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Sonic Shuffle - Sonic X Mario Party?

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RK128

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This game was made post Sonic Adventure and is one of the few non-mainline Sonic games released on the Dreamcast. The studios behind this game was none other then Hudson Soft (with Sonic Team Co-Developing), famous for their efforts on the Mario Party series.

I never played this game, so this is just my thoughts on the title based on videos, impressions I found online and the like.

Had to point his out, as I will likely be missing on touching some of the game core mechanics at points. Wanted to cover this as it is a major Sonic game, so I hope you all understand.

Lets move on to the game!

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The way the game works is that your turns are based on the number of your card; if you have a card number of say, 5, you can move five spaces for example. Like Mario Party, depending on the spot you land on, you can trigger a mini game, gain rings or lose rings.

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The end goal of the game is to collect the highest amount of Precious Stones, the equivalent of Mario Party's Stars.

The game reportedly has a lot of mini games (over 50 of them) and you can play as the cast from Adventure (Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Chao, Gamma, Big, Super Sonic).

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Here is a video showing off some of the mini games :D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDPnAPU58Tc

Sonic Retro has the mini games explained in much greater detail, so sharing a link to their Sonic Shuffle Page Here: http://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_Shuffle

The levels are dynamic with different boards having various effects (Ex: Emerald Coast has drowning elements that could, well drown you if you stay underwater for too long).

A number of you guys had comments on the game from experience playing the title, so thank you for letting me share your thoughts in the OP :D! Gaffer said I could put his post detailing more about the games mechanics in this OP, so thank you for letting me do this :D.

TimeEffect said:
Also, you could use your VMU to see your card screen, which was such a neat feature to stop screen watching. The Dreamcast doing what Nintendo Wii U does now. God bless that console

Also, it wasnt JUST about collecting the precious stones.

It worked like this:

-You had to collect x amount of precious stones (or lesser stones?) and that was basically a battle with a boss. They have a health number, and you have to play one of your cards, which would then act as a roulette. You could steal other players cards too

-So if the health of the boss was 5, you had to pick a card higher than 5 to get a chance at beating it. You just had to time the attack right

-Stealing cards was fun. If you used all your cards to simply get to the boss, you were kind of screwed if you didn't have the right card, so it wasn't as easy as dashing to the boss first

-There was one ultimate boss that had that level's emerald

-All levels had unique areas accessible by the character you chose. Sonic could double the spaces moved if he used back to back same numbered cards for example

-There were also special events dependent on the board, like saving a baby dolphin

-You were ultimately judged by number of precious stones/master emerald won, who completed the level event, who won the most minigames, who had the most rings, etc.
Click to expand...

- - - - - - - -

The game also has a story too (surprisingly), so rather then explain it, just going to copy what Wikipedia said on the game (sorry if this is wrong).

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Wikipiedia: "The game is set in Maginaryworld, a dream world created from the dreams of other dimensions. Illumina, the Goddess of Dreams, and Lumina Flowlight guarded the Perfect Precioustone, a crystal created from everyone's dreams, in the Tower of Light. However, one day, a monster known as Void stole and shattered the Perfect Precioustone, resulting in chaos in every part of the universe. Lumina sends a message in search of a hero who can save Maginaryworld, summoning Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails, Amy Rose and Knuckles the Echidna. To prevent Maginaryworld from disappearing, Lumina convinces Sonic, Tails, Amy and Knuckles to retrieve the pieces of the Precioustone. However, Doctor Eggman, having learned of the power of the precioustone, follows them into Maginaryworld."

So, Sonic and Friends agree to help Illumnia to save the world......nice effort on Hudson Soft's part but a bit silly for a party game to have a story :l.

Before moving on to the presentation, I want to comment on the re-designs here. They carry over from Adventure but Amy makes a comment about her dress being different here, so one could state that this takes place before Sonic Adventure. Just a fun little detail I wanted to point out :).

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The presentation is solid, with the different levels matching the Sonic style and doing a nice effort to re-capture the Adventure locations (Emerald Coast for example).

Character animations appear to be good too with lots of expression and detail. The game also seems to run well too, which is important for a game centered around mini games.

One element I really like is the cell-shaded look the game has and it is a really nice fit for Sonic and friends :D.

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Musically, it isn't that memorable but it sounds nice enough :). Here is a link to a playlist of the OST for anyone interested :D.

The opening theme sounds nice honestly :).

- - - - - - - -

I'm sorry if this thread is a bit bare-bones compared to my other Retrospective Threads but as someone who isn't a massive MP game fan, wasn't the biggest fan of the Mario Party series and not having the means to play this......couldn't really comment much on this game sadly :(.

But for Sonic's first jump into the Party game realm it seemed to be impressive and Hudson Soft did elements here that they later put into the Mario Party games (dynamic levels for example with different level effects playing roles into the game; Emerald Coast having a drowning element when you go underwater for example).

