Freedom Planet Bringing Its Brand of Sonic-Style Action to Wii U

Beating Sonic at his own game huh!

On second though this is more like move over Sonic, your day in the sun has set and there's a new Hero in town!

This actually looks really, really fun.

It looks like Sonic 3 & Knuckles on crack.

I'll have to keep my eye on this game since it looks really promising and fun.

^It even has Sonic Adventure-Brand terrible voice acting!

Glad I didn't buy the PC version now, even though I loved the demo. Heard it floundered the last level, but honestly, I'll probably never get that far. Can't wait!

Looks promising and fun, can't wait to get it for Wii U.

I first heard about this from Somecallmjohnny's review. I really dislike it. From what I've seen it looks like an exact Sonic copy and past, not a tribute or "inspired by", and the original stuff it does add in is uninspired or annoying. Not my type of game at all.

It's a good game though I hear so it's great wii u owners will finally get to try it.

I could get into this game, I loom forward to seeing more of this.

Loved this on Steam and I'll gladly buy it again for Wii U.

@Retro_on_theGo Let me see if I get you right - you really like this game, but for some felt loyalty to Sonic, you've decided to hate it? It's an uninspired copy & paste of Sonic with annoying add-ins, yet it's a good game and great WiiU owners finally will get it?

Just be happy someone finally makes a good 2D "Sonic" game - Sega won't - and it's their loss!

This looks great!

Every since Somecallmejohnny review, I really wanted this game to get a Wii U port because I can't get a good desktop because I'm not made of money. Hopefully there will be something exclusive to the Wii U.

Obviously a 2D Sonic ripoff. Not bad though. It would be nice if to see a new Sonic rush successor though. It's been years.

@Retro_on_theGo This is very far from just copy and paste. It is meant to embody the golden age of the Genesis era much like Shovel Knight represents what we love about the classic NES era. Yes there are Sonic elements, but there is also Rocket Knight and Gunstar Heroes, and even a little Mega Man.

LOL that voice acting.

Seems like a cool game though, I like the music at least.

@Extremist Actually, you got it backwards. I hate Sonic, so a game trying to emulate it's gameplay like this isn't appealing to me. But I know there's people that have been wanting a game like this since the train wreck Sonic Boom so I'm glad they'll get what they want soon.

@Tabris95 I can see that. Haven't played it so I guess I can't really judge how it plays. I just rewatched Johnny's review on this to refresh my memory and he does also mention Gunstar Heroes and some other Genisis games. Maybe I should actually give it a shot if it goes on sale cheap enough, I'm probably being too hard on it.

This looks 30 times better than sonic... especially the later ones. I'll definitely be looking at this.

Give me an option to turn off voice acting entirely and you have a buy.

Been reading praises for this for a while now. WIll be more than happy to see what the fuss is about.

Hmm. this actually looks fun. an arcade platformers without indie boring-puzzle stuff. Too bad for the animeish look.

Rip Sonic, this is gonna be my new 2D speedster! But sheesh I gotta wait till the end of the year? ugh… Will Get!

@Retro_on_theGo There's a PC demo if that's an option for you. Check the kickstarter page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/galaxytrail/freedom-planet-high-speed-platform-game

I was going to get this on Steam, but I'm glad that I didn't! Wii U version would be much better .

Liking it so far. Reminds me of the good old Sonic days. Adding this game to my wish list. ^^

This exactly what sonic games should have turned to instead of sonic boom and other 3 dimensional games. If anyone has the computer version of this game could you let me know around how big it is mb/gb wise.

I'm getting a weird sonic/my little pony vibe from the art style and voice acting so that's...weird but the gameplay looks great! I'll certainly concider a buy from it.

Looks good. I'll check it out.

People are saying that the voice acting is terrible, but it's not so bad, I think. It just sounds like your typical cheesy anime dialogue to me.

Games like these are always good news, and I know a group of furries who are looking forward to the pin-up posters this game will undoubtedly inspire.

I've been playing this on steam and I keep thinking about how badly it needs to come to consoles. It's so good, even if the gameplay is almost exactly like Sonic the Hedgehog.

This looks great! I'll definitely be looking forward to this one.

I don't know what's so terrible about the voice acting. Sure, it's a little over the top in the style of classic Saturday morning cartoons, but I think that kind of style suits a game like this.

Now this is awesome. I'm totally buying this on U. Sega should bring Sega Megadrive VC on the Wii U soon (I don't like Wii mode VC).

@CanisWolfred The voice acting is actually pretty good especially the main villain.

I already got it on PC but its good to have this for the Wii U.....now if this was on the 3DS on the other hand......

