That's interesting. I think my bigger issue is what it isn't, rather than what it is. I enjoy the over the top shonen anime stuff that they did prior to Colors. But again I don't hate the stories of Colors, I just think it's a bit too simple for my liking
@@NintenDeen I like the over the top Anime stuff as well when it comes to Sonic, well when their not going stupidly dumb off the rails like Shadow the hedgehog or Sonic 06 although those games I laugh at rather than take at face value. But anyway I also liked Colors sure it isn’t pumping adrenaline but the music and the stages were really good that story didn’t have to be like games prior I think what people don’t like is the way Sonic acted in this game because Sonic Heroes was pretty light hearted and didn’t go heavy into story but the characters were still in character so I think that’s the issue people have which I do understand.
@@Skye2993 the music is definitely top notch. I think Colors was more enjoyable when I was going for red rings, but when I was just going to the end of the level it dragged on, which was weird because it was such a short game. But I won't deny it does have some good levels in there
@@NintenDeen Yeah a lot of that dragging on comes from the Acts repeating, like they took small portions of the main levels from Act 1, 2 or 3 and would add new obstacles to it to make three more acts making six but ultimately the extra three acts are just cut sections of the main three levels of that world like for example in Planet Wisp with the robot following you in the 2D section in the factory part which in Act 1 would’ve been a quick boost past but that section got cut from Act 1 to make a Act 4 with extra platforming and the robot chasing you added to it.
This is my 1st ever sonic game & the switch up is so bafflin & wild in ways I can't explain. I can understand some issues but HOLY HELL everyone puts this down so fiercely they even say it's forces tier which is genuinely incorrect on so many levels. I still love this game & it's still a top 3 sonic game & prob always will be. The wisps provide a great unique aspect that doesn't bother me in the slightest. They're very well utilized especially when u unlock them for repeat playthroughs to get a higher rank or attain certain collectibles. It's best to play the game wit the unlocked wisps to try to find the red rings as fast as possible & beat the stage. There's plenty of platformin variety if u do that. As for the level design. there's a reason that the game had so much 2D. Those were actually supposed to be EXTRA levels U weren't supposed to be forced to play. The game was supposed to be structured like a classic sonic game wit 2 acts & a boss but under the boost template(similar to heroes). Even in story concept/themes & the light hearted tone it was supposed to be the typical sonic v. eggman from a classic game but in boost. They had extra levels on the side u didn't have to do on the side & those R all the 2D levels. The main levels R a lot more like unleashed but wit more platformin focus(cus it's a platformer). If u only did those levels u wouldn't be sayin all this but wut happened is wut ALWAYS happens wit these games & SEGA/ST got cold feet thinkin ppl would hate how short it is for the askin price. They took the 1st(or 2nd) main level of each zone & split it into 2 diff levels & between the now TWO levels they retroactively shoved the side levels into mandatory status between those & the other main level(which they didn't split) so now u have to do the 2 split parts of 1 level & the other main level wit these guys sprinkled in-between & while it doesn't bother me it's so fuckin stupid for them to fuck over the game like this. Ultimate had the chance to fix this but NOOOOOO LETS FUCK THAT OVER TOO SHALL WE! If u jus play the main levels & the boss most of ur complaints go out the window. U should also do the extra levels u unlock in the arcade via the red rings cus not only do they have cool references but they're fun in their own right. I have other things I disagree on but I'll leave it at that.
"Sonic Cycle" this makes me laugh because I never knew what it was till years later, it's amusing to see how Sonic Fans enjoy a new Sonic Game then turn on it and then complain when the next game is no better (to themselves), mainly because they sabotage due to not wanting to give it a chance or just getting their expectations too high. My favourite thing about this Game is Dr. Eggman's Incredible Interstellar Amusement Park, it just proves how creative Eggman is and he could most likely rule the World through its economy, he would've made bank from that Amusement Park.
Honestly sometimes I wonder if it's a different set of fans complaining because of how diverse the community is. Like there isn't just a vocal minority, there are like 7 different vocal minorities in this fandom lol
@@NintenDeen I've noticed that too. It shows just how vast the Sonic Fandom is, it also doesn't help that negative reviews get more attention on RU-vid.
Good analysis! I will say that Colors was a much needed change for the 3D gaming era, but it's a far cry from the iconic and varied gameplay of Sonic Adventure 2. It was rendered much better than Adventure 2 though. The lip synch has aged HORRIBLY and the sound mixing was terrible.
Thanks :) . Yeah I think Colors was an absolute home run when you take it in the context of when it was released. Plus, it led to Generations and that game was a blast so it gets credit for that in my book.
It's no problem :) I played some levels of Colors through conversions into the PC version of Generations and certainly found most of them feeling quite bland in comparison. (That said I do kind of like the day stages of Unleashed, which I played through Unleashed Project - though I'm using Generations' controls in them and quick time events are missing.) I also didn't play any levels of Colors (in any form) until I had played st least a large fraction of Generations.
Fair criticism. As much as this game tries to be Unleashed without the werehog stages, it doesn’t really do it, as the wisps can be quite gimmicky, hence the blocky design of some stages. I still think it’s good, but arguably it plays more like a mario game than lost world. Would you rather have a light hearted story or a dark, more serious, edgy story for Sonic?
