Sonic games you WANT to love/like

[Rey Skywalker-Ren]

I have wrote a status about it but I wanted it to be in topic form. Like the title says, is there any Sonic games you want to like but you just can't get into it?

With me, it is Sonic 2. Everyone loves Sonic 2 and considers it to be a good game. I know that Sonic 2 is a great game with awesome physics and good gameplay. I don't like it. I consider it to be the most frustrating of the classics. Why? Because for one, the level design is cheap and most of the badnik places are pretty dumb and two, the soundtrack is rather forgettable sans a few tracks. I perfer Sonic 1 because of how nice the levels are and how I can earn my speed. But I do acknowledge that Sonic 2 is a good game.

How about you?

[Ripe]

Sonic Colours

Game that so many people seemed to claim was the Sonic return to greatness. But I just can't like it. But let's start with the positives. Soundtrack is great and game looks nice for Wii game. And story was entertaining even if it started the current trend of trying to be funny without substance. And sometimes I have fun with gameplay, sometimes. Where to start with the negatives? First of all, the level design. It's fine but to me it was just unimpressive mostly because the 3D mostly consisted "hold forward to win" (although there were some exceptions to that). 2D platforming worked even if the jumping was not that good but again, not that impressive. And I think that 6-7 acts per zone is just too much. I would have preferred to have 2-3 acts and longer stages (some stages were just too short in my opinion). And bosses. Four of them (three which are recycled) and they range from pathetic to easy. That is the whole trend of the game. I usually don't complain about if the game is easy but I think this game is just too easy and short. Of course you could get more playtime by collecting RSRs and S-ranks but those require using Wisps and I think I have made it clear what I think about those.

Other thing I have never mentioned is the lack of boost. I have said that I prefer getting speed as a reward but I don't really consider getting Wisps from capsels as a reward for skills. And because of there isn't that much boost 3D just feels so much more bland because it was designed for boost, especially because there is no spindash. And this is just me but why I can sidestep and drift only when game wants me to do it? I guess I was just spoiled by Generations which is superior in every way except in story.

[ThePrinceOfSaiyans]

Well, I want to love Sonic Heroes, but as I've mentioned several times, the tedium of playing every story to get the true ending is my biggest problem with it. I feel as long as you've collected all 7 Chaos Emeralds, you should be able to play the last story. Beyond that, the game is very buggy, something I only realized in my most recent playthrough. Seriously, being flung off scripted sequences isn't my idea of a good time, and the switching between rails is just bugged to hell. Other than those problems, the game is generally fun. Switching between flight, power, and speed characters makes for a very interesting game, and it just sucks that I don't like it as much as I feel I should. 

[Little T]

As soon as I read the topic title, I immediately thought 'Sonic Heroes'. I love the aesthetic a lot, it's one of most Classic Sonic looking 3-D  games out there since the redesigns, and every time I play it, I can't not smile at the colours and stage ideas. I also enjoy the soundtrack and the fact that the Chaotix were brought back. What lets it down for me is the gameplay. The team gimmick is pretty fun for the most part, but all the levels are really linear and over stay their welcome to the point where I can only tolerate them as Team Rose. The speed characters are incredibly slippery and best to avoid using when possible. Worst of all for me is that there is little variation in the gameplay, unlike the Adventure games. Nearly every team is the same game again but with the long stages getting gradually more drawn out and frustrating for each Team. The only Team that tries to be different is Chaotix, and while some of the missions are fun, they're mostly 'loop around this huge, straight map for ages finding item x', or just 'complete the stage normally like you would for any other team'.

I can never bring myself to say 'I hate Sonic Heroes' though, because it's got some good ideas in there, and I like the look and feel too much. It's just unfortunate that everytime I think of it fondly for these reasons, I load it and then go 'Oh yeah, this is why I don't play Sonic Heroes'.