Nice! I've Been really anticipating this game. I heard it first from Somecallmejohnny and been needing some classic Sonic gameplay for quite a while.

@Retro_on_theGo Your opinion makes no sense at all, I mean do you say its good because the gameplay and yet you decide to hate it because according to you its a Sonic "copy and paste"?
Its like saying every game that has the character running, jumping and grabbing power ups are a copy paste of Super Mario Bros.
I saw very unique elemets outside the Sonic "copy/paste"

@Shinokami I never said it was good because of gameplay. I said "it's a good game though, I hear." As in despite my opinion of it, I've heard good things about it, so I don't deny the possibility it's a good game, but it's not one I'd have interest in either way as I don't like Sonic's general gameplay style.

Why didn't Sonic just stay where it was? So...many...hardships. What haunted Castlevania for the longest time is what's haunting Sonic. Sega needs to understand that people loved sonic for his 2D roots but they keep dumping on those roots and insisting that Sonic "Must go 3D to be cool". I hope Sega understands that this is what people remember about Sonic. They're too busy trying to turn him into something he's not. I'm not saying that all 3D sonic games have been horrible, it's just a vast majority of them have and they pay very little respects to the genesis titles that built him. Yeah, Generations was a surprise, but it wasn't anything really new. I'm picky, so are a lot of Sonic fans.

This looks really awesome! Not really the retro visuals, though... makes it look like an SNES game...

Original Character: The Game

The boss fights reminds me of gunstar heroes. The speed is of classic sonic but definitely faster. Maybe as fast as sonic rush mixed with more combat moves. I'll definitely get this game.

@ljinkakidd They tried that with "Sonic 4," yet they still messed up the physics in significant ways, and even the 2D sections of more recent Sonic games like "Colors" have issues cough death pits cough at times.

As for 3D Sonic, they had a great gameplay system down from the very beginning with the "Adventure" duology, but then they abandoned it (only recently revisiting it in "Generations" and "Lost World") despite it being the other major elements (Big, treasure hunting, guns, glitches, etc.) that drew complaints in those early 3D titles.

@VeeFlamesNL First time seeing an indie game?

It's one of the games that I mentioned on my forum topic months ago, and it's actually coming to Wii U. Thanks GalaxyTrail.

P.S. Here's the link to the topic, just for reference:
https://www.nintendolife.com/forums/wiiu_eshop/list_a_game_that_is_must_be_on_nintendo_eshop_for_wii_u#reply-01

So it is possible to make an enjoyable sonic game in the modern world? So it just Sega having problems...

Seems like a considerably more interesting wannabe than all those Minecraft rip-offs.

AWESOME! Even since I played the demo I wanted this game to come to Wii U.

Looks pretty cool! Reminds me also a bit of Gunstar heroes.

Funny enough, Sonic was also the first thing I thought of when I saw the character designs.

In any case, I love the look of the game, both in it's design and it's gameplay. A 2-D high speed action platformer with adorable designed characters, neat locations, and voice acting that I seem to be one of the few to enjoy, is the sort of thing that catches my interest. I shall look forward to getting this game once it lands on Wii U then.

This looks verry interesting .... kinda like the old 2D Sonic games ... and way better than todays sonic for shure ^^ I'm in ^^

oh wow looks fantastic im defantly going to be getting this lol.

I've played the demo on steam and I've gotta say I'm really excited to see this coming to the Wii U! Only problem is, don't know if I can wait to play it. I would say any fan of the Sonic Megadrive/Genesis games or in fact any Megadrive/Genesis games will enjoy this.

DUDE! its Sonic mixed with some Ristar, and pretty sure that boss was straight from gunstar hereos!!!
Sega, you better respond

SOLD!

@ricklongo I believe the classic mode turns off the voice acting.

Anyways, excited for this! I've been hearing good things about this one.

Definitely a Sonic clone...and it excites me more than words can describe. I SUCK at the 2D Sonic games, but good god, they're fun. I can't wait for this to hit the eShop.

It feels more like a Treasure game than a Sonic game. (I have already bought it).

Complete with the really difficult bits every now and again that people who are not me don't like.

It clearly has a lot of effort put into it, and looks like it'll benefit from the hardware power of modern systems for it's hyper 16-bit styling. However, it's very clearly a derivative of the Sonic franchise, and that could end up hurting it unless it can truly show off what makes it unique.

I got this on Steam last November and its the best Sonic game that isn't a Sonic game. Level design is top-notch as are the massive and imaginative boss fights. If you consider yourself a Sonic fan then you'd be doing yourself a massive disservice be not picking this game up.

