While a very short lived experience, Sonic 4: Episode 1 makes for a good beginning in a new 2-D adventure.
Sonic 4: Ep. 1 is a classic-styled 2-D platformer. Sonic will be traveling through four zones each with three acts and a boss. You will be gaining speed, going through all kinds of loops, and jumping and bouncing your way to the goal post. Sonic sports his more modern 3-D design and in addition to his jump and spin dash comes the homing attack which he can use to lock onto enemies. The homing attack isn't entirely needed to get through stages, but rather it comes especially handy in reaching higher levels. At the end of each stage you will face Eggman sporting reused boss concepts from past games and feeling even easier than ever. The game offers a couple of forms of progression. One way is being able to play each level in order emulating the Genesis titles, or once you complete the first act of the first stage you can select any new area on a world map (even special stages you have completed). When it comes to the aesthetic feel of classic Sonic, Sonic 4 definitely shows that off. Each zone is greatly inspired by previous zones in the series, with multiple pathways featuring familiar badnicks, monitors filled with rings and other power-ups, and boss concepts. While the themes are certainly familiar each zone does feature it's own gimmicks like vine swinging, cards, canons, etc.
So while the game nails the nostalgic aesthetics, the control isn't quite as smooth as it could have been. This is mainly applying to the game's physics. The most defining characteristic of the classic Sonic titles was momentum-based platforming. Speed would need to have been earned by getting some good running distance and using slopes to your advantage. In Sonic 4, when Sonic attempts to roll down a slope he doesn't gain any speed as if a lot of friction is holding him back. Sonic could also easily scale up walls with just a little speed and if you were to let go of the control pad he would stop dead in his tracks. With that said the physics just simply feel different rather than being a game breaker and one can easily get used to them. The game still controls fine and the levels are well designed and fun to go through; and it's especially exhilarating when you are able to blaze past stages very quickly. With only four zones you can beat the game in about an hour, but thankfully the levels are still enjoyable enough to replay.
As mentioned, Special Stages also make a comeback. Like the original Sonic the Hedgehog you will need to collect 50 rings and get into the giant ring at the end of the stage. The design and feel of these stages are also reminiscent of Sonic 1, in which you must guide Sonic down incredibly trippy mazes to snag a chaos emerald; but rather than controlling Sonic himself you are controlling the stage. In these stages you will need to collect rings to unlock barriers, grab time bonuses so that you won't get a time over (though if you are close to losing time you can simply restart the stage), and avoid red exclamation points which will end the stage. The special stages do require some memorization to get passed, and some of the later stages do offer some frustrations, and this is mainly caused by bumpers. The bumpers easily send Sonic flying across the stage and can easily bump you into the exclamation points. Once all seven emeralds are collected you can transform into the invincible Super Sonic, which makes a welcomed comeback in regular stages rather than being a final boss exclusive.
Sonic 4, Ep. 1 features very gorgeous visuals, especially when played in HD. The levels are incredibly bright and colorful and everything runs smoothly. The music has a very synthesized Genesis vibe going for it that works well, but it isn't some of the best the series has to offer.
To sum things up:
PROS:
-Gorgeous visuals
-Fun, fast-paced 2-D gameplay
-Good music
-Decent controls for the most part
-The return of Super Sonic
CONS:
-The bumpers in special stages add frustration
-Only four acts
-Physics feel radically different from the classic titles
With added tweaks to the control and additional stages, Sonic 4 shows to be a promising new 2-D saga.