This kind of article is usually relegated to the community blog, but I believe that it is newsworthy enough to sit up here.
One of my fangaming buddies from SFGHQ, Endri (creator of Sonic Attitude), got the chance to play Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1. How? He was invited to playtest the X360 version of the game on a Developer’s Console. He had to run in and out, but he managed to post his impressions at Sonic Retro. He will be elaborating further, but here is what he has said thus far (keep in mind that he is from Brazil and English is not his native language):
Early in the morning today, I, and a other few (un)lucky people, had the opportunity to playtest the X-BOX 360 version of the game. In fact, any of you could do it as well, provided you own a Developer’s Console, or a J-TAGed system.
I’ll try to give a very briefely analysis of what were my thoughts about this game.
Graphically (and artistically, I must say), the game is very beautiful, even thought I can’t really eat that celshading effect they put in Sonic’s model, to make it look like a differed shaded Genesis sprite.Something important to notice is that, the 3D models are not really 3D models, instead, they are sprites of pre-rendered 3D models. SO we are pretty much dealing with a 2D game here. That goes for everything else but Sonic, since I’m not sure as if Sonic is really a sprite itself, but I pretty much think it is. THat might explain the akward animations.
The level design. I played through Splash Hill Zone entirely up until Casino Street Zone. Splash Hill ZOne is pretty much Neo Leaf Forest Zone (for those who don’t know, Sonic Advance 2’s first stage). Everything about it looked like Leaf Forest. Hell, even the level art itself reminds Leaf Forest some way or another. The level design pretty much encourages the player to keep going to the right, except when the levels abruptuly decides to force you to go in the opposite direction by inserting unexpected walls, making you jump, jump to the left, jump to the right, keep running to the right. It is especially strange, considering the level layouts encourages you to keep running right. The acts are actually considerably huge in size, but quite short in time, much like Sonic Advance 2 stages. I don’t remember any level especific gimmick on the first stage, which is pretty unfortunate. You gotta love Casino Street Zone, since it’s freaking Casino Night Zone. It’s exactly identical. The colors, the tiles, everything. The level layout however is much like Music Plant Zone from Sonic Advance 2. A level that right encourages speed. Ha, about the Special Stages, they are quite fun actually, it is Sonic 1’s Distorted Dimension, but with a new twist: instead of controling Sonic, you control the stage itself. So yeah, my oversight was right after all. In terms of difficult, I found it harder than Sonic 1’s Special Stages (and provided, they were rathereasy). I belive they are going to be even fun/harder with the motion controls of the Wiimote/Six-axis/DualShock3, since you have to rotate the stage using the trigger buttons in the X-BOX 360 version (RT rotates to the right, LT to the left, etc). Looks like a pinball of sort. Oh, don’t let me get started on the bossfight. You might already imagine how it is by now.
The gameplay is pretty solid, actually. Which is a great thing. However, the game pretty much have the physics of Sonic Rush. I hate I hate I hate I hate I hate, I can’t stress enough how I hate the jump! Fucking jump! It’s the worst jump I’ve ever seem in a Sonic game to date. Apparently they tried to mimic the ‘the longer you hold down the jump button, the longer you accent’ mechanic of the classic games, but as a result, they fucked the freaking cake with it. The jump is all over the place: if you rapidly tap the jump button, Sonic almost don’t jump; if you hold a little and release, Sonic starts accending, but hebreaks to the floor as soon as you release the jump button. If you hold the jump button all the way down, Sonic jumps like if he had touched a spring, he jumps so high and almost no gravity, it’s like you are jumping on the freaking moon. And I thought the jump ing the Rush series was bad. This one is even worse. The jump is so bad that I preffer to keep running right to win really. Don’t let me get started on the spin dash. THe spin dash don’t have enough power, no matter what. It behaves much like Knuckles’ Chaotix spin dash. Running rewards you with much more speed than spindashing.
My final remark of this game? It’s freaking Sonic Advance 2! It’s written Sonic Advance 2 all over the place. It is Sonic Advance 2 all over again. In fact, they could have named this game Sonic High Speed, and I wouldn’t mind it at all. But it is supposed to be Sonic fucking 4. To be honest, the name Sonic High Speed would fit this game better.
I am afraid to say that we are actually dealing with the very final product here, folks. Since the developers already sent the software for the Microsoft Evaluation Proccess. Additionally, the game’s software was sent to ESBR game content analizys team. Considering the game is already been analized and rated by ESBR, the development team cannot overgo any significative change in the game, visually or otherwise, which therefore pretty much means that this is what the game looks like.
I’m in a hurry here, and I’m sorry to not give a better insight on the game, but I’ll make sure to edit this post or whatever, whenever I have the time.
So, to recap:
- Sonic 4 is pretty.
