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Seriously flawed controls

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 10 / 19
Date: February 26, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I purchsed this title after reading a couple positive reviews and now having actually played it, I really want my money back. At fault is the control system. Sonic runs at his own pre-programmed pace. He starts out slow and goes faster the longer you can keep from hitting something. You flip the Wiimote upside down to go backwards and tilt side to side to steer. Want to use the nunchuck? D-Pad? No go. The only thing you really control besides steering is jumping with the 2 button. It works in conjunction with a series of gestures to jump in various ways, most of which are so poorly executed that you could spend many frustrating hours trying to jump a single platform. I am not joking, and consider myself a fairly seasoned gamer. There are areas that make you wonder how this title got past play testing at all. Add in the cheesy voice acting and unhelpful and poorly timed training system (good luck getting past the third one in) and I cannot recommend this game to anyone at any age. I am glad that Sega made an original title for the Wii, but this game is seriously flawed. I think it is a really poor design decision to have most of the difficulty of your game stem from a poor control scheme.

I don't like to criticize too harshly without at least offering my take on what would help the situation for future titles. Obviously take Sonic back to 2-D, ala Paper Mario. If that is not happening, I would at the very least use the Wiimote/Nunchuck combo. Control Sonic via nunchuck to move forward, backward and steer. Use the "A" button on the Wiimote to jump and do NOT require a gesture like jolting the Wiimote to jump higher/farther, etc. Start there and you would be on your way to having some fun.

On the road to recovery

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 9
Date: February 25, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Sonic is back...sort of. While this game is infinitely better than the last few attempts at Sonic in 3-D, I'm becoming more and more convinced that the furry blue hedgehog just doesn't belong in that world. It's simply too hard to combine speed and control with a "behind the hedgehog" camera.

Sonic and the Secret Rings does a lot of things right. That is, this game contains more 2-D elements from the good 'ol Genesis days (ahh, remember those times?) than any 3-D version so far. Sonic's pretty much on a track and can't break free, save for a few areas where he can hit a switch or can be led along a different path. The environments are lush, the graphics look fantastic (the first Wii game that really looks "next gen," I would say), and the basic goal while playing is (most of the time) similar to the 2-D games. Collect rings, beat up enemies, go really fast, etc.

However, there are some attempts to mix it up and give you "goals" to work on, such as collecting 99 rings, finishing a stage without killing an enemy, and collecting dinosaur eggs. Yes, dinosaur eggs. Depending on how well you do, you can "power up" and gain new abilities with which you can equip your hedgehog (heh, I like the sound of that: "Equip your Hedgehog!"). The abilities aren't really that impressive, and one wishes that some of them, like being able to more smoothly move left and right or accelerate more quickly, could have just been Sonic's default condition at the beginning of the game. Nevertheless, it gives the gamer something to shoot for, and that's not a bad thing.

The controls, however, are a mixed bag. When moving forward, Sonic's pretty great. Like many have said, it feels fantastic to lurch the Wii-mote forward and attack enemies. Jumping takes some getting used to and is not really intuitive at all. You can do a little jump by tapping the 2 button, but if you want to make a big jump, you have to give yourself some room, hold the button down and wait for Sonic to screech to a near halt, and then let go of the button to make him leap. You will die many, many times trying to perfect this move. Furthermore, What I miss in this game is the simple ability to TURN AROUND. Sonic can't turn himself. I don't know if it's because of the fixed camera they decided to use, but if you fly past something you need (which will happen often, especially during the challenge rounds), you need to completely stop and then literally put the hedgehog in reverse. The camera doesn't assist you in this, causing you to blindly walk or jump backwards into enemies, barriers, or worst of all, off of cliffs.

These camera issues, while not as bad as Sonic Adventure or the awful steaming pile that is Sonic for 360 and PS3, are the root cause of frustration many times during the game. In the old 2-D games, Sonic can turn around, move up and down, and pretty much turn in any which way without the player having to worry about losing track of where he is. As of yet the 3-D Sonic games have yet to figure out how to do this. That's why I just WISH that Sega would give up on the "total 3-D" Sonic and make one heck of a killer 2-D Sonic. Think Sonic 3 and Knuckles but ten times the size, next-gen graphics, and music like that of Sonic CD (the American OR Japanese version! I don't care!) Just imagine if Sonic singlehandedly was able to save the side-scrolling adventure from extinction on next-gen systems. He could do it. Just give him a chance!

