My Sonic Fan-Girl Chronicles, Bonus Chapter: Favorite Stages of Sonic the Hedgehog Games I’ve Played

 
• Sonic the Hedgehog (1991): Green Hill Zone
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2: TIE: Oil Ocean Zone and Metropolis Zone
• Sonic  the Hedgehog 3: TIE: Hydrocity and Ice Cap Zone
• Sonic & Knuckles: Lava Reef Zone for both Knuckles and Sonic
• Sonic 3D Blast: Diamond Dust Zone (the music makes me smile)
• Sonic Adventure: NiGHTS Pinball Game!!! (I know, it’s not a stage, but…it’s NiGHTS!)
• Sonic Adventure 2: TIE: Green Forest for Sonic; White Jungle for Shadow
• Sonic Unleashed: Dragon Road-Day (sometimes frustrating but the song makes me happy J)
• Sonic Rivals 2: TIE: Mystic Haunt Zone Acts 1 and 3 (and Act 2 is my favorite Battle stage in this game because I like the music; I often have Sonic, Shadow and Silver fight there.) And the Chaotic Inferno Zone because I like the level design and music there too.
• Sonic Generations:  Green Hill Zone Act 2 (gotta go fass!)

 

The next bonus chapter may be about my least favorite stages from Sonic games I've played.

Does anyone have a favorite Sonic stage they want to share and why?

An article about reflection on Sonic the Hedgehog, from Videogameologists.com

I’ve got another treat for you Sonic fans out there—I’m not the only who reminisce (and still is reminiscing) about my experience/thoughts/memories on playing Sonic the Hedgehog video games!  The other day I came across this article by Videogameologists.com writer Erik G. about the 21 years that Sonic has been around (the article was written in 2012, but I still find it relevant).  Maybe it was because I am also doing my own reminiscing of Sonic games on Cyborg Haven, but I was so spazzed to read this article and it made me smile.

The article is titled, "Looking Back at 21 Years of Sonic And What Made Him Great".  I have to highlight one of Erik’s sentences in this post.  It made me nod my head for some seconds because it is sooo true!

 

“Sonic games aren’t about speed, but flow. Yes Sonic runs fast, but you aren’t running fast when you run into an enemy or get poked by a spike trap. Instead, you get through the stages the fastest by knowing where thing are ahead of time and knowing what to do.”

 

Yes!  Trial and error, baby!  An excellent learning tool when playing video games! In order to get the best rating I can (so I can get an S rating and/or a medal), I need to play the stage once through and then subsequent times afterward while the layout is still very fresh in my mind.  If I’m lucky if I haven’t played the game for a while, I’d know the lay out of the stage better because I had Sonic run through it enough times to know when to jump or turn or activate a Boost.

 

Anyway, in his article Erik goes through his thoughts on Sonic’s 21 (then) years in the video game universe, mainly the console games (SEGA Genesis, SEGA Dreamcast, the Nintendo Wii, and Playstation 3).  It’s a nice read and made me feel good about being a Sonic fan.   If you read it and like his article, I suggest you share it with other fans of Sonic as well, those who love him and especially those who need to re-appreciate the Sonic video game franchise for what it was, what it is now and what it will become.  Maybe there will be less Sonic-haters out there…?

 

http://www.videogameologists.com/2012/06/23/looking-back-at-21-years-of-sonic-and-what-made-him-great/

 

BONUS BIT:  I really like that I am not alone with Sonic Adventure 2 being my favorite game for the SEGA Dreamcast.  For me, it’s all because of Shadow—it was just so interesting that there was another hedgehog for Sonic to get to know besides that Amy Rose, let alone another male hedgehog.  He was new and mysterious and perpetually frowning.  Nyawww, so cute (there goes my fan-girl self, going all gaga). 

 

I want to write a separate Bonus Chapter for my thoughts/memories on Shadow the Hedgehog, because I love him so much.  :3  He deserves a post or two from me.  (Did you see my list near the bottom right of Cyborg Haven?  I cried after I beat Sonic Adventure 2.  Because Shadow.)

