Super Sonic Galaxy

[Forza Johnman]

Did anyone think about why the level is pure grey and only squares?

Online Co-Op Special Stage? With Tails Doll antennas.

[Kogen]

Online co-op?

You know that is not true.

[Crisis]

I don't see why Greyscale Level is any less interesting than Food Level.

What is this, flame bait? I thought we were above that.

I'm being entirely serious.

Greyscale Level has some potential. Sonic as a series has relied heavily on colourful visual imagery (hence "Sonic Colours" I suppose) and it would be at least somewhat interesting to see what happens when we have Sonic, a lone point of colour, traversing a monochrome world. Can there be a stunning visual level without relying on colour-heavy environments? It would be a gimmick thus far unique to the series that would require some careful thought but that could emerge as one of the series' most beautiful and original stages as a result. Even at a more rudimentary level, you could have an environment that the player colours themselves as they progress through it, and to take that a step further you could have a kind of good future/bad future system without the flow-breaking time travel component. Colour (and its lack thereof) is something the series could explore in great depth.

Food Level is flawed much more conceptually. Seeing Sonic run through donut loop-de-loops is fun for about 5 minutes. Food is not a natural theme in the Sonic series. It's a lazy idea crowbarred into place, and at best, it'll be gaudy and camp enough to be superficially entertaining. It's hard to imagine it doing anything but hamper the level design, food generally not offering any insight into platform game design.

Since I'm apparently picking at controversial bones, I'll say that I really struggle to find anything appealing about this game at a conceptual level other than perhaps sheer camp. The level designers are caught up trying to accommodate for the gimmick du jour (this time, a wide range of power ups), the graphics are all over the place, and everything we know about the plot reads like a parody of itself. This is another throwaway entry to the series, which is fine, but I feel like we've been having those endlessly with very occasional exceptions, like the first Rush and maybe Unleashed. This might be the first game I ever refuse to buy on principle alone, which would be a shame because I actually think it looks a lot more well-executed than a lot of titles I have no regrets in buying (including Secret Rings, which I never even finished), but there are only so many garbage ideas I can take.

[Kogen]

All I can say is Good Luck Radrappy.

[Radrappy]

Good luck. . .arguing? Thanks kogen ol buddy, I think I'm going to need it to convert this heathen.

You find everything about the game aesthetically and conceptually mortifying? Yeah? Well that's just like, your opinion man.
How that after witnessing the artistic/conceptual nightmares that were Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic 06, and Black knight, you can somehow decide to take issue with this game's em, colorful approach of all things?

Food Level is flawed much more conceptually. Seeing Sonic run through donut loop-de-loops is fun for about 5 minutes. Food is not a natural theme in the Sonic series. It's a lazy idea crowbarred into place, and at best, it'll be gaudy and camp enough to be superficially entertaining. It's hard to imagine it doing anything but hamper the level design, food generally not offering any insight into platform game design.

What? Let me get this straight. Your argument is "pff food. Yeah that'll get old" and that a food level doesn't have anything insightful to offer design wise? I mean it seems to me there are plenty of creative design choices that could be made with big food. I personally find that design wise, food has plenty to bring to the table. I mean by all accounts it seems pretty tasteful.

Since I'm apparently picking at controversial bones, I'll say that I really struggle to find anything appealing about this game at a conceptual level other than perhaps sheer camp. The level designers are caught up trying to accommodate for the gimmick du jour (this time, a wide range of power ups), the graphics are all over the place, and everything we know about the plot reads like a parody of itself. This is another throwaway entry to the series, which is fine, but I feel like we've been having those endlessly with very occasional exceptions, like the first Rush and maybe Unleashed. This might be the first game I ever refuse to buy on principle alone, which would be a shame because I actually think it looks a lot more well-executed than a lot of titles I have no regrets in buying (including Secret Rings, which I never even finished), but there are only so many garbage ideas I can take.

Graphics all over the place? It seems pretty visually cohesive to me. Issues with the plot? I mean what the hell do you want plot wise from a sonic game? More SA2 bullshit? Because frankly I've had enough of Sonic the Anime. Is it the light heartedness that bugs you? Why does this seem more of a throwaway title than Sonic Unleashed, a game that featured sonic transforming into a hairy beast?

You may be using complete sentences, but you sure aren't making a whole lot of sense.

