Sonic ventures off from his homeworld to his first adventure game on the Wii U,but the question remains the same from the 3DS version: Is it really Sonic's biggest adventure yet,or should it stay lost in limbo?
Sonic Lost World was released alongside the 3DS version on the same day back at 2013,and since then,it got mixed opinions from fans,with one side being of those who say the game is bad,and the other where players think the game is good.
Now wait a second,you might be thinking:"But T,you already reviewed reviewed the 3DS version of the game!What's so different from the handheld version to this one?".Well,they do have noticible similarities,sure,but they also have some differences,which kind of forced me to split them into two reviews.The only time in which I'll probaly review two versions of a game in one,is when I get to review one/two of the main Pokemon games,but I kind of prefer waiting a bit more for that,for special occasion sakes.Anywho,with myself only telling in short résumés what I already mentioned in the 3DS version review,let's take a look at SLW's HD counterpart,shall we?
The story is the same as before:Sonic and Tails fly around on the Tornado,they chase Dr.Robotnick/Eggman,he launches an animal capsule in the sky,Sonic fails at saving it,and then Robotnick crashes their plane,ending up on a planet called the Lost Hex.Lately in the game,they both team up to stop a "menacing" team Robotnick found,named the Deadly Six.And no,you're not reading fake information.Sonic and Dr.Robotnick actually teamed up together,and actually it turns out to be very fun and hilarious at times.The story's decent,although it's shallow and have plot holes that were missing logical explanation,but Sonic games never took their stories too seriously,like Mario,but still,it's a bit of a shame we never got to know about these missing explanations.
The gameplay differs a bit from the 3DS version.You still have a run button to move Sonic faster,a Homing Attack(normal and charged) and a Spin Dash.Sonic feels less loose on control from the 3DS game,although a bit stiff when turning around.The parkour here is different in the Wii U version,because on the 3DS,whenever you run through a wall,you just had to go on a straight line,while in the Wii U version,it has shorter range,and you can only use the Spin Dash once while doing it,and instead of going automatically running forwards,when you were actually wanting to just climb the wall in certain moments on the handheld version,it's more responsive this time around,so that's a nice improvement.The level design of Lost World(Wii U) is larger,being able to have total freedom in specific levels,even if it's still tubular in the 3D parts.Be aware that this is not as fast as Unleashed or Generations,since this game is mainly a platformer,but if this factor doesn't seem right to you,remember Sonic has always been a speed and platforming mascot since the Genesis days,and for this type of game,for me at least,I think it works for the tubular and platforming focused gameplay style,so in my point of view,it's a nice touch for the game.The levels are divided in 2D and 3D categories,and sometimes it'll even mash the two into one,and for it's credit,it does render some nice and fun levels.However,not everything in the level design's a winner,because there are some stupid decisions put into the game,mainly naming the levels were Sonic is just floating on an empty sky,and one in particular where you have to guide him through a freaking snowball,which controlled terribly.In a small résumé,the level design is good,but has some odd design choices which create distance from it reaching perfection.While in the levels,you also have to save little animals trapped in capsules,and you will have to free a lot of them in order to complete the main game,making the game an explorative type at times,which gives it more objectives and time to complete the main story.
Lost World on the Wii U also features some boss fights with the Deadly Six,and sadly,for the most part,they're pretty easy,and it only requires 5-10 seconds of thinking so you can know the 'strategy' behind them to win the battle,and that's something I wouldn't skip as passable,because boss battles are supposed to be fun and a bit strategic,so this falls a bit on the negative side,although they're not terrible.Just too easy.
Special Stages are not present in this version,and so with that,you have to collect the Chaos Emeralds in another way,and thus,the Red Rings.They were present in the 3DS version,but there was no real purpose for them at the end.Now,in order to take command of Super Sonic,you have to find five Red Rings within each level,and when you collect all of them present within a world,you'll be awarded with one of the 7 Chaos Emeralds.I have to mention the difficulty in this game that,with the exception of the boss battles,is pretty hard.Let's just say running fast everytime isn't going to save you from falling on pits and losing rings whenever you hit an enemy,and if you're going to search for those Red Rings,you better have a lot of patience,but the quest is optional,so it isn't something you should mind much about it.There are also these Circus tents,which are basically one minigame in which you have to pop balloons to free animals and collect rings,controlling a trampoline to bounce Sonic to pop them.It's just a weird side distraction which you'll Probally only come back to it for a higher number of animals,but otherwise,it becomes forgetable.
