Tag Archives: Knuckles

Sonic Rumble Review

Posted on by
Reply


I was waiting a long time for this game but it just kept on getting delay after delay. The game even released an official launch date more than once and it would still get pushed back. So that wasn’t ideal and by the time it came out, I’m afraid the game wasn’t worth the wait. It doesn’t even make it to the level where I can say it is a fairly solid mobile game. One of the big problems holding this one back is that the game is fairly slow for a Sonic game.

The main gameplay style here is basically what I would call the “Fall Guys” gameplay. It is unashamedly a complete clone of that game. Just reskin the characters to be Sonic characters and that’s about it. The problem is that the game doesn’t seem to have as much polish as Fall Guys. It looks and plays okay, but just feels very limited. The games range from trying to get a lot of coins to getting to the end of a level like in Fall Guys. The level designs aren’t nearly as inspired though and definitely end up falling flat.

I also suspect that in the first few games they have you playing against bots because it’s like nobody else was fighting back at all. Even when I would play bad and intentionally slow down, I’d still come in first. The whole thing feels a bit suspect to get you feeling good and trick you into spending money. The game drew a lot of controversy for how expensive everything is within the game and so that does make you think a little about it. We’re talking hundreds and hundreds of dollars that you will be spending here.

Now you know that I’m a freemium player either way so it’s not like I’m going to be spending anything here. It is rough though for all the impressionable kids who might be tempted to do so. Microtransactions are rarely a good thing, particularly when they get right in your face like this. The game has full on pop ups that just jump out at you. I’d expect that from a random mobile game, not something officially using Sonic The Hedgehog. So that was a full on miss.

Back to the gameplay, it is fun to be able to use the iconic homing attack to fight off other players. I think with different games this could have ended up being addicting but with the time limit ones that are present, I just don’t see much reason to keep on playing. It’s clear that the devs are planning to add a bunch of characters and such so I give them credit there but it’s not going to be enough to get me to stick around.

It’s pretty rare that I play a mobile game for long anyway so it’s not like that’s a bad sign in itself. I still look forward to playing whatever it is that the next Sonic game decides to do. It sounds like it’s a card based game so that’ll definitely be interesting. A potential winner at the very least. I can also say that the technical elements of this game aren’t bad. I enjoyed the graphics which are really sharp and definitely stand out. The soundtrack is far less intense, maybe later on they can grab more licensed music which would be a lot of fun to see.

There is technically almost unlimited replay value here. There is an energy meter so you can’t play for too long in one day but aside from that there will always be things to do. That is basically true for any multiplayer game after all. As long as you continue to find the game fun, that is really the important thing here.

The way the career score works, it also pays off to be a long time player. You basically get a boost in your score which makes it easier to win matches. It’s not necessarily a huge difference but I do think it’s a bit fishy that this helps you out on the leaderboards without resetting for every season. Most games that do career scores like this make sure to reset the level/boost every season like Madden and Fortnite. Not doing that just seems like it’s going to make things more and more lopsided as the game continues to age. Not a really smart way to go about it unless you can buy something to increase your score. In which case that will look like another case of greed here.

Overall, Sonic Rumble is a little too basic for its own good. It is basically content to be a clone of Fall Guys without actually trying to surpass it or really doing anything very different. It feels like the Sonic characters are basically wasted here as the game could have been done with almost any IP. So this one wasn’t for me but of course if you are a huge fan of Fall Guys, then it goes without saying that you should check this one out. After all the games have some slight Sonic mechanics which are not in Fall Guys so you may get a kick out of that.

Overall 5/10

Sonic Christmas Blast Review

Posted on by
Reply


Sonic The Hedgehog is one of the most influential video game characters of all time. Here’s a guy who has always managed to stay relevant in all eras and it is only fitting that the series would get a Christmas special at some point. It’s definitely a really fun one. The whole special goes by very quickly but throws in the classic Sonic fun that always works out well.

The special starts out with Santa Clause deciding to give the role over to Eggman. He just doesn’t feel up to the task anymore and while the guy seems a bit more mechanical than usual, the people don’t really suspect that something is up. Unfortunately Eggman has decided to ruin Christmas and changed the holiday so that now people must give him presents instead! It is an absolutely diabolical change in procedure and the heroes won’t stand for it but now what can they do? It is nearly Christmas after all….their only hope might be in Sonic The Hedgehog!

