Sonic the Hedgehog 4

[Ghegs]

Merged the two threads.

[Elixir]

Still excited for this, growing up with Sega and all, but hoooooly shit the music is so bad. Check it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBCQtmz7dGw

Has no depth, I don't even want to keep listening to it. They should really have gone with something similar to this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCtXDkMX9Ss

I'm not nit-picking, okay.

[Udderdude]

Still excited for this, growing up with Sega and all, but hoooooly shit the music is so bad. Check it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBCQtmz7dGw

You're right, it's like the videogame equivalent of elevator music. That guy's remix should've been at least 1 minute long before looping, though.

[Skykid]

Hasn't Sonic music been totally shit since Sonic Adventure?

[ryu]

Hasn't Sonic music been totally shit since Sonic Adventure?

So much totally shit that I thought the Splash Hill Theme sounds pretty good compared to what Sonic music has been like this last decade.

[null1024]

Hasn't Sonic music been totally shit since Sonic Adventure?

So much totally shit that I thought the Splash Hill Theme sounds pretty good compared to what Sonic music has been like this last decade.

wat

Just... no.
Recent Sonic music hasn't been as good post-SA, but it's generally been a fuckton better than the Splash Hill song.

[TrevHead (TVR)]

Sonic Colours might actually be a good game as its sonic unleached minus the werehog stages

[nem]

Hideki Naganuma made much of Sonic Rush's soundtrack, so I have no idea what you guys are talking about

[Stormwatch]

Too bad they didn't call Richard Jacques to do it, or Tommy Tallarico, or the people who did the JP Sonic CD soundtrack.

[Ganelon]

It's both the actual melody as well as the tinny-sounding instrumentation that's off in that track. What's sad is that it sounds vaguely more interesting than anything from the atrocious Rockman 10 soundtrack.

I understand Sonic 4 Ep. 1 just a DLC title without a bunch of space (so even with today's size reduction and compression techniques, Sonic CD-quality PCM and Red Book may not be possible) but compared to any of the MD versions' first zone music (since the title is hearkening back to that era), it's lacking any harmonic variations to a bland theme. Hopefully, there's some inspiration in other tracks.

[Udderdude]

What's sad is that it sounds vaguely more interesting than anything from the atrocious Rockman 10 soundtrack.

Oh no you didn't :O

[Blade]

Hasn't Sonic music been totally shit since Sonic Adventure?

I blame Michael Jackson.

[Kobayashi]

Games Radar (9/10 - Awesome):
http://www.gamesradar.com/ps3/sonic-the ... 5153197035

IGN (8/10 - Impressive):
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I Review - Xbox 360 Review at IGN[/QUOTE]

IGN Video Review (Watch in 720p):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE7ObINvAzs

[Drum]

That ign video review was dreadful. I guess that should go without saying. He made it sound like it's basically a doctored remake with significant changes - that just sounds like nonsense.

Anyway, I might actually pick this up though I think I will wait until all the episodes are out first (what an idiotic decision to make this game episodic - Sonic games are practically made to be blasted through in a sitting, making people wait is just ... ugh).
Also, I am actually jazzed about the homing attack - practically the only good thing about the 3d games, believe it (though do I wish it was a power-up like the element shields in Sonic 3).

[BulletMagnet]

Merged with existing Sonic 4 topic.

[njiska]

Out of curiosity does anyone know how many Zones the game has? I've become a little more concerned about value now that I see it's $15 and still called Episode I.

[antares]

I played through it on my iPod and it's half the length of Sonic 2 or 3.
Also I'm a bit dissapointed, maybe I expected to much. All the stage themes, enemies, bosses, are recycled from Sonic 1 and 2. The gameplay itself feels like playing a Sonic Advance game (which isn't surprising now that I found out it's been developed the same studio).
Still a nice game but it certainly doesn't deserve the name Sonic 4.

[Kaiser]

I played through it on my iPod and it's half the length of Sonic 2 or 3.
Also I'm a bit dissapointed, maybe I expected to much. All the stage themes, enemies, bosses, are recycled from Sonic 1 and 2. The gameplay itself feels like playing a Sonic Advance game (which isn't surprising now that I found out it's been developed the same studio).
Still a nice game but it certainly doesn't deserve the name Sonic 4.

IN this case, i'll wait 2 years for a complete bundle . MEANWHILE DOH I STILL HAVE TO GET ALL EMERALDS IN SONIC RUSH.

