Sonic Colors: Ultimate - Announcement Trailer

[Jango]

Man, I'm only noticing the eyes and mouth issues now, that looks so weird, are we sure this isn't Metal Sonic? XD Geez, how I wish Sonic was better animated in-game than the blue stick we get every time, hell, in Forces he doesn't even bounce while running.

[Sonikko]

Tropical Resort still looks terrible, the lighting is kinda broken in some scenes in Planet Wisp as well, very noticeable in this shot:

The shadows on the water are missing.

Given that the game does look marginally better than the original footage, *maybe* they still have a chance to fix some of these glaring issues, but I'm not a fan of the "art direction" in the first place, it's really messing with the original visuals :/.

This is really gonna be a tradeoff kind of deal, you either pick Ultimate for 60fps and higher poly geometry, some enhanced visuals in selected scenarios, or you emulate the game on Dolphin for 60fps and cohesive art direction, or just play it on original hardware.

 

EDIT:
Some of the geometry in Tropical Resort was updated as well, easier to see in the results screen

EDIT2: In the original game, there's what I assume is alien writing on those circular things, does anybody recognize the language on the left instead? Does it actually exist lol

[Wraith]

These changes seem way too ambitious for how little they ended up positively affecting the final product.

[Soniman]

19 minutes ago, Sonikko said:

In the original game, there's what I assume is alien writing on those circular things, does anybody recognize the language on the left instead? Does it actually exist lol

Probably just designs frills I highly doubt Eggman would have alien writing on a area he himself built. 

But yeah I already accepted this game won't look as good as the original, this will just always be a thing with Sonic 3D remasters I guess no matter how much time passes. Still it mostly looks tolerable for me so I'm not discouraged playing it, just wish they gave a shit more about what they were doing.

Tropical Resort still looks like arse though 

[Blue Blood]

Wii:

PS4/XB1:

I appreciate that they've made certain objects glow like actual lights, but holy hell is Tropical Resort looking all kinds of bad right now. It's so dark. The entire level is cast in shadow. The vibrant colours are not only washed out, but they're darkened too. It's like the contrast has been turned up to 11.

Seriously, what the fuck? If we're to believe that this was supposed to be released in 2020, God knows how bad it must have been back then.

[Soniman]

It's so god damn hideous it breaks my heart seeing how much I they utterly ruined such a warm looking stage making it into this overly saturated nightmare. Like why is the road lit but the sides completely cast in shadow, why is the neon do obnoxiously lit up but not actually projecting any natural light it's just a garish glow of the signs in complete darkness GOD.

The visual faux paus are positively minuscule by comparison for the other stages 

[Slashy]

What might be SEGA's takeaway if Sonic Colors Ultimate gets poor critic and user review scores?

[Jango]

2 minutes ago, Slashy said:

What might be SEGA's takeaway if Sonic Colors Ultimate gets poor critic and user review scores?

Do it all over again.

[Iko]

7 minutes ago, Slashy said:

What might be SEGA's takeaway if Sonic Colors Ultimate gets poor critic and user review scores?

"Colors is the perfect modern Sonic game, if it gets bad reviews it means that people don't like the modern gameplay style anymore, and we can't go back to classic because classic is the past, so... since sometimes kids steal their parents' credit card and spend thousands of dollars (or wathever currency) into microtransactions, from now on we'll focus on freemium mobile gaming alone, because that one makes profit!"

[VO.SUPER]

Poor reviews? I expect slightly lukewarm in places, but not outright poor. Colours is still a good enough game and this port seriously isn't going to damage its mainstream appeal in the long run. 

If Mario 3D All Stars couldn't be damaged by lackluster ports of popular games, I doubt one of the most popular mainstream Sonic  games will be raked cross the coals.  

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

Yeah, unless the port is actively broken, critics don't often dog the likes of such.

[Jango]

Asteroid Coaster, should be dark and gritty = is bright as fuck.

Tropical Resort, should be bright and colorfull = is dark as fuck.

I think they really are Blind Squirrel after all. Sonic Colors Ultimately Better on Dolphin.

[Mega]

I wonder if there's any way to push for changes before the final release. Maybe a delay?

[Wraith]

if they delay it far enough out they can certainly fix it, but this game is already a year behind schedule so I don't see it happening

[VO.SUPER]

More gameplay of Planet Wisp

[Soniman]

Music is the same as the original here sooo either it's a toggle or the new tracks play in specific stages. There's six acts per world so it wouldn't be crazy to assume half play the new tracks and the other half play the old versions

Also pointing out one thing I liked about the original was at the beginning where that beautiful daylight glare shines once you exist the factory tunnel at the beginning is completely absent here, because of course it is lmao 

[VO.SUPER]

9 minutes ago, Soniman said:

Also pointing out one thing I liked about the original was at the beginning where that beautiful daylight glare shines once you exist the factory tunnel at the beginning is completely absent here, because of course it is lmao 

The glare is still there, but it disappears asap.

