![]() It follows Sonic's quest to stop his nemesis Doctor Eggman from enslaving an alien race and taking over the world. While individual games tend to go too far in either direction, Colors strikes a nice balance.Sonic Colors (known as Sonic Colours in the PAL region) is a 2010 platform game published by Sega. Mike Pollock (Eggman) is at the top of his game here, able to bring out the incompetent and scary sides of the villain. While the writing isn’t on point, this is where Roger Craig Smith (the voice of the titular hedgehog) and company started to really hone their craft and become the Sonic crew they are today, culminating in the surprisingly funny and witty Sonic Boom TV show. If there was only one thing that I could have on my wishlist for the Ultimate team to rework from the ground up, it would be those.Īt the beginning, mid-way, and end points of each world, Sonic Colors will ask you to watch some brief (skippable) cutscenes. The bigger issue is that a few bosses are unfortunately pushovers, and several are reduxes of existing ones. With semi-plentiful checkpoints, the infinite life system, and the tails recovery power-up (which are basically extra lives that bring you back to checkpoints within checkpoints), it’s manageable. Some people might clash with the difficulty spikes in certain levels (I found myself warming up to those pretty quickly), which throw pit after pit and spike after spike your way. ![]() The only one I’m not a big fan of is Asteroid Coaster, which has an intriguing gimmick (roller coasters) executed with some clunk, and a bit of thematic crossover with the also space-heavy Starlight Carnival. Aquarium Park is an absolute stunner in 2021 with its lovely blue hues, and Planet Wisp is one of the most relaxing stages I’ve ever played in a Sonic game: mostly because of the tunes. The very first theme (Tropical Resort) paints a neon-laden picture of how things are going to go, as the Colors name continues to earn its keep. I can’t stress enough how gorgeous the levels are, especially with a new coat of paint. Seeing Jet Set Radio and Skies of Arcadia reduced to a cameo as an image yet again stings a bit, but I’ll get over it. Most of the unlock bonuses are cosmetic too, like extra shoes, gloves, speed trails, and avatars. That’s the key phrase: “existing.” It’s nothing to write home about, as Metal Sonic running past you (or tailing you) is circumstantial at best, but as a bonus, I found a handful of them to be a fun distraction - at only a few minutes each, they’re not a chore, even if I wish it had a little more flair. There’s a lot of sneaky level design and hidden areas, and as you progress, stages become more and more open as a result. Several of the standout levels allow players to approach platforming challenges or puzzles with completely different routes, which had me wanting to replay them immediately after a clear. ![]() The drill levels are surprisingly deep for instance, with half the level secretly buried within what is ostensibly an optional power-up. This time around I had an opportunity to stop and smell the roses more, and appreciated the expansive stages that some of these Wisps enable. But if you’re looking for a 100% clear rate, there’s plenty of nuance to learn. If you want, you can speed through most stages and warp into the goal ring. Playing through Colors again, one of the standout elements is how optional a lot of these mechanics are. ![]() ![]() Wisps are deliberately placed in each stage, with some layouts built entirely around certain power-ups. The laser lets you aim a quick “zap” dash, the drill drives you into the ground (and in water), and so on. The big gimmick this time is Wisps, which are basically cute ghost-like power-ups that are scattered about (and imprisoned) each stage. ![]()
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