Oh, really quick: the music is of the "so bad it's good" variety, with bad 80's hair band rock ridiculously mixed with Arabian music. The story would be passable if the voices weren't so laughably bad. And, be prepared to throw up in your mouth a little bit (as another reviewer for an online games site has said) when Sonic makes a "pinky promise" with someone. Gag me with a shovel. The multiplayer part of the game is mildly entertaining, but one wishes that the programmers had spent more time on perfecting the main game than making a sorry Mario Party clone.

Very long story short, if you like Sonic, buy the game. It's the closest you can yet get to the Genesis days, but still not nearly close enough.

Sonic steps up

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: March 11, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Sonic hasn't aged very well. His fast, hyperactive youth has long since been replaced by mediocrity and disappointment. Once an A student, this hedgehog was sent to the counselor and in need of serious changes, lest he be shunned further away from his gaming peers. SEGA and Sonic Team seem to have done just right with their little blue guy; Sonic and the Secret Rings marks his first appearance on Wii and he shows a lot of promise and improvement.

Our hedgehog friend is awakened one day by a genie named Shahra. Her dilemma is that the Erazor Djinn is erasing pages right out of the book Arabian Nights, and without Sonic's immediate help, Erazor will destroy the story in the book and begin dominating Sonic's world. The story is a departure from the typical Dr. Robotnik schemes of the past, but familiar characters make an appearance in the Arabian-themed world. Unfortunately, the story doesn't take advantage of Wii hardware as much as it could. Similar to Elebits, Red Steel, and Trauma Center: Second Opinion, the majority of the story is told in artistic frames rather than real-time scenes.

Sonic's disappointing line of recent games have shared similar problems; bad camera angles, terrible controls, and uninspired level design have since been thorns in his shoes. Sonic and the Secret Rings fixes this problem by being much more like the hedgehog's two-dimensional adventures. In fact, it is accurate to say that the game plays like the 2D games, only turned forward so that Sonic is running into the screen rather than to its side. Using Wii's motion-sensing controller, all of the gameplay is done by turning the remote to its side and tilting it, pressing buttons to jump, brake, and activate special moves. Moving Sonic around the screen as he constantly runs forward is a breeze, and feels similar to but better than games like Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam and Excite Truck. Not all control mechanics work so well, but I'll get to that in a second.

The gameplay is fleshed out in Adventure Mode, which features seven different worlds and more than 100 missions to play. Missions range in difficulty and ask different things of Sonic. Some simply ask that he reach a certain point, others have him collecting rings, defeating enemies, or racing against the clock. As Sonic completes missions and earns experience points, he can earn and equip different skills that let him become an even more agile character. These skills vary in utility: some expand Sonic's homing attack range or increase the smoothness of his running and sliding, others aren't as useful and allow him to do things like hop backward and harm enemies. Adventure Mode is quite deep and offers, at the very least, 15-20 hours of gameplay. Earning gold medals on all of the missions would take much, much longer.

Sonic's only gameplay flaws come from some of the inconsistent mechanics. Sonic's homing attack is sometimes wild and uncontrollable and often sends him flying past enemies or objects that he's locked onto. Jumping is done differently here than in any other Sonic game: rather than pressing the 2 button to send Sonic into the air, Sonic has to "charge" his jump with the press of the 2 button. This makes jumping a heinous task that it shouldn't be. Moving backward at any time during the game is particularly annoying, since the camera doesn't reverse or even pan out to allow for an improved view of what's behind Sonic. Stoppage in the fast-paced action is abrupt and sometimes forced; for example, the camera mechanics and level design go hand-in-hand. Some obstructions were intentionally placed in the levels to slow the game down and allow the camera to catch up; this certainly detracts from the fast sense of speed and seems like a cheap way to put in difficult jumps and platform sequences. These gripes actually don't harm the overall experience much, but they come along and are definitely worth mentioning.

Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is the only Wii title to date that looks better than Sonic and the Secret Rings. Sonic's Arabian surroundings vary in design and detail. The levels are all quite different in theme, and therefore look nothing like each other. The floating sky levels, sandy deserts, the pirate ships-they're all fun to look at and run through. Special effects are done very well for the most part. Unfortunately, the soundtrack is among the worst in video games. I'm not sure why Sonic Team and SEGA are adamant about featuring such crummy music for their spunky character, and Sonic and the Secret Rings has quite possibly the most annoying background menu music I've ever heard. Fortunately the voice acting isn't as miserable as it has been in the past and the sound effects are appropriate.

Sonic's Adventure mode isn't the only noteworthy feature: there's a four-player party mode that has around 40 mini-games to play. It's a very nice addition to the game that would almost make a fine game on its own; in fact, the only multi-player games on Wii that offer more are Rayman Raving Rabbids! and Wii Sports. The multi-player offering doesn't ever feel shallow, either-in my experience, the game lasted for quite a lot of time and never ceased to be entertaining.

Sonic still isn't quite up to grade with his peers, but at least he's managed to get around the harsh reprimands of his critics (mostly). Sonic and the Secret Rings is a great addition to one's Wii library. I'd hope that in the future, SEGA and Sonic Team work on improving this formula rather than that used in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 Sonic the Hedgehog title. Sonic on Wii is much more entertaining, accessible, and most of all, fun.

Frustrating, Not much fun.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 6 / 10
Date: March 15, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Fortunately I rented before buying this game due to the mixed reviews. I can now definitively say that the game is not worth even renting.

The poorly designed boards, loose feeling controls, and non linear movement through levels and worlds make this game incredibly frustrating to play. After a few hours of trying to hack my way through the third level, I gave up. I returned the rental 3 days prior to the due date.

The worst sonic game I've ever played

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 10 / 22
Date: February 18, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Sonic And The Secret Rings is the worst sonic game in Sonic The Hedgehog history. The game requires you to hold Wii Remote Controller sideways, which only complicates things. There is a voice and subtitles informing you where to go and what to do. It says for Sonic to do this or that and when I do, it doesn't work. The controls are horrible and more difficult to deal with than being 20 grand in debt. I can't get past the fourth paragraph/level/stage. I've spent over 2 weeks trying to figure it out. It's the controls. They suck on the game. Maybe if the game was compatible with the Wii Classic Controller, it might have been easier to play. I rightfully deserve my 30 bucks plus tax back for this wrongfully made Sonic Game. Whoever composed this game had no clue what they were doing.

Not Impressed

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 7 / 13
Date: April 01, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I was beyond excited at the prospect of a new Sonic game for the Wii. However, I was shocked, annoyed, and depressed at how horrible this game was. The controls are terrible and the music is horrendous!

I think I played this game two or three times before I traded it in for something superior.

The whole is better than the sum of it's parts

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: October 05, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I for one love this game. Honestly, I can't put it down. The game certainly has problems, the only question is, is the game worth playing in spite of them? For me, the answer is yes.

The aspects of the game that I love are the ones that remind me of the old Sonic games from the early 90's. The race to the goal missions have the same "it never gets old" feeling that the original Sonic the Hedgehog games, and the speed breaks take me back to the days when I was glued to my T.V in awe of how fast the world was going by in Sonics I and II. These two aspects in combination make for a lot of fun indeed.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for absolutely every other aspect of the game.

The unbelievably long list of bonus missions (Don't take damage, don't defeat enemies, etc) have absolutely no re-play value and are certainly not fun. Getting through them is nothing more than a necessary chore to unlock more levels. Since there are only seven full tracks in the game, this is obviously a way to make the game seem longer, but personally, I would have been happy with seven tracks.

