Tag Archives: Sonic The Hedgehog

Sonic Rumble Review

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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 The Hedgehog: Bad Guys Review

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It was finally time for the bad guys to get a quick spinoff adventure of their own. Right now there aren’t a lot of big time villains on the loose so these are mainly the B tiers but in a way that works out so that the group isn’t too overpowered. It’s a fun enough adventure. I always like seeing the villains trying to work together even if I did end up missing Sonic and pals. You already know when Sonic shows up all of these villains are doomed. That’s how powerful Sonic is and why he is so feared.

The comic starts with Dr. Starline trying to figure out how to take over the world and get back into Eggman’s good graces. They had a big falling out which Starline mainly attributes to being Eggman’s fault but because of that he can’t just walk up to the doctor. No, he needs more power and so that’s when he decides on a prison break. He’ll get all of the villains out so they can help him bust into Eggman’s base and steal some key parts. With those, Starline will have everything he needs to achieve his goals…but can he trust the other villains?

Tensions are high the whole time since nobody trusts each other. Zavok in particular has good reason not to trust anybody since he was just double crossed about a week ago. To get around this, Starline says he will work for Zavok. Both of them suspect a betrayal is coming up but set up a partnership in the meantime. You have to decide which villain has the upper hand here or if they both end up looking a little too naive here. There is a whole lot of back and forth as every villain takes some risks but of course it does make sense why they all want to get out of jail.

Mimic is probably the coolest villain of the bunch. He still comes off as a really intense assassin who is always out for blood. By this point he is obsessed with taking down Whisper and as it stands he is probably still a bit stronger than her. She’ll need to watch her back, having the ability to shapeshift is always an extremely difficult power to overcome. No matter where you go, he could be around somewhere.

Then you have Rough and Tumble. I’ve always had a soft spot for these guys. They are fairly weak in the grand scheme of things but their catchphrase is a lot of fun. They really know how to get the rhymes in without any delay. They also may not be as strong as someone like Knuckles but they still do have some strength. I also like the teamwork and solid bond between them. Note, I wouldn’t want them to turn good or anything but I look forward to their next battle.

Of course Zavok is a big player here and I want to say that the comic is doing its best to make him a really hype figure. Does it work? Ehhhhh I’d say not so much. Ultimately he looks tough but as always falters down the stretch. There’s really no reason for him to be outsmarted yet again since he had a heads up here. It shows that he really needs to get better at planning. He also gets incredibly lucky with his escape at the end because Eggman really had him dead to rights. Only plot armor was able to help him.

As for Starline, you could argue that he is the only one to really get a win here. Perhaps not in the way that he hoped and it took some last minute improvising but things turned out well enough. I just still don’t find him to be a very interesting villain yet. Eggman’s really the only brainiac that we need. Starline can change this but for now he is relatively uninspiring. In a sense you can say the continuity is still young though so he can have plenty of time to prove me wrong. It would be good for him to rise up the ranks. Maybe some of his tech can help him get a decisive win over Sonic. That would be a good start.

Eggman is around a bit and I’d say he looks good. He does see through some of the obvious traps and shows why he is still a genius. He may lose to Sonic a lot but is still a tough customer. It would have been fun to have had a quick Sonic appearance but we got something close to a cameo so I suppose I’ll have to settle for that. I’d like to try another villain team up like this a few years down the line when they can include big fighters like Infinite, Mephiles, Black Doom, etc. You probably can’t do them all at once or the heroes would really be doomed but there is a ton of potential there.

As always the art is very good here. It’s very colorful and all of the characters stand out. The fight scenes are good and the pages are all easy to follow. The action sequences are solid as well so I really have no complaints at all here. Sonic never disappoints. Meanwhile the writing is solid as you would expect and the whole adventure is very engaging. It may not be really high stakes but it’s nice to get a window into what goes on while Sonic and friends are having a little break. There is always a little chaos somewhere.

Overall, Bad Guys was a fun comic to read through. It’s a self contained story that you can read cover to cover without having to rely on any other titles. It still sets up clear plotlines for the future as well with all of these villains getting another opportunity to show up. I’d say it’s probably good to space them out and give time for more villains to be introduced but all of these guys are definitely ready to really cause a stir. If you haven’t read this comic yet, you should definitely change that! This may feel like a light hearted spinoff adventure but it does end with some pathways back to the main series so you won’t want to miss out on that. Mimic, Zavok, and Starline definitely have some big plans up their sleeves.

