First appearing in 1941, Marvel Comics’ star-spangled super soldier, Captain Steve Rogers/Captain America, has become one of Marvel’s most recognisable and celebrated characters not just for his super patriotism but also for being a prominent member and leader of Marvel’s premier super team, the Avengers. Having successfully made the jump to live-action, Cap is now a widely celebrated, mainstream superhero and, given that today is Independence Day, this seems like the perfect excuse to pay tribute to the star-spangled man with a plan himself!
Story Title: “Captain America Joins…The Avengers!” Published: 1 March 1964 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Jack Kirby
The Background: In 1941, the Second World War was well under way; Nazi Germany overtook Denmark and Norway in April 1940 and the United States finally entered the fray in 1941 to oppose the combined “Axis powers” of Germany, Japan, and Italy. Due to the ever-escalating conflict, patriotism and national pride ran rampant in America, leading to Joe Simon and the legendary Jack Kirby debuting Captain America and his kid sidekick, James Buchanan Barnes/Bucky, who took the fight directly to the enemies of America and encouraged readers to support the war effort by any means necessary. However, after the War ended, superheroes saw a decline in popularity and Captain America’s solo title was cancelled in 1954, but the character got a second chance when he was recast as a “man out of time” in this issue of The Avengers. The Avengers came about as a direct response to rival DC Comics’ Justice League of America; Martin Goodman tasked Stan Lee with bringing together Tony Stark/Iron Man, Doctor Bruce Banner/The Hulk, Doctor Donald Blake/Thor Odinson, Doctor Hank Pym/Ant-Man, and Janet van Dyne/The Wasp as Marvel’s premier superhero team. With their ever-changing roster and prominence in some of Marvel’s biggest events and stories, the Avengers became a consistent and influential presence in Marvel Comics, even more so after the Star-Spangled Avenger joined their ranks in this historic issue.
The Review: Marvel Comics always liked to hype up their stories and issues back during this time period; front covers would proclaim even the most bizarre-looking characters as being must-see events and issues generally always featured celebratory mentions of the creatives involved, and The Avengers #4 is no different. There are a couple of notable unique features in the full-page title splash for this story, though; first, a big explosive bubble of text directly attributes the return of Captain America to an “avalanche of fan mail” and a dialogue box at the bottom of the page makes sure to mention that “glorious” Stan Lee and “grand” Jack Kirby both collaborated on Captain America’s debut story, thereby lending further prestige to his return to the then-modern era of Marvel Comics. The story itself takes a little while to get started as the first page of panels is dedicated to recapping the Avengers’ battle against Prince Namor McKenzie/The Sub-Mariner and the Hulk in the previous issue; after the Hulk disappeared, Namor was forced to flee from the overwhelming odds and returned to the depths of the ocean. The sting of defeat is great for the proud Mutant but pales in comparison to the frustration he feels at being abandoned by his people after the inhabitants of Atlantis questioned his loyalty. Vowing to never stop searching for his lost people, Namor finds himself lost amidst the frozen wastes of the North Sea, where he comes across a tribe of Eskimos who worship a mysterious figure frozen in a block of ice. Interestingly, despite the Eskimos being isolated from the rest of the world, they instantly recognise “the dreaded Namor”, who wastes no time in mocking their idol and turning his anger upon them. In his rage, Namor decimates the frozen landscape, terrorises the simple folk, and hurls their frozen idol into the sea.
The Avengers are awestruck when they recover the perfectly-preserved body of the legendary Captain America!
Free from the frigid temperatures of the northern climate, the ice block slowly melts and, by the time the Avengers come across it in their little submarine (I assume they were tracking Namor, that seems to make sense as to why they’d randomly be out there), the ice has completely melted, freeing the unconscious body trapped within. Giant-Man brings the body aboard and the team are stunned to find that it’s none other than the slumbering body of the legendary Captain America, a star-spangled crusader of justice so prolific that even Norse God Thor is aware of his accolades. The team’s shock at this discovery turns to panic when Cap suddenly awakens and lashes out in a confused daze, desperate to keep his kid sidekick, Bucky, from harm. Thor, Iron Man, and Giant-Man leap in to restrain the raging legend, but his madness quickly passes. Within the space of five panels, he resigns himself to the memory that Bucky is dead and reclaims his identity, shield, and mantle of Captain America. Though impressed, the Avengers are so puzzled by Cap’s youth and vigour that they suspect some kind of trick. Thus, Cap invites them to test him, easily dodging Thor’s magical hammer, overpowering even the hulking Giant-Man, and is only kept from embarrassing the group further when Wasp stops him in his tracks by challenging his chivalry. Suitably convinced that Cap is the real deal, tensions calm long enough for Cap to tell the tragic story of how he came to be encased within a block of ice. Back during the Second World War, Cap and Bucky were posing as security guards at an Army base when a mysterious Nazi figure launched an explosive-filled drone in a bid to either kill the two or rob the United States of a powerful weapon. Although Cap failed to reach the plane in time, Bucky leapt onboard and was seemingly vaporised when the plane exploded; the heartbroken Cap was hurtled into the ocean depths off the coast of Newfoundland, where he became encased in ice and effectively held in suspended animation. When the Avengers reach New York City, they’re greeted by the press, hungry for the big scoop on their battle against Namor and the Hulk, but the team are suddenly and inexplicably turned into stone statues by a flash of light! Cap missed the event since he was still inside the craft and, when he emerges topside to find everyone gone, he assumes that the statues are in honour of the colourful heroes and ventures out to explore the strange new world he’s found himself in without a second thought.
Cap tracks down the one responsible for petrifying the Avengers, an alien whom he vows to assist.
Cap is impressed by how much has changed, from clothing and fashion to the establishment of the United Nations and the upgrades to everyday vehicles, and stuns the public, who instantly recognise him as the legendary hero of World War II. Directed to a hotel by a helpful police officer, Cap briefly marvels at the wonders of television before dozing off in a troubled exhaustion. Already questioning his place in the modern age, Cap is startled to wake up and find Bucky alive and well in his hotel room…only to realise that it’s perennial sidekick and Avengers mascot Rick Jones. Concerned by the Avengers’ disappearance, Rick confronts Cap; since Cap was the last person to see them, Rick basically accuses him of being involved and threatens to set the Hulk on him if he doesn’t help find the team. This threat means little to Cap since he doesn’t know who the Hulk is and he’s still struggling with the uncanny resemblance between Rick and Bucky, but he promises to help find the team despite Rick’s rude demeanour. After reviewing the photos taken of the team by the press, Cap spies a suspicious man holding a camera-like gun and Rick wastes no time in contacting his “teen brigade” to try and find him amongst the teeming masses. Laughably, the teens come up with nothing but dead ends and false leads, but Cap finds the guy seemingly at random just by scouring the city’s rooftops. Once he spots the man he’s looking for, Cap wastes no time in springing into action and confronting him and his armed goons. Even these lowly mobsters recognise Cap and they’re easily overwhelmed by his indomitable shield, uncanny agility, and Herculean strength; while the goons quickly surrender, their leader desperately tries to turn Cap to stone with his ray gun, only to miss and be unmasked as a bizarre extraterrestrial lifeform! Unfazed by this, Cap threatens the alien (who goes unnamed in this issue but is eventually revealed to be named Vuk), who gladly tells his story to avoid being handled by “primitive beings”. Vuk crash-landed on Earth centuries ago and, encountering nothing but fear and hostility, would turn men to stone with his ray gun in self-defence, which Cap realises directly led to the myth of the hydra-haired, stone-eyed Medusa. Vuk relates that the Sub-Mariner promised to help Vuk return to the stars if he turned his weapon against the Avengers and, recognising the Sub-Mariner’s name from the past, Cap vows to help Vuk in return for undoing the damage he’s inflicted upon the Avengers.
As impressed by the team as much as they are with him, Cap helps fight Namor and joins the Avengers.
Namor witnesses these events from his deserted imperial castle using his “undersea scanner” and vows to avenge himself upon his enemies, a promise that suddenly becomes more viable when he conveniently stumbles upon a loyal troop of his elite guard. True to his word, Cap leads the Avengers in finding and freeing Vuk’s ship from the ocean depths, an act that earns them Vuk’s eternal gratitude and Cap’s admiration for the group’s unparalleled teamwork. Their victory is short-lived, however, as Namor and his elite guard suddenly attack the group; Iron Man goes toe-to-toe with Namor but his armour struggles to withstand the sledgehammer-like blows of the Sub-Mariner. In desperation, Iron Man blasts Namor with a “full [intensity] magnetic ray”, but this only grants him a temporary reprieve; with his armoured foe’s “greatest weapon” exhausted, Namor redoubles his attack, smashing a rock over Iron Man’s head and manhandling him to the ground. Momentarily powerless as he waits for his transistors to recharge, Iron Man is saved from certain death by the timely intervention of the Wasp, who Namor easily shrugs off before answering his lieutenant’s plea for help in subduing the rampaging Thor. Thanks to his mighty hammer, Thor easily holds back Namor’s forces by himself and repels the energy bolts fired at him by their ray guns, forcing Namor to leap at the Thunder God to tackle him directly. After slipping free of the Atlantean’s net and saving himself from drowning, Giant-Man returns to the fray to assist Iron Man, hurling the Atlanteans off-panel with his massive strength before rushing to aid Thor in tussling with Namor, who’s become obsessed with wrestling Mjölnir from Thor’s grasp. Watching from the side lines, Cap can’t help but be impressed by the power and courage of the Avengers and in awe of Mjölnir, a weapon so powerful that only the Mighty Thor can lift it. Although the Avengers clearly have Namor beat, the proud prince refuses to surrender and lowers himself to threatening Rick’s life. This irks Cap so much that he finally leaps into action, tackling Namor’s elite guard and briefly being overpowered by the Sub-Mariner before the tiny isle on which they’re all fighting suddenly (and conveniently) breaks apart from an undersea explosion caused by Vuk’s ship. Confident that his enemies will drown beneath the resulting waves, Namor commands his forces to retreat, unaware that the heroes easily survived by clinging to the remains of the island. Impressed by Cap’s prowess in battle, the Avengers ask him to join their little team and he gratefully accepts, but Rick is left pondering the fate of his friend and partner, the Hulk, whose rage at being “replaced” by Captain America is as sure as the inevitability that the Avengers will butt heads with the Sub-Mariner again before long.
The Summary: I quite enjoyed “Captain America Joins…The Avengers!” I sometimes struggle with Jack Kirby’s more bizarre artwork and designs but there was none of that here (save for the Avengers’ submarine and the brief depictions of Atlantean technology), which really helped these colourful characters to stand out all the more prominently. I especially liked Cap’s brief walk around New York City and him being impressed by the advances in technology and society since his day, and the panels that took place underwater, which evoked a murky, almost alien environment. Unfortunately, paralleling this was the pretty haphazard and confusing flashback to Bucky’s final mission, where it’s a bit difficult to make out where the characters are in relation to the plane, and the depiction of Vuk, who ends up looking more like Beaker than anything remotely impressive. I also really didn’t care for the reveal that an alien was behind the Avengers’ petrification; it was weird that Cap took it in stride and that the story didn’t treat it as a big deal, and it just came out of nowhere. I think it would’ve been far better to have it be an Atlantean in disguise, maybe switch the order of events to show Namor recruiting his elite guard before the Avengers reach New York, and then Cap could just threaten the Atlantean into helping him. It’s a minor thing to complain about but that’s kind of the problem; Vuk doesn’t even get a name and it just seems so random to just insert a Medusa-like alien into the story when the primary focus is the antagonism against Namor. Normally, I’d also complain about the depiction of women and youth during this time but, aside from being a bit too rude and confrontational, I didn’t have much of an issue with Rick Jones here and I was actually very impressed by the restraint show with the Wasp. She doesn’t fawn or coo over Cap upon seeing him and actually proves quite useful in the scuffle with him and Namor…but then all that goodwill gets thrown away on the very last page where it’s revealed that the Wasp disappeared from the battle to powder her nose!
Cap impresses with his abilities and characterisation, as does Namor’s unquenchable pride.
However, I enjoyed the angst of the Sub-Mariner as depicted here; Namor’s anger against he surface world has only exacerbated since his people abandoned him after questioning his loyalty due to his mixed heritage and he’s desperate not only to find his people, but to subjugate humanity to prove his superiority. There’s a tragedy to Namor that’s present even here; he lashes out at everyone and everything because he doesn’t want to be alone and craves power and adulation, but he’s tormented by being a child of both worlds and his status as a Mutant amongst even his bizarre people. Depicted as both an underhanded tactician and a formidable physical force, Namor’s threat is enough to require the attention of all the Avengers even without his elite guard and I liked how he easily overpowered Iron Man and matched even Thor’s God-like power (even if he was unable to lift Mjölnir). Of course, the true star of this story is Captain America; I really enjoyed how the issue went to great lengths to talk up Cap’s status as a legendary figure and that even randomers in the street recognised him as a hero from their youth. The Avengers are awestruck by his presence and seem delighted to not only have him amongst them, but also to test his abilities in battle, and Cap is equally impressed by the team, who he wishes could’ve been by his side during World War II. While it seems like Cap quickly regains his senses and returns to his confident and commanding persona, the story does touch upon the grief and anguish he feels at Bucky’s death and his feelings of belonging in the then-modern world. Though impressed by how far the world has come since his day, Cap briefly feels as though he doesn’t belong there, and it isn’t until he’s back in action, tracking down the Avengers’ mystery attacker and engaging with the Sub-Mariner, that he truly feels himself again. This was the perfect way to sell newcomers and sceptics on Cap’s return and make him relevant amongst his modern contemporaries and I really enjoyed how he meshed with the Avengers and their mutual respect for each other. Take out the Vuk stuff (or replace it with something better) and this would’ve gotten full marks from me, but it’s still a blast to read and one of the quintessential Avengers and Captain America stories.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Great Stuff
Have you ever read “Captain America Joins…The Avengers!”? If so, what did you think of it and did you enjoy seeing Captain America join the Avengers? Was this your first exposure to Captain America, and if not what was? Were you also disappointed by the inclusion of Vuk? What did you think to the depiction of Namor and Cap’s introduction to the then-modern world? Which of the Avengers is your favourite? How are you celebrating Independence Day today? Whatever your thoughts, drop a comment below or on my social media and be sure to check out my other Captain America content across the site!
Released: 21 December 2018 Originally Released: 30 June 1982 Developer: Nintendo R&D2 Also Available For: Arcade, Atari, BBC Micro, Coleco Adam, ColecoVision, Family Computer Disk System (Famicom), Intellivision, GameCube (via Animal Crossing (Nintendo EAD, 2001)), Nintendo 3DS (Virtual Console), Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Wii U (Virtual Console)
A Brief Background: In early 1980, Nintendo were in a spot of bother; their plans to expand into North America with Radar Scope (Nintendo R&D2/Ikegami Tsushinki, 1980) had failed, so then-president Hiroshi Yamauchi tasked young designer Shigeru Miyamoto to create a new arcade cabinet to turn things around. After plans to adapt popular comic strip character Popeye fell apart, Miyamoto took inspiration from Beauty and the Beast (Barbot de Villeneuve, 1740) and King Kong(Cooper and Schoedsack, 1933) to create Donkey Kong (Nintendo R&D1/Ikegami Tsushinki, 1981), a financial and critical success that introduced players to “Jumpman”, who would go on to become Nintendo’s mascot, Super Mario. During Donkey Kong’s development, many of the team’s concepts had to be cut due to time and hardware constraints. As they worked to develop these further, and given Donkey Kong’s success, the team developed a follow-up title that was initially planned to star the cantankerous ape himself before a smaller, more manageable substitute was created. Although Donkey Kong Jr. is now one of Nintendo’s more obscure characters, having largely been supplanted in the 16-bit era, Donkey Kong Jr. was very successful in its native Japan. Reviews praised the colourful presentation and gameplay loop and the game became very popular in the competitive play arena.
The Review: Donkey Kong Jr. is, essentially, more of the same game as its predecessor. Like Donkey Kong, players can pick from four game modes: two single-player options and two two-player options, with “Game B” being the more difficult of the two as it includes more onscreen enemies. Regardless of which mode you pick, Donkey Kong Jr. utilises the same simplistic control scheme as before, with A being the only button you need to press to jump over enemies, to vines, and across platforms. Donkey Kong Jr. has the rare distinction of being perhaps the only Mario-adjacent videogame where the portly plumber is an antagonist. Players now control the titular Donkey Kong Jr., a stout baby ape who slowly clambers up vines, quickly slides down them, and whose only method of attacking the many critters Mario sends out to obstruct him is to touch various fruits high up on vines; these will then fall, destroying any enemies beneath them. While Donkey Kong Jr. is a far more complex-looking sprite, with a humorous and over the top death animation and being slightly more animated overall, he’s no less clunky and actually less useful than Mario was in the last game as his hit box is bigger and he doesn’t get a hammer power-up. There is a spring on one screen, but it’s just as likely to send you plummeting to your death as it is to the next platform, so you’ll need to carefully time your jumps to avoid enemies and snag some points. But don’t take too long; like in Donkey Kong, the longer you take, the lower your bonus score will be upon completing a screen, which in turn impacts your high score. While you don’t seem to earn extra lives by accumulating points and there’s no high score table to display your best score, it is displayed at the top of the screen and is the only goal available to work towards so you may be somewhat protective of this.
Junior must clamber up vines, jump over hazards, and use keys to rescue his dad from Mario.
Donkey Kong Jr. is comprised of four screens that repeat in a nigh-never-ending loop until you finally die, with the enemies increasing in number and aggression the more you play. In three screens, your goal is to reach the top, acquire a key, and scare off Mario, and this culminates in a final showdown where you need to take down the devious plumber and rescue your kidnapped father. In the first screen, you simply navigate between vines being careful not to fall in the static water below or even drop a short distance as both will instantly kill you. In the second screen, you’ll bounce on the spring to smaller moving platforms and use a pulley to cross a gap and, in the third screen, you’ll hop over electrical hazards that erratically move back and forth across the platforms. Finally, you’ll climb up six chains, pushing six keys up to a bridge and avoiding bees and little alligators. Once you’ve pushed all six up to the top, the bridge is destroyed, Mario is defeated, and Donkey Kong is rescued and it all begins again until you either lose all your lives or quit from boredom. Although the game lacks the iconic music of its predecessor, each screen has some fun little jingles and sound effects but nothing especially innovative. Donkey Kong and his son are the most colourful and visually interesting sprites, with Mario only impressing due to him wielding a whip this time around, and the enemies are simply snapping alligators, egg-dropping birds, and electrical bolts. Naturally, this version allows you to create save states and rewind the game if you make a mistake, effectively destroying any difficulty curve it might’ve had and reducing the average playtime to around ten minutes.
The Summary: Donkey Kong Jr. reeks of cheap, money-grabbing desperation. Donkey Kong was an innovative and popular arcade release and it’s obvious that Nintendo simply wanted to capitalise on that with a “new title”, but there’s very little new about this game. Sure, moving to vines is different and having to time fruit-grabbing to defeat enemies adds a little more strategy and I quite liked the final showdown with the keys on the chains, but the gameplay experience is largely the same and lacks a lot of the nostalgia and charm of its predecessor as the setting is so weird. Even now, it’s bizarre seeing Mario as a whip-cracking antagonist. Donkey Kong Jr. has a lot of visual appeal, but I wonder if this game might’ve been better if Junior actively chased Mario across the stages? Or if a two-player mode saw one player as Junior and the other as Mario trying to intercept him? I feel like Nintendo could’ve bundled these two games together into one experience at the time, creating an eight-screen loop where you first track down and capture Donkey Kong and then switch to Junior to rescue him, but, as is, I can’t see myself choosing to play Donkey Kong Jr. over its more popular and nostalgic predecessor.
My Rating:
⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.
Could Be Better
Did you ever own Donkey KongJr. for the NES back in the day, or play the arcade version out in the wild? How do you think it compares to Donkey Kong? What did you think to Junior and seeing Mario as an antagonist? How far did you get in the game before you failed or quit? Which Donkey Kong videogame is your favourite and why? How are you celebrating Donkey Kong’s anniversary this year? Whatever your thoughts on Donkey Kong, feel free to leave a comment below or on my social media, and check out my other Donkey Kong (and Mario) content on the site.
