LogFAQs > #934795343

#29. Sonic Generations


After the success of Sonic Colors, I was excited to see what Sega would come up with next. When I saw that they were doing a weird collaborative team-up between Classic Sonic and Modern Sonic as they zoom through recreated zones from the past, I was sold immediately, especially once I saw one of the levels was going to be Sky Sanctuary, one of my all-time favorites. Some people talk about fanservice and nostalgia like theyre bad things, but as long as you can use it well, Im all for it! I think Sonic Generations did a good job of remembering the past (and showing that Sonic Team actually did understand what made the series great) while giving us a reason to be excited for the future. The series actually had a really solid decade after a rough 00s, so that was good to see!

Sonic Generations features nine zones with two acts apiece (one Classic Sonic act and one Modern Sonic act). Each is a recreation of a zone of the mainline Sonic games up to that point, so you have Green Hill from Sonic 1, Chemical Plant from Sonic 2, Sky Sanctuary from Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Speed Highway from Sonic Adventure, City Escape from Sonic Adventure 2, Seaside Hill from Sonic Heroes, Crisis City from Sonic 2006, Rooftop Run from Sonic Unleashed, and Planet Wisp from Sonic Colors. Theyre grouped into three groups of three zones meant to be representative of different Sonic eras, and each group has two boss fights. Youve got Metal Sonic, the Death Egg Robot, Shadow the Hedgehog, Perfect Chaos, Silver the Hedgehog, and the Egg Dragoon. Each Classic Sonic act is a straightforward 2-D sidescroller like the Genesis Sonic games. The Modern Sonic acts are basically 2-D/3-D hybrids where Sonic is more on rails like in Sonic Colors rather than being a wide open area to run around in like a lot of the 3-D Sonic games. He also has the boost mechanic that Sonic Unleashed introduced, which provides a really satisfying sensation of speed. They also brought back the Red Star Rings from Colors to encourage exploration and trying to find all the routes through each zone. Each act has a remixed version of the level theme, too, which is really neat.

Now some people might criticize Sonic Generations for being too short or not having enough unique content, and I suppose I can get that, especially if you didnt come into the game as a fan of the series. They do have a bunch of side missions you can do, which pads the length of the game a bit. I just enjoy the nostalgia of playing through these familiar zones in a fresh way and feeling the thrill of watching myself gradually get better and faster at navigating my way through them. Generations also lets you unlock bonuses, like classic songs from throughout the series, and you can even set them to play during the zones. You can race through Green Hill with Flying Battery playing in the background, or you can blast through Rooftop Run and jam to Endless Possibilities at the same time. Its a really cool bit of fanservice. It feels like such a little thing, but it makes me wish more games allowed you to do it!

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