Stats time!
Play Time 2h 46m
Best Times
Alpine Skiing Downhill 2m 11s
Ski Jumping Large Hill 219.35
Freestyle Skiing Moguls 25.11
Freestyle Ski Cross 1m 5s
Biathlon 26:59
Snowboard Parallel Giant Slalom 47s
Snowboard Slopestyle 73.66
Snowboard Cross 1m 27s
Skeleton 1m
4-man Bobsleigh 58s
Figure Skating Singles 130.09
Figure Skating Pairs 163.53
Speed Skating 500m 30s
Short Track Speed Skating 1000m 1m 24s
Winter Sports Champino Race 3m 41s
Groove Pipe Snowboard 2m 12
Roller Coaster Bobsleigh 2m 4s
Bullet Bill Sledge Race 1m 45s
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
Looks like Ralph is back and ready to rumble! The first film was definitely solid and I’ve seen it more than once so I was definitely ready to see what the second one had in store. This one was going to deal with the internet instead of following up on video games which was a risky choice at the time, but in the end the games still do appear. It’s a solid sequel that comes close to matching the first one but does slightly suffer from a weak climax.
Ralph Breaks The Internet starts off with him and Vanellope hanging out and enjoying their newfound freedom. Life is pretty much perfect for them right now. Unfortunately that all changes when a kid breaks the steering wheel to Sugar Rush and the game is now going to be terminated since there are no more wheels. That gives Ralph the idea to go to the internet and buy the last remaining one from EBay. It’s really pricey though so he and Vanellope will have to earn a bunch of money. After experiencing HD 1080P graphics will the girl really want to go back to her arcade game?
If you’re here for the video game aspect then the early scenes will likely be your favorite. We do see all of the old arcade characters one last time even if they aren’t too important to the plot by this point. Sonic gets some lines which is always cool. Then you’ve got the online games like Fortnite which makes a cameo. Since it was in the top 10 Buzztube videos I was hoping Ralph was actually gonna play it for a second. “Where we dropping boyz?” would have been a nice reference. There is also one game that is very important to the plot and fortunately it’s a very fun game. It’s the kind of title that I’d enjoy playing IRL. It’s called Slaughter Race and it’s a very gritty racing game that takes place in an apocalyptic setting. It’s the kind of game that doesn’t really end as you just go around causing mayhem and blowing up other cars. At the same time there is a secret challenge in the game that’s so hard it is worth 40000 dollars in the real world. You have to try and steal Shank’s car away from her. That’s what Ralph needs to do since he and Vanellope need the money but it proves to be quite difficult.
Vanellope is still a champion racer like in the first movie so she does give us a great racing scene. As always she has a very confident attitude and the skills to back it up. It’s probably also the first time she has had any serious competition so you can definitely see why she’s excited. Between the game’s graphics and the fast nature of the game it’s definitely a very fun scene. I do think that with her glitching super power coupled with her driving skills Vanellope should have aced this though.
Only problem with having the best scene in the film this early on is that the climax had no shot of conquering it. It involves a giant opponent who is a King Kong reference and naturally that means we don’t get any kind of really fast fight scene or race. The ending has a good moral and everything but it’s just not quite a exciting as it could have been. I think having Vanellope race inside of the Slaughter Race game again would have been a better ending. It would have been a moment of truth kind of scene as she proves why the game fits her so well.
Meanwhile Ralph’s character does regress a bit here. He’s apparently become very dependent on Vanellope to the point where it’s hard for him to function without her. It’s great that they’re good friends and all, but he certainly does cross some lines when he tries to keep it that way. The virus part just felt a little out of character, it was a little more excessive than I would have expected. It’s too bad since he was really solid in the first film, but I’d have to give him a firm thumbs down this time. Felix and the Resident Evil homage character don’t really appear much here so there’s nothing to say about those guys. It would have been nice to see more of them I guess, but their romance plot seems like it would get very old very fast so maybe this is for the best.
Meanwhile Vanellope is still the best character in the film. She was looking out for Ralph which is why she was trying to break the news in a gentle way. Too bad she didn’t realize her phone was off. Reminds me of the recent apple glitch where someone could call your phone through face time and hear you even if you had your phone off. If not for that then most of the trouble probably wouldn’t have been quite so bad. So it’s not her fault, it’s just the tech to blame. (And Ralph) The main new character here is Shank and naturally she does have a lot of scene stealing moments. She makes for a great rival/mentor character to Vanellope and that aids their scenes in being so great. You can’t race yourself after all. I was actually a bit surprised that she didn’t really get to do anything in the climax, but maybe they didn’t want her to steal the show.
The writing is definitely very good here with all of the references that are thrown in. I’m happy to report that I can basically recognize all of the references in this one involving the internet. Then you throw in the witty banter and you’re all set. The animation is pretty consistent with the first one. I wouldn’t really say that the animation has improved or gotten worse and as I enjoyed how the first film looked I definitely like this one as well. There were no corners cut in this movie’s production.
Make sure you stay after the credits since we do get two extra moments. The first one’s kind of “eh” but the second one’s definitely real solid. Get ready for a blast from the past that you won’t soon forget. It’s easy to see why this certain reference has stayed popular for so long. It’s just dynamite and that’s why it shall never go away.
Overall, Ralph Breaks The Internet is definitely a very solid follow up to the original. I do prefer the classic, but there’s not a lot separating these two. They’re pretty much equal in terms of quality and that’s good since it shows that there was clearly some quality effort put behind this film. I’d certainly recommend checking it out. One thing to keep in mind is that they do play a short clip of “Let It Go” which instantly elevates the movie as well. If they ever do come up with a third film I’ll definitely be hyped to see it. I do think this one should spend more time in the actual games though. The best parts of the film are always when they’re inside some kind of game.
Overall 7/10
Doing the stats for a game like this is always tough for a bunch of reasons. The first of which is that since I’m still actively playing it all of these stats will be outdated as soon as I’ve published them. As a result I will only publish some basic stats for now and add more in once the game has settled down a bit.
Play Time 40h
Challenges 124/124
World of Light 100% complete
Spirits 800
Highest Online GSP- Marth 1.3 million
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