The Date: 9 July 2000 The Venue: Ocean Center; Daytona Beach, Florida The Commentary: Tony Schiavone, Scott Hudson, and Mark Madden The Referee: Billy Silverman The Stakes: Main event match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship
The Build-Up: On 4 September 1995, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) changed the face of the wrestling industry with the debut of WCW Monday Nitro, a weekly broadcast that kicked off the “Monday Night Wars” by directly competing with the World Wrestling Federation’s (WWF) Raw is War. Over eighty-four weeks, WCW dominated this ratings war thanks to signing wrestling’s biggest names to lucrative contracts and the incredible success of the New World Order (nWo). Unfortunately, this boom period wasn’t to last; the nWo soon outlived its welcome and the WWF’s dramatic change of attitude saw them outpace and ultimately dethrone WCW before long. In desperation, WCW turned to controversial wrestling writer and figurehead Vince Russo, who spearheaded a bold new direction for the company that focused on dramatic swerves, blurring the lines between what was “real” and “fake”, and pushing his favourite talents at the expense of WCW’s established stars. This earned him the ire not just of thousands of wrestling fans for years to come thanks to his wacky match concepts and inconsistent storytelling, but also famed wrestling icon “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan, who infamously clashed with Russo over the direction of this pay-per-view event and their dramatic on-air grievances overshadow what little intriguing in-ring action remained in the dying WCW.
The Match: To say that WCW, and the state of their World Championship scene, was in chaos during the year 2000 would be an understatement. WCW had tried everything, from an ill-fated rebranding, to stripping all their championships, reviving the nWo and trying to push young stars, to regain their foothold in the ratings but a slew of departures and backstage politics and drama meant that the company was haemorrhaging money and effectively on life support at this point. For me, the two biggest indicators of this were the increased, obnoxious onscreen presence of the divisive Vince Russo and the unlikely appointment of perennial mid-carder “The Chosen One” Jeff Jarrett not just to the main event, but into the role of WCW World Heavyweight Champion. WCW’s desire to blur the lines between fantasy and reality backfired big-time at this event, which saw Russo, Hogan, and the commentary team make numerous scathing insider references to the backstage politics, Hogan’s lucrative contract, and the state of the company, and this all came to a head earlier in the pay-per-view when “the biggest stars in the universe”, WCW Champion Jeff Jarrett and “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan met for a championship contest. Rather than actually fighting for the company’s richest prize, Hogan was left incensed when Russo simply tossed him the belt and ordered Jarrett to lay down for the Hulkster, who pinned the champion with one foot after going on a tirade about Russo’s “bullshit” influence. Russo later returned to the ring and fired back with his own “shoot” outburst, burying Hogan for holding down WCW’s rising stars, firing him onscreen, and announcing that Jarrett would defend the belt against Booker T in the main event. The commentary team begrudgingly lauded Russo’s declaration and spent most of the night, and this match, attacking the Hulkster for being a politician and a negative influence on guys like Booker T, Jarrett, and keeping WCW from moving forward with new blood.
With Hogan out in controversial fashion, Booker T finally got his shot at the belt.
Thus, with all that drama and confusing nonsense clouding the entire event, the company, and this match, Bash at the Beach concluded with reigning WCW Champion Jeff Jarrett facing Booker T, who had previously appeared on the event in a losing effort against “Positively” Chris Kanyon but was awarded this shot simply because of his work ethic. The commentary team spend a lot of time hyping up that Booker, despite being unprepared for the match, wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity and casting both guys as being the fresh blood WCW has needed for some time, which might be true about Booker, but I’ll never see any positives in pushing Jarrett to the top. Regardless, the match begins with the crowd firmly behind Booker and Jarrett reluctant to lockup with the fired-up challenger; indeed, while Jarrett wins the early exchange, Booker easily overpowers him and shoves him down to build anticipation. The two continued to exchange fundamentals, an odd choice for such a match and it’s almost as if the two weren’t sure what to do with each other. Despite eating a shoulder block, Booker showcased his speed and agility with a leapfrog and a dropkick that saw Jarrett take a powder to the outside to regroup. Back in the ring, Jarrett resorted to straight shots and slamming Booker’s head off the turnbuckle pad to build some momentum, but Booker shut him down with a big jumping side kick and took the fight to the barricade with a double axe handle off the ring apron. Booker and Jarrett wandered through the raucous crowd for a bit but didn’t really do anything before returning to the ringside area, where Jarrett smashed a steel chair over his spine and hit a super stiff looking piledriver on the announce table (which didn’t budge an inch), which the referee apparently was okay with despite this not being a no disqualification match.
After enduring Jarrett’s dull offense and underhanded tactics, Booker T finally captured the gold!
Back in the ring, Jarrett pressed his advantage with some stomps and punches and shut down Booker’s rally with a sleeper hold to really grind the match to a halt. Naturally, Booker fought out of it, feeding off the energy of the crowd, and returned the favour with a sleeper of his own. Jarrett escaped by attacking Booker’s leg for the first time with a single move, which was all the opportunity he needed to go for his patented Figure Four Leglock. However, Jarrett was almost pinned when Booker countered into a sudden roll up. Jarrett retaliated with the Figure Four, forcing Booker to again feed off the crowd’s support, turn the move in his favour, and reverse the pressure to force Jarrett to scramble out of the hold. Jarrett continued to target Booker’s leg afterwards, but Booker fired back with the Scissors Kick, celebrated with a Spinaroonie, and planted Jarrett with a spinebuster for a close two count. Jarrett wisely dodged another Harlem Sidekick, causing Booker to get hung up on the top rope, and then briefly took the referee out of the match by shoving Booker into him. Jarrett tried to take advantage with a belt shot but Booker ducked and decked Jarrett with the title belt, but the referee was a little too slow to make the three count and too dazed to notice when Jarrett hit Booker in the nuts. Although Booker avoided being rammed into the chair and drove Jarrett into it instead, the champion still kicked out of the follow-up pin attempt. Jarrett then snapped and attacked the referee, laying him out with the Stroke and kicking Booker in the dick for good measure. Jarrett grabbed his guitar and went to the top rope, but Booker caught him with the Book End and referee Mark Johnson hit the ring to make the three count and award Booker his first of what would eventually be five reigns with the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. A monumental moment for Booker, to be sure, and one he truly deserved, but this was a lethargic and cumbersome main event match. It really needed some energy, some underhanded tactics from Jarrett to keep the heat up, and a bit more life to it. The opening sequence where they traded lock-ups and takedowns should’ve been replaced with Booker going on a tear and forced Jarrett to resort to cheating to regain the momentum. Still, it’s a great moment for Booker T, it’s just a shame it came when WCW was spiralling the drain.
The Aftermath: This wouldn’t be the end of Jeff Jarrett’s quest to be the top dog in WCW; he and Booker T squared off again at the following month’s pay-per-view, New Blood Rising, in a losing effort at an event apparently so bad that the crowd were openly calling for Russo’s firing. Although Booker T would lose the belt to “Big Sexy” Kevin Nash not long after New Blood Rising, he regained it by defeating Nash in a steel cage match at Fall Brawl by the end of the month, before trading the belt with Jarrett and, of all people, Vince Russo, and securing his fourth World Heavyweight Championship after feuding with “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner in the last days of WCW. Of course, the real story coming out of Bash at the Beach 2000 was the fallout from the Hogan/Russo drama; Hogan would sue both Russo and WCW’s parent company, Turner/Time Warner, for defamation of character and never returned to the company, choosing to sit out his lucrative contract until he finally returned to the WWF in 2002.
My Rating:
⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.
Could Be Better
What did you think to Booker T’s historical first WCW World Heavyweight Championship win? Were you engaged with the chaos surrounding WCW at the time or did all the shoot promos and swerves put you off? What did you think to Jeff Jarrett’s rise to the top of the WCW main event scene and how did you rate this match? What are some of your favourite matches and moments from WCW’s Bash at the Beach pay-per-views? Whatever your thoughts on Bash at the Beach, and WCW, feel free to voice them below or leave a comment on my social media.
Sonic the Hedgehog was first introduced to gamers worldwide on June 23 1991 and, since then, has become not only SEGA’s most enduring and popular character but also a beloved videogame icon and, in keeping with tradition, I have been dedicating the entire month to celebrating SEGA’s supersonic mascot.
Released: 17 October 2023 Developer: Arzest / Sonic Team Also Available For: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S
The Background: After SEGA created a mascotviable enough to rival Super Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog expanded into mainstream popularity with Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (SEGA Technical Institute, 1992) and saw further success with subsequent sequels and his first 3D adventures, After later withdrawing from from console manufacture, SEGA brought Sonic to multiple platforms, but struggled to maintain consistent quality, with even their more enjoyable titles drawing notable criticism. Despite this, SEGA scored a hit when they brought in noted indie developers to work on Sonic Mania (Christian Whitehead/PagodaWest Games/Headcannon, 2017), a much-lauded throwback to Sonic’s heyday. Rather than capitalise on Sonic Mania’s success, SEGA opted to continue with hit-and-miss 3D adventures, primarily because Sonic Mania’s developers wanted to branch out from the Sonic franchise. Still, Sonic Team producer Takashi Iizuka saw the potential for a spiritual successor and convinced Sonic co-creator Naoto Ohshima to return to the series and help develop a new 2.5D adventure. While Ohshima’s studio, Arzest, develop the game’s environments, drawing fromSonic Mania and the classic 2D Sonic titles, Ohshima himself designed new character Trip the Sungazer to add to the classic cast and the developers not only added Amy Rose to the roster but finally brought back obscure bounty hunter Nack the Weasel Fang the Sniper Fang the Hunter after a decades-long absence. Sonic Superstars was also designed and marketed with co-op play in mind and the team expanded the gameplay mechanics by awarded players new abilities when they collected the mythical Chaos Emeralds. Unfortunately, Sonic Superstars released to mixed reviews; while it was praised as a throwback to Sonic’s classic titles and for its colourful visuals, critics disliked the level layouts, multiplayer features, and its unnecessarily aggravating boss battles. Still, the game was bolstered by some interesting downloadable content (DLC) that featured various skin packs and even included the rabbit concept that was ditched early in Sonic’s development!
The Plot: When Doctor Eggman heads to the North Star Islands to transform their giant animals into a powerful Badnik army, Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends follow, only to find the mad scientist has enlisted the notorious Fang the Hunter and naïve local Trip the Sungazer to seek out the legendary Chaos Emeralds and weaponise the natural landscape!
Gameplay: Sonic Superstars doesn’t buck tradition; it’s a 2.5D, sidescrolling action platformer just like the classic 2D Sonic games and with all the traditional tropes you’d expect returning. You take control of one of four familiar faces and race through twelve colourful levels (known as “Zones”), each with anywhere from one to three stages (or “Acts”) within them, freeing woodland critters from Badniks, collecting Golden Rings to stave off death, pinballing all over the place on springs, bumpers, and boost pads, and striving to blast through Acts as quickly as possible. However, unlike in the classic games, you’re no longer penalised if you take more than ten minutes to finish an Act; the timer simply runs out and the game continues, which is good as some of the later bosses take at least ten minutes to battle against, so you’d be dying over and over to time outs if they were still a thing. Another noticeable change is the complete absence of a life system; you’ll hit Star Posts to create checkpoints across each Act and you’ll respawn at these when you inevitably die, but you won’t ever have to worry about running out of lives or continues or getting a game over, which again is good as some of the later Acts and bosses will see you crushed, zapped, or plummeting to your death to an almost spiteful degree. Otherwise, many of the same mechanics are here; you’ll suck in air bubbles to avoid drowning, run through loops, crash through walls, and take multiple paths through each Act, with the higher route usually being the fastest but most dangerous, to finish faster or find goodies. Like Sonic 3 & Knuckles (SEGA Technical Institute, 1994, Sonic Superstars uses save files for your playthrough (though, oddly, you can’t copy your save file) and, like Sonic Generations(Sonic Team, 2011), you can run around a limited hub world between Acts where you can access Acts, bonus Acts, switch characters, and play some tutorials to get to grips with the game’s new mechanics.
Team up with friends and use the gang’s classic abilities to conquer new, but familiar, Zones.
From the start, players can pick to play as Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles “Tails” Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, and, in what’s still a rare inclusion, Amy Rose. The basic controls for these characters are universal: A and B are your action buttons, allowing you to jump, perform the character’s special attack, or Spin Dash; X or Y (if configured) will activate the Emerald Power you select after using the Right Bumper to bring up the selection wheel, and that’s it for button commands. Each character performs the Super Sonic Spin Attack when jumping; holding down the button sees you jumping higher and pressing or holding it a second time in mid-air sees each character perform a signature special attack. Sonic performs the Drop Dash, which I finally found somewhat useful here (though I still miss the Insta-Shield), Tails can fly for a short time (and doggy paddle underwater), Knuckles can glide (and will cling to and climb most walls he glides into), and Amy will swing her hammer in her spin for a super useful double jump and flail it around for a ground attack if you hold the button. If you press down while running, you’ll roll into a ball; if you stand still and press down and A or B, you’ll charge up the Spin Dash for a burst of speed and, while there is no Super Peel-Out here, Sonic’s run greatly resembles it. Because of their individual abilities, you’ll have an easier time with the likes of Tails or Knuckles and even Amy thanks to their mid-air tricks, while Sonic often has to rely on the Emerald Powers to reach higher areas and find secrets. Mostly, the controls and physics work well; they’re not as slippery as some games and everything feels more akin to the classics, though there are still moments where characters slip from precarious footing and struggle to make jumps, but this isn’t helped by some badly placed enemies and hazards. Sonic Superstars can also be played in co-op with a group of friends, but I wouldn’t recommend it; it’s basically like playing Sonic 2 in co-op, with any players that are too slow or who get stuck or who take a different path disappearing from the main action and having to respawn in. There are also no team-up moves beyond Tails carrying a character, which is a shame, but it’s still nice to see it incorporated, even if it’s not very sustainable.
Autoscrolling sections, shoot-’em-up stages, and unique level-changing gimmicks are notable inclusions.
I mentioned the enemy and hazard placement just now and it’s true that Sonic Superstars suffers a bit from this, especially in later Zones, primarily because the camera is a little too zoomed in and the level designers seem to be taking inspiration from Sonic the Hedgehog CD (SEGA, 1993) at times by placing ceiling and wall spikes and Badniks just offscreen. Still, there are times when the mechanics are really fun; there’s some new additions here, such as being shot or blasted onto a background plane, running around loops, grabbing pulleys, or bouncing around inside rings for Ring bonuses, and even some autoscrolling sections. The one in Golden Capital Zone sees you dodging waves of lava, while the one in Frozen Base Zone is effectively a mash up of Sky Chase Zone and a remix of Fantasy Zone (ibid, 1986), with you piloting one of Dr. Eggman’s crafts and blasting at redesigned Fantasy Zone enemies and bosses with A and dropping bombs with B. While things start out very familiar, and many Zones include recycled gimmicks from classic Sonic titles (Lagoon City Zone, for example, recycles just about every underwater gimmick from the previous games and Pinball Carnival Zone and Sand Sanctuary Zone owe a lot to previous casino-theme Zones and Sandopolis Zone, respectively), I mostly enjoyed how these elements were implemented, even if they were very familiar. There are some really unique additions included here, too; Press Factory Zone sees a giant piston in the background smash into the ground and bump you about if you’re not grounded, while Act 2 sees Dr. Eggman’s hovering drone grow closer and closer to detonating every explosive device in the Act unless you find switches to briefly reset the counter. Speed Jungle Zone sees you creating bridges by hitting switches and using nearby butterflies to light up dark areas, Sky Temple Zone incorporates wind gimmicks using fans, Cyber Station Zone sees you travel on electrical currents and expands on Sonic CD’s shrinking mechanic by transforming you into pixelized animals to navigate past dangerous area (with the mouse lines being the most aggravating), and Egg Fortress Act 2 sees you running from the right to the left as the damaged space station is repaired thanks to Dr. Eggman’s time warping machine, which I thought was a really novel idea.
Graphics and Sound: Although I would’ve preferred to see a bigger, more colourful and adventurous sequel to Sonic Mania that continued to use charmingly detailed sprite art, Sonic Superstars may be the best of the 2.5D Sonic titles in recent years. The game perfectly translates the classic aesthetic of Sonic 1 and Sonic CD, especially, into a quasi-3D style, with characters all performing idle poses, victory celebrations, and exuding a lot of personality in the game’s fun, pantomime-like cutscenes. These primarily tell the story of the gang trying to catch up to Dr. Eggman or Fang, clumsy Trip’s efforts to impress her masters and change of heart after being befriended by Amy (you’ll carry Trip around in an Amy-focused bonus Act), and Fang’s delight at tormenting Knuckles. The Acts are also full of fun elements; sometimes, you’ll see other characters racing along in the background and not just baddies like Fang, but Sonic, Knuckles, and Amy, which adds a layer of scope to the game. The large animals of the North Star Islands often show up to help out, hang out in the background, or celebrate with you at the end of the Act, and they’ll pop up on the hub world as well to give a sense of progression. While some Acts can be a bit cluttered at times, with some clashing colour schemes and visuals making it difficult to know where’s safe and what’s a bottomless pit, I had no issues with the game’s visuals; even the various DLC costumes appear in cutscenes, which was a nice touch. To make things even better, the anime cutscenes made famous in Sonic CD and brought back in Sonic Origins(Sonic Team, 2022) return here, which is most welcome, though you can’t watch them back. As much as I like the visuals though, and little touches like the title screen and enemies encountered in Trip’s story changing as you play, I wasn’t impressed by the game’s soundtrack; it’s serviceable enough but failed to make much of an impact, with no tunes staying in my head after I finished, some haunting my nightmares as I struggled to clear the more aggravating bosses, and some actually cutting out due to odd glitches.
While some Zones are quite derivative, the game’s overall visual style is impeccable.
Sonic Superstars evokes the classic games in its Zones, even bringing previously discarded concept art from Sonic 1 to life for the first time, and mixing and matching classic gimmicks with new ones. The game begins with the classic Green Hill Zone archetype, one that incorporates waterfalls, floating boost pads, wall running, and swinging springs to try and mix things up a bit. Speed Jungle Zone owes a fair bit to Sonic’s often forgotten 8-bit adventure, incorporating vines and grinding into the gameplay, while Sky Temple Zone focuses more on tricky platforming on small, moving, or temporary platforms and trying to avoid enemy fire when you’re being blown about by the fans. Pinball Carnival Zone is about where I started to make the most apt comparison for Sonic Superstars’ Zones; they’re very similar to those seen in the Sonic the Hedgehog 4games (Dimps/Sonic Team, 2010; 2012), mashing together classic gimmicks to try and create something new and giving us theme-park levels and snowy mechanical bases. Luckily, this is executed far better here but I wonder if this was a conscious decision to try and make good on some of Sonic 4’s better ideas or just coincidence and laziness, since Sonic games love to reuse the same tropes over and over. For me, this was most evident in Sand Sanctuary Zone, which is just Sandopolis Zone again, but it’s only one Act in the main story this time. Luckily, Press Factory Zone made up for this, being a mechanical obstacle course in Act 1 and a tense face against a fiery death in Act 2. Golden Capital Zone also impressed, despite initially appearing quite bland; there’s a fun rotation gimmick where you end up running on the ceiling with the ground above you and it switches to a lava-infested furnace for Act 2. While Cyber Station could also get very cluttered, I loved the pixelated visuals applied to the character and enemy models; everyone looks like LEGO here and it really made the Zone stand out (and make me wish we could play as those models as skins in other Zones). Frozen Base Zone saved itself from blandness with its random shoot-‘em-up mechanics in Act 2 and I did enjoy how Egg Fortress Zone crumbles around you in Act 1 and unwinds in Act 2, that was really fun, even if it led to some cheap deaths from crushing, spikes, and sudden pits.
Enemies and Bosses: Many of Sonic Superstars’ Badniks are recycled from Sonic 1, Sonic CD, and Sonic 2 though some have been slightly tweaked; Buzz Bombers use sweeping lasers, for example. Choppers, Orbinauts, Slicers, and buzzsaw-wielding Robot Beetles pepper each Act but the most reoccurring classic Badnik is strangely the Batbrain, which appears in Zones that really don’t fit its aesthetic. Still, Sonic Superstars does have some new Badniks on offer; one of the worst, for me, were the Jellyfish Mechas, which float up and down with drill-like appendages on their tentacles. You’re supposed to attack them when these are pointing away, but I seemed to always mess up the timing, and they’re often found floating between bumpers and other gimmicks. I quite like the seahorse-like Soap Bubble Mecha, which is largely harmless but spits out bubbles you can use to boost your jumps to higher areas. The Elephant Mecha, Electrical Discharge Mecha, and Kanga Clangas and Barrel Throwers were all visually very fun, too; the Elephant Mecha is more like a blowtorch, the Electrical Discharge Mecha is a cloud that fires thunderbolts if you don’t destroy it quickly, and Kanga Clangas and Barrel Throwers are kangaroo and sea lion-themed robots that toss explosives and barrels at you. The Trampling Mecha was an odd on for me; this vulture-like Badnik rears up and tries to squish you, so you have to wait for it to appear on your level pane before you can attack, something that happens in many of the boss battles, too. Splats also makes a return here, alongside the Eggrobos in Trip’s story (now able to fire in multiple directions, and from offscreen, just to really wind you up), and you’ll come across multiple disposable Badniks, like Antons and Mole Mechas, that primarily serve as an annoyance but are also used as projectiles in certain boss battles. Speaking of which, while the bosses start out as expanded versions of those seen in Sonic CD and Sonic 3 & Knuckles, sporting multiple phases and attacks, they quickly become very tedious as you’re forced to loiter around, unable to attack, as you wait for your one opening and it can be laborious starting all over again if you make a mistake and fail thanks to the lack of checkpoints, making many of the bosses a rage-inducing chore to fight.
