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[RK128]

Another great thread RK128.

I used to own this turd long ago, I can't believe Bioware made such a bad game. As awful as everything else was, the worst thing was the music. Even Sonic 2006 managed to have a great soundtrack smh.

Thank you man !

I really get the impression that Bioware (the Mass Effect guys) penned the story and laid out the core mechanics, then they moved on to Mass Effect 2 once EA bought the studio and flooded the development team with new hires to make this Sonic game.

And this clearly shows, with mechanics not being polished and design problems being being clearly apparent.

 

[Tambini]

All I remember is the horrific soundtrack

 

[Mknzy]

Another great thread. I forced my way through this game because the characters were so well done. It does kinda suck that we will never get to find out what happens after the cliffhanger ending.

 

[Ogodei]

My thought was that the staff on this were envious that they were making this and not ME2, so they decided to make Mass Effect anyway. That's, like, the only explanation i could fathom for the massive shark-jump midgame where you slip the surly bonds of Earth and wander around fighting outer space OCs for the rest of the game.

 

[RK128]

Another great thread. I forced my way through this game because the characters were so well done. It does kinda suck that we will never get to find out what happens after the cliffhanger ending.

I think that was why I kinda glossed over the issues when I first played this; the characters were so enjoyable, the problems kinda melted away a bit.

But then it hit me that 'Bioware' made this, not a new studio. Then the problems became more unforgivable, as a talented studio shouldn't have made such amateur game design mistakes.

 

[RK128]

My thought was that the staff on this were envious that they were making this and not ME2, so they decided to make Mass Effect anyway. That's, like, the only explanation i could fathom for the massive shark-jump midgame where you slip the surly bonds of Earth and wander around fighting outer space OCs for the rest of the game.

You know what, that explains so much XD!

Sonic interacting with ailens shouldn't be so odd considering Shadow the Hedgehog's Black Arms, but still.

 

[Mr-Joker]

All I know from this game is that Knuckles is part of an alien race... yeah I didn't buy it after hearing that. ¬_¬;

Thankfully this game is not canon so I could easily ignore it and stick to the better Sonic games, with better music.

 

[Village]

All I know from this game is that Knuckles is part of an alien race... yeah I didn't buy it after hearing that. ¬_¬;

Thankfully this game is not canon so I could easily ignore it and stick to the better Sonic games, with better music.

There are a bunch weird stuff in this game, that people didnt like. Along with ken penders...fit, Problably couldnt be pushed from canon faster.

 

[antitrop]

I remember it getting good reviews, so I bought it and played it for like 30 minutes before never touching it again.

It did get mixed reviews overall, so I guess I was just unfortunate to only see the ones that were like "It's made by Bioware! - 9/10!". I think it was 1UP's 'A' review that sold me on it the most, I really trusted 1UP back then.

 

[Dimitri LH]

Man I have to catch up to all of these threads of yours!

Gonna give this a read when I get home.

 

[Ferr986]

Wait, Richard Jacques was the guy who had composed the soundtrack for this turkey?

....I seriously want to know his side of the story, as the guy is FAR from a bad composer. I mean, what happened?!

He only composed the battle themes.

 

[Candescence]

I did manage to get through it, and it wasn't terrible, and in some respects actually enjoyable, but it the obvious fact that it was rushed and made by less-experienced devs despite being a Bioware game was fairly obvious. Apparently they had to replace most of the music in a hurry for some reason and used midis from VGMusic of all sites.

I think the EA acquisition screwed everything up, honestly (granted, I think being acquired by EA in general was one of Bioware's worst mistakes in general, I cannot fathom by any independent studio would want to be bought out by EA of all publishers). Though some design choices didn't help things, the devs wanted players to control all the party members, but that limited their design choices considering the hardware they were using. They should've just stuck to Sonic and done a real-time system instead.

 

[MrBadger]

I've always theorised that the music in this game is made from fanmade midis from VGMusic. Some of the arrangements sound exactly the same.

He only composed the battle themes.

That's understandable. The battle themes are a bit bland, but they're not utter dogshit like the overworld music.

 

[TriggerShy]

I remember this game, I was pretty excited for a Sonic RPG. I remember trying to experiment with different Chaos, but still relying on a few exclusively. I honestly don't remember the music being horrible, but nothing really stood out to me, then again, the only song I really liked was the main theme. Re-listening to it though, I can see why people hate it, especially if they are remixes. When I re-watched some gameplay, I was reminded that the sound effects were awkward, like Sonic's spindash going quiet after a second, or that *BOING* sound whenever you defeat an enemy. Being Super Sonic for 10 seconds was also disappointing, but not as much as the fact that the cliffhanger won't be resolved. I hope that Sega tries again with a Sonic RPG, I think it could really work.

 

[RK128]

Man I have to catch up to all of these threads of yours!

Gonna give this a read when I get home.

I will update the OP with a link to the main-home page that houses ALL my retrospectives ! Hope you enjoy reading this and my other Retrospectives later .

He only composed the battle themes.

Thank you for the correction; will update the OP with that information now.

 

[HGH]

I think there was one extra thing you could add to this, and it's right up there with the music.

Sound Design.

I swear this game has the worst library of battle noises I have ever heard, because they are almost all ripped from extremely easily recognizable public domain libraries. It's basically cartoon sound effects and they all sound off a place. The "Victory" fanfare is the most canned soundbyte of children going "Yaaay".
And some of the noises the characters make are... just really awe inducing in their weirdness.

 

[RK128]

I think there was one extra thing you could add to this, and it's right up there with the music.

Sound Design.

I swear this game has the worst library of battle noises I have ever heard, because they are almost all ripped from extremely easily recognizable public domain libraries. It's basically cartoon sound effects and they all sound off a place. The "Victory" fanfare is the most canned soundbyte of children going "Yaaay".
And some of the noises the characters make are... just really awe inducing in their weirdness.

......You know what, I agree.

The sound design is horrible . Nothing has 'impact'; just feels so lazy and cheap.

Would you mind if I put your post in the OP ?

 

[kinn]

Great thread as always RK128.

Its crazy about Sonic 1-2 music not being owned by Sega. Whats the story about that? I knew about Sonic 3's issues.

And I never knew that about Sega wanting to make a Sonic Rpg.

And this isnt Sonic's first RPG...

Megadrive RPG called Soleil. Its only a cameo so doesnt count!

 

[HGH]

......You know what, I agree.

The sound design is horrible . Nothing has 'impact'; just feels so lazy and cheap.

Would you mind if I put your post in the OP ?

No problem!
Although I think it needs a battle video to complement it a little so here's one from an old playthrough:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hVRqzVlzAw
Oh good lord I completely forgot that the enemy "taking damage" noise is actually an overused puking/vomit soundbyte.

 

[unknownstranger]

The DS is by far the console I've bought the most games for and this is one I always forget that I bought and beat.