"Sonic Rush - Making a successful DS premiere"

Throughout the franchise's history, the people at Sega are always looking for ways to make the Sonic Universe a better place. They started small with introducing more characters. Then, the series escalated by adding new dynamics regarding the franchise's sacred relics, the Chaos Emeralds. After that, the series makes new directions and gets passed on to newer platforms. Now The franchise has taken the bold step of a new platform, new emeralds, and a few new faces in the Sonic Universe.

Graphics:
For the most part, this installment has chosen to revert to the style seen in the Sonic Advance series, what really makes this title stand out from its Advance predecessors is the 3D touch that was added to everything including the characters, enemies, and even the bosses. This is a style that cannot be denied as being very unique for a side-scrolling platformer.

Sound:
The music perfectly mirrors the Sonic Advance series, and the usage of the classic sound effects is only to be expected with any installment these days. There's not much to say there, but the voices of Tails and Cream did get annoying during the course of the adventure. Of course, this is likely to be expected, too.

Story:
Once again, the plot of collecting the Chaos Emeralds to defeating the ultimate evil of this adventure shines through. At least this installment tries to do something different by introducing a parallel universe in which Blaze the cat, a fire elemental with royal lineage, is sworn to protect the Sol Emeralds, another ultimate power said to hold the space-time continuum in perfect balance. While Sonic does what he does best (run around, collect emeralds, and beat up Eggman), Blaze follows a journey where she - apart from getting the Sol Emeralds - puts her "I work alone" attitude behind her...whether she likes it or not. In both cases, you will likely experience quirky dialogue and the feeling of deja vu in how characters typically act towards one another (Amy's crush, Knuckles's short fuse, Eggman's latest quest for ultimate power).

Control:
The game utilizes similar controls to the Advance series. So, anybody who had played the Advance series should feel very comfortable. A key difference with this game is the second screen which primarily serves as extending the amount of viewing space to the adventure. Another difference is the spin dash being severely weakened and replaced with a tension gauge which proves to be a faster way to get around. Finally, being a DS title, Sonic Rush makes use of the touch screen technology. All the menus are touch screen compatible, and the stylus is used to control Sonic as he makes his way down the traditional half-pipe to collect the emeralds. I find that controlling Sonic in this manner makes for more solid controlling compared to Sonic 2 and Sonic Heroes.

Gameplay:
Casual gamers be warned! While this game is boasting new ways to manipulate Sonic, the level designs are seldom forgiving. As the game progresses you will likely find yourself dying almost constantly just because you missed a jump or you forgot to avoid an enemy. The game's almost zero chance for recovery in a failure made getting to the end a very frustrating experience. In addition, most of the boss battles are walking the fine line between a worthy challenge and just plain cheap. And finally, the game also throws in the dreaded letter ranking system. Ever since Sonic Adventure 2, I found this system irritating because you strain to do your best on a level and then get mocked with a D or E rank afterwards. It's a minor grievance, but seeing as how there are no real prizes for a perfect 'S' with this installment, I can easily overlook it.

Overall:
Ultimately, this game offers more of the old school run around we have come to love of the franchise. I would definitely recommend this game to any franchise follower who didn't get enough of what the Sonic Advance series brought forth. For anybody who thinks that beating up Eggman has gotten too easy, I suggest you check this out.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/04/06