Sonic Unleashed Vs. Sonic Unwiished; Which version do you prefer?

[ImPantsAtThis]

When it's been on the jump button and is in every other game? No.

 

You see, that's why they give you a tutorial and show you it during the loading screens -- to get used to it. It's a weird design choice, that's for sure, but by no means does it detract from the experience. It really isn't a legitimate argument against the game because it's so trivial and easy to adapt to.

[Shaddy Zaphod]

Except maybe it is, because one person's experiences are different from another's. Maybe I don't get used to things the same way you do. Not to mention, I played the Wii version first, with a gamecube controller. The A button was used for the homing attack -- like normal. Then I was thrown completely off guard with the HD version, which I played just after Generations, and it felt awkward and just...wrong. I'm not saying other's can't get used to it, I'm not saying nobody can enjoy this, I'm saying I didn't.

[ImPantsAtThis]

Well then, perhaps you should stop telling people that the Unleashed games aren't worth it, and that they should move on to Unleashed Project/Colours/Generations?

[Shaddy Zaphod]

Because for me, they aren't worth it.

[ImPantsAtThis]

Doesn't mean you should go out of your way to not answer the topic question.

 

EDIT: We're derailing this topic, so I'm not gonna go any further with this.

[ElectricAngel]

Well, it appears we have a small debate here. Some think Unleashed isn't worth playing and others think it is. I think most people that know me know very well that I love Unleashed. And I'm about tell you guys why it's worth it.

 

Let's begin with my personal history with this game. This game was one of the main reasons I wanted a 360 and as my first title on the console, I was blown away. Alright, this may seem a bit bias, but looking back, I'm glad Unleashed was my first introduction into high definition console gaming.

 

For one, the game is massive. I am one of those people that love a big adventure with a nice meaty story, and being introduced to the world of Unleashed via that amazing CGI cutscene, I was hyped to get going. And speaking of CGI, although a few scenes use it, it looks fantastic and something of Pixar quality, if not better.

Even so at times when the game uses the regular engine, you can't help but feel as if it is pre-rendered.

The story in this game is also a step up from previous games. It's lighthearted with a bit of a dark aspect sprinkled on top to add the feel of an epic adventure. This is how I feel Sonic games should be written. It's the perfect blend of action, comedy and darkness. We don't need overly dark games like '06 or Shadow, or overly happy games such as Heroes or Colours. Now, granted there's nothing bad about Heroes' and Colours' stories, but I prefer Sonic games to be a bit more dark than those.

 

Onto the gameplay. When I first held the controller and pressed that boost button I was blown away. So many questions were asked. How am I going so fast? How can the game keep up? How am I doing surprisingly good? The sheer sense of speed you get when playing this game. It feels as if you are Sonic, as if you are on the adventure running around the world at breakneck speeds. Soon enough I came into contact with the hub worlds. I was surprised to see such an amount of detail thrown in the game. The characters had inspired names and the hubs all had unique themes and environments. Every hub world feels like it's taken straight from our world and blended with the Sonic look. 

(Couldn't find a clearer pic :L)

 

Afterwards I got to my first Werehog level. And I'll be honest. I enjoyed the Werehog and still do. The thrill and speed of the daytime levels were kind of exhausting so it was nice slowing down a bit and focusing on more platform and exploration heavy worlds. The combat wasn't much of a problem as enemies were easily beaten down if you level up. And speaking of level up, I love the level up system. It makes you feel as if you are getting stronger throughout your journey. Sonic isn't just a perfect hero, he has to train and become stronger, and as I leveled up, it gave me a sense of accomplishment. 

 

Now what else is there? The boss fights? Yeah the boss fights. The boss fights I found were quite easy, until you get to the final boss. But before I go to that I forgot to mention. As the game progresses, it becomes more challenging. A lot of recent Sonic games have had a standard difficulty from start to finish, whereas Unleashed got progressively harder. Okay so maybe I was wrong now that I think about it. Other Sonic games do get harder, however in Unleashed I felt as if the difficulty was perfect. It wasn't too easy, yet wasn't too hard. It was challenging. And I haven't any sense of challenge like this in any other Sonic game. Now back to the bosses. The final boss I believe is the best in the series. It's a long, epic battle against Dark Gaia and what I love about it is that you have to be fast. Your reflexes and skills are put to the test in this final boss, which is something I think most Sonic games fail to do. It's nothing insanely difficult, but it's challenging enough that you get major satisfaction after beating the boss.