Sonic gets roped into this because he was trying to find a present for Princess Sally. Well, now’s his chance to make her happy and also save the day. Eggman doesn’t really have a chance once the Blue Blur shows up and from there Sonic even ends up taking on the mantle of Santa. It was all in a day’s work for the hero and while the plot may sound basic, this is a Christmas special. It’s not like they were going to have a whole lot of crazy shenanigans going on at the same time. It was enough for me though with all of the fun moments here to smile about.

The animation is pretty classic here. There’s nothing that will shake your world but it’s fun to see the old speed effects as Sonic zooms around the place. The character models are on point and the background stage designs are good. The soundtrack is less memorable but when the character designs and animation are good enough you can overlook that to an extent. Only to an extent mind you, I think there’s a lot they could have done with the Sonic music.

Whether you really like this one or not will really depend on what you think of the humor though. I tend to like all of the cheesy puns as Sonic messes with everyone but it is considered to be a retro humor style so I know it won’t work for everyone. Sonic dressing up as a garbageman and tossing out the robots is just classic though. This Sonic doesn’t have a care in the world and just has fun trolling and messing with everyone. It’s really awesome to see and I would even say that’s part of his appeal. Sonic is so strong and so fast that there are no threats to him so he can just laugh everything off. He’ll keep everyone safe in the meantime.

It’s why even Santa Claus is willing to immediately turn everything over to him. He knows that Sonic will be a better Santa than he ever could. It’s not something that discourages him though. No, in fact you could argue that this actually makes Santa feel good because it’s like a big burden is off his shoulders. Other characters would have declined the position while Sonic jumps at the chance! (Well after being buttered up at least)

I would say the only humor that doesn’t work as well is for the scenes that involve Eggman’s two robot lackeys. They just can’t keep up at all and it can almost be hard to understand them at times with hos shrill the voices are. I generally tend to prefer the heroes joking around while they’re on top than the villains joking around while they’re losing. The first dynamic just works better but if you have to have a comedy villain then you want to be like Eggman. He is clearly on the losing side the whole time but he is fairly oblivious to this and keeps on talking tough the whole time. That’s not easy but he pulls through.

I would have liked a little more combat but it’s clear that wasn’t in the cards here. It’s really just a fun adventure about Sonic clowning on Eggman. Low key Eggman did well though since he took over a city with ease and generally seems to have a lot of power in this continuity. We just know that Sonic can take him out at any time. That’s why Sonic is a full blown hero. Princes Sally fans may be saddened to know that she doesn’t do much. Even a random kid who breaks free from Eggman’s prison gets a bigger role than Tails. Sonic is the only hero to really get a big role here so you can tell that it’s squarely taking place back in the days when he was a solo act.

Sonic even gets a power up in the special although you get the feeling that Sonic could have saved the day regardless. No way he’s turn down the opportunity to get even faster though. All in all the special feels like a classic episode and has the pacing to match it. Eggman’s santa costume was also rather intense I have to say. The whole thing is absolutely bonkers from top to bottom and unashamedly so. As long as you like things to be as crazy as possible then you’ll have a great time. This special is as chaotic as they come.

Overall, Sonic’s Christmas Blast was definitely a fun special. It was nice seeing the retro designs since I hadn’t been in this era for a while. They should do a modern version of this someday with all of the new characters involved. I imagine a lot of people growing up nowadays probably won’t even recognize this version of Sonic so they are definitely in for a treat. It’s got a good amount of replay value and so I can recommend this to anyone looking to just enjoy a fun story.

Overall 7/10

Sonic X Shadow Generations Review

Posted on by
Reply


This game has been getting absolutely crazy amounts of hype and I am here to tell you right off the gate that it is all completely deserved. Yes, you heard it here first, this game is completely elite and an absolute credit to Sonic Team. The game may be short but just like Forces, it makes up for this with incredible gameplay and a killer story. I would even put this one above Sonic Forces as the 5th best Sonic game of all time. Ladies and Gentlemen…..we’re back!