- Sonic 4 plays like Advance 2/Sonic Rush.
- The special stages are the Sonic 1 levels with a twist, rotating the special stage instead of controlling Sonic.
- Spindash… still gimped.
- Casino Street Zone looks exactly like Casino Night Zone.
I’m going to catch up with Endri and talk to him about his playtest. If he posts any more information, I will update the entry here.
Wow… just wow… god dammit, well if the game plays like Advance 2 then I guess it aint BAD. Just… dammit. Not Sonic 4 at all.
Sadface.
@Kail
What’s in a name?
“Ha, about the Special Stages, they are quite fun actually, it is Sonic 1’s Distorted Dimension, but with a new twist: instead of controling Sonic, you control the stage itself.”
Excellent! All those hours spent playing the LocoRoco series shall pay off in an unexpected manner!
well, it will be acceptable for me ^^
Oh cool, that means I already own Sonic 4!
Thats a good thing. The advanced titles are the only good sonic games to come out in the past 10 years.
🙁 That info about the broken Spin-dash & Jumping Sucks! Maybe they could fix this in Episode 2 ?
i want a 3d sonic like sonic 06 but without the bugs
“the development team cannot overgo any significative change in the game, visually or otherwise,”
Fucking delay it then!
“Sonic 4 plays like Advance 2/Sonic Rush”.
I feel a strange sense of vindication.
Also RAEG.
Dissapointing news. If the game can’t receive significant updates, it’s going to another clunky Sonic game.
The gameplay sounds like it’s lifted straight from Sonic Advance 2. So does the level design. It was the best of Advance series, but still, far from being worthy of a follow up to Sonic 3.
*headdesk*
Idiots idiots idiots IDIOTS!
*Toilet Flush*
Well this is really bad, i mean i like the sonic advanced series, more then rush that is.
but this is really grim news, and even worse for super hard core retro fans
it sounds to me like this it is more like “Sonic cruse’n through pretty landscapes,
and maybe having to jump here and there. but with a faulty jump and a broken spin-dash? really!!?
REALLY SEGA!!? you guys could not have spent MORE TIME ON IT MAKING IT BETTER!!?
Christ… i smell Failure already on this series. perhaps they will fix everything
in the second episode.. and SPEND MORE TIME WORKING ON IT
you had to fuck it up some how sega didn’t you, the icing on this gross shit cake
is it’s named sonic 4, and yet its Sonic Advanced HD.
to me i think this is to squeeze money out of fans then a honest heart felt project
for everyone like the claim.
Apologies for the swearing, this is just bullshit.
Worst fears confirmed… S I G H . . .
“Sonic 4 plays like Advance 2/Sonic Rush.”
Oh good! Respectively, their aggregate scores on GameRankings are 85.47% and 82.79%!
YES. LETS LET NUMBERS PICKED OUT OF THIN FUCKING AIR BY WHOEVER DICTATE OUR OPINION AND SPENDING HABITS. BRILLIANT. You are a fool.
Even if it fails (which I doubt will happen -_-), the only way SEGA® can redeem itself in the eyes of its b*tchy fanbase would be to use the last remaining popular name sake it has available: Sonic Adventure 3.
So we’re hearing this from one person who appeals to the Sonic hatebase?
Wonderful. Final decision, that’s for sure. >_>
WOO! Way to believe another bullshit tale, Sonic Stadium!
Hmm interesting insight to the game here, if its anything like Sonic advanced 2 then so be it. I have nothing against the advanced series there 9.5/10 in my book, but this is suppose to be sonic 4. Thou non the less if its good which i am thinking it should be given Dimpses history with this franchise i am looking forward to it still, but however have changed my expectations slightly.
I have nothing against the Advanced games but I was hoping for more classic gameplay since it IS titled Sonic 4 afterall. I’m seriously dissapointed if the spin dash truly is broken.
So… according to Retro, this might turn out to be a fake unless Endri posts a video tomorrow…. phew. hope has been restored… for now.
@FlashTHD
Silly human, I didn’t pick them out of thin air, I got them from a website (though the averages are slightly different from when I used the search engine):
http://www.gamerankings.com/gba/561898-sonic-advance-2/index.html
http://www.gamerankings.com/ds/920803-sonic-rush/index.html
GameRankings takes the scores from magazines and websites and combines them all so it’s quite accurate.
Besides, I was just stating that if this game is like those games, it’ll be alright then.
Jesus, it’s like they really couldn’t fucking wait a few more months to polish the game. It’s not even the holiday season!
[/comment based on potentially fake playtest review]
Yes you have made a good point there Sonicemerald, i also have nothing against Sonic stadium but i personally wouldn’t have posted this information until actual proof was backed it up.
