Sonic Rush
Sonic Rush is a Sonic the Hedgehog game for the Nintendo DS. It was developed by Dimps, and published by Sega. The game was released worldwide in November, 2005.
Sonic Rush is a traditional 2D platformer much like the original 8/16-bit versions and Game Boy Advance titles in the series. However, the main characters, as well as the bosses, are fully polygonal as opposed to use of sprites as all 2D Sonic games had previously used. Stages are sidescrolling. The two DS screens are used to double the display of the play area, joined seamlessly at the bottom of the top screen and top of the bottom screen. The characters will generally be displayed in the center of one screen, only to run, fall or jump into the other screen, making full use of both screens. A different perspective is used during boss battles as they are in 3D.
The DS stylus touch-screen functionality is mostly used in the game's special stages, and can also be used for making selections within the game's menus. Also, if the player taps on Sonic/Blaze while the character is on the touch screen, that character will do an action.
Story
The story involves Sonic trying to keep the Chaos Emeralds from Eggman Nega, while Blaze is trying to get her own world's Sol Emeralds from Dr. Eggman to keep both worlds from being destroyed.
Characters
There are two playable characters: the titular character, Sonic, and a new face, Blaze the Cat. Blaze has the ability to hover and make use of fire created from her own hands (but the fire is purely for decoration). Both characters have mostly separate adventures (the levels are the same, but in very different orders), but as each character's story progresses, they occasionally bump into each other, and end up working together in the final story.
Tails and Cream the Rabbit show up in cutscenes and cheer the player on during bosses; Sonic has Tails tag along, while Blaze is followed by Cream. Knuckles, Vanilla and Amy all make small appearances in cutscenes and non-speaking roles.
Gameplay
Sonic Rush builds on the trick system introduced in Sonic Advance 2 adding a point combo system to it and a grade system, both of which had been introduced into the Sonic series in Sonic Adventure 2. Also added to the game is a "Tension Gauge" which can be filled by using tricks and defeating enemies. The energy can be used to perform an extremely fast dash (which can defeat enemies as well), and in accessing the Special Stages (only as Sonic) via the spinning generators.
The special stage in Sonic Rush is reminiscent of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which sees the player running through a half-pipe, grabbing as many rings as possible to meet the required amount. The various obstacles make each special stage a little tougher than the last, with the seventh special stage being the most difficult. This is also where the touch screen comes into play as instead of the direction pad being used, you use the stylus or your finger to move along the left or right to guide Sonic in the that direction. Also, there are enemies to destroy by tapping on them or you could end up losing rings.
There are also special bumpers which bounce Sonic high into the air, giving him enough height to do some tricks. As fast as you can, you need to tap the numbers in the right order to win bonus rings for you only have a few seconds to activate all of the numbers. The faster you activate all of the numbers the more rings you win, but if you take too long or you activate the wrong number in order, the trick is failed and you get no rings. For the harder special stages later in the game, activating the numbers with strokes of the stylus seems to be much faster than tapping them, because not only will the amount of numbers to click increase in the later Special Stages, but the time given to activate the numbers will also decrease. However, often times the numbers do not appear in the order necessary to implement a stroking maneuver, making this technique all but useless. There are 7 of the stages, one for each of the levels, and can only be accessed by Sonic, as Blaze collects the Sol Emeralds after each boss battle.
Multiplayer
Sonic Rush uses single card and multi-card wireless play; there is also an option within the game to send demos to your friends. The multiplayer mode in Sonic Rush features a race between Sonic and Blaze in one of the many levels in the game, much akin to that of the multiplayer mode in the Sonic Advance series; the biggest difference is that now on DS, even if you're playing with DS owners without the game, you can race on the levels in-game rather than a download only course. More multiplayer only power-ups have also been added.
Playable Languages
An addition to Sonic Rush enables the game to be played in multiple text languages. If the user changes the language settings on his/her Nintendo DS, all menus and text will show up in the language the DS has been set to. The speech, however, will remain the same.
Music
The music is atypical for the Sonic series, incorporating more overt funk and hip hop influences. The soundtrack was composed by acclaimed Sega composer Hideki Naganuma. Sonic Rush's use of rails, stunts and cell shading recalls an earlier Naganuma project, Jet Set Radio.
Other notable soundtracks by or involving Hideki Naganuma include the Ollie King and Jet Set Radio OSTs.
Notable, too, is the theme from the Smooth Sherbet stage in Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz, which bears a striking resemblance to "Raisin Me Up" from the game's soundtrack; the stage's theme was, most likely, a newly-done remix of it.
Zones
- Leaf Storm
- A classic forest based level with many corkscrews and vines that rotates the character around and leads them into a spring. At the end, Eggman appears in a long multi-jointed mecha similar to the Egg Viper from Sonic Adventure that will try to crush the player. Eggman can be beaten by jumping on the cockpit after it tries to crush the character.
- Water Palace
- A large palace partially submerged in water, similar to Ocean Palace in Sonic Heroes, with giant fans that must be boosted into to be sent upwards. Eggman Nega has a large plesiosaur that can crush and bite the player, but can be beaten by jumping on its head.
- Mirage Road
- A level modeled after Ancient Egypt. At the end of Act 2, Sonic will enter a fight rather like Final Fight and be able to move up and down. In addition, certain rooms will seal the character in, only to be opened again when all enemies are defeated. Eggman Nega will attack with a scarab beetle robot and toss balls with retractable spikes at you. Hit the ball while the spikes are down and, if it hits the boss from behind, the ball will smash against the boss. (If it hits the boss from the front, the boss will merely catch the ball without taking damage.)
