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

qq more

Member
How the fuck am I suppose to defeat the boss of Sky Road Zone 4? I'm on my last life and I don't want to get a Game Over, especially not after getting all of the red rings in this try.
 

Zafir

Member
How the fuck am I suppose to defeat the boss of Sky Road Zone 4? I'm on my last life and I don't want to get a Game Over, especially not after getting all of the red rings in this try.
For the first three sections you can just use the kick (Jump and then X when the lock on appears), then when he looks like he is about to fall off in the final bit, do the same except make sure you charge the homing attack up. Get close, wait for more circles to appear around the homing and then do the homing kick when it's charged up.
 

qq more

Member
For the first three sections you can just use the kick (Jump and then X when the lock on appears), then when he looks like he is about to fall off in the final bit, do the same except make sure you charge the homing attack up. Get close, wait for more circles to appear around the homing and then do the homing kick when it's charged up.

Thank you! I had no idea I had to charge up the homing attack to more than 3 levels. Absolutely annoying they penalizes you hard for not doing that.

Never touching that stage ever again, so glad I got all of the red stars.
 

JP

Member
well sonic sold well on nintendo platforms in the past and thats why sonic colors or secret rings stayed exclusive. however any third party exclusive can move to other platforms if the sales are bad.

if you ask me if its worth getting a nintendo console for games like sonic (platformers in general) i would respond with a "hell yes though".
Have thought about getting a Wii U a few times but that's on hold now with the PS4 turning up in a bit.
 

Zafir

Member
Thank you! I had no idea I had to charge up the homing attack to more than 3 levels. Absolutely annoying they penalizes you hard for not doing that.

Never touching that stage ever again, so glad I got all of the red stars.
Yeah I had the same issue. I didn't even realise you could charge the homing attack up until that boss to be perfectly honest.

Tutorials is one thing they really need to sort out in the next Sonic game. I mean I know people moan about games hand holding you too much, but this game went to the other extreme.
 

Dario ff

Banned
oh wait i thought the controls in this game were bad?
Who told you this? Controls are the least of this games problems.
The author of that speedrun dislikes the controls more than you think. :p
VzJKCcn.png

He was exaggerating a bit, but his opinion still holds that they're bad after speed-running like that. We've been discussing it a lot how it could be improved actually.
 
Ah I remember entering that Sky Road 4 Zavok boss on my last life as well, confused as to how I needed to finish the actual fight, except I actually died and had to do the whole stage again, oh ho!
Really though, you use the kick to force him backwards all fight long but when he's teetering on the edge the kick fails? there's no real logic as to why you need to switch to the homing attack and when you do my first thought is to hit Zavok as fast as possible before he recovers from his wibbly wobbly stance, not wait for the homing attack to charge up to full power because that's now the only way to win.

Brace yourself qq for act Zone 2, it's going to be a blast!
 

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
The author of that speedrun dislikes the controls more than you think. :p

He was exaggerating a bit, but his opinion still holds that they're bad after speed-running like that. We've been discussing it a lot how it could be improved actually.
Which game does Paraxade feel is better (ie: more fun) to speedrun?

I don't think Kakipi has a Wii U otherwise they would've probably loaded up some runs by now. >.>

tbh, I don't think this is a game I'm going to come back to in order to speedrun for fun like I did with Gens/Unleashed, or score attack like I did with Colours.
 

RurouniZel

Asks questions so Ezalc doesn't have to
This secret stage is by far the best way to get 1ups.

Actually I prefer Tropical Stage... fuck I forget the number but toward the end there's a Checkpoint, you jump on some clouds and there's like, 7-8 1ups there. When done, drop do your death and repeat as it puts you RIGHT back at the cloud section where the 1ups are.
 
I'd have been more open to time attack had they not included the occasional end of stage bosses, my potential S rank runs through Frozen Factory 2 and Sky Road 2 fumbled by the boss encounters. But I guess a lot of the time the bosses are an extension of the stage itself so it's understandable.
And also that some of the stages are just too long to deal with.

Nocturnowl someone else just IMed me warning me about Zone 2 of Lava Mountain


I'm scared
I actually like the stage quite a lot but damn did it feast on my lives on my first run, there's one checkpoint stretch that I found far more brutal than anything else in the entire stage which was where the problems lied, more so if you want to grab the red rings as well.
 
I get what they were going for here, a more traditional 3D platformer and I suspect some people my like the Sonic game more than others but I don't.

This is my least favorite Sonic game since 06 not counting the secrets rings and black knight. They had something amazing with the unleashed formula and what they did in colors was incredible. This, this is nothing special, its trying to be a different game more than a Sonic game and it is clear sega's level designers are not to the task to make something as good as Mario.
 

