Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal (3DS)

[Cyrus]

For speed that can be achieved by just a push of a button, it's a bit too fast for this kind of level design. I recall the player bumping into an enemy and loosing rings after running.

[sploit]

I bet Amy will probably be playable once the basic story has been finished...

...she will probably be an unlockable character just like in Sonic Advance 2.

Regardless, I am really looking forward to this game. Being able to play as the new character Sticks, definitely has me interested to see what she is like.

[Doctor MK]

I really don't know what to make of this game - following Lost World 3DS and the huge emphasis being placed on adventure and exploration for Boom in general, I was expecting something similar to the Wii U version but on a smaller scale... so for it all to be back to 2D seems a bit disappointing, really. We know the 3DS can pull off a 3D Sonic game - even if Lost World 3DS was terrible - so it seems a shame that it's not being taken advantage of. Doesn't help that aesthetically it reminds me way too much of the 2D sections in the Dimps 3DS games, which isn't really the best thing to remind me of.

 

Having said that, it does look interesting in its own way. I like the idea of having a Metroidvania-style Sonic title and having the ability to switch out different characters on the fly to harness their unique abilities will help keep up the variety and shake up the pace without having to separate it all into individual chunks (i.e. fast Sonic levels, exploratory Knuckles levels, hitting-things-with-boomerangs Sticks levels)

 

But my major concern is... oh man do those characters move sloooow. If that's their way of shoehorning in "exploration" into the 3DS version, then I'm not sure I approve. It just feels so jarring, because on first glance this looks far more like your typical Sonic game than the Wii U version, and visually it has a lot in common with other, speedier Sonic titles on the same handheld - so to see everyone just walking around for the most part doesn't quite seem to fit. It's probably the kind of thing you have to play for yourself to appreciate though, and if some of the previews prefer this one over the Wii U version, then I'll give it the benefit of the doubt until I see more. It definitely looks like it'll play more Sonic-y than its HD big brother, if nothing else.

 

Oh, and as for Amy getting kidnapped... yeah that seems like a bit of an odd choice, considering she's portrayed as a much stronger character in the Wii U version and here she's reduced to Princess Peach material. Let's hope there's more to it than the brief story synopsis suggests, even if she's not playable (though I can understand that in favour of showing off the new female character).

[Gatestormer]

I think the thing that upsets me most about this version is that he doesn't even spin when he jumps.

 

I don't even know what to say about that. There's absolutely no reason for the spin attack to not be in there, other than just missing the point of the character. 

[JezMM]

The reason I'm skeptical of Amy being an unlock is that these stages REALLY seem designed around character abilities.  Like almost to Heroes-esque "all there is to this puzzle is to do the thing that the character does" with it overtly obvious what to do - hopefully that's just due to the stages being shown off being early ones though, and later on there may be hazards with a more complex solution, or more than one right answer via clever usage of character abilities.

 

Anyway point is, unless Amy is presented as some sort of "can do everything" bonus character, I can't see her fitting in.  Unless of course, they make areas in the levels only accessible by going back once she's been unlocked.

 

Either way the reason I find it hard to compare to Advance 2 is that the Advance games didn't involve a big fancy character reboot.  This one is, so it seems ridiculous to immediately push her aside like this.

[Tails spin]

We all know that at the surface the reason this happened is to say look u get to plsy as a different four member in each game

[Marcello]

Having now watched the video, I can say I think the game looks OK. Looks surprisingly a lot like the Dimps games. I was hoping for something a bit different, but I'm fine with this. The graphics look pretty decent. I hope the whole having to stop to use other character'S abilities things doesn't get annoying.

 

Oh, and I'm not bothered by the lack of Amy.

[Wittymations]

Anybody else just felt weird seeing Knuckles' big bulky body move in the 3DS version? I dunno why, it just looks odd. Probably me just being used to everybody with the same build in that 2D thing.

[Zazz]

Ehh I wonder if this game will feature some levels from the Wii U version? Since this game is a follow-up on Rise of Lyric they might decide to retrace old areas to get clues or something, I dunno but I want that Sky Sanctuary looking zone in this version.

[Ultimate Waffle]

Having now watched the video, I can say I think the game looks OK. Looks surprisingly a lot like the Dimps games. I was hoping for something a bit different, but I'm fine with this. The graphics look pretty decent. I hope the whole having to stop to use other character'S abilities things doesn't get annoying.

 

Oh, and I'm not bothered by the lack of Amy.

 

Probably borrowed most of Dimps' assets from the past two games.

 

Amy is just kidnapped though, right?

 

Still don't think this looks too good though, but if this is anything like a Tails' Adventure 2 I'm in.

[Crippled Espurr]

Now that I've watching over and over the 3DS footage from Gamexplain, I agree that some textures look a bit off, not to mention some of the characters' movement/animation when executing certain actions looks kind of awkward (Ex: Sticks when throwing her boomerang, Knuckles when punching/walking...).

