Summary
While the blue blur has had quite a lengthy history at this point, some fans still believe that the era of ClassicSonicwas the best that it’s ever been. In order to give these fans something to look forward to, Sega has tried to recreate the old school games as new experiences through two different endeavors. One was 2010’sepisodicSonic the Hedgehog 4, while the most recent attempt isSonic Superstars, out now on major platforms.
Naturally, due to how both games wish to give fans a rush of nostalgia while being an entirely new adventure, comparing the two was a given sinceSonic Superstars' success would owe itself to Sega learning fromSonic 4’s mistakes, as many series loyalists thinkSonic 4ended up being a mediocre experience compared to what it was trying to be. The bar may have been low forSonic Superstars, butSonic 4ultimately isn’t hard to top.
RELATED:Sonic Superstars: Best Songs, Ranked
It’s All in the Physics for Sonic Superstars
As the goal with both games is to capture what madethe originalSonicgamesgreat, the biggest aspect that fans look at is how they play. While there was always a considerable amount of improvement between titles, the way the original Genesis games handled their platforming has remained difficult to top and even harder to replicate. No title emphasizes how necessary this is more thanSonic 4.
Needless to say, many fans feel likeSonic 4’s biggest failing, at least as far as the first episode is concerned, is the physics. The game featured slow, strange acceleration as it fell victim to requiring dash panels to keep the flow going,asSonic Forceswould be criticized forthis later, with the momentum physics that the original ClassicSonicgames used nowhere to be found.
While it isn’t entirely note-for-note,Sonic Superstarsdoes a great job at calling back to and remembering exactly what the classic games were good at. Momentum holds strong throughout, and the level design only requires automation for cinematic moments and stage gimmicks, meaning all theplatforming done inSonic Superstarsis completely on the player’s own terms and skills. If players keep going and learn the stages, then they’ll feel accomplished beating them.
Sonic Superstars Thrives in the New and Not the Old
Nostalgia matters when it comes to how beloved an older title tends to be, which makes it very easy for that feeling to end up trapping newer games, making them too focused on replicating what came before so that there’s little room to do anything new.EvenSonic Maniafalls into this trap a fair bit, with half if its stages being brought back from previous titles.
It seems that Sega held onto that small criticism thatSonic Maniaplayers had about one of the most best-sellingSonicgames of all time, asSonic Superstarsvery early on made it clearthat everything the game had to offer would be new. With the game now out, players can easily find out for themselves that this is the case all throughout the title as every stage is new with its own obstacles, challenges, and gimmicks.
If there’s one thing thatSonic 4(particularly episode 2) has overSonic Superstars, it’s the inclusion of online co-op, a feature that’s sorely missed inSuperstars. And if anything is similar toSonic 4, sadlySonic Superstarsfeels rather reminiscent of the episodic title’s soundtrack with half of its tracks. It’s easy to tell which of its songs were composed bySonic Mania’s composer Tee Lopes, and veteran composer Jun Senoue who worked onSonic 3, but also onSonic 4. As theSonicfranchise is mostly known for its incredible musiceven at its low points, it’s sad to have someSuperstarsplayers saySonic 4has the latest title beat in terms of some musical elements. Still,Superstarsdelivers on some fun songs despite its shortcomings, and it shines in many other areas.
Sonic Superstarsis available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
