Sonic Colors

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Fast (too fast?), exciting chapter in this hedgehog story.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Sonic Colors is the latest in a very long line of Sonic the Hedgehog games. It's a cartoony action tale that features violence only against robots. The plot does involve a villain kidnapping cute innocent aliens, however. As is typical of Sonic games, the action moves incredibly fast as Sonic zips along, and it can actually be disorienting for some players.

  • In this very cartoony story, good guys are good and bad guys are bad. There's no moral ambiguity. The characters who are kind, helpful, and brave are the ones you're supposed to like and relate with.
  • Sonic is a clear-cut hero, who does what he needs to in order to rescue aliens in need.
  • There are several different control schemes you can choose from. Tilting the Wii remote to steer proves a bit tricky since the game moves at such a fast speed. However, attaching a nunchuk and using its control stick to steer feels like it gives you much more control over the action. Newbies might have trouble with the tutorial system, though: you can receive instructions whenever you hit a big question mark on a course, but if you're not great with steering your high-speed hedgehog, you can easily miss the tutorial points and never get the instructions you need.
  • As Sonic zips along, he performs spin attacks to destroy robot enemies, which sometimes explode. There are also longer boss battles (also against robots) that require repeated attacks.
  • Not applicable.
  • Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the longer running franchises in video game-dom, and has books, cartoons, and toys associated with it.

What's it about?

The evil Dr. Eggman seems to have changed his ways in SONIC COLORS. He's built an intergalactic amusement park to provide fun for the whole galaxy. Sonic the Hedgehog is suspicious, though, and when he visits, he discovers that the park is just a trap to help Eggman take cute little aliens captive. As Sonic races around and saves the aliens, called Wisps, they each provide him with a special power. Depending on the color of the wisp, it may give him an extra speed boost, let him fly, help him stick to walls, or even become indestructible for a brief time.


Is it any good?

 

Sonic Colors feels like one of the better entries in this long-running game series. Sure, those not used to Sonic games can get disoriented by the insane speed at which it plays (heck, even Sonic veterans can be), but that ridiculous pace has always been part of Sonic's appeal. This new game caters to both old-school and new-gen gamers, as it flips back and forth between 3-D and 2-D sidescrolling formats -- often within the same level. The new powers are fun to use when you can manage to snatch them up, and the vibrant worlds full of hidden detours are exciting to re-explore after you've completed them initially. The tutorial system certainly could have been planned out better, but beyond that, this is a solid game.


Explore, discuss, enjoy

  • Families can talk about the fighting action in the game. Sonic only fights robots. Is violence less impactful when it's enacted against non-human characters?

  • Would the game feel different if the bad guys were alien creatures? What if they were humans?


This review of Sonic Colors was written by
Teen, 13 years old
March 8, 2011
 
This game went a notch up from what I was expecting. I'm not a big fan of the sonic fanchise but I gave this game a shot and ended up renting it. One concern I have is of how short it is. I played it over the weekend and finished it in four hours although some of the levels were hard and took me a few tries. The bosses were easier that the level and probably the easiest bosses in a video game. The only violence is when sonic hits a robot or machine it give of a cartoonish explosion. Overall it was just okay for me the cutscenes voice acting and music were all pluses. Yeah I'd say it's worth playing. It's a great game for younger kids. It's filled with both quirky humor and epicness.
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Teen, 16 years old
November 22, 2010
 
Great Sonic game
This Sonic game is the perfect way to start the new generation of Sonic games! The animation is bright and imaginative, the plot, while silly, will have kids laughing, and the gameplay is pretty amazing. Also: no bad camera angles!
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Educator and Parent
May 6, 2011
 
