We originally wrote this review back in 2016 but have recently updated it to cover the differences with the remake, please let me know what you think 🙂
A modern Sonic game that isn’t bad?
Dr Robotnik has created an intergalactic amusement park and states that he is doing it to make up for his evil past and to start fresh, this quickly makes both Sonic and Tails very suspicious and so they decide to take a trip to the park themselves.
While at the park Sonic and Tails meet Yacker a local wisp (Alien Species) who they are able to communicate with using a special translator, Yacker explains to Sonic that Dr Robotnik is kidnapping Wisps and using their energy to power the amusement park, after hearing this Sonic realizes that he has not only the world to save but an entire Alien race and so he runs off in search of Robotnik and all of his robots.
The General game play is just basic Sonic platforming where the goal is too get to the end of each stage trying to not take any damage from enemy robots and obstacles, the main focus of Sonic Colours is the new wisp power-ups that Sonic can use to help him get through each stage of the game.
There are a lot of these wisp power ups in the game especially if you include the ones that are only available in the 2p player mode
My top three favorite wisp power-ups are as follows
Orange Rocket – This power-up literally turns Sonic into a rocket ship which shoots to the top of the screen, Sonic will then sky dive back to the ground collecting loads of rings along the way.
Purple Frenzy – This power-up is pictured in the image above, Sonic will turn into dark creature with a large mouth similar to a crocodile, Sonic can now eat his way through all enemies and obstacles in his way.
Yellow Drill – This is my personal favorite power-up in the game, Sonic turns into a drill and can fly across the screen as well as drilling his way underground allowing him to find secret passages and hidden treasures.
When you are not playing through the main campaign, you can enjoy some difficult bonus levels in the Sonic Simulator, these stages are exceptionally challenging and are the only way to collect the Chaos Emeralds, this is also where you can play the game with your friends.
The Chaos Emeralds are not needed to complete the game this time around and thank god for that because after the hell I had of completing Sonic Heroes earlier this year I was very happy when I realized that this would be a much more pleasant and less stressful experience.
The Chaos Emeralds are not needed to beat the game all though they do unlock the ability to play as Super Sonic, a feature I personally did not care about nor did I bother too unlock.
The voice acting and in this game is almost perfect and I have never been able to say that about any of the modern Sonic games before, for once Tails is not annoying at all and he doesn’t have a stupidly high pitched voice, Dr Robotnik as always sounds awesome and menacing which doesn’t surprise me because I have never had problem with Robotnik’s character in any entry of the series, most of the minor characters are not too interesting but they are not annoying so I cant really complain, the only character I really have an issue with in this game is Sonic himself, he comes off as a complete douche a lot of the time and he keeps throwing horrible one liners and jokes at Robotnik and I cant tell if they are meant to be cringe worthy or if its just the game developers trying to be cool and funny but either way Sonic just kinda sucks.
The music really isn’t anything special, none of the songs really stuck with me when I was playing the game, but the games main theme Reach for the Stars is pretty good but its still not one of my favorite Sonic songs.
Can we just take some time to talk about how amazing the graphics are in this game, they are outstanding for a Wii game, not only is the game full of fantastic graphical details such as grass textures and glistening stars in the sky, but there are just so many things on the screen at once that it honestly makes this world seem more realistic, this is helped by the games use of vibrant colours and many special effects.
Sonic Colours is a great game, it looks amazing for a Wii title, it has perfect controls and for most part even though it adds a lot of cool new Power-ups and unique game play aspects it stills feels like the classic Sonic games we grew up playing, but its not a perfect game as it does have its flaws, first of all the game only took me 5 hours to complete which is way to short for any game today and keep in mind that it originally came out with a price tag of ÂŁ40, the music wasn’t very memorable, the completion bonus for beating the game 100 percent sucks and Sonic surprisingly isn’t very likable but that last one is more of a personal opinion.
Its not the best Sonic game ever made but it is one of the best Sonic games to be released in a long time, perhaps one day I will get around to reviewing the DS version.
Sonic Colours Unleashed (2021)
In 2021 we got a HD remake of the game which played very similarly to the original but with some changes worth discussing.
The visuals now run in 4K with a standard framerate of 60, the graphics are generally smoother and have more vibrant and popping colours, I have heard there are some gameplay issues with the switch version but since I played on PS4 the game ran perfectly for me with no issues at all.
Rival Rush is a new mode where players can race against Metal Sonic earning lots of coins to spend in the in-game customisation shop, this mode can be very challenging if you don’t experiment with the stages and learn all of the shortcuts.
Customising Sonic can give you new shoes and outfits along with interchanging character icons and different effect such as fire, flowers, wind etc when running.
A new Wisp called Jade Ghost gives Sonic the ability to pass through solid objects and walls, this is necessary since some of the hidden Red Star Coins have been moved in order to use this new power to all of its true potential.
Finally the last noticeable change is the Tails save ability, this mode designed for more casuals players will allow you to return from a pit you fall from, of course this will cost you a 1-up but for younger and newer players this mode will be much appreciated.
I had a blast with this remake, the game is still rather short and fairly easy but it manages to maintain the excellent gameplay of the original game while still offering something fresh to warrant its re-release. I do find it odd the game never got a PS5 or Series X/S release considering these newer systems had already released by then but it isn’t the first to skip the new gen and the game is backwards compatible with the most modern hardware’s.
Original – 7.5/10
Ultimate – 8/10
I hope you enjoyed this review of Sonic Colours for the Nintendo Wii
If you respect my opinion, I will respect yours
you can contact me at ragglefragglereviews@gmail.com
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