Overall 7/10

Sonic Christmas Blast Review

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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 The Hedgehog Volume 8: Out of the Blue Review

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With this volume we really finish the metal virus arc and I can definitely say that it had a really good run. It was definitely an arc with a whole lot of action and excitement so it sets the bar rather high for the next storyline. Even though this is more of an epilogue we do get some good action here as well. There is one plot that is rather rushed but ultimately it worked out since I was ready to see the character return sooner than later.

After the events of the metal virus arc, Sonic has disappeared and the heroes have to try and regroup. It will be difficult though since Eggman has decided that this is the perfect time for him to rule the world. He’s not wrong, most of the heroes are on their last legs and are still exhausted from the fights. Additionally, The Deadly Six are on a rampage. The world needs Sonic the Hedgehog and may just end up falling without him.

The first story is an anthology though as we see what different characters were doing during the big invasion. For example Big was chasing Froggy around and beating up on the metal zombies. We see two radio broadcasters and how they handled the invasion. One panicked while the other stayed on the line but eventually they both banded together here. We get more details on what was going on with Team Chaotix as well as the jewel fighter. It’s a pretty nice anthology although by default it is the weakest point of the volume. These are side characters for a reason after all and it’s why these story beats could not make it to the main title. They are fun to see but aren’t exactly at the top billing.

When we get back to the main story is when we really have the hype. For example we get to see Shadow vs Metal Sonic which is always a great matchup. I admit that I would usually expect Shadow to do a little better but I can definitely buy into his being weakened and exhausted which made this tougher. Additionally it’s not like Metal Sonic is a slouch, the guy is a credible threat at all times so I am definitely fine with him getting a win every now and then. He’s earned that much. I’d say it was the highlight fight of the volume.

It was also nice seeing Silver and friends take down Zavok. That guy may be the power hitter of the Deadly Six but at the end of the day I wouldn’t really expect him to last all that long. Then of course we have Sonic vs Eggman but it’s so short that it’s barely a fight. Just enough to remind you why Sonic is the crucial piece for the heroes. As long as he is around you can bet that the villains will be put on notice. They won’t be able to keep up with him. Sonic looks great as always too with all of the confidence that he has.

The subplot I referenced earlier was after sonic gets amnesia so he hangs out with Blaze for a little while. It’s a fun enough moment but ultimately ends real fast so it doesn’t really add much. It’ll be fun to have her join the crew for some adventures soon though. Her fire powers were always a lot of fun to see after all and she is definitely powerful. The heroes can always use more help with how much destruction has occurred. It feels like damage from the Sonic Forces storyline is still in effect with the world constantly in rebuild mode. Throw in the whole metal saga and it could only have gotten worse.

I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a last hurrah for some of the big characters like Metal Sonic, Shadow, Silver so they can show off some of the other characters a bit. The Sonic verse has a ton of characters after all and while this one had a whole lot, there are still others who will probably want their screentime. Not to mention that we have all of the new IDW original characters to think about as well. So long as Sonic is there, it’ll always be a good balance.

Some characters can probably use a power up as well. This comic showed once again that when Sonic is not around, Eggman actually has a reasonable chance of taking over. The rest of the characters may be strong and skilled in their own ways, but for some reason they need Sonic as the leader to take charge. I wouldn’t want to ever have them write Sonic out to put that to the test but it is a great excuse for a training arc at some point. Realistically Shadow and Silver should have the world really well protected but Eggman’s only weakness continues to be Sonic himself.

As always the art is really good here. The colors are super vibrant and the characters are all really well written. Part of what makes the comics so fun is how they really flow together. It feels like an ongoing story where everything has been carefully planned out. This would make for a very good video game. The characters are still some of the best characters in all of gaming after all and that translates really well into the comic realm. Now I just need Infinite to show up.

Overall, There are definitely no negatives to be had with this Sonic comic. There is a little less to talk about than usual since it is in epilogue mode but it’s an excellent wrap up to the arc. If you’ve read the previous volumes then you really need to check this one out as well. There’s a ton of great content to be digested after all. I also doubt they are going to try and have another end of the world plot with the whole cast teaming up again for a long while so you really need to savor the experience. This kind of grand event is always worth the wait but that wait can feel awful long. Regardless, I have yet to read a bad Sonic arc and I doubt the next one will change that.

