The year is 2010, and Sonic the Hedgehog 4 has been released.
For perspective: Sonic 3 & Knuckles, the last full-fledged installment of the "Classic" Sega Genesis Sonic series, was made playable with the release of Sonic & Knuckles in 1994.
Basic math will tell you that that's a long time. In this long time, things have changed. Sonic has had his ups and downs. The series has gone from 2D to 3D to 2.5D on consoles. Motion controls have been added and removed. We've had no less than three reinventions of the 2D Sonic concept on various platforms. Sonic has been so many places in the pursuit of great post-16-bit gameplay that honestly, it's a little weird to see him attempting to "go back home again," as it were.
The question on display here, then: is it even possible? Or for that matter, desirable?
Gaming at large has already seen its fair share of retro revivals. From Mario to Mega Man, from Gradius to Castlevania to Street Fighter, the old games people grew up with in the era of 8- and 16-bit are returning, with varying degrees of quality and completely different delivery methods between them. Some of these have stuck as close to the original gameplay and aeshetics as possible; more imitating their predecessors as opposed to reviving them. Others have been given fresh coats of paint, and do their best to make the old new again. Sonic the Hedgehog 4 sits in between.
Sonic 4 sports clean visuals--nothing too noisy, and nothing too "forced-retro". Honestly, it looks like how a Genesis-styled Sonic game would look today in high-res, especially since all of the stage motifs are ripped directly from past Sonic titles. Some things don't quite fit with the new graphics: mainly the models of Sonic and Eggman. They have a very plastic look to them, but the other 90% of the game is a clean feast for the eyes, with no distractions to be found.
Its music, however, is the very definition of "forced-retro." One can't help but wonder if long-time Sonic composer Jun Senoue felt a bit out of his element here. This music is trying just a little too hard to sound like something out of the older Sonic games. Exactly half of the soundtrack succeeds and is super-catchy. The other half doesn't and we're left with bland elevator music. This soundtrack is a far cry from the old stuff, but is serviceable nonetheless.
As for the gameplay, well... on the surface, it's mostly old-school Sonic. If you somehow haven't managed to play it on the umpteen zillion platforms Sega has released the titles on over the years, then you're in for a pretty fun time, all told. This is an action game where you control a blue hedgehog who has the ability to tear through the stages presented to him at a pace Super Mario could only ever dream of. Using his spiked body, Sonic rams into robots, destroying their metal shells and freeing the forest friends inside. Stages are set up in a roller-coaster-like fashion, with sweeping hills, acceleratory valleys, and loop-de-loops. Momentum is the name of the game in any Sonic title; becoming skilled in it means you can wow yourself and your friends by making every level look like a piece of cake as it blurs by, barely recognizable.
A few elements from the old games that we haven't seen in literal decades also make a comeback: many of Dr. Eggman/Robotnik's old bosses return with new twists, and Sonic is allowed to collect the seven Chaos Emeralds in special stages, upon collection of which allows him to turn into the game-breaking Super Sonic. There's also a map screen which allows for free stage selection, which may feel like a betrayal of the "classic" formula until one realizes that it's 2010 and players today just won't stand for not being able to see all of the game they purchased. Heck, players are even allowed to retry Special Stages as much as they want until they gather the Emeralds within. Said Stages, by the way, support Sixaxis tilt control, which actually works inoffensively here.
Indeed, even with the shinier graphics, this looks like a slavish homage to the old games; sometimes to a fault. However, note that above, I said "on the surface". This game may wear the clothes of the classics, but it's not until the moment one picks up the controller that the true purpose of the "4" in this game's name is shockingly revealed. It may not even be noticeable by folks not to familiar with the series, and honestly, more power to them. But for those who've been playing Sonic since the beginning, something is definitely amiss.
And it's wonderful.
Sonic the Hedgehog, historically, has always controlled akin to a marble rolled up in Teflon. This has been true since the first game, but any players who took a shine to the 16-bit games in their heyday tended to just accept it, and even come to like it. However, with Sonic the Hedgehog 4, those days are finally over. It's taken nearly two decades, but Sonic has adopted the levels of precision and player control seen in the early Super Mario Bros. titles. (Oddly enough, the New Super Mario Bros. series seems to have adopted old-school Sonic's slipperiness, but that's a whole other can of worms entirely.)
In Sonic the Hedgehog 4, Sonic does not move unless the player commands it. Ever. Momentum is now fully controlled by whatever direction is pressed on the D-Pad or analog stick. This includes aerial movement. The second the controller is let go, Sonic drops, allowing players to choose their own safe landings, or even control their direction as they fall. Players no longer have to overcompensate for inertia they never intended to gain just because they decided to go for a boost of speed off of an incline, for example. Ground movement is affected in this way as well. It kind of feels like playing the Debug Mode in the old Sonic games at times.
As for his auxiliary moves, the longtime standby Spin Dash requires fewer button presses to fully charge, and the Homing Attack, brought over from the 3D and Rush titles, provides accurate enemy attacks, and the ability to cancel aerial momentum when used for non-aggressive purposes. What all of this means is that Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is a time-attacker's and speed-runner's dream come true.
There are some rough spots and a couple of glitches, but no more so than the games used to sport in the old days--heck, I would even say considerably less, and you have to be actually looking for them to find them. There are a couple of aspects to Sonic's momentum that I would like to see smoothed out for the next episode (for example, unrolling from ball mode after spin-dashing up a hill, or always jumping straight up from sprints--both feel restrictive to me), but in all, Sonic 4 has spoiled me. I seriously cannot go back to Sonic 2's controls anymore, and this tears me up inside.
Is this "new" control scheme anything like the classic games? Heck no, and anyone who is absolutely insistent that Sonic should play like he did in those games may not take kindly to what Sega has done here. However, it's been a long time between Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic the Hedgehog 4. If you're going to increment the number in the title after this long, then it should either take into account any advancements the series has had since interim installments, or provide a good reason why it hasn't. Sonic 4 does both--not flawlessly, but just well enough to provide a clear glimpse into a future where a better, faster, more precise hedgehog could exist.
Sonic 4 may be sprinkled with shiny old-school references, but the new controls and ease of play are the real reasons to get this. Prospective players are encouraged to try the demo, however, and only plunk down the $15 if they like what they see. While $15 is certainly a bit steep, it's about same length as any given Sonic Advance title, and contains lots of replay value. Three episodes are planned, bringing the price of the complete game to slightly cheaper than New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
For my money, Sonic 4 is one of the few retro revivals I haven't gotten tired of yet. It's true that in terms of presentation, it's an over-pandering, almost insulting ode to the old games, seemingly coldly engineered in the name of nostalgia. However, pick up the controller, and the truth comes to light. Much like Super Street Fighter 4, this plays more like a true classic series revival that learns the lessons of old, rather than simply trying to make a 20-year-old game all over again.
Regardless of how one may feel about this execution, it needs to be said: if only everyone held this sort of mindset--to attempt to improve rather than constantly imitate--gaming would be in a much better place. Whether you're looking for accessible, fun platforming, or want to experience novel new twists on the old Sonic games in pretty much every way imaginable, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 delivers.
Rating: B