Giant robotic animals will expose the game’s lengthy boss battles.
Like in Sonic 3 & Knuckles, many Act 1’s end with a battle against one of Dr. Eggman’s larger mechanical monstrosities. The first of these is the Mosasaurus, though this is more of a chase; you can hit it when it leaps into the foreground, but just run to the right, avoiding pits, and it’ll crash into a wall, defeated. In Speed Jungle Zone, you face a giant mosquito-bot that can only be damaged by Spin Dashing up the chain it shoots at you. You’ll have to watch for spike pits, projectiles, and its charge attack near the end, too. Pinball Carnival Zone pits you against a maniacal clown merged with a giant bumper; this thing will float around dropping explosives and shielding itself with electricity, and the only way you can make it vulnerable is to jump at the tokens in the arena to flip it around, with these (and the hazards) increasing as the battle progresses. Lagoon City Zone’s robotic guardian is a giant jellyfish that spits out a bunch of minions to distract you, fires its tentacles at the floor, and then electrifies the water you’re standing on before trying to crush you. As you damage it, it’ll also fill the screen with projectiles and strike with multiple limbs. Press Factory Zone’s giant mechanical ape harkens back to Sonic 1’s Final Zone boss; when in the background, it causes giant pistons to come crashing down on you, so you need to find the safe spot to avoid being crushed then wait for it to finish jumping about in the foreground so you can ram it, not unlike the Flying Battery Zone boss battle. Golden Capital Zone’s robot pig can be a bit tricky as it sucks up all your Rings at the start of the fight but it’s actually pretty simple; just race around the rotating arena as it charges you until you can hit the big button on its back, something made ridiculously easy with Tails or Amy thanks to their greater air time. Finally, Frozen Base Zone sees you running along (and against) conveyer belts and battling a bird-like mech that spits targeted mines, ice cubs, and other Badniks that must be avoided before you desperately try to jump up and hit it before it disappears to the background again.
All the Emerald Powers in the world can’t save you from the tedious boss battles.
Speaking of Dr. Eggman, you’ll naturally battle him multiple times in various contraptions. In his first appearance at the end of Bridge Island Zone, Dr. Eggman pilots a massive mech suit that resembles him (a common occurrence in this game) and attacks by spinning its mace-like arms, firing its arms at you, and leaping at you, where it becomes vulnerable. After enough hits, parts of the mecha break away and the torso, now a UFO-like craft, tries to slam into you. Dr. Eggman encases himself in an impenetrable sphere in Speed Jungle Zone; not only does he try to crush you, but he also summons spear-like chains to try and skewer you, but you can lure these to attack his craft pretty easily. When it goes a bit mental and starts spinning around and firing projectiles, hit the blue ones to reflect them back and land an extra hit. Sky Temple Zone features a particularly annoying boss battle that sees you dodging Dr. Eggman’s many buzzsaw projectiles in free fall and hopping to floating debris, avoiding more projectiles, to land a single hit, all while a giant fan looms at the bottom of the screen, with the battle looping until Dr. Eggman tries a kamikaze attack! I never really figured out Pinball Carnival Zone’s boss; it appears to be a roulette-style battle where you need to dodge mines and electrical bursts and use momentum to reach Dr. Eggman, but I just used Amy’s double jump to cheese through his and I suggest you do the same. Sadly, there’s no cheesing the Lagoon City Zone boss; this battle takes place underwater, so you’ll need to grab air bubbles regularly to keep from drowning. First, you must jump up a vertical shaft avoiding projectiles and using the wake from Dr. Eggman’s drills to boost you higher. Soon, Dr. Eggman fires homing missiles and rotating lasers, then the battle shifts to a side-on view and you have to awkwardly avoid incoming attacks to hit Dr. Eggman’s craft, which now resembles a wall. While this one was tough, the Sand Sanctuary Zone boss is where I started to see how tedious the game’s bosses are. Here, Dr. Eggman fires giant stone stabs at you from the foreground and sends Badniks tunnelling towards you; hit the right ones at the right time (in mid-air) and you’ll reflect them back at him, and you can ram him when he pops up from the ground, but otherwise this is a lot of waiting around for a small opportunity to attack. In comparison, the Press Factory Zone boss is much preferable, despite the constant threat of being crushed by its giant piston. Simply avoid its projectiles, jump when the piston comes down to avoid being bounced about, Spin Dash through its legs, and ram the unprotected cockpit whenever you can.
Encounters with Fang, the Metal Fighter, and the finale are particularly lengthy and aggravating.
Of course, Dr. Eggman isn’t the only baddie in Sonic Superstars; you’ll encounter Fang quite a lot, taunting you or firing missiles and lasers at you, completely out of reach until you reach Golden Capital Zone, where you battle him in an autoscrolling section. Piloting a weaponised version of the Marvellous Queen, Fang fires lasers at the ceiling and lava, causing debris to fall and lava to rise, fires three more lasers from drone-like appendages and shields himself with destructible hexagons. Between each encounter, you must dodge flame plumes and falling lava; Fang’s projectiles and dangers increase as the fight drags on, too, making this a hell of a chore. After a battle against Dr. Eggman’s prototype Metal Fighter (which is the “Battle Mode” avatar you created) that draws from the classic Metal Sonic battle from Sonic CD and the Death Egg Zone boss from Sonic 3 & Knuckles (but with more pits and less Rings), and a shoot-‘em-up battle against two redesigned Fantasy Zone bosses (one a cylindrical mech that spits bullets, the other a sphere resembling Dr. Eggman’s face that rains projectiles) and working your way back through Egg Fortress Zone, you’ll have a climatic two-stage battle against Dr. Eggman’s biggest mech yet. In the first phase, you run around a circular platform devoid of Rings dodging his missiles; run around the mech and hit the blue missiles to score a hit, but don’t bother from the front as it’ll block them. The mech also swipes at you with its buzzsaw-like arms and fires an energy wall that you can avoid by jumping through the gap and, after enough hits, it’ll switch to attacking from the foreground (again, like Sonic 3 & Knuckles’ Death Egg Robot). This is the toughest phase of the boss as you need to avoid falling, dodge his hand smashes, hide behind any nearby walls to keep from being trapped in his anti-gravity beam and roasted by his projectiles, and must to dodge the multiple giant lasers, all while striking at a precise moment to land a hit. This becomes especially frustrating as there are no Rings in the arena, no checkpoints between phases, and the fight drags on and on since it takes so long between each attack and before you can land a hit.
Power-Ups and Bonuses: Since the game doesn’t use lives, there are no 1-Up monitors to be found; collecting 100 Rings grants you a Medal rather than an extra life and you’ll find similar Medals hidden in Acts and collected from Bonus Stages for use in the game’s Battle Mode. Monitors, however, are present and will grant you additional Rings, a temporary speed up or invincibility, and a shield that’ll protect you from one non-lethal hazard. The magnetic shield also returns but, while this still attracts nearby Rings to you, it oddly no longer protects you for a hit, severely reducing its appeal as a power-up. As you play, you’ll notice warps appear in Acts; jumping into these will take you to a freefall section where you float about grabbing a few extra Rings and then emerge nearby, effectively acting as a shortcut. Other times, you’ll rocket along grabbing Rings, smashing Badniks, and avoiding touching the environment, search for Fruit that you can cash in on the hub world to play bonus Act Fruit obstacle courses where you grab Rings, pop balloons, and hit tokens to win Medals, and each character also has their own Act to play that serves as a way to get to grips with their mechanics and expand the story. As in Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Giant Rings can be found in each Act; blue ones transport you to a Bonus Stage modelled after the Sonic 1 Special Stages, where you must navigate past warps, change the maze’s rotation, and swap the environment around to grab Medals, and gold ones that take you to the game’s Special Stages.
It’s cool that the Emeralds bestow powers, but most of them are pointless and circumstantial.
Completing a Special Stage awards you with a Chaos Emerald but, this time, these are actually a game-changing mechanic. Each Chaos Emerald bestows you with an Emerald Power, selected with RB and activated with X, which will last for as long as the meter lasts or until you take a hit and will be replenished at each Star Post. As cool as this idea is, I found the Emerald Powers to be more miss than hit; some are only useful in certain situations, like Water, which lets you swim up waterfalls or through underwater sections much more freely, or Vision, which reveals hidden platforms. An indicator will appear to let you know when it’s a good time to use these abilities, but a lot of them are redundant when playing as Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Trip; Bullet and Ivy, for example, are only really useful for getting Sonic to higher areas outside his skills. The most useful Emerald Power, for me, was the first one you get, Avatar; this swarms to screen with a bunch of (at times distracting) duplicates of your character and can help get a free hit in on bosses. I never used Slow at all in the main game; it was much more prominent in Trip’s story, where you need to use it to slow down rapid hazards to pass by safely. Perhaps the most disappointing Emerald Power was Extra, which grants each character a new special ability, but I only found two to be of any use; Sonic gets a stunted Homing Attack, Tails swipes with his tails, Knuckles gets a projectile punch, Amy tosses her hammers like in Sonic Origins, and Trip throws bouncy fireballs, with these latter two being the only ones I found beneficial.
Additional Features: There are thirty-eight Achievements in Sonic Superstars, with eleven awarded after clearing each Zone, seven awarded after using each Emerald power, one for clearing any Act with a friend, and one for collecting all seven Chaos Emeralds. You can earn five Achievements for destroying 100 enemies with each character’s special attack (so, 100 enemies with the Drop Dash, 100 while gliding, etc), one for finding and destroying the special Golden Badnik in each Act (though be warned as you’ll have to destroy it again, or restart the Act, if you lose a life after destroying it), one for collecting 100 Medals from Bonus Stages, and one for finishing Frozen Base Zone’s shoot-‘em-up section without taking damage. Your Medals can be spent in the game’s shop; here, you can purchase heads, torsos, arms, legs, and spray paint for your Metal Fighter, a custom robot you use in the game’s Battle Mode. While parts for metal versions of the five playable characters exist, the shop is really expensive, so you’ll need a lot of Medals to create classic characters like Metal Sonic and Metal Knuckles, and the Battle Mode isn’t that great. You battle friends or CPU-controlled robots in three arenas, either to the death, while avoiding missile bombardments, or collecting items to win, using X to attack with an electrical burst and being underwhelmed by the entire thing. Although you can access additional skins for this mode (and the main game) via DLC, there are no Achievements tied to the Battle Mode, so I’d just avoid it; there’s a Time Attack mode as well, but again there are no Achievements associated with this.
Snag the Chaos Emeralds, endure Trip’s ridiculously hard story, and take on the arduous true final boss.
As mentioned, you’ll warp to Special Stages by finding Giant Rings. These are pretty simple, unique bonus areas where you have to tap and hold A to latch on to glowing blue orbs, boost points, or Rings to chase after a Chaos Emerald. You can latch onto mines, too, but these will explode to slow you down and you’ll need to avoid crystalline structures and collect Rings for more time. While the later ones can get very challenging, it’s not too difficult to get all seven Chaos Emeralds, which unlocks the final Emerald Power, where you’ll turn Super after collecting 50 Rings and selecting the ability from the wheel. After clearing the main story, you’ll unlock Trip as a playable character and “Trip’s Story”, which picks up where the main story ends and sees Trip battle through remixed versions of each Act, encountering an army of Eggrobos led by a primary Eggrobo. Trip has all the same abilities as the other characters in addition to a double jump and the ability to cling to walls and ceilings, which is incorporated into her Acts. Her Super form is also a flying, fire-breathing dragon that absolutely breaks the game, but its advantages are offset by her story being so damn hard. Acts are redesigned to have more enemies, more hazards, and more bottomless pits, as well as required more Emerald Powers to bypass obstacles. Her bosses also seem tougher, with new attacks in their arsenal; the Eggrobo takes Dr. Eggman’s place until the end, where you must battle Fang in a gruelling final boss full of one-hit kills and frustrating sections that nearly had me rage-quitting! Complete “Trip’s Story” and you’ll get an Achievement and access to the true final boss, the Black Dragon, in a battle that’ll take at least ten minutes to complete. This sees you, as Super Sonic, smacking back blue comets, avoiding instant-death black holes, ramming the dragon’s chest, and tearing your hair out trying to hit five incoming projectiles with frame-perfect timing as the game suddenly introduces quick-time events! Not only does the boss constantly hide in the background, but its attacks are completely random, your opportunities to hit it are ridiculously limited, and you’ll burn through Rings if you keep tapping the Boost button. Rings randomly rain from the sky and Sonic’s friends will randomly appear to offer more, but this and the rage-inducing fight against Fang’s mech cast a dark shadow over the whole game for me that ruined the entire experience.
The Summary: I was surprised when I first saw the announcement of Sonic Superstars; although disappointed that we weren’t getting Sonic Mania 2, I was cautiously optimistic, especially as it had that classic Sonic aesthetic, included a playable Amy and the welcome return of Fang, and incorporated the Chaos Emeralds in a new, more practical way. Sonic Superstars definitely makes a great first impression; it ticks all the nostalgia boxes and is fun to play, with lively, animated characters, bright and colourful Zones, and challenging (but not impossible) Special Stages. I loved seeing all the little details in the backgrounds, watching the hub world change, and seeing the story unfold; I even enjoyed the recycled gimmicks from old games, even if I was disappointed by the Badnik variety. Soon, though, cracks started to appear; Acts ran a bit too long or strangely short and bosses started to become a chore as I was left standing around, watching the timer run out, waiting for the game to let me attack. The main reason for this, of course, is that the Emerald Powers would decimate most bosses but I think a compromise could’ve been reached. At least speed up or tone down the waiting time between the boss’s attacks, or maybe even disable Emerald Powers altogether for the fights. But it was those final battles against Dr. Eggman and Fang’s giant mechs and that random-ass dragon that pulled the rug right out from Sonic Superstars. It’s bad enough that you must beat “Trip’s Story” to unlock the final boss; it’s bad enough that “Trip’s Story” is cheap as hell with its pits and hazards; but to put insta-deaths in the boss fight? Seriously, it can take five minutes to reach Fang’s second phase and you can die five seconds into it, meaning you have to do the whole thing all over again. The Black Dragon fight may be the worst Super Sonic fight I’ve ever played, as well, which is a shame as the game was doing so well until those final battles; I could even forgive the drawn out nature of the previous bosses if Sonic Superstars had stuck the landing but, sadly, it drops the ball right at the end, leaving a sour taste in the mouth. Yes, it’s a beautiful game with lots of fun elements, but that just makes its flaws all the more glaring; I really hope SEGA patch the bosses to make them more enjoyable, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on that.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Pretty Good
What did you think to Sonic Superstars? Did you enjoy the new Emerald Powers or, like me, did you find them to be a missed opportunity? What did you think to Trip, her gameplay and her character arc? Did you also find the bosses arduous and aggravating? Does this game have the hardest, most unfair bosses of any Sonic title? Did you play the game’s Battle Mode? Would you like to see Trip make a return in a future game? How did you celebrate the Sonic franchise this month? Whatever your thoughts on Sonic Superstars, leave a comment below or on my social media and go check out my other Sonic content.
Sonic the Hedgehog was first introduced to gamers worldwide on this day back in 1991 and, since then, has become not only SEGA’s most enduring and popular character but also a beloved videogame icon and, in keeping with tradition, I have been dedicating the entire month to celebrating SEGA’s supersonic mascot.
Released: 7 October 2010; 15 May 2012 Developer: Dimps / Sonic Team Also Available For: Mobile, Nintendo Wii, Ouya, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Shield, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
The Background: In 1991, after much development and strategic planning to create a mascoticonic enough to rival Super Mario, SEGA introduced gamers to Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic’s initial success (thanks, largely, his debut game being bundled with the Mega Drive) exploded into mainstream popularity with Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (SEGA Technical Institute, 1992) and, from there, the sky seemed to be the limit. So big was Sonic’s blockbuster third outing that it was split into two parts to save costs and meet deadlines; nevertheless, Sonic 3 & Knuckles(ibid, 1994) is widely regarded as one of the best of the classic 2D Sonic games, though SEGA strangely followed this success with several lacklustre spin-offs before transitioning to 3D in 1999. By 2010, Sonic had appeared in around sixty titles, with SEGA outsourcing their supersonic mascot to Dimps for the Sonic Advance series (2001 to 2004), which seemed to be the closest fans could hope for a Sonic 4. Conscious of the demand for a classic Sonic experience, SEGA again teamed with Dimps for a secret project originally codenamed “Project Needlemouse” in a nod to Sonic’s origins. Sonic 4 was conceived of as a throwback title, one that would mix modern elements with the classic formula, and incorporate gyroscope functions for mobile players. Episode I released to mixed reviews; despite criticisms of the poor physics, the game was a commercial success and development began on Episode II, with the specific intention to introduce new elements. With the digital re-release of the celebratedSonic the Hedgehog CD(SEGA, 1993) looming, Episode II was developed to tie up loose threads from that game, as well as introducing team-based mechanics by including Sonic’s sidekick, Miles “Tails” Prower. Episode II was also met with mixed reviews; while largely seen as an improvement over Episode I, the boss battles and level designs drew criticism. Although players could access a side story with both titles, Episode Metal, plans for a third entry were mysteriously abandoned and the game has largely been discarded by all, especially after more fitting throwbacks to the classic era were laterreleased.
The Plot: Doctor Eggman is back, having refined some of his past creations and seeking to conquer new lands with the Chaos Emeralds. When Sonic inevitably arrives to stop him, Dr. Eggman calls in Metal Sonic to hold off his foe while he again works to harness the power of Little Planet.
Gameplay: In the tradition of the classic Sonic titles, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is a 2.5D, sidescrolling action platformer in which players blast through ten levels (known as “Zones”), with most having three stages (or “Acts”) each, culminating in a boss battle against Dr. Eggman or Metal Sonic. Fundamentally, the basic controls are as familiar as ever; players can pick up speed to blast through Acts, spinning to crash through Badniks, walls, and acquire power-ups with the A or B button, or charge up a Spin Dash by pressing down and either A or B. Oddly, the Spin Dash is actually quite nerfed and doesn’t give you the usual speed boost you’d expect compared to simply running, and Sonic uncurls when flying off curves and springs, leaving him vulnerable to attack. However, this is somewhat explained by the incorporation of the Homing Attack; by pressing A or B after a jump, Sonic will fly towards the nearest target (“helpfully” indicated by an onscreen reticule and targeting sound), which is all-but required as you chain together Homing Attacks to cross gaps. In Episode II, the controls are slightly expanded; here, Tails constantly follows you around, snagging Golden Rings and bopping Badniks, and can be called to your side at any time by pressing the Right Trigger or performing one of the three new Tag Actions with X. Sonic and Tails can either curl up into a massive ball to break through walls with the Rolling Combo or Tails can indefinitely swim Sonic around underwater with the Submarine Combo or briefly carry him with his helicopter tails with the Copter Combo. Each has different strengths and weaknesses; the Rolling Combo is quite fast and unwieldy, the Submarine Combo can be a bit slippery to control, and the Copter Combo only allows for a short burst of flight, though it’s very handy to use to save you from one of Episode II’s many bottomless pits.
Episode I poorly apes the original classics, marrying bad physics with wonky mechanics.
