Sonic Boom: A new Sonic cartoon series, coming Fall 2014

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@zero
It's more of a copy of every sonic game. I mean, come on, HE IS RUNNING. That is such a copy of Sonic 1.

But really, I don't see much a resemblance to Sonic Rush other then the camera angle. Sonic Gen. 3ds, not really. Sonic Lost World, not really. Only Rush. And only a tiny bit. Other then that I don't see this being a copy of anything. This seems to be it'it's own raxacoricofallapatorius.

But I agree in the thought that the show will be great. I didn't find it HILARIOUS, but I (like sonic) chuckled at some of the stuff they presented. Overall, I think all three will prove to be a success.
 
Wait. At first I thought that this show would disappoint me and that it'd be a terrible idea. But, wait, I've just changed my mind.
It's good to see that Sega cares about us (a.k.a. our money) enough to make a new TV show. Plus I like the standalone-episode concept.
Also, am I the only ony who loves Sticks' design?
 
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The show continues to look promising. Not every joke in the newest trailer worked, but then again, trailers for comedies are rarely indicative of a show's quality. It's almost a forgone conclusion that Boom will be twice the show that Sonic X was on every level.

As for the Wii U game, I found the perfect article to describe my current thoughts on the game, thanks to a TSSZ News.

"That said, nothing about the experience struck me as particularly exciting or innovative. It felt like a thoroughly average game: not great, not bad, but somewhere in the middle.

…actually, you know what it really felt like? It felt like a TV show tie-in game that’s aimed at a younger audience. Granted, it’s several rungs above most of that sort of shovelware, but I got that vibe from it anyway. It’s less AAA blockbuster epic and more experimental pet project. The game is far from the disaster many expected it to be, but it’s nothing amazing, either. Temper your expectations accordingly." ~ Louis Balzani


While I have yet to go hands-on with the game myself yet, this is exactly how I've felt about the game ever since the first gameplay trailer. "Rise of Lyric" has more in common with that bland and unnecessary "Pac-Man & the Ghostly Adventures" WiiU game than it does with traditional Sonic gameplay; hell, that Pac-Man game even uses the Pac's tongue as an enerbeam!


For starters, I always wanted a Sonic-Themed beat 'em up. And this game is where I think I'm putting my money on. Even though it's not what we expected I'm sure it will be a great game. And for Christ's sake people. It's FINALLY an innovative concept for the game-mechanic!

I'm sorry, but what about the game is innovative? Everything in this game has been done already by other games, and in some cases, in previous Sonic games. A Sonic themed beat 'em up isn't new (Sonic Unleashed Werehog stages), expansive level design isn't new (Sonic Adventure, admittedly to a lesser extent), switching between characters on the fly isn't new (Sonic Heroes), and switching between methodical platforming and speed sections is also old hat (Sonic 2006).

The enerbeam concept is probably the worst offender. Not only is it a step down from the Knuckles Chaotix combi-ring system, but it's not a new or innovative concept at all. Just look at the Ratchet and Clank series, the Bionic Commando series, Metroid Prime 3, or hell, every game ever that has has a grapple mechanic. Even the Werehog could do some of the same things the enerbeam does just with his wackly waving inflatable arms.

Worst of all, it seems to be the focus of the gameplay to the point where every boss shown has been defeated just by grabbing things with it and tossing shit back at the boss. If only one character had access to the enerbeam, that might be kind of neat. But it just seems like a really generic gimmick to base a slow and simplistic beat 'em up around.
 
We got some new screenshots, showing some new weapons and vehicles. Rough google translate captions included.
"Explosion Switch"
wepon_01.jpg

"By stomp vigorously, switch to injecting the powerful ancient energy to the ground, causing a huge explosion around its point. Explosive range is wide, support the strongest weapon that has a tremendous destructive power."
"Cyclone Blaster"
wepon_02.jpg

"Size is small, but gun to generate a cyclone with a strong wind. It is for the wind energy ancient, without reducing the wind cyclone fired, to blow vigorously mono touched. Support Weapon very powerful."
"Hand gun" (Get it? It's a pun!)
wepon_03.jpg

"Magic hand out from the barrel when fired, a mysterious weapon to mount an attack in a reciprocating Slapping on a variety of things in front of the eyes. Because Reacher is short, range distance is short Weapon comical with a strong destructive power."
"Water Balloon" (creative naming, huh?)
wepon_04.jpg

