Sonic Superstars with a side of salt

[@datalphalion]

Ironically given their track record, this might be the best game Arzest ever made.

[@BurnsyRuns]

Its hard for me to give praise to them for stepping over a bar thats 2 inches off the ground They should have never been given this opportunity in the first place, imo. Many studios would have done better, Arzest's incompetency 100% held this back from being better.

[@esmooth919]

At least i had some faith, because one of the members of Arzest helped create Sonic back in the 90s.

[@JennyBlaze253]

Arzest, yes. Artoon, however, which ended up becoming Arzest (kinda a Gainax/Trigger situation) made Blinx the Time Sweeper, which is personally a very excellent game.

[@BurnsyRuns]

@@esmooth919 unfortunately that's not a very good barometer for upcoming games. It's quite easy to say "made by the creators of ___" when in reality its only 2-3 guys who are left over, and there are dozens if not hundreds of people involved in making the original game. Just like with other industries, certain people end up taking getting lot more credit than they're due for whatever their part was, especially if it invovled managing others. If they were saying any of the the original level designers were back I would have been more excited for this, but I knew it wasnt the case. The creator of sonic's design being involved for example doesnt really have any bearing on the kind of level design you'll experience, thats the job of someone completely different. I think there is a misconception among gamers regarding how devs play their own games. In reality many dont, especially on the art side, so you cant just assume that a dev who clearly cares about the character he designed is going to know how to structure the levels and music.

[@Unmustache1]

Okay, but hey! pikmin was actually balling. I do not care what anyone else says

[@dakotaward8792]

Another reviewer pointed out that bosses stall so much because it would be over in like 10 seconds if the boss was always vulnerable with the potential of having 4 players at the same time attacking it at once and probably didn't consider just changing the hit point values with the number of players during gameplay.

[@stanzacosmi]

they coudl have easily done 1player=8hp 2player=12hp 3player=16hp 4player=20hp

[@CDsNoots]

​@@stanzacosmi that would be annoying

[@stanzacosmi]

@@CDsNoots how so? If there's no long recovery time between hits, it would be no different than fighting the death egg robot

[@SnaksiXD]

The boss of Sky Temple Act 1 sucks because it doesn't convey the invincibility periods right and it always ends with me dying because oops the physics are now different since you didn't damage the boss

[@robertwyatt3912]

Or they could just have invincibility frames

[@birddaughter]

7:26 "Some may call it a step in the right direction for the 50th time, not realizing with all these steps taken, one could call it 'walking.'" favorite quote from the video

[@dracogram9580]

Step in the right direction for Arzest may I remind you, not Sonic team, ST had that type of game last year, the games Arzest have released are mid at best, having an actual good title under their belt is a step in the right direction, just hoping they can keep that level of quality consistent.

[@sonicdude4457]

Basically Superstars in a nutshell

[@tinyetoile5503]

I've seen someone else say that this should be a 30 dollar 3DS game and I agree, games like this one really suffer from the axing of smaller consoles like the DS.

[@DarkQueenHelba]

I miss handheld style games so much.

[@Roto3]

Nah 60$ is fine.

[@Swuidward_]

@@Roto3 disagree lol

[@MechanicalRabbits]

​@@DarkQueenHelbafor real we need to go back in time and prevent the iphone from ever coming out. Many if not most of my favorite games are all handheld titles.

[@silverreaps6803]

@@Roto3 its really not

[@alenor210]

Every time a Sonic game comes out and people say “it’s a step in the right direction,” they’re ignoring the fact that we’ve had dozens of steps in the right direction and things haven’t improved. Sonic is simply walking on a treadmill, facing the right direction but never going anywhere.

[@derple8524]

😂 yeah, I forgot how many times people have said this and I think at this point it's being used as a crutch for Sonic to avoid criticism. You know how some Sonic fans be

[@mitchbandes2245]

And the Sonic Cycle marches on.

[@derple8524]

​@@mitchbandes2245yep, an infinite cycle

[@deadlydingus1138]

I think of it more like a hamster wheel. I know that hedgehogs technically aren’t rodents, but it somehow feels more fitting.

[@Jdudec367]

Eh...not exactly, this is the first Sonic game with major multiplayer like this and the battle mode is pretty cool too plus the emerald powers are pretty cool too.

[@aruakise9803]

> A Sonic game without bangers That's illegal.

[@deadlydingus1138]

In the words of Eggman after being presented with cold soup and hot salad, “how is that evem possible!?”

[@imveryangryitsnotbutter]

Please tell me they at least have some mash

[@harrythehamster4518]

Speed jungle? Bridge Island? Pinball Carnival? lagoon City? Sand Sanctuary? Cyber Station? Egg Fortress? Yeah there are some bad tracks but those could also be way better if Jun would just get better synths, this ost is still great.

[@justinanderson2631]

Man Sonic Mania had... All bangers. But Studiopolis especially

[@Mr_bukowski4435]

Bro Pinball Carnival and Bridge island acts 1 and 2 are bangers why are y’all tripping

[@StarMechV]

It's funny how the level design seems more oriented to single player, but the bosses are make more sense for multiplayer. The slow wind up out of every hit makes sense for a co-op game since if the hurtbox was acting all the time you could easily beat every single boss in like 5 seconds with 4 players jumping all over the place. This is not me defending the game, really. Cause that just shows how confusing the focus of the game is to begin with.