The basic gameplay mechanics are also very familiar; players must collect Golden Rings to stave off death, with the Rings scattering when you’re hit so you can snag them to protect yourself, in addition to swallowing air bubbles to keep from drowning. Acts are played against a ten minute time limit, after which players will lose a life, though you can earn extra lives by racking up points, collecting 100 Rings, or breaking open 1-up monitors. The more points you acquire, and the faster you finish Acts, the more likely it is you’ll earn continues to carry on playing after you’ve exhausted your lives, and you can respawn from checkpoints by running past Star Posts. Zones are filled with robotic enemies and cheap obstacles to sap your Rings and lives, however, from spikes jutting out of floors, walls, and ceilings, to bottomless pits, crushing hazards, and a massive wall-like drill machine that relentlessly chases you down. In Episode I, you’ll play through Zones heavily inspired by the classic Sonic games, meaning you’ll run through loops, mobius strips, jump to moving or temporary platforms, press switches to open doors, and ricochet all over the place on bumpers, springs, bouncers, and steam vents. A few new gimmicks are also present, though; Sonic can swing from vines and zip lines in Splash Hill Zone, ride playing card bridges and cross flipping cards in Casino Street Zone, awkwardly run on giant cogs in Mad Gear Zone to cross tracks, and light dynamite and ride mine carts in Lost Labyrinth Zone. It’s this latter Zone that has some of the most frustrating elements of Episode I, however; not only is it full of water that threatens your life and slows you down and all the same gimmicks as Labyrinth Zone, but you must also run across giant balls in Act 1, carry a flaming torch to light the way in Act 2 (including an annoying light puzzle that can easily cause you to time out if you don’t light the torches in the right order), and struggle with an underwater maze and some bizarre tilting mechanics in Act 3. Indeed, Episode I suffers greatly by its reliance on the original games, especially the first two, and its obnoxious use of Homing Attack chains; every Zone is simply a remix of those seen in Sonic 1 and 2, with a few things shuffled about and some sluggish, clunky physics thrown in to sour the experience.
Episode II expands the gameplay to include tag-based mechanics and fun flying sections.
Episode II addresses many of the issues with Episode I, providing more unique gimmicks and reimagining of old gameplay mechanics along with new elements that can be both enjoyable and frustrating. The Spin Dash pads from Marble Garden Zone are back, for example, and there are now warning signs alerting you to bottomless pits; tilt mechanics are gone, replaced by platforms you can hit with the Homing Attack to make horizontal or springs, and there’s less reliance on Homing Attack chains and more emphasis placed on the Tag Actions. This is especially true in White Park Zone, where you’ll need to make ample use of the Submarine Combo to navigate the ice-cold waters, and Sky Fortress Zone, where you’ll have to expertly use both the Homing Attack and carefully-planned execution of the Copter Combo to cross gaps and avoid spiked ceilings. This Zone also sees the return of the Tornado in a very Sky Chase-inspired sequence; Sonic can now perform the Homing Attack from the Tornado’s wings and you can barrel through obstacles with X, though this’ll leave Tails dizzy for a few seconds. This was a fun autoscrolling section that focused more on avoiding Metal Sonic’s attacks and minions and trying to not get crushed by hazards but, like much of Episode II, it does go on for some time. Zones are much bigger with more varied paths, which is a good thing, and give you lots of options to use the Tag Combo or roll snowballs or take oil slides to different areas, but things can get quite aggravating due to their length and the eventual number of cheap instant deaths. Some Zones uses their gimmicks in interesting ways; Oil Desert Zone, for example, mixes together elements of Oil Ocean and Sandopolis Zone, including quicksand, rising sand you must outrun, and the aforementioned oil slicks but you’ll also lose traction on oily surfaces and these can even briefly be set alight! Sky Fortress Zone makes liberal use of propellers and wind to blow you about, rocket boosters to fry you, and chain-link fences littered with explosives for you to run across. White Park doesn’t just see you swimming through icy water, ploughing through snowdrifts, or snowboarding on avalanches but also includes a rollercoaster aesthetic, which sees you racing along at high speeds and springing to the foreground and background in a fun (if, at times, disorientating) mechanic, while Sylvania Castle Zone makes use of destructible ruins, water, springs, rotating platforms, and shortcuts across the water’s surface like in Hydrocity Zone.
Graphics and Sound: Sonic the Hedgehog 4 opts to ditch the classic sprite art (except, bizarrely, for loading screens and certain icons) and go for a sleek, plasticine aesthetic that seems to be trying to bridge the gap between the classics and the then-modern games but ultimately ends up being quite an unsightly, unnecessarily shiny, and cluttered mess of colours, especially in Episode I. Sonic takes far too long to get to top speed here and looks daft when he does; every movement feels like you’re underwater and the screen is zoomed in a little too close, making it difficult to see what’s ahead of you. Sonic has his usual idle poses and looks up cheerfully enough, but this is also slow and doesn’t even scroll the screen; the sound effect of his Spin Dash is also wrong, with the “release” sound used for the ”wind up” and vice versa, and all of the game’s story is told through the in-game manual and a couple of simple, pantomime-like cutscenes that are just ripped off from the first game. Although many of the same sound effects are recycled for the in-game action and menus, the soundtrack is actually pretty good; it’s stronger in Episode II, but even Episode I has some catchy tunes going on, especially the boss theme. Each Act also has slightly different gimmicks and colour palettes to mix things up, and there’s even a world map where you can freely choose which Zone and Act to play, though I disliked that the game automatically returns you to this screen after you clear an Act unless you press Y to play the next Act.
Episode I can be quite cluttered and fundamentally cripples Sonic’s momentum.
Episode I is, however, an unsightly mishmash of conflicting effects and colours. There is a lot going on in the foregrounds and backgrounds, especially in Mad Gear Zone, which takes Metropolis Zone and ups the ante to eleven, with pistons and gears and steam vents and moving parts cluttering up the screen and making it difficult to see enemies, hazards, and even the way forward. It’s a shame as I quite like the redesign given to classic Zones like Green Hill and Labyrinth Zone, with a greater level of detail and lighting applied to make them pop and feel “busier” than before with the inclusion of waterfalls and crumbling effects. However, that doesn’t change the fact that it looks and feels like you’re playing with toys or plasticine; everything is unnecessarily busy and lacks the charm of traditional sprite art, meaning there’s no “weight” to anything. This isn’t helped by the dreadful physics; Sonic is constantly struggling against gravity, loses all momentum when hitting the ground after flying through the air, and can easily walk up slopes and loops without fear of falling. If you play fast and hard, you can avoid much of this, but Zones like Lost Labyrinth force you to slow down, and Casino Street Zone’s curved surfaces lose all their appeal when you can just trot up them without curling into a ball or using the Spin Dash. The Homing Attack is also finicky, stuttering when multiple targets are onscreen and sometimes causing you to drop to your death with it fails to lock-on. Finally, Episode I just feels like a cheap and thrown together knockoff; five Zones and one playable character, with no two-player options and very few new gameplay options, make it feel less like a continuation of the classics and more like a reimagining for the mobile generation (indeed, I argued at the time – and even now – that the game might’ve been better served being titled Sonic the Hedgehog HD).
Episode II is visually far more interesting and unique, and handles far better.
Episode II is, technically, a vast improvement over its predecessor; the menu screens are more detailed and lively, the physics are far more polished (Sonic doesn’t always uncurl off a ramp and no longer feels floaty and heavy), and the soundtrack is even better, boasting catchy tunes and a remixed boss theme that kept me invested even at the game’s most frustrating sections. The world map has been cleverly expanded, Sonic’s running animation is far better, and the addition of Tails really adds to the gameplay. Unfortunately, Zones are still quite cluttered; White Park Zone, especially, can be very busy with all the foreground and background elements overlapping, but I enjoyed how they retained different times of day and the looming presence of the mechanised Little Planet or Metal Sonic in the background of many Acts. In fact, every Act has something interesting happening in the background; you can see the rollercoaster and theme park in the background of White Park Zone: Act 1, drilling platforms and machinery at work in the background of Oil Desert Zone, and holographic screens and foreboding machinery all over the gravity-skewing Death Egg mk. II Zone. Episode II incorporates far more cutscenes, with them being similar to those of Sonic 3 & Knuckles, but to the game’s detriment; you’ll have to sit through numerous unskippable scenes of Sonic and Tails being taunted by Metal Sonic or Dr. Eggman getting his newest mech ready to battle you, which can make replaying these sections after failing a real chore. However, I really liked the way Episode II presented far more unique Zones; yes, there are influences and borrowings from previous mechanics here, but it feels like some actual effort went into giving the new Zones distinct identities rather than being rip-offs of previous efforts, and the gameplay experience was far more enjoyable here, even if the difficulty has spiked somewhat as a payoff. Indeed, hazard and enemy placement and Zone construction seems to take a leaf out of Sonic CD’s playbook, with many high-speed paths running you head-first into danger and awkward platforms, though it’s nowhere near as slapdash as in Sonic CD and seems like a balanced marriage of all five of the classic 2D Sonic titles.
Power-Ups and Bonuses: If you’ve ever played a Sonic game before, you’ll know exactly what’s on offer here. In addition to the life-preserving (and granting) Golden Rings, you can break open monitors to earn an extra ten Rings, grab a bubble that will protect you from one hit, a temporary speed up, and a briefly period of invincibility, as well as the odd extra life monitor. Sadly, none of the elemental shields appear here, neither does Sonic’s insta-shield, and there are no new or returning additional power-ups with the exception of Episode II’s “Special Combination” item box. These are pretty rare (I only found two throughout my entire playthrough) but see Sonic and Tails bounce across the screen, racking up points and destroying all onscreen enemies as you tap A and being showered with Rings, not unlike the “Team Blast” function of Sonic Heroes (Sonic Team USA, 2003). Episode II’s Special Stages also include the new “Combination Dash” pickup, which tethers Sonic and Tails together to allow them to pickup more Rings, a clunky mechanic that relies on momentum as much as your current speed.
Enemies and Bosses: When playing Episode I, you may be equal parts excited and disappointed, depending on your nostalgia for the classics and desire for fresh Sonic content, by the enemy selection on offer. Every Badnik encountered is ripped straight from Sonic 1 and 2, with only the Batbot and Bubbles returning from Sonic 3 & Knuckles. This means you’ll be bopping Motobugs, smashing Buzzers, dodging spiked balls thrown by Orbinauts, and cursing with frustration when you run head-first into Shellcracker’s clawed fist or Slicer’s annoying bladed projectiles. Episode II continues this recycling of classic Badniks, primarily focusing on enemies encountered in the old Wing Fortress Zone, but also includes a bunch of brand-new Badniks for you to go up against. Some of these are intimidating in their size; Snowy the massive mechanical polar bear is almost akin to a mini boss as it takes a couple of hits to destroy while giant robotic Sandworms will burst from the sand in a surprise attack. Others, however, are more aggravating: Flamers can set fire to Oil Desert Zone’s oil slicks, the dung-beetle-like Scarabesque always seem to sap your Rings with their explosive balls, and the seal-like Steelions will be the bane of your life in White Park Zone’s waters as they flash-freeze the nearby area and cause you to drown. Each Badnik you destroy releases a furry woodland critter, with a whole bunch being freed after boss encounters, nets you some points, and can be used to cross gaps with your Homing Attack but don’t get too cocky as some will sprout spikes to ruin your chain and send you plummeting to your death.
Episode I recycles classic bosses, adding new attack patterns and strategies to them to mix things up.
After clearing each Act of every Zone, you’ll have to do battle with Dr. Eggman (and/or, in Episode II, Metal Sonic). In Episode I, there are five boss encounters, with all of them being recycled battles from Sonic 1 and 2 but with a new coat of paint and an extra “pinch” mode after you deal enough damage. First up, you’ll once again battle Dr. Eggman in his classic (and overused) Egg Wrecker; as before, you need to attack Dr. Eggman’s craft while avoiding his massive wrecking ball, which is a lot easier now that you have the Homing Attack and a higher rebound after landing a hit, meaning it’s simple to put him down even when he spins around and tries to crush you with the ball. Casino Street Zone revisits the Egg Claw boss; again, you need to run up the pinball table-like arena or use the bouncers to attack Dr. Eggman, this time while avoiding a claw-like appendage and an electrical shield that will damage you on contact. In Lost Labyrinth, you’ll again have to chase after Dr. Eggman’s Eggmobile, avoiding spikes and drowning, until he locks you in an enclosed arena. Here, he summons a series of horizontal and vertical columns that will crush you if you’re not careful, forcing you to quickly hop up and target him as he hides in a safe corner for easily the most aggravating boss of the game. Finally, in Mad Gear Zone, Dr. Eggman busts out a new version of the Egg Bouncer; as in Sonic 2, you’ll need to watch out for the mini Dr. Eggman bubbles that detach from his craft, which become a deadly hazard in the second phase. In this section. The game takes a page out of the Sonic Advance 2 (Dimps/Sonic Team, 2002) bosses and forces you to run at Dr. Eggman, avoiding spiked balls and his erratic duplicates to land hits. As if that isn’t bad enough, you’ll have to battle all four bosses in their “pinch” phases again in the secret final Zone, E.G.G. Station, in a boss rush. Luckily, there are Rings and checkpoints between each bout, though they’ve also got added hazards thrown in, such as moving platforms in the Egg Wrecker section and additional projectiles in the Egg Bouncer section.
Episode II‘s bosses are larger and more complex but long-winded and tedious at times.
Episode II is once again a double-edged sword when it comes to bosses; while they’re largely far more unique and offer more of a challenge, they’re long, tedious, and involve a lot of waiting around. Episode II takes inspiration from Sonic CD for its bosses, giving them complex attack patterns and more visually interesting and tricky pinch phases, which is either a good or a bad thing depending on how patient you are. In Episode II, you’ll battle Dr. Eggman twice; in Sylvania Castle Zone, he pilots the Egg Serpentleaf, a massive plant-like mech that tries to swat you with its many tentacles and shields him behind a spiked bud. You’ll need to use the Copter Combo to avoid being smacked and land a few hits on Dr. Eggman, which will eventually cause more tentacles to appear and the mad scientist to blast the arena with a massive cannon. You’ll next encounter him in Oil Desert Zone in an even more irritating boss battle; Dr. Eggman assembles a massive mech out of scrap metal and you must pursue him up a garbage disposal, dodging his buzzsaws and the crates he drops (which thankfully aren’t instant-kill hazards but can contain spikes or bombs) and smacking his cockpit when he appears. When you reach the surface, the Egg Scrap Mech rapidly jumps between the foreground and background before trying to crush you; you’ll need to hit its feet with the Rolling Combo to stun it and finish off this pain in the ass boss. The other two boss battles are against Metal Sonic; like Sonic CD and Sonic Advance 2, these are auto-runners and autoscrollers. In White Park Zone, you must race towards Metal Sonic and attack him, then dodge his charge attack (either by jumping or springing to the foreground or background) and hop over the electrical traps he lays for you. After a few hits, he’ll start destroying the rollercoaster track so you’ll have to take care not to fall when attacking him. In Sky Fortress Zone, Metal Sonic pesters you in his Metal Carrier and then battles you directly, blasting electrical bolts that you need to dodge to smack his cockpit. He’ll then face you head-on, firing energy beams that you need to avoid and then jettisoning booster rockets that can crush you if you’re not careful. This can be a very annoying boss battle if you fail as there’s a lot of downtime at the start and between phases; while you can easily amass 100 Rings for an extra life, it doesn’t help with the frustration that can build in this encounter.
Sonic’s return to the Death Egg is either overly familiar or erratically tough, but always an uphill battle.
Once you’ve cleared every Zone and bested Dr. Eggman’s boss rush in Episode I, you’ll face a final confrontation with the mad scientist in a refurbished Death Egg Robot. This is easily the most tedious and frustrating boss battle of Episode I as the Death Egg Robot takes nearly thirty hits to destroy and the battle involves a lot of waiting around. To start with, it’s exactly the same as in Sonic 2 but easier thanks to you having Rings and the Homing Attack; simply stay away from the mech, attacking its torso and avoiding its rocket arms, until it starts to malfunction. In this phase, the Death Egg Robot cannot be directly attacked; you need to quickly dash under it as it hops about and then use the Homing Attack to blast one of its rocket arms back at it, avoiding the sporadic laser blasts as you go, to land a few precious hits. Once you’ve done this enough, Dr. Eggman will try one last attack, forcing you to quickly dodge out of the way and land the finishing blow before you’re dropped to your death. In Episode II, you’ll rush at Dr. Eggman and Metal Sonic aboard the Death Egg mk. II; you need to get past the invulnerable Dr. Eggman and ram Metal Sonic a few times, avoiding the giant energy balls unleashed, before racing against your robotic doppelgänger like in Stardust Speedway, only this time with more doors to bash through. Finally, you’ll battle Dr. Eggman’s Egg Heart at the heart of the mechanised Little Planet; this battle is fought on constantly rotating mechanical rings that will burst with electricity, forcing you to quickly hop between them and ram Dr. Eggman’s cockpit. The more damage you do, the more erratic the rings move and the more dangerous the hazards become; Dr. Eggman even erects an energy shield that you’ll need to break with a Rolling Combo, making for a far more unique but equally frustrating final boss encounter.
Additional Features: There are twenty-four Achievements to earn in Sonic 4, twelve for each Episode, and they’re pretty basic, for the most part. You’ll get an Achievement for clearing the first Act of each game’s first Zone, one for clearing each game, one for completing first Act of each game’s first Zone in a strict time limit, and one for collecting first one and then all the Chaos Emeralds. In Episode I, you’ll get an Achievement for defeating 1000 enemies and accumulating 99 extra lives, while in Episode II you’ll add to your Gamer Score by playing as Tails fifty times and performing the Rolling Combo. Each Act in Episode II also hides a Red Star Ring; collect them all and finish the game for another Achievement, and upload your best scores in each Episode for another. I mentioned Chaos Emeralds just now and, as you’d expect, the seven gems are collectible in each Episode. You’ll earn them by beating Special Stages, which are accessed by finishing Act 1 to 3 with fifty Rings and entering a Big Ring, but the Special Stages vary drastically between each Episode. In Episode 1, they’re based on Sonic 1’s Special Stages, featuring a floating maze filled with Rings, bumpers, and exit pads; you need to collect Rings to lower barriers and reach the Chaos Emerald before the time runs out, collecting time bonuses and making use of the ‘Retry’ option in the pause menu if you’re sensing failure. As bad as Sonic 1’s Special Stages were, these are far worse; you rotate the maze here, not Sonic, which is extremely awkward and disorientating. Sonic can also jump but all this does is shake the screen in a nauseating way and, while you can replay the Special Stages from the world map, you can only retry those you’ve beaten and you must enter a Special Stage from a different Act to get a different Chaos Emerald.
Conquer the aggravating Special Stages or take on a harder challenge in Episode Metal.
In Episode II, the Special Stages are redesigned and now influenced by the half-pipe stages from Sonic 2. Here, Sonic and Tails must collect a set number of Rings to progress, dodging bombs and electrical hazards and making use of the awkward tether mechanic in the final two Special Stages. While these are a lot more enjoyable and it’s much easier to retry if you’re struggling, they can get really annoying as the difficulty increases; you’ll need pixel-perfect timing and to make good use of the boost and momentum to snag all the Rings and the Chaos Emeralds here. In both Episodes, collecting the seven Chaos Emeralds allows you to transform into Super Sonic once you collect fifty Rings and double press A or B. this makes you super fast and completely invincible unless you’re crushed or drop down a pit, though it only lasts for as long as you hold Rings. Unlike Episode I, Episode II also features a multiplayer component; you and a friend can play the game in co-op like in Sonic 2, either locally or online, though this is strangely the only way you can play as Tails alone. Finally, completing Episode II unlocks Episode Metal, a side story in which you play as Metal Sonic and work your way backwards through remixed versions of Episode I’s Zones with all new cutscenes setting the stage for Metal Sonic’s return. Despite some new animations and sound effects, Metal Sonic is simply a reskin of Sonic and doesn’t have any new attacks; he also has to smash Badniks as well, which is a bit odd but I guess speaks to his superiority complex. There are no Achievements tied to Episode Metal, which is significantly harder then either Episode I or II; enemies, hazards, instant-death traps, and Act layouts have all be increased, altered, and made far more challenging, though there are sadly no bosses to contend with here, meaning this is more of a distraction for players who have mastered the base games.
The Summary: Honestly, calling any title Sonic the Hedgehog 4 was going to be asking for trouble; Sonic the Hedgehog HD or Sonic Returns or Sonic Redux would’ve been far more appropriate titles and would’ve tempered expectations for these sadly unfinished titles. It just baffles me how SEGA thought it was acceptable to go from the sprawling, multi-character epic that was Sonic 3 & Knuckles to this tame, cheap, stripped down bastardisation of the first two games. Playing Episode I alone is a joke; the game is functionally playable but visually a mess, with wonky physics, a lack of replay value, and too many recycled gimmicks and elements from Sonic 1 and 2. Thank God for Episode II, which fixes many of these issues; Sonic controls a lot better, the Zones are far more visually interesting and unique, and the bosses have more effort put into them. The team-based mechanics were fun; they could’ve easily been overused but they were enjoyable when you weren’t being asked to fly over bottomless pits, though I’m confused as to why there’s no option to play as Tails in the lead. The inclusion of Episode Metal was also a nice touch, though I think more could’ve been done with this. At least give Metal Sonic his electrical boost or some new gameplay mechanic, or have him face off against Sonic, rather than just being relegated to a hard mode add-on. Truthfully, I am sad we never got the planned Episode III as it’s possible that more unique elements would’ve been added in, including a playable Knuckles the Echidna and other more engaging elements, but sadly we’ll never know. As a complete package, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is widely inconsistent; in addressing errors from Episode I, the game just feels like a disjointed mess, even when it’s doing something new and enjoyable. It’s obvious the developers tried to address these issues in Episode II, providing a more challenging and versatile gameplay experience, but at the cost of upping the difficulty in some areas and making it equally as frustrating as Episode I but in different ways. Ultimately, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is a disappointment; it not only fails to live up to its title, but also fails to match the quality of Sonic’s Game Boy Advance titles. I can understand why SEGA distanced themselves from it (though not its hefty price tag), though luckily these mistakes were atoned for in the years to come with better, more enjoyable throwbacks to Sonic’s heyday being released.
