Well I wasn't expecting to get to this so soon. I wanted to wait until I have a Wii U so that I could review the console version alongside the handheld version and kill two birds with one stone. Well I still don't have a Wii U, and I just finished the 3DS version and MY GOD it needs to be written about while its still on my mind. And since I finished the game, I can talk about it with some credibility under my belt, meaning I don't have to do an impressions on it. I have all the materials to do a review and I'm ready to do one. We started talking about Sonic with his first game, and now we're talking about his latest game. This is Sonic Lost World. Or the 3DS version anyways.
The story (what little there is) begins with Sonic and Tails flying in the Tornado after Dr. Eggman, carrying that classic capsule that we all remember. Eggman manages to blast Sonic and Tails out of the sky, forcing them to make a crash landing on the Lost Hex, a floating mass of land that serves no other purpose than to be the setting for this game. On the Lost Hex, Eggman manages to use a magic conch shell to take control of a group of Skylanders rejects known as The Deadly Six, who serve no other purpose than to be this games group of villains. Yes, that's a very shallow description. But, it's a shallow description for a shallow group of characters. The Deadly Six have barely any character to them. Personalities yes, but even those are very basic and to the book. We have a fat guy that eats a lot. We have a female that only cares about shopping and her nails. We have a depressed guy that almost crosses the border of being offensive, though having some of the most hilariously out of place lines in any childrens game. The Deadly Six serve no point then to be bosses, and they lack character. The interactions between Sonic are good, but more on the writing in a bit. Eggman's plan is to use a machine he built on the Lost Hex in order to steal the energy from the world below, while commanding The Deadly Six to take out Sonic. However, when Sonic breaks Eggman's magic conch, The Deadly Six take control and begin to use Eggman's machine to destroy Sonic's world. So now Sonic and Eggman must team up to defeat The Deadly Six and save their world. If the story sounds simple, well that's because it is. The stories in the previous two games wernt masterpieces, but they had a lot more too them. However though the story isn't as good, the great writing is still there. Characters might not have a whole lot going for them on their own, but the interactions between these characters are great. Eggmans clearly the star of the show, but some of the interactions between The Deadly Six and Sonic are pretty funny. Overall though, compared to Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations, the story as a whole isn't as good. And those games had pretty thin stories to begin with. But who plays a Sonic game for the story am I right? As long as the gameplays fun, I'm fine with a thin story. Problem is, the gameplay doesn't fare much better.
Sonic Lost World 3DS is a 3D platformer where you must use your skills to navigate Sonic to the end of the level. Yes you read that right, this ones a 3D platformer. On a handheld. Even Sonic Generations on the 3DS didn't do the 3D approach, instead settling for a lazy 2D approach, so this is a first. You move Sonic around with the Circle Pad. Using this, you'll lightly jog at a moderately comfortable pace. In order to run like you would expect, you press the run button, in this case the R button. Here you'll be able to speed through the levels at a more regular speed. I don't know why we decided to give Sonic a run button now, because you'll always be holding that thing down, except for in 2D sections, but since the gameplays changed from the boost formula of the previous games, I'm alright with this approach. Also Sonic's move set has been, well... altered to say the least. For one Sonic's Homing Attack has been changed to target multiple enemies at once. Though this sounds cool at first, it quickly becomes annoying, as you have no control as to if you lock onto a target, and there's no way to exit a chain until after it's over. So in closed areas, its a possibility to be launched back to the other end of the room, having to manually platform your way back to where you were. Also, did you know you can charge your Homing Attack now? Well you can, but good luck figuring out how to do it! I myself couldn't figure out how to do it throughout my entire playthrough. If you can manage to get it to work by skill or dumb luck, it makes short work of bosses though, but more on that later.
The big thing Sonic can do is the new Parkour system. HARDCORE PARKOUR will let Sonic run up walls and run across walls so long as he has some speed going as he jumps into it. When on a wall, Sonic can jump to the wall adjacent to him in order to keep some speed and avoid obstacles, or speed up by using the Spin Dash in order to keep on parkouring. This system is actually pretty cool once you get the hang of it. It makes exploring the levels different, and seeing Sonic run across bottomless pits and saving himself from death is pretty sweet. Problem is, WHERE your parkouring. Most of the time, the parkouring is taking place over bottomless pits, where you have to do perform parkour or die trying, usually the ladder. And maybe this is just me, but sometimes I'll jump into a wall and just bounce off the side, right into those bottomless pits I mentioned. Maybe I didn't have enough speed? Well when I'm running at the fastest speed this game allows, I'll no longer accept that its my fault.