Also, just look at this guy. He's so massive and intimidating.

 

 

Now there are a few complaints people make such as the medals. To me at least, the medals weren't much of a problem until the last level. And I know I said this before but the medals actually made me aware of side missions you can unlock with the townspeople and the fact that you can gift Professor Pickle items. If it wasn't for the medals, I wouldn't have known all the extras the developers packed into the game. Not even that, but it made me search for alternate pathways and hidden areas in the acts, which made me appreciate the level design of the game even more. I was surprised to see how open some of the later levels get.

 

Onto the voice acting. The voice acting in my opinion is the best a Sonic game has offered. Sonic sounds like a confident hero and friend as opposed to a overly nasal teenager. Tails sounds more like a guy and his voice isn't as squeaky or annoying. And Amy. Oh, Amy what have they done to you? They made Amy a much more tolerable character. She's got a cute voice and her personality was toned down. Yes, when you talk to her in the hubs, she's crazy over Sonic but at least in the cutscenes she's not always going on about her love of him and how she wants to marry him. And since we're on the topic of vocals, I forgot to mention the game has an awesome vocal theme that plays during the credits (2 actually) which give you a really accomplished feeling.

 

Speaking of music, the soundtrack in this game is astounding. I don't think it's as good as say, Black Knight, but it's still fantastic. Tunes like the final boss theme, Cool Edge, Rooftop Run and such make you feel like you're on an epic adventure to save the world and add to the immersion of the game. Each level theme feels inspired from the area it represents and adds to the feeling of a world adventure, hence the Japanese title of the game, Sonic World Adventure.

 

I could honestly go on and on about how much I love this game. People seem to debate that it's in the dark age of Sonic simply because of the Werehog. And although the Werehog isn't bad, it's certainly no reason to bog the entire game down, especially when you've got aspects that completely outshine anything else in the dark age. You don't have horrible glitches, annoying characters, a ridiculous story or any of that junk. This game has what I believe should be in a good Sonic game. That's not to say that later games are bad, but it's nice to have a grand adventure type of game every once in a while and it's been so long since we've had a game come close to what Unleashed accomplished.

 

So in the end do I think people should skip this game? Hell no! This game was the beginning of the new age of Sonic games. The amount of effort and quality poured into this game, and in 2 years even is astounding. Such efforts shouldn't be wasted just because some people believe stuff like the Werehog or medal collecting are in it. I say you'd be a fool to pass up such an experience and adventure. If I were to introduce the world of Sonic to anyone, it'd be through this game.

 

Oh and one last thing. I want to say something to this little piece.

Except maybe it is, because one person's experiences are different from another's. Maybe I don't get used to things the same way you do. Not to mention, I played the Wii version first, with a gamecube controller. The A button was used for the homing attack -- like normal. Then I was thrown completely off guard with the HD version, which I played just after Generations, and it felt awkward and just...wrong. I'm not saying other's can't get used to it, I'm not saying nobody can enjoy this, I'm saying I didn't.

I understand having the homing attack on the X (or square if use PS3) button can throw you off, but I don't think it took that long to get used to it. Yes it seemed off to me the first 3 times I used it, but afterwards it seemed awfully natural. And I'm sure others agree. You see, since it's not on the jump button, I for one, see the homing attack as an actual, well, attack. And I honestly would have loved it if they kept it in Colours, because hoo boy, that game. Let's be honest here, it could have benefited from having the homing attack on a different button.

[Rey Skywalker-Ren]

Here're more polished screenshots of the Wii/PS2 version

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Compared to the previouse generation of games (Adventure, Heroes etc) it IS an impressive graphic..

those are impressive. they are clear and beautiful. apotos is just beautiful stage. the water and everything look so real.

[JezMM]

Unwiished does look much nicer emulated playing hi-res, but those screenshots still show off how huge and empty the locations are compared to the HD version.  Large, empty environments give a really crappy sense of speed compared to the dense population of detail on the HD version.

