#the only act in which tails/cream doesn't feel useless

[beevean]

Sonic Advance 3

Sunset Hill Act 3

[darkqueenofshadows85]

Sonic Generations (2011) Story Review

Disclaimer: I will be judging this game by the plot and writing, not the gameplay.

Introduction

Greetings, mortals! For today's review, we'll be looking at the big parade of fanservice and nostalgia pandering that is Sonic Generations.

This is part of a series of reviews in which I’ll be going into slightly more detail about my thoughts on the main series Sonic game storylines, and why I think they're either well written and engaging, or an absolute trainwreck (or somewhere in-between). I’ll be giving my stance on the character portrayals, visuals, soundtracks, voice actors, and what themes/messages they had to offer. Keep in mind that these are just my own personal thoughts. Whether you agree or disagree, feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions!

Anyway, let us begin! ^^

Plot

Dr. Eggman finds the Time Eater and uses the power of time to trap Sonic and friends in a white void. Sonic finds his younger self and they team up against two Eggmen and the Time Eater to fix this mess.

Characters

Like most of the Meta Era games, Sonic is portrayed as a Gary Stu whose friends are completely dependent on him. And during the climax, he constantly brags about beating Eggman all the time. A textbook example of how not to keep your audience in suspense.

Classic Sonic doesn't really do much to contribute to the plot (if you can even call it that), but at least it actually makes sense for him to be there, considering this is the 20th anniversary special, and it does fit the context of the story. Also, why doesn't he talk? In the Classic Era, he was just as talkative as Modern Sonic, so why couldn't they have hired Jaleel White or Martin Burke to voice him? And if Classic Tails and Classic Eggman can talk, then there's no excuse why he can't.

Tails is somehow even more useless here than he was in Colors. He just spends most of the game tagging along with Sonic and providing exposition.

Eggman is still portrayed as a hapless dope. He's introduced in full late into the story, in the scene just before the climax, and he's already whining about losing to Sonic. This is supposed to be the main villain, by the way. During the climax, he spouts boring exposition, and he continues to talk non-stop in what is quite possibly the most lifeless, unexciting showdown in Sonic the Hedgehog history. After his defeat, we see him in ANOTHER unfunny post-credits scene that exists solely to make him look stupid. (seriously, where was the joke in this scene?)

The rest of the cast (Amy, Knuckles, Shadow, Rouge, Cream, the Chaotix, Silver and Blaze) have all been reduced to mere background characters who don't do anything in the story besides getting kidnapped by the Time Eater and cheerleading the two Sonics during the climax. Seriously, what's with this "you can win Sonic", "you can do it Sonic"... WHY NOT HELP?!

Visuals

I will admit that Generations did have the best visual presentation out of all the Meta Era games, but it seems to me like they're better at making flashier cutscenes than writing a good story nowadays.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack is mainly just remixes of songs from previous Sonic games, nothing new.

Voice Acting

As I stated in my previous review, I do like most of the new voice actors, with the only exceptions being Cindy Robinson (Amy), Karen Strassman (Rouge) and Kirk Thornton (Shadow).

Theme/Message

The main theme of Generations is just nostalgia. That's it. I mean, it did accomplish what it set out to do, which is to essentially be "Nostalgia: The Video Game", but that still doesn't excuse the downgraded storytelling quality.

Conclusion

I'll give Generations some credit, at least it doesn't have as many cringe-worthy jokes as the other Meta Era games, and at least it does acknowledge the Dark Era titles like 06 and Unleashed as canon. However, my main issue with the plot is that it's bland and practically non-existent, with nostalgia being its biggest selling point. Don't get me wrong, nostalgia isn't a bad thing, but like a drug, it can be a bad thing with an overdose and that's Classic Sonic. Classic Sonic is like a drug for SEGA. Still, it wasn't quite as annoying as Colors and Lost World, and it didn't mislead audiences into thinking they were getting an action packed, grandiose storyline like Forces did. It was just bland, unremarkable and inoffensive at best. Overall, I would consider Generations to be the most tolerable of the four main Meta Era games.

"Hey Sonic! Enjoy your future! It's gonna be great!"

Until the Meta Era. Then it all goes down the drain.

My final score:

2.4/5 (Mediocre)