[@MiniLuigiMighty5]

Yeah... counterpoint, i-frames

[@tsyumamatsuthehavenofguard32]

​@MiniLuigiMighty5 WHAT I FRAMES sonic gets literally juggled in this game if you place him between two enemies

[@cadenshields129]

@@tsyumamatsuthehavenofguard32 I think they were referring to the s the boss gets after hitting them.

[@dalemuir1105]

I can't believe after not getting it right for 20 years, they got it right with Mania and when the fans said "yeah! more of this!" they give us this.

[@sevensvn5391]

I like Sonic CD which is similar in a number of ways, so this being made by the director of that game is a dream come true for me. Sorry about you not getting a mania successor, though.

[@Bombastic_daioh]

Lol classic sonic sucks. Modern 3D sonic is so much better than tha trash that is Mania.

[@tristandahn2284]

God I would love a hand drawn Sonic game.

[@orangeslash1667]

hey did not want to make a Mania sequel since Iizuka felt casual audiences would dismiss it as a rehash; he wanted to abandon Mania's pixel art style as Mania had been intended for hardcore Sonic fans, and he thought a new 2D game needed to appeal to a broad audience.

[@ZekeStaright]

Especially with the art style they use for this.

[@Bajso84]

@@orangeslash1667 Thats the same 16-bit jaggedy look. I think the OP means a HD hand drawn game. Like Streets of Rage 4. Id love that too. Although I think the parallax that comes naturally with a 3d environment works well with the speed of a Sonic game.

[@tristandahn2284]

Heck I am digging a low poly n64/Ps1/Saturn look for some of these newer indie projects coming out soon, and I think a 2d sonic game that looks like the Sega Saturn era style of graphics would be awesome. Maybe thats just me though.

[@orangeslash1667]

@@tristandahn2284 I recommend Freedom Plant 2 for a Sonic successor.

[@ddubmomo]

Sonic: Gotta go fast! Level design: haha Boss enemy: lol nope

[@dashing569]

That's not sonic philosophy speed is a reward

[@Banana807]

If you want to go fast non stop play sonic forces modern stages, just hold the boost button is that easy!

[@havoka2529]

Real

[@ThatNormalBunny]

Sonic: Gotta go fast! Level design: haha Boss: Nope Skilled Players: Erm yep

[@Jdudec367]

Eh...you can still go fast with the level design but...yeah bosses are something else which I guess sorta makes sense here.

[@YoSoyConando]

The late game bosses really are goddamn annoying. I think Arzest actually did good with the stages and gimmicks but hoo boy, those Fang fights.

[@chillyz0]

I swear that fang lava fight was hell on earth

[@echo_sans4239]

the final eggman boss fight fight is a pain I can't even get passed his second phase. please help. what would be a good character to use to beat him. Also what's the fastest way to get the green chaos emerald. that thing is infuriating.

[@lucymorrison]

It took me over a day of constant trying to beat the fucking robotnik fight in Egg Fortress

[@chillyz0]

@@echo_sans4239 instead of going to it go left away from it and loop around to catch it

[@MarshallPool-tf7be]

So you’re trying to get that DAMN fourth chaos emerald… it’s best to look it up that’s what I did.

[@SnatchedOwl1289]

They almost had a hand drawn style for the game?!!? My dreams of a hand drawn official sonic game will never happen

[@IAmMightyMike]

My huge gripe with this game is the fact that it was advertised as a multiplayer game but I can barely play it with my wife. It just sucks so much that you have to share a screen with little to no distance between your characters if you want to explore. I really want to love the game, but I was so excited to love it with her.

[@BeingOfEvil0]

There's a futuristic mechanic called walk

[@IAmMightyMike]

@@BeingOfEvil0 You want me to walk.. in a Sonic game?

[@TheReZisTLust]

​@@IAmMightyMikeWalking around at the speed of sound, some place to go, but I'm never gonna find it

[@birrock4]

Pretty bold of Sega to include a Silksong fan costume/bossfight, but here we are

[@StitchPen]

Like a hamster, I feed off of silksong content drop by drop.

[@lucianocastrogiovanni2879]

"One could just call it... walking." Yes. One would. One probably should. I found this take enlightening.

[@Duelkitten]

I find the choice of background music ironic/funny when talking about the lack luster music. The best song out of the game by far (and it was made by tee)

[@SonicFrake]

A Sonic game without any tunes that totally rock? Even Sonic 06 didn't fail that hard.

[@bramble553]

Sonic Chronicles.

[@Mossmuncher-zm8gx]

Sonic chronicles may have had terrible music but it still had at least one good theme, that being IX's

[@bramble553]

@@Mossmuncher-zm8gx which is still a worse version of a Song from Sonic 3D Blast lmao

[@Mossmuncher-zm8gx]

@@bramble553 That may be true, but to be fair, pretty much all of the songs in that game were recycled from older games, and they were never meant to be what they were in the first place

[@manoftruth0935]

We got the best soundtrack yet in Frontiers twice. They learned from the 06 situation and Sega put their full effort into Frontiers, and delegated SuperStars to another studio.