My Rating:
⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.
Could Be Better
Are you a fan of Sonic the Hedgehog 4? Which Episode did you prefer and what did you think to the presentation and stripped down mechanics? Were you disappointed by how much Episode I drew from the original games and the poor selection of Zones and modes? What did you think to the team up moves in Episode II and the return of Metal Sonic? Which of the game’s bosses and Zones was your favourite, and would you have liked to see an Episode III tie everything up? How are you celebrating Sonic’s anniversary this year, and what are some of your favourite Sonic games? Whatever you think, leave a comment below or on my social media and go check out my other Sonic content across the site!
Sonic the Hedgehog was first introduced to gamers worldwide on June 23 1991 and, since then, has become not only SEGA’s most enduring and popular character but also a beloved videogame icon and, in keeping with tradition, I have been dedicating the entire month to celebrating SEGA’s supersonic mascot.
Released: 15 November 2005 Developer: Dimps / Sonic Team
The Plot: When Doctor Eggman steals the seven Sol Emeralds, their stoic guardian, Blaze the Cat, journeys to Sonic’s world to recover them. However, her nemesis, Doctor Eggman Nega, has followed her and in search of the seven Chaos Emeralds, leading Sonic the Hedgehog to oppose his mad plot for worldwide destruction.
Gameplay: Sonic Rush is a 2.5D action platformer much like most classic Sonic titles and his 2D outings on the Game Boy Advance. Players can initially only control Sonic but will unlock new character Blaze after clearing the first level (known as a “Zone”). As is often the case, each Zone is comprised of two stages (or “Acts”), with a third dedicated to a boss battle against either Dr. Eggman or Eggman Nega. By entering the “Options” menu on the main menu screen, players can tweak some of the game’s settings, setting it to Easy, Normal, or Hard (which I believe impacts the amount of lives you start with and hits bosses take), disable the ten minute time limit for Acts, listen to the game’s soundtrack, or allow a friend to download a demo version of the game to their Nintendo DS. One new feature rarely seen in 2D Sonic titles is the presence of a world map; styled after the map screen in Sonic Adventure 2 (Sonic Team USA, 2001), this allows players to wander about a static screen to replay previous Zones or visit their allies. Miles “Tails” Prower and Cream the Rabbit will offer encouragement and enthusiastic support to each character, keeping track of how many lives they have, how many of the Chaos and Sol Emeralds they’ve collected, and the percentage that their worlds have unmerged (reduced as you clear Zones). Despite visually appearing very different, and their contrasting personalities (Sonic is all brash and happy-go-lucky and Blaze is quiet and reserved), Sonic and Blaze play in almost exactly the same way, visit the same Zones (albeit in a different order), and battle the same bosses (just with different madmen at the helms), though Blaze doesn’t have to worry about beating Special Stages to acquire her Emeralds.
Sonic and new ally Blaze can blast through Zones with their new Boost mechanic and abilities.
Both characters can jump with a press of A or B; holding the button lets them jump a bit higher and pressing down and A or B charges up either the Spin Dash or the Burst Dash so you can blast ahead in a burst of speed. When jumping, you can press the right bumper to perform an air dash as Sonic or Blaze’s Burst Hover, which gives her a little more airtime courtesy of a rocket boost from her boots. Unfortunately, Blaze is little more than a reskin of Sonic; her gameplay is slightly different thanks to her limited hover but it’s essentially exactly the same as Sonic’s, lacking additional features such as climbing or flying to really make her stand out despite her visual appeal, to the point where I wonder if it might’ve been better to have Blaze be incapable of boosting just to make her gameplay a bit different and challenging compared to Sonic’s. When flying off ramps, springs, or propelled through the air, you can press B, A, and R to perform tricks; these will both boost you higher and further, which is necessary to reach platforms and switches, and build up your “Tension Gauge”. When partially or completely full, you can hold down X or Y to blast off with the Super Boost or Fire Boost, respectively, which sees you plough through Badniks and breakable walls at breakneck speeds, completely invulnerable and surrounded by waves of supersonic or flaming energy. This boost mode allows Sonic Rush to reach speeds classic Sonic games could only dream of and is essential for outrunning giant rolling balls, blasting through enemies and Acts alike, building momentum with some of the game’s gimmicks, and entering Special Stages. It can be unwieldy at times, though; just as you should exercise caution with your trick moves, you should use the boost sparingly as you could overshoot platforms or run head-first into one of the game’s many bottomless pits. Sonic and Blaze can also grind on rails to pick up speed and perform tricks, fill the Tension Gauge by defeating enemies, and make use of giant bullets and hovering UFO-like vehicles, though these latter two are equally cumbersome due to being difficult to control and having to use the Nintendo DS’s dual screens to navigate.
Despite a few new gimmicks, both characters sadly share the exact same playstyle.
Sonic Rush uniquely uses the dual screens to spread its action out vertically; you’ll often by sprinting down slopes from the top screen to the bottom, which is quite fun, and you’ll need to pay attention to the top screen when planning jumps to avoid Badniks or spot platforms and switches. Otherwise, the bottom touchscreen is mostly relegated to menus and the Special Stages, which I’ll talk about later, and the bulk of the game is comprised of tried-and-true Sonic gimmicks. You’ll grab Golden Rings to survive hits and earn extra lives when you collect 100, suck in air bubbles when lumbering underwater, run through loops, bounce from springs, and avoid or be frustrated by sudden spiked hazards as you blast through the game’s seven Zones. There’s a lot that’s familiar about Sonic Rush; the ramps, boosters, and many of the Zones and enemies are modelled after Sonic Adventure 2 and married with a tweaked version of the classic gameplay mechanics, effectively bridging the gap between the “Classic” and “Modern” iterations of Sonic and laying the foundation for Sonic’s mid-2000s Boost-centric gameplay. You’ll spring from bungees, be blasted about by water jets and cannons, jump to moving or temporary platforms, boost into giant propellers to cover greater distances, resist the urge to pull off tricks after being blasted through the sky by rocket sledges, temporarily light up rails and platforms or ride blocks of light by hitting switches, run along the ceilings, and even be whisked through the cloudy sky on a hang glider (though, thankfully, it’s a largely automated section that’s much easier to control this time). Often, you’ll be trapped in a small arena and have to destroy all onscreen enemies to escape, sometimes while avoiding crushing hazards; other times, you’ll swing from chains and ropes (again resisting the urge to press any inputs except to jump to safety) and desperately avoiding instant-kill lasers or the numerous bottomless pits. These cheap hazards crop up from the first Zone and only increase by the time you reach Dead Line; it can be extremely aggravating being in the swing of a fun boost run, pulling off nifty tricks and building momentum, only to cause yourself to fly past a platform or spring or through a rail and plummet to your death.
Graphics and Sound: Although Sonic Rush employs traditional sprite art for its backgrounds and environments and even oddly includes some Sonic Advance-style sprites in its endings, character models are all polygonal this time around, which is a bit hit and miss. Sonic and Blaze make a big show of looking up, dying, and encouraging you to get a move on but lack a lot of the detail seen in the Game Boy Advance games as their character models are a bit blocky and indistinct at times. Sure, they express a lot of personality when pulling off tricks, vocalising their enthusiasm, and when clearing an Act and getting their final letter grade, but I can’t help but think it might’ve been better if the environments were polygonal and the characters were nicely-animated sprites instead. On the plus side, despite the bland title screen and menu selection, Sonic Rush has an absolutely killer soundtrack; Hideki Naganuma and Teruhiko Nakagawa went above and beyond to really produce some infectious ear worms. This is evident from Sonic’s first Zone, Leaf Storm and its upbeat “Right There, Ride On” tune and continues with tracks like “Back 2 Back”. Every Zone makes an impression with its soundtrack, which really helps the game stand out from the usual punk rock tunes of the main console games and the traditional chirpy music from the classics. Cutscenes are a bit of a mixed bag; the story is primarily told using barely animated in-game models accompanied by dialogue boxes and you’ll see the same cutscenes repeated over and over after you defeat each boss, though there are some fun cameos here and there.
While the environments looks great, I’m not impressed with the polygonal models.
As mentioned before, Sonic Rush’s Zones are modelled after Sonic Adventure 2’s, for the most part. Leaf Storm is like a 2.5D version of Green Forest, Mirage Road resembles Hidden Base/Sand Ocean, and Huge Crisis takes place on battleships and in the middle of a Naval fleet like Metal Harbor. Other Zones are a little more traditional, with the Casino Night/Carnival Night Zone-inspired Night Carnival and Dead Line essentially being another run-through of a Death Egg-style space station. There’s quite a bit of detail packed into each Act, though they can be a little barren of enemies at times; you’ll see critters freed from every enemy or fluttering about, vines twisted over rails, flashing neon billboards, and fighter jets all lurking in the background. Hieroglyphics, giant stone statues, and fast sand slides await in Mirage Road, with these latter two gimmicks enlarging the character models as they’re brought closer to the camera. Similarly, you’ll precariously run along fencing, parachute past enemies and spikes in Altitude Limit, and illuminate entire areas with spotlights or glowing platforms in Night Carnival. Sonic’s opening Zones, Leaf Storm and Water Park, made the strongest impression on me; I enjoyed the ripple effect on the water, that you can run across it, and the Greece-inspired architecture in Water Park and the sheer colourful depth of Leaf Storm that helped to showcase the upgrade in power from the Game Boy Advance. Sadly, even these Zones are let down by an abundance of death pits, but the way the action spreads across both screens can be really fun, especially when you’re building up speed. The touchscreen comes to the forefront in the Special Stages, which are modelled after Sonic 2’s half-pipe stages and see you using the stylus (or your finger) to control a fully 3D Sonic model as he grabs Rings, avoids obstacles, and hits numbered targets to score extra Rings.
Enemies and Bosses: There are two types of robotic enemies you’ll encounter in Sonic Rush: Egg Pawns and the minions of the Eggman Empire modelled after those seen in Sonic Heroes (Sonic Team USA, 2003) and security droids not unlike those employed by the Guardian Units of Nations (G.U.N.) in Sonic Adventure 2. Egg Pawns are the most common and have a few variants, from being relatively harmless to packing rifles and bazookas and even blocking your direct attacks with shields. A larger variant, the Egg Hammer, also appears, usually when you’re confined to on area, and takes multiple hits to defeat and could be classified as a mini boss. You’ll also encounter Dr. Eggman’s flying forces, often placed right where you’re about to spring into the air or dive-bombing you when you’re navigating a bottomless pit or bed of spikes or dropping bombs on you at the worst possible time. Egg Bishops also reappear from Sonic Heroes, though they’re limited to simply firing projectiles from their wands. Knight Pawns also appear but, despite their fun armoured appearance and lance, they’re simply another Egg Pawn to plough through, same with the G.U.N. Hunter that can catch you with its bullets but is otherwise just there to build up your Tension Gauge. Sadly, no classic Badniks appear but you often get a great feeling of empowerment ploughing through multiple enemies with your boost attack, which I guess is a good compromise.
Though large, bosses are repetitive and time consuming chores you fight multiple times.
Each Zone ends in a boss battle against either Dr. Eggman or Eggman Nega; sadly, both pilot the same machines so, while you’ll battle them in a different order with each character, both Sonic and Blaze have the same boss encounters with the same strategies employed each time, making for a bit of a repetitive experience. Bosses are fought either on a single platform or a circular loop, with their health measured on the bottom screen where Tails or Cream constantly shout encouragement, end in a dramatic freeze frame, and the arenas hold a handful of Rings to keep you going. The first boss you fight is the Egg Hammer Mega, a snake-like mech that tries to crush you with singular or multiple head slam and sends its cockpit rolling across the ground to try and damage you. Simply dash out of the way then its head slams down, jumping over any shockwaves, and ram the cockpit to do damage. This boss is repeated in Huge Crisis, where it now launches missiles from the battleship in the background and charges up an instant-kill slam, and it was during this fight that I realised how long-winded the game’s bosses are as there’s a lot of waiting around and few opportunities to attack. Water Park sees you battling the Egg Turtle; although much of this fight is underwater, you won’t have to worry about drowning and must simply avoid the mech’s belly flop and propeller butt, smacking its glowing head whenever you get the chance. Things pick up a little when you fight the Egg Beetle; you need to hit the explosive ball it sends rolling at you when its spikes are withdrawn and it’s flashing to do damage, often a couple of times when it jumps over you, and avoid the bombardment of projectiles when the mech takes to the sky. Similarly, you’ll need good timing when fighting the Egg Libra; you need to hit the weighted ball when its shield drops to lower the cockpit and land a hit, then avoid the bolts running across the ground and use the springing robot to score an extra hit, which can be a bit frantic as there’s a lot happening onscreen. Finally, in Altitude Limit, you’ll battle the Egg Eagle, one of the toughest and most annoying bosses because of how long the battle takes. You’ll need to avoid its bullet barrage and frantically mash A and B when it lands and tries to blow you off the platform! You can score a hit when it lands and tries to peck at you, but it’s a small window and it’s easy to take damage so you’ll need to be quick with your reactions.
After settling their differences, Sonic and Blaze must team up against the Eggmans!
When you reach the end of Dead Line, you’ll battle ither Sonic or Blaze in a one-on-one fight not unlike the Hidden Palace Zone bout against Knuckles the Echidna. Both have the exact same moves as they do when playing as them in the game but seem to be nerfed in their intelligence, meaning it’s pretty simply to bop or dash into them to whittle their health down, but you’ll need to mash A and B to win the boost-off head-to-head at the end. The main story ends in a battle against the titanic Egg King, which sees you frantically dodging its sporadic eye lasers and jumping over up to three shockwaves when it smacks your platform. You then need to hit its arm and run towards the cockpit for a hit, but hold down when prompted or you’ll be flung off. The Egg King also tries to smush you with a double axhandle smash and speeds up its attacks as the fight progresses, eventually ramming into the platform for a kamikaze attack at the end that you have to quickly avoid to land the final blow. Once you’ve acquired all seven Chaos Emeralds, Sonic and Blaze power-up to their Super forms for a Doomsday Zone-esque showdown with the two Eggman’s underwhelming Egg Salamander. This is fought on each screen, with each hero taking it in turns to avoid or destroy asteroids, dodge lasers, and land a hit, which switches the action to the other screen and character. The Egg Salamander shoots laser orbs at Super Sonic which must be awkwardly bounced back into it using the Super Boost (A or B); it also swipes at you with its claws, and you’ll need to grab Rings to keep from powering down. Burning Blaze has to charge up and launch a fireball with A, which has a significant delay and is equally difficult to aim. She can also have her Rings sapped when the mech tears open a hole in the fabric of space/time, and this is another fight made unnecessarily tense and frustrating by how long it drags on, how difficult it is to land hits, and how few windows of opportunity you get (though I found that when I respawned after a late stage death, I didn’t have to start all over again, which was unexpected).
Power-Ups and Bonuses: All the power-ups seen in the Sonic Advance games return here; you can add anywhere from one to fifty Rings to your tally with a Super Ring box, gain temporary invincibility or earn an extra life, or protect yourself from a bit with a barrier or attract nearby Rings with its magnetic variant. The new power-up on the block here are the two Tension Gauge boxes, which partially or fully fill your boost meter, usually right before you need to use it to get past a section of an Act.
Additional Features: When playing as Sonic, you’ll need to keep your Tension Gauge filled to the maximum for when you stumble upon Special Generators; grab onto these and hold X or Y to open the rift to the Special Stage, though keep in mind that you can only challenge one Special Stage per Act. So, if you want to try for a different Chaos Emerald, you’ll need to complete the Act and replay it; if you earn a Chaos Emerald in an Act and then enter another Special Stage in the same Act, you simply replay the same Special Stage. Special Stages aren’t too bad this time around; based on Sonic 2’s half-pipe, they task you with acquiring two totals of Rings, avoiding spikes and other hazards and flicking Sonic off the pipes to grab Ring clusters or hit springs. When you do, you’ll need to quickly tap the numbered icons for a Ring bonus; you can also hit boost pads and switches to grab bigger Ring clusters, but your skill at Sonic Rush’s Special Stages all comes down to the quality of your touchscreen and how good your stylus game is. It can be janky and awkward making precise or quick movements and you’ll often miss large clusters of Rings trying to get others, though the fact you can easily access and practise the Special Stages makes them leagues better than any in the Game Boy Advance games. Collecting all seven Chaos Emeralds unlocks the final “Extra” story, which is the only way you can play as Super Sonic and Burning Blaze. Otherwise, you can replay previous Acts to try and get all S-ranks for bragging rights or try out the game’s multiplayer mode, in which two players race head-to-head as Sonic and Blaze to finish Acts the fastest, though I’ve never played this mode. Sadly, there’s no boss rush to unlock or even the ability to watch back the game’s cutscenes, though I guess you could try playing on a harder difficulty if you want a bit more of a challenge.
The Summary: This is my first time playing Sonic Rush in over a decade, certainly since I first completed it. I always had pretty fond memories of it; the visuals, Blaze’s design, and the action-packed gameplay stood out, especially because it was the first Sonic game to incorporate the Boost mechanic, but it was surpassed not just by the sequel but by other, bigger Sonic games. Revisiting it now was a lot of fun; the environments, especially, look fantastic, really translating a lot of the visual style of the 3D games of the time into a handheld title and I especially enjoyed being able to let loose with the boost and plough through enemies. Sadly, the polygonal models aren’t as appealing and I didn’t like how long-winded and repetitive the bosses were; sure, Blaze fights them in a different order but nothing else is different about them, which is very disappointing. Blaze, in general, was a bit of a let-down in this regard; she plays the same as Sonic except for a bit more airtime and her Zone order being mixed up, meaning the difficulty curve of her story is a bit out of whack yet she’s paradoxically easier to play as since you don’t have to worry about Special Stages. I like her design, but I do think her gameplay should’ve been altered to make her more like a “Hard Mode” compared to Sonic’s “Normal”. While the Special Stages can be finnicky, I liked that I was actually able to access and beat them all and the Act layouts, while sometimes a bit barren and strewn with instant-death traps, where much improved, showing the developers learned from their mistakes on the Game Boy Advance. I really liked the verticality of the game and how it used the dual screens in an interesting way, but this was a bit of a barebones presentation for such a powerful handheld. It’s great as a fun, back-to-basics return to Sonic’s roots, with just enough familiar and new mechanics to make things exciting, but there’s not a lot of incentive to revisit it once you’ve unlocked and beaten the “Extra” story and there are a few too many missed opportunities to really make Blaze’s gameplay as unique as her appearance.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Pretty Good
Was Sonic Rush a part of your Nintendo DS library back in the day? What did you think to the new boost mechanic and the way it utilised the dual screens? Were you a fan of Blaze, and were you also disappointed that she was basically a reskin of Sonic? What did you think to the game’s bosses and Special Stages? Did you ever defeat the Egg Salamander, and were you a fan of Eggman Nega? Which of Sonic’s handheld adventures is your favourite and how are you celebrating him this month? I’d love to know your thoughts and memories of Sonic Rush so leave them in the comments, or on my social media, and be sure to check out my other Sonic content.
As amusing detail in the Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987 to 1994) episode “The Pegasus” (Burton, 1994) is that the crew and children of the U.S.S. Enterprise-D celebrate “Captain Picard Day”on Stardate 47457.1, which roughly translates to this day, the 16th of June. They do this by producing drawings, models, and paintings that the bewildered Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) must then judge. I, however, am using this as another good excuse to delve into some more Picard and Next Generation content.
Released: 11 December 1998 Director: Jonathan Frakes Distributor: Paramount Pictures Budget: $70 million Stars: Patrick Stewart, F. Murray Abraham, Brent Spiner, Donna Murphy, Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis, and Anthony Zerbe
The Plot: When Captain Picard uncovers a Starfleet conspiracy to steal the rejuvenating properties of the peaceful Ba’ku, the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise-E rebels to protect the functionally immortal adopted inhabitants from being forcibly relocated by corrupt Admiral Matthew Dougherty (Zerbe) and the warmongering Ahdar Ru’afo (Abraham).
