All-new 2D Sonic rolling out in 2010

[Kogen]

My standards must be astronomically low, because I did not see one thing wrong in any of those videos. Game looks just as fun as Sonic 2 or 3, Rush engine or no.

Oh, and that mine cart level looked trippy as hell. Can't wait to play it.

Yeah, just extremely low.


For the spiked guys, you could also just be a retard and jump into them full throttle repeatedly. They are very easy to kill if you do not care about rings. And them being easy in Sonic 4 just seems to be the fault of the homing attack being in it in the first place. It screws up the bosses, too.

[Esrever]

I guess the minecart is controlled with the same mechanics as the (so far still unseen?) rotating bonus stages?

[Shadow Hog]

The main gameplay looks okay, yeah, but the mine cart stage... well, it doesn't look terrible, but it's disgustingly out-of-place.

I noticed that Lost Labyrinth - or what little I watched of it - was pretty much entirely orthogonal, minecart notwithstanding, just like its Sonic 1 namesake. I'm sure Esrever is happy about that. :P

[Esrever]

Haha! I was thinking that, yeah! Act 1 is completely block-built for the first minute or so and then... BAM! Ramps and curves everywhere! :D

Seriously though, it does look like there are at least many segments of the stage that are built that way, which did make me smile.

Awkward Sonic animation aside, I thought most of these levels looked pretty solid. As for the minecart, well, uh... I think every game should have a minecart level. I think it was a mistake to have it control this way, though. I'd prefer to see something like Sonic 2's Sky Chase... a vehicle level that still controls more or less like a Sonic level.

[(...)]

I'm with Rob-Bert on this one. I just saw HALF THE GAME and it looks fun. I was cautiously optimistic before, now I'm actually looking forward to it.

- The gameplay looks good. They did actually stick with the momentum-based gameplay after all, and managed to balance it with the speed. You do get the rapid acceleration, and the spin dash, and doing a homing attack at the ground seems to make you boost at top speed, but all this is tempered by the fact that flying along at top speed will cause you to run into an enemy.

- That notwithstanding, Sonic accelerates to fast. Even accounting for the cropped screen.

- The giant ball thing in the Labyrinth zone was cool, because it looks like you can actually fall off (like a grind rail, but with a skill element). The Loco Roco level in the mine cart was cool too. Steering by tilting the world looks very disorienting, but in a good way. It goes on for too long though.

- The Labyrinth zone boss level was cool. It's like the Aquatic Ruin boss, but with the constant and near-unpredictable danger of getting squished.

- The running animation looks odd.

- I like the level music, but the boss music is just weird (though the up-tempo version is better).

- The level design feels way too linear. There are alternate routes everywhere in the levels, but there's no reason to take them since you can get to your 50 rings and then some just by following the main route. It doesn't help that the vid looked like it was being played by someone who knew the levels well.

PS: Told ya they would fix the physics! ;)

[Crowbar]

- The gameplay looks good. They did actually stick with the momentum-based gameplay after all, and managed to balance it with the speed. You do get the rapid acceleration, and the spin dash, and doing a homing attack at the ground seems to make you boost at top speed, but all this is tempered by the fact that flying along at top speed will cause you to run into an enemy.

Levels that are designed specifically to make using the character's abilities annoying doesn't sound like a good thing to me.

[(No Imagination)]

(finally watching the footage)...roller-coaster levels, big numbers, homing chains...yep, this is a Dimps game alright. Looks like the developers loved to rape Sonic 3 & Knuckles levels after getting all 14 emeralds...so much that they've made the whole thing into a game. Press twice to kill any badnik on screen and gain speed! Again! And again! Oh the awesomeness~

I blame the Sonic Retro community for tainting classic 2D Sonic with homing-jumps and insta-awesome moves - in fact, watching this, more than any Advance game it reminds me of Sonic Megamix. Time to eat your homing jump soup now, guys.

The boss music #1 is starting to grow on me...I still think the composer to PrehistoriK boss music should sue Senoue blind, though.

[Crazy Penguin]

Wario Land: Shake handled mine carts well with Wii Remote tilting.

Donkey Kong Country had a godawful mine-cart level that revolved entirely around memorising when to press jump and lasted about a century.