This has got to be the first time I've posted any lengthy Sonic discussion in a while

[Semi-colon e]

I can't think of any tbh. Most games I like despite their flaws (or being outright terrible), but it's more that I'd rather aspects be changed than simply me "like it more". I either like a game, love a game, or don't care for it. I will say that Unleashed is the game that I simply "don't get", though. I get that it has it's great points but I feel that the negatives hinder it way too much for me to truly enjoy with the exception of the Day stages (and Eggmanland), and it's aesthetic design.

[azoo]

I want to love Colors and Generations, but neither give enough content to last very long, such as how few worthwhile levels there are (the extra acts in Colors and the mission levels in Generations aren't very fun) and how short and uninteresting the stories are. Plus, they're almost too easy (especially Generations), and sometimes just tedious (especially Colors).

Also giving it up to Sonic Adventure 2, but for different reasons. Sonic and Shadow's levels are lots of fun, the Chao Gardens are wonderful, Knuckles and Rouge are almost fun to play as, the soundtrack is pretty kicking and the story ain't half bad either, even if the sci-fi action movie approach is a little odd. But Tails / Eggman's stages are a total chore, the plot has holes, Knuckles / Rouge's stages have that emerald hunting limitation that makes their gameplay way more frustrating than it should be, and Sonic / Shadow's stages are a little too linear for my tastes, as well as a bit on the squirrely side in regards to controls.

However, those games just end up being ones I simply like and not love, so liking them well enough is okay with me too I guess.

Meanwhile I want to like Heroes and Lost World. Heroes has gorgeous levels with really cool concepts and amazing music, while Lost World has the idea to give Sonic parkour, plus the revival of Spindashing and that old-school Sega Saturn kind of aesthetic.. but both play so terribly and give me so little reason to care about what I'm playing, and every time I go towards them wishing that they give me some amount of fun, they never do. 

[Crash]

Sonic Adventure 2

The Sonic and Shadow levels are great and the soundtrack is one of my favourites in the entire series. However, I can't find much enjoyment from the rest of the game. The mech stages are really, really boring to me and I find absolutely no enjoyment from them and some of them drag on for far too long in my opinion. I don't hate the treasure hunting stages too much, I think the Knuckles levels are fun and they don't take too long to finish. The Rouge levels aren't that great to me though. I do enjoy some of the stages such as Dry Lagoon and Security Hall but the rest feel like they go on for far too long.

The other thing that stops me from enjoying this game is the story. I personally much prefer Sonic stories that are more lighthearted which is why Unleashed and Heroes are more enjoyable stories to me. The story in SA2 tries to take itself seriously yet has a scene where the moon gets destroyed. Half of my problem with SA2's story is that it wants you to take it seriously yet has more cartoony moments that seem out of place.

Another part of the game I don't understand the love for is the Chao Garden. I like playing Sonic games to go fast with some platforming. The Chao Garden is a lot more slower paced and whilst I know some people love raising chao and breeding them to create even cooler Chao, I just couldn't enjoy it very much.

Overall, Sonic Adventure 2 is a game that I really do want to enjoy. Lots of people hold in high regard but I've never understood the praise for it.

[Speeps]

I said this in the status but I'll say it again - Sonic Shuffle.

I like the idea of a Sonic party game but there's so many flaws in the game that it's just... awkward to play a lot of the time. You have to land exactly on any space you want to go to, including the preciousstone (Star) spaces, which can make things really bad when you're constantly fishing through the decks of your opponents to find the 2 card or so that you need to reach the space.

Another thing that I don't like about Shuffle is that the AI doesn't have boundaries when it comes to what cards they should be able to see and what cards they shouldn't be able to. As an example, I once saw Tails needing an S card to get a 7 in order to reach a preciousstone space.  He managed to steal the card from Knuckles and get the 7 in the roulette (Although, that part is easy). You're at a huge disadvantage when it comes to moving around the board, because your own cards drain faster than you expect them to and they only reappear after everyone's cards are out.