[@garrtoons4303]

This game is pretty much what I expected a game made by Arzest would look like. 😅

[@jameslawrenson1208]

It's probably still their best game so far.

[@garrtoons4303]

@@jameslawrenson1208 I mean, yeah.... 😅

[@BurnsyRuns]

​​​​@@jameslawrenson1208thats not a very high bar, whats their best game besides this, Hey You Pikman? Yoshi's New Island? Pretty sure their other games besides Sonic are soulless and universally hated. Not to mention they inherited Headcanon's retro engine, thats like 1/3 of the work done for them automatically.

[@sahaprocks7751]

@@BurnsyRunsBalan Wonderland too 💀

[@johnblunt6693]

@@sahaprocks7751 to play devil's advocate I'm pretty sure they only helped on art for balan wonderworld

[@JennyBlaze253]

I should note that Arzest is Naoto Ohshima's company, who was one of the creators of Sonic who was brought on to work on this game, so most likely part of the reason Arzest is involved this. Arzest was originally known as Artoon, as a note, who created the very underrated Blinx the Time Sweeper games.

[@Kulkogo]

I saw a fan game that put a lot of effort into hand drawn sonic sprites and it looked AMAZING. I would have played this if it matched the animation style they used for the opening of Sonic Mania

[@cosmiclikesminecraft]

The zoomed in camera genuinely killed my interest it made it feel like if I wanted to have any amount of fun I’d have to memorize the levels

[@Bajso84]

Its not. Its zoomed out compared to the classics. And in some speedy sections it actually zooms out further. Learn to Sonic.

[@TheFoolishSamurai]

@@Bajso84 Sonic needs to learn how to make a speed game

[@cosmiclikesminecraft]

Yes its an issue I had with a classic game that prevented me from finding them fun. having these massive levels but barely being able to see ahead of you just is not enjoyable for learning to go fast. makes me feel like its just memorization as opposed to just adapting @@Bajso84

[@josiahtheawkward6008]

Why does it always feel like whenever Sonic releases something nowadays I have to stutter or put a giant asterisk when I say it was good? Like “Sonic Superstars is a good game… BUT-“ When are we gonna get a game that’s just plain good or even great? Like come on, the last game I could say that was just great without stuttering from its problems is Mania.

[@Youarewhatyoueatsonic]

Even mania has a “but” the levels aren’t unique

[@Jdudec367]

@@Youarewhatyoueatsonic Every game is flawed I guess although Mania has it's original levels too.

[@ahmadkazan5473]

EVERY game to ever exist will have. -BUT eventually.

[@Youarewhatyoueatsonic]

@@Jdudec367 that’s true, very good original levels as well, it’s just a shame that wasn’t the whole game

[@josiahtheawkward6008]

@@ahmadkazan5473 true but Sonic always has these apparent problems that seem SO FIXABLE

[@abloodcorpse3318]

literally, the multiplayer aspect would've been fixed with online multiplayer, because then if someone went off-screen, they just have their own screen, literally eliminating the entire problem the devs are talking about

[@SkipperWing]

As a 2D animator who spent this year teaching themselves 3D sculpting, 3D modeling and 3D animation, Its very frustrating when someone implies 3D animation is lazy (“They just wanted to save money”). The work intensity it takes to make GOOD models, rig them properly and animate them is such that, if you wanted to be “lazy,” it’d be easier to “reuse the old sprites and go 2D” (and this is ignoring the work that goes into making good environment and effects too!) And even then saying as much (“it’d be easier to go 2D cuz 3D is hard”) is revealing (which is why it’s in quotes), because to make GOOD 2D animation when re-using sprites, you’d have to do so much touch-up work that you might as well start fresh (to say nothing of the background/foreground transitions and/or other gimmicks/effects that wouldn’t translate well to 2D). And even if they had “started fresh” with new 2D sprites, I don’t think they’d be any more expressive or more thoroughly animated than what we got, because the work intensity would be about the same as making 3D models and animations. The point being: at that scale, the intensity and cost for creating animation is intensive enough that what you choose to go with is a creative choice, not a financial one, and anyone who suggests otherwise doesn’t know what they’re talking about because they don’t realize the cost/intensity is about the same. In this case, Sonic Team probably didn’t have faith in their 2D aesthetic translating well to sales for children (the game’s primary audience), and so went with what has been established as the “default” for modern industry platformers like Mario and Metroid Dread (Rayman is an outlier in this regard, as are indies). Could it have been done better? Yes (see: Super Mario Bros Wonder for comparison). But that was Sega/Arzest’s choice to make creatively, not financially. (And this entire rant doesn’t touch on how we DON’T actually know what the process was for making animations for this game, simplistic as it may seem from the outside) But suggesting they went with “3D to save money” and implying 3D is lazier than 2D is … even lazier.

[@chrismanuel9768]

Nice rant, but every professional with years of work in the industry agrees 3D is faster, cheaper, and easier. There's a reason Cuphead took a whole team years and every 3D Souls knockoff on Steam was pushed out by one dude in a few months. If you think 3D is harder than spriting, congrats! You're either very fast at sprite work or you're bad at 3D.

