked the following video to more awesome status for me:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpM55HAYjpc

 

His "fake" death/sacrifice was also a bit telling for me. For how much and long Eggman has had his plans foiled by Sonic, you'd think he wouldn't bat an eye at the prospect of his nemesis being fried to a crisp from falling into a bubbling pit of lava. But the fact that he even rescued him seems to suggest that such a win would be cheap and unsatisfying to him, as he would want to beat him at his best.

 

The Deadly Six were alright. I'd heard a lot of folks feel that they were just some one dimensional stereotypes thrown together to make an antagonist or two. I'd somewhat concede on a few of them; Zor & Zeena definitely seem to fit the bill of emo and mean bitch to a T. They didn't seem to get much time anyway in cutscenes, so I can't really get much more out of that.

 

Out of all of them, Zavok seemed to have the most personality. He took advantage of what Eggman had taught them, and like him was willing to improvise by using Tails when their plan to capture Sonic went sour. He also had a dark side to him when he taunted Sonic about his continuous failure to save his friends throughout the game.

 

The one thing that really irks me about the Six is the fact that they all seemed to disappear right before the Final Fight with Eggman. Seems like a pretty big plot hole, but I would think they survived to fight another day/get revenge on Eggman & Sonic. But with SEGA's history of one shot villains in Sonic titles, that might just be some wistful thinking on my part.

 

Finally, Amy and Knuckles.  I already mentioned that Knuckles was pretty much a buttmonkey. He pretty much just stood there while things went to shit, acting like a decoration. Pretty sad considering this is a character that has given Sonic a run for his rings from simply being misinformed about a situation.

 

Amy on the other hand, was quite the opposite. For as short and few as her scenes were, she was actually sweet, caring, and kind towards others while keeping posted with Sonic via the Miles Electric. I don't think I've seen her so warm like this since her appearance in Sonic Adventure, where her main goal was to protect Birdy.

 

If nothing else, I think she was useful for the fact that she was relaying events as they happened down below to Sonic and Tails the best she could. I also think that her "final" speech was awesome in how short & direct it was.

 

And for what it was when the world was going to shit, her inspirational final speech had heart in it, even if it was cut off. Right in the feels.

 

Overall, I guess you can tell I'm happy with the way the characterization has improved for most of the main cast.

[Kuzu]

And I don't really understand the dislike for Tails, this is probably the only Modern game where he comes as an actual Kid Genius, instead of just exposition:

 

The reason he didn't jump into the fray at the beginning is because he knew it was a bad idea and already warned Sonic about it. He tried to lay low so he could think of something, but was indirectly shot at.

Aside from that, he finally shows some independence that he's been lacking for a long time, in addition to showing just how important he sees himself towards Sonic.

 

 

I guess its just a case of Characterization Marches On.

[Irish David]

I finished the game this afternoon and will probably pick it up when I come back from my holidays next week. So as a lot of people have been saying I think the story and graphics are fantastic, I really enjoyed the connection being established between Sonic and Tails again and it's gd to see as well. I think the only gripe I have with the game is sometimes I feel like it is interfering, like you want to jump and you run up a wall. Some of the levels are frustrating and can easily annoy people. I was thinking at Summer of Sonic that this game would divide opinion between both fans and critics as to the gameplay but fair play to SEGA and Sonic Team for being brave and taking a risk. I would advise Keep It Simple with both moves and gameplay and build on this for the future, but would recommend it to friends to give it a go.

[Carbo]

I actually liked the fact that Tails is an asshole in the game. It shows how just like Sonic he has triggers of his own, namely the pride he puts in his own intelligence.

Sonic is literally responsible for the entire game's story to go to shit and Tails has every right to be bitter about that - Sonic didn't listen to what Tails had to say or come with ever, not even once. Not only that, but instead of letting Tails actually solve the issue he instead turns to his worst foe. How the hell should he be acting when your best friend is undermining your best talents and assistance while instead turning to your enemy for help?