Only downside are the immensely long story bits and the slightly annoying voices. I still liked the story and voices though as it gives the game more character.

Again, best 2D Non-Sonic Sonic game since 1994!

PS - I still like it better than any 2D Sonic game since I bought the first one in 1991. Music is excellent but still not as catchy as what is found in most Sonic games. Its close though and there are a couple stand out tracks.

@Quorthon

Its nothing like Sonic even though its still alike in some ways. Mechanics are massively different outside of running really fast as Lilac. When you unlock Millia the game becomes even more different. Its like they took what was good about 2D Sonic and made a game that would have been a natural evolution to the Sega Saturn (even looks like a proper Saturn 2D game with more effects) with its own new mechanics.

@CaviarMeths I'm just saying if an average person sees this, he will think it's an SNES game.

I remember this from Johnny's channel, looked very similar to Sonic, but apparently follows a much darker general plot.

Also, GashiGashi made the art seen as the YT thumbnail image - gotta give credit to this awesome artist!

It's engaging. I was surprised.

Watch somecallmejohnny's review of this game. It's really good! Day one buy for me, I've been craving a good classic sonic game for a long time!

ANYTHING that reminds me of Gunstar Heroes is an instant win in my book. I'm going to download and play the crap out of this when it comes to the Wii U. Games like this make me proud to be a gamer.

A great trailer, can't wait to see this game on Wii U!

Althought I have to admit, the gameplay it's so Sonic-like to feel almost uncanny, but if the gameplay is good as it seems in the video than no complains from me

KILLER lookin' graphics. Looking forward to it.

@TurboTEF

The trailer screams "GET YOUR SONIC NOSTALGIA ON" and does little to really differentiate this game from that franchise. In your post directly to me, you say it's not like a Sonic game, yet in the post immediately preceding it, you say it is like a Sonic game with "best Sonic game that isn't Sonic."

At no point here has there been substantial effort--on either your part or that of the trailer--to really show how it's different or better than Sonic. Everything said and shown has been to tug on those Sonic strings.

The trailer shows off an endless stream of Sonic tropes--the high speed, spinning characters, spinning attacks, collecting tons of an item (gems instead of rings), the level design, the obvious auto-playing bits of the stages, the graphics style, the pseudo-3D half-pipes and circular running paths, etc., etc., etc.

Only some of the combat elements really looked different. For the most part, this game is a clone of Genesis-era Sonic games. It looks like a lot of fun, and is very colorful, but it's troubling that so little in the trailer bothers so show why it's different or special which may lead people to simply pass on it for being "just a Sonic clone." I'm all for revisiting classic concepts and games, but not straight cloning them.

Based on all the comments, I can't wait to get home and watch the trailer. The voice acting sounds amazing.

And if the game just has a limited amount of bugs and glitches, it would beat Sonic, based off Boom's reviews.

@Quorthon Maybe they decided that appealing to people liking 2D Sonic was the best thing to do. Watch someone playing the first level. (Given it already exists). The Rocket Knight like move is more important than the Sonic moves.

I'm amazed at how some of the ideas and concepts seem like they should've been logical evolutions in the Sonic series, but yet, here they are in this game, and I must say, I'm quite impressed. I'll be keeping an eye on this one.

@unrandomsam

I'm sure they did, and it does draw attention--my point is that it's a double-edged sword. It looks like old-school Sonic. Cool. Now why should I care about this instead of just playing old school Sonic? What's different?

Uhh... this again? The story sucks, the voice acting is horrible and the physics are a joke. The only thing that this games has together with EARLIER Sonic games is the speed of the dragon chara... that's it. It is almost like the horrible Teen Titan series back in the days, the same lame humor. And yes... I dislike this game.

@CharlyDunst I know where you come from. I finished the game, and found it fun but not as fun as the early sonic titles as well as the later sonic titles. The game has an Indie feel to it: frame rate issue and unreasonable slowdown at times even in an i7 computer. The story is no good, but interesting boss design. The level design, however, cannot be compared to Sonic. Fun game to me, but no replacement for Sonic.

By the way, the article did not mention that the game also play like Rocket Knight Adventure.

I think too many people are only seeing Sonic in that trailer.

You're missing the Rocket Knight Adventures, Ristar, and Shinobi influence as well. Or is Sonic the only classic Genesis franchise you've played?

@SparkOfSpirit Yeah, I see the game as more a love-letter to the 16-bit era of gaming, rather then just a "Sonic" game.
The game looks like it has enough of it's own unique touches to stand on it's own marits, rather then just be compared to Sonic, and such.