Marjar

Banned
I get what they were going for here, a more traditional 3D platformer and I suspect some people my like the Sonic game more than others but I don't.

This is my least favorite Sonic game since 06 not counting the secrets rings and black knight. They had something amazing with the unleashed formula and what they did in colors was incredible. This, this is nothing special, its trying to be a different game more than a Sonic game and it is clear sega's level designers are not to the task to make something as good as Mario.

The problem is that they seemed to borrow a bunch of ideas from other platformers (Galaxy, DKCR, NSMB) along with some ideas of their own, but were incapable of actually implementing those ideas properly to make everything flow well. It feels unpolished and rushed.

The parkour stuff is a really good idea, but the level design needs more work in order for it all to gel well.

Like everyone else said, it's not a particularly bad game, but it's not great. It's just kind of there. A disappointment after Colors and Generations, but maybe they'll learn a bit from this game.
 

SoulUnison

Banned
Meh, I feel like I'm the only one who doesn't particularly care for it. Sometimes it's nice, but most of the time it seems super flat or cheap-looking to me. I think I like how Generations looks the most. =\

Yeah, I'm not really feeling the art style or the music in Lost World.

I feel like the art style is kind of sparse and economical, and the music doesn't hit the highs that I expect from a Sonic game. Especially disappointed in the Final Boss theme, where that's always been blow-your-mind awesome, even in the lamer 3D Sonics.
 

MilkBeard

Member
That's what happens with trial and error based level design. Unleashed was exactly the same. When you replay a stage you know what's coming, so the bulshitty trial and error aspect of the stage isn't there anymore. I was someone that HATED Sonic Unleashed on my first playthrough. But once the trial and error aspect was gone and I knew what was coming I was able to really enjoy the stages when I replayed them. I think some of the later stages in Lost World are similar.

This basically shows that reviews should not really be trusted with Sonic games. You really have to play for yourself, and even then, once you get used to the levels, sometimes afterward is when the true design comes out. I noticed this with a lot of Sega's platforming games.
I used to watch people play NiGHTS for the first time, that game had a big learning curve. But after a few hours it just clicks and some of those levels are so much fun to replay. Others in the game, not so much though. That part also comes with the design of a lot of Sonic Team games. I'm already used to the fact that their games tend to have some brilliant levels, and a couple of not-so-brilliant ones.

People rag on Sonic Team now, but most of their games have been inconsistent since they started making them in 3D.
 
This basically shows that reviews should not really be trusted with Sonic games. You really have to play for yourself, and even then, once you get used to the levels, sometimes afterward is when the true design comes out. I noticed this with a lot of Sega's platforming games.
I used to watch people play NiGHTS for the first time, that game had a big learning curve. But after a few hours it just clicks and some of those levels are so much fun to replay. Others in the game, not so much though. That part also comes with the design of a lot of Sonic Team games. I'm already used to the fact that their games tend to have some brilliant levels, and a couple of not-so-brilliant ones.

People rag on Sonic Team now, but most of their games have been inconsistent since they started making them in 3D.



Yeah.

Hur Hur sonic lost world is hard = this game sucks.

This game is amazing, yes it is difficult.
 

qq more

Member
...What?

No one should trust reviewers because they don't like the stages the first time they played them? Really?


I think Trial and Error is still bad level design, especially in platformers. I'll go into details why it's bad game design, but not right now as I am not in the proper mood for it.


Also no one is hating on Lost World for being difficulty, they're hating on it because of the lack of proper communications between the game and player.
 

Seik

Banned
...What?

No one should trust reviewers because they don't like the stages the first time they played them? Really?


I think Trial and Error is still bad level design, especially in platformers. I'll go into details why it's bad game design, but not right now as I am not in the proper mood for it.


Also no one is hating on Lost World for being difficulty, they're hating on it because of the lack of proper communications between the game and player.

Rare are the times I thought the levels were about trial and error, I was more like mad at myself for not paying enough attention to what was coming, concentrating to much on the ennemies and stuff like that. It's ok if the game's hard you know. :p
 

qq more

Member
It's ok if the game's hard you know. :p
...

You don't say? Where did I say the game is bad for being just difficult? I love tough games, heck I am a HUGE Mega Man fan for a reason.

I'll write the rant tomorrow, not in the proper mood to convey my words.
 
...What?

No one should trust reviewers because they don't like the stages the first time they played them? Really?


I think Trial and Error is still bad level design, especially in platformers. I'll go into details why it's bad game design, but not right now as I am not in the proper mood for it.