These bonus run-throughs are the biggest flaw in the game, especially due to the clunky controls. The control in Sonic and the Secret Rings is certainly good enough to race through a stage, but when the game requires you to carry out specific objectives like collecting 50 rings, dodging enemies, and running through a complex level within a short time limit, you start to notice how jerky the controls really are. They are serviceable, but were not designed for precision. Unfortunately, the bonus levels ARE designed for precision, and the controls (while not horrible) are simply not up to the task.

If you can labor through the bonus missions, you will find that the main tracks are remarkably fun to run through, especially when you are not bound by further objectives to get to more stages. If you have not gotten through the remainder of the bonus missions however, you may ask your self if it's worth it to keep going. This will mean the difference between a buy, a rental, and a tossing of the game out the window for a lot of people.

The game certainly could have been better, and if a sequel is ever made (and it should be because the game has a lot of potential), some of these problems might be dealt with. In the mean time however, I would recommend the bare bones elements of the game to anyone who loved the Sonic the Hedgehog games of the 90's. The main tracks really are that fast, and they really are that fun!

Another poorly planned franchise game

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 8
Date: March 02, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Where have all the decent sonic games gone!?!? Whoever came up with this waste of time needs to rethink their career. Sonic games are known for their fast and intense gameplay but this one really puts a damper on that expectation. Sonic and the Secret Rings is a very slow game with a small quantity of lame rock-themed music. This game was obviously designed by some pyro-maniac with a need to complicate things. The game falls on its face with the story line... as a matter of fact it's the worst story line of any game I've ever played. It's not that the story line isn't creative, it's just sooo incredibly stupid that you lose all interest. Another turn-off is the amount of frustration involved in this game. Controlling Sonic's movement takes forever to get the hang of, but even when you do it's still hard to maneuver him backwards (the most frustrating thing of all!), and even forwards for that matter. They made poor use of the Wii's remote control making the game that much more frustrating due to limited gameplay sensing abilities. Other than maneuvering sonic left and right and dashing in mid-air, there aren't any other uses for the wiimote. No sound affects were used in the wiimote (which it IS capable of) either. It would have been better off on gamecube.

Bottom line, this is a bad spinoff of the Sonic franchise. Horrible story line, the gameplay is restricted to running through straitaways, dodging obstacles (uncontrollably), and timing jumps. There are no attacks other than when you jump in the air and use a homing attack, idiotic music, and a blue hedgehog that you can't control for the life of you.

The only upside to the game is that it has great graphics and highly detailed (yet vastly uninteractive) levels. During the short animation parts where you aren't actually controlling Sonic give you that sense of speed you want out of a good Sonic game. Ok game to rent, but don't waste $50 bucks on it.

Too Many Seeds....

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 6 / 11
Date: May 01, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The only real thing that this game has going for it is that it looks wonderful. The artwork and lighthing are simply splendid.

Unfortnately, there's not much else to brag about here. Sonic the hedgehog is supposed to be a fast-paced title, and the control scheme loves to get in the way of what otherwise ought to be simple. For example, you often have to find yourselves tilting the remote to go backwards. Not only is this necessary way too often, but the sensitivity of the remote does not always pick up on your backwards motion. This creates, out of frustration, a skid-like effect.

To make matters worse, you earn power ups along the way, as you complete each mission. If you read the powerups closely enough, however, you realize all you are doing is earning good controls. Shouldn't I get those from the start of things?

This goes without saying for any next-gen sonic title, but the voice acting is just wretched. The song that plays at the end of each level makes you want to shove a railroad spike through your ears, and the music hits more than it misses. Arabic-themed music will clumsily plunge into 80ish rock sounds.

I really, really, realy wanted to like this game. But I can't.

You can pass this one up, EASILY.

Worst Game Ever

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: March 21, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Sonic games have been bad for a while. That said, the main problem they have had was always the controls so when I heard that there was a Sonic coming out for the Wii I was stoked. I thought that with the Wiimote they could easily capture the essence of what made Sonic fun on the Genesis. I was wrong. I played the game for multiple hours hoping that I would pick up the controls and the game would get better. It did not. I found myself screaming at the television, "WHY CAN'T I BACK UP" or "TURN RED YOU FREAKING TARGET". In the end I am really disappointed that I bought this TURD. Save your money.

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