Sonic the Hedgehog Generations Review.

"Two Sonics, One Game, Half of which is good!"

WOW! Where do I begin?

All this game does is showcase how weak "Modern" Sonic is when compared to his "Classic" counterpart. 

That was way too tame, FUCK "MODERN" SONIC!

This difference in strength and depth between the two Sonics' is apparent from the first cutscene, showing “Classic” Sonic noticing something is about to threaten his world and he decides to quietly do something about it. Conversely “Modern” Sonic decides to save the world because the antagonist spoilt his birthday party and kidnapped all his friends.

I will quite happily admit that I grew up playing Sonic the Hedgehog on Sega MEGADRIVE and GAME GEAR with those games being amongst the first I ever completed without help from my Mum and Dad (Mum was unbeatable at the Bridge level!) and personified the 90’s with his cocky, devil may care attitude performing loop-de-loops at 770mph without blinking or breaking his stride. He did not go to birthday parties which are lame and require friends and the ability to speak!

The rot set in with the addition of this little fucker, both of him

My main problem with “Modern” Sonic is that he speaks and has companions with whom to do just that to. Sonic has gone from being the cool, extreme outsider to the highly popular social butterfly he was never intended to be. 

Sonic was Sega’s answer to Mario in a world where the plumber showed no discernable personality other than the ability to use power-ups and never be broken hearted that his princess was in another castle. Sonic with his high speed, high octane take on platform gaming coupled with his aggressive attitude (how many people wet themselves when “Classic” Sonic looked out of the screen, hands on hips and started tapping his foot whilst waiting for you to set him moving again? This hedgehog was self aware!) seeing him save the world because he felt that was the right thing to do meaning he was the rebel with a heart of gold.

Look at the picture at the top of this post, see the joy on "Classic" Sonic's face? That is what being Sonic is about. Saving the world and having fun doing it!

Anyway, enough bitching about how Team Sonic have butchered this once highly regarded gaming icon into the almost joke he is now.

If you see this guy on the street punch him. Hard. In the face!

Graphically this game is a mixed bag. The landscapes are stunning, even with the backgrounds flying past when at top speed the temptation is there to watch the backgrounds rather than the foregrounds where the problems reside. The character models are horrible. I could understand if “Classic” Sonic was a bit more pixellated than a sleeker looking “Modern” Sonic as a sort of homage to the MEGADRIVE’s graphics but it is ironic that it is “Modern” Sonic that looks the worst of the two.

During game play you get the feeling that graphically something is amiss but you are too busy to notice exactly where the problem lies but it becomes abundantly apparent during cutscenes. You can watch any cutscene shown throughout the game and watch the character models, especially the eyes, and notice how horribly pixellated they are which for a current generation console is despicable, especially when attempting to charge £45 for the pleasure. I personally got this game, brand new, in a sale for less than £20 and based solely on the graphics I’m still not sure I got good value for money.

But the soundtrack, which is awesome, certainly goes someway to making up for the poor graphics. When I entered the Green Hill Zone for the first time in over 15 years and heard the familiar music the shiver of nostalgia that shot up my spine was ecstasy. I have not had a pang of nostalgia this potent since wandering around Shadow Moses once again in Metal Gear Solid 4, returning to the locations where the epic story of Solid Snake and Foxhound took place was palpable.

The music tapped directly into the section of my brain labelled “Ex Sonic Fan boy”, accessed the old level memory banks and had me shooting down the old paths through the levels I had used all those years ago with the occasional modern twist thrown in to freshen things up and keep even the old fans, who have long given up on the fastest hedgehog alive becoming the icon he once was, interested to see what new surprises were ahead just around the corner.  

This is what Sonic the Hedgehog looks like for those that don't know.

Whilst “Modern” Sonic is played mostly in 3D, rather than “Classic” Sonic's traditional platforming 2D, the reorientated levels work. Even though you are now running “into” the level rather than across it areas are still recognisable from their 2D counterpart, I think this is something Team Sonic deserves credit for even if some of the enemies can turn up to screw you when you least expect it because you couldn't see them coming.

So, ultimately, did the game work?

In a word: Yes.

In more words: this game does what it set out to do, bring the fans of “Classic” and “Modern”
Sonic together to celebrate his 25^th birthday so that we could all celebrate what he was, is (blasphemy!) and speculate on where the future would lie for the spiny blue rodent but ultimately will see them still divided into their two respective camps depending on which Sonic indoctrinated them into gaming leaving them resenting the other half of the game.

The game is worth a punt if you want something fun to feel nostalgic over but not worth the full asking price and feels like a shallow attempt to get "Classic" Sonic fans to at least set foot into the "Modern" Sonic's world.

Score: 6/10