Inconsistency is the key term here: from the zone themes and gimmicks, to the act and boss design, to the music especially (i'll have a special spotlight for that at the end of the post). A good number of my critiques apply across the entire game, but a common trend is that they become impossible to ignore in the back half (I would say after Sand Sanctuary Zone, the 6th zone), where I feel the game suffers from a steep decline in quality. That makes sense though, as the game itself is incredibly inconsistent in some very disappointing ways. This sucks to say because I was really optimistic going into this one, but i'm super mixed on Superstars. Rounding out the group of returning team members are composers Jun Senoue (Sonic Blast, Adventure, Heroes) and Tee Lopes (Sonic Mania, TMNT: Shredder's Revenge) looking to bring some retro flavor to the soundtrack. Takashi Iizuka (head of Sonic Team) would later go on to confirm that the team considers Superstars to be the followup to Mania. Taxman recently revealed that his Retro Engine had been converted to work in 2.5D and is what Superstars is based upon. Sega then enlisted the help of Naoto Ohshima, a founding member of Sonic Team and the artist who created Sonic's original character design, to come back and help make the next Sonic sidescroller. Taxman and his team EveningStar would go on to develop Penny's Big Breakaway (which we saw this year in a Direct) and Headcannon went on to help with Sonic Origins. After development of Mania, Sega and the Mania team talked about ideas for a possible sequel but didn't come to a consensus. If anyone's wondering "But what about Sonic Mania 2?" lemme give you a quick rundown: For those who might not know, Sonic Mania was developed by a team consisting of several fan developers, most notably Christian "Taxman" Whitehead (the creator of the "Retro Engine" that underlies the modern Genesis ports and Mania) and Simon "Stealth" Thomley (and his team Headcannon). With classic characters, all-new Zones (no Green Hill redux this time, folks), and new abilities, Sonic Superstars is set to bring the classic formula into a whole new age. They will now unlock "Emerald Powers" that give you special abilities like running up background walls or summoning an army of "avatar" clones. For two: the Chaos Emeralds (often used to transform into a Super Saiyan form and unlock the "good" ending) are back, but with an added twist. For one: Sonic Mania's drop-dash is back, solidifying the fan-favorite move as a new series staple. While the movesets will be mostly familiar to classic Sonic fans, there are a few new additions. Wait, there is someone to give Sonic some help? Three someones, in fact? Yes, as mentioned up above there are four playable characters! All four characters have unique abilities that they've been known for since the Genesis days. Eggman, that's three antagonists to chase down, so Sonic is once again experiencing Trouble that happens to be Triple. And even with the bosses Sonic Team continues to play hits from their back catalog by bringing back Nack The Weasel I mean Fang the Sniper or uh Jet the Jerboa oh geez what name did they finally settle on for this character? *googles* Fang the Hunter! The behatted baddie who made a big splash in Sonic Triple Trouble (in 1994, geez) will be joined by newcomer Trip the Sungazer who was designed by Sonic Team alum Naoto Ohshima (the artist who originally designed Sonic!). Like Sonic 3 and Sonic Mania, each Act in Superstars ends with a boss fight. Enemy robots called Badniks are peppered across each Act, which you can either speed past (you monster), soar over (you monster), or bust apart to save the animals trapped inside (the correct answer)! The Acts are like high-speed obstacle courses with multiple layers of branching paths, giving the player opportunities to explore and to find new paths on replay. Welcome to the Northstar Islands, where you'll be running through twelve worlds (called Zones, in true classic Sonic fashion), and each Zone is generally split into two levels, called Acts.
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