Wisps are here as well,and some of them are exclusive to Lost World's HD counterpart.Yet again,they have no real purpose on being here(being this one of the missing plot holes from the story),and some of the new ones are forgettable,like the Crimson Eagle(controls awkwardly),Magenta Rhytym(also awkward to control and it's overally weird) and the Bomb Wisp(it's just stupid and pointless),but aside from those three,the Indigo Asteroid and the veteran ones from Sonic Colors controlled fine.
There's a Miiverse function in Lost World for the Wii U,which allows you to share items and compete against other players in levels,and as you may have known as of now,it's basically a side-gimmick,but it does give the game a litte bit of replayability,with the Time Trial mode.
Last thing exclusive here is a multiplayer mode(which can only be played off-line),in which you can race for the finish line or collect the highest number of rings against your friend/opponent as a red or green Sonic.I haven't played it much of it,so I can't say a lot,but one player plays on the GamePad,while the other plays on the TV screen,and it's short,but a bit of fun,so it's ok.
It might not be Sonic's most remarkable adventure yet,but Lost World on the Wii U is still a good Sonic game.Negatives like some odd level design choices,too easy boss battles,plot holes unexplained and some awkward controls at certain moments might not make people who play it satisfied,but the rest of the game is full of positives,thankfully.I cannot recommend it to everyone,because you might not like the results of some decisions they made in the final product,but if you're thinking if you should purchase it or not,mainly because of those reasons,then I should warn there's a demo of the game on the eShop that you can download for free,so I'd say to give that a try first,and if like what you've seen from it,and you're open for the changes the final product has,then you should probaly buy it.
Sonic Lost World was released alongside the 3DS version on the same day back at 2013,and since then,it got mixed opinions from fans,with one side being of those who say the game is bad,and the other where players think the game is good.
Now wait a second,you might be thinking:"But T,you already reviewed reviewed the 3DS version of the game!What's so different from the handheld version to this one?".Well,they do have noticible similarities,sure,but they also have some differences,which kind of forced me to split them into two reviews.The only time in which I'll probaly review two versions of a game in one,is when I get to review one/two of the main Pokemon games,but I kind of prefer waiting a bit more for that,for special occasion sakes.Anywho,with myself only telling in short résumés what I already mentioned in the 3DS version review,let's take a look at SLW's HD counterpart,shall we?
The story is the same as before:Sonic and Tails fly around on the Tornado,they chase Dr.Robotnick/Eggman,he launches an animal capsule in the sky,Sonic fails at saving it,and then Robotnick crashes their plane,ending up on a planet called the Lost Hex.Lately in the game,they both team up to stop a "menacing" team Robotnick found,named the Deadly Six.And no,you're not reading fake information.Sonic and Dr.Robotnick actually teamed up together,and actually it turns out to be very fun and hilarious at times.The story's decent,although it's shallow and have plot holes that were missing logical explanation,but Sonic games never took their stories too seriously,like Mario,but still,it's a bit of a shame we never got to know about these missing explanations.