Overall 8/10

Sonic X Shadow Generations Review

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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 Dash Review

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It’s time for another Sonic mobile game. It’s really impressive just how much mileage Sega has gotten out of the Dash series. You’ve got the Sonic Forces version, Sonic Boom, Sonic Prime (Which I haven’t played yet) and of course this one as the main version. I think there is even a premium version on Apple Arcade. Well, I can safely say that this might be the best out of the main Dash titles. It’s a lot of fun and has a great deal of characters although from what I’ve heard it used to be even better before a recent update that happened several months ago. Well, I never got to know what the old version was like so in a way I suppose it doesn’t affect me as much.

Basically the concept is that you are always running. You keep on running in a straight line until you lose. You lose by falling into a pit, bumping into something, or getting hit by enemies when you have 0 coins. Otherwise you can theoretically play for hours since you won’t die, but the game is reasonably difficult so that’s hard to picture. You can change which aisle you are in while running as well as jumping up and sliding down. The controls are basic which is the point here. You also gain different items as you are playing like temporarily doubling your score or a magnet that pulls in nearby items. Both power ups are super handy so grab every item you can find. Every enemy you defeat also awards you little animals that you can use to unlock more maps which helps you get red coins and characters.

As you level up, you start with higher score multipliers. For example if you are level 15 then you earn points at 15X the normal speed. Some people are already at level 200+ so their scores are absolutely crazy by this point. It’s a pretty fun way to incentivize you to keep on playing more and more so that you can build up high scores like that. Your levels are easy to increase since just about every action increases them. Powering up your fighters, completing daily missions, etc.

As an endless runner there is endless content to be had here. You can just keep on playing. Some things are limited per day like red ring prizes and daily missions but you can always keep on getting cards (which unlock characters and let you power them up) and coins which are needed for pretty much everything. You will see cards on the course as you run through and you get more by doing tricks in the sky as well. During special events, some character cards will show up more often than others. For example I joined during a Super Shadow event so I unlocked him and then an Infinite/Mephiles event started so I unlocked those guys.

I unlocked 20 characters during my short stint with the game so you unlock them pretty quickly. I think there’s something like 100 characters in the game though so it would take a while to unlock them all. Generally speaking I like the way you unlock characters though so that seems fun. I have heard that one downside is you will eventually start earning cards for characters you have maxed out which sounds annoying. If you ask me those should be removed from the pool so that sounds really odd. Ah well, I can’t verify that anyway.

The graphics are definitely pretty sharp here. The character models are really clear and the stages are vibrant. Sometimes it can be hard to dodge an obstacle because a card is in the way which is a slight pet peeve but on the whole, as expected the game really does look quite nice. Meanwhile the soundtrack is also good. A bit limited but the Sonic music is clear and as always it’s pretty energetic so it works well in an endless runner. I already spoke about the unlimited replay value so you don’t have to worry about that.

It does have one of my big annoyances though which is a mandatory video ad every time you lose in a stage. The reason it isn’t game breaking though is apparently the game doesn’t have as many advertisers now. So as you’re playing, you’ll notice very quickly that the ads stop popping up and if you try to click on one, it says that there are no more ads available to view. So that’s pretty cool, then the gameplay really does become quite seamless. You can also permanently remove ads by buying anything in the shop, so maybe the $1 coins bundle but of course I don’t spend money on mobile games. Pokemon Go was the one exception to that.

Sonic Dash is hardly perfect, but I would say it is a very good open runner. The menus are all very clear and your objectives are also easy to understand. The game completely understands what it is here to do and isn’t trying to trick the player. What you see is what you get and I like that about the game. I do tend to enjoy open runners quite a lot. None of them have matched up to Miraculous which has the best game in this genre but Sonic gives it a good fight. Now all I need is an open runner with some kind of story mode and I would really be set! Surely they’ll come up with something like that eventually.

Overall, It’s time for another app game to be uninstalled but this was a pretty fun one while it lasted. I can definitely say that Sega knows what it is doing with these titles. Sonic Dash had a lot of heart to it and quickly becomes very addicting. If you are looking for a game to play for a long while then this is definitely the one for you. Hopefully they announce a new Sonic mobile game at some point, I’ll definitely be there. In the meantime, it’s back to Pokemon Go being the center of attention as per usual.

Overall 7/10

Sonic the Hedgehog Volume 7: All or Nothing

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It’s finally time for the next big Sonic adventure and this one just barely ends the metal virus saga. That one really lasted quite a while so I gotta say I was pretty impressed there. Definitely a comic arc that I’ll remember and this one has a lot of solid fights all throughout. You will definitely get your fill here as the comic does not leave you empty handed. You’re getting a lot of bang for your buck.