For people that own a Dreamcast and a few controllers, there are worse ways to kill a few hours with some friends :).

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This idea returns in another Sonic game called Secret Rings which has a Party mode working sorta like this game (but different).

Hope you all enjoy this thread and lets shuffle to some mini games!
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I really liked this game as a youngster. Now I only remember the atrocious load times (that were improved greatly via emulation, but of course the game no longer appealed to me at that point).
 
I enjoyed the game, but never had 4 VMUs to really make the a 'true' game among friends. we'd have to look away from the screen during other player turns and people would always cheat!
 
I played A LOT of this game, it's like an even shittier Mario Party, it had some cool minigames though.

The load times were completely unbearable.
 
so you haven't played the game but think it 'could have been a lot worse'

frankly, the game couldn't have been worse if it tried
 
daydream said:
so you haven't played the game but think it 'could have been a lot worse'

frankly, the game couldn't have been worse if it tried
Click to expand...

Mmmm.....that is a really good point. Going to edit that comment out of the OP. Thank you for the heads up :).
 
daydream said:
frankly, the game couldn't have been worse if it tried
Click to expand...

it could've been worse if they removed the animation where big chases froggy across the board. i think that's really the only thing i like about the game

but yeah any party game where you'll have people saying stuff like "OH GOD SOMEONE PLEASE LAND ON A MINIGAME SPACE" has probably made a mistake imo.
 
I really liked this game. Has some pretty big flaws like the pacing (especially with battles in the mix), load times, and really bland music, but those mini-games were really, really fun and are a better collection than most Mario Parties.

I loved Sonic Tag and the one in which you have to navigate a rooftop maze in the dark.
 
Poltergust said:
I really liked this game. Has some pretty big flaws like the pacing (especially with battles in the mix), load times, and really bland music, but those mini-games were really, really fun and are a better collection than most Mario Parties.

I loved Sonic Tag and the one in which you have to navigate a rooftop maze in the dark.
Click to expand...

I guess with this game, they experimented with some ideas they wanted to include in future Mario Party's, so they went all out with game ideas/concepts for the mini games :).

Glad you enjoyed the game :D!
 
Probably would have liked it as a kid if it wasn't for those goddamn load times. And the grinding noise the DC makes to go along with it. HrrrrHRRRR.
 
My sister and I played this game often, but we always wished it had more minigames.

Years later we'd enjoy a similar mode included in the Secret Rings, which has more consistent minigames.

In fact, I'm pretty sure 90% of my family's time with Secret Rings was purely spent playing the multiplayer.

So the idea of a Sonic Mario Party clone can work. Shuffle just isn't very good and lacks the minigames the genre is known for.
 
As a Dreamcast kid who almost was an N64 kid, this game ROCKED!!!

Used to play it with my sister during the summer break. Woke up early, played it for hours, didn't even brush our teeth until like lunch time.

I decided to check out reviews and saw that it was absolutely trashed on for long loading times and mini-game criticisms.

Also, you could use your VMU to see your card screen, which was such a neat feature to stop screen watching. The Dreamcast doing what Nintendo Wii U does now. God bless that console


Also, it wasnt JUST about collecting the precious stones.

It worked like this:

-You had to collect x amount of precious stones (or lesser stones?) and that was basically a battle with a boss. They have a health number, and you have to play one of your cards, which would then act as a roulette. You could steal other players cards too

-So if the health of the boss was 5, you had to pick a card higher than 5 to get a chance at beating it. You just had to time the attack right

-Stealing cards was fun. If you used all your cards to simply get to the boss, you were kind of screwed if you didn't have the right card, so it wasn't as easy as dashing to the boss first

-There was one ultimate boss that had that level's emerald

-All levels had unique areas accessible by the character you chose. Sonic could double the spaces moved if he used back to back same numbered cards for example

-There were also special events dependent on the board, like saving a baby dolphin

-You were ultimately judged by number of precious stones/master emerald won, who completed the level event, who won the most minigames, who had the most rings, etc.
 
WRONG WAY CLIMB

We never actually ever finished a complete game because of loading times though. :(
 
This is a game that alternates between being infuriating and depressively boring.

The CPU A.I. absolutely does cheat. You'd better be playing against friends, because the CPU knows exactly what cards everybody has and will not hesitate to steal exactly what it needs when it needs it.

It doesn't even try to hide it. Oh, Amy's six spaces away from the emerald? She'll steal your six card, every single time. Your only recourse is to intentionally play your best cards first and hope you get enough lead on the CPU that you'll reach the goal before they do.

Except that's not a viable strategy either, because you need to save at least some high-number cards for the RPG battles, otherwise you're going to lose every single one.