Best 3D Sonic Game; Nightmare Fuel for Adult Players
Sonic Colors is probably the best Sonic game since Sonic 3 & Knuckles. It's not my favorite, but it is the best. It has a wonderful, whimsical, hilarious plot, beautiful scenery, challenging gameplay with a steep but manageable difficulty spike, and a nuanced, subtle look at the Sonic-Tails friendship. I could tell you guys all about the gameplay, the lovely music, the beautiful scenery. You don't care about that. You care about whether it's ok for your kids. If your kids are old enough to understand what is actually happening to the wisps, it will probably frighten them on some level. I think this hits older, adult players harder. Some of the robots are so cartoony that it isn't clear they're not organic, and some of the robots have feelings. I don't think the whole "sonic smash robots, robots are safe targets" thing works for this game. It's just too ambiguous; kids younger than 6 might try to copy Sonic's moves without thinking it through, and older kids might not realize that hitting normal people is not ok, since Orbot and Cubut are both robots and speaking characters. One of the highlights of this game is Sonic and Tails. They banter, and at at least one point they bicker, but in the end their friendship and devotion to each other triumphs over their petty conflict. Yacker, too, proves a loyal friend and a wonderful roll model. The wisps in general are generous and kind, and Sonic is able to blend a sort of complete self-direction as a tourist with saving innocent people without a second thought as a hero. The perfect picture of an American hero in a Japanese game. The theme park itself is actually somewhat educational, satirizing and deconstructing the consumerism in amusement parks. It's really funny and really well-done. The game as a whole also introduces the idea of ulterior motive to very young players. Something you'll want to talk about with them. One big concern I have is that playing with the wiimote and nunchuk can be painful for people with joint problems. If you have any history of wrist or arm injuries, use the Gamecube or Classic controller, please.
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Teen, 14 years old
April 17, 2011
 
A HUGE, HUGE IMPROVEMENT over the past few Sonic games.
I'm a 14 year old Sonic fan. Sonic and the Secret Rings was not too easy to control, but it did try its best to get me into the game. Sonic Unleashed was the worst out of all three failed Sonic games I've played. The plot was extremely stupid for a 14 year old like me. The Werehog? DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED. Sonic and the Black Knight was boring, too. All it was, was the story of King Arthur, with Sonic the Hedgehog plastered all over it. Sonic Colours at least has some replay value to me. The game has improved controls, so I think SEGA's getting ready for the Wii's best technology, and maybe the DS, too. The fact there are helpers in this game that do certain things really makes me happy as all of them have problem-solving abilities that aren't beat-em-up like Sonic the Werecrap. Worth a buy unless your child DOES NOT LIKE SONIC AT ALL.
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Teen, 13 years old
December 19, 2010
 
game beater
i love that game i eat the hole game in 2 days and got super sonic in 1 day

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Teen, 15 years old
November 23, 2010
 
Whether your a kid or hardcore platformer, sonic colors is sure to please. Lets review the games areas: Graphics:A+ Sonic colors shows some of the best graphics youll see on the wii, matched only by Mario. Sound:A+ The soundtrack is great showing modern music technology, plus new voice actors have been hired so tails no longer sounds like justin bieber. Gameplay:A Controls are mostly easy allowing players to use the wii mote, classic and gamecube controllers, plus the nunchuck. Aside from some areas of difficulty with cheap deaths, the levels are great. 2 player mode: A- While sonic colors provides a two player mode it is not the greatest ever made. Because of the speed of both hedgehogs the one screen is not nearly enough and youll keep dying if you go to fast Replay Value: A+ If you play a level for the first time, it might seem very short, but once you unlock more wisps, it gets much better
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Teen, 15 years old
November 23, 2010
 
Fun for kids and platforming veterans alike
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Adult
November 23, 2010
 
8 and up.
Sonic Colors is a perfect game for your young kids to enjoy and parents the only thing you need to worry is the mild cartoon violence in this game but overall there's a little message in this game it's about characters who are kind, helpful, and brave are the ones you're supposed to like and relate with and the role model is that sonic is a clear-cut hero who does what he needs to in order to rescue aliens in need.
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Teen, 13 years old
August 16, 2011
 
Great game!
It's a good game in my perspective. Just manage the amount of jokes in the Wii version! It's a bit too short. This was the best Sonic game since sonic adventure 2! Not much violence, just explosions...

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Kid, 9 years old
December 6, 2010
 
love it. thogh it is a bit hard.
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This review of Sonic Colors was written by
Platforms:Nintendo Wii
Available online?Not available online
Genre:Action/Adventure
Developer:Sega of America
Release date:November 16, 2010
Price:$39.99
ESRB rating:E for Cartoon Violence (Nintendo Wii)

This review of Sonic Colors was written by

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