 

I guess I’m not playing Sonic: Lost World for the Wii-U

I’m not even totally devastated that Sonic: Lost World is only for Nintendo consoles.  I mean, it’s still a downer for me cuz I’m not getting a Wii-U, but I don’t know of any titles I’d be interested in getting for it anyway.  I’m still digging away at Sonic Generations (the Act 1 and Act 2 challenges).  I could go to the third BOSS but I feel like I have to complete most of the challenges first, plus to unlock goodies like music and art.  And in Sonic Unleashed it’s the same thing; there are stage challenges and even Stages to still visit there too.  So yeah, I’ve got enough Sonic the Hedgehog video game stuff that I can play in the meanwhile.  And Sonic Rivals 2!!! I have so much fun with that game and I play it at least once each week.

            Sorta makes me think about getting the first Sonic Rivals.

Am I Playing Sonic Generations Too Much?

Sigh.  I haven’t touched Dissidia Duodecim: Final Fantasy for maybe a month and a half.  The video games I am playing currently (returning to the most) are Sonic Generations and Sonic Rivals 2.  I should have finished Sonic Generations last year but other things got in the way (my cat’s surgery was a big part of it, but I was also doing some volunteering for work experience).    I lost interest in playing video games for several months.  I actually, lost interest in a log of other things at that time.  Now that life is looking up, some of that “life” in my interests has returned.

When in late March I visited one of my favorite websites, the fan-art galore that is DeviantArt, I came across some interesting Sonic the Hedgehog fan-art, along with fan-art of my other two favorite hedgehogs Shadow and Silver.  Some of the fan-art sparked story ideas in my head that I wanted to write as fan-fiction.  But then soon, I thought, Well I haven’t played Sonic Rivals 2 for a while, and Sonic Rivals 2 is the only Sonic game I have where I could play as Silver. (I don’t have SONIC ’06 and I probably won’t get it or play it ever.  Sad, huh?).  I tried it again and I forgot how much fun it was; I liked the music (it’s not bad, not spectacular like in Sonic Generations), and it can get frustrating but then I laugh when I lose a race or battle.  It’s good light fun.  I can play it in my bedroom or in the living room because it’s on the PSP.  I really enjoy the Acts for the Haunted Mystic Zone, especially the music for Act 2, the battle against Shadow and Silver (that was the story I was playing when I first got to it).

For Sonic Generations, I didn’t touch it since March last year and then once more in November.  Now I’m trying to play it maybe twice a week, when I ‘m not training for my new job and the TV in the den is available.

AT this point I visited both Acts of all the Stages in the game and still need to finish many Challenge games for Act 1 and Act 2.  I defeated Metal Sonic, Shadow, and last week was Silver in their respective Rival Battles.  I beat Silver Rival Battle in Hard Mode on my first try, because by that time I went through so many trial-and-error runs with Normal Mode and got to know Silver’s attack pattern.  So many trial-and-error runs.  So many.

I still need the 3^rd Key to unlock the third Boss, but also in the meantime I will complete the other challenges in order to gain some new Skills for both Sonics.  I gotta say something: I love the music for Planet Wisp Act 2.  It’s been stuck in my head for the last several days.  Now Act 2 (and yes, Act 1 also) are very frustrating, but its music helps me to deal with it.  I also really like the song for Crisis City Act 2 from SONIC '06; I fell in love with that one almost a month ago.  I went to iTunes and had to get the original version from the SONIC ‘06 soundtrack.

How awesome would it be if Sonic could race against either Shadow or Silver in what would be the “Doppelganger” races?  Well, Shadow, yes…but Silver can fly, and that might be cheating :3 so maybe it wouldn’t make sense, but at least with Shadow it would be neat!  Oh well, I guess that is only possible in Sonic Rivals or Sonic Rivals 2.  At least on their feet, unlike in Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing/Transformed their they drive vehicles.  That is...what it is.

 

Below is a link to the YouTube video of the music track "Planet Wisp Act 1" from the original Sonic Colors.  I love the version in Sonic Gererations as well, but the guitar bass for this original version is boss.  (I tried to embed the video here but the HTML can't be accepted for some reason).