There isn't much to complain about in the minigames. They're fine for the most part because I mean even Mario Party has those shitty "pick a choice and hope it isn't the one that blows your ass up" minigames. I don't like how they can take away your rings though.

The only problem I have with the story is that it tends to center around Sonic a lot. The only places where the other characters get more than reactionary one-liners seem to be in the post-map scenes with void. Otherwise, it's mostly Sonic and Lumina doing the talking even if Sonic consistently comes out as the shittiest player on every board. I find it hilarious Void's voice is basically Evil Omochao, though.

A lot of the preciousstone placement is bad (The very first one in the game is 10 spaces away from where you start, meaning you've got no chance against Sonic if his turn is early enough and he uses his special ability (charge a spindash one turn to get 2x the movement from a card on the next) on a 5 card. Furthermore, seeing as Tails, Knuckles and Amy are the only other characters you can play as in Story mode, it kinda sucks that their only ability is "You can move across *Space name here*". I mean, Big and Gamma have better specials and they're not even playable for the story.

There's also no way to skip events and battle minigames. These are done by only one character and if it's a CPU player you're basically just made to sit there and watch. At least in Mario Party (3 at least) you were given the option to skip all CPU-only minigames. This is a problem considering how many battle and event spaces there are on the maps, with it pretty much guaranteeing that at least one of the CPUs will land on such a space every turn.

But anyway, I want to love this game because there's some really funny things that can come out of it:

Spoiler

(this one is kinda creepy if you ask me though)

oh and corey bringas trying to voice tails while hitting puberty is insanely funny to me,

[Angie]

Anything pre-Sonic Adventure... I really just get bored with 2D platforming and always get disappointed when Sonic games try to revisit that style. The gameplay itself and the lack of story make the game seem stale to me, but that might have to do with the lack of character variety in those games. I like the idea of these games and I also like a lot of the design aspects, but it just doesn't cut it for me! ^.^

[Regulus]

The only Sonic game I want to like and didn't get any enjoyment out of was Unleashed. Colours was such a massive improvement over Unleashed that the whole game seems redundant to me, with its awful button placement in the Daytime Stages. Of course Generations improved upon Colours. I've heard some people say the story was good, but the horrendous cutscenes and Chip were the main reasons I gave up on the game. That and the really bad Werehog stages which are (and I'm not exaggerating) exactly the same mechanically as God of War 1 but worse in every conceivable way. 

I'll never understand the Unleashed appreciation.

It did have good music, graphics and a nice art style though. I'll give it that.

[WakanoBaka]

I love all Sonic games....

...except Colors

Unlike Regulus up there, I think the opposite.

It's not a bad game...it's just....not a good Sonic game...AT ALL.

A simple ass story, with stupid jokes. /It replaced my fav voice cast, but I'm glad it replaced them, because if the 4kids group had acted in this game, I'd shun them.

The game is shit slow, and is a 2D game with 3D sections, the Drill Wisp is one of my least favorite Wisp, in the NDS version that is. The graphics, music, and overall voice acting is good, but they don't save this game from being the WORSE example of a "3D" Sonic game. Lost World does a better job, at least I can run for over a minute without hitting a blasted wall.

[Failinhearts]

Sonic and the Secret Rings.

There's just so much potential and I was very hyped for this game. I liked the party mode, I adore the music, the story was alright and I had fun with the first mission...

But soon it all started to fall apart with missions that doesn't compliment the control scheme. I couldn't stand it, and it sucks that I can't stand it. If only I had the option to use a controller that wasn't a Wiimote and maybe I could actually like this game.

[Tornado]

Chaotix is a visually stunning, artistically expressive game that (based on the developer credits) seems to have been a labor of love by everyone involved with the classic Sonic games who weren't able to follow Naka and Yasuhara when they went to the United States to continue the franchise proper. It was probably the closest the 32X ever came to justifying its existence in terms of capabilities, if not market position; leading to a "Sonic" game far above and beyond anything that could have been done before.

