The Sonic the Hedgehog series has certainly taken a bumpy road over the past decade. This has certainly been considered by SEGA, particularly with the coming of Sonic the Hedgehog 4, which plays to its roots to the delight of fans. However, how does the less-than-traditional Sonic Colors game stack up?
Sonic Colors is coming in two different flavors; one for the Wii, the other for the handheld DS. Both strive to try and fit itself between classic Sonic side-scrolling and platforming, and the more “modern” interpretations of Sonic. And after throwing in some gimmicks such as the Megaman-like powers Sonic can pick up to the theme park… well, theme of the game, there is certainly some doubt for whether Sonic Colors will be a real contender in winning back the hearts of Sonic fans.
I was able to perform quite admirably for my first try on Sonic Colors Wii
I was able to get a decent feel for both games when I played them back at E3. I sincerely felt that both games were quite enjoyable. I tried the Wii version first. It certainly had a more traditional side-scrolling platformer feel, which switched seamlessly with a more 3D mode where Sonic runs forward into the background, along tracks and paths at blinding speeds. I wasn’t about to play far enough to try any of the color-powered special abilities, but what I could play was certainly fast-paced and rather enjoyable. The controls were fairly intuitive as well. I do question whether the color powers will add to or distract from the core gameplay, but if its done in a Kirby or Megaman style, it may very well be golden.
I actually quite enjoyed the DS version
Next up was the Nintendo DS version of Sonic Colors. I actually ended up enjoying this version more than the Wii edition. It played exclusively as a 2.5D side-scrolling platformer should. It felt very similar to Sonic 4, where the character and details were polygonal, but the action is indeed locked in 2D. The levels were bright and colorful, and seemed well designed. It certainly brought back memories of Sonic 1 through 3, with plenty of hills, floating platforms, loops, and tunnels to run through. Again, I was unable to try out the color-themed powers, but I have more faith that the DS version would play it up better than the Wii, solely due to the fact that it felt more like a classic Sonic game.
Overall, while neither were as “classic” as Sonic 4 is striving to be, they should be enough to delight fans. At the very least, they truly do seem like a step in the right direction for everyone’s favorite blue spiky hero. I will personally be looking forward to the full version when it comes out, particularly the Nintendo DS version.
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