Non the less i think most people here should chill out, and even if its true you shouldn’t rely on peoples opinions to much. I personally feel a game should be judge by yourself and not by someone else, because as we all know everyone has different tastes.
Well, it may not be 100% oldschool, but its the closest SEGA has gotten thus far. Plus, at least the game itself will be good.
fuck right off im not convinced that he played it until i see a real video footage of the game off Endri
plus i dont really give to shits if it plays like advance 2 and rush both those games was good but i still think this game will be great but people on SSMB,Sonic Retro and other sonic forums are gunna bitch and moan and raped the fuck out of this info over a possible fake info and like i said above im not gunna be convinced until gameplay video of this Endri
Do we know what build it was?
All was a Joke from Endri
And once again the fandom bitches and complains.
A Sonic game by Dimps with busted mechanics? Shocker!
So this “good friend” of yours seems to be telling a big fat lie, according to Retro.
If it is a fake it’s one i think in the fashion of trolling or to boycott it..
i hope its bull, and they are wrong.. faith level raised a little bit more.
I’ve been reading articles for a long time on here, but only now I decided to post a comment.
Why?
I’m so frustrated with people. Honestly, MATCHING A GAME MADE YEARS AGO BY A DIFFERENT TEAM IN TERMS OF QUALITY IS IMPOSSIBLE. Things ARE going to be different. You can whine and complain, but they can’t satisfy EVERYONE. Be thankful that at least they made it 2D, and more retro, all right? Everyone’s opinions are different. I think it’s going to be fun. SEGA CAN tweak the jumping and spindash mechanics if they want, but changing the entire game is not possible. This was a PLAYTEST.
Now, I’m not here to start fights with anyone. Everyone is entitled to different opinions…It’s just when they constantly WHINE about it that gets on my nerves.
For example, in my opinion, the Sonic Unleashed Night stages were better than the Day stages. Now someone will say the exact opposite. Big deal. Opinions.
I loved Shadow the Hedgehog; one of the best games. Someone else; worst game ever. Big deal. Opinions.
I couldn’t stand Sonic and the Secret Rings; bad controls. Someone else; awesome game!!! Big deal. Opinions.
Notice a trend? Endri might think the game sucks, but there are a lot who will enjoy the game and think it’s better than the originals. Styles of play differ. Sorry for this little rant, but I just got annoyed 0o’ Whoopsie.
Why would they playtest the game right before the developers aren’t allowed to make major changes?
I need to actually see it in person to make any decisions,it’ll give me a much better idea of what they meant.
I smell bullshit.
FUCK YOU HATERS.
This game looks awesome, this “playtester” is obviously a huge moron.
Let’s all agree, Sonic advance was awesome, and this will be awesome.
Anyone who disagrees may kindly go fuck themselves. Thank you.
Damnit, why not a sonic and knuckles -esque with different stages?!?!?!? It would have been easier, cheaper, and WAY better than a broken jump AND spindash, which basicly what sonic can do other than run.it’s like making him into a retard that doesn’t know what todo but run into walls
I think this guy is BSing. Something about it just seems iffy.
I am dissapointed and pretty much lost all the interest I had for the game, but if this turns out to be a lie I will be outraeg’d…
Seriously, lying to a whole fanbase and a friend? That’s pretty low, even for the Sonic fandom standarts. =/
@RPGeno: You’re right. Sonic Advance was awesome. But Endri’s talking about Sonic Advance 2, which wasn’t awesome.
He tells me that we’re getting the demo tomorrow. We shall wait and see.
I like Rush and Advance series so I don’t really care if it is similar to those games. But unfortunately if this guy is right about this game, I can already see the retro fanboys heading to Segas HQ with pitchforks and torches..
Okay, you can weep like Salem Saberhagen, big time fan of Sonic the Hedgehog. I know HE would.
I’m having trouble believing this guy.
He clearly states that “it plays like advanced!
/rush!” and then he bashes on the jump!
He needs to decide now, does it play like advanced or rush?
Or is it a broken 2d sonic 06?
Either way, I’m buyin it!
[quote] And I thought the jump ing the Rush series was bad. This one is even worse[/quote]
this guy is either an stupid maniac or a liar.
i wont call it a fail before i play it.
but i have to confess something….. I LOVED SONIC 2006 =D so dont expect some seriuos review from me… xP
Also, this guy can’t start a sentence with ‘the’ without making a capital H!
Regardless of whether this guy is lying, the jumping DOES look like shit. Just find a gameplay vid on the net, and it is VERY obvious. It’s like they kept Sonic Adventure 2’s jumping physics, and just put it in a 2D setting.
English isn’t his native language, kid.
Hey man I want a magical modded console that can play games that still have five months left in the development process too anyone know where I can find one
People being willingly trolled so they can feel “vindicated” by a videogame discussion.
