Sonic Superstars has shaped up to be a Sonic game that is reminiscent of the Genesis days yet futureproofed for newer players to enjoy. It’s in no way a perfect Sonic game, but it’s a fantastic reinvigoration of some of the best facets of the Sonic series thus far.
SEGA has listened, folks. After years of wishing, wanting, and hoping for a new (yes, brand new!) Sonic the Hedgehog title that sticks true to its 2D roots, I am pleased to inform you that Sonic Superstars is the real doggone deal. It’s so real, I could cry.
Okay. Maybe I’m being dramatic. What else is new?
Sonic Superstars surprised me. It delighted me. It delivered on the original Sonic feel without compromising too much of the original jankiness, platforming unfairness, and other gameplay mechanics that us older players have selectively forgotten as we’ve thought back to the “good days of gaming” on Saturday mornings with our Sega Genesis-es. My excitement aside, I want to heavily emphasize that Sonic Superstars is in no way perfect, nor will it do everything that original Sonic fans are expecting. It makes incredibly bold moves in redefining mechanics we’ve overlooked while returning to the play as you want style of arcade platforming.
Without further ado, let’s get to the review.
Sonic games involve journeys of building momentum. These are typically expressed in the “gotta’ go fast” mode of literally making Sonic go fast over hills, through loop-de-loops, and jettison upwards upon touching a springboard. In older games, I would go faster than the screen could track me thanks to knowing the ins and outs of Chemical Plant Zone. I knew the levels like the back of my hand thanks to them being so dang replayable. Regardless, Sonic typically excels in going faster and faster, training players to identify optimal routes in each level to ensure that high speeds are maintained. Sonic Superstars returns to that method of momentum, with one drawback.
It took me a short while to get used to this game. Sonic Superstars has a certain stickiness to it that’s hard to explain but makes sense in the hands of a player expecting the slippery floaty-ness of older Sonic games. I’ve become used to Sonic being slippery and speedy in prior games – this is not what Superstars creates. On the flip side, moving feels much more meaningful. I had to press and hold a direction to actually build the momentum I need to clear a hill or through a loop. This movement shift is definitely going to be surprising to older players who expect less input to reach higher speeds. For newer players, the movement is much more approachable and forgiving than other Sonic titles – save for Sonic Mania. After completing the game, I feel like this stickiness is probably for the best because of how the older, more slippery, movement required players to be much more precise in timing jumps.
In my review for Sonic Origins Plus, I praised SEGA for finally adding Amy to the playable cast of characters. Sonic Superstars takes it up a notch by letting players freely (yes, freely) swap between using Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy. These characters have characteristics, too: Sonic is the same hedgehog we’ve become accustomed to all of these years. Tails can fly/hover and can defeat enemies mid-flight. This is a massive departure from previous games where coming into contact with an enemy relieves Tails of the rings he’s collected. Knuckles can glide through the air and scale walls. Amy? She can double jump and her hammer broadens her character sprite so that it’s easier to attack enemies. If you’re wondering – playing as Amy is playing on Easy Mode, but that’s not a bad thing.
In true Sonic fashion, Superstars’ levels are gigantic. No – they’re behemoth. Levels take upwards of five minutes to complete not because they’re full of boring and copied/pasted loops but because they contain a multitude of branching paths that make each level attempt relatively unique. I can confidently say that you can replay these levels at least four times and still find new branching paths in between points A and B. Not all of them add mechanics, mind you, but they encourage the player to constantly explore and optimize their paths to find the best and fastest way to complete the level.
I loved the levels, but I’ll admit that they don’t foster the same degree of replayability and ease of memorization that prior Sonic games fostered. Of course, the levels felt like they were doing much more and were more immersive. Enemies hid behind bushes, pinball elements emerged in multiple fashions, and walls/ceilings regularly crumbled and reshaped themselves to create new pathways. Levels felt…alive. I wouldn’t have been able to sense that liveliness if the levels weren’t as vivid as they were. No spoilers, but one level truly surprised me and caused me to audibly say “holy s***” because of how it defied my expectations and creatively utilized the 2D plane in a way that very few platformers have utilized before.
Remember how I said that Sonic Superstars felt sort of sticky? That stickiness, and in turn slight slowness, came at the expense of levels having far higher graphical fidelity. At least, that’s what I’ve told myself. Superstars’ levels are quite vivid, perhaps more vivid than ever before. Players can jump further back into the level and access distant platforms, making levels look and feel closer to 2.5D rather than strictly 2D. Transitioning to these segments is seamless and maintains momentum, too. This creates a really cool effect of Sonic moving forward and backward at the same speed he’s going forward without compromising on being unable to see hazards and other enemies that stand in the player’s way. It’s a blessing, really, because there’s already quite a bit happening in the levels as it stands. Yet, these visual effects rarely obstruct me from proceeding or unfairly punish me for making a split-second jump.
