Ok, I know this review is a little over 3 years late, but give it a chance. And I'm sorry, this review looked a lot shorter and less cluttered when viewed in Word.
Game Title: Sonic Rush
Developer(s): Dimps/Sonic Team
Publisher: SEGA
Platform: Nintendo DS
In short, Sonic Rush is not a return to form, but I say that for different reasons than one might assume. Sonic Rush is fun. Like “OMG, I feel like I’m six again and playing my Game Gear” fun.
As per the last few years of handheld Sonic games (namely the Sonic Advance trilogy for the Game Boy Advance), Dimps has developed this installment with some oversight from Sonic Team, the creative house behind the original games on the Sega Genesis console. Dimps is known mainly for their Dragonball Z: Budokai series of games. A series that has mostly proven critics wrong about whether a video game based on an anime has the ability to be an enjoyable experience. In addition, Dimps is also the co-developer of the highly anticipated, recently released, Street Fighter IV.
Sonic games take a lot of heat from the gaming community nowadays, and with good reason. Since the demise of the Dreamcast in 2001 we have seen a plethora of games that seem to prove time and time again that Sonic should be put to sleep. These include, but are certainly not limited to, Sonic Heroes and Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). Sonic Rush aims to educate those masses with a real Sonic experience.
Plot is usually one of the points I stress in games, but this is a Sonic game. The core elements of any Sonic storyline are always the same with little deviation: Robotnik, currently known as Eggman, is doing something bad and it’s up to Sonic to stop him while simultaneously collecting the Chaos Emeralds. This time around, that little deviation is the addition of another playable character, Blaze the Cat, and a second Robotnik (aka, “Eggman-Nega”). This results in two separate storylines, which really just translates to playing the same levels twice in varied order. It also means collecting fourteen Chaos Emeralds instead of the normal seven.
The graphics in Sonic Rush are remarkable. Up until the release of this game all sidescrolling Sonic games were comprised solely of two-dimensional elements. With this release we see the inclusion of some three-dimensional elements. This all comes together to give the perception of a 2.5D experience during gameplay. “2.5D,” or “two-and-a-half dimensional,” is a camera perspective which places all action on a two-dimensional plane while also rendering certain objects in three-dimensions. In this case, Sonic, Blaze and the bosses that appear at the completion of every two stages are all rendered in three dimensions. The “badniks,” or enemies, and environments are all hand drawn illustrations. A few of the environmental aspects are also rendered in 3D as well, in particular the boss levels and some of the springs that lunge Sonic and Blaze into the foreground. It all has a very polished look and feel to it, and fits seamlessly into the environments and gameplay.
The audio for Sonic Rush is outstanding. This is not because of the sound effects, though. It’s because of a soundtrack that has been composed by Hideki Naganuma. Those familiar with Naganuma have probably played either Jet Grind Radio or Jet Set Radio Future. His style of music is unmistakable and vastly mimicked due to the high quality of his work. The extremely catchy and upbeat tunes fit right into the mindset the player is supposed to have when playing a Sonic game and inject a freshness that might otherwise feel dated at times during slower gameplay.
The most important part of any game is its gameplay, and Sonic Rush has some pretty solid footing in that department. The “spin dash” makes a return as almost every traditional Sonic game has included it since it first debuted in 1992. A new novelty that has been added to Sonic’s moveset is the title-move “rush.” Your rush is a finite ability that is determined by the checkpoints crossed, and the amount of tricks performed and enemies destroyed. Activating rush causes Sonic to move at blazing speeds that are faster than what players have previously experienced. There are two major complaints regarding gameplay that I’ve become aware from reviews and other players. One of those criticisms is the placement of obstacles and bottomless pits in the levels. I have found, however, that this really isn’t that serious of an issue. The other main complaint, and one I tend to agree with, is the format used for boss battles. The style implemented during boss encounters doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of the game, and, on top of that, these fights appear to be much less refined. It’s understandable, really, when you think about what a Sonic game is supposed to consist of. I play Sonic games specifically for the fast-paced levels, with which this game is packed, and the boss fights tend to be more of an afterthought.
So is Sonic Rush a return to form? No, because I would argue that Sonic never stopped being the Sonic I grew up with. If you look at the main series of games in the franchise, either handheld or console, you’ll find that the number of good games outnumber the mediocre ones. It’s only when you include all of the ill-conceived spin-offs that you see a downward trend in quality. For every Sonic Rush you have two games like Sonic Riders, and that’s unfortunate.
Bottom Line: Sonic Rush is a great game that almost anyone can enjoy. It takes some practice to get used to the dual screen gameplay (which was not implemented in the boss fights), but it’s well worth the adjustment. Once you’ve acclimated to that style of presentation, then you’ll be blasting through levels like the Devil knows you’re dead.
