"No, Sonic does not team up with Geddy Lee in this game"

There was a time when the thought of a SEGA game on a Nintendo system was blasphemy and you would be laughed at. It would be even harder to believe that a Sonic game, then the company's most recognizable franchise and synonymous with SEGA, would be released on one. However, once SEGA went third party, it became a reality. A multitude of Sonic games were released for the Gamecube and Game Boy Advance, proving that just about anything could come true. Sonic Rush is the first Sonic game released on the DS, Nintendo's newest foray in the handheld world. And, for a surprise all the people who played the somewhat mediocre Sonic Advance games, this is quite an excellent title. Easily the best Sonic game released on a Nintendo system, this is perhaps the best Sonic game since Sonic's third adventure on the Genesis.

Sonic Rush has our main character running into another predicament with our old pal Dr. Eggman, known in the older games as Dr. Robotnik. Apparently he's at it again with wanting to take over the world and enslave everyone. I guess he's not much of a church-going fellow. Anyway perpetual hero Sonic comes to save the day and defeats Dr. Eggman in one of his oversized mechanical monstrosities once again, only to find a strange emerald left behind (we will later find out that it's called a Sol Emerald). Strangely from out of nowhere a seemingly rude female cat by the name of Blaze comes and takes the Emerald for herself, muttering on about how it's the second one of the bunch. Naturally Sonic and his younger buddy Miles "Tails" Prower decide to investigate. Thus begins the story of Sonic Rush. In all, it's nothing engaging and really just a backdrop for all of the action that is going to take place.

Sonic Rush isn't much different from the other older Sonic titles, and well that's probably the reason this game is so enjoyable. The older Sonic games were the epitome of speedy platformers, and this is no exception. This is still incredibly fast, and the game has multiple paths to travel per level. And it's on two screens to boot. The dual screen nature of the game really doesn't factor into much of anything (IE if a character falls down, it appears on the second screen), and the touch screen is utilized very minimally so I guess it's not exactly innovative for DS standards. Not that it matters when you have a game as fun as this one.

For the seven of you that haven't played a Sonic game before, the game plays as follows: run really fast until you get to the end of the level. Seriously, it's that simple. That's the fun of it. The game is divided into Zones, which are subsequently divided into two acts and a boss each. Each act is a simple game in the vein of Sonic of years passed. Just keep moving and watch out for enemies who you will have to defeat or lose your rings. Rings form your basic health, and if you get hit by an enemy you will lose all of them. If you are hit by an enemy without any coins you'll meet your untimely demise and have to start the act over again. Each level is populated by not only a multitude of enemies, but a large amount of contraptions that may help or hinder Sonic's progress. Such things as trampolines and pulleys make their way through the level to help Sonic. Things like spikes, walls, and collapse platforms make it harder for our pal to move through the level. Once you reach the end of the stage you move onto the next one or a boss. It's simple, simple, simple.

I should also add that not only do you play as Sonic, you also play as the already mentioned Blaze the cat. Both characters play the same levels and their moves are essentially the same. Their storylines are a tad different though and that's the benefit of playing each character on their own levels. It's not like they add a totally different game by being able to play as Blaze, but you do get some extra playing time on the levels. The characters moves are very basic, but they do utilize an interesting trick function. Basically when you go off jumps or trampolines or grind on rails, you can input a number of button combinations to pull of some interesting tricks that not only give you extra points for the bonus at the end of a level, they allow you to refill the Tension Gauge at the left of the screen which when filled allows you to pull off a type of super dash that propels the character at a blistering speed.

Sonic and Blaze will make their way through numerous types of levels from the jungle to a metropolis and beyond. They offer slightly original things for each level, but they've all pretty much been done before in previous Sonic games.

And I should add that the water levels still suck...

Anyway, one thing that is interesting is the new 3D boss fights. While not true 3D as it is on a linear plane, they still are nice to look at. They are very similar to bosses of Sonic's past in the fact that they have different moves and you have to attack a certain point when it is left vulnerable. And like in the past, the bosses are gigantic robotic mechanical beasts made by Eggman himself. For example, the first boss is Eggman in a giant Dragon mech which you fight on top of a cliff with a nice view. They are definitely a nice change of pace during the story mode, and some people will definitely complain about the simplicity of them because they really don't offer much variety. Whatever, I like them.

The game also offers an interesting multiplayer mode in which you race against a buddy. It can also be played with one game pack between two systems. It can be a fun way to pass the time if you want.

Sonic Rush is a nice game on the eyes. It's very vibrant and colorful like all the past Sonic games have been. It never takes a beating with all the speedy gameplay that goes on with this title. The aforementioned boss battles are indeed in full 3D and are lovely to look at on the DS's screen even if it is still linear gameplay. The only downfall about the graphics is oddly, Sonic's sprite. I'm not sure if it's a sprite or a polygonal Sonic, but it's not animated very much and very muddy to look at. I don't know what happened. I prefer the sprites from the GBA games to this one. However, you don't really look at Sonic himself much during the course of the game so I guess that is acceptable. In all, the game is very nice to look at.

Unfortunately the sound and music isn't anything special. Like all of the Sonic games in the past, the music is very uninspired and can get cheesy at times. It's not quite Sonic Adventure 2 cheesy, but still up there. The sound effects themselves are very lo-fi too and not in the good way like the band Pavement. It's lo-fi in a SEGA Genesis way. I mean they could have added similar effects as the Dreamcast Sonic games at least, but nope. There are some very standard and very limited examples of speech in the game. This is probably the weakest part of the game, but eh it's not too grating on your experience but does present itself noticeable from time to time.

I'm not sure if this game has much of a lasting appeal. I mean there are two heroes to play as, and you do have multiplayer but even that isn't that engaging. The main catch to this game is the single player though and that is a very engaging one at that. The game itself isn't too long, but each level can be replayed as much as possible and you can try to get the high scores on each level or boss (denoted by a letter grade and the score is dependent on a combination of speed, amount of coins, and the tricks completed throughout the level). I think this game will certainly last a decent amount of time, but once you're finished with it I think you'll be finished for good.

In conclusion, Sonic Rush has some downfalls but in the end it comes out to be quite a fine game indeed. The main game is easily the best Sonic game to be released for a Nintendo system. I hope that SEGA/Sonic Team has continued success with Sonic on the DS because if they just keep improving this formula, I will be a continued buyer. And no, this game doesn't have anything to do with the Canadian Prog Rock trio.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/19/05