To start off with, you should know that I grew up with Sonic the way that some people grew up with Mickey Mouse or Superman. I think a big part of my admiration for Sonic was because I got a Genesis so late in life because they were the forbidden fruit of the evil console for such a long time so when I actually got to play it it struck me with amazement.
With this as the preface, I will let you into my opinion of Sonic 4; it is fucking amazing. I played through all four demos and each level played as if it was ripped directly from an old Sonic game (probably resembling Sonic 2 the most) and given an HD make over. I don’t mean that the levels are redone, but that they are brand new levels up to the quality of the Genesis Sonic games. I think that is the whole point, they seem up to the level of the original Sonic games. The major addition of the homing attack fits right in with the game, and you’ll feel that it is missing if you go and play the old games afterwards.
For anyone that was worried about various things in the game, the SEGA PR rep assured me that all the major fan complaints were taken into account and that is the reason for delay. They want the community to like it so much that they are actually delaying it to make it right. This makes me even more excited as the game played really well. The only real downfall was the momentum of Sonic which seemed to take too long to get up to speed, but this was one area I was specifically told was being worked on for the final release. I also felt like the game was a bit on the easy side, but this was because the demo was made to not completely frustrate the player and let them experience a taste of all the game will have to offer. The third level of the demo also had a bit of difficulty that made it a bit crazy, so it wasn’t a complete cakewalk.
I saw the 360 version and the Wii version, with the PS3 version is completely identical to the 360 version, and looking at the high res and Wii versions side by side really made me want the 360/PS3 version rather than the Wii. It looks so much better on the high res consoles it is amazing. The Wii version looks like a watered down version of the two. If you have the choice, get the PS3/360 one for sure.
I had really high hopes for Sonic 4 so it would have been really easy to be let down and I came away feeling as if it played even better than I thought it would. If you like the Genesis Sonic games, you are in for an absolute treat as this will shatter your nostalgia senses and make you hope for more 2d games in the future.
Last, but not least, it made my day to see none other than Yuji Naka walking around looking at Sonic. It was really nice to get the chance to shake the hand of a legend. Such a nice and humble man.
Matthew Nyquist meets Yuji Naka
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