Sonic Colors: Ultimate

For as long as I can remember, I have been a person who prefers 2D Sonic. I grew up with those early Genesis games and, despite having a few great moments, I never really gelled with 3D entries like Sonic Adventure and Sonic Heroes. But could it be that my bias against the 3D games is woefully out of date? After all, Sega has attempted to reinvent Sonic multiple times throughout the last two decades, and I'll be the first to admit that I enjoyed Sonic Generations when I played it back in 2011. Maybe it's time for me to broaden my horizons and give the Blue Blur's 3D outings another look. And this is the perfect time to do that, what with the recent release of Sonic Colors: Ultimate on modern consoles, a remastered port of one of the Hedgehog's best-reviewed games. Will this hotly-anticipated re-release be what it takes to get me into 3D Sonic? That's what I wanted to find out.

That dastardly Dr. Eggman is at it again and has created his worst invention yet ... a high-tech amusement park in outer space? Wait, that doesn't sound too bad. Could it be that the evil doctor has finally turned a over a new leaf in life and made something good for a change? Well, Sonic isn't fooled, and he has good reason to be skeptical. He and Tails quickly discover that Robotonik has been imprisoning a race of aliens known as Wisps in order to harness their unique power to construct a new weapon that once again threatens the good people of Earth. In other words, that evil Eggman is still up to his same old schemes. He's nothing if not predictable.

This sets up a fairly straight-forward 3D platformer that sees Sonic the Hedgehog spin, jump, slide and mostly run through five challenging planets, each with a generator that needs to be smashed. What he encounters is a roller coaster ride through the delicious Sweet Mountain, the underwater Aquarium Park, the explosive asteroid belt and more. These disparate planets all have six acts and a boss level to complete, ensuring that you'll see the attractions from every conceivable angle. And best of all, you won't have to wait in a three-hour line to get on these rides.

After floundering with poorly-received entries like Sonic Unleashed, The Secret Rings and, of course, the 2006 reboot, Sega made a concerted effort to create a game that is a little more in line with what Super Mario was up to. One of the most obvious examples of this come in the form of Wisp power-ups, where your alien friends help Sonic transform and explore the levels like never before. There are nine of these colored powers, which include everything from an Orange Rocket that can send our hero to new heights, Pink Spikes that allow us to climb walls and ceilings, a Blue Cube that will create new platforms and Cyan Laser that will allow the Blue Blur to bounce around the stage with reckless abandon.

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At first, these colorful power-ups seemed almost secondary. Sure, you occasionally had to use one to get past a specific obstacle, but many of the stages can be finished without worrying too much about the Wisp abilities. However, as I went back to explore the stages, I found elaborate paths and hidden areas that could only be exposed using these powers. And as the stages begin to get harder, you'll find that using the colors is the only way to collect the five red stars sprinkled throughout each of the main levels. The power-ups are also incredibly useful against the bosses, especially when Sonic is dealing with giant spaceships.

What I like about the level designs is how the game seamlessly shifts between 2D and 3D, giving something for just about everybody. A decade after first going 3D, Sega knew that there were a lot of us old school Sonic fans that still preferred the 2D gameplay, and you can see the franchise doing everything in its power to split the difference. This worked on me more than I was expecting, and part of the reason for that is because jumping from 2D to 3D and then back to 2D feels natural and allows the developers to show off what they can do with the level designs. It also helps that both of these camera perspectives offer different kinds of gameplay, forcing you to come at each part of the stage in unique ways. There's a nice balance between the 2D and 3D stuff.

That said, I have to say that I still prefer the side-scrolling segments. While I will admit that a lot of the 3D elements are handled better here than in other Sonic games, they still suffer from a lot of the same problems that have plagued the series ever since the release of Sonic Adventure in 1999. As visually impressive as they are, I could never shake the feeling that I was simply along for the ride and not really in control. At most, you're jumping up to collect coins or changing lanes to collect a different power-ups, making a lot of the 3D sections feel more like elaborate transitions. They are showpiece moments designed to wow players long enough to make them forget that they aren't actually doing much beyond holding up on the controller.

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At the same time, I'm not really sure what more Sega can do with this concept. For as boring as it can be when the game goes on auto-pilot, it's somehow even worse when the levels throw an unexpected obstacle at you. One of the common examples of this is when Sonic will only have a split-second to push the slide button, or else he'll smack into the wall and lose all of his momentum. To be fair, you also run into this problem in the side-scrolling sections, but it's not as jarring there. 2D Sonic has always been more about exploration and path finding than running at breakneck speeds, which is probably why those segments tend to be the most compelling bits of Sonic Colors. I will say that this game does a better job of balancing the 2D and 3D elements, even if one of those still feels like a weak link.

I was also a little underwhelmed by the stage themes and designs. Like I said before, I found myself appreciating the levels a lot more after going back and exploring them, so there's something to be said about not rushing through the game. That said, I'm not sure how many of these worlds I'm going to remember in a month or two. Even with robot samurais, there's very little in these worlds that I would call iconic, so none of them really stood out. On the other hand, I do like how some of the later levels involve more puzzle solving than pure speed. I wish there was more of this puzzle solving in not only this game, but the Sonic franchise in general.

Visually, this remaster is a lot sharper looking than I was expecting. Sonic Colors originally came out on the under-powered Wii in 2010, at a time when the competition was lapping the system with mind-blowing high-definition graphics. It's obvious that this port comes from dated hardware, but Sega has done a good job of making the game look shinier and more like a modern release. With 4K graphics running at 60 frames per second, Eggman's crazy amusement park has never looked better.

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It's also worth mentioning that Sonic Colors: Ultimate comes with a number of new features that extend beyond the improved visuals. One of the new modes is called Rival Rush, and it will have you racing against Metal Sonic through a whole bunch of fun levels. There's also a new Wisp ability called Jade Ghost that will, appropriately, allow players to phase through parts of the map and find new areas to explore. Additionally, there's a new item that you can pick up in the levels that looks like Tails. This is an especially handy item, as when Sonic accidentally falls to his death, Tails will show up and fly him back to the nearest platform. It's a lot like having a second type of checkpoint, and you'll definitely be grateful for your little friend in some of those later stages.

One of the best new additions gives the player the ability to customize Sonic's iconic gloves, shoes and even the colorful aura that you see when he runs really fast. I also like that we're able to customize the controller in a bunch of different ways, especially considering that this game originally came out on the Wii and used the motion controller. All of this adds up to the definitive version of Sonic Colors. If you're somebody who has fond memories of the original 2010 release and have grown impatient waiting for Sega to make another 3D Sonic game, then you won't be disappointed with this Ultimate release.

As for me, I come out of this game having a better appreciation for Sonic's 3D adventures, but still find myself firmly on the side of the 2D games. Sonic Colors makes a convincing case that, with the right balance and a few tweaks, there's value in shifting between the camera perspectives and going 3D. I may always prefer a throwback game like Sonic Mania, but I will no longer dread the Hedgehog's future 3D installments. I consider that to be personal growth.