It pretty much proved that Sonic still considers Tails a kid who can't actually provide anything to help since he's so full of himself and places so much confidence in his ability, and that comes back to bite him in the ass later on in the game when

Tails is kidnapped, Eggman is presumed dead and Knuckles and Amy are nowhere to be contacted. He's been stripped of friends and purpose, and I have to say it's really great to see a scene where for the first time Sonic being responsible for every single disaster that's happened makes him vulnerable on an emotional level.

[JezMM]

I guess the only thing that bothers me is there was no build-up at all to

Tails' outburst.  He shows absoloutely no resistance to the idea of teaming up with Eggman, no more than Sonic already does anyway, then acts like all along Sonic has been buddybuddy with Eggman or something.  It comes out of nowhere, is resolved in 30 seconds by Eggman's interruption and has no lasting conflict at all.

[KHCast]

- Regular 3D levels is pretty good

- The actual story is terrible though. I get that it's supposed to be for kids, but the dialog is as bad as fan-fiction written by a 12 year old.

Could you perhaps elaborate on this cause from what I watched, I don't see the dialogue sounding like a bad fanfiction. SHTH still wins that medal. I mean sure you could argue the deadly six's dialogue, but the interaction between Sonic,Tails and Eggman actually felt believable in so many areas. Much better and more genuine than Unleashed and Colors I'd say.

[Blue Blood]

I'm going to post my full impressions later, but as much as I did enjoy the Deadly Six as individual characters in the cutscenes...

... what exactly makes them "deadly"? You know, where did they come from and what do they do? In one cutscene we see them take over Eggman's army, but for the rest of the game they just chill in the base, while one of them go to fight Sonic with no demonstration of their supposed power. It's all as shallow as it possibly could be. We really should have learnt more about the Lost Hex and how Eggman found the Zeti and we should have seen their power both in cutscenes and gameplay.

 

EDIT: Uh, I just realised something. If you don't read material from outside the game, then you won't ever learn all of the names of the Deadly Six, and the term Zeti will also be somewhat confusing. Zor for example isn't given any sort of introduction. He just appears in the an SF cutscene. With no battle intro, his name is only mentioned once in passing by Zavok in SR4. Zeena's name is never given.

Edited October 21, 2013 by Blue Blood

[Bouldergeist]

This is sonic team we are talking about, the giver of lost potential in almost every game been made.

[Faseeh]

haha, and before you know it they bring it back and don't explain much again.

 

*lookingatchuwisps*

 

 

This is sonic team we are talking about, the giver of lost potential in almost every game been made.

 

As long as we're not optimistic, it's not gonna happen.

[ArtFenix]

They clearly didn't really care about the story. I fail to see how that's a good story.

The subplots were thrown in a thrash can with no resolve. It's like Shadow android subplot in Shth - it never really got a development beyond the fact that there were Shadow androids.

It's Colors 2.0 all over again. The writers should definitely be fired. I bet an average Sonic fan can make a better story with more characters, problems and events working much better than that tiny story with few characters in SLoW.

Edited October 21, 2013 by ArtFenix

[Faseeh]

It's Colors 2.0 all over again. The writers should definitely be fired. I bet an average Sonic fan can make a better story with more characters, problems and events working much better than that tiny story with few characters in SLoW.

 

How does more characters make a better story? More events and problems don't help either. THAT is a plot made of sub-plots. 

 

There should be one overarching problems and the different consequences and how the characters react and it should build up and the ending should be rewarding/satisfying.

[Blue Blood]

They clearly didn't really care about the story. I fail to see how that's a good story.

The subplots were thrown in a thrash can with no resolve. It's like Shadow android subplot in Shth - it never really got a development beyond the fact that there were Shadow androids.

It's Colors 2.0 all over again. The writers should definitely be fired. I bet an average Sonic fan can make a better story with more characters, problems and events working much better than that tiny story with few characters in SLoW.