 

Though, it's worth keeping in mind that 3DS games look very crappy in Youtube videos when compared to how they look in the actual console. Plus, the game's going to be released in November, so that's more than enough time for the developers to polish the game up as much as possible.

[Enesephus]

I just saw the 3DS footage and, while I'm not quite as impressed with it as I am the Wii U version, I am certainly curious. Maybe in February I'll get a used 3DS for a hundred dollars and pick up this game. It does look neat.

[MegasonicZX]

For speed that can be achieved by just a push of a button, it's a bit too fast for this kind of level design. I recall the player bumping into an enemy and loosing rings after running.

That was more his fault than anything else though, he wasn't moving through the air very fast when he had jumped. 

[Tails spin]

So I look at the video again. It seems we see a slight glimpse of a boss battle with Lyric. Sonic looks to be on a 2D field but the cool think I thought was that the camera moves around when Lyric moves. Though I hope we get some type of 3D boss fights.

[Zazz]

So I look at the video again. It seems we see a slight glimpse of a boss battle with Lyric. Sonic looks to be on a 2D field but the cool think I thought was that the camera moves around when Lyric moves. Though I hope we get some type of 3D boss fights.

 

Yea, I have some hope that there will be at least 30% 3D playable parts in the game while the majority of it as we know is 2D. Not that I mind the 2D this time around since it's not linear, explorable, & weilds lots of things to collect but I prefer 3D exploration over 2D exploration. We don't even know how many zones or areas will appear in this game so with each world, we could have some areas with more 3D than 2D, who knows but I hope so.

[Tails spin]

Yea, I have some hope that there will be at least 30% 3D playable parts in the game while the majority of it as we know is 2D. Not that I mind the 2D this time around since it's not linear, explorable, & weilds lots of things to collect but I prefer 3D exploration over 2D exploration. We don't even know how many zones or areas will appear in this game so with each world, we could have some areas with more 3D than 2D, who knows but I hope so.

Well there is the 3D tube stages

[Milo]

In all honestly, I personally would like the look of this game a lot more if the graphics and artstyle were a pure 2D approach, rather than being yet another 2.5D game. I think it would make the game look more distinct and appealing, especially if the game artwise was more in line with the concept art made for the Wii U version.

[Willsy]

Have GameXplain uploaded their impressions video on Shattered Crystal yet?

[Indigo Rush]

Yup:

 

 

He seems to like it more than the Wii U version so far. It definitely looks more "Sonic-ish" than Rise of Lyric.

 

Either way, it looks pretty fun to me. I definitely won't be approaching it like a traditional Sonic game, though.

[Willsy]

Oh, I meant did they do something like the Wii U where they discussed their thoughts in the demo together. But thanks for reposting that, I watched through the gameplay once more and it does look very fun to play through.

I don't really have any concerns about Shattered Crystal, it look pretty solid to me. It's just Rise Of Lyric that I'm cautiously optimistic about. So even if the later fails to provide enjoyment, at least I'll have fun with this one.

[Amalgamous]

I'll admit that the return to 2D threw me for a few minutes until I actually saw the gameplay footage, at which point I was fully onboard: hey, better a great 2D Sonic game than a good 3D game, right? And I'll say that, while I was looking forward to playing as Amy, as long as she does something in the story besides being the archaeologist of the group and a kidnappee, I'll be content. Also, I had some time so I decided to just plot out the control scheme for the game. What do you guys think? 

[Willsy]

I actually don't mind the 2D. As Amalgamous said, better a great 2D game than a bad or okay 3D one. I'm nit sure that I'd want another Lost World 3DS. Plus, it's been a while since we've had an original 2D handheld Sonic game. From what I can tell, this game is more closer to Sonics roots while it tries to do something new at the same time, and it does look like great fun. I hope that it's lengthier than Gens and Lost World 3DS.

[TheLaw34]

New video on the 3ds version from GameXplain

Its sad to hear it is more of a sonic game than the WiiU version

At the start of the level you can choose to go left or right which is cool

Tails can go underwater in a machine called the Seafox a reference to tails adventure

BluePrints can be collected for tails.

Music is being done in japan by veteran sonic developer.

WiiU version has Miiverse support 

Lyric is supposedly the villains that makes you wonder if you're still play a kids game. He will be very very dark.

[Shaddy Zaphod]

 

Lyrics is suppose to be basically suppose to be the villains that makes you wonder if you're still play a kids game. He will be very very dark.

I love things like this. Courage the Cowardly dog and invader Zim are the best shows ever and if we get a dynamic like this from Lyirc I will be very happy.

[Willsy]

I think I prefer this version so far. It looks like a lot of fun, and kind of like the games that Dimps Of Old would make, just less linear. Even if I have my reservations about the Wii U game, I think I'll end up really enjoying this version.