The title includes a remaster for Sonic Generations which is pretty cool but of course I’m here for Shadow. So Shadow’s mode has a quick recap for new fans which is cool. Then the game starts out with him on the ARK looking into a mysterious life signature that GUN detected. It turns out that it’s Black Doom, the infamous demon has returned at last. His goal is unknown but Shadow will destroy him before it’s too late. Along the way he will have to fight off a lot of iconic bosses from the past like Metal Sonic and even gets to see some familiar faces from his past like Maria. This game will test Shadow as he has never been tested before.

The format is pretty similar to Sonic Generations in a lot of ways. You get to play levels from a bunch of different games as Shadow fights through his memories to get to Black Doom. A lot of times when you are close to completing a level, Black Doom will show up to throw you in Radical Highway. It’s a pretty fun gimmick and one that people have been playfully poking fun at. What can I say? It’s one of the greatest stages and Black Doom has good taste so it makes sense that he would keep bringing it back. It’s a pretty nice touch.

Each stage has 2 acts and then you play through 6 challenge levels to get to the boss. Rinse and repeat around 4 times and then you get to the final act. So the game is pretty short as mentioned, you can beat it in under 4 hours. I started it at around 5:15 and had it beat a little before 8:45. So we’re probably looking at it being a bit shorter than Sonic Forces but on that level. Pretty good considering that this was accompanying another whole game and for new players you’re getting both of them. There is also a considerable amount of play time here. I won’t oversell it or anything but it at least doubles the run time. You need to get well over 100 collectibles and have to 100% every stage if you want the Platinum trophy. I think it would be a lot of fun to really test out what you can do in every stage and go for the record.

I know a lot of people are having fun breaking the records over and over online. I doubt I would be near the top there because some of the stage runs I’ve seen are absolutely insane but getting all of the S ranks at some point would be fun. Generally I like trying to go for the platinum in Sonic games but they can be deceptively difficult. This one looks very achievable for now but I think the toughest trophies will be beating the final boss of both games without taking a single hit. That sound really tough and will take a lot of trial and error. I certainly got hit quite a few times in the Shadow campaign.

I could go on and on about how smooth the gameplay is. This is basically perfect and it’s what I think of when I’m ordering a Sonic game. I want to be running very fast like this in 3D environments. It’s just so epic, keep the boost mechanic and all of the hype platforming. Shadow’s gameplay is also unique with his various powers like the grapple, fish, wings, etc. None of them are stuff that I absolutely need to have but I definitely won’t turn them down either. It’s fun to be using the abilities and also gives you extra freedom on how you want to approach a level. Each level has so many different exits that it’s crazy. The amount of replay value built into each stage is really cool.

Meanwhile the bosses are a lot of fun and I also like all the extra details. Like in the Radical Highway stage, they modified the claws so they work the same way as they did in Adventure 2 where you had to click out to leave them instead of it being automatic. The character designs and animations are extremely good as well. The graphics are some of the best that we’ve ever seen in a Sonic game and definitely set the standard for future games. You want them to look like this going forward.

Then we have the soundtrack which is incredible! There isn’t quite as much hype as in Frontiers but we’ve still got lots of rock themes and remixes going around. The nostalgia for Shadow The Hedgehog was really cool. Right from the main menu theme you know that you’re in for a good time. The story itself is also really good. Now admittedly I would have liked more cutscenes and conversations with Maria and Gerald though. It felt like they didn’t get nearly as big of a role as I expected them to get. I suppose we got some closure there but assuming they never appear again, I guess I just wanted more.

Overall, Shadow Generations is an elite title! It may be a quick ride to the finish line but it’s a super enjoyable one all the way through. There is a good amount of replay value to keep you coming back but at the end of the day even without that I would have this one ranked super high. The top tier gameplay alone is enough for me to absolutely guarantee that. There’s a reason why Sonic is my favorite single player franchise after all and it’s because no other game series can keep up with this gameplay. At its best, Sonic will always be outdoing the competition. I eagerly await the new level in December as a reason to get back into the game and play it some more.