 

 

So it's such a shame that it's so awful to play.

[Nepenthe]

I was just going to copy Azoo on Colors and Gens, but my feelings towards the two games aren't equivalent. Specifically, I want to like Colors (well, to be even more honest I'm so apathetic to it that I don't feel like trying to actively like it) and I want to love Generations.

Colors was coming off the heels of Unleashed with a big hullabaloo being made over the new writers, voice actors, and the gimmick of having access to exploratory power-ups in stages completely under Eggman's supervision, Coupled with the not-too-subtle Galaxy comparisons going on at the time, I expected better and more involving level design than what we ultimately got. Hell, I expected better everything than what we got- a better sense of speed, a better, more context driven utilization of the Wisps, a better attempt at making the worlds feel alive, a better story. This game doesn't really excel at anything other than not having some wacky gameplay design decision, and of making Sonic more outwardly entertaining (this is the best rendition of Sonic P&G have managed to crank out). But the acclaim it got in the fandom to the point that we basically chased off a member who had the audacity of merely saying it wasn't as good as people were saying it was was the final nail in the coffin for Colors for me. My overall feeling towards the game after all was said and done is just a grey mush of apathy.

However, it did give me a general idea in turn of what to expect with Gens besides the hype of it being a giant compilation, which is basically that Sonic Team were going to keep running in the direction of stripping out context necessary for developing the game for the sake of consistency of game design. Less plot, less reason for any of the gameplay decisions to exist, less reasonable use of characters, less difficulty, just less of everything, all strung along with the excuse that none of it was canon anyway so it didn't really matter much how little they did. What saves this game from being relegated to the forgettable pile is that it gets Boost gameplay significantly right- something Colors couldn't even manage- and it has some memorable levels on account of some of them being remixed from better games. You can't fuck up a remake of Chemical Plant Zone or Sky Sanctuary, and it redeemed Crisis City by way of simply not being Sonic 06 levels of bad. Because I had some bright moments of actually playing the game when I first got Generations, it's one I wish I could just embrace in its entirety. Alas, it's sitting in my shelf after having been beat only once.

[TheOcelot]

Sonic Lost World.

I liked the idea of moving away from boost gameplay and trying something new. The 3d cylinder Super Mario Galaxy 2 inspired levels are probably the best stages. The concept of parkour is cool and I would like to see it improved on, but I struggle to like SLW because the basic control are awful. The parkour controls are okay, a bit confusing perhaps-not well explained, but the jump/double jump, walk/run buttons and momentum-less physics are an utter mess and constantly clash with the stage design. Rending a lot of the 3d stages and all of the 2d stages a nightmare due to there being little to no fluidity.

First time I played SLW (I got all red star rings) I must have lost over 500 lives purely because I had no confidence in the controls and it feels like you are fighting them instead of trying to make it through the stages. Add to this there being so many different types of stages with unique gimmicks and unorthodox design, makes this game a chore especially in the later stages.

[Bowbowis]

Sonic and the Secret Rings. The game looks great, the soundtrack is awesome, the characterization is almost perfect, the story is good  even if it did kind of start the whole "checklist plot" that every other game since '06 (except for Sonic and the Black Knight, ironically enough) has fallen into using. Unfortunately the game is a chore to play, the auto-running was a terrible idea, especially with everything being motion controlled (I still have no idea how rail switching is supposed to work), and the charged jump and sliding brake mechanics only make it ten times more frustrating. Put all of that on top of level design which often calls for precise movement and you've got a recipe for disaster.

At least the multiplayer mode was kind of fun, even if it was just a poor man's Mario Party (it's the one point Secret Rings has over Black Knight).

