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Sonic Lost World |OT| Too X-treme for the Galaxy

SCReuter

Member
Is there any chance of a sale soon on this? I wanted to give this a shot, but I don't want to pay full price with the reviews its gotten.
Do you live in the United States? Target's doing a buy 2, get 1 free sale next week. Grab Sonic Lost World and two other $50 titles (for example, Wind Waker HD and Wii Party U). You'll initially pay $100 for all three games. Then, with your receipt, return the latter two titles. You'll be refunded roughly $66, making Sonic Lost World essentially $33.

You could also keep the other two games, of course, or just return one.
 

Regiruler

Member
Okay, so, I beat the Wii U version late last night. I think the game as a whole is an interesting experiment. If taken as a proof of concept, it actually accomplishes that goal pretty admirably. However, it feels like a rough draft that could benefit from more focus, elaboration, and polish.

What Lost World does best is really define Sonic's controls. I'm not 100% satisfied with them (his mid-air arsenal leaves room for improvement, IMO), but they're strong enough that most players will be content. I miss mid-air boosting. I am confused why we cannot use the ground stomp in rail sections unless it's after a homing attack. I think his wall-running is also pretty finicky. Wisps in the game are generally awful and underutilized, too. Other than what I've mentioned and a few other little things here and there, Sonic's movement is Lost World's strongest asset.

Most stages in the game are a different story, though. Level designs are all over the place, with the latter half of them devolving into unwanted gimmickry or punishing linearity. The game's lives system is also pretty frustrating when coupled with spotty targeting and a few iffy checkpoints. If everything felt 100% my fault, I wouldn't have minded as much, but some stages drag forever and have some freaking obnoxious things in them...

I just feel like I'm not on the same page as Sonic Team with this one, especially after playing the first level of that Special Stage or whatever with the Rubik's cube block stuff. I have no clue what the hell that nonsense is.

The soundtrack is nice but nothing too special outside of a few songs, and I thought the presentation of the story is a little better than Generations, at least.


Our tastes are similar regarding those other Sonic games. Personally, I felt disappointed with Lost World in comparison. Its still fun when it's not being annoying, but it doesn't grab me as much as the Boost trilogy, even at its best. It's kind of its own thing. =
For Hidden World Zone 1, don't you just have to beat all 6 at least once? It's just a survival level to see how long you can last.
 

branny

Member
For Hidden World Zone 1, don't you just have to beat all 6 at least once? It's just a survival level to see how long you can last.
Oh, I see. I guess I just wasn't quite in the mood for endurance after that last stretch of the game last night, lol.
 

Het_Nkik

Member
Oh, I see. I guess I just wasn't quite in the mood for endurance after that last stretch of the game last night, lol.

Plow through it because I think the last level in that zone is really cool. And bizarrely uses mechanics not present anywhere else in the game.
 

Zonic

Gives all the fucks
Wow, beat the first Frozen Factory stage & geez, I understand the complaints about Tails. He felt REALLY out of character in that scene.

Also, how the heck do I do the mission about moving 5 seconds along the ceiling? & hate the Black Bomb missions as well. Gotta figure out a good spot where I can defeat 3 at once.
 
Weird, I have no problems with the 3DS gyro controls in the special stages, but the Quake Wisp was really difficult and annoying to control. I ended up skipping past it when I could. That one needs analog stick controls badly.

Also, genius move: area below an early Quake Wisp sequence (if you fall off) is a tiny planetoid of sticky goo, with a spring gated off by an enemy counter, requiring just a single enemy. Enemy is a Cluck in a minecart circling the planetoid. Homing Attacks generally don't work on Clucks, you have to stun them with a Somersault Attack first (why is this not called a Scissor Kick or Swift Kick something?). Jumping is EXTREMELY limited when you're bogged down with goo, so you're spamming the button to jump, trying to SA in that brief period when you're jumping, facing it, and it's near enough to actually trigger the SA (otherwise you just bounce). The SA does home in, but sometimes takes a second to reach it, and the CLUCK KEEPS MOVING WHILE STUNNED, so you do this sort of mad dash/hop through the goo to try to reach it, and it's very likely it woke up and you won't be able to directly attack it again. I'm not sure how I actually killed it, it was during some unexpected multi-homing attack and I think I caught it off-guard (it doesn't seem to hide right if it's the second or third target in a multi-homing string).
 

qq more

Member
Is there any way to make Sonic run faster in the 2D sections? (Wii U) He feels wayyyyy too slow for my likings.

