Name: Sonic: Lost World
Other Names (Nicknames): Lost World, SLW, Super Sonic Galaxy, Sonic’s Lost Mind
Release Dates:
October 24th, 2013 - Japan
October 29th, 2013 – North America
October 18th, 2013 - Europe
Quality: Eighth generation 3D/2.5D Platformer
Game System(s): Nintendo Wii U
Also released on: Nintendo 3DS, PC (Steam): November 2nd, 2015 - Worldwide
Developer(s): Sonic Team
Publisher(s): SEGA
Credits: See Sonic News Network.
Character Introductions: The Deadly Six Zeti.
Region Game Takes Place On: The Lost Hex.
Concept Introductions:
This isn’t your standard Sonic game. This time you’ll find yourself running along floating crops of land, twisting tubes, big globes while using parkour to run up, over, and alongside walls. While Sonic could always do this with enough speed, this time around, said speed has been pared back considerably to a more, well, controlled level. Controlling Sonic normally has him run at a reasonable pace, with no acceleration to speak of. In order to speed up, you now have to hold down a button, and even then, it’s not much of an increase.
That’s right. Sonic the Hedgehog…has been given…a run button. Meaning the Blue Blur has been nerfed to a Blue Swish (at best).
As stated, it’s not a huge increase in speed, so don’t expect to Super Boost through this game like last time, as that would certainly have to missing landings and screwing up the increased platforming sections, of which there are many thanks to the unusually designed levels. You’ll often have to let go of the run button whenever some tricky platforming shows up, only to hold it down again to either dash or parkour past something and let it go again.
Speaking of platforming, Sonic’ll have plenty of Wisps to help him out. Yes, those quirky little aliens from Colors are here, too. See, while most of them left the Milky Way with the Mother Wisp, others liked Earth so much they decided to stay, and are more than willing to support the Blue Swish. While the Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, and Cyan Wisps return with their usual powers and functionality, some new ones have also been discovered.
The Crimson Wisps give Sonic the Crimson Eagle ability, letting him soar through the air. Indigo Wisps grant the Indigo Asteroid ability, which breaks down nearby objects to form Sonic’s own gravitational field. And finally, you get the Black Bomb ability from the Black Wisps; Sonic rolls over smaller enemies to increase in size, which gives him a larger blast radius in turn, for when he eventually blows up.
(The Gray and Ivory Wisps are 3DS only.)
As for Sonic’s normal abilities, the Spin Dash and Homing Attack return. The latter has been modified, though; if Sonic targets a single enemy thoroughly enough, he can sometimes double or even triple the amount of damage he does with one attack! He can also target multiple enemies at a time, letting him bounce from one to the other. If a foe is too tough, however, he can deliver a kick instead, sending them flying.
Concept Deductions: Each area has different gimmicks and twists added to challenge the player, but they nearly all have a part with strictly 2D gameplay, a part that leads to a boss, an underground section, and a part that’s at odds with the rest of the area’s theme.
Main Framework: While trying to look, sound and trying to play like a Sonic game (you can even collect Red Star Rings to unlock the Chaos Emeralds for a certain form), the structure, design, presentation, extensive powerup usage, and control scheme draws considerable influence from the Super Mario franchise, which was deliberate on Sonic Team's part.
Storyline:
Dr. Robotnik is at it again! After escaping White Space (somehow), and retrieving Orbot and Cubot from outer space (somehow), Eggman has launched yet another scheme. This time, it involves badniks, and you know what that means: another animal roundup! It’s when Eggman personally retrieves the last Capsule that he’s finally caught red handed by Sonic and Tails, who give chase in an inexplicably downgraded Tornado.