 

Also important to remember: if you played the PS2 version, these screens will seem even more impressive in a "whoa I don't remember it looking that good" way, because it -didn't- look that good.  For example, on PS2 the sea has an N64-sort of quality simple tiled water texture, similar to the (deliberately cartooney) water textures of Wind Waker, none of the reflective light effects or wibbly wobblies.

 

 

One aspect of Sonic Unwiished that has intrigued me, but I've never owned it - only demoed it - so I couldn't play it in-depth for myself, is the boost system for the daytime stages. The HD version activates the boost at an immediate button press and lasts as long as you hold it down. But from what I recall, the Wii version keeps boosting for a set period of time after you've pressed the button.

 

How does that work in relation to the level design? I noticed that a lot of the tracks in the Wii version are pretty linear, so I assume there's a relation? There isn't a lot of platforming outside of homing attack chains in the daytime stages for either version, but after looking at more footage the Wii version seems even more linear than I remembered it.

 

Because of the binary nature of its boost mechanic, you can't stop whenever you want, so platforming would be difficult. Do you guys see this as a flaw, or since it works together with the straightforward level design, is it not really a problem to begin with? I personally think it's a little too different from the mechanic of the HD version, though it certainly keeps the main idea of Sonic Unleashed as a whole intact. I'm just not sure if I'd prefer it. 

 

It's basically just less deep.  Unlike HD where you can boost through the entire stage if you're good enough, or use it cunningly if you so wish, the WiiS2 version more of requires you to memorise the particular points where boosting is beneficial and use it then.  Often these are pretty obvious - whenever there's enemies in a row etc.

 

 

In my opinion, they are worse. I just want to play the game, the extra stuff doesn't matter, because this is Sonic the hedgehog!

 

The issue with saying something like this is the chain of replies this came from is you telling people they should play Unleashed Mod or Colours or Generations instead of Unleashed.  So here you basically said "You should play these other games!"  "But these other games don't have these things I like."  "Well I don't like them."  That's very silly logic.

 

Aesthetic things like story and world-building can be easily ignored by a player not interested in them, whereas a player interested in them gets nothing at all when they are removed.  Think about that.  "It doesn't matter, this is Sonic!"  The fact that Sonic games without them merely exist is not any sort of argument against them.

 

 

 

 

Regarding the general A+X homing attack debate I have no issue with it and actually preferred the feeling it gave.  In Unleashed, A was purely associated with jumping - ascension, and X was purely associated with homing attacks and boosting - forward propulsion.  As a result it made me feel more in control over Sonic, like I was doing more as the player.

 

With A button serving two entirely different movements depending on context, it feels more automated to me somehow.  There's less punch to it.

 

The only slip up they made is awkwardness caused by accidentally air boosting when you wanted to homing attack because you went out of range of your target at the last second, etc.

[StaticMania]

The homing attack being a different button...the same as the Air Boost is probably why they added the targeting reticule, so it would be clear notice for when you actually "Can" homing attack.

[TearForFear]

Unwiished does look much nicer emulated playing hi-res, but those screenshots still show off how huge and empty the locations are compared to the HD version.  Large, empty environments give a really crappy sense of speed compared to the dense population of detail on the HD version.

 

Also important to remember: if you played the PS2 version, these screens will seem even more impressive in a "whoa I don't remember it looking that good" way, because it -didn't- look that good.  For example, on PS2 the sea has an N64-sort of quality simple tiled water texture, similar to the (deliberately cartooney) water textures of Wind Waker, none of the reflective light effects or wibbly wobblies.

 

I agree, now that you mention it. The "less-polygoned" graphic of Wii/PS2 version makes the locations looking like Sonic '06.

 

But on the bright side, there's an overlooked detail about it: no pop-up or foggy effects. Everything (enemies, rings, springs, buildings etc) is clearly visible even from a great distance. That's something not even games such Super Mario 3D World can do nowadays.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, with that I'm not saying that the Wii/PS2 graphic is better than PS3/360. I'm just saying that it's not as ugly as some believe.