Thankfully I'm enjoying the 3D sections thus far. (At the tropical world)
 

DeVeAn

Member
So going for the Red Rings. Game is tough. I still think there is some unfair deaths especially when going for the RR's.
 

Riposte

Member
The thread where someone complained about this game being "artificially difficult" has got me interested. It is not like the recent 3D Sonics, is it?
 
Just finished my review copy of the Wii U version.

My full review is forthcoming, but I honestly really enjoyed myself and had a lot of fun through most of the game. It's a mostly great game dragged down by some major inconsistencies and unfortunate low points that dilute the experience -- mainly the Wisps/Color Powers (which are so obviously tacked on and should never have been in the game at all), incredibly weak boss fights (including the final boss), and almost all of Frozen Factory.

But when those elements aren't dragging down the experience, the core gameplay is really solid. The Galaxy inspiration is very obvious, but it's much more than just "Super Sonic Galaxy" - it makes its own mark.

The game is an audiovisual marvel, too. Besides The Wind Waker HD, I'd say Lost World easily qualifies as the most beautiful game on the Wii U and definitely one of the best-looking, most vibrant games I've played this year. And while Sonic games almost always have some of the best music around, that doesn't take away from the fact that the soundtrack is just stellar. There are so many excellent songs it's hard to pick a favorite, but if pressed I'd say the Tropical Cost 3/Lava Mountain 2 (rail levels) theme takes the cake.

The writing, voice acting, and story are also high points and stand out in a good way. The dialog is especially sharp and the story gets surprisingly dark (for Sonic) at times -- it never feels too juvenile and there's just enough weight to the proceedings that you keep wanting to find out what happens next.

Also, the game's challenge has been far overstated in the "professional" reviews. It's really not that hard a game, but it does demand that you learn its mechanics. You can't bullshit your way through, but it's not unfairly difficult either. Personally I found Colors quite a bit more difficult than this (in a bad way).

That said, the game could really do with some tutorials. Even having finished the game, I have no idea quite how horizontal wall running works and I haven't even begun to figure out how to get the Red Star Rings that require that skill.

Still, overall I'm quite happy with the game. It's certainly not perfect, but it's a worthy Sonic game that upholds his return to glory following Unleashed, Colors, and Generations.
 

qq more

Member
Is there any way to make Sonic run faster in the 2D sections? (Wii U) He feels wayyyyy too slow for my likings.

Thankfully I'm enjoying the 3D sections thus far. (At the tropical world)

For the longest time I thought the Spindash was terrible because it slows down very quickly... turns out I can just hold the L button to keep it going. Did the game tell you this and I've missed it or was it just a "hidden" feature?

I wish the main running speed was better though, and I hate how I lose momentum whenever I jump half of the times.
 

Het_Nkik

Member
Also, how the heck do I do the mission about moving 5 seconds along the ceiling? & hate the Black Bomb missions as well. Gotta figure out a good spot where I can defeat 3 at once.

Find a 2D level with a a ceiling you can cling to (viney or gratey looking). To cling to a ceiling: run up the wall that connects to the ceiling, Sonic will continue running until he's standing upside-down on the ceiling, when Sonic doesn't feel like standing upside-down anymore he will suddenly grab the ceiling with his hands. Move around for 5 seconds.

Dumbest ceiling grab mechanic ever.

For the longest time I thought the Spindash was terrible because it slows down very quickly... turns out I can just hold the L button to keep it going. Did the game tell you this and I've missed it or was it just a "hidden" feature?

I don't know what the game tells you at all because whenever there was a question mark on the screen indicating I could tap something on the Wii U pad to explain shit, I just ignored it. I just watched a couple speedruns of levels on YouTube before I bought the game so I could see all of what Sonic was capable of.
 