A very brief air battle ensues, which ends with the duo getting shot out of the sky. Zooming through the clouds, they come across the strange, mysterious airborne continent known as the Lost Hex, and are forced to make a bumpy landing on Windy Hill Zone. Thus begins one of Sonic’s strangest adventures yet…
Personal Criticism/Opinion:
I was not looking forward to this game. The initial reveal was disappointing, what with the forced nostalgia pandering, the linear gameplay, and touting new moves that were anything but. As time went on, my disinterest worsened, as the parallels to Mario became obnoxiously obvious. Ultimately, I decided that I did not want to play either version of this game. Then, it was released on Steam and I knew that I had to, since I could, and it seemed no one else on the team was going to review it.
I very much regret that decision.
It’s telling that it has taken me such a long time to finish this review, as every time I put serious thought into my time with it, I get ticked off. Damn near everything about it just feels wrong. From the gameplay and graphics to the story and structure, nothing about this game gives off the vibe of a 100% Sonic game, and the fact that this was somewhat intentional is even more irritating.
Takashi Iizuka himself stated that once development shifted from PC to the Wii U, Lost World was made with Mario fans in mind, and it is clear that they went overboard on that goal, especially since he had to apologize for it later!!
Seriously, Sonic: Lost World is one of the most frustrating Sonic games I have ever experienced, even though it’s not an absolutely terrible game by any stretch. After all, y’all know damn well I’ve played worse. MUCH worse.
GAMER'S PERSPECTIVE:
Replay value? The Red Star Rings, DLC, and multiplayer (Sonic Dolls again) might keep you busy.
Graphics? Vibrant and colorful to match the tone of the game. Both the Wii U and Sonic are capable of so much better, though.
Music & Sound Effects? The music is great (natch) but not very memorable this time. Only a few tracks really stand out on their own. Sound effects remain consistent.
Storyline? I get what Pontac and Graff were trying to do here. They were trying to give Sonic some character development and justify Tails’ existence. That was clear. But, it just fell flat at every single turn. Sonic’s jokes and swagger were dull and Tails… Geez. Tails was a bitter, salty brat for the majority of the story. Yeah, you could justify it since he’s a little kid, but it’s out of place compared to his previous characterizations.
OVERALL RANK? I give Sonic: Lost World a
Other Names (Nicknames): Lost World, SLW, Super Sonic Galaxy, Sonic’s Lost Mind
Release Dates:
October 24th, 2013 - Japan
October 29th, 2013 – North America
October 18th, 2013 - Europe
Quality: Eighth generation 3D/2.5D Platformer
Game System(s): Nintendo Wii U
Also released on: Nintendo 3DS, PC (Steam): November 2nd, 2015 - Worldwide
Developer(s): Sonic Team
Publisher(s): SEGA
Credits: See Sonic News Network.
Character Introductions: The Deadly Six Zeti.
Region Game Takes Place On: The Lost Hex.
Concept Introductions:
This isn’t your standard Sonic game. This time you’ll find yourself running along floating crops of land, twisting tubes, big globes while using parkour to run up, over, and alongside walls. While Sonic could always do this with enough speed, this time around, said speed has been pared back considerably to a more, well, controlled level. Controlling Sonic normally has him run at a reasonable pace, with no acceleration to speak of. In order to speed up, you now have to hold down a button, and even then, it’s not much of an increase.
That’s right. Sonic the Hedgehog…has been given…a run button. Meaning the Blue Blur has been nerfed to a Blue Swish (at best).
As stated, it’s not a huge increase in speed, so don’t expect to Super Boost through this game like last time, as that would certainly have to missing landings and screwing up the increased platforming sections, of which there are many thanks to the unusually designed levels. You’ll often have to let go of the run button whenever some tricky platforming shows up, only to hold it down again to either dash or parkour past something and let it go again.
Speaking of platforming, Sonic’ll have plenty of Wisps to help him out. Yes, those quirky little aliens from Colors are here, too. See, while most of them left the Milky Way with the Mother Wisp, others liked Earth so much they decided to stay, and are more than willing to support the Blue Swish. While the Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, and Cyan Wisps return with their usual powers and functionality, some new ones have also been discovered.
