To celebrate 20 years of Sonic, Sega has launched its latest game in the series,
Sonic Generation, across multiple platforms including the Nintendo 3DS. Now,
meet fellow hedgehog legendary classic in a new adventure which combines the old
and modern.
Story
Apparently, a mysterious new creature
comes into play and begin to create a "hole time," which took Sonic and his
friend with his tail back in time, simply because they were celebrating his
birthday. Facing versions, the classic Sonic youth, they both begin a quest to
find the source of the hole time and save their friends.
Like if someone
of Dr. Eggman (also known as Dr. Robotnik) is not enough, Eggman future, using
the power of this creature, call the classic version of himself to two problems,
and try to beat Sonic once and for all.
Gameplay
Sonic is all about speed, collecting rings and occasionally avoid being
killed to get that S rating on every stage, just to brag about it to
your friends. Sonic Generations continues the legacy of the famous
hedgehog bringing the best of both worlds.
For this tile, Sega
made almost exact replicas of various classic levels from other Sonic
titles, instead of recreating them. The Nintendo 3DS version is slightly
modified and plays differently than the PC version. You won’t even find
levels like Sky Sanctuary, City Escape or Speed Highway from its PC
iteration, these being replaced with classic stages as Mushroom Hill,
Emerald Coast and Radical Highway.
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| Play as Classic Sonic ... | ... or as Modern Sonic |
As most classic Sonic fans must know, the blue hedgehog can only run or
do the Spin Dash trick, but this changes in Sonic Generations.
The modern Sonic, faster and with a bunch of cool moves up his sleeve
(Sonic Boost, slide under obstacles, jump off walls) will teach the
classic version of himself some of his tricks, including the homing
attack that you will be able to use in every stage (even in Green Hill)
from the moment you learn it. Hardcore fans looking for that vintage
Sonic experience will surely disapprove of this.
It’s been a
long time since I last played Sonic, so this game was for me quite a
challenge as regards awareness and reaction speed, especially when
moving through the levels with supersonic speed.
This is not a
game where you can master a stage from the first run. Getting that S
grade on every level will prove to be a challenge even for the more
experienced players because levels get increasingly more difficult.
Every level features two acts, one for each Sonic, designed to showcase
the unique features of both, and a special stage where you’ll have to
catch a Chaos Emerald that will be useful to you at a later time. These
stages are very fun, but they get harder and harder, as you will need to
dodge bombs and maintain your speed boost.
 |  |
| Dodge dangerous creatures ... | ... and go supersonic |
As you progress, the levels are more challenging. More than once I
found myself going crazy over a missed jump, ending between shortcuts or
running into the same enemy over and over, every time I played an act.
Practice makes perfect and Sonic Generations offers good replay value of
any stage if you want to get that S grade or just finish it using an
alternate path.
Apart from the story, the 3DS version of the
game comes with some enhancements. You can unlock special content and
new challenges using the StreetPass feature of the console. Keeping your
3DS in sleep modes earns you Playcoins that can be exchanged for new
Sonic challenges, which adds to its replay value.
Time Attack
is another mode featured on the 3DS that challenges you to finish every
level as fast as you can. Your time can be submitted to leader boards,
where you can compare it to results from other players around the world.
Video and Audio
Believe it or not, but activating the 3D feature of the Nintendo
console will make Sonic Generations loose that PSP graphic look and give
it a boost in terms of gameplay. Turning on the 3D will actually help
by bringing depth to the stages, and thus taking Sonic to a whole new
level.
In terms of sound, Sonic Generations doesn’t excel.
Classic Sonic is silent the entire game and will only perform some basic
actions or gestures, while the other characters (modern Sonic, Tails)
have only brief exclamations.
The 3DS version also features 50
unlockable songs, which can be played from the collection room even when
your console is in sleep mode (if your headphones are connected).
Multiplayer
Playing with a friend in a Wi-Fi 2-player race or challenging the world
using a Wi-Fi connection can also be done from your 3DS console. You
can upload your scores to online leader boards and compare them to those
of your friends. By playing online races, you can unlock new content in
the collection room and earn points for your profile card.
Conclusion
If you are truly a Sonic fan, you will probably love this game. Playing
many of the classic levels will bring back childhood memories to all
you hedgehog lovers. I'm a little disappointed that modern Sonic doesn’t
get a full 3D stage to show the real power of the 3DS. At most, you
will get a 45 degree shift to show what’s ahead of you.
The replay value makes up for the short and predictable story, bringing many challenges and extra content to the table.