Overall 9/10

Sonic The Hedgehog Volume 3: Battle For Angel Island Review

Posted on by
Reply


It’s time to dive back into the world of Sonic, one of the ultimate video game characters of all time. The comic run has really been a lot of fun thus far and this continues the trend. We finally get to see Metal Sonic’s grand master plan and it’s a doozy. He makes for a good villain and it’ll be tough to top this arc for a while with how large scale it was. Might be time to bring Scourge in.

The comic starts off right away with the heroes meeting up and deciding what they need to do about Metal Sonic. Ultimately they decide to split into multiple teams so they can take Metal Sonic down, defeat his minions, and restore balance to the cosmos. Sonic and Knuckles will be going to fight off Metal Sonic directly while the others spread out across the globe. Do they really have what it takes to defeat the world’s ultimate robot?

The graphic novel brings 4 issues and they basically all go towards this arc with 3 to wrap this up and then one that’s an epilogue which also sets up the next arc. As you can imagine that means this is a very action packed story. Metal Sonic was always very powerful so throw in his copy abilities and the abilities of the Master Emerald and now you’ve really got a tough opponent to deal with. Metal Sonic keeps his logic the whole time too so don’t expect him to turn into a mindless monster. No, Metal Sonic is here to stay and has the abilities to dominate a fight in close or long range. He really seems to be overpowering Sonic and Knuckles with ease even before his power up.

The only one really able to give him a good fight there was Shadow and that’s in large part due to him landing a cheap shot when he first showed up. Ultimately if he and Sonic worked together I expect they would have really been able to throw him for a loop though. If I had any minor issue with the comic it’s that I would have enjoyed a longer fight. I feel like it ends just as it’s getting good and I just would have liked to have really gotten to settle in and enjoy this for a while longer. Still, we do have a lot of general action all around so it’s not the kind of thing that will really hurt the score.

In terms of power levels I am a bit skeptical on burning Blaze basically using up all of her energy while taking down the other villains. I know she had to use up a bunch of her powers in the fight but all of them? Felt like a quick way to keep her from fighting Metal Sonic but that would have been a really cool fight. In general Blaze looks great here though and I’m glad that her flame abilities are getting a lot of props. Back in the Sonic Rush days she was able to fight on par with Sonic after all. I would ultimately give him the edge in a fight of course but it would be a good battle.

Shadow is still a really big solo player here and the guy definitely has no inclination to work with the heroes at all. In fact he actively works against them most of the time which can be a bit funny but I can also see how it would annoy some. Ultimately Shadow just wants to do his own thing at all costs and he typically has the power to back it up so it all works out. If we eventually get a Sonic vs Shadow battle that would definitely be a whole lot of fun.

This arc also ends the era of the Sonic Forces group I’d say as it feels like everyone will be going their separate ways more. I am personally expecting a few more down to Earth arcs before we get to the next grand one like the Metal Sonic saga. I could be wrong of course but it makes sense as a way to scale back before we ramp things up again. With the new scientist who revived Eggman the plot could be her trying to impress him by building a bunch of robots that Sonic keeps on destroying. Finally she and Eggman create an ultimate robot even stronger than Metal Sonic and we go from there.

Meanwhile it also might not be a bad idea to do some arcs where you focus on other characters like Tails and Knuckles. I don’t think you want to leave Sonic out of the picture for very long but some quick meanwhiles could definitely work. The Sonic cast is absolutely big enough where you could really pull that off if you wanted to. If you’re feeling extra bold you could even do a mini Shadow arc since that guy is always a lot of fun to follow around.

As always the art is definitely really solid here. The character designs are on point and the action scenes are good. The pages capture Sonic’s speed well and it’s just very easy o read the stories. They are all real page turners and so this way there is no delay in you trying to figure out what is happening on screen. There’s a lot of attention to detail and the writing is on point too. It really goes back to the top of there not really being any big issues here. As another future plot point, Silver also seems to think that the real threat is still approaching so I’ll be interested to see what that is.

Metal Sonic is still around even if he’s weakened so I look forward to seeing what he does from here. I don’t think he will be able to go back to just being another minion so going forward I see him as a wild card threat. That sounds good to me because he is such an interesting character. He has his own goals, aspirations, and tactics and I think having him return with an army that forces Eggman and Sonic to team up would be brilliant.