[@CeHee123]

Denuvo was also in Mania. Doesn’t make it okay but just pointing it out.

[@Darkgun231]

What's Denuvo? And why is it bad?

[@CeHee123]

@Darkgun231 a false anti-piracy system that prevents mods and causes PC games to run worse.

[@willnet2644]

I say what make it so bad this time it was announced an hour before game came out and epic game was announced at same time with it

[@Darkgun231]

@@CeHee123 I see, thanks for the warning

[@josephfrye7342]

@@CeHee123 jokes on them the pc version of sonic superstars works fine on me hehe.

[@TheAdvertisement]

7:25 "Some may call it a step in the right direction for the 50th time, not realizing that with all these steps taken, one could just call it... walking." Oh my god you COOKED with that.

[@420starchild]

Dude the reviews of this game are giving me fucking whiplash. I'm just gonna ignore people and play it myself. I can't tell who just is fucking obsessed with sonic or who fucking hates it anymore. I guess sonic is just one of those games you actually HAVE to play to understand if its good or not anymore.

[@grass_enjoyer]

I feel like all recent Sonic games punish you for going blindly fast, which is silly when you think about it, but this game looks pretty fun

[@TriforceWisdom64]

That's really always been the case, aside from the early boost games like Rush or Wii Unleashed. Going fast is a selling point, so Sega never bothers to elaborate that going fast is the reward for replaying the game and memorizing obstacles, rather than the default.

[@orangeslash1667]

​@@TriforceWisdom64 Sonic Team did not want to make a Mania sequel since Iizuka felt casual audiences would dismiss it as a rehash; he wanted to abandon Mania's pixel art style as Mania had been intended for hardcore Sonic fans, and he thought a new 2D game needed to appeal to a broad audience.

[@TriforceWisdom64]

@@orangeslash1667 Did you reply to the wrong person?

[@spongebobfan78]

The last time they didn't punish you, it was Forces.

[@orangeslash1667]

@@TriforceWisdom64 No, I just wanted to change the subject. Classic Sonic games is about speed being the reward for good platforming. So the question is the level design as good as the classics. Remember while Sonic 2 and 3 can be fast paced, Sonic 1 is not.

[@be-noble3393]

The Salt must flow.

[@luigiboi4244]

Dune Reference.

[@josephfrye7342]

with uk's brown hpsauce like bbq and red orange buffalo sauce?

[@iantaakalla8180]

I wonder, would that make the people who cover Sonic games the teleporter people?

[@NachosRenard]

... I feel like online sonic could have helped with the screen issue. You wouldnt need to be a co-op or share the same screen, so it could be useful for players to race or explore on their own, or for someone to teach their friend tricks

[@SeriousPan]

On the music front: That's because Jun Suneou is involved. The guy just takes the Genesis soundfont with the Sonic 1 drum snares and calls it a day. The dudes talented but has no idea how to make Classic music. Tee Lopes is the one responsible for the actually good songs in the soundtrack, he absolutely dominates the OST here.

[@Mr_bukowski4435]

Pinball Carnival, Speed Jungle and Bridge Island Act 1 and 2 are absolute BANGERS!

[@masonwilcox7055]

Not having good, memorable music, is what is going to make me wait for a sale. Thanks for the review.

[@Mr_bukowski4435]

The music is a banger (those being Bridge island, Speed Jungle, and Pinball Carnival) they are better than most of Frontiers if you ask me so Scott is mostly wrong

[@TheIDcard123]

Speed Jungle Act 1 and Bridge Island Act 2 are very good. I don't know what Scott was on saying there was NONE. But yeah, a majority of them are meh.

[@Mr_bukowski4435]

@@TheIDcard123 ya the sand kingdom music sucks tho

[@mariomario9209]

The bosses are very sonic rush esque where you have to wait for it to open up to hit it

[@DevilMasterLukj]

Oh dear lord they dropped the ball on the music!?! That's such a sin

[@Chokun-Gaming]

I also fought a giant robot clown, but it was unpainted (just like yours) so I went back to spice it up a bit and wound up fighting metal Sonic with a skirt, big meaty claws and a chimney instead

[@flibbityjibbity]

@@Chokun-Gaming hate when that happens

[@Luffink25]

Aw, you didn't reach Trip's postgame? But that's where the horror truly begins!

[@Tippsters-10]

Wait, you’re serious?

[@jareader3295]

​@@Tippsters-10Trips story is hard mode and is needed to reach the last story.

[@Luffink25]

@@Tippsters-10 I'm totally serious. The regular story mode isn't particularly hard except for some bosses. Trip's story's level design changes make the experience horrible, full of cheap shots and spikes to screw you up. I've given up trying to beat it honestly and started using Trip's superform... but then again, it's hard to even gather 50 rings in these messy stages

[@jamesmalinowski4033]

@@Luffink25 honestly, the worst part is the Eggrobos. like, just remove those from the stages and it's, like, 75% easier.

[@SeriousPan]

I love Trips postgame. It's suffering of the worst kind! They shove so many obstacles in the way that it borders on the insane. Like sure some of them are smartly laid out so you can use your wall jumps and grinds etc... but then you go to the casino level and its blue fires placed in nonsense locations that make no sense. Trips postgame does not let you go fast... at all. It's awful. Thank god you can just use her in the more fun base campaign.

