Sonic Colors: Ultimate

The modern remake of Sonic Colors that brings Sonic into a high-speed adventure utilizing the full power of the Wisps to stop Eggman's schemes. I have a ton of memories playing the original Sonic Colors back on the DS and being able to play it in modern day is great as I make my way through the series. Even though this "ultimate" edition is more of a port with some added content, I still had a fun time going through and mastering the mechanics to be able to complete every level to its fullest. Sonic Colors has a lot of variety between its versions with this enhanced version closely following that of the Wii version akin to Sonic Unleashed's levels with a mixture of 2-D & 3-D segments that were fun to go through as you had to go through specific levels early on in each world to unlock the respective wisp capsules which encouraged a lot of replayability. Each of the game's levels had a unique identity in which you were able to explore more of the world as the levels went on, seeing various environmental effects that were fleshed out as I played which added to the game's charm. With it being so long since I've played I had forgotten most of the wisps in the game and reorienting myself with them was a lot of fun as they served different purposes via the sections they were in with my favorites being the flow of control given by drill, laser's precision, and the UFO's built in Lightspeed Dash; the music was also fitting as each level ramped up in intensity with my favorites being Aquarium Park & Planet Wisp. With the numerous shifting between 2-D & 3-D I was worried that as a result Sonic's controls wouldn't be able to be quick enough to respond, but I was happy to find out that his controls are some of the tightest given his top speed in the game with no large issues in moving fast then stopping suddenly. The gameplay loop was quite satisfying with so many alternate routes existing based on where you may go whether it's controlling your speed at certain points or holding onto a wisp at a crucial point to find new collectibles with the speed being greatly implemented into the game's overall flow. With the main gameplay being solid overall, I wasn't the fondest on how the game was actually presented via the story beats and visuals. Outside of the CGI cutscenes like the intro or end segments, the remake washes out a lot of the vibrant colors the game is known for making Sonic & Tails look pretty flat in their scenes. Speaking of their scenes, the writing of the story is also not the best around for a Sonic title, it's understandable given the premise and scale is relatively small but steering the focus to just Sonic & Tails doesn't give them a lot to work on with their lines being pretty basic in delivery and writing overall. Unlike Unleashed, this game had a larger focus on the 2-D sections rather than being more balanced with 3-D being primarily used for transitioning into different areas rather than being fleshed out themselves with the boost returning turning them more into forward momentum rather than controlling Sonic at high speeds to meet various goals in the level. A good portion of the levels in the game were also quite short even if you accounted for grabbing collectibles which made some worlds feel even shorter than they were with a good runtime of a level being inconsistent as you played with a lot of the time being spent on boost sections that lasted longer than they should've. For achievements, the game is pretty straightforward about its requirements with the majority lying in achieving 100% completion in each area via collecting all the Red Rings & getting a "S" rank for each level. With a fair route in mind when you're playing them they shouldn't be too hard to accomplish as most are extremely short and simply require above average skill in being able to collect various rings and collectibles while moving quickly through the stage. The hardest to achieve would have to be the boss fight S ranks as you need to be pretty efficient at moving through them and inflicting damage to meet the point requirement with some element of RNG being in play, but with enough practice shouldn't be too hard to achieve. Overall, I had a fun time playing through Sonic Colors: Ultimate. Despite there being aspects about the story and level design I wish could be improved upon, the core of the game is incredibly solid in enhancing Sonic's movement through different types of gameplay while also implementing a satisfying balance of exploration and high speeds to achieve higher and higher scores. I remembered how much fun I had playing the original with being able to truly hone my skills in mastering each of the wisps to their fullest ability as I played through the levels. I can definitely recommend this game to those seeking a fun high-speed platformer in the Sonic franchise with fun mechanics that blend well in colorful environments coalescing into a rollercoaster of a video game.