[Esrever]

Look, I know as well as any of you that Colours might turn out to be complete balls. The level design might be atrocious. The game may be padded with excruciating filler. Sonic may control like a decommissioned Soviet tank. The voice acting may take "abysmal" to exciting new levels!

But the one thing I absolutely do not get is the number of people (on this board, anyway) who are still harping about the visuals. The three stages we've seen so far have some of the strongest art direction the 3D games have ever seen; unique, personality-filled designs with a cool retro-sci-fi bend and some really nice colour schemes. It's not the first 3D Sonic to shoot for surreal imagination over the photo-realistic, but it's definitely the first one to get it right.

The only complaints I can at least sort of understand are from the people who just don't like the basic concept of it all, however well-executed it may be. But personally, I don't see how a food-themed amusement park is any weirder or less Sonic-y than a giant pinball machine, or an enormous barber pole, or an egg-shaped space-station, or a robot caterpillar that has a bird inside it.

And even if it is weirder... so what? I'd rather see them push Sonic in more of a surreal Ristar/Nights direction then get another ugly photorealistic game or bland rehash of the classics.

[Vortex Drone]

The reason I hate Sweet Mountain Zone is because it reminds me stupid kiddy stuff like Kirby. Sonic was originally supposed to be a 'cool' image of games, which is why a lot of the people who played those games also would play Streets of Rage and Shinobi.

The other levels are alright I guess, just do not really remind me of Sonic stuff either. The red one seems straight out of Phantasy Star Online even.

[Opa-Opa]

Sweet Mountains are no joke.

[P.P.A.]

stupid kiddy stuff like Kirby.

I like you already, new person. Enjoy your stay!

[Crisis]

How that after witnessing the artistic/conceptual nightmares that were Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic 06, and Black knight, you can somehow decide to take issue with this game's em, colorful approach of all things?

I am aware of the hypocrisy. It's more of a "straw that broke the camel's back" situation.

Your argument is "pff food. Yeah that'll get old" and that a food level doesn't have anything insightful to offer design wise? I mean it seems to me there are plenty of creative design choices that could be made with big food. I personally find that design wise, food has plenty to bring to the table. I mean by all accounts it seems pretty tasteful.

Like what? I'm prepared to eat humble pie. (Although if I'm being picky, I was more arguing that "food" isn't as interesting as "colour" in terms of level design potential.)

Graphics all over the place? It seems pretty visually cohesive to me. Issues with the plot? I mean what the hell do you want plot wise from a sonic game? More SA2 bullshit? Because frankly I've had enough of Sonic the Anime. Is it the light heartedness that bugs you? Why does this seem more of a throwaway title than Sonic Unleashed, a game that featured sonic transforming into a hairy beast?

I quite liked the look of the opening theme park level. I didn't really like the look of the new Green level or Sweet Mountain (is that what it's called?). At the risk of undermining my earlier point, the greyscale screenshot level doesn't look particularly well-executed either. And then there's the juxtaposition of industrial elements, which works well in zones that want to portray the nature vs industry theme that undercurrents the series, but makes less sense when applied to a mountain made of food.

Lighthearted is fine and I would hate it if the series was reduced to angsty SA2-esque melodrama. But the original trilogy was lighthearted without being camp. Is it so much to ask that a "lighthearted" Sonic game isn't filled with over-the-top voice acting, insufferable new sidekicks (not specifically a Colours criticism there), giant mecha boss fights, etc? (As for Sonic Unleashed, it was pretty awful but at least it had an all-new engine built for it.)

I guess what I want is Sonic 4 but with the talent and production values of Colours.

[Radrappy]

Like what? I'm prepared to eat humble pie. (Although if I'm being picky, I was more arguing that "food" isn't as interesting as "colour" in terms of level design potential.)

Well, in a game that features a drill, I think they made the right decision in having the ground made out of cake. Drilling in the dirt is fine, but cake? Delicious. Anything with jello I think could be used to great effect. I haven't seen any examples of this, but it's a nice idea. Keep in mind, this isn't even like, real food. As far as we know it's all mechanical items made to look like food.

which works well in zones that want to portray the nature vs industry theme that undercurrents the series, but makes less sense when applied to a mountain made of food.

Sure, but not every zone needs to be about that. We can already see that the Planet Wisp stage is delving into that territory with a large red drilling station set up amongst the greenery of the planet.