Hale-XF11

Member
Finished the 3DS version and wrote some detailed impressions, but overall for the most part, I loved it. Playing on hardcore mode now and wow, it really gets kinda crazy the way they re-arranged entire levels. Seriously, if you're craving a hardcore platformer, this is as good as it gets on the 3DS.
 

topplehat

Member
I bit on the Walmart deal, wondering if I should be getting the Wii U version as well or if that would be redundant at this point.
 

steveovig

Member
It took me a while but I finally beat Sky Road Zone 4. The other day I was so mad at the game and I stopped at this level. I took a couple days off and the level wasn't as hard. Still, I got game over once but I managed to get 4 red rings.
 

eXistor

Member
The game has some serious issues (balancing and inaccurate controls mostly), but I had fun with it. The one part that shouldn't go unnoticed though is the music. It's quite spectacular and probably the best soundtrack I've heard yet in a Sonic game.
 

qq more

Member
This fucking asteroid wisp is pissing me off. It is absolutely a nightmare to control. Never ever fucking use Gyro ever again, Sega. You're awful with it.

That stupid red star in Windy Hill 4... :/
 

steveovig

Member
This fucking asteroid wisp is pissing me off. It is absolutely a nightmare to control. Never ever fucking use Gyro ever again, Sega. You're awful with it.

That stupid red star in Windy Hill 4... :/

Yea, how the hell do you get that thing to jump higher?
 

Het_Nkik

Member
This fucking asteroid wisp is pissing me off. It is absolutely a nightmare to control. Never ever fucking use Gyro ever again, Sega. You're awful with it.

That stupid red star in Windy Hill 4... :/

Yea, how the hell do you get that thing to jump higher?

I think the more garbage you have floating around you the higher you jump? Maybe? Also hold down the jump button a second and then let go. ALSO, if you hold the jump button a second time once you're in the air, you'll stay hovering at that height.
 
PREVIOUSLY ON ASTEROID WISP...

After trying and failing numerous times to get the fourth red ring in 1-4 I conclude that the Asteroid Wisp is without a shadow of a doubt the worst thing in this game, the worst of forced gyro and movement in general, the worst of jumping mechanics, the most unexplained of features (tilt to move is all they tell you), it's the perfect storm of shit.

Granted I'm feeling substantially under the weather today so maybe I wont have quite so much venomous hate when I try again tomorrow.

It would have been jolly nice of the game to tell me that the asteroid wisp can temporarily maintain its altitude if you release and then hold the jump button again at the desired height after jumping, no wonder I couldn't nab that red ring yesterday.

Important sanity saving tip in case you didn't know, you can briefly maintain the asteroids jump altitude by holding the jump button again at the desired point in the air, I will repeat this as often as needed in this thread to try and save the grief of many.
Regardless the Wisp still sucks and handles horribly, this little ability just makes grabbing a red ring in 1-4 actually possible.

Post above me is on the right track, the key really is the whole holding the button again in the air thing as well as more height with more debris I think.
I just love how much annoyance the wisp brings with a mere two sections I recall using it.
 

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
I tried but then Sonic was about to fall into the pit back to the normal area of the level. Aghghghghgh this is frustrating.
Stay underneath the red ring and jump (hold the button down longer while holding down the run button). That's how I did it. The more debris you have, the more power you get (just like in the 3DS version).

Also, yes, that wisp is pretty shitty.
 

Zonic

Gives all the fucks
At the very least, you NEVER touch the asteroid wisp again after the two Windy Hill Zones. Seriously, ugh. It wouldn't be so bad if you could control it with the stick instead of motion controls (same applies to rocket & bomb. For some strange reason, the one that makes you fly actually works decent)
 

Lijik

Member
Yeah Asteroid aint much better in the 3DS version either, its probably worse since it keeps showing up.
Its fine in the early stages, but the thing never stops moving and feels really slippery which is a huge pain in Sky Road zone 2 where theres an entire room built around precision platforming with it
 

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
Yeah Asteroid aint much better in the 3DS version either.
Its fine in the early stages, but the thing never stops moving and feels really slippery which is a huge pain in Sky Road zone 2 where theres an entire room built around precision platforming with it
Shit, really?

I mean, I still have Silent Forest to go back to in that version, and I dread going through the rest of it altogether, but that doesn't make me want to play it anymore. :lol
 

qq more

Member
The wisps in this game aren't very good so far.

The only one I really like is the Laser, it's the same as it is in Colors, so that's good. Rocket and Drill aren't as good as they were in Colors (Rocket, it's not clear where to go and one of the uses of the Drill is the 3D section which is a major pain to control). The bird wisp, despite gyro, was at least controllable but I don't care much for it.