[Dejimon11]

A game that I want to like

 

Sonic Heroes

 

So I finally got the chance to play this game last year and I have to say…it’s a game. It has some good stuff in it. I like how colorful the levels are, I like the fact the music and the fact that you can play as Sonic, Tails and Knuckles at the same time is brilliant. But holy crap this game is the very definition of monotonous. The level design is lame, choosing between the 3 classes feels like picking your poison. The enemies having health bars in annoying and the fact that this was the game that started it is what makes me dislike it. Despite being far into the game the game still tells you which character you should be which is dumb. The fact that you have to beat the game with all four teams just to unlock the final the last story is one big chore since you’re playing the same 4 levels year differences here and there(especially with team chaotix urgh) and the method of getting the chaos emeralds is terrible and the special stages themselves are arguably the worst type of controls and physics I have ever experienced in a Sonic game. What we’re they thinking in this game. It’s not a bad game just a pretty mediocre one since it had so much potential to be great. Another reason why I’m not found of this game is that I am so sick of this game being referenced in the spinoffs like what is SEGA/Sonic Team's fascination with this game especially with seaside hill. 

 

 

As for a game that I really want to love it’s Sonic and All Stars Racing Transformed

 

Now let me just set the record straight I’m a guy who loves kart racing games to death. I love Mario Kart, I loved Crash Team racing and I enjoyed the first one. Yeah I’ll be honest this game has a lot good stuff going for it at it’s core but man I have so much beef with it. For starters the game is too hard for it’s own good. Don’t get me wrong I love a challenge but I honestly feel cheated in my races in the hardest difficulty. Like for starters if I use an item on my opponent they just quickly come back on a dime but I get hit it’s harder for me to recover I just wish that there was a balance. And I like the mission mode in this game but holy crap unlocking everything in the game feels like a chore and makes me feel like I’m not having fun with the game anymore. And even if I do unlock a character I have to level them up and unlock their stats. I wish it was like the first game where the more I race I get SEGA Miles which was my currency and I can use it to unlock a character.  Also while I do appreciate the fact that the game has a battle mode and more verity I really don’t think the control scheme for the game was built for it in mind. It just felt like it was tacked on just because. I only remember a handful of the games music and I think most of them are forgettable. There are some other problems I have with the game but I think they come off as nitpicking so yeah sorry.

[Rey Skywalker-Ren]

I also want to talk about Sonic 4 Episode 2.

I wish I liked that game as everyone does say its better than Episode 1, however, I find it to be worse. To me, it is nowhere near as enjoyable as Episode 1. For one, the physics are worse in this game, Sonic when spindashing stops at a complete hault withen 10 cm of where he is standing and the rolling was never fixed. The only thing good from that was he didn't uncurl. Another thing is Tails. When I have to be forced to use him as a wisp, things do go bad. It breaks the pace of the game and the flying controls aren't very good either. 

The level design to me is boring. Yes there are some nice looking levels but it's not enough to keep me engaged and want to play them again. The levels are also rather blocky and does't allow for much speedruns. However, getting the chance to play as Metal Sonic was cool.

[TCB]

WhenWhen it comes to how I enjoy games, more specifically in Sonic, is the gameplay first with story and such second bridging it together. When I don't enjoy the gameplay as much as I hoped then other aspects doesn't flow together well for me.

Both Storybook games are this for me essentially. Their stories are arguably good (for this series standards anyway) and the characterization for certain characters has been noted to be a high point for the game, I just I cant gel with it more to care. If anything if this characterization was noticed more outside of a spin-off then I'll come to appreciate it more. And i think thast ehat bugs me the most in regards to that aspect. Going back to the gameplay and it brought the whole experience down and made it a slog for me to get through. It's especially true in Secret Rings with its auto running talored control scheme. But hey at least they looked good for their time.

Sonic 2 is another game I want to really like, but in recent years is feeling like it just bored me to play. Level design encourages gaining speed but the enemy placement is a drawback to that. Plus I can near always get bored playing once I reach Aquatic Ruin and I don't know exactly why. Also seeing how I really jumped into 2 with the Taxman version and I'm not feeling the touchscreen pad controls for the game. 