Sonic is pretty much on his last legs by this point and the Deadly Six are running the show now so he is forced to work together with Eggman to put a stop to these guys. It’s the team up that everyone has been waiting for so you can bet that things are really getting intense now. Since Sonic is really unable to fight though, it’s an excuse to have everyone else showing off a little bit. Pretty much every character gets a turn in the spotlight which is really nice to see.

The Deadly Six aren’t the most powerful villains out there as Sonic can easily beat the whole group but you have to keep in mind that Sonic’s supporting cast is considerably weaker than he is. So it’s actually fairly reasonable for them to be struggling a bit more here. That may sound a bit harsh but hey that’s just how it goes. The matchups were pretty interesting here. I think Amy and Tails should have had an easier time on their end though. Their opponent’s super slow and they at least have reasonable speed right? I’m thinking maybe they just aren’t as powerful in this series but it also could be that I’m underestimating the villain a bit.

I would say Espio and Silver had the massive advantage on their sides. Both of their villains wouldn’t really be doing much there. Gmerl also should have had an easy time except for the fact that his opponent can freely control machinery which was rough. He also had to be on the lookout for Cream who decided to help without having much of a plan. I’m afraid the comic was not a good look for her as she was still unable to get all that serious when it counted. I would have liked her to have gone all in on attacking the villain considering the stakes here. There’s just no more time for posturing or anything like that. You have to go in and take the win, it’s the only option left.

Sonic also has a great portrayal here all the way through. By now he’s been running for hours and hours to the point where it is turning into days. He can’t stop or he will be transformed so that’s why it’s so impressive. It’s one of his best stamina feats, I definitely have to give him that. He may not get to fight too much this time as a result but he’s already had a whole lot of action so it’s not bad to have a little break. Naturally he does get some action for the climax so you don’t have to worry about that at all.

Eggman’s still not the best at planning things out right now though. I dare say his intellect might be on fraud watch at the moment as he really isn’t thinking things out. He is making too many rookie mistakes so you could say that he’s finally over the hill or he’s just getting too complacent at this point. Either way it’s not a good look for him. I was glad to see him take out the sidekick though as that self proclaimed genius was more on the annoying side so far.

If you’re not a big fan of the Deadly Six then I don’t see that changing here. They look reasonable and all but they just don’t have the same level of stage presence. Evil Shadow was more threatening and he only appears for a few pages. In general the metal zombies are still really big threats and it was nice seeing them get so much respect here. The fact that they are invincible and have the huge numbers advantage is enough to make them tough to stop. After all, unless you find a cure you can never truly beat them. You’re just delaying the inevitable.

Shoutout to Team Babylon though, they look pretty great here. Especially Jet who really took charge and showed why he is still one of the heavy hitters. He may not appear a whole lot in Sonic media but you have to love the confidence and skills that he displays. He’s a clear cut above most of the other characters and doesn’t back down to anyone. I would definitely read a full series about this guy. I know he could hold his own. The supporting cast for Sonic is huge which this arc does a good job of displaying so it makes sense that he won’t always be around but adding him into any story is an immediate buff.

As expected the art is great here. Definitely a lot of real powerful shots and the art is always consistent. The fights look really good and they spared no expense on the strong colors. Meanwhile the writing is also really solid. We get a good amount of banter and humor as well as the serious stuff. The continuity feels really strong here and we still get references to the first arc of the series. I like that these things aren’t just forgotten and it helps the world feel a lot more real. Now we just need Infinite to show up.

Overall, Sonic has had a really good run so far and this volume definitely continues it. As always with an arc of this scale it’s going to be tough to top for a while so I can definitely see them going with some smaller stories in the meantime. This one pretty much had every named character in it after all and you probably don’t want to do those kinds of stories too often. The comic really had no weaknesses as every aspect of it was great. Definitely a must read for all fans of the blue blur! It really goes by quickly with how much fun you’re having.

Overall 8/10

Sonic the Hedgehog, Volume 6: The Last Minute Review

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It’s time for the next installment in the Sonic series. The arc is still going strong here with more and more characters being turned into robotic monsters. Shadow was taken off of the board last time and Sonic is already infected so the heroes are really on their last legs. There is a good amount of tension here and a whole lot to enjoy overall so this was definitely a win/win all around.

This volume spends the first 3 issues showing us events from a few different POVs. You have Tails, then Amy, and then Sonic. Each of them were embarking on different missions to try and stop the virus. Tails was working on a vaccine that could reverse the effects of the bug and in theory bring everything back to the way that it was. Amy was doing her best to keep the townsfolk safe until Tails could get back and then Sonic was trying to capture his speed data to see if that could be a lead on getting other people immune. Unfortunately all 3 of them suffer some setbacks here.