The Background: Once the popular Star Trek: The Next Generation series came to an end, the crew followed in their predecessors’ footsteps and moved on to the big screen. Although the highly anticipated meeting between Captain Picard and Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) failed to live up to the potential of its premise, it did well at the box office. However, while the sequel (one of my favourite Star Trek movies), Star Trek: First Contact(Frakes, 1996), outdid its predecessor considerably with its $30 million gross, Paramount wished to lighten to tone for the next film. After some deliberation, writer Michael Piller based the story around the quest for everlasting youth; one draft saw Lieutenant Commander Data (Spiner) killed off, and star Patrick Stewart was adamant that the script remain true to his arc from First Contact by fighting an ethical battle. Star Trek: Insurrection was the first Star Trek film to replace traditional model shots with CGI sequences, though fifty-five full sets were constructed to build the Ba’ku village and the Son’a were brought to life through extensive prosthetics and make-up effects. With a worldwide gross of over $117 million, Star Trek: Insurrection made a bit less than its predecessor and was met with mixed reviews. Critics noted that the film was little more than an extended episode of the TV series and a sluggish experience, though others were impressed by the performances and character moments. Of course, the Next Generation crew would return regardless for an unmitigatedcritical and commercial, leading to a franchise reboot in 2009 before the cast and crew finally reunited almost twenty years after their last adventure.
The Review: It’s a commonly held belief that all the odd-numbered Star Trek movies are bad, and all the even-numbered Star Trek movies are good; while this is naturally subjective (I prefer the fifth movie to the sixth, for example), I can’t deny that Star Trek: First Contact is one of my favourites in the franchise. After the snore-fest that was Star Trek Generations, First Contact delivered all the action and intrigue I’d expect from a Next Generation film so I was naturally excited to see what the crew would get up to in their next film. Imagine my disappointment to find that Star Trek: Insurrection was a more light-hearted, character-driven romp that was both a re-framing and a contradiction of the Next Generation episode “Journey’s End” (Allen, 1994). Don’t get me wrong, I fully understand that Star Trek is about much more than just space battles and action-orientated plots, but some of the worst episodes across the franchise are those that focus more on politics, philosophy, and slower, less engaging plots so I’ve often had a contentious relationship with this film. Ironically, Star Trek: Insurrection forgoes a lengthy title sequence and instead displays the titles while introducing us to the Ba’ku, who live a simple live free of technology. They’re people of the land who grow their own food and work together in peace and harmony, and have no idea that Starfleet are secretly monitoring them using special cloaked suits and a cloaked outpost. However, the Ba’ku are alerted to their presence when Lieutenant Commander Data suffers a sudden malfunction, attacking Starfleet’s officers and their Son’a allies, exposing them to the locals and terrifying children like Artim (Michael Welch).
When Data malfunctions, Picard investigates and uncovers a startling Starfleet conspiracy.
When we catch up with Data’s crewmates, they’re in the midst of welcoming a new, if technologically underdeveloped, race into the United Federation of Planets to help replenish the Federation’s losses at the hands of the Borg and the Dominion. This, sadly, just makes me wish that we’d had a Next Generation/Deep Space Nine (1993 to 1999) film that focused on the conflict with the Dominion. Not only was this a catastrophic and significant story in Star Trek lore, it also would’ve given the Deep Space Nine cast some time in the spotlight. Instead, we’re left with Picard’s awkward (if amusing) interactions with the relatively primitive Evora and an explanation for Lieutenant Commander Worf’s (Michael Dorn) presence that’s so weak the characters simply interrupt him rather than dwell on it. Luckily for Picard, Admiral Dougherty pulls him away from these diplomatic duties to request Data’s schematics; although Picard supplies this information, his concern for his friend and crewmate sees him disregard Dougherty’s suggestion to avoid coming in person because of “environmental concerns”. When they arrive, Data is said to have taken hostages and has stolen a Federation shuttle and Dougherty is under pressure from his Son’a ally, Ahdar Ru’afo, to destroy the android. Picard convinces the Admiral to let him and Worf attempt to shut Data down by distracting him with an amusing chorus from H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor (Sullivan and Gilbert, 1878), only to be embarrassed when Data’s “hostages” have been treated as guests by Anij (Murphy) and Sojef (Daniel Hugh Kelly). Picard is both disgusted to find that Starfleet have been wilfully disregarding the “Prime Directive” of non-interference by spying on the Ba’ku and surprised to find the Ba’ku are a warp-capable race with considerable knowledge of technology, they just choose not to employ it in favour of enjoying the tranquillity of their adopted world and the “metaphasic particles” that bestow rejuvenating effects upon them.
Both Picard and Data connect with the Ba’ku and strongly opposed Starfleet’s plans to relocate them.
Picard feels a renewed vigour thanks to the Ba’ku and an intense admiration for the culture, alongside an obvious attraction to Anji that drives him to learn more about their people and their journey. Sojef reveals that the Ba’ku were once on the verge of self-annihilation and fled to establish a peaceful sanctuary some 309 years previously, and Picard is disgusted by the plot to relocate the Ba’ku, who refuse to take up arms and lower themselves to war. Thankfully, Picard is outraged by the blatant disregard for Starfleet’s guiding principles and is on-hand to fight for their continued survival. He’s in awe of their unique affliction, which enables them to live longer, healthier lives, continuing an ongoing theme of his advancing years and mortality that’s laced throughout the Next Generation movies. Although tempted to bask in the Ba’ku’s power, Picard’s knowledge of human history drives him to oppose Dougherty’s schemes; aghast by the Federation Council’s claim upon the Ba’ku, Picard has an impassioned, defiant confrontation with Dougherty and essentially goes rogue from Starfleet to prevent past atrocities happening gain. While initially somewhat hostile towards Picard, Anji is unique amongst her people in that she has a fascination for technology; she’s horrified to discover that the Federation are planning to covertly take her people off-world but warms to Picard after being amused by his curiosity. She encourages him to take the time to embrace the moment, to stop analysing and just give himself fully to life, a perception heightened by the Ba’ku and which allows them (and, eventually, Picard) to effectively slow down a single moment in time in order to appreciate life and survive fatal injuries. Although he’s now capable of expressing emotions, Data remains as curious and socially awkward as ever. Star Trek: Insurrection explores new layers of his humanity and character growth through his relationship with Artim, a Ba’ku boy both fascinated and afraid of the android’s capabilities since he’s grown up devoid of technology. Although it takes some effort for Data to convince Artim that he’s not a threat, Artim eventually teaches Data the value of playing and having fun, allowing Data to experience a degree of the light-hearted focus of the film despite not being affected by the metaphasic particles. Data also proves invaluable in setting the plot in motion since it’s his brief malfunction that attracts Picard to the Ba’ku, is instrumental in getting Picard and Anji to safety by acting as a flotation device, and he who exposed the Federation plot.
The rejuvenating effects of Ba’ku affects the crew in emotional and comedic ways.
The Ba’ku’s metaphasic particles have a rejuvenating effect on the rest of the crew as well (strangely even before the Enterprise-E reaches Ba’ku), though it’s primarily played for laughs through Worf’s struggles withs Klingon boils and rising “aggressive tendencies” due to essentially suffering through Klingon puberty. The planet’s influence also gives Commander William Riker (Frakes) and Counsellor Deanna Troi (Sirtis) the chance to rediscover their passion for each other with carefree, adolescent playfulness. This not only sees Troi shave Riker’s trademark beard (in a sensual bubble bath, no less) after reacting with impish disgust to his facial hair and rekindle their romantic relationship, injecting a little flirtatious sexuality into the usually less romantically inclined Next Generation narrative. In addition to joining Picard’s rescue team, Doctor Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) reveals the extent of the planet’s rejuvenating effects to the captain through examinations of the crew, noting increased metabolism and energy from exposure to the metaphysic particles. She’s also the one who delivers crucial exposition into the Son’a, revealing that they and the Ba’ku are one and the same. Concerned for his friend’s welfare, Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) puts his engineering expertise and knowledge of Data’s systems to work to discover that the android was damaged by a Son’a phaser after he discovered the elaborate holoship they plan to use to smuggle the Ba’ku off the planet. Throughout the film, Geordi struggles with his cybernetic optical implants, but sadly misses out on exploring the emotional potential of his restored eyes in any depth; however, Burton expresses profound emotion in conveying Geordi’s appreciation at seeing a sunrise with his own eyes for the first time in his life. Although Picard fully intends to go solo in his mission to defend the Ba’ku, Worf, Data, Troi, and Crusher rebel alongside him while Riker and Geordi appeal to the Federation Council. Although reluctant to rely on technology to safeguard his people, Sojef mobilises a mass evacuation to the tunnels in the surrounding mountains while Picard and his crew defend them from the Son’a attack
Dougherty allies with the Son’a, unaware that they wish to destroy their benevolent kinsmen.
Dougherty has allied with the Son’a and their leader, Ahdar Ru’afo, in a bid to monitor and safely displace the Ba’ku so as to harness the metaphasic particles for wider use. This is an alliance of convenience since only the Son’a have the means to harvest the particles, but Dougherty sees Ba’ku as a chance to save and improve countless lives despite the fact that this will essentially leave the planet a barren wasteland. While Dougherty fully believes that he has every right to do this since the Ba’ku barely number six-hundred and aren’t indigenous to their world, he’s adamant that the mission falls within strict Federation procedures, meaning he values subterfuge and patience to avoid unnecessary attention and bloodshed. Ru’afo finds Dougherty’s insistence on rules and regulations first amusing and then increasingly aggravating since he believes it’s slowing things down when brute force would achieve the same means much faster. Riker and Troi’s research show the Son’a to an aggressive, oppressive, war-like race who conquer and subjugate others for riches and power, but Dougherty is forced to rely on their weapons and expertise since the Son’a are exiles from the Ba’ku people and thus offer unique insight into the planet’s metaphasic properties. Ru’afo’s frustration not only comes from his jealousy and desire to avenge himself on his former people, but also a desperate need to bask in the Ba’ku’s rejuvenating properties since he’s reached the limits of genetic manipulation and many of his people cannot afford to wait for the particles to naturally improve their condition. Ru’afo and his people are dangerous and driven, but essentially outcast adolescents lashing out at their parents; we see this in Ru’afo’s right-hand man, Gallatin (Gregg Henry), who begins to doubt their mission as Ru’afo’s mania increases. Played with an intense, psychotic glee by accomplished stage actor F. Murray Abraham, Ru’afo’s true nature is exposed as his aggravation increases. While he goes along with Dougherty’s plan to covertly relocate the Ba’ku, he convinces the Admiral to sign off on an attack on the Enterprise-E (in one of my favourite exchanges in the film) when they refuse to leave the area and violently ends their partnership when Dougherty and his “procedures” get in his way once too often, leaving Ru’afo free to harvest the metaphasic particles with destructive force.
The Nitty-Gritty: I mentioned earlier about the themes of mortality; the idea of Picard’s days being numbered and time being against him permeates the Next Generation films and is a clear holdover from the Original Series movies, where the advancing age of these characters was often at the forefront. Star Trek: Insurrection gives the whole crew the chance to rediscover their youth; renewed by the Ba’ku, there’s a playful energy on the Enterprise-E that sees even Picard revelling in his newfound energy. Picard, who has spent most of his life in space going from mission to mission, is severely tempted to slow down and settle on Ba’ku, whose people are free from the burdens of responsibility, and feels more alive than ever thanks to the planet’s influence. This is in stark contrast to the Son’a; exiled from the planet after a destructive rebellion, the Son’a are bitter and twisted and clinging to life by any means necessary, desperate to avenge themselves on their parents like raging children. Finally, a huge aspect of Ru’afo’s frustration with Federation procedures is predicated on his belief (and that of many during this time) that Starfleet, like Dougherty, is “old”. Extremists such as he recognise that the Federation has suffered crippling losses recently and is losing support, allowing him to aggressively influence the Admiral’s reluctant approval for the Son’a to intercept the Enterprise-E.
What little space action there is here is, like many effects, spoiled by poor CGI.
Star Trek: Insurrection does offer a few new visuals amidst its mostly middling plot; the opening sequence, in which Data attacks Starfleet personnel while partially cloaked, showcases some fun invisibility effects, as does the massive cloaked holoship that fascinates both Artim and Anji and reveals to Picard the blasphemous extent of Dougherty’s plan. However, I can’t help but notice that the ships and space action have taken a dramatic step back; CGI seems to have replaced all the traditional model shots and it looks down-right cartoonish at times, robbing Ru’afo’s flagship and its skirmishes with the Enterprise-E of a lot of their appeal. Once again Riker is left in command of the Enterprise-E and, once again, he’s hampered by environmental factors; the “Briar Patch” that surrounds Ba’ku makes space combat extremely dangerous, and the Son’a’s employment of a “subspace weapon” leaves Geordi with no choice but the eject the warp core to save the ship and Riker forced to manually highly volatile “metreon gas” to destroy the Son’a ships. However, most of action sequences take place on the planet’s surface; Picard and Data have a brief shoot-out with a Son’a guard aboard the holoship but the most prominent action sequences come as Picard and the others desperately defend the Ba’ku. This sees the village bombarded by phaser shots as the Son’a target the transport inhibitors, has Picard and the others fending off Son’a drones that forcibly transport the Ba’ku, and leaves Anij near death from the Son’a attack. Conversely, the Son’a are presented as one of the more unsettling Star Trek species; without the rejuvenating effects of Ba’ku, the Son’a have taken on a decrepit, almost mummified appearance. They’re forced to rely on genetic tampering and surprisingly gruesome cosmetic surgery to prolong their lives, warping and stretching their skin to the point where they are almost unrecognisable from their people, the Ba’ku, and often suffer from splits and lesions when they become too emotional. Although the CGI used to render their skin-stretching technology leaves a lot to be desired (especially compared to the more practical effects used to achieve the same means), it does result in a gruesome death scene for Admiral Dougherty when Ru’afo forces him into the machine and tears his face apart.
Although tempted to stay after Ru’afo’s defeat, Picard chooses to continue fighting oppression.
Despite Picard, Worf, and Data’s best efforts to get the Ba’ku to safety, most of them are abducted by the Son’a, including Anij and Picard, who’s more than ready to face a court martial if it means exposing Dougherty’s plot and reveals that the Admiral has gotten mixed up in a blood feud between the exiled Son’a. With the misguided Dougherty dead, Ru’afo orders the deployment of the “collector” (a set of sadly laughable CGI solar sails), despite Gallatin’s reservations about annihilating their former people. Picard appeals to Gallatin’s humanity and convinces him to aid him in opposing Ru’afo’s plan. Data then distracts Ru’afo with tachyon bursts to his flagship, forcing Ru’afo to reset their shield frequencies to avoid being destroyed by the “thermolytic reaction” the collector will produce. This creates an opening for an entertaining deception that sees the Son’a transported, en masse, to the holoship and momentarily fooled by a holographic simulation. Ru’afo quickly discovers the trick and is enraged; he transports himself directly to the collector to restart the process and Picard is forced to confront him, one-on-one, in the collector’s surprisingly sparse control room. After giving Ru’afo the runaround, Picard prepares to meet his end to destroy the collector and save the Ba’ku; luckily, the Enterprise-E arrives just in time to beam him to safety, leaving Ru’afo to go up in flames with his diabolical aspirations. Thanks to Riker, Starfleet halt the Ba’ku relocation plan and launch a full investigation and the remaining Son’a surrender, allowing Gallatin to bashfully reunite with his parents on Ba’ku. Although tempted to stay on the planet, and with Anij, Picard vows to continue protecting the universe from threats both foreign and domestic to ensure that the Federation doesn’t lose its way and repeat the worst mistakes of human history, and the crew return to the ship victorious, reinvigorated, and ready for their next adventure.
The Summary: Even now, I remain conflicted about Star Trek: Insurrection: on the one hand, it’s a decent, surprisingly emotional adventure for the crew and a far more light-hearted escapade than the last film but, on the other hand, Star Trek: First Contact set a pretty high standard and Insurrection doesn’t come close to matching it. Fundamentally, they are two different films, however, just as different episodes of Star Trek told different stories and had different aspects that made them appealing. Some prefer the character-based stories; others the diplomatic stories or ruminations on age, humanity, and morality; and others prefer the more action-orientated episodes. For me, a Star Trek movie needs to hit all of those beats to have the most appeal and, while Star Trek: Insurrection does try to do this, it falls a little flat for me and comes across as a far too subdued production as a result. It’s a shame as there are some interesting elements here; the continued narrative of Picard’s age, for one thing, and the presentation of Starfleet as a less benevolent entity. Picard shines through his staunch defence of the Ba’ku but it’s interesting to learn that he had completely different stance on the same matter in “Journey’s End”. I liked seeing the crew be affected by the metaphasic particles, even if it is largely just played for laughs, and it’s mildly adorable to see Data explore what it means to be a child and Picard to consider settling down, even if neither of these plot points carry through to the next film. F. Murray Abraham was great as the conniving, desperate Ru’afo; I loved his frustration with Dougherty and his rules, but it’s not enough to salvage the film for me, especially when you remember the lacklustre special effects. Ultimately, it’s a more subdued and grounded Star Trek adventure but one I rarely find myself revisiting or really thinking about, so I’d still choose to watch Star Trek: First Contact any day.
My Rating:
⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.
Could Be Better
What did you think to Star Trek: Insurrection? Where does it rank against the other Next Generation and Star Trek films for you? Do you prefer its more light-hearted, grounded story? What did you think to Ru’afo and the gruesome depiction of the Son’a? Did you enjoy seeing the crew be more playful and relaxed? What did you think to the idea that Starfleet would so brazenly abandon their principles? How are you celebrating Captain Picard Day today? Whatever your thoughts on Star Trek: Insurrection, or Star Trek in general, go ahead and share them below and be sure to check out my other Star Trek reviews.
Released: 1992 Developer: Teeny Weeny Games Also Available For: Game Gear and Master System
A Brief Background: Predator(McTiernan, 1987) was birthed from a simple concept: Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) versus aliens! However, it soon evolved into a B-movie with a budget that became a critical and commercial hit. Predator was accompanied by a middling and bizarre sidescrolling shooter that was a far cry from the celebratedaction brawlers and crossover shooters it would later inspire. Although development of the under-ratedPredator 2(Hopkins, 1990) took some time and resulted in a less profitable, but more critically lauded, movie that not only developed a cult following but was also followed by a videogame adaptation. There were actually two Predator 2 videogames: the first came in 1990 and was a frustrating rail shooter released for Amiga, Atari ST, DOS, and other platforms, and the second was this semi-isometric shooter which released exclusively for SEGA’s consoles. Though largely regarded as merely an average shooter, Predator 2 made it into my Mega Drive library and was the last solo Predator videogame for twelve years. Although the fan-created “Predator Day” clashes with “Superman Day”, I still like to celebrate the Predator franchise around this time so this seems like a good excuse to see what this videogame has to offer.
The Review: I’m doing things a little differently for this review of the Mega Drive adaptation of Predator 2; it’s mainly getting a shorter review because it’s not a very lengthy game so I don’t see the point in dragging things out that much, but I was also able to finish it so I want to discuss it and give it a proper rating. Predator 2 is primarily a semi-isometric arcade-style shooter that looks and plays a lot like the amazing Smash TV (Williams, 1990), with some levels in Predator 2 even adopting more of a top-down perspective. Like the movie, the game follows the efforts of hardened Lieutenant Mike Harrigan in quelling the violent gangs of Los Angeles and you basically do this by blasting everything and everyone in sight. This is accomplished by tapping or holding A to fire your current weapon; you can use B to lock Mike in place to open fire on specific targets, but I found it much more beneficial to keep moving as there are a lot of respawning enemies in Predator 2’s maps. C selects a different weapon and there’s a decent range to pick from apart from your default rifle, which has unlimited ammo: you can grab a scattergun for a spread shot, a ridiculously powerful sawed-off shotgun, grenades, and eventually make use of the Predator’s own weapons, such as a circling smart disc, a spear, and a net to pin enemies to walls or push them back. All of these additional weapons have limited ammo so, despite them being quite prominent, they’re best saved for when you need to destroy taxis, large trucks, or battle the Predators.
Blast through city scum and rescue hostages before the Predator can strike!
