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Sonic and the Secret Rings

Posted March 16th 2007 by Gareth Trinkwon.

Almost a year ago, Desiré, Jared, Steven and I found ourselves standing in the insanely long line at E3 to play SEGA's newly announced Sonic the Hedgehog title for the Wii. The game was known as Sonic Wild Fire at the time, but we weren't really sure why. All we could ascertain was that the game was fast. Very fast. The fastest Sonic ever, perhaps. We'd already taken a glimpse of the Xbox360 and Playstation 3 Sonic titles, which felt like yet another duplicate of Sonic Adventure; but this one was different. The Wii's controls allowed for a whole new take on the way Sonic was controlled. He was no longer moved clumsily with an analog stick, and we were no longer forced to do battle with both glitchy controls and an uncooperative camera. Sonic was moving by himself, and all we had to do was steer. Simplistic, yes, but fun!

Now that the game has hit the masses, we can see how the whole thing turned out. Is it the perfect Sonic game? Absolutely not. Is it at least a start in returning the blue blur to his former glory? Hell yes. The game has been met with extremely mixed reactions since its release. One of the odd things about 3D Sonic titles is their uncanny ability to have such a divided general opinion of them. Even Sonic and the Secret Rings, which is such a vast departure from previous iterations of the series, has been met with both strong criticism and high praise.

And when I say vast departure, I'm not kidding. Not only has the game's control system been tinkered to completely change the way the game is played, but it also sports an entirely new setting (an Arabian Nights storybook!) along with a new storytelling style, a huge RPG-esque leveling system, and Sonic's look has even been returned to his old 16bit days. No more long blue dreadlock spikes. He's back to being the clean cut and well-shaven hedgehog we knew from days past.

But enough of that. How does it play? Actually, pretty well. The game makes good use of the Wii remote to control Sonic. Since the whole thing is on rails, and Sonic is constantly running forward, movement is limited to going from side to side. You do that by tilting the remote either left or right, or alternatively, tilting the remote back towards you will cause Sonic to stop and slowly walk backwards. Other maneuvers can be pulled off using the face buttons. The 1 button is your brake, and brings Sonic to a grinding halt. Pressing 2 locks Sonic into a slide, and releasing makes him jump. The height of his jump is based on the length of time spent holding it prior. Did that sound odd? It kind of is. It's probably my biggest gripe with the game's controls. You basically have to stop to charge your jump every time you want to reach a higher platform. Why SEGA saw fit to drop the standard jumping method that's been in use since the original Super Mario Brothers is beyond me.

Once airborne, pressing 1 or 2 again will cause Sonic to halt all forward movement and make a quick landing. Alternatively, shoving the remote forward will cause Sonic to execute his homing attack, which will automatically target any enemies in the vicinity. As far as controls go, that's pretty much it. They're by no means perfect, and you will take a while to get used to how the game plays; mostly because of the odd method of jumping, but also because the stages can require a bit of memorization to get through safely. Due to the fact that Sonic running so fast, knowing when to expect an obstacle or enemy appearing in your path can be a challenge, and failing to react in time can cause a host of problems, which brings me to my second complaint with the game. You can't turn around. Usually you don't need to; the game's about going forwards, but missing a spring or an enemy needed to unlock a door can often lead Sonic straight into a brick wall, and you'll have to carefully tilt the remote backwards to get him to move back. The camera doesn't change position when you do this, so you'll be pretty much blind and hoping you don't bump into the enemy you just missed. Having these sections seems almost like an oversight in the design; it's like SEGA still wasn't quite sure which direction to go with the game. There's a good mix of speed, fighting and platforming in each stage, but the three really don't gel particularly well at times, and you're left wishing the game would let you just run.

Another factor that sets the game apart from any of its predecessors is its leveling system. Sonic, or rather, his magical ring, gains experience points upon completion of each mission, and in RPG fashion, earning enough experience points allows him to level up. Leveling up unlocks new moves and abilities for Sonic to utilize. Gaining new skills increases Sonic's speed, maneuverability, attack power, and even his total ring count, and the game quickly goes from being an extremely fast paced platformer to something that would make F-Zero blush. You'll be in absolute awe of the Speed Break skill that becomes available half way through the game.

The game is divided into seven main worlds, plus a training world to test your abilities. Each world is divided into a series of missions. The first mission for each is always the standard "Go for the Goal!" romp that you see in every Sonic game, in which players have to guide Sonic to the objective as fast as hedgehogly possible. Subsequent missions then challenge the player with somewhat random, non-plot-related tasks such collecting a certain number of rings, defeating a specific number of enemies, or racing a mysterious being named Uhu to the goal. Playing these missions is crucial to progressing, as although many may be strictly unrelated to the plot, they do unlock new missions and chapters of the story and in turn, new worlds for Sonic to play through. You'll have to successfully complete several missions for each stage to unlock the next, and this is where the real heart of the game lies. A straight run from start to finish won't take you too long, but working on unlocking new missions, acquiring medals and obtaining new skills should keep you occupied for a very long time. The game has a "Special Book" that keeps track of all the things you've unlocked throughout the game. From FMV sequences, BGM tracks, and even a history lesson detailing every Sonic game that has been released since his debut, there are so many things that are genuinely fun to unlock.

Interspersing the missions are cutscenes that dictate what the heck is going on in terms of story. The game's plot is a bit of a stretch from previous titles. Poor Sonic has been transported into an Arabian Nights story book by a genie named Shahra. Shahra explains to Sonic that it's his task to save the world of the Arabian Nights from total destruction! From who? Well I'm sad to say you don't get to do battle with Dr. Robotnik this time around. Yeah, I know, it just ain't right. In his place is an evil Djinn named Erazor, who's trying to use the "Seven World Rings" (no Chaos Emeralds) to break free of the Arabian Nights and in doing so, is--well, he's a bad guy, and it's your job to stop him. That's all you really need to know. The cutscenes aren't rendered with FMV or the game engine; rather, they're done using sketched drawings, giving the game a storybook kind of feel.

The game is visually, probably one of the best we've seen on Wii. There's nothing particularly impressive in terms of shaders or effects, but the stages are well detailed, and Sonic's model looks great in motion. Enemy design is a little on the rough side though. Almost every enemy in the game is a genie, or some variation of one. Each stage has some other kind of foe that's themed to fit the setting, but the bulk of the enemies simply consist or red, green or blue genies. Pretty disappointing show, especially considering the Sonic series has always been so creative with enemy designs. The bosses are a bit of an improvement, and the battles with them are challenging. Still, I miss the badniks from previous games.

The game's music is an acquired taste. I, personally, love it. I was always totally against the whole lyrical direction that slowly began after Sonic R and Sonic Adventure came out, but this game's music is so delightfully silly that I just don't care. It's cheesy punk rock that doesn't belong within a hundred miles of an Arabian Nights tale, and yet, somehow, it works!

Steady Beat - Rocks the Place!

Sonic's back and better than he has been in years. The game is by no means perfect, and definitely doesn't come close to the old school masterpieces of Sonic 2 or Sonic 3 & Knuckles, but it's the best 3D Sonic title to date. Be warned, though. It's also the most challenging, and certainly the most frustrating. Since there are only seven main worlds, running through the standard story mode shouldn't take too long, but the real meat of the game lies in beating your best times, earning gold medals, and unlocking the huge amount of hidden content scattered throughout the secrets section. This game is definitely recommended for Sonic fans. People who are still unsure should at least give it a rent.

Posted in: Reviews