Overall, Sonic The Hedgehog continues to deliver with a ton of great comics. The IDW series has really done a splendid job of keeping up the momentum here to really mitigate the sadness of losing the Archie verse. The characters are true to their game counterparts and the stories make sense as sequels to what happened in the games. The comics have even introduced a few new characters already who are cool. At the end of the day these are comics that I can recommend to anyone and that’s great because Sonic is a series that really should appeal to everyone. It’s just such a fun franchise. I’m confident that the series will continue to go strong from here so I’m really looking forward to the next one. After all this will be the first time we get to see Eggman really get involved in the comics and as he’s Sonic’s most well known villain it’s about time we catch up with him.

Overall 8/10

Sonic the Hedgehog, Vol. 1: Fallout! Review

Posted on by
Reply


It’s time to finally jump into the world of Sonic in the more recent comic series. Sonic has had a ton of epic comics over the years and you’d expect no less from the greatest video game series of all time. After playing Sonic Frontiers it was pretty good timing to be reading this comic. It really is a great way of starting off the saga. I had a blast and look forward to seeing how things go from here.

The story kicks off fairly quick as Sonic takes down a bunch of Eggman’s robots. After the events of Sonic Forces Eggman vanished but his army remained. They now randomly attack across the planet and so the heroes must all join forces and do their best to stop these bots. The problem is the sheer numbers of them and more are built by the day. So while they may not be a threat to Sonic and friends, the world is quite large and people will continue to be at danger until they’re all taken down. This volume brings 4 issues and right now they’re all fairly stand alone as we start to learn more about the overall threat.

The first story involves Tails as Sonic teams up with him to stop the robots. Then we have one for Amy, Knuckles, and finally Tangle. In each comic Sonic shows up to save the day but it becomes clear that the robots do have some kind of a master now. The attacks have grown coordinated and more powerful robots are also showing up. Sonic is as confident as ever but the rest of the heroes are getting a bit nervous at this point. Can they really hold out against such an onslaught forever?

My first big praise for the series will be the action series. Perhaps it’ll feel like a given that the series has great fights but there is a lot of detail to the action in each issue. There will be whole pages of no text, just action as the heroes use combo attacks and take the enemies down. I like that there is a lot of choreography here and actual back and forth. These aren’t one hit KOs or anything like that. Instead you’re getting actual battles through and through which is a great thing. Sure the robots aren’t a real threat to Sonic but that’s not really the point anyway. You’re here to see what he can do with his speed and I like the combos are are used all the time.

The writing here is also great as you would expect. Sonic is as confident as ever and takes all the villains down easily but he has the skills to back it up. He’s never overconfident and he’s also still very mature. When the other heroes want to get deep or talk about something important he doesn’t brush them off and still has a reasonable answer. His conversation with Amy about joining the resistance was a very good conversation. Nobody jumped to conclusions or anything, just a solid talk where they each explained their points of view and that was the end of it.

As a result I’m happy to report that all of the characters were solid here. Tails also looks good and while he may still be a little on the nervous side, he can still fight and defend himself. This is Tails closer to his best like in Adventure 2 Battle and I like that because he absolutely has proven himself many times at this point. It’s fine to be a little nervous especially with Sonic being taken down by Infinite and pals in the past but he’s not whining about it or anything like that.

Meanwhile Amy looks really good here as well. She’s keeping her feelings in check and doing a great job as the leader of the resistance. (She’s basically the leader at this point) She can still fight a lot and of course she would love to go with Sonic but she chooses her responsibilities first. Amy has come a long way and this really makes her a much more endearing character. You can also sympathize with her one sided romance towards Sonic more now that it’s not portrayed as this crazy gag that’s always around. Holding herself back and just trying to go about things normally is a great move. Even if Sonic were to vanish again, I think she’d be able to keep the resistance in good shape.

Then we have Knuckles who is on point here. He always has a great dynamic with Sonic and you know that the two of them can take on any threat that gets in their way. They have a good fight against two new fighters who showed up and I would take these two against just about any villain combination. I can also see why Knuckles is eager to go back to Angel Island since actively running around and getting results is really his thing. He’s not the kind of guy who usually just sits behind the desk and it fits in with his character.