And by GOD I wanted to like Lost World 3DS. For the most part I did....up to Desert Ruins. After that the level design takes a nose dive in the worst way. Some Wisp controls are awful and the Highway In The Sky design of the game in the later half is annoying. AND screw Frozen Factory. You know that one level. One of the worst levels in any Sonic game I played. Plus the Special Stages suck. People call the Heroes one bad (yes I actually like and enjoy Heroes' certainly in the minority here on that) but at least they were redeemed somewhat in Dimperations. The gyroscope controls for them in LW3DS are way too loose and difficult to control.

[Wraith]

Sonic CD.

Gorgeous visuals. Amazing soundtrack no matter WHICH version you're playing. The whole time travelling gimmick ties into the themes of the game and the series at large PERFECTLY and paints the consequences of Eggman's victory so well that he feels like more of a threat without that being forced. The intro and ending are the best cutscenes in the entire series and features the best design Sonic has ever had. Peresentation wise, it's damn near perfect.

So, uh, the actual game then. 

The level design doesn't work to me no matter what angle I approach it from. I try and speed through it and just get tossed around by unseen obstacles and springs. People say the game is supposed to encourage exploration more than the other Sonic games, but there's not really a whole lot to find aside from the robot generator thing. The level design is mostly a mess of gimmicks that isn't worthwhile to spend much time with. Add in the bosses all being kind of terrible even by this series's standards and I just wish this game could get a do over, so I could like it.

This also applies to Sonic Unleashed, to a lesser extent. I LIKE that game, but I feel like I should love it, since it does actually do a lot of things right. There's just so much fucking shit wrong with it that shouldn't be wrong with it though. I'm surprised how many people can put all of the performance and pacing issues aside. If they actually polished up the game we could be looking at the best Sonic game, but as it is it's just a mix bag. I guess that kind of applies to every Sonic game, but Unleashed is different from Sonic 06 and SA2 and the like in that the direction actually fucking makes sense for the series unlike whatever fucked up shit they were trying before. It just misses the mark for stupid reasons

 

 

 

[Hyp3hat]

Really strongly agree with Wraith about Sonic CD - the sheer difficulty involved in getting the time travel mechanic to work drives me nuts. The shittiest thing about it is the signs disappearing if you fail to time travel successfully. 

That, and for some reason I really really hate Sonic's jump sound. 

Lost World is another one I wanted to like, but for some reason it just didn't stick. I'm going to give it another shot when I have a computer that can run it properly, but I got halfway through and the controls for the parkour are just straight up baffling (how do you wall run in a way that isn't a total crapshoot?), ice levels can suck it, and the Deadly Six are the worst antagonists ever. But it had some promise.

[GamerGirl54321]

All of the classics. Practically everyone loves them, but I really don't like the 2D gameplay. It's not that I hate 2D, it's that it just seems weird for Sonic. Granted, '06 was my first Sonic game, but still.

[Tornado]

Yeah, Sonic CD is pretty balls. Only reason it didn't get the nod from me is because Chaotix is, if anything, even more auteuristic than CD (other than "No Sonic or Tails allowed," it didn't seem like Sega really cared what the team did with it), and CD actually got releases that were enjoyable to play.

[Haalyle]

Sonic Unleashed. I want to love it... but there are so many things stopping me from doing so. Chip, day time stages, homing attack in the boost button, repetitive battle music, terrible platforming. A lot of things put me away from that game and I'm afraid I just can't like it like everyone else.

Sonic CD. I don't like the music, I don't like the game play and I don't like the levels. I really want to like that game... but I just can't.

Sonic 3 & Knuckles. I've tried playing it with just Tails and I didn't mind it, but with Sonic or Knuckles, I just can't.

[Rey Skywalker-Ren]

My problem with Sonic 3 and Knuckles is it's level design. It's very boring and they all drag. In fact the game itself drags.