 

The story in itself it mostly fine. What you are asking for and expecting is wholly different to what this game is trying to deliver, and that is a simple, approachable story aimed at children and those who aren't familiar with the series' lore.

 

The writers aren't aiming to deliver a deep plot. The game as a whole is character driven, and the plot is made to work around those characters. They're doing that job pretty well, and it's clearly what Sonic Team are asking for/giving them to work with. Firing the Pontac and Graff will make no difference to the story quality.

 

Also, any reason in particular that you keep calling the game SLoW instead of SLW? It comes off as nothing more than a very immature dig at the game because you've been stalwart in your efforts against it entirely since day 1.

Edited October 21, 2013 by Blue Blood

[Scar]

It's Colors 2.0 all over again. The writers should definitely be fired.

Fired and then what? We get stories that are similar to Colours and Lost World, but with an even worse script? Cause I'm betting that's what would happen.

 

I bet an average Sonic fan can make a better story with more characters, problems and events working much better than that tiny story with few characters in SLoW.

You seem to think that more = better. But then, this tiny plot with few characters, is still several orders of magnitude better than the comparatively larger, bloated plots of 06, Shadow and Heroes. In fact, some of the characterisation work, I'd argue is better than that of SA2.

Edited October 21, 2013 by Scar

[ChikaBoing]

Is there still control stick sensitivity in this game?

 

Or does the Gear take care of that?

[Willsy]

So I sent this PM to Aaron Webber on the SEGA Forums the other day:

Hi,

Ever since it was announced, I have really been looking forward to the game. I've watched pretty much every gameplay preview, video, and trailer. I bought both versions of the game, and I just wanted to say that I absolutely love it! The gameplay seems very different from previous Sonic games, and I like that Sonic Team have tried something new.

I found it really upsetting when some reviewing sites gave the game a low score though, but they haven't changed my thoughts and I still think that the game's amazing. I just thought that I'd put some good word about the game through to SEGA, as I'm really enjoying both of the versions.

I'd love it if the next game kept Sonic's move set from Lost World and other things, like a quicker speed with the run button and the spindash.

But I just wanted to say thank you to SEGA for creating such an entertaining experience, I still haven't completed either versions but I'm having fun playing through the stages, and I hope that the reviews from IGN and Gamespot haven't caused anyone at Sonic Team to get disheartened.

I will definitely spread good work about Lost World and recommend it to my friends, it's a great game and I'm really enjoying it

He replied today with this:

Thanks for the message!

I've passed this along to our producer for the game, too. Really appreciate it!

- Aaron

Wow, my feedback is getting passed on to Iizuka?!! I'm just happy to give them some good word about the game with the mixed reviews and all going on, I can tell a lot of work has gone into the game.

Edited October 21, 2013 by Wil348

[Narukami07]

I'll take Colors 2.0 (which SLW's plot really isn't) over badly-written pretentious fanction that paints itself as dark and edgy while falling flat throughout.

Edited October 21, 2013 by Narukami07

[Blue Blood]

I'll take Colors 2.0 (which SLW's plot really isn't) over badly-written pretentious fanction that paints itself as dark and edgy while falling flat throughout.

 

So basically, you'll take Colours 2.0 over ShTH or '06? Yep. Me too.

 

I won't argue that Lost World's story is perfect, cause it really isn't. I felt it was lacking in explanation, which I can't make sense of considering this is a self-contained title without any connection to the rest of the series. Everything it offers in the cutscenes is entertaining for a number of reasons.

Though the whole deal with Tails being kidnapped was glossed over and not played to at all, what with him being a super genius that can do whatever the plot requires him to do. I think that the Zeti should have kidnapped Eggman instead, and turned him into a robot. That would have been more fun than having Tails overcome being controlled by the enemy for a second time (the first being Eggmans mind control in Colours).

[MegasonicZX]

So I sent this PM to Aaron Webber on the SEGA Forums the other day:

He replied today with this:

Wow, my feedback is getting passed on to Iizuka?!! I'm just happy to give them some good word about the game with the mixed reviews and all going on, I can tell a lot of work has gone into the game.