The gameplay differs a bit from the 3DS version.You still have a run button to move Sonic faster,a Homing Attack(normal and charged) and a Spin Dash.Sonic feels less loose on control from the 3DS game,although a bit stiff when turning around.The parkour here is different in the Wii U version,because on the 3DS,whenever you run through a wall,you just had to go on a straight line,while in the Wii U version,it has shorter range,and you can only use the Spin Dash once while doing it,and instead of going automatically running forwards,when you were actually wanting to just climb the wall in certain moments on the handheld version,it's more responsive this time around,so that's a nice improvement.The level design of Lost World(Wii U) is larger,being able to have total freedom in specific levels,even if it's still tubular in the 3D parts.Be aware that this is not as fast as Unleashed or Generations,since this game is mainly a platformer,but if this factor doesn't seem right to you,remember Sonic has always been a speed and platforming mascot since the Genesis days,and for this type of game,for me at least,I think it works for the tubular and platforming focused gameplay style,so in my point of view,it's a nice touch for the game.The levels are divided in 2D and 3D categories,and sometimes it'll even mash the two into one,and for it's credit,it does render some nice and fun levels.However,not everything in the level design's a winner,because there are some stupid decisions put into the game,mainly naming the levels were Sonic is just floating on an empty sky,and one in particular where you have to guide him through a freaking snowball,which controlled terribly.In a small résumé,the level design is good,but has some odd design choices which create distance from it reaching perfection.While in the levels,you also have to save little animals trapped in capsules,and you will have to free a lot of them in order to complete the main game,making the game an explorative type at times,which gives it more objectives and time to complete the main story.
Lost World on the Wii U also features some boss fights with the Deadly Six,and sadly,for the most part,they're pretty easy,and it only requires 5-10 seconds of thinking so you can know the 'strategy' behind them to win the battle,and that's something I wouldn't skip as passable,because boss battles are supposed to be fun and a bit strategic,so this falls a bit on the negative side,although they're not terrible.Just too easy.
Special Stages are not present in this version,and so with that,you have to collect the Chaos Emeralds in another way,and thus,the Red Rings.They were present in the 3DS version,but there was no real purpose for them at the end.Now,in order to take command of Super Sonic,you have to find five Red Rings within each level,and when you collect all of them present within a world,you'll be awarded with one of the 7 Chaos Emeralds.I have to mention the difficulty in this game that,with the exception of the boss battles,is pretty hard.Let's just say running fast everytime isn't going to save you from falling on pits and losing rings whenever you hit an enemy,and if you're going to search for those Red Rings,you better have a lot of patience,but the quest is optional,so it isn't something you should mind much about it.There are also these Circus tents,which are basically one minigame in which you have to pop balloons to free animals and collect rings,controlling a trampoline to bounce Sonic to pop them.It's just a weird side distraction which you'll Probally only come back to it for a higher number of animals,but otherwise,it becomes forgetable.
Wisps are here as well,and some of them are exclusive to Lost World's HD counterpart.Yet again,they have no real purpose on being here(being this one of the missing plot holes from the story),and some of the new ones are forgettable,like the Crimson Eagle(controls awkwardly),Magenta Rhytym(also awkward to control and it's overally weird) and the Bomb Wisp(it's just stupid and pointless),but aside from those three,the Indigo Asteroid and the veteran ones from Sonic Colors controlled fine.
There's a Miiverse function in Lost World for the Wii U,which allows you to share items and compete against other players in levels,and as you may have known as of now,it's basically a side-gimmick,but it does give the game a litte bit of replayability,with the Time Trial mode.
Last thing exclusive here is a multiplayer mode(which can only be played off-line),in which you can race for the finish line or collect the highest number of rings against your friend/opponent as a red or green Sonic.I haven't played it much of it,so I can't say a lot,but one player plays on the GamePad,while the other plays on the TV screen,and it's short,but a bit of fun,so it's ok.
It might not be Sonic's most remarkable adventure yet,but Lost World on the Wii U is still a good Sonic game.Negatives like some odd level design choices,too easy boss battles,plot holes unexplained and some awkward controls at certain moments might not make people who play it satisfied,but the rest of the game is full of positives,thankfully.I cannot recommend it to everyone,because you might not like the results of some decisions they made in the final product,but if you're thinking if you should purchase it or not,mainly because of those reasons,then I should warn there's a demo of the game on the eShop that you can download for free,so I'd say to give that a try first,and if like what you've seen from it,and you're open for the changes the final product has,then you should probaly buy it.
Score:7.2
Good!
Good!
And yeah,the bosses could have been harder like in previous games,as mentioned in the review,but at least they weren't terrible,and just average(from my perspective of view,anyway). :)