"At first glance, it's like a water balloon huge just, but the destruction soldiers is a mecha of ancient civilization, because it would be short-circuited immediately if Rarere pour water, destruction soldiers are afraid more than anything. Support Weapon reasonable and very primitive."
"Battle trumpet"
wepon_05.jpg

"Strong sonic instruments for converting into acoustic wave energy generated in the trumpet, infiltrated into the surrounding stretch. And they have not been created as an instrument, and support weapon that can be powerful always attack anyone blowing."
"Feather Blade"
wepon_06.jpg

"Sword that was created based on the feathers of birds of legend is said to have lived in ancient times. Remex Dasa is shot from the blade by one to pretend, they are scattered over a wide range. It's weakening power, but support weapon that can attack from a distance."
"Boat" (woah, too much originality, slow down sega!
vehics_01.jpg

"Battle boat that was bringing together the technology of ancient that will help you not lose any water flow, to cross the seas of the world. By the taste of the owner, it is treated as the boat just now. This boat is in the four-seater, the roles of each are to each landing. The take over control, one person is responsible for the weapon being equipped with three others. strong support from the ideal vehicle is "
"Submarine Angler"
vehics_02.jpg

"Ancient tribe brings together the best of ancient technology, submarine that was created. For a very compact, two people can only boarding, but has become a make that specializes in the minute high speed navigation, it boasts specs of five times the submarine general had been made at that time. Also, that can respond to fierce fighting in water, a variety of remodeling has been decorated, and equipped as "

---------- Post added at 06:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:53 PM ----------

I thought I'd separate the regular screenshots from the item ones.
world_ss_area01.jpg

Really nice looking shot. Hella detailed if I do say so myself.
world_ss_area02.jpg

Looking like the same area, I think we've seen this one before, but I like it anyway.
world_ss_area03.jpg

This one looks fantastic. It's interesting to see a much cleaner looking area, and the intricate mechanical designs in the back are pretty great.
world_ss_area04.jpg

"The pit" as seen before. It seems to have a bit more...presence, to it, I guess?
world_ss_area05.jpg

Big vista shot of what I'm guessing is a hub world. Not a lot going on, but I think it does it's job alright.
world_ss_area06.jpg

Aaaaand the factory from before. It still looks okay, but this is the one I'm the lease enthusiastic about.
 
So I tried the demo of Rise of Lyric Saturday at a gaming expo, and it's not half-bad.

The combat (at least as Sonic, forgot to try Amy) seemed fast and fluid enough.
Most, if not all enemies die in 3/4 hits, and there's also some sort of auto lock-on to them... That's really it, aside from the Enerbeam which is, in itself, a whole new can of worms.
Overall, while not the most complex of combat systems used in Sonic, it is by far the most appropriate for the series since, I dunno, SA1's Homing Attack?

The speed is also there, though granted nothing like in the Unleashed series.
The so-called speed stages are very akin to the Team Kart in Sonic Heroes, or more recently the strafing corridors of Sonic Colors, though this time it comes with ROAD FORKS! I know, shocking. Again, choosing between one path or the other matters little (at least at first play), only there for the replay value.
And then we have the more... platform-ish stage. Again, the speed is there if you're looking for it (AKA Sonic), but the actual platforming is solid as well. One thing that is somewhat troubling is finding actual collectibles in a Sonic game, but hey, that's just me.

And now, the Enerbeam...
While some of its applications are correct, most of it, which is basically pulling things, can actually manage to break the flow of the game. For example, if you're pulling levers, it breaks the flow because you just went from fast and solid platforming to a dull 3-5 second lever pulling.
It breaks it even more when you're pulling a throw-able object; not only do they take a little while to get pulled, they also prevent you from moving or jumping, making you an obvious sitting duck. And most of the time when the Enerbeam is used that way it's just so to "be" there. Before I could get my turn, I saw a kid losing one life after another to the Eggman boss fight simply because he didn't understand how to beat him until they told him to use the Enerbeam on the missiles (that never appeared until a certain distance), and even then he still couldn't beat him.

In fact, in all the trailers I've seen, I've never seen a boss where you DON'T use the Enerbeam to throw something at it and damage it. Now I dunno about you, but I call that a forced gimmick.

All in all, relatively solid; would be better without the gimmicky Enerbeam pulling mechanics, but it's not god-awful either.
 