[Blade]

Out of curiosity does anyone know how many Zones the game has? I've become a little more concerned about value now that I see it's $15 and still called Episode I.

4 Zones from what I read. 3 Acts I believe per zone.

It can't be that bad. Especially considering the bonus stages and content already in it.

And for anyone complaining about it being episodic...it can't be any worse than Sonic and Knuckles + Lockon Technology.

[evil_ash_xero]

I really didn't like this at all.

It just feels wrong. And Sonic's animations are poor.
And WOW is that music bad. They should have just remixed the old music and put it on there, if that's the best they had.
I'm going to have to play Sonic 3 and Knuckles to wash that taste out.

Sonic 4, my ass.

[Kobayashi]

All reviews until now:

- Games Radar (9/10 - Awesome):
http://www.gamesradar.com/ps3/sonic-the ... 5153197035

- XGN (8.5/10):
http://www.xgn.nl/ps3/review/23598/soni ... edgehog-4/

- IGN (8/10 - Impressive):
http://xboxlive.ign.com/articles/112/1126734p1.html

- Game Informer: (8.0/10):
http://gameinformer.com/games/sonic_the ... eview.aspx

- 1UP: B ("A solid revival for Sega´s mascot...")
http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3181842

- Videogames Daily (8.0/10):
http://videogamesdaily.com/reviews/2010 ... -in-years/

[njiska]

Initial thoughts after playing the first two zones:

Music: The first few beats of the opening theme are such a cock tease for the classic Sonic theme, then it goes completely to shite. The stage music itself isn't overly offensive, but it is bland and uninspired.

Visuals: The stage artwork is absolutely gorgeous, the Casio Night Stage. Exactly the kind of visual upgrade you'd expect. Sonic himself, sadly, is a complete disaster. Apparently he's gone anorexic because he seems even more thin and lanky than before. Transforming into the spinball is also really ugly as the spinning animation sort of appears on top of Sonic and then the 3D model morphs into it. I really don't know any other way to describe it but it's really ugly.

Gameplay: Dear god. This was supposed to be a triumphant return to forum, but it's still plagued with unnecessary ideals that Sega won't let go of.

- The Homing Attack: Get rid of it. It feels completely out of place in 2D Sonic. Worse they've built it as such a requirement in some levels that jumps will often fling you directly at enemies and if you don't home in you're screwed.

- Speed: Where the hell did it go? Starting from a dead stop takes for ever, even longer than in Sonic CD and that was pretty slow to begin with. Once you do get going you're not going to be moving all that fast either. Maybe half as fast as Sonic 2. Considering Sega delayed the release of the title in order to fix fan complaints about speed I'm terrified of how slow it originally was.

- Level design: So far it's felt like I was playing a dumbed-down version of Sonic 2 with way too many pit falls and gaps. Not quite as bad as Sonic Rush, but still frustrating at times. The Casino Nights stage was cool, as they always are, but it still felt over simplified and the decision to basically stick you to the pinball bumpers is weird. Again the levels are built around making you use the homing attack so trying to play it like a classic Sonic game will get you killed..

Overall I'd say try the demo on the Xbox 360 or PS3 and see if this is the kind of game you like, but don't buy any version blindly or you'll be disappointed.

[Kobayashi]

A review from Nintendo Life (8.0/10):
http://wiiware.nintendolife.com/reviews ... _episode_1

[Blade]

You guys are way too brutal. ;_; I won't be able to play it till later tonight on PSN.

[Kobayashi]

More a 9.0/10 for Sonic 4:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010- ... iew?page=1

[njiska]

This rarely happens but after giving the game some more time I've decided to change my tune. I still think he's way too slow to start up and the character model and animations are meh, but i'm growing to like the homing attack. It's a nice little addition and while i'm not crazy about how it's used for platforming, it's a much better implementation than in recent games. Need to play a little more before I compose my final thoughts.

[Ruldra]

Demo is now up on PSN.

[junkeR]

I just played the demo a bit ago. Something feels strange about it. The control is clunky. It is odd. I'm not sure I'll purchase it because of how it plays. I'm sure you guys will know what I'm talking about once you play it.

[Ed Oscuro]

Is it safe to say that Michael is dead and Sonic should have been buried with him?

Real talk.

[ArmoredCore]

i saw this and alundra near each other in the store,played demo and deleted it in 2 minutes. alundra ftw!!