[@Stew91]

People often use the "Mania was made by fans" rhetoric. The problem is Sonic Mania wasn't made by some Fan Game group. Mania was made by Christian Whitehead who made the Sonic CD re-release and Headcannon, before working on Sonic 1 & 2 Ports. It's annoying hearing people saying it was made by fans and how fans should takeover because they really shouldn't. It was made by “fans” in a sense that Sega hired a person who has made Sonic fan games in the past. And then he went on to have a career in the video game industry. It’s very much a professional, mainline Sonic game. That is worth clarifying.

[@Butwhythough881]

And even then, that team was still held back a bit by Sega since they originally wanted Mania to be all original zones like Superstars but Sega insisted it be 80% returning zones. Superstars should’ve taken inspiration from Mania’s original zones because almost all the zones in Superstars, with one or two exceptions, feel so generic.

[@Stew91]

​@@Butwhythough881 Sega didn't force Evening Star to do anything. The original idea by the developers was a collection of Sonic 1, 2 and CD for consoles with 4 bonus stages. Then that become a brand new game, replacing the collection aspect with the reused stages and keeping the 4 new ones, thus, combining new ideas, with classic ideas.

[@Butwhythough881]

@@Stew91 Completely inaccurate. Christian Whitehead pitched Mania as an all new game from the start after the success of the mobile ports. He pitched a prototype of an earlu Studiopolis. Sega, primarily Takashi Lizuka, accepted the pitch and insisted the game featured remixed versions of the classic zones. Forced was an overstatement on my part but the assumption that it was just gonna be a collection of mobile ports of consoles just isn’t true, unless you can provide me a source that said that. Sure, Mirage Saloon was based on a cut level from the mobile port of CD which itself was inspired by a cut level from Sonic 2, so I can only assume you got that mixed up.

[@averybirb]

you know it's serious when someone says the music in a sonic game is bad;;

[@colossalweeb]

So what I'm hearing is this is sega's "we have mania at home"

[@orsonzedd]

Arzest made a game with unmemorable music? You don't say?

[@jameslawrenson1208]

Balan Wonderworld is the ONLY exception.

[@JennyBlaze253]

@@jameslawrenson1208 Blinx the Time Sweeper says hello (yes, I know it's Artoon and not Arzest, but technicality!)

[@chrismanuel9768]

​@@JennyBlaze253I can't remember a single track from that game, or really any level after the first. It was a critical bomb for a reason. Good idea, absolutely trash execution

[@JennyBlaze253]

@@chrismanuel9768 Forgotten City, Temple of Lost Time, Forge of Hours, Sky World and Time Oil Well World from 2, not to mention the shop theme. Need I say more?

[@biggestyosh4041]

Yeah some sound tracks aren't the best but I think speed jungle zone act 2 is probably one of the best ones.

[@Mr_bukowski4435]

True THANK YOU! Pinball Carnival Act 1 and 2 are also bangers

[@IgnatiusBlaze4]

3:30 yeah, and I've seen some people praise this because it's more eventful... sure... but only the 1st few times, then it gets annoying on replays. Value in Sonic is his exploration and you go at your own speed. Even if he's always touted gotta go fast, being his tagline since competing with the likes of Mario and Mega Man back in the day. That's always been what Sonic's been about if you're a real Sonic fan, not to call people fake ones, just the big fans know that's what he's about. If you want to go slow feel free, you want dangerous treacherous route stick to a lower path, you want more rewards stick to the top, want a speedy fast route stick more so in the middle while taking up or down routes when necessary. The bosses themselves have always taken this into account too, this was the biggest draw behind Sonic 2 especially. If you want you can juggle enemies, or wait, even the final final boss in the egg Robo, you can wait for him to dip down every few seconds, or learn to time your jumping to avoid his spiky hands to get in more hits while he's walking at you. Forcing you to wait... not only the exact opposite of speed, which is Sonic's mantra, but it's also the opposite of being explorative which is what Sonic truly is about.

[@lucasmatthiessen1570]

A Sonic game that is “okay” is good enough for me.

[@GameparkGames]

I have a question for anyone who is willing to answer, Was it me or did the momentum feel off to anyone? In my experience there were moments where you'd jump and be stuck in a direction not being able to move out of it. You'd stop and the character would move insanely slow to start back up... the characters felt like they had weights on them keeping them from feeling as responsive as older games have done.

[@genetic_lemon]

It felt like there was a tiny bit of weight but generally? No I didn't face issues like this really. I had a great time with the game.

[@GameparkGames]

@@genetic_lemon A bit of weight is fine but there were times it felt very inconsistent. I'll fully admit that it could have just been me not being used to the game but one instances was at the final boss where I hit him and try to move back to the right just to move so slowly it killed me

[@genetic_lemon]

@@GameparkGames It could be. One thing I know is that the ground starts moving faster in some attacks the final boss does. That could be why you died and it's not like that isn't common. I think a good example could be Metal Sonic Kai in Mania.