[Blue Blood]

Planet Wisp looks mostly fine, but the flat 2D textures being used for the background in certain places looks really naff here. Like everything to the left of Sonic in this screenshot:

Looks fine on a 480p Wii game from 2010, but dreadful on a 1080p or 4K PS4/XB1/PC game in 2021, even if it's just a Wii remaster.

[VO.SUPER]

6 minutes ago, Blue Blood said:

Planet Wisp looks mostly fine, but the flat 2D textures being used for the background in certain places looks really naff here. Like everything to the left of Sonic in this screenshot:

Looks fine on a 480p Wii game from 2010, but dreadful on a 1080p or 4K PS4/XB1/PC game in 2021, even if it's just a Wii remaster.

That's where the resources definitely needed to go versus trying to revamp the lighting. The fact all the 2D elements are still around in the background, and are clearer than ever just makes them stand out more. Hell, planet Wisp looks fine as is, if they put their effort to cleaning up all those 2D assests it'd make for a better overall product.

[Blue Blood]

14 minutes ago, VisionaryofSUPER said:

That's where the resources definitely needed to go versus trying to revamp the lighting. The fact all the 2D elements are still around in the background, and are clearer than ever just makes them stand out more. Hell, planet Wisp looks fine as is, if they put their effort to cleaning up all those 2D assests it'd make for a better overall product.

The lighting in PW still doesn't look great, to tell you the truth. Effects like the bright sunlight as Sonic exits the factory have been totally missed, the shading on the polluted lake is much flatter, the tower looks dark, the laser Wisp is really dark without any glowing effects and check out this SADX-worthy seam in the skybox:

Like, there's no justifying that. The skybox, darkness of the laser and the presence of 2D textures for backgrounds are legit issues, but I'll admit everything else is nitpicking. It looks fine generally, and it's just the fact that it's not up to snuff with the original and that efforts seem to be going to all the wrong places. The entire game has small issues and big issues, so I'm going to bring them all up.

[Dr. Detective]

It's hard to really feel much here since this isn't even the game I wanted to get an Ultimate edition but I will say this isn't doing much to inspire confidence that they could have handled any other game better either. Can you imagine how fucked Unleashed would be? 

It's hard to even imagine the old as hell Adventure games being done completely right. Imagine Lost Colony somehow looking even darker on your TV than it already is.

[VO.SUPER]

8 minutes ago, Blue Blood said:

The lighting in PW still doesn't look great, to tell you the truth. Effects like the bright sunlight as Sonic exits the factory have been totally missed, the shading on the polluted lake is much flatter, the tower looks dark, the laser Wisp is really dark without any glowing effects and check out this SADX-worthy seam in the skybox:

Like, there's no justifying that.

I say it looks fine enough in motion that you can ignore some of the more glaring faults, but yeah looking into the background in a still like this, you are getting more of the lackluster material. But yeah, it looks fine to me as an upressed port. It can and could look better, but it's not outside of mods.

That doesn't mean you're not right in that those are issues. It's just one of those, YMMV issues I feel like that will be up to expectations.

That seam though is some shit that shouldn't exist in a modern day anything.

[Blue Blood]

1 minute ago, VisionaryofSUPER said:

I say it looks fine enough in motion that you can ignore some of the more glaring faults, but yeah looking into the background in a still like this, you are getting more of the lackluster material. But yeah, it looks fine to me as an upressed port. It can and could look better, but it's not outside of mods.

That doesn't mean you're not right in that those are issues. It's just one of those, YMMV issues I feel like that will be up to expectations.

That seam though is some shit that shouldn't exist in a modern day anything.

Yeah I just edited my post as you were typing this to clarify that I'm nitpicking and some of the issues are definitely YMMV. Although tbh I never agree with the "it looks fine in motion" thing if the game expects you to be still at all. This particular level has lots of static camera angles, plus you come to a halt regularly during platforming or when using Wisps. The game isn't constantly in motion, so this stuff sticks out.

[Multikaris]

1 hour ago, Jango said:

Do it all over again.

Until we hit ROL levels of bad reception, perhaps...

[VO.SUPER]

5 minutes ago, Blue Blood said:

Yeah I just edited my post as you were typing this to clarify that I'm nitpicking and some of the issues are definitely YMMV. Although tbh I never agree with the "it looks fine in motion" thing if the game expects you to be still at all. This particular level has lots of static camera angles, plus you come to a halt regularly during platforming or when using Wisps. The game isn't constantly in motion, so this stuff sticks out.

I guess I'm not the type of player who wants to turn their gaze all around unless I'm playing something I wanna get immersed with. At least in terms of Colour's more automated money shot sections. Say what you will about the janky 2D, I am never paying attention to much beyond Sonic and nearby platforms or enemies. Not like during the more automated segments where it's clear the game wants me to look around, or like a more polished game like Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, that thrives on environmental focus.