Sonic Colors: Ultimate Will Be A Friendly Game For Beginners

The original wasn’t even that hard. They know that at least 90% of Sonic fans are at least teens right?

At least Tails has somewhat of a purpose now since all he’s mostly been is an exposition fairy.

This is no bad thing. Not averse to the challenge myself, but my 4-year-old has found Sonic games a bit tricky. This might help me indoctrinate him properly.

If I can turn off Tails-Assist that's fine.

Game Over Screen also feel more and more like a relict of the arcade past these days: It doesn't make that much of a difference to experienced players if they have to repeat 15 seconds or 2 minutes of gameplay, and for beginning players it will probably make them end the game in frustration.
So just like with mario odyssey, I don't really miss that being gone.

@Entrr_username As the interview says, they want to cater to new fans gathered with Mania, Forces and the movie.

@BowtieShyGuy Makes sense but it’s still an odd design decision.

Cool, was thinking of handing my 4 year old a pad for the first time over the coming months and he's mad about Sonic so a combo of this and Paw Patrol sounds like the perfect intro.

Nothing against removing lives, games can have a good challange-punish-reward-etc loop without them (I guess they are really becoming more and more an obsolete system).

But at this point I fear any 'helping' option in Sonic games. The intention is great and positive, but previous games like Lost World made really REALLY hard at times to avoid the help.
I hope this time around they'll make possible to disable such option or that at least they'll make it easy to avoid it.
I'm all for games helping beginners, but if I want to fail a jump 10, 20 or even 30 times until I get it right myself, please let me do it.

Basically, they sped up the dying animation and gave us infinite lives. It's basically what Nintendo did and it works perfectly fine.

This is without a doubt one of the easiest Sonic games out there.

Might I add this is a terrible way to make the game easier, in the GBA games there was an easy mode too, the only thing it did was reduce the amount of enemies from the stages, to the point where if you played normal mode you'd find entirely new enemy designs on the second run (and thus have it not feel like a waste of time to replay.)

I never thought sonic was hard… maybe the first game but those after are easier. Especially the 3D games are playing themselves as others already said…

More games need assist features like this. Just file it with any other accessibility options that can be toggled on or off.

The main challenge in Sonic games is the terrible camera

Having played Crash Bandicoot 4 in retro mode... yeah, no. I like challenge in my games, thanks.

Assist/easy features to increase accesibility is never bad. I just hope that they give you to option to turn them off and re-balance the game so that it doesn't 'break' the difficulty wide open.

As someone with a young nephew running around, I appreciate this so much.

Anything that makes games easier and more accessible the better. I never got that snk collection but I’m sure I heard that you can press a button and the computer will take over at anytime. I feel that most if not all games should have this feature. Xx I hate loving a game to get a frustrating difficulty spike , it can ruin games for me xx

im also in the camp of "im cool with this as long as you can turn it off"

i feel like crash 4 did this idea really well (though it would have been nice to be able to toggle the assist aku aku)

my little boy loves sonic and this is a cool feature

As long as I can turn off tails assist I'll be happy. Hopefully this means more people will play Sonic Colours.

They really shouldn't have designed the levels with so many bottomless pits in the first place, though, especially the levels that use a single wisp type as a stupid, frustrating gimmick.

Meanwhile, how are they going to fix the terrible 2D physics?

(source image from playasia)

The cover of Sonic Colors Ultimate look very cheap, compare with Wii version.

Basically a Funky mode.
Should splash the monkey on the cover too!

Everyone is a winner! Yayyyyy.

The game was easy to begin with. As much as i loved most of it the game still had it's issues and the 3D stuff was still pretty bad just like every other sonic made in the last 15 or so years. It probably does rank as the least horrible modern sonic though. I'll give it that.

Back in my day game over meant start over!!!!!! What does everyone get a trophy nowadays?!?!?!

Just kidding, game overs feel archaic at this point. It basically just pulls you out of the game and makes you sit through more loading screens. Making games more accessible for people is always good, hopefully they also have a challenge mode to make it harder for experienced players.

It wasn't that hard to be fair. But fair enough

Will there be a Soul mode if there is a baby mode?

I didn’t particularly like how easy sonic forces was with the infinite lives x grading system…. But sounds like this is the direction they wish to go

Is there an option, that the game completes itself on its own without touching the controller. 😂
I really hope, the Tails system can be disabled

Any fixes to a dumpy Sonic game is welcomed with open arms

@BulbasaurusRex u dropped👑

I have never played the original.

