Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal

1. jojo598

   Nov 11, 2014

   10

   I thought that this game was pretty awesome. The cutscenes were beautifully animated, the game play was fast and fun, all around it was aI thought that this game was pretty awesome. The cutscenes were beautifully animated, the game play was fast and fun, all around it was a fun very solid game.… Expand

   • 9 of 16 users found this helpful
2. Interestingshow

   Dec 4, 2014

   10

   Although the Wii U was good, the 3DS version of the game is so amazing it makes the Wii U version look average. A very awesome speedy,Although the Wii U was good, the 3DS version of the game is so amazing it makes the Wii U version look average. A very awesome speedy, adventurous, and delightful platform game that has raised the standards for the 3DS's potential in my opinion.… Expand

   • 3 of 6 users found this helpful
4. pokebulborb

   Nov 15, 2014

   9

   This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm deleting my previous review on account of some details I missed in it.
   
   Sonic Boom SC is, standalone, a great game with its most prominent flaws either aesthetic or ones that the game sorts out later.
   
   How the camera pans the character is based on the player's horizontal movement in most segments, there's hardly ever a problem with it.
   
   The control is mostly apt. The characters rarely rely on tight platforming and each have access to a double jump, sprint, and homing attack, making any over-carried momentum relatively forgiving, while allowing for quick maneuvers between (and through) obstacles, letting the player tackle levels mostly at any pace allowed until the player reaches certain "choke points" that require either a scripted runway or obstacles that must be tackled with one character.
   
   Don't be fooled by the premise of four characters, most characters are only needed in levels to get past specific types of obstacles, with Sonic destroying blue blocks by dashing through them (this dash can be used multiple times in the air, and handles like some of the better Megaman air dashes), Tails (who can no longer fly and instead uses Knuckle's gliding gimmick, with better control and the ability to float downward with no horizontal momentum) riding air currents, Sticks using her boomerang to push remote buttons to retract spinning spike pillars, and Knuckles burrowing through certain patches of ground. Once you get past these obstacles, you can (with great ease at the push of a button) get back to the character you feel most comfortable playing as.
   
   The enemies are what you'd expect from a modern Sonic title, as they come in two main varieties: those that fire lasers, and those that exist only to serve as a foothold for the player. Occasionally, some require the usage of "Enerbeam" (a new feature to the Boom universe, a grapple-like beam of.. energy) to remove shields before they can be destroyed, but most of the time these enemies can be ignored.
   
   The levels are where this game shines the most, existing mostly in three types.
   *Your standard level, where speed can be maintained (especially in the later stages), but the primary factor that went into their design is exploration, with items scattered across multiple pathways and level maps (traversed by areas that can be crossed by the usage of, you guessed it, Enerbeam). The level themes aren't as varied (you go through a couple industrial and jungle themed levels) expansive enough to take the player anywhere between five to twelve minutes, depending on how skilled the player is at keeping their momentum and how invested the player is on the current visit's exploration.
   *Worm Tunnels, high-speed Sonic-only segments that require the player to shift between lanes along a tube that plays like some modern Sonic titles.
   *Races, which replace most boss battles (except for 1) reminiscent of the 3DS Generations' and the Rivals subseries races.
   
   The music could either be a problem or a bonus, depending on your perspective. If you know of the debate verses the US or JP/EU Sonic CD tracks, you'll know right away what I mean by this. The music seems to be made with the environment and atmosphere first and quality as standalone tracks second. While some of the tracks in this game fulfill both of these purposes (Robot Facility 2 for example), certain tracks (Ancient City 2, for example) don't differ much from background music that you would find in cinema. You got your action scenes, your stealth scenes, your "typical."
   
   The main elephants in the room when talking about Boom are: the humor and the character designs. Honestly though, the only bad part of the character designs (to me at least) is the aversion of the 'cheeky mouth' trope, since it causes certain characters to have awkward facial expressions at time (Knuckles reminds me of a baby given his cheeks in his 'level complete' pose).
   The comedy on the other hand is passable. At its worst points, the game uses the jokes to carry the constant light atmosphere of the game. The game knows that at any given moment multiple characters can be used in a cutscene, and the game uses this to shift the role of the straight man between characters at an alarming rate. Amy one moment could be joking about turning Lyric into boots and the next listen to Sticks ramble on about how the group failed to take down Lyric ("as a team").
   
