Sonic Colors is a game that impresses me, but only when I actually look at it, but not when I play it. Visually its one of the best sonic games out there, with a bunch of bright colors going around everywhere and attracting the eye. But when it comes to playing it, well it just isn’t as flashy as its visuals would make you believe. By no means is this game bad though, in fact I find it to be a fairly good game, its appearance just leads me to believe its better than what it is. I mean, the story is pretty good for a Sonic game, and the dialogue is even better reflection of the older Sonic cartoons I used to watch as a kid. Still though it just doesn’t have enough kick to really shout to me that this is a great sonic game. Sonic Adventures 2 has had its moments where it really wowed me with its story, as odd as it is to say that, but my point is that Sonic Colors really feels like it’s just going through the motions. Just another Sonic game to past the time, but nothing to really be excited about. Although I have to say Sonic Colors does have a lovely soundtrack.
You would think that because of the wisps that transform Sonic into various powerful versions of himself it be for a more interesting ride, utilizing the powers to complete the level, but they never really feel like that’s the case. If anything the wisps are there to give you small obstacles to getting all the red stars on a given level or simply work has a short cut. They never really feel like they are a big part of the level design, and honestly they could have impacted this game a lot more than they did. Sonic also has a double jump in this game, but I find it rather difficult to use at times because the homing attack. Often you’ll find yourself trying to double jump only to see that it locks on to an enemy in the last moment, ruining your plans for platforming. As well it really just seems you can just press A for just about anything in this game and find yourself in a good situation, its really feels like a dumbed down version of the homing attack I’m used to, and frankly I’m still not in complete favor for it. Despite my complaints most of the levels are well designed and fun to play through. Very few levels are ever that long to deal with which makes for a constant flow of progression, and need for speed. Levels often have a lot of pathways and often using the wisps are key to making sure you get the right path, but most of the time they are used to get the red rings. Red rings are used to unlock 2 player levels within sonic colors, and provides for some much needed replay value. And Sonic Colors needs that replay value because Sonic Colors is a short game. Talking 5 hours short, which isn’t necessarily bad for a Sonic game, but certainly doesn’t feel like the proper length of this game. And while I hate to suggest more cliché moments for Sonic, honestly missed the whole chaos emeralds and a secret eggman boss along with it. Speaking of which most bosses in this game were terrible. Half of them were recolors of the older bosses, but the majority of them were just to easy. It really made Sonic Colors feel anti-climatic when you reach the end of a world only to be greeted by the same boss you beat in the last one.
Final Thoughts:
Sonic Colors gets a good amount of points right like level design, dialogue, and aesthetics , but in the long run it still falls short to other Sonic games. The bosses are hardly menacing, a lot of the mechanics introduced in Sonic Adventure have been really simplified , and the wisps aren’t used to their full potential. Nonetheless Sonic Colors is still a good Sonic game, but not a stunning one we have all been waiting for.