[@plastickkerorolm4889]

Scott: Boss are bad Sega: why Scott: I can't cheese them Sega: .... uh huh

[@plastickkerorolm4889]

Also speed juggle and sand sanctuary are 100 BANGERS

[@DJNeon-C1990]

theres a difference between not being able to cheese, and sonic rush tier shit bosses.

[@plastickkerorolm4889]

@DJNeon-C1990 I don't think their shit. Infact the only issue I have with the bosses is they should have better indication for when they're invulnerable.

[@sevensvn5391]

@@plastickkerorolm4889 Yeah, that's the only real issue I've seen beyond people being irritated that they're not cheesable.

[@plastickkerorolm4889]

@sevensvn5391 like it think it simply went against the grain to have bosses not being super weak this game. Sonic community is used to being able to wail on the boss as soon as it's in range. But most bosses in platformer only allow you to jump on their head once or hit them once.

[@thomased22legoyodagaming]

Scott being partially blue colorblind is truly an interesting factoid.

[@AlvinEarthworm]

This game's soundtrack got Senoue'd bad. They really need to file a retraining order against him coming within 100 meters of a Genesis soundfont.

[@DexDexter0]

You know I'm with you on the design of classic Sonic but for me it's less about the color and more the weird 3D he's got going on. Since generations his model has always looked like they were trying to baby-fy him, if that makes sense. He just always has a (0_0) blank expression and is too round and squishy looking. The lack of stylization really hurts the design

[@CiromBreeze]

Tails can descend while flying? Well done SEGA, you've managed to so something that Sonic Robo Blast 2 has had for at least 20 years now.

[@Polar_Patroller]

It's so nice to hear other say that the boss fights start getting annoying (im currently stuck on the one in space cus i keep dying after getting to phase 2 and rage quitting after a couple tries). I did not pay 70 bucks to have the same experience in sonic 2 with the final boss.

[@GameparkGames]

It's not the same experience though... the waiting makes it so much worse. You didn't wait long per hit with the metal sonic fight and can breeze passed him in under 30 seconds whereas the first phase of the space boss takes 2 and a half minutes if you are being fast enough. It took me so long to figure out how to beat the second phase because one slip up and it's back to the first phase. I'll take 5 metal sonics before I take phase one of that boss... a checkpoint would have been awesome but nope.

[@Polar_Patroller]

@@GameparkGames When I said experience I meant like getting to the second phase and dying and having to restart the entire fight.

[@MarshallPool-tf7be]

It’s possible though. You just gotta cheese it with super but you have to be really precise to get 50 rings.

[@Polar_Patroller]

@@MarshallPool-tf7be thank you for the idea, I just need to grind the emeralds then (yes I still haven't beat that boss yet 7 months later)

[@gapfmmadeira]

Sonic frontiers: step in the right direction for 3d games Sonic superstars: step in the right direction for 2d games That's it SEGA! Preparations are complete! Please use this games to make amazing sonic titles!

[@chrismanuel9768]

Frontiers was... god awful though

[@pinktrutle1490]

@@chrismanuel9768 nope

[@iantaakalla8180]

By now, Frontiers is in a state that people can pretend it was always a good game.

[@Thookah]

I mean, if we are being nice, DLC update 1 and 2 brought the game to a 10 out of 10, as it had a perfect challenge. But definetly NOT after that 3rd update. That just made the game WAY too hard. I mean, I personally liked the DLC, but damn, did it kick my ass. I'd give the game a 8.75/10 now. It was perfect, but they spiked the difficulty WAY too high.@@iantaakalla8180

[@That1J1]

Why tf can't they just give sonic online coop so it doesn't matter how fast he goes? 30xx did an amazing job of this

[@2_many_alts]

This is the “competition” for Mario wonder?

[@silverreaps6803]

It was never "competition"

[@WoLJovi]

There’s no competition.

[@akiradkcn]

No, it was never meant to be Not everything in life needs to be a competition

[@black-fenrir35]

@@akiradkcn because this is mediocre.

[@Banana807]

@@black-fenrir35 still wasnt a competition.

[@DewMan31]

I think the co op is only great if the people playing are on a similar skill level. I wish they did increase the despawn zone though, as when I would play other classic, I would be Tails, and I've gotten to the point that I can often keep up with my brother, even being able to navigate a bit of the level while I'm off screen to catch up. In Superstars, the moment a character is fully off screen they despawn. As for the music, I think Tee Lopes outshines the rest of the ost, as songs like Speed Jungle Act 1 and Bridge Island Zone are memorable and do stand out, but anything Jun Senoue composed sounds like it came straight out of Sonic 4 because he uses the same instruments from those games and it really bogs down his songs. The bosses can be annoying because of the waiting, and I know that's because of the multiplayer, but some of them can be cheesed using the Emerald powers in appropriate places. I think green and red are most useful for navigation, and purple sucks because it is the most situational ability in the game. That gold level did suck, but otherwise, I feel I'll come back to Superstars more than Mania What I find most interesting is the fact that everyone seems to take away a different opinion on this game, which is interesting.

[@dawsachu]

one could just call it walking lmao

[@releasethekraken5039]

So your new animation style basically boils down to "unholy lovechild between Vtubers and GoAnimate"? Man the stuff animators have to do to survive on this platform. I miss when you actually hand animated stuff.

