Sonic Generations Review
Played on Xbox One (base)
Developed by Sonic Team
Released 1st November 2011
With production beginning soon after Sonic Unleashed, the team wondered how they could make Sonic's 20th anniversary special, after performing such a botched job at his 15th anniversary with Sonic '06. With a mix of both retro-Sonic and new-Sonic, the team decided to appeal to the hardcore fans of the series, in contrast to the franchise's other, more recent titles like Sonic Colours, and as such, had played birthday messages left by the fans who attended the "Summer of Sonic" in June 2011, in the game's credits.
Story
The narrative serves as a love letter to the fans. After Sonic Unleashed was released and was gifted mediocre rankings and scores, the team at Sega wanted to make a game that was perfect for the brand’s 20th anniversary back in 2011. Spoiler alert: it is. This enjoyable trip down memory lane is as great as it sounds for all types of fans; from the OG ones to the newly introduced ones. It was able to revisit some of the best parts of each previous game while remaining self-contained in its story. It also succeeded in not reverting to old habits of overusing the plotline of Dr Eggman being the stereotypical antagonist for a short period of time - until it does. Like Golden Wind of JoJo, the game's finale is somewhat downgraded by its disappointing villain reveal.
Gameplay
The gameplay is so much goddamn fun. I haven't felt this amount of genuine joy rush through me since I played It Takes Two, a game I awarded a 10/10 for gameplay. Now, I'm definitely not saying these 5 hours’ worth of non-stop great content is worthy of a 10/10, but it manages to get pretty damn close to it. The game allows you to play as both 2D classic Sonic, and 3D, speed-Meister Sonic. All levels are essentially reused from older games and while they generically compliment the character they were released alongside, the contrasts of classic Sonic in the copied and pasted Spagonia level are brilliant, whilst 3D Sonic in the classic Green Hill Zone stage is also wonderful. That's the only flaw I can nitpick out of this game: that the stages are reused. But even then they manage to compliment the game so incredibly well. Additionally, the game doesn't suffer from any frustrating moments where the movement becomes odd and sloppy, or where it feels like you're fighting against the mechanics. Instead, it's 5 hours of non-stop fluid greatness. The ramps, loopty-loopty loops, speed boosts and zig-zag moments can be best described as being flushed with exhilaration, and screaming "WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOO", throughout.
Bossfights
The bossfights are the weakest link of the game. The game consists of 7 bosses, 3 of which are canisters of fantastic nostalgia fuel for old fans of the character, and one is a garbage final boss. First of all, the great bosses, AKA the Rivals, were capable of amplifying the basic gameplay as every good boss should. Racing against Shadow, dodging Silver's onslaught of telekinetic attacks or bobbing and weaving through Metal Sonic were honestly the best parts of the game. Unfortunately, these bosses served more as optional ones, and less as narratively significant ones. The bossfights you encounter during the story, however, are either mid-tier or worse. Egg Dragoon and Death Egg Robot were quite forgettable in both design and gameplay but did bring a smile to my face once I recognised their origins. Perfect Chaos had a fantastical design choice, but the gameplay was below-average in quality. The fight consisted of me running towards the boss before pressing A twice. Finally, take everything I said about Perfect Chaos, and multiply its effects by 1000 - that's the final boss; Time Eater. Not only does it have an underwhelming explanation to fit around Dr Eggman’s role as the main antagonist, but the boss fight was also the definition of ass. While it had an incredibly cool design throughout the fight, it can be summed up as the player having to hold X for 5 minutes, with the only progression being that you get near the boss' core. After what the base game offered, it's saddening to see the boss fights not using their potential to the maximum.
Characters
The characters are good. There's no need to explain why Sonic and his classic crew of Tails, Knuckles and Amy are so loveable and unique in their way. Some obscure and possible fan favourites return to reprise their role as Sonic's reliable ally. These include Rogue the Bat, Espio the Chameleon, Vector the Crocodile and more.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere has set a high bar for future Sonic games. Long story short; it's great. The soundtrack is as vibey and hyper as you expected a Sonic soundtrack to be. The visual glory of running up an exploding building or sliding down a dense cityside is pretty marvellous. The hub area itself is pretty cool, with a nice contrast between the white, empty void and the life-beaming, coloured levels you just completed. On a technical spectrum, it falters nowhere.
Story- 7/10
Gameplay- 9.5/10
Bossfights- 5/10
Characters- 7/10
Atmosphere- 8/10
Great
A fantastic Sonic game that'll no doubt, set the standards high for future Sonic games.