The Crimson Wisps give Sonic the Crimson Eagle ability, letting him soar through the air. Indigo Wisps grant the Indigo Asteroid ability, which breaks down nearby objects to form Sonic’s own gravitational field. And finally, you get the Black Bomb ability from the Black Wisps; Sonic rolls over smaller enemies to increase in size, which gives him a larger blast radius in turn, for when he eventually blows up.
(The Gray and Ivory Wisps are 3DS only.)
As for Sonic’s normal abilities, the Spin Dash and Homing Attack return. The latter has been modified, though; if Sonic targets a single enemy thoroughly enough, he can sometimes double or even triple the amount of damage he does with one attack! He can also target multiple enemies at a time, letting him bounce from one to the other. If a foe is too tough, however, he can deliver a kick instead, sending them flying.
Concept Deductions: Each area has different gimmicks and twists added to challenge the player, but they nearly all have a part with strictly 2D gameplay, a part that leads to a boss, an underground section, and a part that’s at odds with the rest of the area’s theme.
Main Framework: While trying to look, sound and trying to play like a Sonic game (you can even collect Red Star Rings to unlock the Chaos Emeralds for a certain form), the structure, design, presentation, extensive powerup usage, and control scheme draws considerable influence from the Super Mario franchise, which was deliberate on Sonic Team's part.
Storyline:
Dr. Robotnik is at it again! After escaping White Space (somehow), and retrieving Orbot and Cubot from outer space (somehow), Eggman has launched yet another scheme. This time, it involves badniks, and you know what that means: another animal roundup! It’s when Eggman personally retrieves the last Capsule that he’s finally caught red handed by Sonic and Tails, who give chase in an inexplicably downgraded Tornado.
A very brief air battle ensues, which ends with the duo getting shot out of the sky. Zooming through the clouds, they come across the strange, mysterious airborne continent known as the Lost Hex, and are forced to make a bumpy landing on Windy Hill Zone. Thus begins one of Sonic’s strangest adventures yet…
Personal Criticism/Opinion:
I was not looking forward to this game. The initial reveal was disappointing, what with the forced nostalgia pandering, the linear gameplay, and touting new moves that were anything but. As time went on, my disinterest worsened, as the parallels to Mario became obnoxiously obvious. Ultimately, I decided that I did not want to play either version of this game. Then, it was released on Steam and I knew that I had to, since I could, and it seemed no one else on the team was going to review it.
I very much regret that decision.
It’s telling that it has taken me such a long time to finish this review, as every time I put serious thought into my time with it, I get ticked off. Damn near everything about it just feels wrong. From the gameplay and graphics to the story and structure, nothing about this game gives off the vibe of a 100% Sonic game, and the fact that this was somewhat intentional is even more irritating.
Takashi Iizuka himself stated that once development shifted from PC to the Wii U, Lost World was made with Mario fans in mind, and it is clear that they went overboard on that goal, especially since he had to apologize for it later!!
Seriously, Sonic: Lost World is one of the most frustrating Sonic games I have ever experienced, even though it’s not an absolutely terrible game by any stretch. After all, y’all know damn well I’ve played worse. MUCH worse.
GAMER'S PERSPECTIVE:
Replay value? The Red Star Rings, DLC, and multiplayer (Sonic Dolls again) might keep you busy.
Graphics? Vibrant and colorful to match the tone of the game. Both the Wii U and Sonic are capable of so much better, though.
Music & Sound Effects? The music is great (natch) but not very memorable this time. Only a few tracks really stand out on their own. Sound effects remain consistent.
Storyline? I get what Pontac and Graff were trying to do here. They were trying to give Sonic some character development and justify Tails’ existence. That was clear. But, it just fell flat at every single turn. Sonic’s jokes and swagger were dull and Tails… Geez. Tails was a bitter, salty brat for the majority of the story. Yeah, you could justify it since he’s a little kid, but it’s out of place compared to his previous characterizations.
OVERALL RANK? I give Sonic: Lost World a