That's pretty cool, while it is good to listen to criticism's on some things its nice to get some praise from people too.

[sonfan1984]

Why the writers still needs to be fired even when people seem to really like the writing/story in this game? Both of the stories in Colors and Generations is already pre-written by Sonic Team and the writers only written the English dialogue. People didn't like Colors for being humorous and having so many jokes so the new writers tone it back in Generations and people still didn't like them cause the plot is really lacking (which isn't really their fault).

 

Now Lost World seem to be really making up for both games and it's the first Sonic game the new writers has freedom over and people still want them gone.  

Edited October 21, 2013 by sonfan1984

[MegasonicZX]

Why the writers still needs to be fired even when people seem to really like the writing/story in this game?    

I don't know the story but im guessing its because it doesn't have enough baldy mcnosehair.

[Vertekins]

Now that they've finally made Sonic act culpable for his mistakes and such, I can only hope that he's developed to actually learn from them and isn't condemned to "do a Knuckles" in future games i.e Keep falling into the same tendencies with no indication that the events of SLW's story had any impact. Much like Knuckles' unreasonable inclination for gullibility regarding Eggman.

[Blue Blood]

Righto, full impressions time. I'm so torn up about this game as a whole that I'm just going to have to divide it into sections to analyse every aspect individually. Spoilers tags where necessary regarding the plot.

 

Graphics

We all know that Lost World is a massive departure from the Unleashed and Generations, and even Colours when you regard the art style. It's actually a very pretty game. Terribly impressive? No, not really. It just offers some pleasing visuals. Everything is brimming with life - you'll have a hard time finding something that isn't fully animated to take advantage of the solid 60fps framerate. It's just genuinely a pleasure to look at this game most of the time because of the bright and vibrant colours. But with this art style comes something of a trade of.

 

First up, you'll notice that at time the visuals can become very flat. This isn't because that the textures are often little more than flat colours (this looks really nice as a matter of fact) but rather down to the fact that the lighting is pretty balls. Look at this picture of Silent Forest. The idea is that you're deep in the middle of a dense rainforest, with some light trickling in through the breaks in the canopy. But this isn't reflected in the final product at all. The landscape appears to be hit by a much brighter light source from all directions, resulting in a real lack of depth and atmosphere. In other levels it's not so bad, simply due to the environments. But there'll normally be a very flat look, especially if you look towards the contrast between light and shadowed areas.

 

Cutscenes, for whatever reason, are only played at 30fps. They stick out like a sore thumb when you've just been playing the game. There's also a distinct air of Mario about the visuals, but more on that later.

 

Sound

This is kind of a tough one. I enjoyed the soundtrack. It was fun and everything suited it's purpose. But I am having some trouble recalling the tunes sometimes. And it's as though the composers had been told to forget Sonic's existing style and focus on imitating the style from another game series. Again, more on the Mario copying later. On the whole, I have to stress that the music is very enjoyable. I'm probably just not finding it too memorable because I've only been playing the game for five days. I absolutely love Windy Hill 1&2, Desert Ruins 1, Des^sert Ruins 3 and Frozen Factory 1.

 

There was one big negative I noticed in this game in regards to the sound, and it's not the music. It's the sound effects. They suck. For a game that's so intensely vibrant in it's music and visuals, the rest of the sound is really lacking. The majority of the sound effects are very generic. I'd not be surprised if they were lifted straight from stock samples. The only ones that aren't boring at the series' standards, like the spings and rings. Though Sonic Team are still using the versions from '06, and this game would MUCH better suit the Adventure or Generations Classic sounds.

