Sonic Rush 10th Anniversary

[Muscles Maximum]

Sonic Rush was released exactly 10 years ago today in North America.

Okay, now I really really love this game. It's certainly one of my favorites. It's got cute character models, I mean, look at Sonic. 

So cute. His model in this game has always reminded me of Sonic Adventure. That to me is a good thing. I love the dreamcast character models.

This game introduced possibly the coolest new character, Blaze. She's tough, strong, independent, cute, and very capable. Cream being almost forced onto her story to get her to open up was pretty neat, I thought. Taking a shy and reserved character and pairing them up with the sweetest and most innocent. It's kind of funny, but it worked really well.

Here is Blaze searching for Cream, among the rubble of the robot she just annihilated.

♥ Reunited ♥

The gameplay, is excellent. This is the game that introduced the boost as we know it. Though the boost gauge (called the Tension Gauge in this game) works a little different. It's not fueled by rings, no no. Instead, this game has a trick system. Every time you jump off a ramp, or a rail, or bounce off a spring or go through hoops, you can perform several tricks while you're in the air, netting you more score, and more sweet, sweet boost. It's a great little system. I really like how it's called the Tension Gauge, because you're moving so fast, and trying to do as many tricks as you can before you land can be hectic.

Also, I thought this game really got Sonic's moveset right. He can boost and also spin dash. Lots of people say that if you have the boost, spin dashing is unnecessary. That's not true, or, it doesn't have to be. If you're ever in a situation where you run out of boost, which can happen since they aren't powered by rings, the spin dash is really useful. Also, "spin boosting" can be faster going downhill, while boosting normally while running is faster uphill. It works.

And another thing, the homing attack is beautiful in this game. I'm pretty sure the Rush titles are the only games where Sonic actually keeps his momentum after bouncing off an enemy with it. If only the main console games could achieve this. Really, it seems like common sense, how it hasn't been like that from the beginning is beyond me. Oh well.

Oh yeah, and I really thought Blaze was done so well. She's the only Sonic-like character that is actually significantly less fast than Sonic is iirc, yet, she's still so fun to play as. She can glide, and gets massive air when tricking. She really is the coolest. ♥ I feel if other characters ever return as playable, they should do their best to have Sonic considerably faster than the rest. It goes to show you that they can do this without making everyone else painfully slow. It's possible guys.

What's really unique about this game is the soundtrack though. This is quite possible my favorite soundtrack in the series. Seriously, Hideki Naganuma is so talented, and his sounds suit the Sonic series oh so well. He's got so much attitude, so much style. This game really peaked the characters general coolness in my opinion. 

These are some of my favorite tracks c:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neN6N5tKTTU

&

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnTeauB2E50 I'm having problems inserting the video via URL, I keep getting broken images ):

Look at how cool the soundtrack's art is

So cool.

So uh yeah. I love Sonic Rush. I really do. I'm always keeping my fingers crossed for Rush 3. Colors DS is not Rush 3. At all.

I hope there are others out there who enjoy this game as much as me. Keep it real, and happy 10th ✌

This topic may get overshadowed by the Shadow 10th anniversary topic. 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 15, 2015 by monkokaio

[Indigo Rush]

I enjoy Sonic Rush up to a point... and that point is Altitude Limit. I can only handle so many cheap bottomless pit deaths.

Otherwise, Sonic Rush is a really fantastic game. It has a great sense of speed and flow, usually handling platforming obstacles in a well-thought out manner (sans later levels, as noted), and has a really addictive trick-tension-boost mechanic that is incredibly satisfying to unleash throughout the levels.

It also introduced Blaze, one of the best characters to be introduced in recent memory. Not a huge fan of Eggman Nega, however. 

The story itself isn't anything I'd call above "acceptable," however that being the case, being pinned alongside Shadow the Hedgehog's over-complicated and melodramatic narrative, Sonic Rush's simplicity is it's strength. The main plot is focusing on Blaze opening up and trusting others... and some bits about a catastrophic clash of different dimensions... but that aside, it's a standard Sonic story with an appropriate "friendship is a good thing" theme. I'm just saying, for a series that's ultimately targeted towards kids and teens, we could have gotten a lot worse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5HMl7oqWHE

And last but not least, the music is absolutely wonderful to listen to. I would love another Sonic game to match that style once again. It's criminal that it's never really gained prominence in the series. Up until that point, it's largely been rock. It was a fantastic change in tone, and it fit the Sonic universe surprisingly well.

In the end, Sonic Rush, despite it's cheap difficulty, is one of the better Sonic games out there. I think it's criminally overlooked, and deserves far more spotlight than Shadow the Hedgehog on their 10th birthdays. 

[FriendBot]

Meh....

