Sonic Rush

"A near-triumphant return to gaming"

I've had real mixed feelings about Sonic of late. My Genesis is worn out, so I've reverted to playing Sonic Mega/Gems Collection to get my fix of decent Sonic games. Advance....meh. Nothing truly worthy of the original (the first Sonic Advance was the most old-school, by far)

Then, I picked up this title.

Sonic Rush excels and overshadows Advance in almost every area, but I wouldn't exactly call it equal to the originals. I will say its the most fun playing Sonic that I've had since Sonic 3 & Knuckles.

Gameplay: 9/10

Sonic seems to be too self-absorbed in his own speed nowadays. Instead of well-placed jumps, we have mindless speed coupled with irritatingly-placed death pits. Split-second movements are key here. It's not so hard that it isn't fun. It's just hard enough to take some getting used to. However, after some time, you'll agree that Sonic is definitely back.

A new feature is the boost system, which consists of a meter on the left side of the screen you currently are on, and allows you to expend some boost energy to do the powerful boost attack which is similar to the Spin Dash ability without charging. Not that the Spin Dash has been rendered useless; more than once you'll run out of boost power. The boost gauge also has another feature in that if you run fast enough with a full gauge, you can blast right through enemies and use your boost attack as much as you want.

Blaze's game has a MUCH steeper learning curve, starting you out in Sonic's FOURTH stage (with no difficulty adjustments) and at this point you get to see how mind-bendingly frustrating this game can be. Also, Blaze's game is a bit different, focusing less on mind-bending speed and more about easy maneuvers. Her moves are nearly the same as Sonic's, except that she has a hover ability, similar to Knuckles' gliding (without the climbing and the ability to kill enemies in mid-air), while Sonic has his traditional Jump Dash/Homing Attack. Since Blaze is not as fast as Sonic, her game is slightly less exciting, as well.

Special stages play well, being similar to Sonic 2's bonus games. Speaking of bonus games, why have they been noticeably absent since Sonic 3? I miss taking a break to play the slot machine, or the ultra-annoying game with the orbs that Sonic floated around until you hit the A button at the right moment to slingshot Sonic to a bevy of useful items. Anyway, instead of controlling using the D-pad you must guide Sonic through a gauntlet of dangerous….umm, things (I don't exactly know what they're supposed to be) using the touch screen and stylus. The special stages range from pitifully easy to irritating, throw-your-DS-out-the-window hard. And NO MORE HUNTING DOWN 20 MILLION SPECIAL ITEMS JUST TO GET A SHOT AT THE CHAOS EMERALD!!! WOOHOO!!! However, you do have to have enough power in the boost meter to access the special stages, but other than that, is virtually the same as the Special Rings from Sonic 3.

I enjoy the lack of mascot-laden gameplay that is completely pointless (we‘re looking at YOU, Sonic Advance 1, 2, and 3, as well as YOU, Sonic Adventure…and we can‘t forget YOU, Sonic Heroes). However, I can't help but feel some irritation that Sonic Team decided to introduce ANOTHER new character. Looks like the sequel, Sonic Rush Adventure, isn't doing much to change that, with the addition of ANOTHER new character.

Graphics: 8.5/10

No complaints here. Sonic moves fluidly and is well-animated with his 3D model, and works great even under the extreme speeds. The backgrounds look nice, and enemies look fine, on par with their Sonic Heroes counterparts. Its nothing truly amazing, and maybe backgrounds could've been done a little better, but overall it's well done. Use of the dual-screen technology of the DS is well done, with easy, nearly delay-free transitions between screens which open up a new capability to see when death from above is coming.

Also, level designs are pretty good looking and instead of 482 levels tromping around in a pyramid, we get one. Sterotypical water (Water Palace), pinball (Night Carnival), and space (Dead Line) levels make appearances, but somehow they never get old and are all diverse enough to tell them apart.

Sound and Music: 8/10

When I first heard about this game, I had heard the music was going to be hip-hop. I have a somewhat closed mind when it comes to music. When I first played this game, I couldn't stand the music; I would play the game with the volume on my DS all the way down.

However, now I love the music. I find myself searching for the music on the internet in the hopes of putting it on my iPod. It's great. It's fast-paced, fun, and, for lack of a better word, "groovy". Some tunes, particulary Right There, Ride On (Leaf Forest) and Ethno Circus (Mirage Road) are annoying. Yeah, that's how much like the music of this game; I know the song titles.

The sound effects, on the other hand, are absolutely, positively atrocious. Although the typical jump and ring sound effects are intact, voice clips are included in this game. Wanna hear Tails go, “YESSS!” every time you switch levels? Me neither. Tails and Cream cheering you on in boss battles are probably the most annoying thing since Richard Simmons started making workout videos, and will have you begging for a “Sound Effects Off” option.

Story: 8/10

OK, so it may not be the most original thing ever, but this game's storyline was pretty big for the Sonic universe. We now have 2 different planes of reality, and thus, two sets of emeralds that cause either eminent salvation or cataclysmic ruin. Are there more? And what's the deal with Blaze? This game's storyline may surpass every Sonic game so far, depending on your opinion, but don't expect material rivaling Metal Gear Solid or Final Fantasy.

Replay Value: 5/10

Not particularly great. After completing the main game, you can hunt down the Chaos Emeralds in Sonic's story, and unlock the final boss battle, but after that, there's literally nothing to do but multiplayer and time attack. I suppose, if you were a true fanatic, you'd be working to get all S ranks in the levels, but as far as I know there isn't a reward for this with the exception of bragging rights. I wish Blaze's Sol Emeralds had to be hunted down like the Chaos Emeralds, with a different special stage (maybe similar to Sonic 1's special stages).

If you're a fan of Sonic this is definitely a must-buy. If you're like me, and have stuck by Sonic through the good times (the "Genesis Era") and the bad (Adventure, Heroes….SHADOW), do yourself a huge favor and buy this game. If you have a DS, this game is definitely worth a try, but it's not for everyone. It's a solid game that has only a couple flaws that keep it from being the best it could possibly be.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/01/06, Updated 06/14/07