Sega and Sonic Team have tried everything to make Sonic relevant again in the eyes of gamers. Putting him in a storybook didn’t work, giving him a laughably large RPG sword didn’t do much either and most of us would love to forget that the Werehog ever existed. But here’s a crazy idea… why not let Sonic be Sonic? Remember the fast hedgehog that had the occasional platform challenge topped off by crazy speed based level design that we played before we even knew the phrase? Somehow, this is the impression I get from Sonic Colors, the Wii exclusive foray back into 3D platforming. No weapons, overbearing gimmicks, figure skating and especially no relationships with human girls here; only fast, fun and challenging gameplay which just might be the blue hedgehog’s saving grace.
Colors almost feels like a fresh start for Sega’s mascot. Sonic and Tails both have new voice actors, the heroes are sent to a world never seen before in the series and for the first time in way too long, the game takes center stage in front of the story. After Eggman claims to turn a new leaf and creates a theme park to apologize for his misdeeds, the cynical Hedgehog decides to destroy it simply because he doesn’t believe it. Luckily, it turns out that Eggman is taking aliens called Wisps and siphoning their powers to help take over the world, so Sonic won’t be charged with slander, trespassing and vandalism since he’s saving the world once again. That’s pretty much the beginning and end of it.
Much like the daytime stages in Sonic Unleashed, the game changes perspectives on the fly between 2D side scrolling and 3D acrobatics. Colors does a great job of creating a sense of speed, but unlike Unleashed, the speed is constantly broken up with platforming challenges that reward players for exploring through roughly. And these stages can be huge, some of which Sonic can’t explore fully in one run, but finding each secret ring feels immensely rewarding, especially when you finally reach the surprise you unlock for finding all of them. But Colors needed something to set itself apart. Otherwise, you could just get your annoying younger sibling to play the boring stages so you could get to the good stuff. But no, Colors does something that Sonic has rarely done in the past aside from Super Sonic, which is rely on power ups to add variety to the game. Using the Wisps encountered throughout the game, Sonic can reveal new platforms, drill underground and fly into the air for starters. They bring a new dynamic that fits right in with this world where talking animals are perfectly normal.
Venturing across the different worlds that make up Eggmanland brings its own surprises aside from the power ups introduced. Each world is distinct and brings its own style, keeping the level design fresh. Certain areas such as running through a neon track through space and bouncing off of meteors are not only exciting, but really show what graphical power the Wii can pull off when the developer decides to show some creativity. 3D games in the series have usually had really bad trial and error based challenges where there was no way to know what to do without dying and memorizing layouts over and over again. While later stages retain this in moderation, gamers are given fair warning for the most part, with a red glow and caution signs at and before pits. So there should be far less of Sonic bolting off the stage this time. It has to be mentioned that running through these levels is perfectly complemented with Eggman’s hilarious commentary over the park’s PA system, (which were written by Sega’s previous Wii gem, Madworld, only with 100% less swearing… and Bender.) The writers continued one of the few upsides to the recent Sonic games, which was giving Eggman and his henchmen well defined personalities that steal the show… especially when Sonic and Tales have five facepalm worthy lines for every good one. There’s so much that Sonic Team does right in Colors that it’s hard to believe that they’ve had so many missteps recently, but that doesn’t mean all is well either.
While Colors is a huge improvement, the blue blur still stumbles in a few key areas. The game isn’t very long to finish, which wouldn’t normally be a problem except that out of all the bosses, three of them are repeats from the previous one. If the boss fights were at least entertaining, that would help some, but they’re either way too easy, short or drawn out that you’ll use the speed to rush through to a level that’s actually good. While the game does feature a two player co-op mode, (which is also required for that awesome secret I mentioned before,) it feels tacked on because the levels are so short and some barely use any team work. Then again, maybe I’m just put off by the option to use Mii’s… and by Mii’s I mean Mii heads on Sonic’s body. It’s the stuff nightmares and broken dreams are made out of, (it’s probably a byproduct of Sonic’s bestiality escapades from Sonic 06.)There are some interesting ideas brought to the dance like bouncing off of each other to get across gaps and combining powers, and I hope the concept is revisisted and refined in Sonic’s next game. But these issues combined with the trial and error late in the game hurt the overall experience, but not enough to keep it from being enjoyable.
Did I just say that? Did I say a new 3D Sonic game was enjoyable? Well, believe it. Sonic Colors is the best game the hedgehog has seen in years, and Wii owners have a title worthy of the legacy that was paved so long ago. With a game brimming with personality, gorgeous stages, inventive game play and plenty of reasons to play after the credits have rolled, let’s hope Sega can keep this momentum going forward. Despite a few hitches, any fan of the series would be crazy not to have Colors in their library, and even though he’s about a decade late, the hedgehog we know and love is finally back.