[@MMTrigger]

It's a shame you can't toggle the camera distance when playing single player. Having the bigger multi-player view would at least let you see hazards and enemies coming.

[@radiokunio3738]

2:47 being punished for holding right is a odd critique. Usually if you can hold right and not pay attention to what your doing that's considered bad game design.

[@ScottFalco]

Wasn't meant to be a critique, i was just pointing it out

[@bradwig]

Great video! Can't agree on your color assessment though haha. I think he looks way better in this lighter more pastel blue!

[@haukkru]

So many right steps that they are going in a circle 👀

[@sahaprocks7751]

LMAO

[@SegaAidan]

There were great tracks, sometimes, but they were almost only the tee lopes ones. AKA the mania sountrack guy

[@aidanhammans9337]

Funny that both Wonder and Superstars have boss problems.

[@baalfgames5318]

With Superstars, I can't hate the bosses that much, since there was some clear effort put into them, even if they aren't great. Wonder, besides Bowser himself, is just four variations Bowser Jr. Wooooow.

[@AstonishingRed]

Releasing this so close to Mario Wonder was such a bad idea.

[@commonviewer2488]

First thing I do when a new Sonic game releases is listen to the soundtrack. None of the music stuck in my head this time

[@PolkaTrapeze]

His blue looks fine, Great review this looks fun to me I think ill grab it

[@derple8524]

He did say he's a little colorblind on blue but we don't know

[@ericamaya2467]

Isn’t it a good thing that the game punishes the player for only holding right?

[@ScottFalco]

Yeh

[@Mattriix]

THATS WHAT IVE BEEN SAYING I'm not a Sonic fan but i want to be, he has a lot of potential but SEGA is the ball and chain keeping him from reaching his peak, but without Sonic SEGA will collapse so they will never get rid of their blue cash cow

[@spoopyspades5740]

I want Sega to either make modern sonic games, or make them like sonic rush. I know sonic rush isn't classic sonic, but if you're gonna do 2d sonic, make it sonic rush.

[@gamefreakDX]

It took until playing the game and my friend asking what my favourite stage(s) were, where I went "uh... hm..." Even aesthetically, it's shockingly muted for the most part. But yeah, the bosses really drained me and is basically the reason why I don't think I'll ever come back to this entry.

[@darkhero5395]

project 06 mad me thought that sonic 06 was a good game when I was a bit younger and then bought the game and realize they were not the same

[@misterzygarde6431]

In regards to the soundtrack, I think that Jun Senoue should stop using the Sonic 4 instruments. Also I guess ScottFalco didn’t know of Sonic Omens when he suggested giving Sonic to fans.

[@Mr_bukowski4435]

Bro the soundtrack has absolute bangers like Bridge Island, Pinball Carnival, and Speed Junles acts 1 and 2

[@legomeaker101potato]

only sega could make origins + dlc seem like a good deal...

[@hollygirlie]

wait superstars was gonna be hand-drawn instead of 3D? WHAT THE FUCK?????

[@venezuela0076]

6:30 i laughed because I audibly gasped at this 😂

[@Mr_bukowski4435]

But it does have bangers bros just wrong

[@frensyjean-louis3726]

I WANT to play it with my friends but the camera doesn't want that. It makes no scene because in battle mode there are multiple cameras😢

[@JadeOfficial]

The Mega Man 11 of Sonic games

[@MythicMachina]

Mega Man 11 is actually my favorite of the classics so idk

[@canontheory]

@@MythicMachina I haven’t played 11 yet, I was worried the new art style and 3d would be too different from the originals

[@MythicMachina]

@@canontheory The biggest change is the Gear Change system, but for the most part it feels like a Classic Mega Man game. Also, all of the powers are extremely useful in that game.

[@TDTProductions]

Why is sonic smack dab in the center of frame on a game that wants you to hold right?

[@ajdude9]

Really seems like the sonic franchise peaked with a return to the classic format in Sonic Mania (that actually respected Sonic 1 - 3 & Knuckles in artstyle and design) and now they're just pumping out "classic" sonic slop thinking that as long as it looks like classic sonic it'll be good and not realising what made the original trinity + mania so good despite being so old (or inspired by the old).

[@yaboywest5856]

But this game is actually good tho 😭

[@griffan9913]

@@yaboywest5856 Yeah it's pretty fun game. Though to be fair, I didn't think Mania was the second coming of christ like most people did a lot of the ideas in that game were more neat and novel than fun for me. I do still think Mania is better than Superstars but not a large margin. Saying that though, not really sure if this game is worth 60 dollars?

[@jam9852]

​@@yaboywest5856really? I bought the game at full price it's mid it's not bad but it doesn't even compare to the quality we got with Mania. Sonic superstars is Sonic The hedgehog 4 episode 3 it's average at best not terrible but not all that great either it's not a Game I would replay over & over again like 3 & knuckles Mania or Sonic 2 & it has nothing to do with Classic Sonic being 3D now. The game just feels like it's missing Passion like it was made by delevlopers who see making Sonic games as a day job rather than the developers making the game out of love for the franchise. superstars feels like it was just carelessly pumped out rather than made for the fans of the Classic Era of Sonic I think $60 is asking way too much when Mania had more content Now don't get me wrong effort was put into superstars but new games by Sonic Team don't get me as hyped anymore Since Generations they've made more game Misses than Hit's & I honestly can't get excited for New Sonic Games when fan developers do the franchise better than what current Sonic Team does. Sadly The only best parts of Superstars is the fact that Classic Amy is playable and is more fun to play as then how she was in origins DLC. Trip is also a cool new addition to the sonic franchise & SEGA bringing back Fang the sniper / nack the weseal was honestly a smart move everything else other than the added cutscenes is a hard pass for me.