Sonic Superstars adheres to the progression method of the two-level-per-act system, barring some notable exceptions. Each level introduces a new biome, slightly new enemies, and a variety of new mechanics for the player to overcome to ensure their momentum. The key difference is that Superstars adds levels that are specially created for each of the cast members. Amy’s unique level involves fruit that ricochet off walls when she bounces into them. Knuckles’ level encourages players to regularly climb walls. Tails’ level encourages players to fully float as much as possible. Some may call these gimmicks; I call this a proper utilization of characters’ powers that have since been unrecognized in the platforming space. Superstars gives each of these characters their moments to shine, and I love it.
For the first time, Chaos Emeralds mean something other than Super Sonic. For those of you at home, chaos emeralds have been constantly utilized as Sonic’s optional objectives upon completion of a minigame. Collect ‘em all and you can turn into Super Sonic – a Sonic on steroids who can fly and is impervious to damage. Not in Superstars! The major departure of Superstars is its implementation of making the Emeralds grant Sonic and co. special powers that drastically change how the game typically functions. You can slow down time, turn into a bullet and go in any given direction, all the way to creating an army of clones that very quickly clears rooms full of enemies.
I’m going to make a very controversial statement: I love the powers of the Chaos Emeralds. I do. It took quite a while for me to figure out how to use them, but once I figured out their uses I garnered a newfound appreciation for Superstars’ behemoth levels. I was able to truly explore the levels. Each level features small indicators that explicitly tells the player to try using one of the powers at certain points, assuming the power’s been unlocked.
Getting those Chaos Emeralds on the other hand…Oof. Again, I’m being dramatic when I use “oof,” but you’ll probably get mildly frustrated with the minigame attached to the Emerald acquisition process. Hidden throughout Superstars’ levels are gigantic rings that teleport you to a Spiderman-esque minigame where you chase a floating Chaos Emerald by aiming at blue balls to literally swing through the air. Oh yeah, these minigames are timed. The first few Emeralds’ minigames are easy peasy – there’s tons of rings that can extend your time and very little obstacles in your way. Once you reach the fourth Emerald, gigantic crystals obstruct the level; hitting the crystal shaves several seconds off your remaining time. If you time out, you’re taken back to the previous level and you must try again in a later level.
Here’s the thing, though: You don’t need to acquire any Chaos Emeralds to complete, or even enjoy, the game. Sonic Superstars stands quite well on its own two feet without the powers granted to the player. You can literally get to the end of the game with very little trouble by just pressing right on your D-pad. The Chaos Emeralds enhance your playthrough and give you reasons to explore levels to their fullest extent. I don’t want these Emeralds to be a requirement in future games, but at the same time, they give the player so much cool utility to use at their own discretion. I want this to come back in future Sonic games because it rewards the player for creatively utilizing each tool at their disposal to explore each gigantic level. Keep these powers optional, SEGA.
In case you didn’t know, Sonic Superstars also features a four-player co-op mode. It’s not something I would have expected from a title like this, but at the same time, it’s also not something I’m opposed to. I wasn’t able to test this mode to the fullest extent, but I wasn’t too keen on playing some levels in a multiplayer setting because of some of their platforming segments being slightly more difficult and less conducive for multiplayer settings. I’m not criticizing SEGA for the inclusion of this mode, but…I’m left wondering if this mode has yet to be fully realized to the best extent.
For those of you looking for a multiplayer competitive experience…there’s a multiplayer battle mode. This mode feels the least fleshed out and quite honestly least interesting compared to the rest of the game. You can create a mecha avatar using the coins you’ve acquired in the single-player mode and then use the avatar to participate in a Fall Guys-esque battle royale situation of minigames. There’s a survive game, a race, and then a star-collecting minigame. Nothing too deep or worth replaying at this time, but honestly – I’m not interested in these modes. I can understand that there may be a desire to boost reliability, but that can be done in other ways such as weekly leaderboards for the already fully fleshed out single-player (and co-op!) mode.
Finally, let’s talk about the music. I know that multiple Sonic fans often return to Sonic 2 and 3’s phenomenal soundtracks because of how catchy yet fun they are. To this day, Hydrocity, Oil Ocean, Marble Garden, and Chemical Plant Zones’ songs are stuck in my brain. Suparstars’ songs are just nearly there – they’re so close to perfectly composed. What they lack in immediate earwormy-ness they quickly make up for in clicking with all of the nostalgic good sounds we’re used to hearing. Mad props to Takahiro Kai, Tee Lopes, Hidenori Shoji, and Rintaro Soma for creating a great soundtrack.
Let’s face it, there will be a good number of original Sonic fans who may balk at some of the changes to the tried-and-true Sonic formula. Some may find issue with the 3D-sprites, whereas others may find issue with the powers. Some might find issue with music. Let’s face it: It’s 2023. Sonic is over 30 years old as of time of writing. Much of the nostalgia we have for the games also include some of the frustrating aspects of gaming, like nonsense underwater levels, one-hit deaths, and a restrict number of lives. Gaming is slightly more forgiving these days, but it’s also for more folks than ever before. Sonic Superstars hits that sweet spot of appealing to multiple audiences quite well.
Sonic Superstars has shaped up to be a Sonic game that is reminiscent of the Genesis days yet futureproofed for newer players to enjoy. It’s in no way a perfect Sonic game, but it’s a fantastic reinvigoration of some of the best facets of the Sonic series thus far.