Finally we have Tangle who is new for the comics and she’s been a fun character so far. I know apparently there is a reference for her within Sonic Frontiers as well so she may even get to the games soon. Her tail makes for a very handy weapon in combat and she can take care of herself. I’m not sure I totally have a read on her personality yet but she’s strong and is a quick thinker as she helped Sonic and Blaze take out the enemies. I look forward to seeing more of her later on.

Meanwhile Blaze did get to appear as well which was fun. She shows up rather suddenly but that’s the fun part of time travel. The comics are already hinting that something major is about to happen and I’m absolutely ready for it. Imagine if Infinite returns soon? We already have a mysterious villain talking tough in the background and planning things out so I’m looking forward to seeing who that is. Shadow hasn’t appeared yet either but there will be time for that. The comics are slowly re-introducing all of the characters which is a good way to start things off. I also like how they show that the Egg robots can be a decent threat when there are enough of them.

I was always skeptical about the world being taken over without Sonic and I still am to be honest since the game never gave a good reason for why Shadow wasn’t around taking everyone out. I consider that to be a bit of a plot hole but the comics are doing good damage control here. I also just like the continuity being present here because it just adds a little extra immersion to the whole experience.

It almost goes without saying but the art is really solid. All of the characters stand out and the colors are bright and vibrant in general. This all looks fantastic all the way around and it makes reading the comics a breeze. I hope they keep this artist for the full run if possible because it would be difficult to top this.

Overall, Sonic is off to the races once more. I always thought the Archie comics were fantastic as well so I was sad to see them go but hopefully this new ongoing will continue for a very long time as well. I think Archie had something like 700 issues so for me I first want to see 100 total issues and then after that I’d like the series to reach 1000. Of course that will take years to do but it would be a really fun goal. If you haven’t read the comics yet then you definitely should. It’s got everything that a Sonic fan could possibly want!

Overall 8/10

Sonic The Hedgehog 2 Review

Posted on by
2


It’s time to finally take a look at the big Sonic sequel! There was a lot of hype going into this one because Knuckles was finally going to show up! In some ways the hype for the 3rd film had already started before the second even came out because that was going to be the big one with the key player finally showing up but this one is the true build up. Sonic had to first learn responsibility and what true power is before the third one so he would be ready. Fortunately I would say this one even ended up beating the original in pretty much all areas. Only the human plot isn’t as good so in the third maybe they can balance that out.

The movie starts out very quickly as Knuckles shows up and helps Eggman return to Earth. Eggman aims to use this guy to take out Sonic once and for all and becomes interested in the Master Emerald which can grant unlimited power! Sonic has been trying to fight crime lately but it’s awfully difficult. It’s hard to minimize casualties and all that so the humans keep telling him not to help out at all which seems a bit selfish if you ask me. Sonic is still saving lives after all. When a fox named Tails shows up, Sonic realizes that his time to be a true hero has finally arrived. Is he up to the task?

Since the human plot has almost nothing to do with anything we may as well knock that one out first. As I said this is the weak point of the film. So Tom has to head over to Rachel’s wedding but she really dislikes him and aims to make this a rough time for the guy. Unfortunately Tom does end up having to mess with the wedding a bit but duty calls. I was glad that he made the right call in the end even if it did make things tricky for him socially.

Tom is ultimately a good character who is stuck in a rather weak plot the whole time. He is ready to fight and isn’t afraid of Eggman. The biggest shame here is that he doesn’t get to banter with Eggman much in this film since they don’t meet up until the end. It’s too bad because that dynamic was actually really solid in the original. I would have just included Tom with Sonic’s plot and I think that would have amped things up a lot. The guy has a lot of good lines.

Rachel is just annoying though. She needs to stop trying to dunk on Tom and just have a good time. It’s her wedding after all so why get so stressed right? She gets a comedy plot where she teams up with Maddie to clown on the government and get some revenge. The music may be reasonably solid here but the scene’s a bit dragged out and does start to cross the line of being a little too over the top.