I guess what I want is Sonic 4 but with the talent and production values of Colours.

And hey, I'd like that very much too. if you were expecting cake and got pie, it's not unreasonable to be upset. Pie's good though man. Could be worse.


You mentioned earlier that this is a game you refuse to buy based on principle alone. Out of curiosity, what principle is that?

[Crisis]

You mentioned earlier that this is a game you refuse to buy based on principle alone. Out of curiosity, what principle is that?

Just that if I don't stop buying Sonic games I don't like, SEGA isn't going to stop making them. It doesn't matter if it's more enjoyable than past blunders; by the time I've bought it to find out, it's already too late. I could rent it (and I probably will), but a retail copy is going to be a hard sell.

[Wombatwarlord777]

Anything with jello I think could be used to great effect. I haven't seen any examples of this, but it's a nice idea.

I don't know if you're specifically talking about the Wii version of this game, but the DS version features dishes of gelatin that I'm assuming act like springs.

My initial impression of Sweet Mountain was also one of "ew, this level trope does not belong in a Sonic game". But, I guess my opinion of those levels has sweetened over time. Sure, they're completely absurd, but unabashedly so, and I think that's really the only way to handle levels with such ridiculous themes. To that effect, it helps that the foodstuffs' sizes are on an inconceivable scale.

So, yeah, I don't have any particular qualms with Sweet Mountain now. You might say that it's an acquired taste.

And then there's the juxtaposition of industrial elements, which works well in zones that want to portray the nature vs industry theme that undercurrents the series, but makes less sense when applied to a mountain made of food.

The impression I get from the food/industry theme is that Sonic is running through a planet-sized kitchen, which needs food as well as preparatory appliances. Hence all the steel and machinery. It's not as potentially highbrow a theme as nature/industry, but eh, it works for me.

[Dr. BUGMAN]

You guys say it like the food industry doesn't have a negative impact on the environment.

[FlashTHD]

You mentioned earlier that this is a game you refuse to buy based on principle alone. Out of curiosity, what principle is that?

Just that if I don't stop buying Sonic games I don't like, SEGA isn't going to stop making them. It doesn't matter if it's more enjoyable than past blunders; by the time I've bought it to find out, it's already too late. I could rent it (and I probably will), but a retail copy is going to be a hard sell.

You're awfully late to jump on this bus. Either way, you could tone down the melodrama a bit.

[Arcade]

If you arent buying Sonic games anymore, then why are you in this forum, just to talk about the Genesis games over and over again?

By the way, early stages of development of a 3D sonic game have always been grayscale at least since Heroes, But we are lucky they are not coloring the screenshots to trick us....

[j-man]

If you arent buying Sonic games anymore, then why are you in this forum, just to talk about the Genesis games over and over again?

Pot, kettle, etc.

On a lighter note, I somehow typed 'poop' instead of 'pot' and I'm still laughing about it.

[Gaz]

Some info about the multiplayer.

Most notable thing is that it's a co-op mode. Sounds a bit crap but I suppose they could surprise us.

[Kogen]

Robotnik's recoloured Robo-Sonics have to race each other and they consist of recoloured Sonic-models with antenna on their heads.

So essentially Sonic Team are still totally retarded. At least stuff like the Werehog had some effort put into it (despite how poor the concept is) compared to this. There is absolutely no reason why they could not have added a character like Metal Sonic. That would fit this role perfectly and this is why that character even exists. Instead they shove in garbage with zero consideration for quality, which one can safely assume describes the rest of the game and anything else they are making.

Also to top it off, all the mutiplayer is going to look awful with no quality environment-art or colour in a game called Sonic Colours, and even worse the person who played it said it was 'frustrating' - essentially confirming that it has the same old, poorly designed levels we have been playing for the last half a decade at least.

[James McGeachie]

Robotnik's recoloured Robo-Sonics have to race each other and they consist of recoloured Sonic-models with antenna on their heads.

So essentially Sonic Team are still totally retarded. At least stuff like the Werehog had some effort put into it (despite how poor the concept is) compared to this. There is absolutely no reason why they could not have added a character like Metal Sonic. That would fit this role perfectly and this is why that character even exists. Instead they shove in garbage with zero consideration for quality, which one can safely assume describes the rest of the game and anything else they are making.

