Sonic Heroes Review

Developer	Sonic Team
Publisher	Sega
Genre	Adventure

Yuji Naka, Sonic Team, and Sega took a "back to basics" approach to developing 2004's Sonic Heroes for the Nintendo GameCube. Previous 3D Sonic the Hedgehog games were heavily influenced by games such as Super Mario 64; they featured a hub world or central map, multiple goals based on collecting items, and large open areas to explore at one's leisure. Unfortunately, Sonic isn't built for leisurely exploration; he's built for speed and plenty of it. While Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2 are great games, they lack the special qualities that the original Sonic games from the days of the Sega Genesis contained. Sonic Heroes corrects some of the flaws from past 3D attempts and manages to get much of the Sonic formula correct: levels are straightforward and designed for rapid run-and-jump action; level designs are based on classic locations such as the forest, the casino, and the factory; and the visuals practically beg you to blast your way through. There are also some new additions to the classic formula to keep things fresh in this installment

Gameplay - Dr. Eggman is up to his old tricks again; he’s challenged Sonic to foil his latest attempt to take over the world. Our hero can’t handle this mission on his own, however, so perennial pals Tails and Knuckles join up with Sonic to work as a team. Yes, the most obvious change to the classic formula is the addition of (single player) team-based play.

Players control three heroes at once and while each character can jump, run, and attack, each teammate has their own special skill: Sonic is built for speed, Tails takes to the air to fly, and Knuckles can punch his way through almost anything with power. You control whichever team member you choose to take the lead and the other two characters follow in formation. You can rotate through the team members as you please by pushing the X or Y button, and the various combo and team-up attacks add a new level of strategy to the series. While in the various formations the characters line up in different formations: in speed formation they line up single file, in power formation they line up side by side, and in fly formation they line up in a vertical stack. Choosing the proper formation can determine just how many rings you pick up, which enemies you engage, and other such strategy considerations.

The game is structured like past games in the Sonic series: after completing two levels of similar theme and design, there’s a boss encounter followed by two levels of a different theme, and so on. Level designs span from the beach to a techno city to a haunted castle and beyond for a grand total of fifteen very large levels, each with its own shortcuts and secrets to be discovered.

There are also four different storylines that run parallel to each other: Team Sonic is out to stop Dr. Eggman, Team Dark’s Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge the Bat, and an Omega-class robot have personal vendettas against Eggman, Team Rose’s Amy Rose, Big the Cat, and Cream the Rabbit are trailing Team Sonic, and Team Chaotix brings back forgotten characters Vector the Crocodile, Charmy Bee, and Espio the Chameleon from the 32X game Knuckles Chaotix as they try to solve a detective case for a mysterious new client. Each team has different goals and paths through each level, meaning that you’ll have to pass through the game at least four times to see the entire storyline.

Graphics - The visuals are a step up from the last time we saw Sonic; the characters are rendered smoothly without jagged edges and the environments are nicely detailed. For example, the casino levels feature a number of flashing neon-type panels, glowing pinball tables, and shiny lights that one would expect to see in a casino, whereas the haunted castle is dark, dingy, and lit by the occasional torch. CG-rendered movies move the plot along between levels and are visually more impressive than the in-game graphics.

Sonic Team has made some improvements to the camera system that hindered aspects of the Sonic Adventure series, although there are still instances where the camera will shift into a poor angle at an inopportune moment. The camera also takes over control of itself unannounced at certain places, meaning that you might find yourself suddenly pushing the wrong direction on the control stick. Making a good thing great, Sega has included support for progressive scan televisions in the game and the GameCube version features an exclusive “deflicker” option that smoothes out the graphics an extra step.

Sound - The guitar has been Sega’s instrument of choice in past 3D Sonic titles, and Sonic Heroes doesn’t stray from that aspect of the formula either. Game music is appropriately upbeat, sometimes frantic, and quite memorable. All of the main characters speak up at times, typically to offer a clue or make a humorous observation about the current level. Music and speech tend to clash somewhat, as it’s not uncommon for the music to overpower the chatter.

Luckily, subtitles appear during speech segments. While helpful at first, once you know your way around the game the spoken clues become an annoyance; by the time you reach the final set of levels you should be able to recognize the need to punch through a wall without Knuckles suggesting he take the lead to smash through it. Sound effects come right from past games in the series. Picking up a ring still sounds like picking up a ring, and with everything about Sonic that’s changed over the years it’s still nice to hear familiar sounds.

Bottom Line - There’s a lot to be done in Sonic Heroes. Aside from the challenge of completing each team’s mission, there’s a secondary challenge mission for each team in each level. Team Sonic’s challenges revolve around completing a level within a near-unfair time limit, Team Dark must destroy a varying number of enemies, Team Rose must collect a certain number of rings, and Team Chaotix must collect various items scattered around the level. Factor in the need to collect all eight Chaos Emeralds if you want to access the final chapter of the story where all four missions converge and the Super Hard Mode, and you’re looking at a decent number of objectives that need to be completed before you can consider this game finished.

Sonic the Hedgehog has come a long way since his debut in 1991, but the essence of the original game remains in his latest adventure. With varying challenges, an ongoing storyline with a few twists, and the classic Sonic feel, Sonic Heroes will appeal the most to long-time fans of the series. Even the most casual fans of the blue blur will not be disappointed.

Review by Matthew Green