Asteroid can go to hell, who the hell thought this was an acceptable idea?

Yeah Asteroid aint much better in the 3DS version either, its probably worse since it keeps showing up.
Its fine in the early stages, but the thing never stops moving and feels really slippery which is a huge pain in Sky Road zone 2 where theres an entire room built around precision platforming with it

welp, that seals it. I will never get the 3DS version, even if it was 5 dollars.
 

DeVeAn

Member
The wisps in this game aren't very good so far.

The only one I really like is the Laser, it's the same as it is in Colors, so that's good. Rocket and Drill aren't as good as they were in Colors (Rocket, it's not clear where to go and one of the uses of the Drill is the 3D section which is a major pain to control). The bird wisp, despite gyro, was at least controllable but I don't care much for it.

Asteroid can go to hell, who the hell thought this was an acceptable idea?
There are a few things in this game where I ask the same question. The game could have been amazing.
 

Lijik

Member
Shit, really?

I mean, I still have Silent Forest to go back to in that version, and I dread going through the rest of it altogether, but that doesn't make me want to play it anymore. :lol

The 3d levels in Sky Road are so bad (well the last section of 3 thats on foot is actually kinda fun), that I was actually relieved to see Dimps cheaped out and made Lava Mountain a boss rush
 
Yeah Asteroid aint much better in the 3DS version either, its probably worse since it keeps showing up.
Its fine in the early stages, but the thing never stops moving and feels really slippery which is a huge pain in Sky Road zone 2 where theres an entire room built around precision platforming with it

Someone mentioned this earlier in the thread, now that i'm reminded of it I just had to go give it a look.
...so it doesn't use gyro for that vertical cloud platforming bit right? RIGHT?!
Also i've got to chuckle at the random set of fans floating in the sky supported by nothing, that's like DKC1 Oil Drum levels of half arsed obstacle placement.

Glancing at some other stages, well it's interesting that the 3DS one actually requires the more advanced parkour in later stages which is kind of nice, unfortunately it's haphazard looking level design over bottomless pits which fits Dimps modus operandi.
 

qq more

Member
I finally got the DAMN fourth red star ring. Thanks everyone for the help!

Now I don't ever have to use that stupid wisp ever again-

omochaopls.jpg


GOD DAMN IT
 

Lijik

Member
Someone mentioned this earlier in the thread, now that i'm reminded of it I just had to go give it a look.
...so it doesn't use gyro for that vertical cloud platforming bit right? RIGHT?!
Thankfully no, holy shit i'd probably quit if it did

Glancing at some other stages, well it's interesting that the 3DS one actually requires the more advanced parkour in later stages which is kind of nice, unfortunately it's haphazard looking level design over bottomless pits which fits Dimps modus operandi.

The Parkour sections in the late game are actually really fun, its just they're unfortunately sandwiched between the more frustrating and worst parts of the game
 

Zonic

Gives all the fucks
I finally got the DAMN fourth red star ring. Thanks everyone for the help!

Now I don't ever have to use that stupid wisp ever again-

GOD DAMN IT
Thankfully, the only missions I've seen relating to that wisp is that (not TOO bad) and getting so many rings (just do one of the stages twice, get the "secret" area, & you'll get enough rings).

The Black Bomb ones are seriously annoying due to the fact you can't just retry a stage since they're gained from Miiverse or doing the Nightmare Zone. Either gotta re-earn it or go to the Wii U menu so the game doesn't save since quitting the stage wastes the item.
 

Het_Nkik

Member
The Black Bomb ones are seriously annoying due to the fact you can't just retry a stage since they're gained from Miiverse or doing the Nightmare Zone. Either gotta re-earn it or go to the Wii U menu so the game doesn't save since quitting the stage wastes the item.

I did the kill one enemy with the explosion easy enough since some of the enemies in the 2D sections stay rooted to the spot, but where's a good place to kill three enemies with it?
 
Is there any point to doing all the missions in the Wii U version other than 100% completion and getting more of the 3DS vehicles? Do you get anything good for it?
 

qq more

Member
The snowball level was surprisingly fun. I thought it was going to be a frustrating stage.

Also what the hell at Zeena's dialogs :lol :lol
 
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