Also no one is hating on Lost World for being difficulty, they're hating on it because of the lack of proper communications between the game and player.
Why is the game trial and error i never felt this way
 

qq more

Member
Why is the game trial and error i never felt this way

it more has to do with the later half of the game


honestly i tried to enjoy them, but im having a hard time doing so

if it makes you guys feel any better, i don't hate the game, i just like and dislike it at the same time. i do feel it has tons of potential and i'd love to see a sequel improving on every flaw this game has
 

MrXavier

Member
So I picked up the 3DS version during the WalMart blowout sale ($18.03) because, what the hell, it's cheap.

K2UES2t.jpg

I don't have a Wii U so I can't attest to those controls but man are the controls terrible on the 3DS version. Leave it to DIMPS to make Sonic control as if he's on ice. I've just gotten to the 2nd set of stages in the desert, especially one where you require somewhat precision jumps and traversal and, lets just say, my hands have never been this cramped before trying to fight the controls. Does anyone have any tips on the 3DS version?

Also, the special stages are ridiculous by requiring the use of the Gyroscope. You need to basically be standing up and have full 360 degree physical movement to complete them. What were they thinking? I can't find an option to disable the gyro and use the Circle Pad.
 
The 3DS version is ambitious and feature-packed, and to its credit it doesn't feel cheap, but unfortunately it has a surplus of really irritating stages. The levels are ridiculously long at times.

I didn't enjoy it, but I'd struggle to call it outright bad because it just has so much obvious effort put into it.
 

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
For the 3DS version, just honestly take your time with it and go with stop/go movement instead. Don't hold down R as often as you probably would on the Wii U version because Sonic feels super-slippery and odd in the 3DS version and sometimes the camera doesn't help in 3D segments.

You can't turn the gyro off. You have to live with it.

------------------

As for the Wii U version since I'm in the final stretch right now...

I got through Lava Mountain Act 2 on my second try. Though to be fair, I did observe people playing it onstream so I guess I ended up replicating the proper playstyle since I knew what was coming. >.>

That doesn't excuse some of the odd design here and there with the bomb carts. But I'll say that those circular rails and those rails that slow/speed-up/neutral speed would be things that I'd love to see people like Dario experiment with in mods and stuff. I know he brought up that he liked the idea of the circular rails and would've loved to have tinkered with it in a mod, but alas, he can't. Now if they added more stuff like that to some of the levels instead of leaving it in two levels in the game, it would've been a little more interesting than the tube experience (which, you have to admit, gets tiresome after the third time you see it).

I think Lava Mountain Act 3 should be cut into several separate stages. It's just too long, and I don't find myself caring much about the bosses since they're really easy.

Lava Mountain Act 1 is missing cues to the player which would ensure better learning for trying the stage yet again. Think Mega Man-- Mega Man actually gives you clues and pre-emptively teaches the player what will happen prior to the thing actually happening; it doesn't outright tell you, but if you've observed, you're prepared. The deaths are your own fault, but here Sonic Lost World doesn't even bother to give you that benefit; it's pretty much memorization for these acts at times as opposed to learning via immersion then executing like Mega Man does. If you're going to take out part of the floor I can move on, let me know by the ground starting to crumble as opposed to it just going away as I'm going for a Red Ring. Red Ring generation in that stage is a little weird, sure (since you're wasting your time looking for the red rings to generate after a hit on the boss instead of getting rid of the boss as fast as possible for a possible time bonus, for example). Little visual cues like a vine starting to snap before it snaps or the ground shaking before it crumbles (or even slowing down the animation of it crumbling away) goes a long way. And the fact that you're jumping up when the boss dies can probably mess with you since you could jump back down to a rock coming at you (which did happen twice to me).

They actually did this rather correctly in Lava Mountain Act 3 where the lava's rising. You can see in the background how quickly the lava's going to rise on you in the foreground based on the how fast the chain link is going. Using your artwork in a video game in order to convey your game's mechanics (much like it's been done in any platformer, including previous Sonic games) can go a very, very long way for a positive user experience. It's just basic "linking the game's art with the game mechanics" type of design. I love it when games do that, and Sonic games are typically good at this sort of thing so I'm wondering why they didn't seem to bother in some circumstances here.

The thing is, they have a cleaner style of art in comparison to Generations and even Colours in some spots, so they could have used the background in conjunction with foreground art and motion pieces to their advantage incredibly often... but didn't for some reason. I'm actually really disappointed that they didn't make the move to use their backgrounds and foregrounds to their advantage like that.

I've already expressed my thoughts on Act 4 since I saw it on a stream, but knowing about that stage puts quite a damper on what I think of the last section of the game overall.

I still don't particularly understand the premise or design decisions of the game. It works in the first 3.5 worlds (since I really like the snowball level and thought it was pretty creative), but after the pinball stage, the game starts falling apart here and there.
 

qq more

Member
..Dark Schala took a lot of those words out of my mouth. Well said, really.

Anyways later this afternoon I'll write up a lot of oddities from the game's design. There are so many things I felt was either inconsistent or really dumb.
 