 

http://youtu.be/eODArFqHbf0     (Sonic Colors "Planet Wisp Act 1" Music)

It's been in constant repeat in my head for the past week!!  I whistle the melody on occasion.  O3O

 

Cyborg Haven Update May 7th

The following items have been added to the list titled Video Games I’ve Yet to Finish.  They are:

 

• Sonic Generations (PS3)
• Mega Man X8 (with the REAL ending)

Currently I am playing Mega Man X8 on Normal Mode, with the Force Metals I had left over from Easy Mode.  I play the intermission stage for the snowy stage a lot, as a way to get more and more Force Metals and get more upgrades the three Maverick Hunters will need for the rest of the game.  I always choose Axl for that stage since he has non-stop bullets.

So yeah, apparently there’s this “other ending with Lumine” that others keep mentioning and my sister really wants to see it.  So…I’m gonna try to finish MMX 8 in Normal Mode, and see if that does anything.  We certainly didn’t get this special ending in Easy Mode.

Playing Sonic Generations: City Escape Act 1 !!!!!

I returned to Sonic Generations and, I was excited about having another opportunity to feel nostalgic about something that came from the SEGA Sonic games.  And I gotta say, during this session the one that had the most nostalgic impact on me was Act 1 of City Escape.  It was quite the experience playing as Classic Sonic in City Escape, considering it is Classis Sonic in a Modern Sonic stage.   I love the Act 1 version of the City Escape song, and it has SEGA Genesis Sonic-game musical elements in it.  What blew me away was that the beginning of the second verse of the song had a different but familiar melody to it—one of the songs from the 2-Player mode in Sonic 3.   Hardcore Sonic the Hedgehog fans who’ve played the old Genesis titles will recognize it and get a kick out of this!   I certainly did J

 Songs I Unlocked:

ü  Green Hill Zone (Original)

ü  Emerald Hill Zone

ü  Sonic Boom

ü  PalmTree Panic

ü  [First Stage music from Sonic Spinball]

Stages I Beat

ü   Challenge: Sky Sanctuary Doppleganger Race

ü  Defeated Boss

ü  City Escape: Act 1 and Act 2

ü  Partner Challenge: Amy’s Piko Piko Hammer (helps Sonic do high jumps)

I left off at the Sonic Heroes first stage, Act 2.  Boy is it difficult! Most of the time when Sonic loses lives, it is because he falls into the water.  Okay, I can’t help making Sonic run faster than my brain can process and lose control of him, to the point where I don’t realize he’s doomed until it happens.  It does get frustrating, but I’ll get through it.  I just need fresh fingers, which means I need to start playing the game with this stage.

Playing Sonic Generations for the first time

So I finally finally finally started playing Sonic Generations last week and I gotta say, it blew me away as much as Sonic Unleashed did.   To elaborate, I had so much fun I could play on it for hours if I didn’t need to eat :D  The nostalgia factor was very strong; though of course it was different playing classic Sonic in a very 3D version of Green Hill Zone.  The colors in the game are very beautiful, of course…

I love how the music for Act 1 of the Green Hill, Chemical Plant, and Sky Sanctuary zones stayed true to their versions and were given only a slight face lift (or “sound-lift,” if you will).  Then for Act 2 of the zones, the music is made for the modern, green-eyed Sonic, and those versions of the songs aren’t all that bad.  I especially really like the Act 2 edition of the Chemical Plant Zone music.  As for the classic/Act 1 editions of music, the Sky Sanctuary Zone Act 1 is my favorite so far.

Another cool thing I noticed was that in the Chemical Plant Zone, in either Act when Sonic falls into the purple water, the zone music sounds as if you really are underwater.  It’s neat; it like letting you know that you are in the water and need Sonic to get to a big bubble or reach the surface for air.  What other video game even does that?!  It’s jenius! (I spelled the word “genius” with a “j” :D ).

The voice acting is okay.  I am not going to make a big deal out of the voice acting.  I dunno why some people have a problem with Sonic’s voice.

There are trophies for Sonic Generations too!  I’ve never earned a Trophy in my PS3 before (because I hardly play on it, besides Devil May Cry 4 where I’m stuck.  I don’t know if that video game even has trophies).

