Review: Sonic Colors

For a mere hedgehog, Sonic sure seems to find himself in a lot of perilous situations. One must wonder if he doesn’t go looking for trouble, seeing as how he finds himself in it on quite a consistent basis. I personally think Sonic secretly enjoys the trouble he finds, and feeds off the adrenaline rush he gets from risking his life. Sonic Colors puts our favorite blue hedgehog in the path of the criminally insane Dr. Eggman, with the hope Sonic can once again save the day. So is the day worth saving this time around?

The story of Sonic Colors finds our ever-suspicious hedgehog hero investigating Dr. Eggman’s new and “entirely innocent” interstellar space-amusement park. Both Sonic and his fans know by now that no matter his claim, nothing Dr. Eggman does is truly innocent — and his amusement park is no different. After Sonic comes in contact and communication with a native alien life form known as a Wisp, he learns of the doctor’s evil plan to steal their energy for his own nefarious purposes. Sonic then undertakes the responsibility of saving the day, and freeing the Wisps from their oval-shaped captor Dr. Eggman.

From the moment Sonic’s oversized red shoes hit the ground, my perception of the 3D Sonic world changed completely. I’m not going to lie to you, the three-dimensional Sonic and I used to not get along due in large part to the fact I never viewed titles like Sonic Adventure DX as true Sonic games. That tumultuous relationship had left me rather pessimistic about playing Sonic Colors, but luckily as I progressed through the first act all of that pessimism went away. Sonic for the first time felt like he actually belonged in his 3D world.

Just like its 2D predecessors, Sonic Colors has different themed areas to travel through. This time around they’re divided up into six planets: Tropical Resort, Sweet Mountain, Starlight Carnival, Planet Wisp, Aquarium Park, and Asteroid Coaster. Each planet is divided up into six stages, with a boss fight at the end. One interesting side “level” is the Dr. Eggman “Sonic Simulator” which has players playing as an Eggman-controlled Sonic clone while running through an old school, polygonal VR world. From what I could tell, this serves as a training ground for new players without having them go into the actual game itself. I actually ended up spending quite a bit of time in the simulator for the old-timey feel, and to hone my rusty Sonic skills.

While there are a multitude of places for our blue-furred friend to travel, some of those places seemed a bit small. They almost felt like afterthoughts to a few solid opening levels in each world. At times, I found myself completing levels in under a minute…without trying. I don’t know if the intent was to convey Sonic’s speed, but it came across more as level design laziness. While it didn’t hinder me from enjoying my Sonic Colors experience, the shorter levels did have me scratching my head as to why they were there in the first place.

Even in the shortest levels, Sonic Colors looks great. Despite the graphical limitations of the Wii, Sega has managed to produce a visually impressive game. There were times when I would even forget I wasn’t playing in 1080p. The planet where this visual mastery is most evident has to be Planet Wisp, with its lush scenery, creative color scheme, and overall scenic feel. Sonic Colors is quite possibly the best looking game I’ve ever played for the Wii. The question is, what good are beautiful levels if the gameplay going on inside of them isn’t up to par?

Thankfully with Sonic Colors you’re not forced to answer the aforementioned question, seeing as how the gameplay is quite solid. Tying the story, and impressive looking worlds to the gameplay are the Wisps, which when absorbed by Sonic (depending on the color) changes him into either a drill, rocket ship, or laser. At first I found this mechanic rather gimmicky, yet as time went on I ended up relying more and more on the Wisp power ups to get through tough sections and welcomed the opportunity to use them. Besides the Wisps, the Sonic Colors gameplay is exactly like all the other Sonic titles: “Run fast, collect rings, and destroy enemies.” What I found interesting however, was Colors ability to translate the side-scrolling 2D mechanic into viable 3D gameplay. Part of the successful gameplay design has to be based off the fact Sonic Colors bounces from 2.5D to 3D effortlessly, creating a compelling style and keeping the gameplay fresh from beginning to end. And most importantly: Sonic is finally fast again.

Despite the advanced graphics and gameplay, however, the controls for Sonic Colors are quite simple. The control scheme can end up being nothing more than a d-pad and two buttons if you use just the Wiimote. While that doesn’t sound like much, the simplistic control design works beautifully in Sonic Colors. In a day and age where massive button combos and crazy directional controls are the norm, this stripped down set-up is actually refreshing.

Another refreshing trait Sonic Colors has is its in-game soundtrack. The songs add just the right amount of substance to each planet you visit, while never being overpowering. Each song seems to weave in and out prominence sometimes taking a back seat to the gameplay, while other times taking over and enhancing it. Planet Wisp’s music is by far the best example of the audio mastery in Sonic Colors, giving the world a sense of calm serenity despite the fast paced nature of the game. I’ve really got to hand it to Sega, they managed to craft a well done, complimentary score to an already stellar game.

As I stated above, I originally had my reservations about playing Sonic Colors. I was worried about the 3D, and the fact that Colors isn’t canon. This game has raised my expectations for all future Sonic titles by delivering solid, entertaining gameplay, impressive visuals, and a sweet soundtrack. Due to it’s wide level of appeal, Sonic Colors is a must have for just about anyone who owns a Wii. Quite frankly I wish Colors would come packaged with the console, seeing as how this is one of the strongest titles to date from such an iconic character. Come to think of it, I don’t know if I’ve ever had this much fun playing a game on the Wii yet.

Sonic Colors
Wii (Reviewed), DS
	Publisher: Sega Developer: Dimps, Sonic Team Genre: Platformer Release Date: November 11, 2025 MSRP: $49.99 ESRB Rating: E for Everyone