[JezMM]

 

I'll never get over how ridiculous the cardboard cut-out buildings look at this point in the level.  I mean you can tell they're 2D earlier than this but they just completely make it obvious with this 3/4-ish angle.

 

I mean it's adorable, I live for spotting this kind of trickery in distant scenery, but most games make it a bit more of a challenge to notice.

[XenophobicCybertronian]

I haven't played the Wii version of Unleashed but I do own the Xbox version but judging by the pictures people have posted the Wii version doesn't look too bad but I think I prefer the Xbox version even though I hate that the homing attack button isn't the same button as the jump button which makes little sense to me.

[GuyWithThePie]

UnWiished was my first Sonic game on the Wii. I thought it was great years ago, but recently I saw the 360/PS3 version of Unleashed and I bought that because there was an XBOX 360 in my house. Needless to say I loved it. However, the disk recently broke as the opening cutscene freezes when Eggman is about to press the button to drain Super Sonic's energy (Although the captions still go on). The tutorial level and Apotos hub work just fine until you get to an action stage, and since my disk is broken the loading screen is there forever. It doesn't stop. Ever since that disappointment, all I had left was UnWiished. I've started to learn that the game is really a whole lot of fun if you use the GameCube controller and not the gimmicky Wiimote controls... (Seriously, dude, how was I ever able to make it to Holoska with those controls back in 2008?!)

Well, it appears we have a small debate here. Some think Unleashed isn't worth playing and others think it is. I think most people that know me know very well that I love Unleashed. And I'm about tell you guys why it's worth it.

Let's begin with my personal history with this game. This game was one of the main reasons I wanted a 360 and as my first title on the console, I was blown away. Alright, this may seem a bit bias, but looking back, I'm glad Unleashed was my first introduction into high definition console gaming.

For one, the game is massive. I am one of those people that love a big adventure with a nice meaty story, and being introduced to the world of Unleashed via that amazing CGI cutscene, I was hyped to get going. And speaking of CGI, although a few scenes use it, it looks fantastic and something of Pixar quality, if not better.

Even so at times when the game uses the regular engine, you can't help but feel as if it is pre-rendered.

The story in this game is also a step up from previous games. It's lighthearted with a bit of a dark aspect sprinkled on top to add the feel of an epic adventure. This is how I feel Sonic games should be written. It's the perfect blend of action, comedy and darkness. We don't need overly dark games like '06 or Shadow, or overly happy games such as Heroes or Colours. Now, granted there's nothing bad about Heroes' and Colours' stories, but I prefer Sonic games to be a bit more dark than those.

Onto the gameplay. When I first held the controller and pressed that boost button I was blown away. So many questions were asked. How am I going so fast? How can the game keep up? How am I doing surprisingly good? The sheer sense of speed you get when playing this game. It feels as if you are Sonic, as if you are on the adventure running around the world at breakneck speeds. Soon enough I came into contact with the hub worlds. I was surprised to see such an amount of detail thrown in the game. The characters had inspired names and the hubs all had unique themes and environments. Every hub world feels like it's taken straight from our world and blended with the Sonic look.

(Couldn't find a clearer pic :L)

Afterwards I got to my first Werehog level. And I'll be honest. I enjoyed the Werehog and still do. The thrill and speed of the daytime levels were kind of exhausting so it was nice slowing down a bit and focusing on more platform and exploration heavy worlds. The combat wasn't much of a problem as enemies were easily beaten down if you level up. And speaking of level up, I love the level up system. It makes you feel as if you are getting stronger throughout your journey. Sonic isn't just a perfect hero, he has to train and become stronger, and as I leveled up, it gave me a sense of accomplishment.

Now what else is there? The boss fights? Yeah the boss fights. The boss fights I found were quite easy, until you get to the final boss. But before I go to that I forgot to mention. As the game progresses, it becomes more challenging. A lot of recent Sonic games have had a standard difficulty from start to finish, whereas Unleashed got progressively harder. Okay so maybe I was wrong now that I think about it. Other Sonic games do get harder, however in Unleashed I felt as if the difficulty was perfect. It wasn't too easy, yet wasn't too hard. It was challenging. And I haven't any sense of challenge like this in any other Sonic game. Now back to the bosses. The final boss I believe is the best in the series. It's a long, epic battle against Dark Gaia and what I love about it is that you have to be fast. Your reflexes and skills are put to the test in this final boss, which is something I think most Sonic games fail to do. It's nothing insanely difficult, but it's challenging enough that you get major satisfaction after beating the boss.