I do not know if this is a good or bad change. I would like the option to play this game the way it was originally designed.

If the remaster does not allow that, I will likely play the original Wii version if I ever play the game.

Sonic Colors ULTIMATE!!!

Will this run at 60fps on Switch?
Trying to decide what version to grab, I'm tied between the Switch and Series X. 4k vs Portable play

As others have said, I'm cool with this as long as there is an option to turn it off, as I would love to play the game, how it was originally intended. Having said that, if this feature means my five year old can play the game and enjoy it as well, then all the better.

You know what game needed a easy mode? Sonic unleashed, eggman land is hell And I still think its the hardest level in any sonic game, Just let me turn it off and ill be fine.

@Snatcher To this day I still question how I managed to complete that level three times over without dying to get a measly 10 gamerscore. The boiler room was the hardest part for me.

Since then (to me at least) they haven't made a final level able to top Eggmanland in terms of sheer difficulty and length. The only one that's impressed me since is Titanic Monarch, and that's mainly due to the atmosphere and music (gameplay's not bad, I just didn't find it that challenging).

Invincibility mode used to be a reward for those who put on the time and effort to beat the game. There was a sense of achievement.

Of course everyone does when they first start gaming, it’s the death that makes you hone your skills, be more careful and strategic. Are today’s children so impatient that they can’t even be bothered to play the game properly and actually earn something through strong will and determination?

Iizuka is out as touch as is

@CBordo You should really play Enter The Gungeon then. Dying is part of the gameplay, it would be a terrible game if there were no game overs. You're supposed to challenge yourself and learn the bullet patterns and how the enemies and ammo and guns and items react and git gud. If you could beat the game with a Pea Shooter, no skills, not have to worry about health or getting hit, you'd have no reason to play it after the initial run, which would just be boring with no consequences. The fun of the game is knowing that your skills have improved and unlike some noob, you've unlocked Black Hole guns, Clones, Heart Containers, Chaos Bullets, etc, you've fought the Dragun or been to Bullet Hell, died many runs, unlocking all kinds of things along the way and you understand how to get through that next time either through improving your skills and/or tackling those obstacles with the right assortment of guns and items. Maybe that inifinite life thing is fine for Sonic, it won't work on all games.

@UnseatingKDawg Ya the boiler room was hell.

When I was little I played hard games...

@CBordo @Nintendo_Thumb And its amazing, and this is coming from a guy who got all the characters, well i'm missing one but other then that got all the characters and did there endings.

Eh I dint mind the changes but I just hope these options can be turned off and are not mandatory. But it should be great game seeing as there might be a new world seeing as theres a new wisp on the box art

@BowtieShyGuy I can buy it from Mania and the movie, but Sonic Forces has fans? Legit question.

I'm fine with this because it means Tails will be more proactive and not just a cutscene character. I'm kind of sick of playing only as Sonic, let me play as Tails at least. That's probably why I also like the Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games series, imagine if the only playable Sonic character there was Sonic.

@BowtieShyGuy I disagree with that notion, Arcade games didn't have check points or saves back then either. Having a Game Over is a better way to encourage the player to memorize and react to enemies and hazards in a level, therefore keeping the player motivated to persevere.

It's kind of silly how overly accessible games are becoming nowadays to the point where the challenge is starting to get lost and games are becoming boring and the gameplay more rudimentary. Last thing I want is for games to just become movies and not "games".

‘Game Over, Yeah!’ Really is a thing of the past now it seems.

@HammerGalladeBro Ya its fans are the people that probably forced them self's to like it or they never played a good sonic game before.

I welcome these adjustments for newcomers, but I hope they'll all be optional, although it's not mentioned.

@CBordo TBH I kinda like game overs, You can say it doesn't make it easier and for the most part your right, But I do feel like whenever you get rid of game over's or the risk of losing, its just try again from said checkpoint bc it wont matter if you don't try, It does take away a feeling of tension.

However like you said it does make the game better, but only when its a option, (for a game like this to be specific as this is a new feature to an old game, if a game was made without lives and gameovers its fine) Bc not have a option to play the game how you like just sucks, And like how people might want to play without lives, some people want to play with, or some want a harder mode, its why I don't like games that don't have a hard mode, I would like the game to be harder to play, there by making the game better for that person, so in short your right.

Many people were adamant on a playable Tails, but it was clear to me well before the article that Tails was this game’s response to Crash 4’s Modern Mode.

