The Sonic Cycle: The Modern Era

Hello everyone,

  In my previous post, I went into some generic details about the games that played part in Sonic the Hedgehog's "Dreamcast Era" and how they apply to "The Sonic Cycle."
  Here's a quick reminder on what The Sonic Cycle is: The Sonic Cycle is a pattern discovered in the way that SEGA has produced their Sonic the Hedgehog games since 1996. The pattern is a six game pattern, each with their own pros, cons, landmark breakthroughs, and gimmicky game play (depends on the game though).

   The "Modern Era" of Sonic the Hedgehog games are the games release between 2008 to the present. This era is titled the "Modern Era" due to the fact this will be the full era of Sonic games that use the modern version of Sonic, and the fact that every game has high definition graphics. However, this does not necessarily mean that they were good. What is also interesting to note is that the last handheld console exclusive title was released during the Modern Era, seeing that Sonic Generations was the first to start a trend of having a (horrible) portable version of a console game under the same name. I won't be tackling the details on the handheld titles, seeing as the juicy bits are in the home-console titles. Let's dive in shall we?
  The second loop of the Sonic Cycle begins in 2008 when the game Sonic Unleashed was released.
This game is gimmick-centric and practically features two separate games in one. You see, Sonic is cursed by some dark creature by the name of Dark Gaia, meaning that whenever the sun sets, he gets transformed into a werewolf-like creature called a "Werehog." This opens up an entirely new field of gameplay that is centric on the Werehog's wild and vicious behavior, where brawling Dark Gaia creatures fist-to-fist is pretty much the name of the game. By day however, Sonic is his usual Hedgehog-self able to run at top-speeds in a way that is much more fleshed out than Sonic '06 (see previous blog post).

Sonic the Werehog

  Does Peter agree with the fans? Yes. Although I think the Werehog is a very cool creature that boasts extremely unique gameplay for a Sonic game, he is extremely slow, and cumbersome to control. What's worse is that Sonic is literally traveling across the world in this game, meaning that we are forced to play during the night to advance. You would not believe how often this happens. It is too much, especially when you compare it to the fast paced running levels that take place during the day. Those levels aren't excellent, but they are better than the night levels. I wouldn't call them a highlight though, seeing as this is the first game to feature HD graphics. This game as a whole is eye-candy. By day you visit colorful and unique worlds based off of Greece, Italy, Africa, Antarctica, the Middle East, New York, and the Pacific Islands. Each of these levels feature some of the most stunning visuals I have seen in any game. That's saying something. And then at night you brawl through their more mystic-feeling evenings featuring a more darker feeling of the overall environment. Each level is accompanied by a fully orchestrated soundtrack that sets the game's tone in the most perfect way possible. Combine that all together, I say (several Sonic fans are going to hate me for saying this) I love this game. It ranks really high for me. If you have the patience to brave the night levels (don't be too frightened) I highly suggest you pick Sonic Unleashed up!
  At this point, many fans were curious if there would ever be another Sonic the Hedgehog game that would feature nothing to truly gripe about. Then we saw the picture in full color. Sonic Colors to be precise.
  Sonic Colors takes place in Dr. Eggman's (Sonic's archnemesis) theme park... in space... That sounds really odd typed out, but trust me, it's a lot different than you think! You see this theme park is actually a bunch of moon sized planets that are chained together, each with their own unique features. After Sonic spots Dr. Eggman's minions trying to capture a small alien creature called a "Wisp," Sonic gets suspicious of what is really going on behind the scenes and rightfully so. I'll let you find out the details yourself, but let me put it this way, this game's story is very predictable.
  Does Peter agree with the fans? Yes, actually. Despite the predictable storyline (and the dreadful one-liners. Ugh!) Sonic Colors brings out a very cheery atmosphere. The central planet is like one giant resort, while another planet consists entirely of dessert items (yes that's and entire world made of cake and ice cream). The game truly lives up to its theme park feel, all the while providing gameplay that is extremely satisfying to control. Another game worth trying.
  2011 marked Sonic the Hedgehog's 20th Birthday, and what a celebration it was, considering the fact that SEGA gave the fans a love letter in the form of a video game appropriately called Sonic Generations. In this game, an ominous creature known as the "Time Eater" is opening wormholes throughout time. Within the wormhole are different levels from earlier Sonic games stranded in a lifeless white void. So what would the logical decision be? Play through modernized versions of all of those wonderful, classic levels, of course! But that's not all! Sonic runs into his younger, rounder self from the nineties, meaning that you can play all of the modern day levels in a classic style. It's the best of both worlds really. The game features remastered levels from the Genesis, Dreamcast, and Modern Eras in their high-definition glory! Not to mention that every single song is remixed. Not a single one is bad!