Also, for that matter, I'm not really that bothered by the controversial directions the Sonic series has done, and I don't feel the majority of Sonic games are bad. (Like many old-school Sonic fans do.)

Rather then look at the game as a "better replacement" for Sonic, why not just consider the game it's own entity?

was thinking of buying the pc version recently, looks great!

@GreatPlayer It does, because Lilac has an attack, that is based on the booster attack from Rocket Knight Adventure; her Dragon Boost.

But if you like an interesting review and retrospective look with the first demo,
try fist this YouTube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19uo8ax4Jho

and later this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugHIH16__EU

It is one person's opinion, but he tackles all the problems I mentioned here.
Don't get me wrong, Freedom Planet has great sprite work and music, but that's it. Yes, it is a love letter to Sonic, but seriously... it does not make it better than Sonic like oh so many people say. This kind of comments are idiotic, sorry if this sounds kind of harsh, but it is the truth.

@SparkOfSpirit

I really see nothing of Shinobi in there, and Ristar would be highly debatable.

Definitely looking forward to checking this one out when it hits the eShop. This looks like a tonne of fun. Could it be better than Sonic3 and Knuckles?

Looks cool. As a Sonic fan, this could be just what I've been looking for as a Sonic fix.

@A01 You can disable voices, (EDIT: Turns out, you can't. Sorry!) and the motorbike is an optional power-up exclusive to one out of three playable characters.

@Quorthon I disagree. Carol can cling to walls like Joe from Shinobi and can climb up a wall like X in Megaman X.

@Seanmyster6 This is not true at all. It says that you can change between full voice acting, rpg boxes and only action, but only voice acting and full action is giving. Heck, even the updates are not mentioning this change and I played the game before the first patches came out. I know how horrible the voice acting is.
EDIT: I just installed the game once more and, as I said, the option to disable voices is NOT giving. You lied!

@SuperVirtualBoy I really hope you're trolling!

@Lunapplebloom It actually started as a Sonic fan game.

With the character locked to the middle of the screen like that and the sprites as big as they are and the scrolling as fast as it appears, this looks really hard to play. I've never played a 2D Sonic game I thought was any good for that very reason. It's no fun slow, but played quickly you can't see that something's going to hit you until it already has. That's just not something I enjoy. I guess I'm glad people are getting a game they want, but I'm going to have to pass.

@CharlyDunst

Knuckles could also cling to walls, which puts this back in Sonic territory. That little feature still does not give this game remotely a Shinobi-like feel. I have most of the Shinobi games for the Master System, Genesis, and Game Gear and nothing here reminds me of those.

Not Bad at all! The look and gameplay is like the "next step" kind of baby I always thought Sonic was SUPPOSED to have.

If sonic met gunstar heroes with hammy saturday morning cartoon voice acting...... I never played gunstar heroes.

Wasn't Freedom Planet originally an actual Sonic the Hedgehog fan game before development went a different direction with an original IP? I mean, much of the gameplay from a potential 2D Sonic the Hedgehog game is still there on the current game.

I watched PaperbatVG do a playthrough of it when it came out on steam. It looks like a great game.

First 90s arcade racer and now freedom planet. Both are day 1 for me. Which the end result is sega doesn't get my money as they continue to skip/ignore the wii u eshop with it's buried treasure of classics which still makes no sense to me at all!! The last digital only wii u game if memory serves is the Cave?? In 2012!! Wake up Sega!! You're missing out on a lot of $$$ IMO!!

Glad to see it coming to a Nintendo where it belongs (alright it belongs on a Sega but oh well), but it would be just perfect on a 3DS.

@Quorthon You're right, it's closer to Gunstar Heroes than Shinobi. My mistake.

Glad to see this coming to Nintendo's console first.

I hope it's as good as the GBA and Genesis/Sega CD Sonic games. If it's even close to that level of fun, I'm in.

@LemonSlice I disagree that it belongs on 3DS any more than it would on Wii U, while GBA did have great Sonic games, I think his home is on consoles. Not saying it shouldn't be on 3DS, just that Wii U makes a bit more sense. However, I will admit Xbox One is technically the console that makes even more sense than Wii U. I say that because Xbox is kind of the successor to Sega's consoles.

Fun game...bad story.

Classic mode is worth the price of admission.

Feels like a mix of Sonic and Gunstar Heroes. Nothing like showing SEGA how it's done. Then again everybody's been doing that since 2001.

you guys are not ready

From what of the game I've managed so far, the thing that's stuck with me most is how awesomely ridiculous the motorcycle is to use. Just wish I wasn't so prone to losing the thing.

I will certainly be buying this day one. Over a thousand reviews on Steam, and it has an average of 10/10.