 

As I'm writing this, I've played through Desert Ruins 4 (Zomom second fight) and Frozen Factory 3 (Casino). In former, the tornado tearing through the level is pretty quiet and doesn't make any interesting sounds are it throws objects around. In the latter, there's hardly any of the typical casino sounds from Sonic games. In fact, the bumpers now use some menu sound effects from the Riders series. It's very jarring if you're at all familiar with the series. Tropical Coast is also laden with towering waterfalls, but neither they nor the barrage of badniks in the stage seem to make much noise. Silent Forest fortunately does have some ambient animal noises in the background, but on the whole sound effects in the game are a stinker.

 

Voice Acting

Just a little off-section from the sounds, because as Sonic fans we're obligated to argue about the voice overs. Let me just say that the voices in this game are fantastic. Smith delivers his best portrayal of Sonic to date, really bringing to life Sonic's emotions in a way that Griffith never could have hoped to. He does Sonic's snarky side so brilliantly. Tails and Eggman are as good as ever, while Amy doesn't sound near as annoying as she did in Free Riders or Generations. I uh... think Knuckles might have had a line somewhere in the game? (He sounds fine, but his appearance is pointless)

 

The Deadly Six took me off guard. Only Zeena and Zomom sounded anything like what I was expecting; the others knocked me for deadly six. Basically, their voices suit their personalities to a tee. I dread to think how the 4Kids VAs would have handled Zor or Zavok, but as it stand in the game they're exactly the right kind of cliché. Just like Sonic, you will understand them very well from their acting. There's never a moment where you'll be thinking the tone doesn't fit the context.

 

Physics

Yes, as a Sonic fan I also feel obligated to do a mini-section on this. Let me just say that they're really good for the most part. Unlike any of the past 3D games, you'll find that there's very little scripting. If you run or spin off of a ledge or ramp, you'll keep all of your momentum and this becomes a key element to performing well in some areas. It's really the first time that physics have ever played a role in a 3D Sonic game. The only downsides are the spindash behaving differently to in 2D games (it's clearly designed as an alternative to the boost here) so that it's not influenced by ramps and hills, and the other downside is that there's a lack of ramps or hills that aren't preceded by dash panels.

 

Level Design

Oh boy. This one is a tough call. Let's start with the pros, eh?

 

All of the Zone 1's (sans Lava Mountain as it's just a boss fight) in the game are a treat. It doesn't matter which world they're in, they aren't ever cheap or unfair in their design. The cylindrical layouts offer great space for running around to your hearts content. Or, in the case of Tropical Coast and Desert Ruins, you're offered up a lot of places to go mad with free running and spindashing off of ramps. They're a real joy to blast through at high speed. Some people might argue that they play more like obstacle courses than Sonic games, which isn't something that I'd instantly disagree with. They're sometimes too flat, but all in all they are fun and succeed in what they try to do. They're the highlights of the game. Especially in areas where you can just run along and up walls without springs. That's really great.

 

The other three Zones in any world are very varied in style, fun and quality. Two zones in each world will contain boss battles. So that's half of the levels in the game (not counting bonuses) having boss fights. That's way too much for my liking. Add on to that that there's a lot of gimmick acts, and you've found Lost World's first pitfall. The game has a very distinct lack of focus. You've got the well-made Zone 1, and then a myriad of modern Sonic Team style 2D levels (that is to say inoffensive, but rather shallow), a couple of dreadful grinding stages, some tubular caves and other very random gimmicks, like an incredibly slow Super Monkey Ball stage. More often that not they're not levels you'll want to go back to. So you've got a game of 28 mandatory levels, and within that I can think of 6 main stages and just a handful of others that are worth playing. Especially when you get to Frozen Factory and beyond, they just become so brutally unfair and dickish in their design you might just end up killing yourself intentionally so the handicap item box shows up. If you've not seen this, it's a P-Wing without the P (yes, really) that warps you to the next checkpoint. There's no detriment to this, except you might miss some Red Rings if there are any en route.

 

Less than half of the game has any replay value based on fun alone. That's a major problem. The good parts are really good though.

