Sonic and the Fallen Star is a fan game I have been following for quite a while now, I even remember playing a demo of it, a couple of months ago and enjoying it a lot, I remember thinking it was a really cool and refreshing take on a classic formula!
And now after going through the entire game twice.. Let's just say that I didn't expect this game to be.. one of the most fun 2D side-scrolling experiences I've ever had in a long time!
First of all, Let's start with the visuals.. Yeah, this game looks amazing, everything in this game from the character sprites to the artstyle to the backgrounds to the popin' color choices looks absolutely gorgeous, You can tell just by starting the game up and watching the intro cinematic, That this game, when it comes to visuals, means business, Classic Sonic games never looked this beautiful!
Other thing I really like about this game's artstyle in particular is how it feels like a natural successor to the artstyle of Sonic 3 & Knuckles, I know Sonic Mania is considered by many fans to be the "real sequel" to the classic Genesis Sonic games but Idk man, Something about this game's artstyle hits different!
Sonic and the Fallen Star feels like the Sega Saturn 2D Sonic game we unfortunately never got, You know, taking full advantage of this next-gen generation of consoles, pushing the graphics to its limits, That's what this game feels like and absolutely adore it for that!
Now to the gameplay.. It's great!
Sonic feels really nice to control, They got the physics right, This ain't no "Sonic the Hedgehog 4 episode 1" dollar store Sonic physics, The physics and how Sonic feels in this game is how every modern Sonic game should feel like!
Fantastic controls and physics paired with really solid level design and gimmicks makes this game, no joke, some of the best 2D side-scrollers I've ever played in like.. FOREVER!
The elemental shields makes a return also, with some different gameplay designs, like the fire shield giving you the ability to triple jump which can take you places if you know how to use it, and the electric shield working as a coin magnet and also gives you a boost of speed and the bubble shield being.. the bubble shield, Yeah I guess my guy, Stardrop, ran outta ideas with last one lol
The special stages make a return also and they're.. pretty great, They're really fun, They're probably my second favorite special stages after Sonic Mania's, They're like a hybrid between the half-Pipe special stages from Sonic 2 and the chase-the-UFO special stages from Sonic Mania, They are pretty challenging but fair, and the seven chaos emeralds are necessary for the real ending where Sonic transforms into his "HYPER STAR FORM", It's really cool.
The music is pretty fantastic too, My girl, Hollie Taylor, did not to go this hard on the soundtrack, It's honestly amazing, I guess we gotta continue the trend of Sonic games always having amazing soundtracks, even if the game itself isn't practically very good, my personal favorite tracks are One Way Lane, Sonic's Last Night in Town, and Amy, It's Cold Outside. They're all uploaded to Hollie's channel on YouTube if you wanna check them out, They're really awesome.
But just like every other thing that has ever existed, This game is not perfect, sometimes Sonic's Collision can be a funky, running on surfaces, I don't think Sonic should be able to walk on and running on ceilings.. yeah, I don't think Sonic should do that, and another thing I don't personally like about this game is how they nerfed the lives system, like come on, I know there's this whole thing/discussion about if Lives is an outdated system or not, but I don't care, You can't have a classic-styled genesis Sonic game without the lives, you just can't!
I even stopped collecting coins after a while because they just felt like they didn't matter, I wish with the next update Stardrop could add a toggle option like that in Crash Bandicoot 4 (a retro or modern mode), I think that'll be the best choice, not that'll need them anyway, This game is incredibly easy, I seriously don't think that there's a single pithole in this game, You can't even get crushed, Yes, It is that forgiving, but I didn't mind the game design was still fantastic, even if the game is super easy, The boss fights are a bit harder but nothing too crazy when you know what are you supposed to do.
So.. to sum all this up, Sonic and the Fallen Star is fantastic, amazingly polished, superbly made, It is what every fan project should be like, A labor of love that can enjoyed by everybody including Sonic and Non-Sonic fans, and not gonna lie, Even if this game wasn't as good as it is, I would've still probably loved it because, I will not gonna lie, I'm just happy there's still Sonic fan games being made to this day, but thankfully I don't have to do that, because this is absolutely fantastic, and something you seriously shouldn't miss, especially if you're a Sonic fan!