In conclusion, video game mine carts have the potential for both good and evil.

[Esrever]

Yeah, I know... I just... I just love minecarts, OK? Way more than elevator levels!

[CM August]

DKC's minecarts require memorization? Even my reflexes aren't that bad.

When was the last time Sonic used minecarts, Sonic 2 for SMS? Yeah, wasn't really that good back then either. (links are dead so I can't see the new one)

[Alexrd]

By timing your jumps? It's easier said than done, but that's all there is to it.

Still, the point remains. On the others Sonic games, the spiked guys were hard to kill, sometimes making you loose rings. On Sonic 4, you just make an homing attack and that's it.

[K2J]

(links are dead so I can't see the new one)

Kotaku has all but the Splash Hill Boss.

[Blount]

By timing your jumps? It's easier said than done, but that's all there is to it.

Still, the point remains. On the others Sonic games, the spiked guys were hard to kill, sometimes making you loose rings. On Sonic 4, you just make an homing attack and that's it.

I was merely answering your question; I neither agree nor disagree with your point. Though this does remind me of how much I would have preferred Sonic's extra spin attack from S3&K instead.

When was the last time Sonic used minecarts, Sonic 2 for SMS? Yeah, wasn't really that good back then either. (links are dead so I can't see the new one)

You really should see the video when you can, because even though the mine carts in Sonic 2 SMS weren't very interesting, they at least worked. You didn't need to rotate the entire level around the carts or some stupid gimmick like that to make them move, and they wouldn't get stuck on walls or go in any direction other than straight forward. Most importantly, they were entirely optional - you didn't have to step inside any carts at all, and even if you did, you could jump off at any time. Here they have an entire level dedicated to this shit and you have to endure the weird physics and nauseating rotations. Yeah, it's just one level, but it's horrible and has no real purpose other than to remind everyone that even the most basic of Sonic games needs to have gimmicks these days, for some incomprehensible reason.

[(No Imagination)]

Sonic Advance 3 (I think) also had minecarts, but the best ones are in Triple Trouble.

I thought the second level from Taz-Mania on Game Gear was pretty bad, though at least the mine cart ride there never gave me nausea.

[K2J]

Sonic Advance 3 and Sonic Rush Adventure both had mine carts, though only SRA's were really interactive.

[Locit]

Lump me in with Esrever. I think it looks pretty fun! The level design in Splash Hill reminds me of Mushroom Hill with a few more springs and no tedious pulley elevators, and that's a good thing. Don't know what the hell they were thinking with the mine cart, but they at least had the decency to put springs in place to bump you back out of the bottomless pits.

[Radrappy]

Yeah I'm a little surprised at myself for liking for the most part, what's been seen here. Seriously though not too shabby. I was actually impressed with some of the background elements in labyrinth.

[Ngangbius]

Highlights of the video leaks in gif form courtesy of neogaf:


No need to hit a monitor for an item, you can now run right to it!


Earn your speed, not by momentum physics, but by abusing the homing attack, HUZZAH!





Ten bucks says I will get more enjoyment out of watching the above two gifs than playing Sonic 4!

Also, I willing to believe that this title was originally intended to be an iPhone/iPod Touch game judging by the inclusion of the homing attack, episodic nature, motion controls, and the allegedly low price point.

[Dr. BUGMAN]

Highlights of the video leaks in gif form courtesy of neogaf:


No need to hit a monitor for an item, you can now run right to it!

Someone's been playing Bonk!

[Ngangbius]

MOMENTUM BASED GAMEPLAY!

Also, you might as well call the homing attack the "Win button".

[Rob-Bert]

The gif of him breaking the monitor "with his head" looks more like came to a complete stop in the middle of a spin attack.

The gif of him gaining momentum through the jump dash looks more like he's gaining momentum through moving right and the jump dash is speeding up along with it.

So yeah, still like what I see.

[Segaholic2]

This looks truly awful and everyone saying otherwise is delusional.

[Rob-Bert]

Have fun being the only sane man.

[Dr. BUGMAN]

He's not alone.

And I totally called the homing attack's game breaking-itude. :(

[Delphine]

This game looks mediocre at best, and there's no need for a homing attack in 2D.