Superb.
This game shouldnt have been called Sonic 4 in the first place if this guy is right. But I kinda dont believe this guy entirely. Hopefully someone else will go play it and post a better review. If this guy is right, ill buy it, but ill still be disappointed in the title. If hes wrong, then ur gonna be mondo hated.
Im having a seriously hard time believing this. The ONE thing I can agree to out of all the negative crud this dude said was the midair physics; sonic does spin kinda slow when he jumps in the air (from what Ive seen in the leaked video) but other than that the jumping sequence is fine. it doesnt look like sonic jumps too high. Also, Sega DID say they’re getting back to the roots right? well dont these levels have similar traits from the original levels? I dont believe sonic 4 is gonna go down the toilet
Dangit, this whole fiasco just keeps getting more muttled; with every new leaked bit of info more and more doubt/confusion enters into the fandom, making this feel like a right nasty mess.
I’m not too sure what to think of this: all I can say is that it’s just one guy, and I will still buy the game, and hopefully I will like it.
Ya know though, sometimes I think it’s best to just go with your first instincts on some things. I’m speaking of waaaay back in september when the first news of needlemouse broke, and that interview from gamespot was put up. I loved the teaser, but didn’t glean the same vibe from the interview; it was just the way the dude was answering the questions, it gave me feelings that were no where near as high as from the teaser. However, I still remember one of the things he said, and I believe it’s important now:
“Project needlemouse is that critical FIRST step in bringing sonic back to his roots” (not a direct quote).
I think that should be taken into account when looking at sonic 4; cause he’s basically saying that this is gonna be a process, and needlemouse/sonic 4 is just the beginning. I remember reading it and feeling “oh, well I hope it’s good but it doesn’t sound like it be freakin amazing’. Now I’m not saying the game is gonna suck–not at all, and I’d have very little evidence to say that. I just think it’s important to view sonic 4 within the context of that quote. it’s the beginning. With that said, they would probably have been much better off NOT naming this sonic 4, thus making it far less sensitive.
But hopefully, if there is anything wrong with it, it’ll get fixed in later episodes. We just gotta wait….
first off.. isnt it ESRB? not esbr… meh, i dont buys what hese saying anyone could make up this story simply by watching the leaked footage, all the stages are revealed and have a thumbnail and name, so ya…. we know whats going on, butyou know what? that looks like an alpha build if anything, especially since he wasnt able to go around a look because of something not working in the programming, also he avoided dashes… this tells me something. that the guy posting this crap isnt telling us the truth….so what if a few machanics are bogus, its not coming till summer… they have plenty of time to squeeze stuff in!
I don’t want to believe this… I thought the leaked video looked fine. Who says they can’t change the game? What the heck? I’m predicting that the game will be fine and Episode 2 will provide patches like Sonic & Knuckles did for Sonic 3.
Something something Dark Side.
The Circle is Complete.
[img]http://pics.fort90.com/forum/sonic_cycle.jpg[/img]
if the coding doesn’t work, feel free to laugh. Either way, it has begun.
ha opinons are different.
I’m still excited!
WAY TO FUCK UP IN LESS THAT 1 MONTH OF REVEALING SEGA!!!!
I’m sorry, he didn’t say anything that sounded legit. Really, people with special dev consoles can download the game? Why would THOSE people be the people that Sega wants to playtest something that they CANT change because it’s already too late since it was submitted to the ESBR (It’s ESRB dude).
It doesn’t really make any logical sense why he would be able to play it. What, Sega wants all the other developers out there with dev consoles to give them feedback?
I just think it’s a lie based on the leaked footage.
i wait until he says something we don’t know.
no gimmick? no explanation of the boss fight? sounds fishy but i don’t start to call him faker.
sega really needs to make a trailer with gameplay.
Sounds like all my fears I brought up in the “Dimps Working on Sonic 4” article comments are going to come true :\
It’s never felt so bad to be right… -.-
Actually, screw it, I think I’ll enjoy it.
I’m going to ignore that it’s called Sonic 4, and that it’s supposed to be a sequel to the old games. It’s not going to play like them. It’s going to be different. It’s going to have a homing attack. It’s going to have speed run leaderboards. That’s how I’m going to enjoy this.
I loved the Sonic Unleashed day stages. I did all of the hot dog missions, which required you to memorize levels and do great speed runs, and I had a blast doing it. I’ll do the same with this. I’ll treat it like a new game, make no comparisons to the old, and act like it’s a new direction for 2D Sonic games that incorporate a lot of the better elements of the 3D games.
I’ve given up on this being a revival of the classic Sonic titles. It’s not, and never will be with what we’ve seen so far. It’s going to be a new game that has some very glaring differences, and instead of judging them based on what there was before, I’ll judge them based on what they are, and how fun it is.