Zafir

Member
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYjXm_4yF1E

This is one area you can farm lives if you want to free extra animals too.

HOWEVER, if you want to just gain 1 ups fast, on the last checkpoint before the boss, there's an area to the right with FOUR lives. Collect the four, die, repeat.
I'd still argue the Act 1 of the Tropical area is the best for levels. In the clouds at the end there is a good 7 or 8, and you can just die after getting them all and start back on the clouds to get them again.

The circus, as boring as it gets is probably best for animal farming too. They all reset after you do 1 or 2 stages so just do them as you go through and you'll always have enough for the bosses.
 

Hale-XF11

Member
I don't have a Wii U so I can't attest to those controls but man are the controls terrible on the 3DS version. Leave it to DIMPS to make Sonic control as if he's on ice. I've just gotten to the 2nd set of stages in the desert, especially one where you require somewhat precision jumps and traversal and, lets just say, my hands have never been this cramped before trying to fight the controls. Does anyone have any tips on the 3DS version?

Give it some time and patience. You'll adjust and become a platforming god in no time. It helps to know when to hold down the R button and when not to so as to remain in control the whole time. Use all your tricks, such as homing and double jumping, to get around. Practice, practice, practice.

When using the asteroid whisp power, learn to interplay between the jump button and the Y or X button to move up and down. You can't double jump unless you touch a platform first.

The 3DS version is really a lot of fun once you get used to and master the controls. I've already put in over 20 hours and still going. This is easily my favorite Sonic game in quite some time.
 

RobbieNick

Junior Member
Just finished all the Red Rings for Windy Hill. FUCK ASTEROID WISP! How is it that DIMPS got something right in 3-D that Sonic Team couldn't in 2-D? Why did they add gyro controls to that wisp and then not explain that you have to collect enough debris to jump higher? So stupid.
 

Lijik

Member
How is it that DIMPS got something right in 3-D that Sonic Team couldn't in 2-D?

Because they didnt. Its a slippery floaty mess thats difficult to tell when you've landed from a jump and just because its controlled by the pad doesnt mean its not a garbage mechanic.
 

Regiruler

Member
...


lava mountain act 2


:|


:|

That's just straight-up hard. Absolutely brutal level.
Just finished all the Red Rings for Windy Hill. FUCK ASTEROID WISP! How is it that DIMPS got something right in 3-D that Sonic Team couldn't in 2-D? Why did they add gyro controls to that wisp and then not explain that you have to collect enough debris to jump higher? So stupid.

My question is how did you not get enough debris normally? You collect enough from where you get the wisp to the warp point.
He gets fed up with Sonic's shit basically
Somewhat understandably.

Although it's fairly mild from what I remember.
 

Zonic

Gives all the fucks
WHO IN THE WORLD decided "HEY, let's make it so if you miss the 5th Red Ring in Frozen Factory Zone 2, THEY HAVE TO PLAY THE ENTIRE STAGE AGAIN!", evenmore so just because I missed ONE billiard ball on the 3rd part. Sometimes, I might get lucky & miss the checkpoint, but it's rare & hard.

Ugh, got it finally. That was seriously annoying.
 
T

thepotatoman

Unconfirmed Member
Ug, I think Tropical Beach Zone 4 might be a candidate for a top 5 worst sonic levels, and that's saying a lot.

You start off with back to back annoying giant fruit battle arenas after you've already done quite a lot with giant fruit, then you do a completely knockoff of the Mario Galaxy planet to planet thing except without the speed or the whimsy to make it fun

Then after a brief but decent platforming section you hit one of the jankiest transitions you could imagine, with the flower shooting sonic up like a spring would, and right before sonic starts to fall back down it just fades to black. That's followed by the generic and boring "red light stop green light go" water spout platforming.

And then they introduce floating balls of whatever that combines the confusing momentum of jumping from moving platforms with the confusing physics of sonic jumping from an angled surface. And that's when i turn the Wii U off and send the game back to gamefly.

I know not all the levels are as bad as that one, but the controls, the enemies, and the levels just all feel wrong. Not for any one big reason, but for a million tiny ones that would seem like nitpicking taken separately but as a whole add up to a not very fun experience. Sonic Generations is one of my favorite games ever, it's a shame this doesn't hold up.
 

IrishNinja

Member
anyone know what happened with this game on Amazon? its weird finding a listing at the moment, and they're way too high. i was waiting for a $30-35 copy so i could use some discover reward $ to get it, acting weird tonight though.

*edit ohhhh maybe i was lookin at the import or something? odd
 
I am on the last level, and I'm really having trouble figuring out how people gave this game a 3/10. Maybe I have a higher tolerance for trial and error. It's definitely not a great game, but a 3/10 it certainly isn't.
 
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