Ready, Set, Zoom!

The last Sonic the Hedgehog game I played was Sonic and Knuckles back on the Sega Genesis; I think it is important to make this fact clear. What I’ve been hearing through the games grapevine these last few years is that basically every Sonic game since the Genesis heyday has been absolute crap. I can’t attest to this personally, it’s just what I’ve heard. I know a larger cast with soap opera and anime-like elements have crept into the Sonic universe recently, changing the dynamic of the games drastically. What I can attest to is that the recent DS release Sonic Rush Adventure is a fantastic little game harkening back to the gameplay of those Genesis titles but with some small modern, yet welcome, upgrades.

There They Go-Go-Go

Sonic Rush Adventure is a fast-paced side-scroller with some small 3-D touches and a fantastic use of the dual-screen format. As players zoom their way through classic Sonic-style levels (a green level, a mechanical level, ice level, and so forth), they can travel between the two screens. Jump up high enough and players can reach platforms on the upper screen of the DS, and dig down low enough and they can traverse the depths of the lower screen. Of course, many times while running through a course, players can build up enough speed to whiz between both screens at breakneck speeds. Call me simple, but I absolutely love this feature; it gives a grander sense to the various levels and made it seem as if they were too large, too dynamic, to be contained by the pithy screens of the Nintendo DS. The feature also adds a lot of oomph to what is essentially simplistic and unoriginal (at least for the Sonic series) level design.

Aspects players have seen before, which may have been more jaw-dropping in 1992, such as Sonic and friends zipping through loops or corkscrews take on a renewed sense of fun when split between two screens. ‘Fun’ is a great word to describe this game, it’s not going to spur players to new heights of gaming, nor will it create any kind of major stir among games journalists, but, and most importantly, it will keep a smile on player’s faces for few hours at a time. That’s why people play games anyway: a sense of awe, a sense of fun, and a bit of a challenge.

Challenge is an area in which Sonic Rush Adventure falls a bit short. This game is easy; ridiculously easy. Experienced players will have no problem blowing through the game in a short amount of time, but I think there are enough new elements introduced to the franchise, and enough fun mini-games, to make up for any deficient sense of danger or lack of real challenge. Although the most irritating thing about this game is the amount of inane cut scenes the player is required to endure. I’m sure the story is very cute, and the cast of characters grows quite large as Sonic and Tails meet some teddy bear thing, I think, and twin Koala inventors as well as an assortment of other too-cute-for-their-own-good characters. Cute is fine, but boring is not. Thankfully, it’s easy enough to skip the many dialogue scenes. I recommend this course of action.

Hook, Line and Sinker

A Solid graphic presentation, good music, and classic characters rounded out with delightfully fun gameplay sums up Sonic Rush Adventure. If the developers had put a lot less effort in trying to create some kind of fantasy-inspired story and a little more on some original level design, this game might’ve been something special. Instead we have a classic title given some new bells and whistles to keep players interested, and that is not a bad prospect at all.