@ Mit
that’s the spirit!
*Sigh* I don’t believe it…
Actually, I do. This is the closest thing people are ever going to get to a new retro game, and yet the fans STILL complain!
You know what I think? I think that Sega should just cancel the project altogether. Not because of the gameplay physics, but because the so-called “comitted fanbase” doesn’t deserve it. All they’ve ever done is bitch and moan, and when Sega actually make an effort to please them, they complain about that as well.
Sega should just ignore the fans and make the games the way THEY want to, not the ways the fans want them to.
I don’t mind if it plays like SA2/SR, I liked both of these games anyway and I’m pretty happy with what they’re showing us so far
@ TheHumbleFellow
You’re a fool.
I watched the gameplay video thats managed to leak onto youtube and i must say (apart from the player being a total noob at it) It looks really good. the speed is there, the jusmping looks fine from the video and the level design, while reminisent of the older games yes, sstill looks solid in its own right.
Brianzilla2004: Excuse me, wasn’t it YOU who complained the second you heard the name Dimps? This is compelling evidence for my case!
[quote]I am afraid to say that we are actually dealing with the very final product here, folks. Since the developers already sent the software for the Microsoft Evaluation Proccess. Additionally, the game’s software was sent to ESBR game content analizys team. Considering the game is already been analized and rated by ESBR, the development team cannot overgo any significative change in the game, visually or otherwise, which therefore pretty much means that this is what the game looks like.[/quote]
Troll confirmed. Why would SEGA submit this to the ESRB or Microsoft with 5 months left before release? Are they just going to let it sit on the shelf until July?
I watched the leaked video again, bearing in mind the senior level designer from Sonic 3 & Knuckles is making this game, if you try to imagine the leve more like a level in Sonic 3 or S&K you can seen how it really is more like the classic games. Other than a speed pad put in there, this definitely wasn’t moving super fast like in Sonic Advance 2.
I still don’t think this guy is telling the truth unless he shows some video.
This is a Review? BULLS***!
Firstly, this is set out or even written like a review. The Spelling and grammar is utter shight. He doesn’t even know that it is ESRB, not ERBS. Furthermore, there a reference to the Sonic Advance games and Sonic Rush, almost IMMIDIATELY. Yep, he’s jumped onto the D!MPS Bandwagon and is claiming to be a rehash of Advance 2 and Rush. Whilst there isn’t anything wrong with that, this whole article (if you could call it that) is just saturated with Bias.
Facts are gonig to be given below:
1. Sonic IS a fully 3D character Model. The site and SEGA have confirmed this. This whole idea of s cell-shaded model is bull. The idea likely came from a screenshot on this site, where Sonic looks cell-shaded.
2. Of course Casino Street Zone will lok like Casino Night Zone. The image used in that video looks to be a placeholder, with a screenshot of Casino Night Zone.
3. How in the f*** would this guy know that this version of the game and its finalised. The game has been in development for 2 or 3 months. No way could this be possible. 5 MONTHS remaining till release.
3. Its ESRB, and they haven’t rated it. They rated the trailer as “comic mischeif”.
I think we can safely say, that this is troll (who lacks any fundamental literacy skills, such as grammar, spelling or punctuation). This “review” or “article” is PURELY based on the 3 mins of leaked footage, and various screenshots. It probably has been written by a biased, butthurt retro-fanbrat, who obviously wants people not to buy the game because there is not “classic Sonic”, or whatever he feels like using as an excuse.
It’s bullshit. Anyone can make this shit up just by looking at the leaked footage. Also, considering this is a digital download, they don’t have the rush of having to distribute it, so why complete the game 5 months ahead of time?
“jump to the left, jump to the right, keep running to the right” – just like in the leaked footage?
“Oh, don’t let me get started on the boss fight. You might already imagine how it is by now.” – Nope, please, tell us what it entailed…
No pics/proof either? bah!
Boy are you ignorant, Scartillery.
– The word “review” is not used once in the entire article. They’re “impressions”. He briefly played the game and is telling of his experience.
– If you read the entire article, you would know that the man giving impressions is from Brazil, and English isn’t his first language. So lay off the spelling insults and comments, I’m sure you can’t speak better Spanish than his English.
– If the Sonic model is indeed a 3D model appearing onscreen (which the impressionist did say might be true), it IS cel-shaded. Do you know what cel-shading is? Every instance of the gameplay Sonic we’ve seen so far for Sonic 4 has been cel-shaded. Just take a look at a screenshot: http://www.sonicretro.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/268.jpg
– This game has NOT been in development for 2 or 3 months. Are you out of your mind? They even announced it as Project Needlemouse far longer than 2 or 3 months ago. And I’m sure it was in development before that time as well. High profile games like this, even if they’re DLC, do not get made in 6-7 months. Also, the game is likely set for this summer, either June or July most likely. 4-5 months away, but games do not get finished the day before release. It will need to be finished atleast a full month ahead of time. This game only has 3-4 months left TOPS, and it’s very likely the game is very near complete.
