Expi Feliton's Corner

  NOTE: This review is part of a retrospective of the Sonic franchise. Feel free to read the other Sonic reviews I’ve done here - https://expithecat.blogspot.com/search/label/sonic%20retrospective Last October, I reviewed Sonic Generations, which I considered my favorite Sonic game. A little before that, I reviewed Sonic Colors, which I stated was in my Top 3. So, you know my #1 and #3 choices, but what’s my #2? SegaSonic Popcorn Shop, obviously. Background and History In 2015, Sonic Team sort of commissioned the development of an entirely new 2D Sonic game from Christian Whitehead, the same developer who helped create the 2011 port of Sonic CD as well as the mobile ports of Sonic 1 and 2 (the same ones that would be used in Sonic Origins).  Whitehead developed a prototype over the span of a few months, which got approval from Takashi Iizuka, who also suggested to “remix” some of the classic level themes and coined the name of “Sonic Mania” which ended up sticking.  The g...

  NOTE: This review is part of a retrospective of the Sonic franchise. Feel free to read the other Sonic reviews I’ve done here - https://expithecat.blogspot.com/search/label/sonic%20retrospective What do you get when you mix fire with ice? Water, that’s what. Background and History Sonic Boom: Fire and Ice was announced as a follow-up to Shattered Crystal on June 9, 2015. With Shattered Crystal generally faring better than Rise of Lyric, it was decided that Sanzaru Games would take the helm of the next Sonic Boom title and that they would target the 3DS.  However, with Shattered Crystal still getting a fairly mediocre reception, Sanzaru Games would identify the feedback and improve aspects of it that were criticized - particularly with the level design being so long and exploration-focused which tended to turn off even older Sonic fans and made the game harder to get into. Levels would still carry elements of exploration, but were more designed to be fast-paced and have a gre...

  NOTE: This review is part of a retrospective of the Sonic franchise. Feel free to read the other Sonic reviews I’ve done here - https://expithecat.blogspot.com/search/label/sonic%20retrospective Well, I reviewed the first (and most infamous) of the Sonic Boom games, but I still have two more to go. Now onto the 3DS games! Background and History I already shared the story of the Sonic Boom sub-franchise in my Rise of Lyric review, and I couldn’t really find anything too interesting to add as far as Shattered Crystal’s development goes. Obviously this was the 3DS’ equivalent of the Wii U game, however this game was developed by Sanzaru Games as opposed to Big Red Button, but still with supervision from Sonic Team. Once again this game drifted away from the main series continuity, and compared to the Wii U game holds its own story, gameplay, and even aesthetic in terms of the environments and enemies. Whereas Rise of Lyric was pretty much unanimously slammed by critics and fans alik...

  NOTE: This review is… KIND OF part of a retrospective of the Sonic franchise. Feel free to read the other Sonic reviews I’ve done here - https://expithecat.blogspot.com/search/label/sonic%20retrospective Since I reviewed Sonic Colors Ultimate after that came out, I figured I might as well review the most recent Sonic remaster - Sonic Origins! Like Sonic Colors Ultimate, I won’t be reviewing the games that are a part of this collection themselves, since I already have made reviews of the classic games. This will be a review of Sonic Origins as a collection and remaster, and what it does to bring the classic games to new systems in a new light. Sonic Origins was originally announced as part of the May 2021 Sonic Central showcase - the same one where they announced Sonic Colors Ultimate and teased what would become Sonic Frontiers. There wasn’t a whole lot said about it, but the ports of Sonic 1, 2 and CD would be based off their Christian Whitehead remasters from 2011-2013, and Son...