Sonic’s Fall From Grace

Sega released Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis in 2006, which was two years after the release of the Nintendo DS. It was supposed to be a handheld port of the first game for Sonic’s 15th anniversary.

It would have made more sense to just port the game to the Nintendo DS because it’s obviously a little more powerful than the GBA. Still, the GBA was perfectly capable of running 16-bit games. After all, the Sonic Advance games were pretty good!

The unfortunate reality is that Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis doesn’t run well at all. Sonic is all about being fast, but the Game Boy Advance can’t seem to keep up with blue blur.

The game suffers from significant slow downs. One second you’ll be going fast, and the next second you’ll be slowed to crawl.

Ironically, these problems are exacerbated when you run through loops or grab an invincibility powerup, which is when you’re supposed to be speeding through the level.

Less Than Lightning Fast

You’ll also run into more issues when there are more sprites and effects on the screen, especially enemy explosions.

These performance issues completely ruin the entire point of Sonic. It’s impossible to go fast because the game physically won’t let you.

In fact, it seems like physics engine isn’t even a faithful copy of the original. At times, it seems like jumps are harder to make and secret areas are harder to reach.

However, these issues might also be the result of the aforementioned frame rate issues. It’s hard to tell because this game is just that butchered.

Sounded Better on Genesis

Even the music is completely ruined. I’m a big fan of the original music, but the GBA versions just don’t do it justice. The music sounds more ear-piercing and tinny.

So what’s good about this game? Thankfully, the sprites haven’t been modified that much, if at all. The game actually looks great at first glance. You’d never be able to tell this is a bad port by the screenshots alone, but the problems start as soon as you start playing.

Additionally, this port includes a game mode where you can charge Sonic’s spin dash, which wasn’t added until the second game. It’s a nice addition, but even with the spin dash, you’re still better off playing the original.

I don’t blame Sega for wanting to re-release a classic game, and I’d even understand some minor issues. However, there’s no way to defend this port.

If Sega wanted to re-release Sonic The Hedgehog for Sonic’s 15th anniversary, they could have simply made a better port for the Nintendo DS. Instead, Sonic’s legacy is stained with this terrible port.

The post Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis (GBA) Was the Worst Retro Game Port Ever [Review] appeared first on GameTomatoes.

Go look it up on the google play store or itunes, and load it up – or check out our full gameplay video below (we beat the game if you get stuck, you can cheat and watch, it’s ok.)

GT Plays: Traal – A Retro 2D Horror Puzzle Game For Android (How To Beat Full Game)

Can you survive this pixel dungeon crawler?

In this game fear is your enemy, a mysterious dungeon full of spikes and creepy grotesque nightmarish monsters await you! The gameplay here is pretty innovative, you basically guide your hero with your finger – wherever you drag your hero looks. If you look at a monster, you are in for a scare – so beware! Your hero is scared of everything, monsters mostly scare you into spikes so watch out – you have to navigate this dungeon without SEEING anything (or being seen). Don’t worry though, towards the end you can get a blindfold – that helps a ton! The main objective (other than don’t die) is to find and collect all of the scrolls (12 in all) and once you do you head towards the exit!

This game was originally created in a 48 hour coding competition, so that’s pretty sweet! We’ll give it a break for being a little short under those circumstances. Also, this was originally released as a flash game which you can play yourself online in the browser without downloading anything! It plays pretty much the same but the difficulty of using your finger with touch on your smartphone really adds to the challenge (or frustration).

Design

We love the design, but we are suckers for any 8-bit games, especially new ones on the phone! The colors lend themselves well to the creepy theme Traal is going for – not too much and just enough – almost gives you sort of a Gameboy feel with all the dark green.

Gameplay

While some find it frustrating and hard to control – we really feel it was executed perfectly for the situation, adds just the right amount of challenge and frustration. Traal strikes a good balance and holds our attention with clever puzzles and new paradigms as the game progresses.

Replay Value

Ehhh, once you play it, you are pretty much done – but hopefully the backstory we have given you, and the experience you get playing through it the first time is enough to keep this one in your memories (good ones, not scary ones). If this one wasn’t for you, you can always play some scary horror games here.

Conclusion

For what it is, it’s free, and it’s a fun retro dungeon stealth-em-up crawler to bring back the memories – and if you like creepy salad fingers type stuff, then this is for you.

Give it a try and let us know what you think! If you are patient and steady handed enough you may just escape!

The post Review: Traal – A Retro 2D Horror / Puzzle Game appeared first on GameTomatoes.