Fun fact: your game doesn’t have to be done to submit it to the ESRB. You just have to present them with all content that pertains to the ratings. They don’t even have to see the whole game. They just trust that you’re showing them everything, and if you’re not, you’re gonna get in trouble. Accordingly, it’s very possible they’ve already submitted an extensive video, or build of the game, that shows off all major content needed to establish a rating for the game.
In any case, I tend to believe this article, because many of the things he’s saying line up with the things we saw in that leaked footage. It’s also likely that the leaked footage came from a playtest just like this one. If you read about the person as well, he is indeed a rather well known and credible person. He’s offering more insight on the Sonic Retro forums than just this post, and even plans on trying to get the demo build up and available for everyone with J-TAGged 360’s.
@Mit
Just a heads up, in Brazil they speak portuguese…
Otherwise I agree with you 🙂
Ah, my bad, I don’t know why I thought Spanish 😛
In any case, we’ll know if this guy was trolling or not for sure once we find out whether or not the special stages are player-rotated, or if you control Sonic. Hopefully we find that out before the game comes out. At this rate, we’ll still be looking at concept art and wallpaper in August.
Mit:
1) Did you ever stop to think that, if this report *is* fake, that the person responsible would have *also* seen the trailer, and thus known what to “line up” with?
2) Do you not realise that it was this very person who made the claim that it must be near-finished by reason of the ESRB submission, and therefore you are arguing against your own case?
Honestly. Do the people who so desperately want to believe that the game sucks really think they’re any better than the people who desperately want to believe it doesn’t?
I’m also having trouble believing this guy. He sounds like he may be a sonic hater who wants to make the game sound bad and has gone the extra mile on it. But time will tell, and as always, I will play the game and make my own opinion of it. Nothing is going to stop me being ultra excited about Sonic 4, I have high hopes and a still very excited.
I love Sonic Advance 2. 😛
Anyway, when will you guys give up on Sonic? I’m fine with you disliking it, everybody has opinions, but some of us do like it and you’d think a fan site would be run by those of us… I’d have thought you’d have given up by now.
@Mit
Yeah, sorry, didn’t realise about the language Barrier, I admit this was uncalled for on my part, and I solemnly apologize
I concur with a few of your points, and I admit, I may have jumped to conclusions. Fair enough, however, Endri clearly stated, that this IS THE FINAL product. So what you were saying about it not having to be completed to be rated, whilst true, in this case seems to be incorrect.
Now, you are right in saying that what he says lines up nicely with the leaked footage, but again, it lines up TOO well. Its like an impression of the game, based solely on what could be seen in the video.
I think there is a reason why he didn’t (wasn’t able to) comment on the Boss fight. This is because there was no footage of a boss in the leaked footage.
The complaint about physics, is often a result of the game being incomplete, and yet in ALPHA stage. There is no way it could be completed this early. Maybe it has been in development for quite a while, but games need more than 6 months of development time to be any good. Remember Sonic 2006. It had roughly 6-8 months development time (360) and it was clearly unfinished (although why the PS3 version was WORSE despite the extra 6 months they had to make it is beyond me)
I’m sorry if I offended you, or Endri, but these are my opinions based on what the article says, and based on what a lot of Sonic Retro people are saying.
Totally. Because SEGA is releasing this in retail and needs to have it ready in February.
It’s download meaning quick release.
It’s coming out in Summer and it’s not even Spring yet.
This is bullshit, Endri!
I don’t believe this for a second. As a lot of you have said anybody could make stuff up just looking at the leaked footage. I refuse to take these impressions serriously unless some solid evidence is shown.
Hey guys, give him a break, English is not our first language ;] Besides, i’ve seen native english speakers with no sense of grammar at all.
To be sincere I also doubt that he played the final version if the game. I agree with everybody here who says that he talks about things that appear on the leak. Actually, what if Endri is the one who played that leak we all saw? If it is, well, that certainly looks like an alpha, and even if it was submitted to the ESRB it doesn’t mean the game’s not going thru any changes.
I keep my hopes high. Dang, I enjoyed playing sonic 06. I just want to have fun, that’s all.
Endri does work for a games localization company. I wouldn’t say that it’s outright bullshit until he’s proven to be telling the truth or lying.
@Brianzilla2004 No, You are the fool to think EVERY retro sonic gamer is gonna to enjoy any “classic” game Sega puts out. No matter how close Sega might get to “original” some Sonic fan is going to complain.
