Sonic Colours (Wii) Review

Sonic has been a franchise that has been pretty down in the dumps recently. There’s been many attempts to breathe new life into the franchise we all knew and loved back when SEGA manufactured consoles, and now, after all the human companions, annoying friends, realistic weapons and gimmicky transformations, we have Sonic Colours – a game that does a pretty damn good job at bringing Sonic back to his former glory. There are a few nitpicks that are noticeable along the way, but outside of this, most of the game is rather surprisingly top notch. I just hope that Sonic’s sullied name won’t put off any potential purchasers. That’s probably why I’m here!

Sonic Colours sees the series antagonist Dr. Robotnik (I refuse to call him Eggman) opening up an interstellar amusement space park, which is made up of several attractions that take up the same amount of space as whole planets. Sonic and Tails are of course, not convinced, and come across an alien race known as ’Wisps’, learning that Robotnik has kidnapped them and used them to generate energy to power his creations and theme park. Naturally allying with the Wisps against their common enemy, Sonic and Tails embark on yet another epic that will hopefully see the end of Robotnik’s antics.

The game itself is pretty light on story and it’s not the most mature story either. Older fans, while enjoying the gameplay quite a bit, will definitely be put off by the almost pre-school level of humour and composition in the game’s cutscenes. That being said, the Sonic series has never been particularly strong from a narrative perspective, and what’s here serves as a great reason for Sonic to jump from area to area and save the Wisps from near doom. It’s still very nice to see the developers not shoehorning in gimmicky new components to the gameplay, or a weird story pushing for Sonic’s assimilation with other human beings. Beastiality was never cool and it never will be.

Somewhat sharing its setting with another platformer, that is, outer space, Sonic Colours is without a doubt also one of the best looking games on the Nintendo Wii. Character models are sufficiently detailed and gestures/facial animations bring things to life beyond what you’d expect for this kind of game. Levels are packed full of things to look at, most of which are extremely pretty and many players may literally say “Wow”. One particular level, the Starlight Carnival, is a perfect example of how the Wii can produce absolutely thrilling graphical images without having the power behind it that is seen in the bigger HD consoles.

Being super detailed and keeping a great framerate is also admirable, however this sometimes busy appearance can really detract from the gameplay experience – sometimes I lost Sonic throughout a really fast paced and full level, while the collectables would only make themselves properly appear when Sonic was close, leading to a lot of missed items and a bit of frustration. These problems can be exacerbated even more when Sonic is engaged in a turbo boost and moving even faster than he already is.

Sonic Colours, being set in space, is split into planets with each planet holding similarly themed levels that must be completed to progress. Each level is packed to the brim with things to collect and do, with scores and collectables to find. Interestingly enough, unlocking new “wisps” allows Sonic to revisit previously played levels and unlock even more items throughout the levels. This backtracking element is a nice touch that I was not expecting to see in a Sonic game.

When plopped into a level, the gameplay is extremely simple, albeit fast paced. Sonic must travel along linear levels while attempting to maintain maximum speed and collect as many items as possible. Since the levels are ultimately linear, many players will find it hard to get lost, however there are branching paths that offer new items, or sometimes even less if they’re on the wrong path. Sonic has the ability to jump on his enemies to dispatch them, and a very nicely tweaked homing move allows Sonic to home in on enemies to destroy them easily and in a much more streamlined fashion.

There are also several sections which will be presented in a 2D style, similar to the classic Sonic games, which are somewhat confusing at times namely due to dodgy physics. I cannot count how many times I managed to fall off a platform assuming it would move to my position but simply didn’t. These components of the game seem to be developed to make you not use your instincts, which, in a game that is semi fast paced, isn’t really favourable at all. Sonic also feels quite floaty at times, not anywhere near as tight as in the recently released Sonic The Hedgehog 4, which is quite distracting at times.

The biggest and probably most interesting component that’s been introduced into Sonic Colours is the ’Wisps’. These alien creatures endow Sonic with interesting new tricks that allow him to complete levels faster and access previously inaccessible areas. These wisps are unique to each world and do a great job at mixing up the action, probably doing a great job at being better power-ups than the age old computer monitors in the older games. Despite the game having a great amount of variety throughout the environments, the addition of the Wisp system makes the gameplay even more varied and you rarely feel like the game is dragging on much, there’s little repetition.

The best thing about Sonic Colours, despite a few visual nit-picks, is the sheer sense of speed you get without sacrificing mostly tight control methods. This is a Sonic game that has got both controls, decent characters without awful annoying friends, and a very interesting and well implemented collection of power-ups in the guise of the Wisps. Everything just works.

The voice work in Sonic Colours has definitely changed since previous titles, however still is pretty cringe worthy. What’s great though is that Tails now sounds less girly. The musical composition is comprised of mainly orchestral tunes and a few awful vocal tracks that pepper the soundtrack now and then, particularly the main theme which is just cringe worthy. Still, the music is notably epic and even distorts when you are moving at super-fast speeds, a nice and realistic touch.

There is around about 8-9 hours in the Sonic Colours single player story, and that’s just rushing through it (sorry about the pun). There are a few recycled areas here and there to artificially lengthen the game, but besides that the whole package offers a bit of value for money. There’s collectables to go back to find, as well as the “Sonic Simulator” which provides new and interesting challenges that can also be played with a friend co-operatively, which is a nice touch, albeit quite superficial – I wouldn’t really call Sonic Colours a two player game.

Graphics 8.5

Amazing effects, gorgeous environments and detailed, well animated models make this one of the best looking games on the Wii. Sometimes there is just a bit too much going on, though.

Gameplay 8.5

Sonic Colours features a great sense of speed and puts together some very nice set pieces to create some experiences that will definitely make you say wow. The Wisp power up system does a great job at making the experience a lot more interesting.

Sound 6.5

Voice work is a nice touch, with the previous voice actors for Sonic really fixing up the characters, Tails in particular no longer sounds like a girl. The vocal tracks are very cringeworthy, although the orchestral tracks are quite epic.

Tilt 7.5

A relatively average length single player mode coupled with quite a few collectables makes Sonic Colours a rather great offering from the hedgehog himself. It might be nice to be a bit more challenging though, and to see less recycled areas. The “Sonic Simulator” is a nice touch.

Value 9.0

I had the most fun with Sonic Colours on the Nintendo Wii, it was a great ride and the great graphical composition was a huge plus for me. The real sense of speed and variation in gameplay thanks to the Wisps really mixed things up to keep my interest.