Just today, a demo for Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal was released on the 3DS eShop. All of you should give it a shot if you don't have a Wii U or simply aren't interested in the console version. The Wii U version won't get a demo until DECEMBER THE FRIGGIN' FOURTH, unfortunately. A BLOODY MONTH FROM NOW. AFTER THE GAME'S RELEASE. I guess I'm lucky to be buying day-one for RoL. Anyway--

From what I played, it was alright. Sonic felt a bit odd. Somewhat floaty, but somehow a little bit stiff. He has a run button again, but thankfully it's on the Y button and not R like Lost World. His running speed is decent and I never felt slow. His spindash sucks, though. It's faster to just start running from a halt, honestly. He has a double-jump, but no spin jump oddly. But this is fine, since he has a homing attack, so you don't really need a spin jump anyway. Overall the control was decent, certainly less slippery than Lost World 3DS, but not the best I've used.

I started with the adventure level; it took me a good 20 minutes to finish it, and even then I hadn't managed to find all the goodies, since the demo doesn't save, and there were path splits where you couldn't backtrack. The game honestly felt like some strange hybrid of Sonic and Megaman of all games. It had Metroid-style exploration, but all of the platforming and combat of "constantly moving, getting hit, overshooting jumps only to be floaty enough to hop right back on and keep moving" felt like I was replaying Megaman Zero. Hell, the controls are close enough to what I used in the DS version too. It was fun, but I felt like it was insubstantial for a demo. It wasn't until Kayla called me up on skype and talked about the demo that I learned that you can walk past Amy's house and Sticks' burrow. Simple thing, but I felt like both the game and me were stupid in that moment. I guess it's just how it's layed out in the final game that changes this.

This led me to the worm tunnel level, the one I was most excited for...and I think it was bleh. I understand it was the first one, but it was almost abominably basic and simple. Move left and right. Boost on straightaways. Press A here. That's about all you're getting. I didn't think it was terrible, and it was certainly a spectacle to watch, but I can't say it kept my interest forever.

Then came the race level, the last one I played. It was basically just a more linear adventure level with a time limit disguised as another character. I mean, I guess it was fun, but it didn't leave me with much of an impression. It does help me segway into one thing about the speed, though; it's got DIMPS level design. In the sense that, while you can go fast ordinarily, the fastest you'll be at, not counting the worm tunnels, are during scripted sequences with lots of boosters and springs. This happens just a little more than it should, and while I can certainly tolerate scripted sequences, I do know that OTHER people are going to whine about it, because Sonic fanbase.

Now for the presentation. Ever since we got...whatever it was that showed the finished version of the main theme (the one in the Nintendoworldnews video was very unfinished and eugh), I've expected a lot from these games' soundtrack. And while nothing from RoL excluding the main theme has been revealed (what we HAVE heard is taken from other places, will be completely different in final game according to frost), the music in the 3DS version was rather pleasant and I was enjoying it. None of it was quite as memorable as the main theme, but I was not annoyed, and not really bored by it, so...yeah. The graphics are pretty nice. There's plenty of jaggies as you'd expect from a 3DS game, but the models are all relatively well crafted and the environments look nice. The textures on a few of the models are bizarrely low-res, though...like, Mario 64 DS low-res. It wasn't anything too distracting, so I guess I'll call the graphics passable.

And I guess that's it. All in all, Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal feels like what it is. A smaller, but still heavily packed portable Sonic game. I enjoyed it for what it was, but I'm not calling it the best Sonic game ever, or even the best portable Sonic. Although it was certainly miles ahead of the trainwreck that was Lost World 3DS. Eugh. I'm putting priority on the Wii U version still, as I only have enough money for one game before Christmas and I'd rather use it on what is likely the bigger game, but I won't pass this one up either.

I encourage all of you to download the demo yourselves.
 
@shadon: um, lost world 3ds was a great game...I preferred it over the wii u version.

I'd give the demo a 3.5/5 ratting. The controls were a bit strange at first, and the gameplay was a bit slow, however after playing the game a bit more and understanding the controls, one can easily get to the point where you can get to the end without stopping or walking once. The game seems good, not something I'm hyped for, but if I happen to be in stores with 30+ bucks, I'll buy it.
 
I dunno. I really didn't enjoy it at all.

The game seems to be less about interacting with the level structure and gimmicks and more about pushing the right face buttons that deal with a single type of obstacle. The game is literally a string of quicktime events. If you had some variety in how to interact with level obstacles, it'd be better. But as it stands I've voiped past fifty blue boxes that only allow for voiping, so I'm getting bored.

Because there were hardly any level gimmicks that distinguished that beach level, it hardly feels memorable. You could literally slap on any other visual theme and nothing would be lost. It doesn't help that the existing music is generic as all get-out.