- Night Carnival
- This zone is closely inspired by its predecessor, the Carnival Night Zone of Sonic 3 (even the name is similar), and features balloons, fireworks, and bright neon signs. Certain rails and platforms must be activated via switches, and only remain usable by the player for a small period of time. Eggman Nega will attack with a mecha that looks like a carnival ride, consisting of a cockpit and an electric ball on opposing sides, and a central pivot which rotates and teeters the cabins up and down. Can be beaten by hitting the ball while it's not electrically charged to lower the cockpit, and then by jumping on it. There is also a mechanical turtle that can help the player jump higher to hit the cockpit, but will make you take damage if it runs into you. This boss can crush and electrocute the player.
- Huge Crisis
- A large battleship-themed level that resembles Ocean Base from Sonic Advance 3, albeit a bit less vertical in design. There are cranes to ride on and large tunnels to be shot through. It also appears to have GUN mechs scattered throughout the level. Eggman Nega will attack with a revamped version of the Leaf Storm boss, that also fires missile shells at the player and can keep slamming itself onto the platform for a couple seconds.
- Altitude Limit
- A giant highway literally levitating in the sky. The levels are mostly made up of grinding rails. There are also sections where the player must fly in a hang glider. Eggman Nega will attack with a flying mecha that can shoot bullets and blow the player off the stage. If one gets hit by his slam attacks, one is stunned for a bit. If one is blown off, it is a one-hit KO. Players must tap A and B in order to run towards the boss and not be blown off.
- Dead Line
- A giant space station with altering gravity, very much like Egg Utopia from Sonic Advance 2. At the end of the zone, rather than fighting Eggman or Eggman Nega, one must fight against either Sonic or Blaze, depending on which character one selected with Eggman/Eggman Nega watching from behind the platform.
- Unknown
- Unknown is the name of this zone. It is a platform on a spaceship escaping from Dead Line and reentering Earth's atmosphere, and it consists just one boss battle. This time Eggman Nega pilots a large humanoid mecha that can attack with crushing fists, electricity, and a laser beam that leaves a trail of explosions. When he makes a hit as he tries to smash the player with both fists at once, the player will instantly lose a life, even with rings. Beat him by climbing the arm and jumping on its head. Note: Nega will always reward a player that dodges his attacks by putting himself in a vulnerable position, one of few bosses in Sonic history that does this.
- Exception
- Unlocked by beating the game once with each of the characters and collecting all Chaos Emeralds (in Sonic's story of Gameplay Mode). The player fights in space, similar to "The Doomsday Zone" from Sonic & Knuckles and "Finalhazard" from Sonic Adventure 2, taking turns between controlling Super Sonic and Burning Blaze. Super Sonic would damage the mech by dashing into projectile attacks and hitting them at the cockpit. Burning Blaze would damage the mech by hurling a large fireball at the cockpit.
Zone Order
| Sonic | Blaze |
|---|---|
| Zone 1: Leaf Storm | Zone 1: Night Carnival |
| Zone 2: Water Palace | Zone 2: Leaf Storm |
| Zone 3: Mirage Road | Zone 3: Mirage Road |
| Zone 4: Night Carnival | Zone 4: Water Palace |
| Zone 5: Huge Crisis | Zone 5: Altitude Limit |
| Zone 6: Altitude Limit | Zone 6: Huge Crisis |
| Zone 7: Dead Line | Zone 7: Dead Line |
| Final Zone: Unknown | Final Zone: Unknown |
Reaction
Reviews by both critics and players were positive overall, praised for returning to the franchise's roots, its limited use of characters (contrast with the mascot laden Sonic Heroes and Sonic Adventure) and its highly acclaimed soundtrack. Critical sticking points include the poorly designed and protracted boss fights, and the game's use of mascot characters to occupy the lower screen during battles.
The game was awarded the IGN Editors' Choice Award[1], a Silver Award from EGM, and the Official Nintendo Magazine Gold Award.
Cast
| Voice Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Jason Griffith | Sonic the Hedgehog |
| Bella Hudson | Blaze the Cat |
| Mike Pollock | Dr. Eggman / Eggman Nega |
| Amy Palant | Miles "Tails" Prower |
| Rebecca Honig | Cream the Rabbit |
Trivia
- Sonic Rush was given a loose adaptation in issues 160 & 161 of Archie Comics Sonic The Hedgehog comic book series
- The headshot of Sonic's pose in this game is seen in "Amy's Room" in Sonic Battle.
- The English version of the game wrongly calls Blaze's voice actor Berra Hudson, instead of Bella Hudson.
- Several references are made in the English localisation to a "crisis" — possibly a reference to Crisis on Infinite Earths, which involved worlds colliding.
- In early trailers of the game from E3 2005, Ryan Drummond's (Sonic's English voice from Sonic Adventure up to Heroes) voice was used for Sonic. In the final game, Jason Griffith's voice is used, due to Sega's decision to use the Sonic X voice actors employed by 4Kids for all Sonic games following Heroes. Alternative music is also used in the E3 trailer.
- On the touch screen during gameplay as Sonic or Blaze, you can "touch" them to get a different reaction from both of the characters. The mechanic is a throwback to the 16-bit days of not touching the controller and watching Sonic tapping his foot and glaring at the player.
- A portion of gamers may believe or think this game is set some time after Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) thus explaining how Blaze got to the alternate dimension. However, given the unclear and somewhat contradictory nature of Sonic Rush's relationship with Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), more fans tend to believe that Blaze's change of origin from alternate dimension to future timeline (respectively) is merely a retcon and messy plot hole.
References
External links
- Sonic Rush official site (with gameplay movie)
- GameSpot's Sonic Rush E3 2005 hands-on preview
- Template:Nintendo.com
- Official Sonic Rush Site from SEGA Japan's Sonic Channel.
- Sonic Rush at MobyGames