I don't really like Rush, it's a decent game but I don't find myself being all that enticed by it outside of its music. The level design in Leaf Storm and Water Palace are nice but it quickly began to drop at Mirage Road, afterwards the design felt pretty mediocre and uneventful. There's also its fair share of bullshit moments as soon as the first zone and boss, with their fair share of insta-kill sections with little warning. Dick move, Dimps.

The bosses are pretty boring too, not a big fan of the wait'n'hit type of bosses. It is visually nice and the music is definitely one of my favorite soundtracks in the series, Naganuma killed it here!

The story is ok, I guess. Blaze is a good character and her development in the story and her interaction with Cream are pretty great but outside of that, it's kind of boring.

It's probably one of my least favorite Sonic games.

[Spin Attaxx]

Sonic Rush is something I both like and dislike. While I don't find the boost2win gameplay to be bad or anything, something about it doesn't feel as fun as the Mega Drive games for some reason. I think it's because platforming's more or less treated like an afterthought compared to rocketing ahead in one line. Story's harmless, and I like Blaze a lot, so it gets points for that, even if I'm generally not a fan of Cream. The music's good, but I'd hardly call it the greatest Sonic OST.

The bosses, however, can go suck all the dicks. It's bitterly ironic that in a game that asks you to go at non-stop high speeds for 90% of it, the bosses are treated as slow, plodding affairs that ask, nay, demand you to wait lengthy periods of time for their arbitrary window of vulnerability. If the old way of smashing on them whenever was sacrificed for "OH MAN 3D MODELS LOOK HOW FANCY WE ARE", then that's just even worse. I don't find the level design too awful, but it's definitely dickish.

And finally, Eggman Nega is the single worst character this franchise has produced. There are very few characters in fiction who draw actual hatred from me, and the Walking Monument to Creative Sterility is one of them.

So there's my two cents.

[Rey Skywalker-Ren]

Sonic Rush is to me better then the Advance games and its alot faster to. I like the special stages alot and same with the music. I am not a big fan of Blaze or the shipping either. I really liked Sonic in this game.

[DaddlerTheDalek]

This game introduced possibly the coolest new character, Blaze. She's tough, strong, independent, cute, and very capable. Cream being almost forced onto her story to get her to open up was pretty neat, I thought. Taking a shy and reserved character and pairing them up with the sweetest and most innocent. It's kind of funny, but it worked really well.

10th Anniversary of Blaze the Cat in the Sonic universe. I like her. She's cool.

[Enesephus]

I think Sonic Rush is good. The cheapness in its level design holds it back from true greatness, but I certainly do enjoy it. The boost and trick system is fun, the graphics are really nice, and it easily has one of the absolute best tracks in a Sonic game. There's not much I can really say about this game that hasn't been said dozens of times before.

I do want to say something about Blaze, though. Many people call her one of the best characters the Sonic series has introduced since Metal Sonic/Knuckles/Shadow/etc., but I've only ever been able to see her as okay. She's not a bad character, and I do like her voice and design if nothing else, but it just seems like, personality-wise, she doesn't really bring anything new to the table. She feels like a cross between Knuckles and Shadow, but not as interesting. I don't know, she always just kind of struck me as the perfect example of one of those "unnecessary friends" everyone is always going on about.

[TCB]

I remember the first time I played Rush; it was a Christmas present in 2005, when my brother and I were visiting our grandparents in the Caribbean. It was that and Pokemon Dash. It wasn't much, but it satisfied our Sonic fandom...ness(?) for months afterward. 

[Tara]

Since it came out on the same day, I got this game as a birthday present the same year as Shadow the Hedgehog, and so it was sort of a weird birthday for me.  On the one hand, I was not unexpectedly disappointed at Shadow the Hedgehog, but I thoroughly enjoyed Sonic Rush at the time and several years after.  I haven't played Sonic Rush in awhile, but I think I'd still enjoy it today, albeit I'd be more aware of its flaws, probably.

The game introduced Blaze, who is one of my favorite characters now.  She's extremely well-rounded and probably has the most visible character development since Tails in SA1.  She starts out a hardened recluse of sorts in the beginning, but is changed gradually over the course of the game into a slightly more sociable character and more willing to open up and put her trust in other people.  The next time we see her in the sequel, Sonic Rush Adventure (and yes, I'm skipping '06), she retains that development.  But in addition to introducing a great character, the game has probably the best characterization for Cream, who up until this point (and largely afterward) suffered from relatively flat characterization, even in her debut title.  So it was nice to see her treated with a bit more respect and care in this game.

