Review 1-B: Sonic Generation (3DS)

Last time, I covered the console version of Sonic Generations. Now it's the handheld's turn, which I find unusual that PlayStation Vita didn't see a release for the game. Essentially, it's the same game, but as I pointed out before, it follows more of a dominantly 2D approach, making the gameplay akin to that of Sonic Rush, with the rival stages mirroring Sonic Rivals.

Much of the story is the same as before so it's futile to go over again, but the voice acting had been drastically limited from its console counterpart, resorting to sound bites and bubble dialogue like the handheld port of Sonic Colors. The White World hub was also simplified and less interactive. As such, you can only navigate and choose the stage, therefore the corresponding hedgehog for each act. The stages available were also reduced, but it makes it so that it's one emerald per Zone (to be specific, per Modern act of the sone, or Act 2), with the special stage taking after that of Sonic Heroes, played only by Modern Sonic. The Rival roster remained the same, but your Boss selection is different this time around, which I will list soon.

When it comes to gameplay, if you played Sonic Colors or either of the Sonic Rush titles, then it's basically that all over again. As Classic Sonic, you have access to the staple Spin Dash and eventually an imperfect version of the Homing Attack. As Modern Sonic, you are still on a 2D, side-scrolling plane, having at your disposal the Homing Attack, Boost, Slide, and eventually the Stomp. The only part missing is the Light Dash. The ranking is still the same, so as long as you make it there fast and don't die, getting S rank shouldn't be an issue, though to me, it's slightly more difficult to S-rank everything. As they made the Special Stage a separate act of each Zone, doing missions wasn't mandatory anymore to obtain them, plus as far as collectibles, notes and Red Rings are absent. Instead, they were moved to a different menu selection entirely, with more missions being available the further you go in the game. While you can't use the rings collected, as there is no Skill Shop in this port, it does make use of your Play Coins that are accumulated as your handheld walks in sleep mode, for you can unlock the missions, and if you either don't want to try them, or it's too difficult, to buy the rewards from them. One thing the 3DS version does have over the console port is the multiplayer function, as the handheld has a versus mode, even though this resorts to having two users racing similar Sonics. It can be done via Local Play, which requires another player with the game card, or via the internet, which you can battle your friend or enter the Grand Prix, where it sets you up with any online player available.

Nintendo 3DS Box Art

A for the stage, they are separated by era, like the console port, but in terms of Modern era, it follows his handheld escapades, therefore taking after different games. They are as follows:

• Genesis Era

1. Green Hill Zone (Sonic the Hedgehog [1991])
2. Casino Night Zone (Sonic the Hedgehog 2)
3. Mushroom Hill Zone (Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles)
   Rival: Metal Sonic (Sonic the Hedgehog CD) at Casino Night Zone
   Boss: Big Arm (Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Knuckles)

• Dreamcast Era 

1. Emerald Coast (Sonic Adventure / SA DX: Director's Cut)
2. Radical Highway (Sonic Adventure 2 / SA2: Battle)
   Rival: Shadow the Hedgehog at Radical Highway (Sonic Adventure 2 / SA2: Battle)
   Boss: Biolizard (Sonic Adventure 2 / SA2: Battle)

• Modern Era

1. Water Palace (Sonic Rush)
2. Tropical Resort (Sonic Colors [DS Version])
   Rival: Silver the Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog [2006]) at Tropical Resort
   Boss: Egg Emperor (Sonic Heroes)

Having owned the console version first, I must say that Sonic Generations 3DS was a bit of a letdown, granted there were a few things I liked about it. For one thing, I loved how they made Mushroom Hill overall, as well as Emerald Coast, and facing the Egg Emperor was nice, but mainly that's perhaps the only way I'll ever see Sonic blasting through Radical Highway or facing the Biolizard without having to find and hack a copy of Sonic Adventure 2, but speaking of that stage, I like the Classic Remix better. Another drawback was the absence of skills and stage BGM selection. Granted the Nintendo 3DS lack the specs for a custom soundtrack feature, it could have made use of using unlocked BGM for the stage music like the console version did, but no such luck. One other pro I'll give is that there is a hint function on the lower screen, which scraps Omochao. The few goods don't outweigh the mediocre, sadly, so while I hailed the console version an 8 for 10 as a game in general, it's handheld counterpart scores a 6 of 10.