The one thing I will give for the human plot is I loved the introduction of GUN. This is a group that should have a massive role in the next film. Yes, I can already tell their role won’t be as good since that group was highly competent in the games while this one looks to be comic relief. It’s a shame but that’s how it goes. Still, I was glad to see them and their plan here was actually good. I mean by all accounts it really worked so not bad right?

Meanwhile in town you had Wade trying to prove himself as the sheriff in stopping Stone but that ultimately didn’t really go anywhere or have much relevance to the plot. You could cut Wade out entirely and nothing would really change so it was pretty much filler. Stone still looks up to Eggman a whole lot and just wants to feel appreciated. That’s probably not going to happen anytime soon though. Stone’s dedicated, I’ll give him that.

Now we start to get into the main plot. Sonic and Tails fighting it out with Knuckles and Eggman to try and get the Master Emerald first. This had a lot of fun tributes to the games like the avalanche levels and the Sonic vs Knuckles fights definitely deliver. I did have some power level issues with this though like how Sonic should have smoked Knuckles. Why did he keep running straight at the guy? In a battle of speed vs power you always have to use your speed in order to gain the upper hand and land some devastating blows.

Trying to beat the power guy with power isn’t going to work. I thought Sonic could and should have fought a lot better here. Ultimately even while he lands some good blows, it always feels like he’s on the losing end here. Also, the speed difference between him and the others isn’t emphasized enough. When Sonic’s sandbagging sure he can look as fast as Knuckles or Tails. He likes to be running with them together but otherwise he should be zipping around like crazy. The film does understand his speed in some cases like when he’s dodging lasers or missiles but then in the fights he is suddenly a lot more normal.

I get that they had to try and make Knuckles seem like a threat but they went a bit far beyond the believability territory. By that point you’re really just shaking your head. Still great for the visuals and all plus Knuckles fans should be happy but it’s very noticeable. It’s always the issue you face as a writer when your lead character is so fast but you just have to adapt and keep it moving.

This plot had its share of serious and somber moments along with the light hearted adventuring. It’s well balanced and a lot of fun. This is definitely the highlight of the movie and it’s no surprise since you probably are watching this for Sonic after all. He delivers in each of his scenes without a doubt. Sonic also does get some decent development from the first film. He’s at least trying to be a hero even if he hasn’t mastered it yet. I wouldn’t expect any drastic changes to his character any time soon so he’s probably still going to appear as a younger version to the Sonic we’re used to from the games but he’s done well.

Tails is also really solid here and feels a lot like his classic self. He looks up to Sonic a lot and is lacking in confidence but is slowly building it. If they adapt the tearjerker scene from Adventure 2 next time then that’ll be the perfect place to give Tails the rest of his character arc. It’s always good to have a genius on your side so having him around is a great help to Sonic.

As for Knuckles, fans of his should definitely have fun with his character. He’s super strong and is devoted to finding the Master Emerald at all times. He feels a little less smart than his game counterpart as it almost seems like they were going to start taking inspiration more from Sonic Boom Knuckles who takes things literally and doesn’t know a ton but the writing is good enough here to where he is not super exaggerated like that. So in the end he still made for a great antagonist. I’d like to see him stick around and be a main character for the next adventure.

Then we have Eggman and I was not expecting him to gain super powers the way that he did. It was an interesting take on his character though. I hope he would return for future films but if not, this was a good exit. He has a lot of clever little puns that he would throw in throughout the movie that were a blast. At times he can be a little more crazy than genius and the film could maybe dial it back a bit at times but all in all I still had a lot of fun with him. Eggman is an iconic part of the film and you definitely couldn’t do this adventure without him.

Naturally there is an after credits scene. You’ve likely heard or seen it since that was everywhere even before the film was fully out, but if not then you’re going to really be in for a treat. Hype levels for Sonic 3 are now out of this universe so get ready. If it adapts even 10% of what the next adventure should be then we’re really going to be in for a treat. It’s not too early to say that the film has a shot at being movie of the year at this point. I would be surprised and dismayed if it’s anything lower than that.

Just based on how different the characters are it’s bound to not be a 1 to 1 adaption but as long as you get the bullet points then you’re good. I’d also like them to include some more of the video game tunes. The soundtrack was still good and all but hearing some of those classic tunes would make it even better. At least if you ask me that would be the best move here. There would be no turning back from that. The effects and everything are good here as well.