@CBordo Duh. That’s because errors should have consequences. For example, you cart three times in Monster Hunter? Start the quest all over, and that’s 30 min down the drain. It was your fault for dying, and now you’ll observe and improve. That way, you can actually be proud of your accomplishment.

I do not have a problem with this at all. it sounds like it is going to be optional so that sounds cool to me. beginners gotta start somewhere.

Heaven forbid kids learn about having to persist through failure to ultimately succeed.

I'm fine if these are optional, but if they are not then it's a terrible decision. It's a SONIC game - death means replaying seconds of gameplay, not half an hour.

RIP Challenge
unknown - 2021

Why not have difficulty options? Unlimited lives and Tails assist on easy, limited lives with Tails assist on normal, limited lives and no Tails assist on hard. You know, so the beginners can hone their skills with one game, like how it has been done for decades.

I dont remember the last time I game overed in a Sonic game. Not a big deal to me, I guess..

There are many games where a lives and a "Game Over" are pointless, not only you have to play really bad to get one, but even if you do, there's no actual punishment in getting one, at worse, you will lose the checkpoints.

@russell-marlow Completely agree with you. I get it, people feel like game overs and lives are an old game design that has no place here. But colours is literally one of the easiest sonic games to date with it's slow blocky platforming, short as heck level design for most of the acts, the levels are super condensed, anything else? Oh yeah, there's a giant WATCH OUT sign next to every bottomless pit! We gained our platforming experience through trial, error and learning. That's how you get through life itself. You try, and if you make a mistake, well, you know for next time.

Fun fact: A game has to actually be fun enough for game overs and lives to mean anything to anyone.

@russell-marlow Arcade games had checkpoints, actually. Some like F-Zero AX even had saves, but it wasn't really convenient.

Also I see your worries about challenge getting lost. But on the other hand: Why should people who paid 60-70 bucks for a game put up with game designs that were designed to be frustrating and encourage you to put more quarters into the machine? Especially those with physical difficulties who actually benefit greatly from these kind of add-ons?

I think the way to go is either adding options that helps those gamers that those who want a challenge can remove.

Super Meat Boy instantly revives you. Nobody in their right mind would call this game a piece of cake.
Donkey Kong Country Returns offers a Super Guide. It's still one of the most challenging Nintendo platformers in existence.
Adding a "non-perma-death" option in Fire Emblem might have saved the franchise.

I don't think making games more accesible is a problem, as long as those who want the challenge still have the option to not use these options. Taking away the "turn off xp share" option in SwSh for example is how it should NOT be done.

There are some points in the game that could definitely be a hurdle for newer players, so this ain’t a problem. Lives are rapidly becoming less necessary these days.

But will it help me beat that stupid metal lobster level!

I hope it's family friendly -_- I got stuck the first time it released... And yet my younger brother managed to complete it!

@BulbasaurusRex they were fine lol.

I like the use of Tails. Hopefully Sonic can be designed in future games to use his speed to get him out of certain dangers. For instance, throwing sand to make a 1-second bridge that he can use to save himself from pits. Stuff like that to show the power of speedsters.

@liveswired No, they aren't! The 2D sections of "Sonic Colors" have some of the worst physics and level design in the entire series, and that's really saying something!

Only glitchfests like "Sonic '06" and "Sonic 1 GBA" and the extremely messy autorunning style of the storybook duology have definitively worse physics. Meanwhile, while the 2D physics are similarly bad in games like "Sonic 4" and "Lost World," those games at least have decent or better 2D level design (plus "Lost World" has much better 3D gameplay).

Difficulty OPTION. Difference between a good game and pokemon.

I loved Sonic Colors, so this change doesn't bother me. I won't use it. There, I fixed the problem. I hope a lot of people give this underrated gem a chance.

So... they removed challenge?

After the main genesis games the only games released in the series worth playing were the sonic adventure games and sonic mania.

@Tasuki Again, in many games, even games from the classic era of the 1980s and 1990s, a Game Over means nothing, no punishment for getting one, making lives meaningless, this became even worse nowadays.

Lives and Game Overs made more sense when getting a Game Over meant having to start the game from the beginning, which made sense in arcade games and console games that lasted less than 1 hour.

Just have difficulty settings... By doing this you are including newbies but excluding more advanced gamers... How lame.

I think they should do something like crash 4 where you can have lives on or off. I’d probably have them off because I just prefer it. It doesn’t make it easier for me but people would like having lives in games.

@BowtieShyGuy Well too much "accessibility" leads to a loss of focus on the gameplay sometimes.