Fans anticipate launch of controversial ‘Sonic Colors’ remaster
‘Sonic Colors: Ultimate’ previews underwhelm gamers as franchise celebrates its 30th anniversary
Nintendo will launch the latest in its Sonic collection, “Sonic Colors: Ultimate,” Sept. 7.
September 2, 2021
This year is the 30th anniversary of Sega’s Sonic, and fans were expecting something big, such as a remake of “Sonic Adventure.” However, all fans have to look forward to is the launch Sept. 7 of the remastered “Sonic Colors,” titled “Sonic Colors: Ultimate.”
“Sonic Colors” was the first Sonic game of its kind. Released in 2010 for the Nintendo Wii exclusively, it was marketed as the next big 3D Sonic game.
However, roughly 80 percent of the game was made up of slow-paced, gimmicky 2D platforming, and the rest was mostly linear, hallway-like paths to boost through. It was accompanied by a simple, childish story with corny jokes.
All of this threw off many long-time 3D Sonic fans. Ten years later, Sonic has never quite recovered from the change in tone and gameplay.
Fans saw the first trailer for the remastered game in May during an event called “Sonic Central.” The main thing people notice is the lighting.
The game looks as if the brightness of the monitor has been turned all the way up. In addition, the colors look less vibrant, there are missing textures and it is hard to see any visual improvements at all.
As more gameplay was released on different gaming channels, another concerning change was the soundtrack. One of the best things about “Sonic Colors” is the music, but now the songs of the levels have been changed and remixed. Fortunately, there are six songs for each world, including the original songs, so fans can choose which ones they want.
In a later trailer, fans see some of the additions to the game, including a new racing mode in which the player can race popular antagonist Metal Sonic.
The biggest change to the gameplay is the way a player respawns. Similar to “Sonic Forces,” there are no game overs, and a player can infinitely respawn at the last checkpoint until they progress to the next part of the level.
There is also a feature added in which if the player falls down a bottomless pit, Sonic’s friend Miles Prower will fly down and save them to then bring them back to the last point of solid ground the player stood on. Many Sonic fans are upset with these changes that make the game much easier. These changes are seen as unnecessary considering that the original “Sonic Colors” was already one of the easiest Sonic games.
The change that almost all Sonic fans are excited for is options for customization. This is a feature that has not been available for Sonic since 2006 in the game “Sonic Rivals.”
The customization in “Sonic Colors: Ultimate” is achieved by collecting park tokens, which can be found in the levels. Once the player has collected enough of the park tokens, they will be able to purchase different paint schemes for Sonic’s gloves and shoes.
Developers could have done more with this feature, though, such as allowing Sonic to wear shoes from previous Sonic titles, such as the soap shoes from “Sonic Adventure 2.” Fans are mostly satisfied and realize that this could be a start to something more in the future for customization in Sonic games.