Nobody I've ever known has wanted to play Sonic Shuffle with me, but I've seen some videos of Pokecapn and RunButton play Sonic Shuffle, and the minigames don't look very good even with human players. Almost universally, they seem to be worse versions of Mario Party minigames, which is weird, because Hudson did both games.

And, yeah, the load times are bad. Sonic 2006 bad. 15-20+ seconds to load an RPG battle that is over almost instantly, followed by another 15-20 second load. Monstrous.
 
BlazeHedgehog said:
This is a game that alternates between being infuriating and depressively boring.

The CPU A.I. absolutely does cheat. You'd better be playing against friends, because the CPU knows exactly what cards everybody has and will not hesitate to steal exactly what it needs when it needs it.

It doesn't even try to hide it. Oh, Amy's six spaces away from the emerald? She'll steal your six card, every single time. Your only recourse is to intentionally play your best cards first and hope you get enough lead on the CPU that you'll reach the goal before they do.
Click to expand...

Yeah, this game is probably the most egregious example of "the computer is a cheating bastard" trope I've ever seen in a video game.

Like, worse than Mario Kart 64 rubberbanding.
 
The game was above average, nothing great, but I had it while I was unable to walk for 3 months and along with the trial of SA2 and my copy of PSO my nights were never boring.

I must have played through the main maps a few times each, they were way too long but I managed it somehow. Playing the minigames on their own after was enjoyable and unlocking the bonus characters was nice too.
 
Hasney said:
Probably would have liked it as a kid if it wasn't for those goddamn load times. And the grinding noise the DC makes to go along with it. HrrrrHRRRR.
Click to expand...
rrrrRRRRR...
...rrrrRRRRR

I've played this game enough times as a kid to know exactly what sound the DC makes while loading. The screens were way too frequent in this game, especially since taking turns is so slow at times.
 
Played this as a kid and thought it was pretty fun. Very interesting twist on the Mario Party gameplay. Really feels like its own thing in a good sense. I also liked the dynamic boards.
 
TimeEffect said:
As a Dreamcast kid who almost was an N64 kid, this game ROCKED!!!

Used to play it with my sister during the summer break. Woke up early, played it for hours, didn't even brush our teeth until like lunch time.

I decided to check out reviews and saw that it was absolutely trashed on for long loading times and mini-game criticisms.

Also, you could use your VMU to see your card screen, which was such a neat feature to stop screen watching. The Dreamcast doing what Nintendo Wii U does now. God bless that console


Also, it wasnt JUST about collecting the precious stones.

It worked like this:

-You had to collect x amount of precious stones (or lesser stones?) and that was basically a battle with a boss. They have a health number, and you have to play one of your cards, which would then act as a roulette. You could steal other players cards too

-So if the health of the boss was 5, you had to pick a card higher than 5 to get a chance at beating it. You just had to time the attack right

-Stealing cards was fun. If you used all your cards to simply get to the boss, you were kind of screwed if you didn't have the right card, so it wasn't as easy as dashing to the boss first

-There was one ultimate boss that had that level's emerald

-All levels had unique areas accessible by the character you chose. Sonic could double the spaces moved if he used back to back same numbered cards for example

-There were also special events dependent on the board, like saving a baby dolphin

-You were ultimately judged by number of precious stones/master emerald won, who completed the level event, who won the most minigames, who had the most rings, etc.
Click to expand...

This is really good information! Would you mind if I put this in the OP? It explains the games core mechanics a lot better then I did :).
 
This game's AI made the worst matches of Mario Party look like a simple coin toss. I played this game and recall it actively screwing me over a lot.

Also, load screens.
 
RK128 said:
This is really good information! Would you mind if I put this in the OP? It explains the games core mechanics a lot better then I did :).
Click to expand...

Lol, sure.

Minigames also had a chance to be mini-events, where you ran across a "scenario" that could reward you with more rings, or even lose them or steal them.

For example, "You come across a desolate desert...and you see a spring! Do You drink from it?" And whether you did or didn't, there was random consequence associated with it.

Also, you could acquire some kind of stone that buffed your character, but I cant recall what our how. I think some of them made all your cards 1s, or made you lose a turn or something
 
BlazeHedgehog said:
This is a game that alternates between being infuriating and depressively boring.

The CPU A.I. absolutely does cheat. You'd better be playing against friends, because the CPU knows exactly what cards everybody has and will not hesitate to steal exactly what it needs when it needs it.

It doesn't even try to hide it. Oh, Amy's six spaces away from the emerald? She'll steal your six card, every single time. Your only recourse is to intentionally play your best cards first and hope you get enough lead on the CPU that you'll reach the goal before they do.
Click to expand...
Not even picking Easy at Versus Mode could stop the AI from cheating. Everyone pretty much worked together to screw you over.
They have an item that will negatively affect a player? You're chosen.
They must play a roulette to pick a player? You're likely chosen.
Someone has an item that will make you have bigger chances of being chosen on the roulette? You're chosen.
Void's void (which steals a Precioustone from someone through rings and a roulette) appears on the map? The AI will stop what they're doing to go after it.

