Sonic Rush- any good?

[evil_ash_xero]

I saw this up on IGN's best games on the DS, and realized I totally missed it.

I didn't like Sonic Advance, since I thought it was too slow. Didn't like Advance 2, since I thought it was just "press right and run".

I did like Sonic Advance 3. I thought they got the speed and platforming well balanced.

I hear Rush is all about speed, and i'm worried it'll be like part 2.

Opinions?

[Elixir]

If you liked JSR/F, you'll love this. Hideki Naganuma's my favourite composer. I didn't think much of the boss fights in this game and the game itself isn't really memorable for anything apart from the music, but it's probably the best 2D Sonic you'll get out of current gen stuff.

[guigui]

To me, Sonic Rush 1 DS is screwed for two technical reasons :

-Sonic cannot jump high enough. I mean what the heck, since when the blue hedgehog can not jump higher than 1/4 of what is displayed on screen ?? This is really frustrating.

- Scrolling does NEVER keep sonic in the middle of the screen, certainly to reinforce the speed sensation. The consequence is that you cant properly locate you hedgehog by taking a general look at the scene. The real consequence is that I simply cant jump on a regular bad guy without focusing on my blue spiked animal as if I was dodging Hibachi's last pattern.

Thos flaws are quite hard to explain, but do completely kill the game to me.

[ryu]

It isn't like classic Sonic.

Not at all.

Unless this is what you're lucking for you should avoid it like the plague.

[Mortificator]

*shrugs* Advance 1 was like classic Sonic, and he didn't like that. Rush is the most like Advance 2, but done considerably better.

You'll never find consensus about the relative quality of the Sonic handhelds, so I don't think you'd know whether you'd like the game or not without playing it yourself.

[Jon]

^^^They are all better than any of recent console titles imo. I guess that's not saying much though.

[JoshF]

Scrolling does NEVER keep sonic in the middle of the screen

So if the screen adjusts so you can see what's in front of you, you can't hit enemies, but if it doesn't, you can't see enemies.

Face the music fans: you shouldn't have a character moving this fast.

[StarCreator]

I actually had a lot of fun with Sonic Rush Advance - I don't know if I had gotten used to it or what but I ran into far fewer bottomless pits out of nowhere playing the second than when playing the first. It really makes me wish I hadn't managed to lose my copy, just after finishing every last challenge too --;;

[BrianC]

I liked both Rush games quite a bit. While they are different from the classic games, I'm a bit surprised by some of the comments. They have more enemies in the levels than previous titles and, while they are faster, I have no idea where the "all about running thing" comes from. Going through the levels fast is encouraged, but not paying attention to the surroundings or enemies will get you killed. Most of this applies to Sonic Rush 1. 2 is a bit easier.

- Scrolling does NEVER keep sonic in the middle of the screen, certainly to reinforce the speed sensation. The consequence is that you cant properly locate you hedgehog by taking a general look at the scene. The real consequence is that I simply cant jump on a regular bad guy without focusing on my blue spiked animal as if I was dodging Hibachi's last pattern.

Most of the time, Sonic seemed closer to the back, but I found the screen position to be better than Sonic Advance 3 (where the big sprite didn't help matters) and a couple of the GG Sonics, and I didn't find it to be a huge issue in Sonic Rush.

[null1024]

Rush is good for the most part, although after stage 1-1 [they can't instakill you on the first level!], level quality drops a bit, in terms of "shit how the fuck did I die" things, but it's not as bad as Advance 2 or 3 in this regard [well, except for Altitude Limit and that casino level...].

The only game breaker for me is that Sonic homing attacks on shit that he's not even facing [killed me way too many times], but it's mostly fine. There's nothing else that I found wrong with Sonic's movement, and the display works fine.

Advance 3 had a bit more platforming than Rush, but Rush still has a fuckton more than Advance 2.

[oh, and boost is not only your friend, it is absolutely needed, lest you run into an enemy in the middle of your path, which happens with such frequency]

Haven't played Rush Adventure though.

[monkeyman]

Personally I liked Rush.

While the music is the best thing about it, I thought the level design was actually far better than anything on the GBA.
The rush attack meant that those anoying enemies placed in the middle of a speed section were less of an issue and the stunt moves you do when flung into the air or grinding at least made you fell like you had something to do while you're catapulted from spring to spring for 30 seconds straight.
Also the stylus controlled bonus stages worked better than they had any right to.

As for Rush adventure, I thought the level design took a bit of a hit, seemed a bit m,ore fustrating than the 1st, also I felt there was a lot of time wasting between levels (bit like the DC Sonic Adventure, but the less said about that game the better).

Worth giving the 1st one a try i'd say.

[WarpZone]

Surprised nobody has mentioned the scoring system, which is the lifeblood of the Rush games.

If you just play straight through the levels to get to the end, most of the level design is featureless and boring (like Advance 2) and there are hazards like bottomless pits that aren't signaled well and lead to cheap deaths.

What makes the Rush games is how the new boost system works. Basically by defeating enemies, reaching checkpoints, doing stunts off ramps, etc. you'll build up the boost gauge so you can blast through obstacles (the spin dash is utterly superfluous) and get better scores. The twist is that, while the boost meter normally deplenishes with use, if you fill it all the way it will never run out so long as you keep triggering a refill every few seconds. The level design makes a lot more sense once you understand this, as you start figuring out ways to spend and maintain the boost across virtually the entire stage without letting up. Bottomless pits become less of an issue as well (and are mostly gone in the sequel).