Classic Sonic doesn’t talk.  That is okay, you know why?  Classic Sonic never talked.  So it makes sense to me that he doesn’t say a word, and we players rely on his facial expressions and actions to read him.

Stages I’ve Completed

ü  Green Hill Zone, Act 1 and Act 2

ü  Chemical Plant Zone, Act 1 and Act 2

ü  Sky Sanctuary Zone, Act 1 and 2

ü  Sonic vs. Metal Sonic: The first Chaos Emerald

ü  2 Challenges = 2 Boss Keys

Where I left off: I am about to get the third Boss Key.

Getting Sonic Generations for the Holidays, plus Sonic Unleashed

As it turned out, I got Sonic Generations for the holidays.  And look at me, I haven’t even finished Sonic Unleashed, or even played any of Sonic Colors, for that matter (I don’t have that one).

That been said, after having played with NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams for a little while, I switched to Sonic Unleashed to revisit the game that I haven’t resumed since October 29, 2009.  I had to get used to the controls of the game again because all these weeks I’ve only been playing either Final Fantasy Dissidia or Dissidia Duodecim.

I left off when Sonic needed to return to Adabat to complete a few Night Stages.  This was the one with the whirlpools that moved wooden platforms around that Sonic kept missing and falling into water he can’t swim in.  After a few more fails and losing a bunch of lives until I had maybe three left, I realized that when Sonic grabs onto the green poles, he doesn’t need to jump…he just has to drop down onto the platform (raft?), provided I time the move right.

It was the first time I tried Sonic Unleashed on the HDTV set.  Sonic Unleashed was a little too HD for me at this point considering that the Nintendo Wii was a next gen video game console (now a current gen console) that would go great with an HDTV.  But this game has really beautiful colors and animations.

This is Your Year, Sonic!

I can’t believe it’s been 20 years since Sonic the Hedgehog made his debut in the United States.

And now he is going to get his own new (updated) parade balloon for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade!!     :3  

Twenty years. That means I was at least six years old when I found out he existed, and it changed my world.  The Nintendo games and Super Mario Brothers weren’t enough anymore.  I had to play the video game with the cool blue hedgehog that runs fast and bounces off robots.  SEGA Genesis provided video games—especially the Sonic the Hedgehog ones—that were more colorful and ran faster than Mario ever could.  My Sega Genesis lasted longer than the NES.  I guess what I meant to say was that I was playing on the SEGA Genesis longer than I’ve played on the NES. I spent more time playing Sonic 2, Sonic 3, Sonic and Knuckles, Sonic 3 and Knuckles, and Sonic 3D Blast than any other video game I would play on the NES or others on the SEGA Genesis.

Now that Sonic Generations is released, my appreciation for this video game character is renewed.  I don’t know when I’ll get it and play it.  I don’t even have Sonic Colors (the latest one I DO have is Sonic Unleashed, with is about 3 years old? now).  I’m sure Sonic Colors is a good game.  There seems to be a lot of hype about Sonic Generations, and so far it is looking good.  I am trying to stay away from trailers or websites that are too revealing about the game.  I didn’t know there was going to be a Nintendo 3DS version of SG, although it doesn’t apply to me because I know I won’t need a Nintendo 3DS. The PSP 3000 is already my handheld console of choice.

I suppose that eventually I will have to have a go with Sonic Generations. It is something I feel I shouldn’t miss out on. I am still busy with the Dissidia FFs, and really should get back to Sonic Unleashed, since it is the most HD Sonic game I have. I haven’t even tried this game on the HD TV set yet (it’s been nearly two years since I touched that vide game).  I’ll bet it’s going to look so good.

I still read the Sonic the Hedgehog comic books from Archie Comics.  I am about seven issues behind, though--alot of other things have been getting in the way--but I am looking forward to reading them when they celebrate Sonic's 20th.

So, Sonic…this year is for you. <3  Your 20th anniversary, new video game, ongoing comic books,  new parade balloon...and most important of all, old fans and new fans of the most way past cool blue hedgehog in the video game universe.