While it may be different on some fundamentals, Sonic 4 is still a classic Sonic experience, and is a blast!
And then Project Needlemouse was announced. Oh what a happy day. A brand new 2D adventure, for consoles, starring Sonic!! One would think a huge Sonic fan like myself would have put two and two together and thought, "oh, it must be Sonic 4," but I didn't. I was even more gleeful and surprised when that very title was announced. I was so stoked that I joined a Sonic forum to talk about how stoked I was. And then I discovered how pissed off 70% of the Sonic fandom was/is about Sonic 4. Before even touching a controller to play Sonic 4, I had been a part of multiple debates, I watched videos, I read articles, the whole shabang. So I kinda knew what to expect, but even so, it was very exciting to play. So on to the review:
Sonic 4 looks like a classic Sonic game. By visuals alone, it is DEFINITELY in the same series as the original Genesis games. These visuals are crisp, clean, detailed, gorgeous, awesome, and I honestly don't get tired of looking at them. Sonic's "wheel-of-feet" animation is a blast to look at as well in polished modern graphics. You will definitely never tire of looking at Sonic 4.
Sonic 4 sounds like a classic Sonic game. 90% of the sound effects sound to me like they were literally ripped from the genesis games. The jump, spin dash, ring-grabbing, ring-losing sound effects all take me back to those glorious games. The music is made to sound like it came from a 1994 game as well, although it sounds crisper and cleaner. This music, however, is one of the things that keeps this game from being a perfect representation of classic Sonic. While it definitely sounds classic, the old games tunes are AWESOME, and quite fun to listen to. Sonic 4's soundtrack is not incredibly memorable, and most of the time would be better suited for a trendy coffee shop than a video game starring a super-fast-hedgehog-with-an-attitude. It's close, but not quite there.
Sonic 4 allllllmost feels like a classic Sonic game. My biggest complaint about the game is that the physics are rather different than the physics of the classics. If I didn't play the classics as often as I still do, I doubt I would have really noticed this factor though, but the fact is that even this week, probably due to my excitement for Sonic 4, I played a good chunk of Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles. And Sonic 4 definitely feels different. Is it bad? No. Just different. A lot of the subtleties of control are lost going into Sonic 4, and there are different methods that now need to be used to attain max speed, jump carefully from small platforms, gaining momentum, and some other littler things. These different physics are not at all game-breaking, and after playing a level or two, I was having so much fun I didn't really care anymore that it was different. But still, it would have been nice if Sonic Team and Dimps could have been more faithful to the feel of the classics since this is after all a sequel.
If I could ask for anything in Episode 2, I would ask that they 1. fix the physics a bit, and 2. have new ideas for zone environments and enemies. Episode 1 is definitely trying to tug at the nostalgia factor, and I do not mind one bit, but from here on out, I would love to see brand new stuff.
Everything taken into account though, Sonic 4 is a blast. The platforming is solid, the speed mechanics are a thrill, the new homing-attack adds a whole level of depth, and the level design is very good and includes awesome variety. The special stages, which are a new twist on Sonic 1's special stages, are quite fun and the after the first 3 they get quite challenging. If you beat them all, you can play as super sonic in any level too, just like the old days. The game, being only episode 1 after all, won't take a long time to beat, it will take a bit longer to do everything, and it probably won't pose too much of a challenge. However, it is well worth the money, and will definitely take you back to a time when Sonic was at war with Mario for the king of platforming games.
Update 5/15/2011:
I have played Sonic 4 a few times since my review, and unfortunately, this has caused my rating to decrease. Sonic 4 simply is not as fun after your first foray into its nostalgic levels. Don't get me wrong, it's still fun, just not deserving of my original 9 out of 10 score. Here's what has changed a bit about my opinion:
Physics - while this was my main complaint about Sonic 4 initially, I feel they are even more game hampering than I originally let on. The physics of the classics allowed for a lot of subtle intricate skills to be used in order to pull off some awesome stuff in the levels. Many of these sorts of things are impossible to pull off in Sonic 4. Also, I feel the physics in Sonic 4 are inconsistent. It is sometimes really difficult to repeat something that I have done for speed-running on a subsequent playthrough. Next, there are some glaring glitch sort of things you can pull off accidentally if you are just playing around in the levels. Check youtube out for some examples, but they are really embarrassing to be found in a final game. Finally, my biggest complaint after having played the game more is that the physics while rolling simply suck. Sonic used to be able to gain sooooo much speed and momentum while rolling, and in Sonic 4 this plainly does not happen.
Level Design - Some levels are loads of fun, but an equal amount of them are just not all that entertaining after a few plays. Exploration is harder to do, and finding alternate routes is more tedious than it used to be fun.
Final thoughts - Sonic 4 is an excellent platformer in its own right. However, I now feel, as did many a Sonic fan when it was announced even, that it shouldn't be called Sonic 4. If they named it, say, Sonic Classic, or something along those lines, it would be different. It's funny what's in a name, but a true sequel to the Genesis games should still feel like those Genesis games, and Sonic 4 doesn't. It's still Sonic, and is a good throwback to the classics, but not a good sequel to them.