By this volume Sonic has started to lose a lot of his stamina as well which makes a lot of sense since he has been running for so long now. He may be used to running a lot, but not for nearly this long without a single break. I still like the idea of how running is able to regress the virus’ effects at least for a while since his speed is the real deal. Even that has a timer though so if Sonic stops running then it’s all over. he still does a good job of trying to keep morale up though and taking care of business. At the end of the day, virus or not Sonic definitely has the edge here compared to the rest of the characters and can lead the way to victory.

Even though it didn’t work for Shadow, I still like to think Sonic could go in there and take all of the robots and Eggman out. The main problem is of course he can’t destroy the robots since they are all innocent so at most he would just be buying time. Then since we find out that even Eggman doesn’t have a cure in this volume, that doesn’t leave the heroes with a lot of options. It’s fair to say that Tails is really the last chance here. Either he makes a cure himself or the heroes are basically doomed.

Tails takes the situation pretty hard in this volume but overall I’d say he’s still looking good. Cream is definitely more on the weaker side here though as the whole situation really did break her. She stayed strong in front of Amy but not in front of Sonic. Whisper also had it rough as she finally broke down too. She’s usually the tough member of the group so I was a little surprised to see her lose her cool like that. Now’s the time to buckle down and get read because the situation will only get tougher from here.

I would say one of the highlights here would be Tangle. Now here’s a character who really put everything on the line and she never gave up. Her abilities may not be the strongest but she used them in a creative way to hold everyone back. I’d also say even Vector looked pretty good here. Yeah he ended up contributing to the situation but I’d argue that wasn’t entirely his fault. That’s more on the stowaway and otherwise his bubble may have lasted. When it didn’t work, Vector was ready with the sacrifice play.

Eggman fans should be a little nervous right now. He hasn’t been looking great so far and while he could still make a full comeback depending how his next scenes go, it’s also possible that this will be played straight in which case he would look really awful. With Eggman you just never really know and in that way the writer has done a good job of keeping things interesting. There are really 3 enemy factions at play here with Eggman, the Deadly Six, and Dr. Starline. Right now it’s hard to say who will have the last laugh. The story is framing it as Starline being the smartest and most prepared but in a way that might be too obvious. For now I’m counting on Eggman to stay on top but we’ll see if he can pull it off.

As always the art is really good here. All of the characters look like they were taken straight out of the games. The designs are all on point and the backgrounds are all very dynamic. The comic is a real page turner and it’s definitely easy to binge the whole time. The writing is also good. This would make for a great TV show someday and the series has always done a good job of really incorporating a ton of the Sonic mythos. The universe is really big so it makes sense to bring a lot of elements in right? The comics have not let me down yet.

As always I do have to throw a little show at Silver here though. The guy was crushing Sonic back when they first met and it seems like he is a true B leaguer at this point. The guy is never given a ton of respect. Yes he holds back a few of the mindless drones but that’s it. That’s not actually all that impressive as a feat and that’s the role he is stuck with here. I just miss his days of being really serious and powerful but so far that’s just not happening. Maybe at some point the tides will turn.

Overall, Sonic continues to product solid comics in each batch. This one’s a bit less action packed as it’s more of a zombie survival right now. The heroes just have to keep on moving and try to stay one step ahead which is no easy feat. It works well and I’m ready to see how the arc ends. I am hoping that we get a true final battle though. In a way you could end the arc without one but it’s always fun to have a big ending. Maybe have the transformed version of Shadow show up to fight Sonic. Now that would definitely be hype.

Overall 7/10

Sonic Prime Review

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It’s time to talk about the most recent Sonic show that just ended. Prime definitely had a pretty good run although the episode count isn’t as impressive as the overall length because of the way the show kept getting split up. Still, because of that you certainly can’t say that it was over in the blink of an eye. It had some good action and it’s always fun to see the Sonic characters running around even if the show never got too ambitious or tried to be anything more than pretty good.

The show starts off quickly with Sonic and friends trying to stop Eggman’s latest attack. He’s trying to do something with a crystal shard and so Sonic quickly attacks him but ends up blowing the shard up which sends him into a whole different reality. There are now different worlds that have alternate versions of Amy, Tails, Rouge, Big, and Knuckles. Sonic has to unite the gems to reform the crystal and bring his world back but to do hat he will have to defeat the Chaos Council, a group of different Eggmen that are bent on ruling the universe. Can Sonic stop them and will these alternate characters want to prevent the fusion since it could have dangerous repercussions on their own home worlds?

