Sonic the Hedgehog is my favorite game franchise of all-time. If you read my piece entitled “Sonic the Hedgehog: 20 Years of Personal Influence,” you already know the breadth of influence that series has had on my gaming life. Sonic 3 & Knuckles, the epic adventure that saw players using the stack capability of Sonic & Knuckles with the revolutionary Sonic the Hedgehog 3, may just be my personal favorite game of all-time. With that in mind, imagine my excitement when SEGA announced that, after sixteen years, they were bringing out the true sequel to Sonic & Knuckles.

You wanted that old-school Sonic feel? You've got it!

I had a lot of faith in SEGA for Sonic the Hedgehog 4, but was quite upset that they decided to not only go the episodic route with the game, but also charge $15 an episode. That means that if they ended up releasing four episodes, the full Sonic 4 experience would cost the same as a retail release. I eventually got over it, and found my faith restored when SEGA decided to delay the release of Episode 1, in order to make sure the game was perfect in accordance to early impressions by fans that played the game at E3.

Unfortunately, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 was not everything I had hoped for. In fact, I would say that SEGA’s biggest effect of releasing Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 was to make any Sonic fans that have stuck with the series through the noticeably rougher years question their commitment. I was angered by the game, but felt it worth revisiting to see if it really was all that bad. So, ten months after release, with news of Episode 2 coming soon, I decided to dive back in and see if the feelings I had about my first playthrough of the game held up the second time around.

This looks a lot like a combination of several previous final zones in the series.

Upon starting the game up again, I noticed a definite familiarity. It wasn’t the familiarity of having already played this game before; no, this was the familiarity that SEGA had hoped to convey through the release of this game in the first place. This was the nostalgia factor working in favor of this title. Say what you will about Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1, but you cannot deny the nostalgic feelings that course through your body as Sonic runs through each zone.

The issue that’s an overarching theme with Sonic 4: Episode 1, however, is that it’s too familiar. In fact, nearly every part of Episode 1 feels borrowed from previous titles in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. From the zones, which are all based off of previous zones, to the carbon-copied bosses, to the way each level progresses. There is very little innovation, which says a lot when the title came out sixteen years after its predecessor.

Gee... this looks awfully familiar!

I understand that SEGA really wanted to show fans that it was returning the series to its roots, but to copy and paste levels and bosses from previous games and call it a new game is nothing short of lazy. The bosses are the most egregious offense, as there is no reason that Sonic Team and SEGA couldn’t have come up with all-new bosses to cap off their ripped-from-the-past zones. In fact, not only does each zone end with Sonic fighting a boss from a previous game (albeit with a new power or two), but the “Final Showdown in Space” is nothing more than fighting through each of the bosses that you already fought here (and that you already fought in other games) in rapid succession, then ending with a long, frustrating face-off against an upgraded version of the final boss from Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

As with previous Sonic the Hedgehog titles, there are special stages that you can access each time you finish a level with 50 or more rings. Unfortunately, these too are ripped from the past, as they are only slightly different from the special stages found in the first Sonic the Hedgehog. The only difference is that you control the rotation, rather than controlling Sonic, as he tumbles through the level, trying to reach the powerful gem.

Despite the numerous borrowed themes and designs from previous games in the series, Episode 1 isn’t a complete rip-off of the past. There are some new things added to the title that differentiate the game from the others. The most prominent is the evidence that Sonic Team really went above and beyond to ensure that most levels have multiple paths that can be taken to completion. This branching level design certainly adds replay value, since the games’s overall length only features four zones that consist of three acts and a boss fight each.

Sonic Team also carried the homing attack from 3D Sonic titles to Sonic the Hedgehog 4, which adds a new gameplay mechanic to the mix. There are certainly other ideas that work well thrown into a few acts here and there, such as the mine cart sections in Lost Labyrinth, or the card-flipping bonus game in Casino Street, but they are so fleeting that they don’t really amount to much in the way of innovation.

Though I would argue the biggest issue with Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 is the retreading of old level and boss designs, the gameplay certainly isn’t perfect. Since the first entry in the series, Sonic the Hedgehog has been about momentum; it’s always worked well. For whatever reason, Sonic Team was unable to replicate that system in Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1, and the result is inconsistencies everywhere. Sonic will walk up a 90 degree angle or around a loop, or he’ll bounce off of something and stop suddenly in mid-air. The momentum system is so poor that even the aforementioned homing attack, which could have been a promising new addition, falls flat.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 was certainly an attempt to capture that nostalgic feeling that everyone has been clamoring for over the past decade and a half. Unfortunately, it was billed as an all-new title in the franchise, but is carried primarily on nostalgia.

For newcomers to the 2D Sonic the Hedgehog series, Episode 1 may be worth a playthrough, as it will likely feel fresh. Those gamers are in the minority, and the people who really were rooting for Sonic the Hedgehog 4 to be a success, aka the old-school Sonic fans, will only be left unsatisfied by this effort. Perhaps, in the end, the episodic approach to Sonic the Hedgehog 4 will turn out to be the game’s saving grace, as it will allow Sonic Team and SEGA to fix all of the issues presented in the first release.

Written by Brian Shea  (410 Posts)

Obsessed with music and video games, associate editor Brian Shea has worked for several different rock music and gaming sites over the course his writing career. He contributes such regular features to VGW as “Shea’s Say” and “Essential Gaming." He also co-hosts VGW's "Unlimited Ammo" podcast. Follow him on Twitter for opinions, rants, and an occasional awful joke.