Am I a person you would call a Sonic fan? Yes. Have I played every Sonic game? No. Are all Sonic games good? No. But do I still have love for the little blue hedgehog? Absolutely. See Sega has tried to capture Sonic as he once was which isn’t always an easy task but dare I say it I think this time they’ve done it! Sonic Generations brings the series back to its roots this time sporting not only the Sonic we’ve come to know from Sonic Adventures but the original Sonic from the very first game. We got the chance to check it out at Sega’s booth at E3 2011 and in stunning stereoscopic 3D at that.
The stage that we played was the original Green Hill Zone which is cut up into two styles of play. One is with the original Sonic played in 2D form, the other is with the newest generation Sonic and switches from 2D to 3D gameplay. If this game isn’t a trip down memory lane then I don’t know what is. All classic monsters and sound effects were easy to get lost to. I suddenly felt like a kid again playing the first Sonic on the Sega Genesis.
Playing with the original Sonic was a ton of fun but the newer Sonic actually feels like a completely different experience for a stage that’s exactly the same. Switching off into 3D like some of his more recent games was pretty smooth for the most part. The controls get kind of funky since it gets confusing where to keep my figure if the direction keeps changing.
There are a couple of kinks to work out but this can be one of the best Sonic games to come out in a long time if treated with the proper care it needs. This is designed to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Sonic series and brings in a number of stages throughout the entire series so there won’t be any shortages here. We honestly can’t wait for the final product but will keep everyone informed of news as it comes in.