So right away I will say that this is pretty much a classic Saturday Morning cartoon title. You shouldn’t expect things to get too tense/dangerous even with the end of the world stakes at place. There will be a lot of one liners and comedic moments to keep things light but Sonic’s always been good with those. So the tone itself fits, but the execution isn’t always up to par with the high standard of the games’. Sonic is often not as witty as he thinks he is and so some of the jokes tend to fall flat. It’s why the show is definitely at its best when there is action happening.

We have one of our longest Sonic vs Shadow fights in the series during the second part of the show and it’s handled really well. Fans of Sonic may not appreciate that he plays second fiddle to Shadow all of the time but I’m pretty cool with Shadow being the strongest. (Remember that Sonic 2006 showed that he has been holding back the whole time and could have easily beaten Sonic) They should be fairly close but Shadow having the slight edge isn’t bad. In fact you could argue that a slight edge in a fight like this would be enough to have one character dominate.

Shadow is consistently shown to be more experienced, smarter, stronger, and more combat ready in general. In any scene with the two of them running around Sonic will often end up falling flat on his face while Shadow lands with grace and poise. As a result the show does have to write him out quite often since he would be dominating the whole time. Even then he shines off screen like when we see how he actually managed to take down a whole army of enemies. That was great. Shadow is absolutely the highlight of the series and any scene with him is awesome.

I will say that I also enjoy Sonic a lot. Yeah he definitely acts a lot younger than usual which is why my head canon is that this takes place back in the old days despite how that would not fit with continuity. However, he’s still a hero through and through. It’s always fun to see him use his speed and dominate the enemies when the chips are down. He’s a good lead and he still clears over 90% of the cast in the show.

It’s a bit of a shame that we don’t get to see his friends much since the alternate universe fighters take the main stage here. Most of them are rather boring. There’s the pirate crew but they don’t have much of a role beyond their version of Knuckles. That Knuckles is okay but it’s hard to take him seriously as a threat since you figure Sonic can beat him at any point. At least he did have a full personality the whole time so I’ll give him that.

Then in the Jungle role the only one with a real full role was Amy. She had a pretty good action scene with Sonic as they avoided the trees/vines while battling. Beyond that though, there isn’t really much to her. Her bird also ends up failing at the last possible moment for no reason other than to buy time which was odd. The Amys in general go more of a role than the other characters though. Typically each world had one primary character: Pirates was Knuckles, Rebellion was Tails, Jungle was Amy, however then you had the robotic Amy from the pirates world also get a big role so that broke tradition.

Robotic Amy was fun, she didn’t get quite as much to do later but it was a fun concept. Having her finally break away from the programming and do her own thing was cool although even then I think they could have done a little more with it. Imagine her being a full third faction just trying to take over the world or something. I think that could have been a lot of fun.

After that is Nine who has a super big role. His role is second only to Sonic in the show as he is a consistent presence in each part. The guy is a genius like the real Tails but has to live with the fact that he isn’t the Tails that Sonic always hung out with. The whole thing’s pretty tragic for him and I think the show does a good job of playing him up as more of an anti hero than straight up villain. I mean some of his dialogue in the last part is classic bad guy but the motivations make sense.

Basically the way I saw it at first is that depending on how the merging goes through, Tails’ and his timeline may no longer exist. The way the show actually ends it doesn’t seem like that’s the case but it’s a very reasonable concern. So his goals and Sonic’s are directly opposed to each other and Yu-Gi-Oh Arc V had a very similar issue. It’s a very interesting one that I enjoy because there isn’t really a right answer. Once a new world has been created, you don’t really have any authority to suddenly destroy it to bring your own back right? However if you don’t, then you are sort of murdering billions of people by inaction. Sonic has to bring his world back at any cost and Nine has to protect his.

Again, this is Sonic Prime so it’s not going to go with the hard philosophical questions like that. The final part makes this more of a black and white struggle in regards to who the good guys are and the bad guys but it was a fun way to end off the second part. Nine also works really well as a villain and while I will always take speed over smarts, he absolutely does give Sonic a good fight.

I’ll talk about the power levels in a minute but lets wrap up the characters. Metal Sonic shows up here which was pretty cool although it’s a very different take on the character to be sure. He likes to throw out puns and joke around just like Sonic. It’s going for the more literal copy of Sonic right down to the personality rather than being cold and calculating like he usually is. I get what they were going for here but I don’t think it really works. It does make him memorable though so I’ll give him that. Later on we get more copies that are truly mindless and they don’t end up being all that interesting.