I don't know how I succeeded in Story Mode. The reward wasn't even worth it if there was one.
TimeEffect said:
Lol, sure.

Minigames also had a chance to be mini-events, where you ran across a "scenario" that could reward you with more rings, or even lose them or steal them.

For example, "You come across a desolate desert...and you see a spring! Do You drink from it?" And whether you did or didn't, there was random consequence associated with it.
Click to expand...
What really bothers me about events is that they're just as brief if not less than the RPG battles. You can end up getting a scene that shows several images of landscapes and then says something like "What a dream that was. Time to keep going". Nothing comes out of it, and now you have to deal with a second loading screen.
 
We tried playing this once, but my friends Dreamcast actually broke before we could really get too far into it. I guess that was a sign that we should have stuck with Crazy Taxi.
 
Holy shit, didn't know Hudson co-developed this. I didn't like this game as a kid. I had Mario Party 2 before this and it just pales in comparison. Sonic & the Secret Rings did a better job of being a Sonic party game.
 
NOLA_Gaffer said:
The card system was a great idea, especially if all controllers had VMUs inserted, but the loading times were just atrocious.



Man the OST was so weird.
Click to expand...

Yeah its all over the place. Nothing beats Dreamcast era Sonic OST's though. Only Unleashed is kind of close in that regard. SA2 has so many classics.
 
Funny that they basically used the Sonic Adventure character models as a base. Although Sonic's mouth flaps look horrendous. It's also funny hearing Tails' original VA seemingly hitting puberty lol.

Japanmanx3 said:
Over here jammin' to the OST now!
Click to expand...
The soundtrack is SO Bomberman though, wow! Didn't know it was co-develped by Hudson Soft.
 
Consider yourself lucky if you haven't played it. It's a terrible game, even for a party game.

My biggest problems are as follows:
-The cheating A.I: Those jerks know your cards better than you do, it's insanely infuriating. The game doesn't even pretend to get lucky, the A.I just pick the card they need for the deck of others.
-Mini games are way too few and far between, and even the ones you get to play are pretty average.
-Games just take so incredibly long. Games against the comp usually go a little faster if only because they cheat and know everything there is to know. If you're playing by yourself, forget it; you'll probably have to play each board multiple times to beat the level.

I bought this game when it was released, played it for two days and then infuriatingly returned to EB games in exchange for Marvel Vs. Capcom 2. Best decision ever.

The intro is pretty awesome though..
Ogodei said:
Illumnia looks a bit like NiGHTS and Cosmo from the Sonic X anime had a kid.
Click to expand...

Don't know if this was mentioned, but If your dreamcasts date was set to December 24th NiGHTS would actually replace Illumnia in the game.
 
I remember this game! I had a lot of fun playing it as a child, and it wasn't just nostalgia given I also had Mario Party 2 and 3 to compare it to.

The load times are bad, but that Dreamcast disc reading noise is almost satisfying to hear for some reason. Maybe it's a Pavlov thing...

The AI are assholes for sure, and the story mode was awful for it. Play it with friends and easy CPU whenever possible.

VMUs are great, as others stated they're used to display your cards so no screen peeking could happen. And when the Eggman card gets drawn, expect a lot of swearing at the fat man.

Minigames were okay, there were some memorable ones that usually involved Eggman being a dick or had very odd scenarios. The boards were fun to explore because they often had areas meant to be accessed by specific characters (so like Knuckles could climb up walls), and each board had an end-of-game event which was basically a last-ditch effort to grab rings and stuff to boost your score before the end. I believe the story justified it as the dream world coming to an end, but it's been so long I can barely remember. There were items to collect that were magic gems that triggered certain effects. One of the "gems" was Carbuncle from Puyo Puyo, even!

The OST was nice and pleasant. The intro is great of course, and I practically have Blizzard Coast burned into my mind for better or worse. The soundtrack definitely had this weird and unique sound to it, at times it felt like I was listening to an OST made specifically for the Dreamcast. I guess it's Hudson's work?

Length-wise, it can take a while for games to end as you have to collect all the precioustones to "clear" the board and trigger the end-of-game event, which can take a while depending on how much people wanna screw each other over. With CPU players it can end quick for obvious reasons.

Let's see, what else? Ah, I think they had soundalikes for the VA for this game. At least, I remember hearing Tails sound different. There was also a little "extras" room which was just Sonic hanging out in some room. I remember there being a photo album and you could buy the unlockable characters with rings obtained from game play.

Overall, I think the game is pretty decidedly average. It's definitely a flawed game but it's nowhere near any of Sonic's bad games and frankly it's worth giving a shot if you have an open-minded crew and a setup to play it on.
 
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