Definitely serious and edgy stories lol. I didn't think the story is the deciding factor of what makes Sonic good, like I'd take Generations over Black Knight a million times over because the game play is much more enjoyable. But I think the story can help a game be much better
Yeah, Colors was certainly a step down from Unleashed’s adrenaline pumping levels. Unleashed, Gens, and Frontiers are the only ones worth it tbh. It’s a shame. Imagine Colors with Unleashed or GENS level design and flow. We got robbed by that Sega-Nin contract at that time.
Agreed. But I don't blame the contract, I blame the discourse around the franchise. I think they literally had to strip everything down as much as possible and make it appeal to the casualist of fans to get some momentum back in the series. Btw I can't wait to release my next few vids where I cover Black Knight and Unleashed and so on because it really is a night and day difference in the way Sonic Team operated pre and post Colors. I know that's not really groundbreaking news to anyone, but even going through the series in reverse I definitely felt it.
@@NintenDeen looking forward to more! I don’t think it was just discourse. Focusing on level design and the massive amount of 2D + Color powers… and THEN looking at Lost WORLD… they added a lot of Mario shit to Sonic. That’s why the levels are no where close to Unleashed or Gens. They steered from 3D at every Turn!
Yeah I should specify FOR COLORS I don't blame the contract lol. For Lost World and Boom I absolutely blame the contract, plus the success of Colors. I'm ticked off Generations was so well received and they still didn't opt to attempt to push the WiiU to it's limits
Such a great analysis as alwayyyssss, and I will sound like an as*hole but deep inside I'm happy people and you are seeing the flaws of this game, because I don't want Colors being the standard (I even prefer Forces). It just gave people who don't like Sonic what they wanted. Similar to what you said, in my experience, the wisps and the 2D blocky platforming were constantly breaking the pace/flow of the level, (I don't know about momentum, not a speedrunner) which was frustrating for my goal of... enjoying the game. I managed to enjoy the remake tho! The rainbow homing attack was a nice addition for my brain to get more invested (it will sound weird but for some reason the homing attack is what most appeals to me from Sonic games), I also appreciate the idea of racing against Metal Sonic, and I put the Japanese voices so I wouldn't understand a thing during my playthrough! Also, I don't know if you consider this not important, or you forgot, but I think Sonic Colors' final boss is amazing. When I used to revisit the Wii game, it was just so I could fight that boss again. Sonic Lost World and Sonic Forces copied this boss, and still, I think the best version of this kind of boss is the Colors' one, due to its variety of attacks.
(Posting separate here) No, I've only myself played the Unleashed Project Complete mod for Generations. (I don't have consoles for vanilla.) It was a lot of fun though! Have you played Unleashed Project? The concept of Colors was to expand what did work in Unleashed...except Unleashed has strong level design and a solid amount of 3D while Colors doesn't. Also in terms of Ultimate...it certainly is far from the ideal remaster job, but in terms of generally unengaging level design and Wisp utilization - certainly the game's biggest letdowns, it doesn't matter what version. Can't get by *only* on looking and sounding good...The game at the time was a simply pretty straightforward Sonic game that didn't insist on some kind of side distraction, which is what was needed in 2010, but starts not hitting the mark as well when taking a look back into the whole boost style.
I've yet to try unleashed project or any other mods tbh. It's on my to-do list lol. I haven't put enough time into OG colors to give a firm stance on what Ultimate did or didn't do. But, I guess for me it felt fine? I know there were a ton of performance issues with the switch version at launch, but I think most issues have been patched out by now
Is Black Knight next, Deen? I am really interested in seeing more of Black Knight, the visuals and the music are so good, but I know gameplay matters a lot too and I don't know if that is BN's Achilles Heel or not.
Absolutely! Just making some final edits over the weekend and it should be good to go by Thursday at 1pm ET next week. I don't want to give too much of a spoiler but the gameplay did knock it down a bit for me. Everything else about it was super fun though, story, characterization of sonic, visuals and music etc. I enjoyed it more than colors 😅
BTW what makes you like Forces more than Colors personally? Just curious. I feel the level design is considerably underdeveloped in both cases, regardless.
The Avatar and story were more enjoyable. I liked infinite as a character too. Level design wise I liked the environments more than most of Colors, and the controls for the 2D sections were better than Colors (although not nearly as good as Generations). I'm not saying the above details were amazing, but they were better than Colors imo
That's fair reason to prefer Forces. I do like all new themes in Colors over seeing Green Hill and Chemical Plant (again) and Death Egg coming back but that doesn't make the environments inherently bad regardless. Control wise, I'm not sure if it's better on Wii or not (ie whether that is Ultimate's fault) but it's definitely bad if a mostly 2D game controls worse than the 2D sections of Forces. As I finish taking in the whole video here...I do think the lack of cohesion is nothing particularly new in the franchise BTW, even at the time; Sonic's 2 and 3&K had sharp transitions in the zones, like from a flying ship to a desert to the inside of a volcano for instance in 3&K, and from an industrial facility to a tropical jungle and then to a casino resort in Sonic 2. Might be just the way it hits in each game, not sure. In terms of going in reverse I think Adventure 1 after 2 will be interesting but I think Adventure 1 has a fair bit of its own identity personally and won't suffer from playing SA2 first, regardless of which is better. (Use the DX Mod Loader patch though!)