Sonic Generations Review (Xbox 360/PS3)

They go so far with this that even in levels like Sky Sanctuary (where one could reasonably expect a number of instant-death plummets), there are only a few places where you can fall with nothing to catch you (and these have these nifty little signs warning you to be careful at those parts). Also, the different paths can alter level progression far more radically than expected. On a recent replay of Seaside Hill, I discovered a cart-racing segment (an homage to that part in the original Sonic Heroes level) that I never even knew was there in my first playthrough.

Another nice touch is level personality. In the olden days, each Zone was themed and distinct from all other Zones, with its own environments, music and even enemy types that just seemed to belong there. The different levels were essentially hostile ecosystems unto themselves. But this was diminished in the 3D games, starting with the bomb-happy monkey bots of Sonic Adventure and coming to total fruition with the generic clone bots of Heroes, Unleashed and Colors.

But even though the levels within individual games have become increasingly homogenized, the games themselves remain wildly distinct from each other. There was the space carnival theme of Colors, the juxtaposed heavy urban/ancient Aztec setting of Adventure, the quaint Hallmark realworld vibe of Unleashed, the doom and gloom of 2006 and Adventure 2’s very San Francisco chic; the only truly bland one was Heroes, but even it manages to contribute a pretty (if basic) level to this collection.

Gives new meaning to star-crossed, right? Am I right? Yes? Yes? No. No, I'm not right. That was a terrible joke. That's not even a star in that picture, it's a flippin' moon! So if you laughed, even just a little, you should feel bad. Now go sit in the corner and think about what I've done.

Each game had a personality all its own and those unique styles are infused into the levels that represent them. So each stage has its own environment (seemingly chosen to represent the general aesthetic of its game), its own music (usually remixes of the original track), its own enemies (You only fight police drones in Speed Highway, G.U.N. bots in City Escape, demonic underlings in Crisis City, etc.) and even sometimes its own unique gameplay contrivances (like Color powers in Planet Wisp).

In doing this, Generations not only instills itself with variety – thus furthering it as the best Rush-based Sonic yet – but reminds us of all the different things Sonic has been (both good and bad) and how versatile he really is. This is one of the things I always liked about Sonic when compared to Mario. While Mario games almost always repeat the same basic aesthetics with the same basic threats and same basic music (Galaxy 1 and Sunshine excepted) with King Koopa’s capturing of the Princess becoming so ingrained the latest game just informs you of this via postcard; each new Sonic game takes place in a new world with new rules and new dangers (albeit focused around some repeating elements) and Eggman at least has the good grace to come up with a different over-the-top scheme each time, always yielding unique consequences. The quality of the games isn’t as consistent, but a new Sonic game generally means a new Sonic game and that alone is worth celebrating after twenty years in existence.

That said, I do wish they had done more with this, that they had the time to include better incidental touches or even additional levels. As it is, only the core series is represented. Sonic CD is relegated to a minor boss fight and Sonic and the Secret Rings and Sonic and the Black Knight are nowhere to be found. It would have been nice too if – for old time’s sake – Tails was following you through Chemical Plant Zone or if Tails and Knuckles were with you in Seaside Hill.

But that’s nostalgia for you; it always comes in too small a dose. And really there are only two major flaws with Sonic Generations:

1. The story. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Sonic games don’t need stories, blah, blah, blah. Actually, I don’t really have a problem with the plot or the setup and in terms of development the only issue is how it has to randomly toss you a freebie Chaos Emerald because there aren’t enough bosses in the game. The problem I have is the humor: there isn’t enough of it. The game seems to understand that this is an inherently absurd premise and there are moments when you can tell it’s trying to have fun with it – like Tails not recognizing Green Hill Zone or the Classic characters referring to Eggman as Robotnik – but there aren’t many of these moments and what’s there is written and delivered so flatly you have to remind yourself to laugh at it. Sadly, the only truly funny character this time around is Amy… and… yeah… that’s a little weird.

2. The last boss. This is the worst Super Sonic boss yet. I’ve said this with every Sonic game after Adventure 2, but then it’s been true with every Sonic game after Adventure 2. I don’t know what they were thinking here or what the point of being able to switch between the two Sonics is, but god there isn’t a single thing right about this and it leaves you with a bitter taste after an otherwise enjoyable game.

But this gives way to the ability to play as Super Sonic in levels again (Hooray!) and to end credits that take us through original versions of each of the featured levels, thus after showing us how great the present and future of the series can be, finally truly reminding us of how great it’s always been…

…

…Except for the parts that weren’t.

Birthdays are times to have some cake, open some presents, get together with old friends and Amy. That's Amy Rose, ladies and gentlemen, the girl impervious to all restraining orders.

But hey, it’s Sonic’s birthday party. This isn’t a time to dwell on the bad days, this is a time to just enjoy the ride. So, yes, Crisis City came from one of the worst games ever designed, it’s actually pretty good this time around. So, yes, Ice Cap was awesome and a worthy contender for the Sonic 3 spot, but you really can’t hate this version of Sky Sanctuary. And, yes, Sonic Generations gives preferential treatment to a gameplay formula that isn’t twenty years old and, yes, it treats as equals all the different aspects of Sonic’s long tenure – from the grand old elegance of Sonic 2 to the glory of Adventure to the disjointed blandness of Heroes to the unmitigated disaster that was 2006 – but for this one day, in this one space it really doesn’t matter because, here and here alone, it’s all good.