Then we have the Chaos Council. While I’m not as harsh on them as some others, they are very weak villains. I didn’t personally like any of them and they just made me miss Eggman. The baby is super annoying since he can’t even talk and the old man is the other extreme where he is super old and that’s the only joke that the series will keep on reusing for him. You have the kid who loves playing video games which is barely even a personality and then the only adult who I could only describe as a watered down Eggman. So not a very intimidating group and the problem is that the show really wants you to respect them. They actually give Sonic a hard time at different points which doesn’t make any sense. We really could have used more villains.

This brings me to the power levels issue. It’s common for anything including speedsters so it’s not unique to Sonic Prime but it’s still annoying as always. Sonic should be mopping the floor with just about every villain in the series. I don’t mind him having trouble with Shadow, Metal Sonic, or other speedsters. But the Chaos Council, Pirate Knuckles, and Nine? Those fights should be over in the blink of an eye. It never makes sense whenever Sonic is hit by any of these guys. If you want to do that, then have him get exhausted first like when Nine forced him to keep saving people. That would make sense but a fresh Sonic can’t be getting hit all of the time.

It’s part of why I looked forward to seeing Shadow every time because he looked the way I expected Sonic to look. He actually used his speed well and was usually winning his battles while Sonic jobbed the whole time. Yeah Sonic would eventually win with the help of his friends but that was about it. Also the friends should not stand any chance against the Grim Sonics running around. It just comes across as really cheesy the whole time.

As mentioned, the animation is pretty smooth though and so that works with the fights. At times you don’t really feel the weight behind the blows though. I always turn to the DCAU or Dragon Ball Z for this. You need animation effects for the blows or a good sound effect. Part of the problem with Prime is someone will get punched or slammed but the effect is so weak that it feels lifeless. As for the soundtrack, it’s more on the generic side. Don’t expect anything memorable.

I will say to prepare yourself for a very dragged out Part 3. While I still enjoyed it quite a lot with the fighting and climax, it is fair to say that they really start to overplay their hand. There are a ton of moments that feel straight up like recycled footage and I think that’s actually the cast. We reuse the same story beats over and over to fight the same opponents in the same setting. I knew something was suspicious when we entered the climax almost immediately in the final part and that’s because we would end up going on a loop.

Part of the problem is that this makes the power level issues more obvious. On one hand you have Sonic and Shadow teaming up to beat the Grim Sonic and then later on you have him getting punched around by Knuckles and Amy. Yeah the Alphas are stronger than the clones but even the Alphas were losing to the friends. Doesn’t make a lot of sense. I think maybe part of the problem is the CG and the show had to keep reusing backgrounds and character models. It would explain why throughout the series we kept going to the same places and fighting the same enemies. It’s yet another reason why hand drawn will always be superior.

By the end of the series you deeply miss Eggman and Sonic’s actual friends. I would really like to see a series focus more on them without any big gimmicks because if you think about it that never really happens. In Sonic X we were busy with the humans and then going off to space, in Sonic Boom they’re all trapped on an island so the rest of the characters aren’t there, etc. I think there are plenty of great stories you could tell with the main cast and no gimmicks.

So repetition is the show’s biggest weakness. It should have mixed things up a bit more and even if I give the writers the excuse that the animation limited them, you can absolutely write around that. So Sonic Prime is a very safe show and it’s a fun one but these are the kinds of basic issues that keep it from moving forward. If the show ever does return or we get a brand new one, I’d like to see them mix it up a bit. Also they shouldn’t be afraid to make Sonic more of a true leader. Yeah he’s a free spirit but he’s a fairly mature one in most forms of media. He has fun with the jokes but always at a good time and he takes care of the situation with ease which is part of why it works.

I should give the show some credit for Sonic’s new super form though. It wasn’t really necessary since he has a ton of existing ones as it is, but I still enjoyed seeing it. It was a good way to end off one of the parts and at least salvage the climax from the usual giant villain. In general I also really liked a lot of the designs for the original characters like the Grim Bots and pretty much all of the mechs. So the character designers did really know what they were doing.

Overall, Sonic Prime was pretty fun. I had a good time with the episodes. The animation is good enough as it looks like cutscenes right out of the video games. It may not be as top tier as it could have been with a more traditional style but it did the job. In a lot of ways that describes the show all around. It’s pretty good even if it’s not groundbreaking. I don’t think the show itself will have a ton of replay value but I could see myself Youtubing some of the fights every now and again. Particularly Sonic vs Shadow which is the highlight of the series.