Also to top it off, all the mutiplayer is going to look awful with no quality environment-art or colour in a game called Sonic Colours, and even worse the person who played it said it was 'frustrating' - essentially confirming that it has the same old, poorly designed levels we have been playing for the last half a decade at least.

Do recoloured Sonic models and a grey zone really piss you off that much? We actually have little evidence at all that the multiplayer plays poorly. Considering that's usually the area where people do complain, poor gameplay, I'm surprised anyone would want to jump at the opportunity to tear the game to pieces for stupid shit like this.

I mean fuck, it's a multiplayer mode. I really don't give a shit. Multiplayer has been atrocious in every Sonic title that wasn't some type of spin off sports or racing game (and it's mostly been bad in them too). I even thought the multiplayer in the Megadrive/Genesis games was pure shit as a kid.

[Dr. BUGMAN]

a game called Sonic Colours

I doubt you Canucks are getting a different title.

[Radrappy]

Also to top it off, all the mutiplayer is going to look awful with no quality environment-art or colour in a game called Sonic Colours, and even worse the person who played it said it was 'frustrating' - essentially confirming that it has the same old, poorly designed levels we have been playing for the last half a decade at least.

Don't break down with despair just yet little buddy. While it is true that the mention of frustration does not bode well for the quality of the mode, the notion that these are courses designed specifically for multiplayer is more encouraging. Especially when you consider that every multiplayer sonic mode post Sonic & Knuckles has involved throwing the player head to head in stages that were clearly designed for solo play. Co-op sounds like a breath of fresh air in that regard. The fact that they are exploring new ways to play as opposed to the old slapped on "MULTIPLAYER RACIN" really is a good sign and kind of gives the impression that they are confident in the single player experience.

[Segaholic2]

I mean fuck, it's a multiplayer mode. I really don't give a shit. Multiplayer has been atrocious in every Sonic title that wasn't some type of spin off sports or racing game (and it's mostly been bad in them too). I even thought the multiplayer in the Megadrive/Genesis games was pure shit as a kid.

Choose your own idiot adventure!

A) I don't personally care about a feature so it doesn't matter if it's shit!
B) It was shit in the past so it doesn't matter if it's shit now!

[gr4yJ4Y]

I'd put my money on co-op being the same old rushed stuff they've been throwing out for years and this preview is just being nice.

[Kogen]

Do recoloured Sonic models and a grey zone really piss you off that much? We actually have little evidence at all that the multiplayer plays poorly. Considering that's usually the area where people do complain, poor gameplay, I'm surprised anyone would want to jump at the opportunity to tear the game to pieces for stupid shit like this.

Little evidence that it plays poorly? The article says it provides an experience of frustration. And the recoloured Sonic models with antennae are some of the worst things I have ever seen them make. It all looks stupid and cheap.

I mean fuck, it's a multiplayer mode. I really don't give a shit. Multiplayer has been atrocious in every Sonic title that wasn't some type of spin off sports or racing game (and it's mostly been bad in them too). I even thought the multiplayer in the Megadrive/Genesis games was pure shit as a kid.

The multiplayer was fine in Sonic 2, and acceptable in both Sonic 3 and Adventure 2. I have never played any of these and had the other person dislike it.

I doubt you Canucks are getting a different title.

Go crawl under a fense.

Don't break down with despair just yet little buddy. While it is true that the mention of frustration does not bode well for the quality of the mode, the notion that these are courses designed specifically for multiplayer is more encouraging. Especially when you consider that every multiplayer sonic mode post Sonic & Knuckles has involved throwing the player head to head in stages that were clearly designed for solo play. Co-op sounds like a breath of fresh air in that regard. The fact that they are exploring new ways to play as opposed to the old slapped on "MULTIPLAYER RACIN" really is a good sign and kind of gives the impression that they are confident in the single player experience.

How is it a breath of fresh air when it looks awful and the fellow who played it said it was not good? I assume you played Sonic Unleashed on Wii to understand how this is going to be.

Maybe for some people being starved of quality makes the multiplayer in this seem appealing, but I cannot get past how awful it seems. The look of it, the concept of this gameplay mixed with it, and first-hand accounts of it are all terrible. If anything, I think this makes me feel that the main game is worse than I thought it would be prior.

Level design/controls like this does not excite me much, either: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeJZM8p4JIQ#t=36s