[@brandensandberg6668]

The final boss packed my crap so hard

[@squidoctoo]

Well at least this makes it easier to decide wether to play this or Mario wonder 🗣️🔥

[@baalfgames5318]

Honestly, not really. Critcs always overrate Mario games to the umpteenth degree, and after playing the demo, it looks like they've done so this time, too.

[@M0mazosMissy]

@@baalfgames5318 Nah It's good

[@Mr_bukowski4435]

Nah Spiderman 2 all the way

[@baalfgames5318]

@@M0mazosMissy Nah, the same problems persist in this game that they have in Mario for a while: slow, clunky gameplay, an over-reliance on gimicks and visual hypnosis over gameplay, lame bosses, etc. I could honestly tolerate these games if it wasn't for the rabid fanbase, but after so many years of people feeling the need to force their opinions down other's throats, I've honestly grown to hate the franchise, tbh. It's honestly been the same way with Sonic Superstars, but in reverse. The more bad reviews it got, the more sheep started to follow, the more ravenous Sonic haters are shoving down the throats of defenders how objectively terrible Superstars is, and honestly, the whole war over these two games has made me feel sick to my stomach.

[@M0mazosMissy]

I think you should stick to something less visually appealing like the lost levels or something like that idk

[@skunksecond]

5:07 Classic sonic was always meant to be cyan, its just on printed media that sonic appears more darker blue because it doesnt have a good cyan color

[@NO.10162]

I do think that sonic superstars is in the unfortunate position of being in immediate comparison to super mario wonder.

[@aaronwhite1882]

8:32 I didn't realize that this was the avatar you made in the store, because right before I played the level I had completed my Metal Sonic avatar. I only realized it in hard mode when right before I played the level again I had built a Nights avatar.

[@MarioMastr]

Amy's hammer attack was NOT nerfed from origins, its actually way better now since you can build momentum with it.

[@Argick]

Yeah this tracks with my own feelings and what I'm seeing across the board. The game is very safe. I just wish the bosses didn't take as long as they do and why are half of them autoscrollers?! Bought it at full price because I love my Sonic but I'd definitely recommend folks wait for a sale if they can.

[@cxfxcdude]

Great work Scott :D thanks for sharing all your hard work

[@lazyratto]

the true cardinal sin is once again not adding a chao garden

[@TeamSoraPresents]

I was really looking forward to playing this game, until I saw the price tag...

[@Jay6x]

Imagine if the Oil Ocean boss in Sonic 2 had the same invincibility frames as Superstars. I wonder how long that boss battle would take. Probably still shorter than anything in Superstars.

[@drybonesmunchakoopas5143]

Sonic fans try to be happy with a well made game challenge: impossible

[@crimsonsonic2]

The bosses in this game are honestly some of the best designed bosses in the series from a design standpoint. Almost every boss in the game uses the same gimick that you just learned about throughout the level, but now with a little twist that you have to use to hit the boss. It was such a joy seeing how they would turn the level gimick into a boss gimick and I enjoyed every single one except for the sand boss and the cyber boss. Those are the only ones that don’t use some form of the level gimick in their attacks.

[@light6666]

when i hear "cardinal sin" i was like "oh lord sanic went the chaos ending didnt he"

[@TheBeird]

I got the the Cyberzone boss and got so fucking pissed off that I've sworn it off. Life's too short. I give them props for trying but I have no idea how you can have Sonic Mania and NOT build off it. Baffling.

[@cahillcomics918]

while im sad this isnt some new smash hit, i am just legit happy theres another platformer in the vein of OG sonic and mania to a lesser extent…of course if the next one continues a downward trend i probably wont be getting thay

[@Sebboebbo]

Da king is back baby he neva miss

[@greenknight9000]

The bosses are so infuriating indeed. You can't just fucking pull a new attack out of nowhere without telegraphing it, and then punishing me for not reacting in time with an *_INSTA KILL?!_*

[@Pensive_Scarlet]

I don't understand why they feel the need to work to mimic the Genesis sound chip. The samples are easy to rip from the old games, and the synths can be directly copied out of the game music files archived at Zophar's Domain by using VOPM. All of this is available for free, without any licensing or royalty requirements. I can do it, and I'm at the very bottom of the bargain bin of internet musicians. Just let me do it, Sega. Please. I need work.

[@HeroBrenn]

Shout outs to the spindash being completely broken at FPS's above 60 and Sega trying to gaslight me into thinking it was intentional

[@Stegallproductions]

Did your little guy always dance in sync to the ending music? I’ve never noticed it before if so. Nice touch!

[@lovingfool2060]

I cant for the life of me think about paying full asking price for the game