Predator 2 sees you shooting your way across seven levels, all ripped right out of the movie; your main objective is to rescue a certain number of hostages, with a helpful onscreen arrow and cries for help pointing you in the right direction, before the Predator can kill them with its plasma cannon. You’ll know when one’s in immediate danger as you’ll see the familiar red dots of the Predator’s aiming reticule appear onscreen. A red skull icon will also pop up to show when a hostage has been killed and the game’s difficulty is directly tied to how many hostages can be lost before your mission fails as well as how many shots the flak jacket power-up protects you from. On “Easy”, four hostages can be lost and Mike can take eight hits; on “Normal”, its three and six, and on “Hard” it’s one and four, meaning the game can get pretty challenging on harder difficulties as enemies constantly spawn into the map and locations can get a bit maze-like at times. Although there isn’t a timer in the strictest sense, there kind of is; you’re in a race against the Predator to find those hostages and, after you have freed them all (which isn’t tracked in any way; you’ll only know when you’ve succeeded, failed, and how many have died, not how many are left), you need to hurry to the exit before the Predator one-shots you with its cannon. Every enemy you gun down drops a variety of drug-related paraphernalia (such as bags of cocaine, syringes, and pill bottles) that you can pick up for points. Although this is in keeping with the movie, I was still a bit surprised to see drugs make it into a home console game! You can also grab the aforementioned flak jacket to reduce damage taken and restore your health and a first aid kit for an extra life, but it’s game over with no continues once all your lives are exhausted. Thankfully, the game is super generous with its checkpoints; if you rescue all the hostages and then die, for example, you don’t have to find them all again. After clearing each level, you’ll also get a password that you can use to continue at a later date and there are also passwords to award infinite health (though the Predator can still kill you) and other perks.
Although its difficulty is often unfair, Predator 2‘s environments are surprisingly detailed.
Although the character and enemy sprites aren’t very detailed and have very little animation (most enemies just walk into you to damage you), the environments are surprisingly complex. Enemies pop up from manholes, come through doors, and Predators decloak in each environment, which sometimes bars your progress with taxis that need to be destroyed and barriers that’ll only lower when you’ve rescued enough hostages. I really enjoyed level 2, 4, and 7, which have you exploring the city rooftops, subway, and the Predator ship, respectively. There’s some fun, quasi-3D effects happening on the rooftops and a lot of depth given to the skyscrapers by the isometric perspective; enemies pour out of heavily-graffitied subway trains in the subway and the Predator will even take shots at you from atop the trains; and the spaceship is unexpectedly faithful to the movie in its details with its mist-covered floor, alien architecture, and even trophy walls featuring the Predator’s previous victories. I think I disliked the levels that take place on the streets and in the slaughterhouse the most; the streets can get very repetitive and it’s surprisingly easy to get lost with the limited perspective and wide-open areas. The slaughterhouse, while suitably gory and full of hanging carcasses, was quite frustrating as it’s a very large map with multiple vertical levels so it can be a bit hectic trying to rescue all of those hostages. As much as I enjoyed the visuals of Predator 2, which also features an impressive thermal image of Los Angeles on the title screen and some pixelated movie stills before each level, the sound was really jarring; the game is full of this strangely upbeat music that really doesn’t fit with the franchise (though it does keep your adrenaline pumping). There’s also no in-game story text and the ending is really anti-climactic, but I liked how a big image of the Predator appears in the foreground at times to let you know to hurry to the exit. The game over screen features the Predator standing on a rooftop holding a skull and spine (presumably Mike’s), and Mike explodes into bloody chunks if he gets blasted by the Predator’s cannon so, overall, the game was visually impressive considering how simple it can be.
The Predator hounds you throughout the game but beating it gives you access to its weapons.
The streets are littered with the scum of society; punks are everywhere and will attack you with their bare hands and baseball bats or shoot from a far. Enemies also ride around on motorcycles and in taxi cars or blockade your progress and the exit in large trucks. These latter often serve as mini bosses: three enemies will constantly pop out from the cab and trailer of the truck to blast at you and it can take quite a few shots to blow these trucks up, though you do get a hefty supply of drugs to add to your score as a reward. Enemy choppers also fly overhead and shoot at you and can be found on the ground to fulfil very much the same role, similar to the taxi cabs that you’ll have to destroy to reach power-ups, hostages, or exits, but the sheer number of enemies that swarm the screen can compound these encounters. You’ll also encounter the Predator as a boss on numerous occasions; the first time you battle it, its at the end of the subway and from a top-down perspective. The Predator crackles with electricity when hit, fires bolts from its shoulder cannon, and pins you against the far wall with its net but you’ll be rewarded with its smart disc upon defeating it. In level 5, the Predator appears multiple times to block your progress; this time, you fight from a side-on perspective and it also uses its smart disc, which rotates around almost as a damaging shield. In level 7, Predators act as the primary enemy aboard the alien ship; they’ll decloak, blast at you, toss out multiple nets, throw their spears, and have smart discs circling about the place but will run off or cloak after a few hits. You’ll also have to watch out for wall cannons and the ship’s labyrinthine layout, but if you’re able to rescue all twenty-five hostages and survive the gauntlet of enemies and projectiles, you’ll get into a final showdown with a bigger, unmasked Predator. This also takes place from a top-down perspective and isn’t really any different from previous battles except that the Predator ungainly plods about and managed to kill me even with the infinite health cheat activated! Once defeated, you’re told to escape the ship before it takes off but this simply plays out in a cutscene; you then enter your high score and that’s it, game over, move on.
The Summary: If it wasn’t clear in my review, I played through Predator 2 with the infinite life cheat activated, which admittedly accounts for how quickly and easily I was able to beat it. However, even with this cheat enabled, you need to have some level of speed and skill to find all those hostages and you’re still capable of dying, but even with it on and a brief playthrough with it off I can see how unfairly difficult Predator 2 can be. The sheer influx of enemies and how quickly they can drain your life bar is astounding, quite frankly. This maybe wouldn’t be so bad if rescuing hostages restored some health or if you had infinite continues, but that’s not the case so you really need to be quick, have a firm understanding of each location, and conserve your more powerful ammunition just to power through the gaggle of baddies much less take on the super strong (and ridiculously cheap) Predator. However, I really enjoyed this game; it was short and simple and a bit mindless, but the environments are surprisingly detailed and fun to run around in and its enjoyable to blast druggies into bloody chunks and outrun the Predator’s reticule. I do think that the game needed a little bit more to it, though; perhaps some racing levels or some kind of bonus stage, maybe a two-player mode where a friend plays alongside you as Mike’s partner, Detective Danny Archuleta, or definitely including Special Agent Peter Keyes in an antagonistic role. Still, this was a harmless enough experience; it works as an action-orientated shoot-‘em-up and I enjoyed the tension of having to outrace the Predator to its targets. However, it gets very messy and cheap with enemies and health-draining hazards very quickly so I can understand why some would be put off by it, but take my advice and slap on the infinite health cheat and this is a decent way to spend about half an hour of your time.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Pretty Good
Have you ever played the Mega Driver version of Predator 2? What did you think to the game’s perspective and action-oriented gameplay? Did you struggle with the game’s difficulty, or did you enjoy the challenge out avoiding the Predator and rescuing all the hostages? Which Predator game is your favourite? How are you celebrating the action/horror franchise this month? Whatever your thoughts on Predator 2, please feel free to leave a comment below or on my social media and go check out my other Predator content.
In 2013, DC Comics declared the 12th of June as “Superman Day”, a day for fans of the Man of Steel the world over to celebrate Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman, the superpowered virtue of “Truth, Justice, and the American Way” who is widely regarded as the first ever costumed superhero.
Story Title: “Europe at War (Part II)”” Published: April 1940 Writer: Jerry Siegel (credited as “Jerome Siegel”) Artist: Joe Shuster
Story Title: “How Luthor Met Superboy!” Published: April 1960 Writer: Jerry Siegel (credited as “Jerome Siegel”) Artist: Al Plastino
The Background: Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, sons of Jewish immigrants, first met in 1932 at Glenville High School. By the time they were sixteen, they were already accomplished comics creators and, in 1933, they thought up their first concept for a superman with “The Reign of the Super-Man”. This story depicted a bald mad scientist who attempted to dominate others with his telepathic powers. Though a far cry from the most influential fictional character in American history, the duo would revisit the concept of a bald mad scientist in 1940. Originally known only as “Luthor”, Alexander “Lex” Luthor would evolve beyond his relatively childish reasons for hating the Man of Steel and become Superman’s arch-nemesis. While Kryptonite might weaken or kill Superman, Doomsday and Darkseid might pummel him, and Vril Dox/Brainiac might threaten his adopted world, Lex Luthor has become infamous for pitting his mind against the Man of Steel. Whether a scheming industrialist with seemingly unlimited resources, an egomaniacal megalomaniac, or enjoying the power of the United States Presidency, Luthor has created robots, patsies, mech suits, and even cheated death itself and had a brief stint as a superhero, all with the aim of acquiring the power to either humble, humiliate, or destroy his alien foe. As Superman’s most complex and enduring villain, Lex Luthor is a staple of any Superman adaptation. Clancy Brown and Michael Rosenbaum are considered two of the finest to portray the character, though it was Gene Hackman who set a high standard for all future portrayals of DC Comics’ most conniving criminal mastermind.
The Review: The first appearance of a dangerous maniac named Luthor occurred in the second part of the “Europe at War” storyline. As established in the previous issue, the “lesser nation” of Galonia was suddenly attacked by Toran and reporters Clark Kent and Lois Lane were sent to cover the conflict as war correspondents. While sailing to Luxor, Clark was stunned to find beautiful actress Lita Laverne was a spy working alongside the Toranian Council of War to target the neutral vessel. Action Comics #23 picks up with the Man of Steel defending Belgaria from incoming shells before he (as Clark) and Lois meet with bald General Lupo, who’s confident that the war will end soon as a contingent of Toran officials are on their way to peacefully negotiate. Clark switches to Superman and flies ahead to take some photos of their arrival, only to witness the convoy be destroyed, which causes hostilities to renew. After sending an update to the Daily Star, Clark questions General Lupo, who insists that the Galonians would never be so deceitful, only to then make a suspicious phone call, completely unaware of Clark’s super-hearing. Suspicious, Superman trails General Lupo to a mountain range, where he disappears into thin air! Using his incredible strength, Superman rips open the mountainside and discovers a hidden passageway, where General Lupo is transfixed by a huge slab of rock, which bursts into hypnotic lights and a commanding face. General Lupo is astonished when Superman confronts him and, though he fears his disembodied master, desperately begs off being smushed against a wall and reveals that the mysterious “Luthor” is orchestrating events to engulf both nations in bloody warfare.
Superman is perplexed by the mysterious Luthor, who plots to take over the word through chaos.
However, when Superman demands to know who “Luthor” is, green lasers suddenly burst from the wall-face and “[slice] the General in half”! Naturally, Superman is immune to the attack; he destroys the cave and escapes just in time to spy Luthor’s bombers flying overhead. He then destroys them all using his super strength and a mounted gun before warning both sides (as Clark) about Luthor’s machination. Although they don’t believe him since he has no proof, this brings him to Luthor’s attention, who orders Clark eliminated to keep him from talking. Conveniently, Lois happens to be looking for Clark in his hotel room, so Luthor’s minions grab her instead, transporting her to Luthor’s secret base, which is suspended from a gigantic dirigible “high above” Earth’s atmosphere! Although unimpressed that his goons failed him so badly, Luthor – a red-haired despot in a matching robe – nevertheless interrogates Lois, only to be met with confusion and sarcasm. While in her cell, Lois notices that her guard, a surly bald man, isn’t under Luthor’s hypnotic influence. She then threatens to expose him to Luthor unless he informs Clark about her capture and the guard is so terrified of his leader’s reprisals that he readily agrees. After reading the note, Clark flies into action as Superman, takes out a couple of guards, and bursts through a brick wall to rescue Lois. However, when Luthor threatens to harm Lois, Superman readily submits to parlay with the maniac, who describes himself as having the “brain of a super-genius” and plans to use his “scientific miracles” to plunge the world’s nations into conflict, weakening them so that he can assume control.
Superman is revealed to have known Luthor as a youth when he adventured as Superboy.
Luthor demonstrates his ability by strapping Superman up and bombarding him with an intense concentration of rays. However, Luthor grows tired of this and prepares to finish Superman off with a burst of deadly exposure, only for Superman to suddenly break free, turn the machine against Luthor’s underlings, shrug off its effects, and destroy the machine. After unsuccessfully trying to barter for his life, Luthor is equally unable to keep Superman from trashing the dirigible’s controls, sending it (and, presumably, all its inhabitants) crashing to the ground in a fiery blaze. The sight of the dirigible’s destruction is enough proof for the nation’s representatives to believe Clark’s story and the conflict comes to a peaceful resolution, with Clark praised for breaking the scoop and Lois eagerly awaiting her next encounter with the dashing Superman. Although Superman clashed with Luthor many times after this, it would take nearly twenty years to delve into Luthor’s origins, a story that took place during Superman’s youth in Smallville, Kansas, as Superboy. In this story, the young Lex Luthor has just moved to Smallville and, being the friendly youth that he is, Superboy flies in to say hello. Conveniently, a Kryptonite meteor lands right next to the Boy of Steel and immediately begins weakening him. Luckily, Luthor and his trusty tractor are on hand to save Superboy and the two quickly become friends. Luthor is a Superboy fanboy, as evidenced by his shrine to the young superhero, and a budding scientist, with ambitions to become a world-famous scientist. In gratitude for his help, Superboy builds a modern laboratory for his new friend using nothing by junk metal and his super speed and strength, which he fills with rare Earth materials for Luthor to experiment with. Although Superboy expresses caution since the chemicals are unknown and Luthor’s young and inexperienced, Luthor promises to be careful and the two part as friends, with Superboy owing his life to Lex and Luthor astounded to have befriended the Boy of Steel. Luthor wastes no time in getting to work, feverishly working with the chemicals over a period of weeks and producing a crude protoplasmic lifeform that he’s so excited by that he immediately sets to work coming up with a Kryptonite antidote so his new buddy won’t ever have to worry about that pesky substance threatening his health.
Embittered after a lab accident, the once-kindly Luthor turns against his former friend.
Luthor retrieves the meteor from the lake, takes a few samples, and creates the antidote in no time at all. However, in his excitement, he accidentally knocks over a chemical flask that starts a toxic fire in his lab. Luckily, Superboy happens to be passing by and hears Luthor’s screams for help; he uses his super breath to put out the flames, accidentally blowing a jar of acid against the antidote and destroying it. To make matters worse, the gas fumes caused Luthor to go bald and destroy his weird protoplasmic creature, destroying all his hard work. And, while Superboy is apologetic and insists it was an accident, Luthor accuses him of being jealous of his genius and purposely sabotaging him, instantly flipping from a kindly boy to an embittered youth in the blink of an eye. Superboy offers to help him rediscover his experiments, and insists he’d never harm the boy who saved his life, but Luthor’s having none of it. He feigns sorrow to get rid of Superboy and then flies into a rage, destroying his Superboy memorabilia and plotting to avenge himself on the Boy of Steel with the last sliver of protoplasm. The next morning, Luthor has Superboy drink the “antidote” and then accompany him into space, protected by a space-globe Superboy brought along, to observe its effects. At first, Superboy is delighted to find he’s no longer vulnerable to the Kryptonite meteors floating around in space, completely unaware that they’re actually “Fool’s Kryptonite”, a ruse even Krypto the Superdog can see from a mile away. As soon as they return to Earth, Luthor spitefully reveals it was all a ruse and that the antidote is only temporary and vows to be more admired, and more famous, than Superboy, who flies away despondent and commenting that Luthor needs “a father’s guidance”.
When his attempts to outshine Superboy fail, Luthor resorts to attempted murder.
Some weeks later, Luthor approaches Smallville’s mayor with a fantastic invention, a weather-tower to keep the town perpetually warm by reflecting the sun’s rays, and the mayor is so impressed by his pitch that he approves it immediately. Both Superboy and the townsfolk are in awe and admiration of Luthor’s ingenious invention, which spares them the bitter chill of winter, and Superboy quietly wishes his former friend all the success in the world, harbouring no ill-will towards him. However, young Clark is alarmed when he notices that his adopted parents – Jonathan and Martha Kent – suffer from the intense heat. He’s even more startled when he sees the weather-tower is causing fires to break out all over the town, endangering its people, so he uses his freeze breath to cool the construction down, which effectively destroys it. Smallville’s populace are less than thrilled and openly mock Luthor in the street for putting their lives at risk with his crazy inventions, which he bitterly blames on Superboy. To atone, Luthor toils away for many months and produces seeds that promise to near-instantly produce fruit trees for the local farmers; although people are sceptical, they’re astounded when Luthor’s claims come true, but their elation soon turns to horror when simple rain turns the trees into marauding giants! Superboy deals with the issue, chalking it up to carelessness on Luthor’s part rather than maliciousness, but Luthor’s reputation is further tarnished and his hatred for Superboy only grows. This sees him unearth the Kryptonite meteor and lure the Boy of Steel into a trap and taunt the dying Superboy with the only antidote to his slow, painful death. In his arrogance, Luthor fails to remember Superboy’s super-breath, which allows him to suck up the antidote vial and save his own life, but Superboy chooses to consider them even rather than acquiesce to Luthor’s demands to be arrested. Out of respect for the friendship they once had and believing that Luthor could be a force for good, Superboy lets Luthor go, with the obsessed youth swearing to not only surpass the Boy of Steel’s popularity but destroy him in the process!
The Summary: Let’s tackle each story in turn here, shall we? “Europe at War (Part II)” is a typically Golden Age Superman story, featuring simplistic dialogue, illustrations, and concepts. Part of me enjoys this simpler time, when fantastical things were just taken as the norm and superhero plots were both grounded and almost comical in their content, such as Superman threatening to bash General Lupo against a rock wall and presumably casually murdering countless of Luthor’s minions. It’s amusing to read as I find myself questioning why Clark warned of Luthor’s threat in his civilian guise, rather than as Superman, and seeing him use a machine gun rather than his heat vision since he didn’t have his full gamut of powers at that point. The core concept of “Europe at War (Part II)” actually has some legs to it: two nations being manipulated into all-out war with spies, heroes, and villains on both sides, and the mysterious Luthor pulling the strings behind the scenes and offering a challenge Superman can’t settle with his fists since he needs to get to the root of the problem. Unfortunately, a lot of its concepts are left ambiguous or flat-out forgotten; apparently, Luthor can hypnotise people into following his every command, yet he only demonstrates this power once and doesn’t think to use it on Lois or Superman (or the nation’s leaders). Not to mention that Luthor’s secret base is an elaborate castle suspended from a dirigible, but no one noticed it, and why was that one bald guard immune to Luthor’s control? It’s not explained, but the number of prominent bald henchmen at Luthor’s command makes me wonder if that particular guard was actually the real Luthor and the red-haired leader was merely a patsy.
Neither story provides a particularly engrossing or accurate portrayal of Luthor.
And then we have “How Luthor Met Superboy”, a story that’s more influential than you think since it’s basically the inspiration for the entire series of Smallville(2001 to 2011). This is such a weird story that it almost reads like an elaborate dream sequence or fantasy story that recasts Superboy and Luthor as the best of friends thanks to a ridiculously convenient Kryptonite meteor (and don’t even get me started on the influx of similar meteors in near-Earth space!) People often criticise Superman for being infallible and unrelatable, but Superboy is the kindest, most trusting, and most understanding youth you’ll ever meet! He sees the best in Luthor all throughout the story, never once saying or thinking a bad word against him until he (as in Superboy) is dying at the young scientist’s feet and even then Superboy’s first act after saving himself is to forgive his former friend and hope that he turns his obsession to good deeds. It almost descends into parody as the story progresses, with Superboy genuinely believing that Luthor is trying to do good and has met with misfortune, and Luthor equally refusing to even think that he could be to blame for anything since he’s so embittered towards Superboy. It’s so strange seeing Luthor flip from a kindly boy to a venge-seeking maniac after the fire. Like, I get being mad at losing all your work and your hair but it’s a bit of a leap to blame Superboy. I think the implication is that the strange chemicals and toxic fumes altered Luthor’s mind in some way, though that’s not really explicitly stated (or even implied in the story text), but I think Luthor’s elaborate plot to cruelly taunt Superboy with the promise of a Kryptonite cure and to oust his popularity, to say nothing of his quick temper following the accident, go a long way towards suggesting that.
Though amusing footnotes, both stories are fantastical nonsense unbecoming of Luthor.
