Sonic Generations Review

The game Sonic Generations is a refreshing re-imagining of the glory days of Sonic on the Sega consoles as well as possibly the best playing 3d Sonic game to date. The game has the player control both classic sonic and modern sonic in 9 different stages, with a level for each sonic to play through in each. The stages are simply redesigned levels from 3 eras which include classic, dreamcast, and modern. The stages include Green Hill Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog, City Escape from Sonic Adventure 2, and Rooftop Run from Sonic Unleashed, among others. The player navigates to these worlds via portals in a hub world which is very well done with designs from their respective games which are part of the scenery around the level. The levels are actually a lot of fun to play as both classic and modern sonic. Classic sonic’s gameplay features vivid 2d levels with some 3d effects while modern sonic’s gameplay features 3d levels with some use of 2d perspective. In terms of move sets classic sonic has the basic spin jump to attack enemies as well as the spin dash, while modern sonic has the homing attack as well as the boost which is burst of speed used to make sonic run faster. The main difference with the gameplay of the different sonics is that classic sonic’s gameplay has a larger focus on platforming while modern sonic’s gameplay has a larger focus on speed. The controls for both sonics are responsive and work fine. The only small complaint I have about the game play that the frame rate can dip a little bit in the modern sonic levels buts its not a big deal as it doesn’t happen much. The levels, despite being redone levels from already established games still felt fresh for the most part, partially because the retro stages have never been done in 3d and the modern stages have never been done in 2d. The flow of the game is also well done in that the progression is quick and easy unlike some of sonic’s more recent outings which forced the player to collect things to move on. The only thing you have to do to move on is beat both levels in each stage and beat 1 out of 6 missions from each of the stages. The missions are fairly bearable with easy objectives such as collecting rings, racing a character, or getting through a specially designed level. There are also a lot of bonuses in the game which are rewarded to the player for completing missions and collecting the red rings in which there are 5 in each of the 18 levels. The bonus content includes music which can be used in any of the levels as well as artwork from the past games and special abilities such as super sonic and the homing attack for use with classic sonic. If you’ve ever enjoyed a sonic game whether it be nearly 20 years ago or now then Sonic Generations is a solid pick up with a good amount of nostalgia and strong gameplay. It is isn’t the longest or deepest game , though it is one of Sonic’s best and a worthy pick up for any long time fan or newcomer who wants to get into the series.