The last time I played Rush was after I finished Sonic 4 Episode I, because I needed to compare.  The two are apparently on the same engine and have the same physics, but there's something about Sonic Rush that just doesn't bother me about the physics the same way Sonic 4 did.  I think it might be because the level design actually works well with the mechanics of that game, whereas I felt Sonic 4 constantly had a level design that tried to get you to do something that you could not feasibly do with the game's physics.  Either way, the games don't feel the same to me, even if you go for an no-boost run in Rush.

I might give the game a play again when I get the chance to see how I still like it.  It was a pleasant experience that definitely made up for my other video game-related disappointments that year, and became my go-to handheld Sonic experience for quite some time.

[Moppsy]

Got it for Christmas as one of the first games for the original DS along with Advance Wars DS.  I had so much fun with the game and found Blaze to be fun and really liked her story even if it wasn't anything groundbreaking.  Coming off from the Advance Trilogy, I noticed it was a little different with the way the level would appear on both the top and bottom screen, making it disorientating at first but I got used to it.  The boosting was fun and the way the levels were handled it all felt smooth.  Overall, I'm glad I played it and it's up there as one of the better Sonic games and especially so around the 2005/06 era of games. 

[FantasticMrRobb]

I kind of like rush, but I also kind of don't. Indigo makes a great point with the bottomless pits, I've been stuck on one level for some time because I can't seem to pass them up. Then again, 2D Sonic games have never really been my strong point. I'm still trying to beat it and nab all the Chaos Emeralds, but it's testing my patience a bit.

[Lord-Dreamerz]

Happy 10th Anniversary to Sonic-Rush indeed!

Was almost surprising to hear that Sonic-Rush & Blaze are already 10 years old today.

Now it may seem bit strange… because Blaze is 1 of my personal top favorite Sonic series characters ever!… but I’ve never actually bothered yet to play the rush games… or even any game she has been playable in besides Sonic-Runners far as I can remember. And now whenever I think about doing it… the outdated 3D graphics somewhat are off-putting to me.

Makes me wish that SEGA did remakes sometimes of their more successful Sonic games. How cool would a Sonic-Rush HD remake be huh? …Won’t happen, regardless I am just saying. =P

I have watched the game couple times on youtube awhile back, it seems cool & fun overall… while also at the same time is a bit to basic & simple for my tastes… I like more variety of gameplay personally,  but for a simple game it’s not bad. Sonic-Rush I believe was the game to really strongly start the whole boost trend, the idea was based on a boost skill from the advance games first  if I remember correctly.

Moving on to Blaze herself. I have to give the creators a big thumps up for creating her.

And well… I’ll just say she is way past cool! I'll skip over most of everything why exactly I like about her… as that could take me ages to talk about! Yohohoo ho!... And I dono about everybody else I can't help but to just gawk at her absolutely adorable design in amazement almost every time I see her.

 

PS: … I’m still kinda convinced the true reason she crossed dimensions and showed up at Sonic’s birthday party on Sonic-Generations was secretly because she just wanted some cake… xD

[Bolt]

I like Rush alright, but I think I like the music and Blaze herself far more than the whole game, I was never able to beat it legit, and I just wasn't very good at it. In contrast, I much prefer it's sequel and found it way more fun, I actually beat it (mostly) and had fun the whole way with the story. I prefer Shadow's game over both of them, but Blaze is my favorite female Sonic character, so there's that.

I wouldn't mind playing it again, but never before have I truly believed in 'cheap deaths' in Sonic games before Rush.

[Your Vest Friend]

Sonic Rush I think is mediocre and at times outright dickish, but at least I liked its sequel. Don't particularly like Blaze at all, definitely not a fan of Eggman Nega. But the soundtrack is great, happy 10th anniversary to that music.

[SuperAj3]

One of my all time favourite DS games, if not for adding Blaze (whom I love as a character) it also had the single greatest soundtrack out of all the Sonic games. A new day is the best theme song of all time, hands down. (And it's so catchy and upbeat I loved it!)

[Chris Knopps]

Gonna be honest, I really wish the boost would have stayed in handheld/2D titles as it always seemed like a far superior game play FOR the handheld/2D titles. I'd always wished console/3D games would have kept the game play in the Adventure titles and EVOLVED the mach speed from 06, as it appears Lost World gave a shot at in a way.

 

I love the first Sonic Rush to death for sure and is definitely one of the best highlights of this franchise, personal opinion though I suppose. I wish we could go back to having 2D games and/or handhelds evolving the boost game play while 3D games and/or consoles evolved what we had in SA-06 as I feel the boost being in console games really killed the thrill going fast gave you after two titles.

 

I like to go so fast it can kill Sonic as we saw in 06 because it shows how risky it is. Him going fast without punishment is boring save for traps/spikes which is part of what I think made the boost a bore in the end as well.