But I think the biggest thing is that they made the controls too damn complex. There's four different face buttons, they all do something for each of the four characters, and some of those character's actions are different. If nothing else, Sonic games have prided themselves on accessibility. In the 2D games, there's only a jump button. In the 3D games there have usually been separate jump and attack/roll buttons. Even the more complex entries, like Sonic Heroes, usually have good button mapping. What we have in this game is a complex mess.

First recommendation: Get rid of the run button. I was a fan of this in Lost World, but in retrospect we've had both 2D and 3D games that handle acceleration just fine. Sonic here is either a stiff booger or runs into obstacles / past caches or alternative routes too fast. And it's been a problem in other Sonic games before, but it seems like this is the most vanilla, most momentum- and physics-ignoring platformer in the franchise. Come on! It isn't impossible to do that in 2D! What little momentum there is is supplied strictly by boosters and springs.

That said, there were a couple of things the demo does well. The compromise of falling into a pit and returning to where you were but taking damage seems like such and obvious thing to do in retrospect. And the tunnel level was fun. Increase the complexity by letting you jump whenever you please, and you'd have a good special / bonus stage format to work with.
 
I'd harp on Lost World and Boom for using a run button in games where you have a control stick or circle pad you can just lightly hold in, but then I remember Sonic Unleashed for Wii and think to myself "who the fuck maps the run action to double-tap on a JOYSTICK"

I think it's okay in Lost World's case because it's not that complex to control anyway, but yeah, doesn't make sense for Boom.
 
@shadon: um, lost world 3ds was a great game...I preferred it over the wii u version.
Hah, that's pretty funny.


Anyhoo, I guess the TV show is premiering tomorrow morning at 7 AM. So uh...assuming you're not young enough to wake up at that time and not feel like you're made out of play-doh, I suggest you set your DVRs. I'm not going to call this the best cartoon ever, but this whole ordeal is looking miles ahead of anything put out by DiC or whoever the hell made Sonic X. It's not exactly difficult to be the new best Sonic cartoon, which is ironic because I think this guy has had more cartoons than any other video game character, but I still think, based off of the stuff we've been shown, that it will have plenty of action, plenty of humor, and most importantly to me, plenty of downtime. Now, you might be confused and think I just said the wrong word, but one of my favorite things in, say, Dragon Ball Z, was the interactions between the fighters with each other, or the non-fighters, outside of the action. Vegeta is the funniest guy when you put him in a casual situation. And this is no exception. I couldn't get along with any of the previous Sonic shows because they never f'ing slowed down. There was a minor exception in the form of Sonic X, but that series made me want to go back to the action because of it. My point is, taking a breather is something I like when normally crazy powerful fighters or super-fast characters do. And this series is going to be at least some of that, so I automatically rank it higher than any other Sonic cartoon.

So, bleh. There.
 
Tried out the 3DS demo a couple of times.

The controls are too complicated, you can't jump on enemies, the basic attack for all four characters is a homing attack even though that makes no sense and doesn't work well in 2D, the level design is blocky and full of stock objects that only one character can break to progress, the music is lame, the mini-games are terrible, and the only way to go fast is to hit a speed boost pad or a spring.

And this is the Boom game I and other people thought might actually turn out good. My hopes for the console version just became zilch.
 
I've been more pleased with the 3DS demo of Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal than almost any other Sonic game ever. The demo allows you to play three stages:
  • Seaside Beach, a standard 2D Sonic the Hedgehog level with many possible routes to the finish and various items to possibly collect on the way. In this mode you must switch between the four players Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Sticks (with the simple press of a button on the d-pad) to reach all areas within the level. The gameplay can be as fast or slow as you want it to be and it is very dynamic.
  • Seaside Race, in which you run, jump, and swing through a 2D stage as Sonic, trying to reach the finish before Sticks does. This mode feels much more frantic than the other two. A simple mistake can put you far behind. This level in particular is forgiving enough that even a bumbling fool such as myself managed to win on my first try, though. Grin.
  • Worm Tunnel, something styled more like a 3D special stage, not as dynamic as a typical Sonic Adventure level. The controls are very simple. Left and right to shift your character around the tunnel or tilt, one button to dash forward, and another to grapple onto zip lines. Avoid the hazards and collect as many rings as possible. Works for me.
I initially found the controls unwieldy but it took very little time to become mostly well acquainted with them. Each character has its own special moves, but the moves shared by all characters (in the default key configuration) are:
  • Move - Slide the circle pad left or right to move in that direction.
  • Jump - Press B (jump) to jump.
  • Double Jump - Press B (jump) while in the air to perform a second jump.
  • Sprint - Hold Y (sprint) to sprint while moving.
  • Homing Attack - Press B (jump) while in the air to attack a nearby targeted enemy or object.
  • Enerbeam - Press A (enerbeam) while on the ground to cast an enerbeam.
  • Ground Pound - While in the air, slide the circle pad down and press X (special) to perform a downward smash.
  • Look - While standing still, slide the circle pad up or down to move the camera.
  • Interact - Press A (enerbeam) when prompted near an object or location. This is how the character grapples to objects, swings, and enters portals.
  • Quick Switch - Press a direction on the d-pad to switch to another character. This can even be done mid-air, but the summoned character will not be able to use any moves until landing on the ground.
I do find myself wondering why they only supplied two possible key configurations instead of allowing more detailed customization, but, as I previously mentioned, it did not take me very long to become mostly acquainted with the default control scheme.