Thanks for reading :)
And now after going through the entire game twice.. Let's just say that I didn't expect this game to be.. one of the most fun 2D side-scrolling experiences I've ever had in a long time!
First of all, Let's start with the visuals.. Yeah, this game looks amazing, everything in this game from the character sprites to the artstyle to the backgrounds to the popin' color choices looks absolutely gorgeous, You can tell just by starting the game up and watching the intro cinematic, That this game, when it comes to visuals, means business, Classic Sonic games never looked this beautiful!
Other thing I really like about this game's artstyle in particular is how it feels like a natural successor to the artstyle of Sonic 3 & Knuckles, I know Sonic Mania is considered by many fans to be the "real sequel" to the classic Genesis Sonic games but Idk man, Something about this game's artstyle hits different!
Sonic and the Fallen Star feels like the Sega Saturn 2D Sonic game we unfortunately never got, You know, taking full advantage of this next-gen generation of consoles, pushing the graphics to its limits, That's what this game feels like and absolutely adore it for that!
Now to the gameplay.. It's great!
Sonic feels really nice to control, They got the physics right, This ain't no "Sonic the Hedgehog 4 episode 1" dollar store Sonic physics, The physics and how Sonic feels in this game is how every modern Sonic game should feel like!
Fantastic controls and physics paired with really solid level design and gimmicks makes this game, no joke, some of the best 2D side-scrollers I've ever played in like.. FOREVER!
The elemental shields makes a return also, with some different gameplay designs, like the fire shield giving you the ability to triple jump which can take you places if you know how to use it, and the electric shield working as a coin magnet and also gives you a boost of speed and the bubble shield being.. the bubble shield, Yeah I guess my guy, Stardrop, ran outta ideas with last one lol
The special stages make a return also and they're.. pretty great, They're really fun, They're probably my second favorite special stages after Sonic Mania's, They're like a hybrid between the half-Pipe special stages from Sonic 2 and the chase-the-UFO special stages from Sonic Mania, They are pretty challenging but fair, and the seven chaos emeralds are necessary for the real ending where Sonic transforms into his "HYPER STAR FORM", It's really cool.
The music is pretty fantastic too, My girl, Hollie Taylor, did not to go this hard on the soundtrack, It's honestly amazing, I guess we gotta continue the trend of Sonic games always having amazing soundtracks, even if the game itself isn't practically very good, my personal favorite tracks are One Way Lane, Sonic's Last Night in Town, and Amy, It's Cold Outside. They're all uploaded to Hollie's channel on YouTube if you wanna check them out, They're really awesome.
But just like every other thing that has ever existed, This game is not perfect, sometimes Sonic's Collision can be a funky, running on surfaces, I don't think Sonic should be able to walk on and running on ceilings.. yeah, I don't think Sonic should do that, and another thing I don't personally like about this game is how they nerfed the lives system, like come on, I know there's this whole thing/discussion about if Lives is an outdated system or not, but I don't care, You can't have a classic-styled genesis Sonic game without the lives, you just can't!
I even stopped collecting coins after a while because they just felt like they didn't matter, I wish with the next update Stardrop could add a toggle option like that in Crash Bandicoot 4 (a retro or modern mode), I think that'll be the best choice, not that'll need them anyway, This game is incredibly easy, I seriously don't think that there's a single pithole in this game, You can't even get crushed, Yes, It is that forgiving, but I didn't mind the game design was still fantastic, even if the game is super easy, The boss fights are a bit harder but nothing too crazy when you know what are you supposed to do.
So.. to sum all this up, Sonic and the Fallen Star is fantastic, amazingly polished, superbly made, It is what every fan project should be like, A labor of love that can enjoyed by everybody including Sonic and Non-Sonic fans, and not gonna lie, Even if this game wasn't as good as it is, I would've still probably loved it because, I will not gonna lie, I'm just happy there's still Sonic fan games being made to this day, but thankfully I don't have to do that, because this is absolutely fantastic, and something you seriously shouldn't miss, especially if you're a Sonic fan!
Thanks for reading :)
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