Dr. Eggman

   Does Peter agree with the fans?  Yes, because without having both the modern and classic variations of Sonic, this game would have felt very empty. To put it simply, if one variation of Sonic was playable but the game still went over Sonic's entire lifespan, it just wouldn't have felt right. The inclusion of classic bosses and the little hidden throwbacks that can be found throughout are icing on the cake!
  2013, the beginning of all of Sonic's recent woes. Sonic was back as a Nintendo exclusive, but this time on the new Wii U game console. Sonic Lost World is about Sonic finding a... you guessed it, a lost world hidden in the clouds called "Lost Hex." This world is made up of a bunch of hexagonal shaped "continents" that are slowly falling apart (that has nothing to do with the game's plot by the way). On this planet are demon-like creatures known as the Zeti. After retrieving some sort of mind-controlling conch shell, Dr. Eggman has seized control of six Zeti known as the "Deadly Six." Eventually, Eggman looses control, and the Deadly Six use Eggman's forces to conquer Lost Hex for them selves.
  Does Peter agree with the fans? Yes, sure the colors of this game are quite vibrant (a bit more cartoon-ish compared to Sonic Unleashed) but the game only really pays homage to Sonic Colors (you get to use the Wisp powers, including a few new ones. That's it, really). Sadly this game is quite challenging and doesn't bring anything really new to the table, besides Sonic's new parkour moves (which are very complicated to execute). This leaves the game with very little replay value outside of its downloadable content (DLC). You see, since this was kind of Nintendo and SEGA making up after all those years of competition, they released exclusive Yoshi and Legend of Zelda themed levels. They are brief, but much more entertaining than most of the game. There is also another bit of DLC that serves as sort of a boss rush, but with a twist in it being based off of SEGA's Nights: Into Dreams.

The Deadly Six (from left to right, top to bottom) Zazz, Zor, Zavok, Zomom, Zeena, and Master Zik

    Oh joy. Here we are again.
  Much akin to Shadow the Hedgehog, in 2014, Sonic went for a bit of a change of pace, himself. After nearly ten years, Sonic finally was getting a new TV show. To celebrate the show's release, they decided to release a prequel in the form of the Sonic Boom game for the Nintendo Wii U. Sonic Boom is an open world game (no restraints on where you can move... sorta) where you can play as a new version (in appearance) of Sonic and his buddies, each of them with their own characteristics. Sound's good, right? Nope. Sonic is slower than ever before. The game has so many glitches that you can beat the game in 45 minutes (normally it takes up to 10 hours). Sure this game has many colorful locales, but not one of them is easy to navigate. The game is fully voice acted throughout. The only problem is that some of the lines that are used to inform the player of how to play, are repeated constantly throughout each, and every level. Including the final boss! The storyline is okay, but getting through it all is a serious undertaking, what with the "altered" gameplay from normal Sonic games. Don't get me started on the music. Unlike any other Sonic game, the music is so drab that you are better off playing this game on mute! I'm dead serious! You won't miss anything (except the amazing voice actors. The bad script isn't their fault).
  Does Peter agree with the fans? Yes. This game is so different and so far from anything that Sonic is supposed to be. So much so that you can literally skip this title without missing anything story-wise, being that Sonic Boom (and its TV show) take place and a completely separate universe than the other games. Do yourself a favor and avoid this one. Unlike Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic '06, NOTHING can save Sonic Boom from being just downright bad. (If you like Saturday morning cartoons, the Sonic Boom TV show is worth a try!)

The official box art for the Wii U version of Sonic Boom

  And the next game in the Sonic Cycle is?... Wait. So according to the Cycle, Sonic Boom is not the loop 2 equivalent of Sonic '06? And Sonic Boom was nearly just as bad! This means that if the Sonic Cycle were to continue, then there is another horrible game coming!!
  I truly hope that it is regarded better than how Sonic '06 turned out, because I don't think Sonic will have a very bright future if it doesn't.

  Thank you all for bearing with me in this review process and taking a look at how Sonic the Hedgehog has been faring for the past decade plus.
  Do you like reviews like these? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks all,

-Peter