Overall 7/10

Sonic Dream Team Review

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When this game came out there were some massive waves among the gaming community. After all the game would be Apple exclusive and it’s crazy to see Sonic stuck on the mobile market since he’s usually on all of the big consoles. It’s a sign of how things are changing though and hopefully a port comes out at some point. In the meantime I figured this was the time to break out the 3 month free trial offer that Apple has. The game’s fairly short so it’s definitely beatable within that time.

The basic plot is that Eggman gets in a little over his head with a dream device but somehow puts up the ultimate comeback effort and takes over the dream world. I have to say that I was quite impressed with that since usually he would have lost. The guardian over the dream world is forced to ask Sonic and friends for help after they fell for Eggman’s trap and land inside the dream as well. Sonic and friends are always ready for a challenge and so they accept but will they really have what it takes to win this?

There are 4 worlds and each world has 3 levels and then a boss stage. Each level has 8 mini levels inside of them so that’s a fairly good amount. Beating each stage grants you an orb and you need orbs to unlock future levels. You will find that you need to clear most of the levels in order to reach the end but they tend to be bite sized so it’s not a huge undertaking. The first level is always the longest one and then they branch out from there.

The game steadily ramps up the difficulty level as the worlds go on though so you’ll notice yourself moving a bit slower after a while. The game has an infinite respawn mechanic so don’t worry about game overs or anything like that. The only kind of level you may have to restart are the time trials but otherwise you can die as often as you need to in order to understand and master the level. Once that has happened then you will be all set.

The boss battles are all handled pretty well. I appreciate that the game has unique bosses and they all fight differently. The final boss is the most different as you don’t actually fight him. It’s more of a chase scene type of level as you have to keep on running and dodging until you make it to the end. It’s definitely a very climactic way to end things off but it does come across as a little on the easy side. The rest of the bosses were all more difficult.

The graphics here are very good. This definitely looks like a full AAA Sonic game even though it’s for mobile and it shows just how far the market has gone over the years. Gone are the days where a mobile game looked like a last gen title. I also have to give a special shoutout to the soundtrack which is excellent. A lot of very catchy tunes here. They’re going for a very electronic vibe for just about the whole soundtrack and it works really well.

I’m also really glad that there’s a real story here. It would have been so easy for the game to have just skipped that and called it a day but that wasn’t the case here. The cutscenes may not have traditional movement but there are a lot of slides to get the feeling across. Also the opening is definitely very high budget. Hopefully the new character returns and I want them to keep on making more Sonic games with full stories like this. Sonic Dream Team keeps the light tone of the old games while having a full story like the Adventure titles which should keep both sides of the fanbase pretty happy. (Well most of them anyway)

The mobile controls do get a little tricky but of course I would say that’s not a big thing to be upset about since you can pair your PS4 controller to it. I didn’t bother in this case, I would have if this was a 50 hour RPG or something but I’m used to the phone pretty well as it is. I’ve been mobile gaming for several years at this point even if I’m still more of a console gamer overall. Now while I did enjoy the game, I do hope they really limit how many games are exclusive to Arcade because once this free trial is gone I doubt I’ll be able to get another.

For some closing notes, it’s nice how you can play as several different characters. It uses a system like Adventure 2 Battle where there are different classes and then each character in that class has the same abilities. So in this game that means there are 3 pairs: Sonic/Amy, Tails/Cream, and Rouge/Knuckles. Having 3 different gameplay styles is pretty fun and being able to change during a level is also cool. The game’s really trying out some interesting ideas here. I mainly stuck as Sonic when I was given a choice but there are many times you are forced to play as someone else so I recommend you to be as familiar with all of them as possible.

Overall, Sonic Dream Team is definitely a pretty good game. It’s not really as short as you would expect, I want to say that I put in around 4 hours so it’s about Sonic Forces level. There is some replay value as well although not a ton so I don’t want to trick you on that one. The levels are just big enough where getting all of the collectibles will likely take some work but also short enough where they are easy to replay and also just a lot of fun. I think that’s the biggest thing the game gets right, it’s just a lot of fun the whole time with colorful levels and high speed gameplay. Longtime Sonic fans will probably have fun 100% completing the game. Hey if you have Apple Arcade then you should absolutely play this game. I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to play it if I didn’t have the free trial but I’m sure it is the best game on the whole Arcade system so you don’t want to miss out on it.

Overall 7/10