He's back!
Sonic Heroes, Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 and Sonic Unleashed continued to dilute the classic Sonic formula and strayed further from what made Sonic what he is. Each new game seemed to add a slew of new characters, with most of them bumping the classic characters to the sidelines. The games got a huge focus on overly drawn-out, overly long, poorly written cinematics. The characters became more and more like generic anime stereotypes. And, of course, the gameplay got more and more clunky.
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is a return to form for Sonic the Hedgehog. There's no more gimmicks, no new characters, no overly long anime stuff, no werehogs, none if it.
What does Sonic 4 (episode 1) include? Sonic, Dr. Robotnik, rings, chaos emeralds, robots, loops, springs, and of course, Sonic's trademarked speed. Yes, it's all back.
As soon as you start Sonic 4, you will here the classic, nostalgic jingle: SEGA!
As soon as that sound hits, you know what's coming. Once the actual game starts, you will find yourself in the Splash Hill Zone, a place extremely reminiscent of the Green Hill Zone and Emerald Hill Zone from Sonics 1 and 2. And you'll soon find that the gameplay flows just like it did back in the 90's.
Sonic again has his spin dash, he still picks up speed as he runs and goes through loops. New to Sonic 4 is the homing attack, which Sonic first had in Sonic Adventure. You might think the homing attack would slow the pace of the game, but it actually works well, and adds a little something to the experience. Often times you will even need to utilize the homing attack in order to progress through a stage.
Once you reach the end of a stage, you will notice the same Robotnik sign post that, once Sonic touches it, will spin around and reveal the blue hedgehog's photo. And true to Sonic form, if you complete a stage with fifty or more rings, Sonic can jump into a giant ring to enter a bonus stage.
The bonus stages are directly based off of those from the original Sonic the Hedgehog. You enter a surreal labryinth of bumpers, diamonds, and other such items, guiding Sonic to the prize, which is of course a chaos emerald.
The bonus stages, like the standard levels, are fun and nostalgic. It makes one wonder what the heck took SEGA so long to bring them back.
And of course, at the end of each zone (there are four, along with the Splash Hill Zone, there's also the Casino Street Zone, Lost Labryinth Zone, and the Mad Gear Zone), you have a showdown with Dr. Robotnik himself. The first of these fights is almost directly taken from the first Sonic, as the mad doctor breaks out the checkered wrecking ball.
The boss battles aren't very difficult, with the exception of the final boss, who is almost cruel in difficulty.
And I guess that would be the only real fault of Sonic 4. It lacks the overall difficulty of the Genesis Sonic games up until the ridiculous final boss. It's not that I request every game to be difficult, but that's probably the only area of Sonic 4 that doesn't reflect its predecessors. You can get through the game pretty easily, but you'll have a lot of fun along the way.
Also, for all the game's glorious returns to form, it also proves shorter than the Sonics of the past. Again, excluding the final boss section, there are only four zones (as opposed to six in the original, ten in Sonic 2, and umm… a lot if you connected Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles). All four of the standard zones are fun and present some challenges and quirks of their own (Casino Street pulls out some tricks from Sonic 2 and 3's play books with bumpers, slot machines and playing cards, while the Lost Labryinth Zone will often have blackouts, requiring Sonic to light torches), and each of these zones keep the game interesting and engaging. I understand that this is merely episode one of Sonic 4 (there are currently no announcements as to how many episodes there will be), but maybe one or two extra zones with a little added difficulty would have spruced up an already great game.
Fans of Sonic's classic sidekicks Tails and Knuckles may also be sad to find that they are absent from this outing. Though that's mainly due to the fact that Sonic 4 draws most of its inspiration from Sonic 1, so it strips the character roster down to the very basics: Sonic and Robotnik. My guess would be that Tails and/or Knuckles will return in Episode 2, but I have to admit, there is something to be said of the classic rivalry of blue hedgehog and mad scientist.
As a whole, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 is a blast to play, and well worth the (higher than average) downloading price. Due to its short length and easier difficulty, it may not be quite as good as say, Sonic 3, but it is every bit deserving of the name Sonic the Hedgehog 4. For newer fans of the series, it will show them what made Sonic the legend he is. And for the adoring fans of old, it is a trip back to a better time in gaming, one in which Sonic was unpolluted with gimmicks, cinematics, brooding anti-heroes, and the saddening violence and swearing of Shadow the Hedgehog (seriously, swearing in a Sonic game is quite possibly the dumbest thing ever).
To say I am anticipating Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 is an understatement. Part one of this Sonic 4 has had me swimming in fun and nostalgia, and I am hungry for more. From the classic music, sounds and elements of Sonic past, the old has been made new again.
Welcome back Sonic.
"Way past cool!"