Truthfully, neither story really gives the best impression of Luthor. It can be argued that the “Luthor” present in “Europe at War (Part II)” isn’t even Lex Luthor since he has hair, for one thing, and possesses hypnotic abilities. Sure, it could be a wig and his scientific acumen could account for the hypnosis and other inconsistencies, but he doesn’t really exude “Lex Luthor” energy and seems to simply be a maniacal, supervillain-esque third party for Superman to flex his muscles against once he stops his elaborate plot. “How Luthor Met Superboy” tries to flesh out Luthor’s character by providing him with a semi-sympathetic backstory and emotional connection to his hated nemesis, but ultimately reads like a non-canon adventure as I’m pretty sure no stories prior to his every hinted at the two knowing each other as youths. It is interesting seeing Luthor as an arrogant young scientist who idolises Superboy and is inspired to be a great scientist because of the Boy of Steel, it’s just a shame that the execution falters. Ultimately, Luthor’s hatred comes from losing his hair, rather than genuinely building towards a resentment towards Superboy or Luthor’s ego getting the better of him. Like, what was up with that protoplasmic creature? That could’ve factored into things, showing that Luthor is messing with things he doesn’t understand and his inability to recognise his limits and failings. Like, I would’ve maybe had Luthor build his weather-tower and plant those seeds before he loses his hair, so that when they go bad and Superboy has to intervene it adds to his growing bitterness towards Superboy for “stealing his thunder”. In the end, both stories can be largely ignored in the grand scheme of things and you wouldn’t be missing anything. They’re historical footnotes and amusing curios in Lex Luthor’s history, but you can simply skip to stories like “The Man of Steel” (Byrne, et al, 1986), “Birthright” (Waid, et al, 2003 to 2004), “Lex Luthor: Man of Steel” (Azzarello, et al, 2005), or “Secret Origin” (Johns, et al, 2009 to 2010) for better, more concise, and more in-depth explorations of Luthor and his complex relationship with Superman.
Action Comics #23 Rating:
Adventure Comics #271 Rating:
⭐
Rating: 1 out of 5.
⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.
Terrible
Could Be Better
Have you ever read these Luthor-centric stories? Do you like the idea of the two having been childhood friends? What are some of your favourite Luthor moments and stories? How are you celebrating Superman Day today? Whatever you think, feel free to share your opinion and thoughts on Superman in the comments below.
Sonic the Hedgehog was first introduced to gamers worldwide on June 23 1991 and, since then, has become not only SEGA’s most enduring and popular character but also a beloved videogame icon and, in keeping with tradition, I have been dedicating the entire month to celebrating SEGA’s supersonic mascot.
Released: 20 December 2001 Developer: Dimps / Sonic Team Also Available For: Android, Nintendo Wii U (Virtual Console, Japan only), J2ME, and N-Gage
The Plot: Doctor Eggman has returned, with his sights once again set on enslaving woodland creatures into metallic Badniks, gathering the legendary Chaos Emeralds, and constructing an elaborate space base! Luckily, Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends – Miles “Tails” Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, and Amy Rose – are on hand to oppose his evil schemes once more.
Gameplay: When Sonic Advance released, the Sonic franchise was firmly in the midst of its 3D era. 2D, sidescrolling action-based platformers were out for the Blue Blur and elaborate, action-packed 3D rollercoasters with varying gameplay were in, so Sonic Advance was a bit of a throwback to Sonic’s classic 2D roots, and in many ways the long awaited fourth entry in the classic series. In addition to the plot being as basic as the classics, the control scheme is immediately familiar to anyone who’s played Sonic 3 & Knuckles: A lets you jump, pressing it again initiates a jump attack or move, you use up and down to scroll the screen and duck under obstacles, and press down and A to charge up a Spin Dash for a speed boost. You can pick from four characters – with Amy Rose making her playable debut in a sidescrolling game – and journey through seven levels (known as “Zones”), with two final Zones awaiting after clearing certain objectives, with each Zone split into two parts (known as “Acts”) and featuring a boss battle in each Act 2. Players must collect Golden Rings to stay alive, with the glittering Rings scattering when you’re hit so you can collect them again, and race against a ten-minute time limit, which can thankfully be disabled in the “Options” menu. This menu also allows you to pick between “Easy” or “Normal” mode (with the differences I believe boiling down to how many lives you start with and the amount of hits bosses take), configure the control scheme, and select different language options, though there is no story text to worry about here as everything’s taking its cue more from the 2D games than the 3D ones when it comes to storytelling.
Each character’s unique abilities changes the way you play and the game’s difficulty.
So far, so familiar. However, gameplay changes depending on which character you pick, with Tails effectively being the easy mode thanks to his propeller-like twin tails and Amy being the hard mode since she doesn’t curl into a ball. Each character has different abilities to traverse Zones and take out enemies; you can perform Sonic’s Insta-Shield by pressing A twice, pressing B sees him perform a sliding ground somersault, and you can perform a back jump by pressing B and then A (though I found little use for this). Sonic can also pull off a limited and frankly useless mid-air dash by pressing right and A twice and is somewhat limited in his options since he can’t fly or climb, so his gameplay is more about speed and ploughing head-first through obstacles. Tails can, of course, fly for a short time by pressing A twice, and his tails will often inflict damage on whatever’s underneath him. When in water, Tails can doggy paddle indefinitely by tapping A and pressing B on solid ground sees him whip his twin tails in a melee attack. Knuckles has a shorter jump height but makes up for it by being able to glide with a double tap of A and cling to and climb most walls. He can also swim by tapping A and perform a standing three-punch combo with A, though I didn’t have much use for this as the regular spinning and rolling methods work fine. Amy, however, is all about mele attacks; she can’t curl into a ball or Spin Dash, making her much more vulnerable, but she is armed with her signature Piko-Piko Hammer. You can smash enemies with B, use down and B to spring into the air with a hammer-assisted jump, and hold down and B when jumping to spin with the hammer, all of which is quite slow and clunky and makes battling bosses quite a chore for Amy. Amy can also take a giant leap by pressing down and A and can slide ahead by pressing right and B, but she sure does present a significant challenge even for seasoned players since she lacks all the basic Sonic abilities. Sonic and Amy can also hop on rails to do a bit of grinding and each character can grab overhead poles to shimmy along, bounce to higher areas using springs, run through loops, smash boulders or ice to occasionally reveal item capsules or springs, and must grab air bubbles to keep from drowning when underwater.
Gimmicks old and new are far more fun than the annoying enemy and hazard placement.
In terms of gameplay and stage design, Sonic Advance keeps things quite safe: Zones start off pretty simple, utilising recycled gimmicks and certain aesthetic themes from the classic games, but things become very cheap, frustrating, and difficult as the game progresses. You’ll be hopping to moving and temporary platforms, avoiding spikes, and trying to stick to the higher, faster path in most Acts but you’ll also be forced into the sluggish water, have to ride zip-wires, be blown into the air by fans, and pinball all over the place on bumpers. At first, enemies and hazards aren’t too difficult to avoid; the Game Boy Advance screen does limit your view a lot of the time, meaning it’s easy to jump or spring head-first into a projectile or unseen Badnik, but later Zones like Angel Island Zone and Egg Rocket Zone can easily see you jump, fall, or be blasted into a bottomless pit for a cheap death. Boost pads are used sparingly, thankfully, but are present, as are tunnels, air cannons, spinning spiked platforms, conveyer belts, bouncy platforms (and clouds), and lava pits. Ice Mountain Zone sees you riding iceberg floats, Angel Island Zone incorporates rolling boulders and sand gimmicks from Sandopolis Zone, and Egg Rocket Zone splits apart as you traverse higher, taking you further into the atmosphere, and briefly utilises the Death Egg Zone’s gravity mechanic. Claws will carry you across gaps, you’ll need to run on spheres to reach higher platforms, you’ll be jumping to swinging chained hooks, riding jets and streams of water, and dodging crushing hazards and warping across Zones. A lot of it is immediately familiar to long-time Sonic gamers, with just enough of a twist to make it more unique, but much of the game relies on slower, strategic platforming, blind jumps, or cheap deaths and enemy placements. Luckily, you can still hit lampposts to create a checkpoint if you die; collecting 100 Rings grants you an extra life, and there are 1-Up capsules hidden about the place. However, I actually found myself playing on zero lives at one point, which rarely, if ever, happens to me when playing 2D Sonic games and speaks to how challenging the later Zones can be largely due to placing Badniks, spikes, and bottomless pits just out of view to mess up your run.
Graphics and Sound: There’s a reason I used the Sonic Advance sprites and backgrounds back when I used to make sprite comics; they are absolutely gorgeous and really capture the feel of the Sonic Adventure games and artwork. Sonic and his friends are full of life and personality, more than ever before; not only to they perform idle poses when left alone, urging you to get moving, but that also jig about with enthusiasm whenever you leave them standing. Although the introduction cutscene is extremely basic and focuses on the characters rather than delivering any kind of ground-breaking story, the in-game sprites more than make up for this; each character has lots of frames of animation, always pops against the background no matter how busy it gets, and performs a little victory pose when clearing Acts and bosses. Sadly, the music doesn’t fair as well; outside of some fun, if underutilised, remixes from the classic games, I found myself largely forgetting the themes for each Zone and the Game Boy Advance’s sound chip seems poorly suited to bringing the kind of energy I expect from a Sonic title. The stage select screen is also very basic and, while the ending makes up for this by featuring some fun sprite art and big victory poses, it’s simply a rehash of Sonic 2’s ending and doesn’t really offer anything new.
Despite some impressive sprites, some Zones are needlessly cluttered and unsightly.
The same can also be said of the Zones; while it’s great to start off in a beach location for a change, Neo Green Hill Zone owes a lot to Green Hill Zone and Emerald Coast. Casino Paradise Zone is simply Casino Night Zone, though lacking a few of its gimmicks; Ice Mountain is basically Ice Cap Zone, Angel Island is an ancient ruins retread of Sky Sanctuary, and Egg Rocket Zone is a mish-mash of Launch Base Zone, Wing Fortress Zone, Flying Battery Zone, and Death Egg Zone. This continues in Cosmic Angel Zone and X-Zone, which are basically Death Egg Zone all over again, and even the final area, Moon Zone, is a reskin of Doomsday Zone. However, for the most part, the recycled gimmicks and aesthetics are presented just differently enough to make them unique: Neo Green Hill Zone has sandy beaches, wooden piers, and a thick overgrowth; Secret Base Zone is an industrial hell-hole full of lava, girders, and swamped by searchlights; you can see fireworks in the background of Casino Paradise, which incorporates balloons to reach higher areas; snow falls in Ice Mountain Zone, where snow and ice cover the trees and rails and ground, there’s a hell of a view of what I assume is the Mystic Ruins in Angel Island Zone, and I enjoyed seeing the big rocket boosters and the separating sections of Egg Rocket Zone. Unfortunately, many areas are also quite loud and cluttered; Secret Base Zone is a mess of conflicting oranges and browns, for example, and Cosmic Angel Zone is a nauseating kaleidoscope of purple and grey that is distracting to look at. For the most part, the game runs really well; it can be slow at times, but mostly you’ll be blasted along at breakneck speed, outrunning the camera and most likely smashing into an obstacle or to your death. Had the game been a little more zoomed out, featured some catchier tunes, and rethought its colour palette and layout, it might’ve improved my experience. As is, though, these elements make the later Zones a chore to play and the homages to the classics more annoying than endearing.
Enemies and Bosses: Dr. Eggman’s Badniks are all heavily inspired by the mechanical enemies seen in the classic Sonic games and Sonic Adventure; we’ve got the Crabmeat-like GamiGami, the Rhinobot-like Rhinotank, the Coconuts-like Kiki, the Jaws-like Drisame that burst out of walls at the worst possible moments, and the Burrobot-like Mogu that are also placed in the most annoying areas, like right when you need to jump or dash through. Lizard- and frog-like Badniks Hanabii and KeroKero roll or hop about spitting projectiles, Stingers do their best Buzzer and Buzz Bomber impression by blasting projectiles at you right as you’re making a tricky jump, bat-like Slots swoop in from offscreen, and the jellyfish-like Kuraa add to their annoyance by briefly erecting an electrifying shield. As is tradition for a Sonic title, smashing Badniks releases a cute little woodland critter and nets you some points, and they’re often placed at the apex of jumps, right in your path, or near spikes. Speaking of which, spikes can be on the floor, walls, and ceilings, sometimes shoot up from the ground to ruin your day, and are occasionally on spinning platforms. You’ll also need to avoid being roasted by fireballs in Secret Base Zone, watch for crushing cubes in Casino Paradise Zone, hop to small rising stone platforms (often while avoiding spikes) in Angel Island Zone, and trust your fate to the will of the gaming gods when making blind jumps over the constant death pit in Egg Rocket Zone.
While bosses start off easily enough, later game encounters can be quite tricky, especially with Amy.
Naturally, every Zone culminates in a boss battle; you’ll face off against Dr. Eggman eight times in a regular playthrough, and a final time after finding all seven Chaos Emeralds, with each encounter seeing him man a new contraption and featuring two phases to the battle. The Egg Hammer Tank awaits in Neo Gren Hill Zone; a strange combination of the Egg Wrecker and Egg Mobile from Sonic 1 and 2, this fight sees Dr. Eggman driving from left to right and right to left trying to smash you with a massive hammer, and erratically bouncing about when near defeat. Dr. Eggman mans the Egg Press machine in Secret Base Zone for a boss not a million miles away from the first phase of the final boss of Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble(Aspect, 1994); Dr. Eggman hops around trying to squash you, then does a big jump off screen that you need to anticipate to finish him off. Casino Paradise Zone features one of the easiest boss battles; Dr. Eggman emerges from one of several pipes, while his spiked Egg Ball tries to hurt you. Simply duck down in the middle and ram him when he appears; not even the two speeding up near the end present much challenge here. Ice Mountain Zone’s Egg Spider ramps up the difficulty, however, as the fight takes place underwater and Dr. Eggman is completely out of reach. You need to use the icicle hazards he drops to reach him, and take a breath of air, but this can be tricky as they fall randomly, in greater numbers near the end, and your movements are super sluggish underwater. Dr. Eggman isn’t fought in Angel Island Zone or Egg Rocket Zone, but returns in the Egg Snake in Cosmic Angel Zone, a boss that’s considerably difficult for Amy. Dr. Eggman’s pod is protected by spikes so you and to wait for him to flip over to hit him, all while dodging his projectiles and his craft as it slides back and forth, which is particularly hard to do with Amy since she can’t Spin Attack.
Despite a fun fight with Mecha Knuckles, the final battles with Dr. Eggman are disappointing affairs.
In Angel Island Zone, you’ll battle Mecha Knuckles; at first, this fight is very similar to the one against regular Knuckles from Sonic 3 & Knuckles and sees Mecha Knuckles glide about, throw punches, and try to Spin Dash into you. A few hits destroys its outer shell and reveals its true metallic self, which now spits missiles at you! When you reach the X-Zone, you’ll first endure a fun gauntlet against two classic boss battles, the Egg Wrecker and the Egg Mobile, not unlike in Sky Sanctuary Zone and with nothing changed about your attack strategy. Sadly, this is followed by an underwhelming battle against Dr. Eggman’s Egg X, a spinning cannon-like mech that spits bouncy explosive balls, tries to ram you, and grabs and shakes you with a mechanical pincer. While this appendage can be tricky to avoid and jump over, it’s ridiculously easy to bash Dr. Eggman as he flies past or stops to fire a projectile, making for a really disappointing final boss to the main portion of the game. Naturally, after collecting all seven Chaos Emeralds with any character, you’ll unlock the true final boss, the Super Egg Robot, a humanoid mech fought by Super Sonic on the surface of the Moon. Unfortunately, as I’ll detail later, I’ve never experienced this boss battle but I can tell you that your time is limited as Super Sonic’s Rings constantly deplete, meaning you’ll need to grab more to stay alive and in the fight, and that you must use the Super Sonic Boost with the B button to dodge or destroy incoming lunar rocks spewed up by Dr. Eggman. The Super Egg Robot also blasts you with a sweeping eye laser, causes energy pillars to erupt from the ground, and spews out orbs that will either incapacitate you for a few seconds or yield Rings when destroyed. The Super Egg Robot can also block your attacks with its drill-like arms, is constantly flying away from you, and can only be damaged by hitting its head. Although the music and presentation seem quite epic, it does seem a relatively simple encounter, and defeating Dr. Eggman awards you with the true ending…which honestly isn’t really all that different to the regular ending, just with more of that impressive sprite art and animation.
Power-Ups and Bonuses: All the classic Sonic power-ups are on offer in Sonic Advance, this time in capsules like in Sonic Adventure. You can snag five, ten, or a random number of Rings, grab a temporary speed-up or invincibility, and occasionally gift yourself an extra life. You can also find a shield (or “Barrier”) that will protect you from damage for one hit, though it looks really unsightly here, or grab the Magnet Barrier for the same benefit with the added bonus of attracting any nearby Rings. That’s it, though; there are no other elemental shields, no new power-ups to find, and very little reason to explore your environment. As mentioned, each character boasts a mele attack, which is a fun alternative, but you can just as easily use the classic Spin Attack to defeat Badniks so there’s not much us for these attacks…unless you’re playing as Amy, who is entirely reliant upon them.
Additional Features: As in the classic 2D Sonic titles, you can enter Special Stages to try and collect one of the seven Chaos Emeralds, however the way you get to these Special Stages is a bit different to what we’ve seen before. You need to find a Special Spring hidden in each Act, something Sonic and Amy will struggle to do, which grants you one try at easily one of the worst designed Special Stages in the franchise. You’re on a snowboard and constantly falling down a ringed shaft full of Rings, obstacles, and bombs. You can speed up your descent with A or perform a trick with B, which increases your Ring count, and can boost along paths of Rings, though it’s extremely difficult to actually collect Rings due to the odd angle. The perspective is all out of whack, meaning you often pass over or right by Rings, and in all my years of owning and playing this game, I’ve never completed a single Special Stage; hell, I’m lucky to even find a Special Spring, let along snag a Chaos Emerald! Collecting all seven unlocks the Moon Zone and the final battle against the Super Egg Robot, though this is the only way you get to play as Super Sonic. Beyond that, there’s a sound test in the “Options” menu, a Vs. mode that allows players to battle against each other or compete in races to collect the most Rings or find hidden Chao, even if you only have one cartridge between you, and a Time Attack mode for those who want to impress with their best clear times. If you enter a button code on the character select screen, you can play as Sonic with a computer-controlled Tails following him like in Sonic 2, and you can even visit the Tiny Chao Garden. In here. you can raise and pet a Chao, feeding it fruit or giving it toys to play with using Rings you collect in the main game and in the mini games within the garden that see you matching cards or playing rock/paper/scissors. You can also transfer this Chao to and from the GameCube Sonic Adventure games, which you’ll probably want to do as the Tiny Chao Garden’s features are far more limited than its bigger brothers.
The Summary: I have a lot of nostalgia for Sonic Advance. It was still a novelty to see Sonic games released for Nintendo consoles at the time and I liked that it was a throwback to the classic 2D games, capturing the spirit of what made them so enjoyable, recontextualising a lot of the gameplay and gimmicks in new locations, and giving it that Yuji Uekawa aesthetic I enjoyed so much at the time (and even now). Technically, the game is solid enough; the physics work, Act layouts aren’t too dissimilar from the classics, and it offers a decent level of challenge, with some unfair moments peppered in the late-game Zones. I really liked that you could pick from four playable characters right from the start, and that Amy was included, and that their different abilities correlated with how difficult the game can be. I enjoyed most of the new Zones, despite how much they borrowed from the previous games, and really liked how this game bridged the gap between Sonic 3 & Knuckles and Sonic Adventure by incorporating elements from both. Unfortunately, it’s not perfect; and when it’s bad, Sonic Advance is quite a chore. First of all, it’s quite slow and is restricted by the Game Boy Advance’s screen size; Act layouts can be aggravating at times, with enemies and hazards placed just offscreen for maximum frustration, and I really didn’t like the way you access and play Special Stages. It’s rare that I fail to collect the Chaos Emeralds in a Sonic game and I’m still frustrated that I can’t do it over twenty years later. The bosses were quite fun, if a little easy, but the X-Zone boss was pathetic and the soundtrack was pretty forgettable. I liked the addition of the Tiny Chao Garden, though more could’ve been done with this, and it’s safe to say that Sonic Advance just plays things a bit too safe, something its sequels would address and improve upon with new mechanics and unique features. Still, there’s a lot to like in Sonic Advance; it really was the closest thing we had to a Sonic 4 at the time, and it was surprising to me that later 2.5D throwbacks didn’t take more inspiration from it and its sequels, but it’s hard to deny that it’s a sub-par experience compared to its successors and even Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Pretty Good
Did you own Sonic Advance back in the day? If so, did you enjoy it and how do think it’s aged, especially compared to its sequels? Which character was your favourite and did you like their expanded move sets? What did you think to the Zones on offer and the recycling of previous gimmicks? Do you think the game played it too safe or do you consider this the true Sonic 4? Did you ever collect the Chaos Emeralds and, if so, how and what did you think to the Special Stages? Which of Sonic’s Game Boy Advance titles is your favourite and how are you celebrating Sonic’s anniversary this year? Whatever your thoughts on Sonic Advance, leave a comment below or on my social media and go check out my other Sonic content!
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