There’s no doubt about it -- the best games featuring SEGA’s Sonic the Hedgehog are in 2D. Ever since Sonic Adventure 2, the quality of the mascot’s home console games have progressively gotten worse and worse, and for those gamers looking for their 2D Sonic the Hedgehog fix should take interest in the Nintendo DS’ Sonic Rush.
Anyone who has played a 2D Sonic the Hedgehog game from the 16-bit era knows that these games were all about speed. The fast moving visuals, the death-defying loops, the twirling paths, and tubes Sonic would zip through were all simple gaming elements that appealed to a broad audience of gamers. Sonic Rush returns to the series’ roots and because of this throwback to classic gameplay the game is the best game the series has seen since Sonic CD.
Some may call the feature gimmicky, but Sonic Rush utilizes the Nintendo DS’ dual-screen setup in a rather unique way. By depicting the playing field on both screens, instead of isolating it to a single one, a new twist is put on the classic Sonic the Hedgehog gameplay. Sonic can quickly run, zip, and get tossed from the top screen to the bottom, and vice versa, seamlessly at any point during gameplay. Each of the games stages are designed to toy around with the players perception of the stage, keeping them aware of the on-screen action more so than previous Sonic games. These games have always been about fast
"the best game the series has seen since Sonic CD"
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twitch reflexes and watching out for obstacles thrown in your way; this dual-screen setup adds to the chaos and fortunately it never becomes frustrating. The addition is undeniably cool and thankfully it only takes a few minutes to get used to the dual-screen setup. After this initial adjustment period, moving from one screen to another will feel completely natural.
The design of the game’s stages are some of the most impressive I’ve played in the series. There is a good amount of loops, some of which take up both screens in height, and other obstacles such as grind rails, zip lines, disappearing platforms, and such. Unfortunately, there is no pinball mini-game in the game’s Casino level, like in previous games in the series, but you can’t have it all can you?
Personally, I felt that Sonic Rush has a greater element of actual platforming than previous 2D Sonic games. This becomes evident in the last few stages of the game where you’ll have to correctly time and place your jumps accurately to move forward. If you don’t, you’ll likely fall to your doom, but when you don’t fall to your doom, you’ll realize that there’s another path below you that you can take.
Sonic Rush features multi-tiered levels that are streamlined flawlessly with multiple pathways and whatnot. Unlike Sonic Advance 2 for the GBA, there is no wrong path that you can take, and this is a very, very good thing. Pushing forward will take you where you are supposed to go. As for the type of environments you’ll encounter, they’re basically what you’ve come to expect from a Sonic game; there’s a colorful forest, a casino area, and flooded ruins, etc... there isn’t anything out of the ordinary.
Unfortunately, not all is perfect in the Nintendo DS Sonic title. Much like the previous Sonic Advance games that Dimps previously developed, some enemies seem to pop out of nowhere and ruin things for you, making you lose all the rings you’ve collected while running through each of the game’s stages. In the older SEGA Genesis games this didn’t seem to be as big of an issue, since you could still see most of the baddies before crashing into them at high speeds, and it’s not as big of an issue in Sonic Rush as it is in the Sonic Advance games, but it still exists and can cause a handful of frustrating moments. Although, it’s likely that players will memorize the instances where this occurs after a run or two on the stage and avoid this almost strategic placement of enemies. Also, the addition of the "boost" attack helps players somewhat avoid getting hit by unseen enemies, since it allows you to quickly run through enemies or destructible walls and destroy them, but more than likely it won’t really prove to be much of a use. If you don’t know if an enemy is going to be there, how could you know when to use the attack? I guess it’s all based on luck.
Sonic Rush follows a simple level setup. You go through two Acts in which you’re basically making it from point A on the level to point B, and the final and third Act is where you’ll encounter a boss battle. The game rinses and repeats this design from start to finish. The Boss Battles ditch the dual-screen setup in favor of a psuedo-3D type of gameplay and I have to admit that it works very well and boss battles are actually more enjoyable than those of the previous 2D Sonic games because of it. Each one of boss battles against Eggman Nega in the game are fairly easy. Each time there’s an obvious attack pattern that must be realized, and once understood, it’s pretty easy to win the encounter. More
" features a soundtrack that’s very similar to Smilebit’s Jet Grind Radio and Jet Set Radio Future"
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experienced game players may be disappointed by the easiness of the boss battles but the final encounter almost makes up for this by being the most frustrating encounter of them all. After a few retries, however, players should be able to get the hang of everything and defeat Eggman for the last time; well, the last time in this game that is, because he’s sure to return in every succeeding Sonic game.
Like in classic Sonic tradition, a new character is introduced to the franchise with "Blaze the Cat" in Sonic Rush. Unsurprisingly, Blaze is a completely forgettable character, like most of the new characters introduced to the series since Knuckles in Sonic 3. It also doesn’t help that Blaze plays like a slower version of Sonic and her levels are essentially the same as those played with Sonic, but just gone through in a different order. There isn’t a good reason to play as Blaze at all. She’s a completely worthless character and, as always, Sonic is the real star of the game and the only character who is truly fun to play as.
The Sonic franchise has always been the home of some rather unique game soundtracks. The simple and memorable melodies of the classic Genesis games are probably the most loved in the series, but I have to admit that I’m a fan of the cheesy hair metal and corny themes of the newer 3D home console games. Sonic Rush does not disappoint musically and features a soundtrack that’s very similar to Smilebit’s Jet Grind Radio and Jet Set Radio Future. If you loved the soundtracks of those games you are sure to find something to like about Sonic Rush’s soundtrack. The funky beats and melodies are sure to appeal to a number of SEGA fans. However, these funky beats still pale in comparison to the classic Genesis Sonic tunes. Those tracks fit each one of the game’s flawlessly and not even a modern, CD-quality soundtrack can top them.
Sonic Rush isn’t as visually appealing as the SEGA Genesis hedgehog games. While the art style is somewhat similar to those classic games, the use of colors isn’t as vibrant and I believe that because of this the game isn’t as visually satisfying or appealing. However, from a technical standpoint,
"Blaze is a completely forgettable character"
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Rush is much more impressive. The game runs at sixty frames per second almost always, only taking a hit during one or two boss battles. The game also uses polygon rendered characters, which means that Sonic, Blaze and the game’s enemies are actually rendered in 3D. These characters being rendered in 3D is what allows the game’s boss battles to played out from a 3D perspective and this is somewhat unique but it’s not as comfortable to the eye as hand-drawn sprites.
Sonic Rush doesn’t have many flaws that truly take away from the gaming experience. The game’s strengths far outweigh any negative traits the game may have. The game is a must buy for fans of Sonic the Hedgehog’s 2D adventures. The game is a throwback to the classic 2D gameplay of the SEGA Genesis games but puts a new dual-screened twist on the gameplay; a twist that is unquestionably satisfying and intriguing. The Nintendo DS is quickly becoming the most intriguing and entertaining gaming platforms on the market today and games like Sonic Rush are the reason why.