 

Enemies

Just an off shoot of the level design, the enemies in this game are really good. They pose a threat for a change, and all behave differently. It's a bit of a let down that 9/10 are old designs, though this probably won't get in the way of their cute designs and the fact that you'll welcome the different ways you're challenged to tackle them. If you just go in ready to spam the HA like in previous games, you absolutely WILL take damage. Ball Hogs require timing to avoid their bombs, you have to wait until the last minute to attack Buzz Bombers in order to get the multiple target animal bonuses and Cluckers can't even be destroyed without something to flatten their turrets.

 

The worst part about the badniks in this game is the new kick attack and charged homing attack. Basically, how on Earth are you supposed to which attack to use? Crabmeats took me by surprise. They're no larger than Motobugs, and they're a pretty standard enemy for the series. But if you try to home in on one, you'll get hurt. Why? I've no idea. But if you kick one they'll go down instantly. Snailbots either require multiple HAs, one charged HA or a kick. Whatever you do won't bring any negative repercussions though. It's a bit of a mess. The kick and charged HA really aren't necessary. To me, they come off solely as an effort to slow the game down. The standard homing attack is, however, bloody great to use. You can nuke all the nearby targets in a flash, provided you've made the effort to get past their defences. More of this, please!

 

Wisps

 

Fuck the hell off. The Wisps in Colours were a nice idea. Sure they were limited mainly to designated areas of the levels, but you still had a degree of freedom with them. This time around they're completely unnecessary gimmicks that control like absolute shite. They don't even have proper places within the level design. Using them does you no favours apart from in the mandatory areas. What moron decided to erase half of Silent Forest 2 and replace it with a bottomless pit and a Rhythm Wisp? All you do with it is tap the right hand side of your touch screen (you needn't bother with the notes) to reach the other side.

 

Here's a little hint though - some Wisps can actually be controlled with traditional methods instead of the touch or gyro controls, even though the game doesn't tell you this. It makes them a bit more bearable.

 

A terrible, terrible detriment to the game. I think they were only included because they garnered praise in Colours, though Sonic Team clearly decided to disregard all that was good about them.

 

And their role in the story? Zilch. I'm sooo not happy about that. Colours made a big deal about them being aliens and ultimately returning to their end of the universe. So for them to return without explanation is lazy.

 

Story

Oh my, whatever happened here? The story of Lost World is simple. Sonic and Tails are trying to free all the animals that Eggman has captured, until they suddenly crash land on the Lost Hex, where Eggman is controlling the race of powerful Zeti with his cacaphonic conch.

 

What's that, sorry? You don't know what the Lost Hex, Zeti or cacaphonic coch are? But I've just explained them all to you in as much detail as the game will explain it!

 

The plot needn't be deep, it needn't be dark but fuck it needs to have some degree of context to it. Let me just list the problems...

1. What and where is the Lost Hex? How does Sonic find it?
2. Why are there Wisps on the Lost Hex?
3. Who are the Deadly Six? They have no introduction or exit from the game. We know absolutely nothing about their motives.
4. We also don't know when and how Eggman got control of them.
5. What's the cacaphonic conch?
6. What makes the Deadly Six so deadly? They can control Eggman's mechs, as shown ONCE, and then just sit around doing nothing.
7. Heck, what are their names? Only Zazz and Master Zik get introductions, while Zor and Zomom have their names mentioned in passing. Zeena and Zavok go completely nameless unless you read the manual. How the hell am I supposed to enjoy these major characters who go unnamed by the story for no reason?
8. What are Amy and Knuckles even doing? They spend the entire game waiting in a field. They're clearly in the game only satiate some fans, and their roles are minor to stop others from claiming that they're ruining the experience.
9. The level locations have no context whatsoever.
10. Tails ends up in control of the enemy, just like in Colours. And once again he breaks free without conflict. To make it worse though, it's not a surprise to the audience cause we're shown it happening.

The cutscenes themselves are a hoot. I found myself laughing more than just once. But I just can't enjoy the story. It's not a mess like other games. There's no enough there for it to be a mess. It's almost non-existent, though this time with proper cutscenes.

