If Nintendo was Sega's great rival in the 1990s, the Japanese manufacturer is now its partner, and even its inspiration: on the model of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, the expanded reissue Sonic x Shadow Generations has grafted a new modern adventure on an old title to invite players to check out again. It's true that a simple remaster of Sonic Generations would have been a little short, in every sense of the word, since the ode to fanservice lasts only four to five hours. It also turns out that this anniversary episode tolerates aging relatively poorly, and this little microwave passage reveals a whole bunch of dross that the excitement of the moment had managed to mask (for some players) in 2011.
well that Sonic Generations is a competent platformer in every respecta memory crystallized in a lovely artistic and musical direction, it also turns out to be very uneven in its short length. Each world is taken from a main game in the franchise, from the first Sonic the Hedgehog to Sonic Colors, and is divided into two acts (i.e. two levels) where our two protagonists can stretch their legs at leisure. But if reconnecting with the previous recipes of the Sonic Team is always a pleasure, the classic Sonic turns out to be relatively clumsy, hampered by a rather heavy and unwieldy physics (especially during jumps), while the modern Sonic rather suffers from inaccuracies diverse in maneuverability, without ever frustrating as much as its minipush version.
These rough controls are not aided by a level design very uneven: if Rooftop Run (Sonic Unleashed) borders on genius in its two variants, other zones, like Planet Wisps (Sonic Colours) or Crisis City (Sonic the Hedgehog 2006) quickly transform into confusing labyrinths where looking for the best possible path is a priesthood because of misleading obstacles, a camera slightly too close to the action which prevents you from clearly seeing the coming next passages, or just general poor construction. Sega sprinkles these levels with red rings and Chaos to find, or eight secrets per act, but in the end, we often find ourselves unfairly punished by a level design devious where it is impossible to correct our mistakes. Moreover, finding the secrets sometimes involves stopping, looking, or participating in a slightly incongruous platforming phase, which directly contravenes the fundamental philosophy of Sonic: run, always run, accelerate to the line. arrived without almost ever braking. Gotta go fast !
These dark spots obscure a real good sense of staging where Sega has fun revisiting its best levels from new angles, like the iconic City Escape (Sonic Adventure 2). Finding the secrets unlocks many bonuses – concept artsmusic… – in the gallery and Sonic x Shadow Generations also includes challenges of varying interest that remix each level with new victory conditions and new paths. In short, everything is not to be thrown away, far from it, but this good old ride shows a few wrinkles, especially when we find the incompetent final boss who is probably among the worst adversaries of the franchise in terms of design.
Note also that the announced remastering of Sonic Generations is almost non-existent : you might as well play with the seven differences between the two versions to try to find the visual changes made. This is a very lazy port compared to current re-release standards. We can also regret the absence of levels exclusive to the 3DS version as well as a lack of recognition for the major titles released since, like Sonic Lost World or Sonic Mania, but we can still understand that the Sonic Team preferred to focus its resources elsewhere.
Now that we have settled all our grievances regarding Sonic Generations and its lack of developments, let's turn to the Shadow chapter, which drastically raises the level in comparison. It's a real thermal shock. If the adventure of the black hedgehog is even shorter in a straight line than that of its blue counterpart, it is much better done, with a series of breathtaking levels between the ARK (Sonic Adventure 2), Sunset Hills (Sonic Forces) and Chaos Island (Sonic Frontiers) to name a few. With a more complete range of movements, Shadow is much more manageable, and its levels offer many varied interactions. The pacing is better managed, and if you miss a secret passage, you can only blame your reflexes, not the camera or the level design.
While Sonic and his friends pursue Dr. Eggman, Shadow is stuck in his own hub at the crossroads of timelines, a “white space” where fragments of levels are scattered to encourage exploration. This hub becomes more and more complete as we learn new skills and is full of secrets itself, like chests containing items for the gallery, or bolts to bring back to Cubot and Orbot to build a rocket. Something to keep you busy between levels. This high density of interactions offers a rather accomplished vision of Sonic in a semi-open world and Sega should take note of this for future episodes.
As for the plot, we keep it simple: the alien Black Doom still wants to take possession of Shadow, because he didn't really die in Shadow the Hedgehog, and the vile conqueror is now hatching plots in the void between the timelines . So we'll have to kick his butt. Sonic x Shadow Generations grants new powers directly inspired by Black Doom and his aliens to the black hedgehog. Because yes, remember, if he always declares himself to be “the ultimate life form”, it's because extraterrestrial blood flows in his veins. Shadow can here deploy wings, surf on a manta ray, transform into a flesh fish or simply send bursts of energy to activate buttons, or immobilize enemies; his remote-controlled attack is not a rush but rather a teleport that can cross gates to access new locations. Finally, the highlight of the show is Chaos Control, a momentary stop in time where you can move at your leisure, to jump on missiles in mid-flight and access new platforms, for example.
As we progress, the Sonic Team makes the levels sufficiently complex to exploit all our alien powers, meaning so many buttons to press in rhythm as we run from building to building. So the Japanese studio has fun throwing improbable situations in our faces. In Sunset Hill, we must dodge the constant bombardments of Eggman's robots and run between the explosions; face Metal Overlord (Sonic Heroes) requires mastering surfing to slalom between the pillars of an oil platform; cross Kingdom Valley (Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)) sometimes catapults us through the stained glass windows of a cathedral. Sonic x Shadow Generations ultimately proves to be generous with adrenaline. Its final boss completely washes away the honor of the base game and offers an epic confrontation, with simple mechanics, but impeccable execution, like a GameCube game found in a drawer. Already an excellent memory.