Tried out the 3DS demo a couple of times.

The controls are too complicated, you can't jump on enemies, the basic attack for all four characters is a homing attack even though that makes no sense and doesn't work well in 2D, the level design is blocky and full of stock objects that only one character can break to progress, the music is lame, the mini-games are terrible, and the only way to go fast is to hit a speed boost pad or a spring.

And this is the Boom game I and other people thought might actually turn out good. My hopes for the console version just became zilch.

  • I also thought the controls were too complicated... until about two or three minutes into the game. :)
  • You can jump onto enemies using a homing attack or ground pound.
  • Why doesn't the homing attack make sense? I think it works perfectly fine in 2D.
  • The supplied levels are particularly blocky, and I hope the full version has more varied terrain.
  • I think that the 'stock objects' that only one character can break to progress add a positive sort of variety to the level. They hearken back to the walls that only Knuckles could break in STH3+Knuckles, but at least in Sonic Boom you can switch characters on the fly instead of having to replay the level as different characters.
  • I love the music. All of it.
  • I'm not sure what you're referring to as a mini-game. If there are any "special stages", I failed to locate them. I would prefer if Tail's submarine thing and the 3D stage were more dynamic and exciting... but that actually happen later in the game. Here's to hoping. :)
  • With the way the levels are designed, I think very fast spinballs or sprinting would be brutal. The sprinting is plenty fast enough for me, anyway.
In summary, I disagree with you. :D I'm excited for the full release.
 
Well the first two episodes just aired, and...I liked them. The first half was a little meh, although the scenes with Knuckles were pretty great. Either way, the second half is what everyone's been interested in. Eggman singing, acting goofy, hitting everyone with pillows...it was great. Slapping Sonic in the face to wake him up is awesome, too. Overall, I'm really excited to see where this series goes.
 
saw it online. s'alright. I think a younger audience would enjoy it more than me though.
 
From what I played so far, the 3DS game is alright. Of course, everything will be different since it's a spinoff, so the controls aren't really something to brag about, y'know, new development team and all. The graphics could be slightly better, but all TV/movie games tend to look like that, so I couldn't particularly care. By the way, have you guys figured out how to spindash? I know I have; it's kinda pointless being in here though.

at least this is its own canon, a spinoff, so nobody can make mention to it again amirite i mean it's not like it is meant for kids, dontchaknow
 
From what I played so far, the 3DS game is alright. Of course, everything will be different since it's a spinoff, so the controls aren't really something to brag about, y'know, new development team and all. The graphics could be slightly better, but all TV/movie games tend to look like that, so I couldn't particularly care. By the way, have you guys figured out how to spindash? I know I have; it's kinda pointless being in here though.

at least this is its own canon, a spinoff, so nobody can make mention to it again amirite i mean it's not like it is meant for kids, dontchaknow

Huh. So in that case, it's the reverse Lost World. Bad Console game, good/decent portable game.
 
(A bit off-topic) people seriously found Lost World 3ds as bad? Really? I think it was great. Great level designs, great gameplay (which was more fast-paced for 3ds when discussing 2d mode), good music. Only downside was the story.

On-topic:

I still rate the 3ds demo as a 3.5/5. Not great, not horrible. Just a simple good ggame.it really does become fun when you get used to the controls and understand the mechanics of the game.

Also, anyone understand what it is you are supposed to do in the submarine mini-game in the first act?
 
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