In fact, while I have your attention with the bottomless pits thing, that's the big reason why I didn't think this version of the game was that good. The level design. It's a major shame too, because the first two worlds are so good, as simple pick up and play levels that any platformer fan can get into. The problems start rearing their ugly heads around the third world, where they show up one-by-one and begin to pile up. First offender: the length. Remember for a second that you'll be playing this game on a handheld system, designed to be played on the go, ready to be put away at any time. Sonic Lost World 3DS begs to differ. Heck, even for a console game these levels get too long. Most levels average out at about nine minutes. A select few levels hang around for about thirteen minutes. AND THEN THERE'S FROZEN FACTORY ZONE 3. That level, on top of being annoying and painfully boring, overstays it's welcome at about TWENTY MINUTES. These levels are just too freaking long for something that runs on battery life. Second problem: the levels themselves. From what I hear, the Wii U version, though lacking consistency in its levels, are relatively fair in terms of difficulty. The 3DS version is not. As mentioned before, these levels are chock-full of bottomless pits, requiring almost mastery of the parkour system in order to advance. Many instances where using Wisps, the powerups that Sonic can find and use, are mandatory in order to continue, with many also being do or die situations. This, doubled with the long lengths just makes the game drag. Never in a Sonic game, or any game actually, have I ever said out loud "Oh my God just end already!". And I played Sonic Heroes.
AND HOW ABOUT THOSE SPECIAL STAGES. First of all, in order to reach these special stages, you must beat any given level with 50 rings in hand. Doing this will grant access to the special stage, where you must guide Sonic through a large space collecting orbs to remove the force field surrounding the Chaos Emerald before time runs out. Okay, positive quote first. I'm glad that they decided to try something different with the special stages, instead of just using the half-pipe again. Now the negative quote! The controls. In order to propel Sonic forward, you press either the A button, the B button, or the R button. How do you steer Sonic? THE GYROSCOPE. This means you have to navigate these big levels by tilting your system, and in turn your head, up and down and all around. And when I say you'll be turning all around, I'm not even joking. By the end of each stage, you will have made complete 180 and 360 degree turns, and color me impressed if you didn't get dizzy. And for the love of God don't play these in a car. Or any vehicle. Or in public for that matter. If your in a vehicle, especially if you happen to be strapped in, you'll be holding the 3DS behind your head, making a complete guess if your heading in the correct direction, and looking like a complete fool in the process. That happens if you play in public, so don't do that. Trust me. It's for those reasons why these are the worst special stages in Sonic. Yes, worse than Sonic Heroes.
And the bosses. They're all pathetically easy, even for a Sonic game. All you have to do is figure out how to get the Homing Attack to target and strike. If you can get the charging to work, they'll go down in about three hits tops. Even the final boss battle with SPOILER is really simple, and manages to be even easier than the Sonic Colors fight. Still better than the Time Eater though. Now some of the fights mix things up. Like some of the fights let you use wisps, some REQUIRE the use of wisps, and one battle used the gyroscope to make you turn around in 180 and 360 degree turns in order to find the boss and attack. NOPE
In terms of presentation, this games just okay. For the 3DS these graphics are passable. I find it hard to believe this game came out the same year such great looking games like Fire Emblem Awakening and Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon came out. Now that's actually being generous. I'll say that game like Kid Icarus Uprising and Super Mario 3D Land, games that came out in 2012 and 2011 respectivly, look better than this. In Sonic tradition though, the music is pretty good. There are a lot of good themes in this soundtrack, like the boss themes, and the games main theme Wonder World, which is a fantastic main theme. Though not the best Sonic soundtrack to come out, its still a really good soundtrack. Shame that the game it goes with isn't that good.
In fact, that's the perfect summary of this version of the game as a whole. It just isn't very good. Its really nice to see Sega trying a 3D Sonic on a handheld, it really is. It was just so poorly executed that I can't really recommend this. I really wanted to like Sonic Lost World 3DS. I was waiting for this particular version of the game since it was announced early last year. But a weak story, poor and long level designs and mechanics, and those GOD AWFUL special stages just keep this version from being a hit. That being said, I myself wouldn't recommend this version of the game, but apparently some critics like this version more than the Wii U version. Yikes. Maybe you can find something in this game that I didn't. Perhaps if you look past the long levels, can get used to the mechanics, and can ignore the story, you'll find a good platformer on the 3DS. Not me though. It's just hard to believe that something of this quality was released after Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations, even if this is on a handheld. Overall, I recommend approaching this game with caution. Hopefully the Wii U version will satisfy me more when I can eventually play that version. Until then, I'll be taking this game out and using my 3DS as an Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem machine.
The Silent Protagonist is fed up with this lost world!
All images are the property of their original owners. If I made them, I wouldn't have had to search through a lost world of images trying to find these ones.
