While I am sure that many my age are much more nostalgic for the 2D Sonic the Hedgehog games, coming from an exclusively Nintendo household until well into the 2000s, my nostalgia comes from the 3D instalments such as Sonic Adventure DX and Sonic Adventure 2. While at the time the hedgehog struggled to go up against the plumbers – the fast-paced platforming action and stellar audiovisual choices of the 3D games made them titles I could go back to again and again. Heck, if you put on the song ‘Escape from the City’ featured in Sonic Adventure 2’s City Escape – you better expect me to groove to the track.
From the advent of the seventh generation of gaming consoles, Nintendo and Sega’s relationship was built to the point where a Sonic the Hedgehog game could be developed exclusively for the Nintendo Wii hardware. This game took the form of Sonic Colours (Sonic Colors in North America), which enjoyed favourable reviews for its visual quality, music, and its use of Wisp powerups which built upon replayability of some levels and in some cases added a ‘multiroute’ approach familiar to those who have played the 2D games. Due to this, it should be no brainer that more than a decade on and, let’s be frank, several less-positively received games, that SEGA would bring one of their more successful games to modern-day consoles.
Remastered and brought to the PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and PlayStation 4, Sonic Colours Ultimate is a co-development project between SEGA and Blind Squirrel Games. The latter is no stranger to remasters, having been involved with the likes of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, Borderlands and Sunset Overdrive. The game features a few minor content additions, such as the inclusion of a new wisp, a time trial mode against Metal Sonic and some customisation features, but the most substantial changes come in the improved framerate, enhanced visuals and a re-recorded soundtrack. Given Sonic Colours was initially developed for the Wii, which was underpowered even by Seventh-Generation console standards, these changes made an already dazzling game pop even more.
As I raised in my review of Sonic Forces back in 2017, one of the major issues with modern 3D Sonic the Hedgehog games are that while maintaining impressiveness in the quality department – the long-term enjoyment was hampered by several means. This included a greater emphasis on speeding through a small number of uninspired short levels, very floaty physics, and experiences that could be completed in only a couple of hours. Having not hit this era of Sonic games yet, while the game isn’t laden with fun time-wasting systems such as the Chao Garden or an open world to explore, we get dozens of levels that offer variety and often multiple routes to explore. In many cases, at least during the first playthrough, “speed” is not of the essence in most levels. Instead, it is about navigating your way through, dealing with the (floaty) physics and getting to the end of the level with the most rings and hidden trinkets in the fastest time. Delivering the core platformer experience, I would argue that Sonic Colours Ultimate hits all the right marks.
The core control mechanics of any 3D Sonic game are implemented well, albeit the ability to perform wall jumps, and double jumps caused me more frustration than they should have… for whatever reason. The gimmick of Sonic Colours is the use of wisps, creatures which, when discovered, can sync themselves momentarily with Sonic to grant him supernatural powers. These powers range from turning Sonic into a cube, floating or turning into a laser for a destructive speed boost in selected areas. It can be rather irksome to walk through the first levels of the game and to have Wisp containers inaccessible to you, taunting you with inaccessible secrets. Still, it encourages you to go back and try new approaches to a stage. These wisps really do plug an issue that other Sonic games have gone up against – linearity and lack of replayability. The development team introduced a new Jade “Ghost” wisp in the Ultimate version of Sonic Colors. However, while all original wisps feel purposeful for their locations, these feel baked in at the last minute and give the impression they were included for the sake of having a new wisp.
I have areas of concern with Sonic Colours Ultimate, which kept it from being a flawless experience. I think the major issue is one that Sonic Team have to this day is in the transition from 3D Platformer to 2D Platformer mechanics. To put simple, it is far too jarring. I understand that SEGA would wish to harken back to the franchises’ OG systems which got it the love and adoration of gamers initially, but it can easily throw you off, and gives the impression they didn’t want to commit to one playstyle. With Sonic Mania and Sonic IV showing there is still a place for that classic-style side-scrolling Sonic Game, giving each style their own game rather than some less-than-perfect amalgamation of the two would be best my opinion.
The other weakness is its plot – or lack of one to be frank. The moment you click New Game, you are thrust not into a cutscene that sets the game’s scene ahead, but a few stages before knowing what is going on. On the one hand there is something enjoyable about diving head-first into the action – but it feels like the story is there for the sake of being there, rather than something that contributes to the overall experience.
With Sonic Colours Ultimate being the 30th Anniversary celebratory title for the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, they didn’t half-ass the production values. The already imaginative levels have been remastered into 4K (or 1080p for the Nintendo Switch). While the Nintendo Wii wasn’t known for its breathtaking visuals, Sonic Colours was one of the nicest looking on the platform. Fortunately, the remaster does them, and the last-generation hardware (PS4/Xbox One) justice. The soundtrack has also been re-recorded, with some levels featuring remastered tracks and others featuring the original music. It comes down to personal preference, but it is a shame this wasn’t just a toggle box in the options menu.
It has been several years since we last had a new 3D Sonic game for consoles, and sadly our wait for something completely original continues. But with Sonic Colours being that console-locked game from 10 years ago, for many, it could be seen as the much new experience for us. Floaty physics, a lacklustre storyline and attempts to balance 2D/3D platformer experiences kept this from being a perfect experience. However, it didn’t fall into traps that newer titles have, ultimately delivering a fun, longer-lived and audiovisually stunning experience from start to finish.
This review was conducted on the PlayStation 4 version of Sonic Colours: Ultimate, playested on a launch-day PlayStation 5 unit. There has been a lot of commentary in recent weeks about the Nintendo Switch version being particularly glitchy. This review cannot comment on that due to the differences between platforms and versions.
A review copy of Sonic Colours: Ultimate was provided by the game’s Australian distributor, Five Star Games, for the purpose of this review.