Heck, If Sega put out a Sonic 4 they would need new stuff to put in, right? [Sonic2 :Super Sonic; Sonic3: Shields; Sonic3&K:Hyper Sonic] But if they do people will complain.[Eww, It is NEW That is not classic! It is NEW Eww]. If they don’t people will complain about a (REHASH) [It is the friggen same as Sonic 1 and 3 mashed together Eww!].
All TheHumbleFellow is saying Retro Sonic fans will never be pleased, and I agree!
Last point, Something about this article seems off. It says the game is about final, but why would Sega hold it for 5 months if the game was about 95% complete? (Well complete in enough to beat it.) Something is not right…
I call bulls***. Even if he did play the leaked version, that version was an alpha build. I don’t recall Alpha builds being proof of a final product, do you?
Who cares about cel-shaded hate discussion, anyway? Not everyone complained when they made Wind Waker, and look how awesome that turned out to be, even if it didn’t follow the original look.
Man this is sad the normal Sega cycle continues New sonic ,Seems to be a winner,Itsa let down well since its in episodes so hopefully with all the fans complaing theyll make a better game next
@ TheHumbleFellow
Wow, you are so wrong my friend.
Sega fans are probably the most loyal ever, we are so loyal that we went through 15 years of mediocre/average games, yet no matter how bad it is, we still purchase each release!
And that is the reason that Sega keeps screwing us over!
Sounds like fun to me. Sonic Advance 2 was my favorite 2D Sonic game of all time. Sonic Rush wasn’t half bad either. I’ll wait till I get it, then say what must be said.
So if we are to believe this, we have been royaly screwed over.
Sega if you are gonna call the game Sonic 4 make the physics like the megadrive games not like Sonic Advance 2. I had fun with Sonic Advance 2, don’t get me wrong but it wasn’t great.
I’ll still download the game if it’s cheap.
…Right. Well, I’m still saying this is bullshit, because Endri has yet to tell us what the Boss Battle was like, and I’m a little confused as to what “you might imagine what it was like by now.” Please, elaborate.
As for everyone, hell. This is his thoughts. Don’t just let his opinions sway you- judge the game for yourself. I’m unsure if I should believe this or not, because he lists positives, but way more negatives. So for now, I’ll wait for more gameplay videos from Sega themselves, or I’ll wait for a review that come out when the actual game is released. No need to be getting all worked up about this so early.
Wow. That mad over a strange jump and spin dash? Sounds like a moron by how much he swore. Very un-professional sounding.
I’d be pretty mad too if the jump and spin dash had iffy physics. I mean this is supposed to be like one of the classics and the physics are pretty important.
[quote]The jump is all over the place: if you rapidly tap the jump button, Sonic almost don’t jump; if you hold a little and release, Sonic starts accending, but hebreaks to the floor as soon as you release the jump button.[/quote]
I think he just described the jump from Tiny Toons for the genesis. Well thats what came to mind anyways. =P
“The jump is all over the place: if you rapidly tap the jump button, Sonic almost don’t jump; if you hold a little and release, Sonic starts accending, but hebreaks to the floor as soon as you release the jump button. If you hold the jump button all the way down, Sonic jumps like if he had touched a spring, he jumps so high and almost no gravity, it’s like you are jumping on the freaking moon.”
I’m having trouble believing that. After paying close attention to the way Sonic jumps in the leaked video, his height seemed to be pretty consistent all throughout. I didn’t see any of the supposed micro-jumps or moon-jumps and I find it extremely unlikely that the guy playing would be holding the jump button done for the same amount of time EVERY SINGLE TIME.
I also refuse to believe Endri’s claim that the game is just about finished. How could he possibly know that if he only had access to a developer’s console? Admittedly the game does look like it could be released in its present form, but we have to remember that Sonic 4 won’t be available for download for FOUR MORE MONTHS. That gives SEGA/Dimps three months more or less to fine-tune the game or even add new game content. Sending in bits and pieces to be rated by the ESRB is no excuse for not continuing to work on such a major title during this considerable amount of time. That’s why I’m confident that most problems, if not all, will be sorted out before June.
*holding the jump button down*
Sorry, don’t know how I messed that one up.
Why would they invite a ungrateful little crybaby bitch to play an unreleased game when this website deserves it? We’d give much better reviews, correct?
Well, look at it this way:
If SEGA screws up with Episode 1, everything screwy about it shouuld be fixed in Episode 2.
…XD
Impressions are impressions. I’ll just wait for the game, thank you very much.
http://forums.sega.com/showpost.php?p=5587337&postcount=1
this is why i don’t believe that the level design sucks.
it’s the freaking level designer of s3&k which is working on that game!
@TheHumbleFellow
Yeah your exactly right! they should cancel this game!