 

Controls

I feel this needs to be mentioned. Just like the game neglects to explain the story, it also neglects to explain any controls unless you open up the manual or seek out the somewhat random hints that you have to manually open. I don't really care if it's all there in the manual; any game these days should include explanations as you play. This is only made worse by the fact that the controls are complex. Trying to understand the wall-running without them being explained to you first will prove to be totally futile.

 

Gyro and touch controls for the Wisps are, as I previously said, shockingly bad. A poor effort to force Wii U gimmicks into the game.

 

Sonic's movement, once you get to grips with it, it very tight and works almost perfectly. The only real issues I'd have are with speed. I was in the crowd that wanted Sonic to slow down, but SLW takes things too far. Sonic rarely feels faster than Mario under normal conditions (go figure...), and it's hard to maintain speed if you aren't running in a straight line. He slows down too much when making turns, or when vaulting whilst free running.

 

Identity

Okay, now this is a really big issue. Is this game supposed to be a whole new look for Sonic? Or is it instead supposed to be a Mario clone? Because come the fuck on, it's Mario from start to finish. Literally in fact. Not only do the levels look like they were ripped from NSMB, they also follow the exact same tropes and order, right down to the sky levels that's a rehash of previous environments and the final level being a lava-filled, vertical castle climb. Utterly shameless. Sonic has done desert, beach and lava tropes a million times over, but not once in that time would you get the series confused with Mario. It even pours over into the music. Tropical Coast, the most Mario-looking of all the stages, also features Mario's trademark steel drums. This wouldn't be an issue if it wasn't so alient for the Sonic series. I'm used to the beach stages sounding like Emerald Coast or Seaside Hill.

 

If I wanted to play a Mario game, I would have bought a Mario game. Sonic's got his own thing going on, and I've loved that for all 20 years of my life. Mario is another kettle of fish, and so Sonic shouldn't be so blatant in efforts to ride off of his success. I completely refuse to believe Iizuka's comments that the Galaxy similarities are merely a coincidental by-product of creating levels without edges.

 

The final battle against Zavok sees him turning into a giant version of himself. Doesn't that sound slightly familiar?

 

That's the worst part of this game. It's not got much in common with the Sonic series as we know it. I can dig the new gameplay style (I'd rather SA style with parkour though), but nothing else feels like it belongs at all.

 

Closing Thoughts

I like Lost World. I really, really do. The series needed a breath of fresh air after it was left to go stagnant with the boost formula ofUnleashed, Colours and Generations. There's too many problems though by way of it not feeling like a Sonic game, or just from some really poor design choices resulting in a game that's not worth playing much of the time. On the whole, I'd probably say it's all around quite average. There's potential in the game for sure, but it's not lived up to.

 

Currently my expectations for future instalments aren't too high either. With near certainty I can say that SEGA want to leave behind everything that happened for the series between 1998 and 2009, including the fans. I grew up with the Classics, but I also adored the Adventure series and Heroes. The series had continuity and an identity, and Sonic Team weren't afraid to do their own thing instead of just what the fans wanted. In this way, I can really empathise with members here who are disappointed or even upset by the fact that Lost World is a cartoony, childish affair. I don't quite agree with them cause I still think that Lost World gets the tone right. But I also felt that SA1 got the tone right. We've probably lost all that variety in the series now.

 

And the score...

6.5/10

 

I love the good parts of the game, but I loathe the bad parts even more.

Edited October 23, 2013 by Blue Blood

[Narukami07]

Nice review, huzzah!

Edited October 23, 2013 by Narukami07

[Zavok the SpinningSilver]

Fantastic review Blue. I disagree with you regarding Griffith, but whatevs. Opinions and stuff.

[Sami]

Unleashed's story wasn't pretentious at all and was more enjoyable and engaging than the ones that followed. Colors was great as a one-time, "day in the life of Sonic" type deal, but I'm tired of it and I want a return to the SA1/Unleashed style of plot. That is, a plot I'm actually somewhat invested in.