Also, just look at this guy. He's so massive and intimidating.

Now there are a few complaints people make such as the medals. To me at least, the medals weren't much of a problem until the last level. And I know I said this before but the medals actually made me aware of side missions you can unlock with the townspeople and the fact that you can gift Professor Pickle items. If it wasn't for the medals, I wouldn't have known all the extras the developers packed into the game. Not even that, but it made me search for alternate pathways and hidden areas in the acts, which made me appreciate the level design of the game even more. I was surprised to see how open some of the later levels get.

Onto the voice acting. The voice acting in my opinion is the best a Sonic game has offered. Sonic sounds like a confident hero and friend as opposed to a overly nasal teenager. Tails sounds more like a guy and his voice isn't as squeaky or annoying. And Amy. Oh, Amy what have they done to you? They made Amy a much more tolerable character. She's got a cute voice and her personality was toned down. Yes, when you talk to her in the hubs, she's crazy over Sonic but at least in the cutscenes she's not always going on about her love of him and how she wants to marry him. And since we're on the topic of vocals, I forgot to mention the game has an awesome vocal theme that plays during the credits (2 actually) which give you a really accomplished feeling.

Speaking of music, the soundtrack in this game is astounding. I don't think it's as good as say, Black Knight, but it's still fantastic. Tunes like the final boss theme, Cool Edge, Rooftop Run and such make you feel like you're on an epic adventure to save the world and add to the immersion of the game. Each level theme feels inspired from the area it represents and adds to the feeling of a world adventure, hence the Japanese title of the game, Sonic World Adventure.

I could honestly go on and on about how much I love this game. People seem to debate that it's in the dark age of Sonic simply because of the Werehog. And although the Werehog isn't bad, it's certainly no reason to bog the entire game down, especially when you've got aspects that completely outshine anything else in the dark age. You don't have horrible glitches, annoying characters, a ridiculous story or any of that junk. This game has what I believe should be in a good Sonic game. That's not to say that later games are bad, but it's nice to have a grand adventure type of game every once in a while and it's been so long since we've had a game come close to what Unleashed accomplished.

So in the end do I think people should skip this game? Hell no! This game was the beginning of the new age of Sonic games. The amount of effort and quality poured into this game, and in 2 years even is astounding. Such efforts shouldn't be wasted just because some people believe stuff like the Werehog or medal collecting are in it. I say you'd be a fool to pass up such an experience and adventure. If I were to introduce the world of Sonic to anyone, it'd be through this game.

Oh and one last thing. I want to say something to this little piece.

I understand having the homing attack on the X (or square if use PS3) button can throw you off, but I don't think it took that long to get used to it. Yes it seemed off to me the first 3 times I used it, but afterwards it seemed awfully natural. And I'm sure others agree. You see, since it's not on the jump button, I for one, see the homing attack as an actual, well, attack. And I honestly would have loved it if they kept it in Colours, because hoo boy, that game. Let's be honest here, it could have benefited from having the homing attack on a different button.

No offense man, as I do agree with everything you said, but you do know that this wall of text didn't tell me anything about which version you like, right?

[ElectricAngel]

No offense man, as I do agree with everything you said, but you do know that this wall of text didn't tell me anything about which version you like, right?

Well, I did mention a few times in the text that it is the HD version, and I mentioned before in this thread that I prefer the HD one to the Wii version. Also, my wall of text was pretty much just a reply to MasterShadic2, who mentioned that Unleashed isn't worth playing. So there you have it.

[Adorkable]

The Xbox 360 version by a landslide. It's nothing against the Wii, it was an awesome console, I just feel you get the best experience of the game from one of the major consoles (360 and PS3).

[Darinian]

I feel that the Xbox 360 version was the best visually while the wii version seemed better gameplay wise. To me the shake to boost/homing attack was way better than a+x to homing attack even after I got used to it

Super late