Overall, Sonic The Hedgehog 2 is a great film. It really capitalized on the development and hype moments from the first film while taking this one to the next level. The human scenes are a weakness but they’re not so bad that they drag the film down too much. Without them would this be a 9 star film? Probably not so in the end the damage was minimal and you’ll be okay. Like I said, at least we got GUN out of it so that’s a start.

Overall 8/10

Shazam vs Knuckles

Posted on by
Reply



Suggested by Sonic Shazam is incredibly powerful but he hasn’t had to go toe to toe with Sonic a bunch of times. While Knuckles definitely doesn’t have that same kind of speed, he is still incredibly fast in his super and hyper forms. His attacks would deal a whole lot of damage to Shazam as well. This could end up being a little close if Shazam is able to land some blows but ultimately Knuckles will win this out with his speed. Knuckles wins.

Yugi vs Knuckles

Posted on by
Reply




Suggested by Sonic This is probably the trickiest match in some ways. On one hand Yugi has a ton of monsters, spells, and trap cards at his disposal. While not all of them would be a threat to Knuckles, the Egyptian god cards are certainly a force to be reckoned with as well as the Dark Magician pair. Then Yugi also has a lot of redirection spells. On the other hand, Knuckles has obtained significant power ups thanks to the chaos emeralds. His power is also off the charts with enough speed to give Sonic a fight. I’ve got to go with Knuckles here. This is one case where sheer numbers is just not going to be enough to outweigh his raw power. Knuckles wins.

Team Sonic Racing Overdrive Review

Posted on by
Reply


It’s time to take a look at the 2 part segment Sega released. It’s roughly 10 minutes or a little shorter than that, but it’s a nice way to cross promote the game. I was lightly tempted to get the game day 1, but there are just so many good games coming out right now that it’s tough to know which ones to take the plunge on. Regardless, I do look forward to playing it some day. I imagine it will be quite solid just as this special is.

The plot is pretty straightforward. The various heroes and villains have entered a race where the winner will receive a large gold trophy. Team Sonic, Chaotix, Rose, and Dark are all entering the race. Only one team can win though and it quickly becomes clear that Shadow and Sonic are the front runners here. That being said, there are a lot of racers on the track and so anything can happen. Be sure to stay glued to the seat so you don’t miss a second of the action.

The animation is very smooth and this style is definitely good at energetic scenes like this one. In general it’s a nostalgic style and one that’s very “clean” You will always know what’s happening and the designs are simplistic and so they are able to go through a lot of movements very quickly. It’s always been one of the big strengths of this animation style and Overdrive puts it to good use. A whole show like this would be quite fun for sure. Although the characters don’t talk here you can still get a lot of their personalities instantly because of how well animated they are.

As always Shadow is definitely a stand out character here. He actually does really well while at the same time knowing when it’s best to finally put his abilities into motion. The other characters also have to deal with a lot of interference on the track. It puts all of their skills on the line. There’s certainly nothing negative about this special and so it’s pretty much ideal. Between this and the Sonic Mania shorts, it’ll be fun to see if Sega decides to keep them up. I remember at the big Sonic event they did say that it takes forever to animate these scenes but maybe if they bring more animators on board they would be able to make a whole show like this. I’ll certainly be ready if they do.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend checking this special out. Even if you aren’t planning on getting the game it’s fun to see the cast just hanging out and getting all competitive. It’s also a lot of fun for fans who grew up in the Adventure era as there are a bunch of references and remixed tunes from the old game. You’ll likely remember all of them even if you don’t know the exact names. It’s the little things like that which really help take Overdrive to the next level. Also, it’s super short so it’s not like it’ll take all that much time out of your day to check it out right?

Overall 7/10

Unicron vs Knuckles

Posted on by
Reply




Suggested by Destroyer Unicron is definitely strong and his size ensures that a single hit will send Knuckles flying. Fortunately for the Echidna he has the Master Emerald at the ready. In Chaos Mode Knuckles is probably even stronger than Unicron and with his speed he will be able to dodge all counter attacks. I’m afraid that it will all be over for Unicron in an instant. Knuckles wins.