@ radioactive puppy
it probably means that it’s like the running ones in sonic advance 2
my impressions f the leaked video,
splash hill- sunset hill w/ different name
labyrinth place- labyrinth zone w/ different name
casino street- casino night w/ different name
special stage- sonic 1
the only other stage- the only original stage
this guy is definetly telling the truth
Why, if this guy was given an invite, did he talk bad about it?
Yeah, because you can tell about the level design from a static picture of the level names.
As I said earlier, it would be easy to extrapolate from the trailer to make that “impressions” post.
There’s nothing “definet”, or, indeed, definite here.
So…uh…it’s been over 100 posts now.
Are we gonna get some proof that this guy actually played the game so people can stop arguing about it?
Fake. 100%
Why doesn’t someone rip the alpha/demo so the community can play it?
@ Edge… um, so based on what you’re saying he is definitely telling the truth because he deduced the same thing you did without playing the game? hahaha… yeah anybody could make those kind of conclusions based on the leaked footage/pics.
BTW the other stage is – metropolis zone w/ different name.
And really… where’s the proof. A video would suffice, he doesn’t have to leak the entire game. I still call BS.
That doesn’t prove anything to me, because where the proof that that wasn’t forged and that’s really who they say they are?
On another note, If the leaked footage is examined closely, You can see that the 4th Zone is:
Mad Gear Zone
Also, there are four acts to a level. Here are the ones for Splash Hill Zone:
Act 1- The Adventure Begins
Act 2- High Speed Athletics ?
Act 3- Sunset Dash
Boss- Showdown with Dr.Eggman
I personally think, it doesn’t matter what the gameplay is like, it’s still the first 2d sonic game on a home console since sonic 3, so technically the gameplay could have sonic bouncing on a feckin pogo stick on platforms consisting of all the flickies that suffocated in those badniks you didn’t kill in sonic 1-3. As long as it’s in 2d and on your tv via a home console it will still be sonic 4.
I myself am dead excited for this, the closest experience I got to playing a new all 2d sonic on a tv screen was playing the advance games on a gamecube-gameboy player and on the wii via an emulator.
It’s new sonic, it’s 2d, it follows the original story that many loved the games for, and I can play at the comfort of lying in bed and have my eyes glued to a tv without fear of battery life or bad sound quality through low tech speakers that exist in handhelds.
I know I am not the first person here to say “I’m going to wait till the game comes out” but I couldn’t aggree more, I’ll judge the game when I play it, and until then, seeing concept art and mini teasers is good enough for me.
Bring it on sega, I can’t wait.
Do you remember seeing any proof? I certainly don’t remember saying any proof.
Funny how this story is still up. So much for credibility!
OKAY THIS GAME IS NOT SONIC ADVANCE 2
this guy was right about the jump but this is a beta so what the hell do you expect =_=”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVh9IzeAgrU
watch the video in the link and youll see for yourself that this game isnt as bad as it’s made out to be…and also the guy playing sucks ass at sonic games so this isnt the clearest thing in terms of speed and how certain this work(boosters spring loops etc.)
enjoy my find
@NejiBK
Actually I can clearly see how the floaty and forward moving the jump is; the physics also look Sonic Rush like; fine if the level design is laid out for those mechanics but the levels look like I hybrid of Sonic 3 and Rush.
We also can’t tell if it’s him or if the game controls are sticky (which they kinda look like). This is a beta so there’s still time to clean it up but, being pessimistc since when of late have Sega fixed game physics in from beta onwards? Rarely.
So I’m dampened but not broken. Most likely I’ll still get the game, unless the game bombs at review.
Frankly, I’ve been trying to keep my mouth shut, but I can’t any longer. The old school fans are becoming insufferable. They are wining, bitching, moaning, and giving this game less of a chance than Sonic 06. This is coming from a person whose first Sonic game ever played was SONIC 1 ON THE GENESIS. Sonic 4 has excited me. IMO, they are pulling out all the stops for this one.
The game is meant for those who played in the old days and stopped after the 3D transition. Not old school fans, but people like my family and friends who enjoyed the old Sonic games. In short, I like who SEGA is appealing to, rather than the elitists in Sonic Retro who wouldn’t like the game even if SEGA had the entire old Sonic Team working on it.
Sounds like this guy has watched too many Yahtzee reviews and even owns a pair of Yahtzee tight pants to go with it 😉 chill dudes, for Sega to get back to their old standards will take ageS
Still not seeing any proof that this is real…no video or anything. I’m calling this fake/10.
I love how you guys are talking like this is for the WHOLE game. This is Episode ONE.
ONE.
As in NOT THE LAST ONE.
If people find THAT big of a problem with it, Sega will find out and TRY to fine-tune things in Episode 2, but GOD FORBID they try that, because then people will whine about ONE being better.