Sonic Colors

Nintendo exclusive

Sonic Colors, titled Sonic Colours in European and Australian markets, is a platforming game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega in 2010. The game was released worldwide for the Wii in November 2010. Another version featuring different gameplay was also released on the Nintendo DS at the same time.

Released: 11 November 2010
Platforms: Nintendo DS Wii Wii U
Genres: Adventure Platformer
Developers: Sonic Team
Publishers: —
Series: Sonic the Hedgehog
Modes: Multiplayer Single-player
Perspective: Third person Side view
Themes: Action Science fiction Kids
Country: Japan
Age ratings: PEGI 3 CLASS_IND L USK 6 ACB G CERO A ESRB E
Languages: English, Japanese
Copies sold: 2.2 million as of 2011-03-31
Time to beat: 4.5hmain story
Composers: Tomoya Ohtani

About

Sonic Colors (known as Sonic Colours in PAL regions) is a 2010 platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. It follows Sonic's quest to stop his nemesis Doctor Eggman from enslaving an alien race and taking over the world. The gameplay is similar to prior Sonic games, with players collecting rings and defeating enemies; the camera perspective often switches from third-person to side-scrolling perspectives. The game also introduces Wisps, power-ups the player can use to increase attack power and reach new areas.

Development of Sonic Colors began in 2008, following the completion of Sonic Unleashed. Examining criticisms of past games, the developers made Sonic the only playable character and worked to balance speed and platforming; the Wisps were introduced to diversify the gameplay without slowing it down. Two versions of the game were developed: one for the Wii by Sonic Team, and one for the Nintendo DS by Dimps. The game was designed for a wider demographic than previous games, specifically children and fans of the Super Mario series. In anticipation of the game's release, Sega delisted several Sonic games with sub-average Metacritic scores to increase the value of the brand.

›Story

The game is centered on the protagonist Sonic the Hedgehog and his fight against the main antagonist of the Sonic series, Dr. Eggman, who has taken an alien race hostage and is using them for his evil purposes. During the game, the camera perspective switches occasionally from third person to side-scrolling. During development, Sega explained that they were delisting sub-standard games in the Sonic series and developing new titles in order to increase the value of the brand.

Development included the interchanging perspective, the idea for the game to be set at an amusement park, and a unique music score. Sega revealed that they were developing the game for a wide demographic, which included both older and younger consumers. The game introduces power-ups called Wisps, which the player can use to increase attack power and reach places they cannot otherwise.

Keywords

aliens
amusement park
space
sequel
motion blur
sprinting mechanics
nintendo wi-fi connection
mii support
food-themed stage
mii
mii as playable character

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Sonic Colors is a platform game set in outer space. Players control Sonic the Hedgehog, whose goal is to save the Wisps, an alien race that has been enslaved by Doctor Eggman. The game's main hub is Doctor Eggman's Incredible Interstellar Amusement Park, an interplanetary amusement park that consists of five small planets chained to each other. Sonic must be guided through these planets to destroy the power source at their center.

Each planet is split into seven parts: six main levels called acts and a boss level. In each act, players must guide Sonic to the goal, whilst defeating enemies and dodging obstacles. In boss levels, players face one of Eggman's large robots, and must defeat it. Gameplay seamlessly shifts between side-scrolling and third-person perspectives.

Story

In both versions, Doctor Eggman opens an amusement park in space called "Dr. Eggman's Incredible Interstellar Amusement Park", allegedly turning over a new leaf and making up for past transgressions. The park is made up of several planet-sized attractions. Suspicious, Sonic the Hedgehog and his best friend Tails investigate.

They meet Yacker, who comes from a species of aliens known as Wisps. After Tails invents a translator to communicate with him, they learn that other Wisps have been enslaved by Eggman, who plans to harness their energy for a mind-control laser that will allow him to take over Earth.

Development

Development of Sonic Colors began following the completion of Sonic Unleashed in 2008, alongside Sonic Generations. While they kept most of Unleashed's core gameplay elements, developers Sonic Team and Dimps decided to create an equal balance between speed and platforming similar to that of the games released for the Sega Genesis, in comparison to the straightforward gameplay of Unleashed. Following requests by fans, the team also made the decision to make Sonic the only playable character, and to omit "gimmick" themes such as the swordplay mechanic used in the 2009 spin-off Sonic and the Black Knight. The team chose to develop Sonic Colors on Nintendo's Wii and DS consoles, hoping to expand upon the audience attracted by the successful Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games crossover games.

One of the first ideas was the setting should be an amusement park; Sonic Team then realized that "any sort of terrestrial amusement park would be too small to contain Sonic's adventures." From this came the idea of an interplanetary park, which would allow for more creativity and variance in the game. The developers used Disneyland as visual inspiration for the levels. Sonic Team also desired something that would diversify the gameplay, but did not slow it down.

Reception

Both versions of Sonic Colors received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic. The game was also successful commercially; as of March 2011, it has sold 2.18 million copies. In a Famitsu interview dated June 2021, Sonic Team director Takashi lizuka mentioned in response to a question that the game had sold 4 million copies across the Nintendo Wii and the Nintendo DS.

The game's presentation was well received. Pedro Hernandez of Nintendo World Report described the graphics and animations as "beautiful" and "gorgeous". Arthur Gies of IGN considered them to be among the best available on the Wii, praising the lighting, detail, and variety they offered. Both Hernandez and Jane Douglas of GameSpot both praised the audio for incorporating familiar aspects of past Sonic games, and Douglas admired the "jazzy, high-energy" soundtrack as fitting for all levels. The new voice casting was also appreciated; Gies elaborated that the cast was "much less annoying" than the previous voice actors, and Hernandez considered their voices to be fitting for the characters.

Legacy

Sonic Colors introduced the Wisp power-ups, which would go on to become a staple of the Sonic franchise. Games featuring the Wisps include Sonic Generations (2011), Sonic Lost World (2013), and Sonic Forces (2017). The story of Sonic Colors was adapted in Archie Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series.

Sonic Generations was released in commemoration of the series' twentieth anniversary, and remade various aspects from past entries. The version of the game released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Microsoft Windows features a reimagined version of Sonic Colors's Planet Wisp level. The version of the game released for the Nintendo 3DS contains a remake of the Tropical Resort level.