   The story is lighthearted. In a nutshell, the team travels around searching for clues in order to find Amy, whose been abducted by Lyric. Lyric wants to use Amy to find the location of a crystal that will give Lyric omnipotence, but Amy manages to keep Lyric away from the information long enough for the team to rescue her. Don't think too much into it, it's not meant to be an epic. A beautiful Archie comic is available in-game to make sense of the premise of the story.
   
   Overall, not a hardcore game by any means, but the game knows this, and Sanzaru would rather focus on giving the player a fun time.… Expand

   • 4 of 7 users found this helpful
5. okami123

   Jun 9, 2015

   7

   Sonic Boom Shattered Crystal was fun for the most part but, it those have many flaws like the game forcing you to go back and collect moreSonic Boom Shattered Crystal was fun for the most part but, it those have many flaws like the game forcing you to go back and collect more crystal shards in order to proceed through the game. Shattered crystal is also very short taking only 3 or 4 days to get through. Sonic boom Shattered crystal isn't all bad the puzzles and the platforming are very enjoyable and getting to use some of the other characters instead of just Sonic is a nice change of pace. overall how I feel about Shattered crystal is neutral it's not a bad game and its not the best game in the franchise if your thinking about buying this id say there's better Sonic games out there but, don't let how I feel about this game disrupt your decision.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
6. Flutterflybear

   Nov 17, 2014

   7

   This does feels more like a Sonic The Hedgehog game!:D
   The other Sonic Boom Rise of Lyric while still a good game, just feels more rush, andThis does feels more like a Sonic The Hedgehog game!:D
   The other Sonic Boom Rise of Lyric while still a good game, just feels more rush, and incomplete.:(… Expand

   • 3 of 5 users found this helpful
7. MissedTheArk

   Dec 17, 2014

   6

   I actually really liked this game, but the reason I didn't rate it higher is that it feels… unfinished? Not simply that it's too short (whichI actually really liked this game, but the reason I didn't rate it higher is that it feels… unfinished? Not simply that it's too short (which is it), but there are certain classic Sonic game elements that aren’t there, which I quite missed.
   
   First off, THE GOOD:
   
   The visuals are gorgeous. Great detail to the artwork, and no framerate issues (not that *I* encountered, anyway). One level has bright lava in the background, and the characters are backlit. Pretty cool.
   
   After what I felt was the very disappointing Sonic Lost World for the 3DS, I love that this game returns to 2D platforming as the main component of the gameplay. The levels are quite expansive and encourage a lot of exploration… which I do understand is a negative for many who’ve reviewed the game, but which I quite appreciated. There IS encouragement to replay levels within a certain amount of time (though it’s not required), so finding ways to get through them quickly – WITHOUT exploring – can satisfy to some extent the desire for speed.
   
   The music, while not necessarily memorable, fits the mood of each level well and I always made a point to turn up the volume.
   
   But now, THE NOT-AS-GOOD:
   
   As I said, it feels like certain things are just missing from the game. For instance, aside from the very last level, there are no boss battles at all. There are a few race levels where you’re dashing to beat other characters to the finish line, but I didn’t feel like those filled the desire for true boss battles that test your skills and make you sweat a bit and let you really earn the right to advance to the next world.
   
   Speaking of worlds: out of six worlds (or islands, I suppose), FOUR have only a single main level each (race and bonus levels aside). I incorrectly expected each island to have at least two (as is the case for a number of my favorite Sonic games, with two acts per zone). So, only eight main levels total in the whole game.
   
   I miss Sonic’s classic spin dash. While it’s kind of an option as one of the controls, the game is set up such that, honestly, you’ll never use it.
   
   Ha, I miss Eggman (nee Robotnik). ;)
   
   There’s a new gameplay element – the “enerbeam” – which serves primarily as a grappling hook to swing from place to place. That’s a fun element to throw into the mix, but I feel that the enerbeam device as a whole could have been made to serve multiple purposes and effects. (Okay, I guess there ARE 1 or 2 more ways it’s used, but they’re rather inconsequential.)
   
   The cutscenes “humor” is awful. Sorry, writers… good try. :)
   
   And whether you finish the game after having collected all the shattered crystal shards or not, the ending is the same. There’s no added bonus level or battle if you collect all the pieces (as there sometimes is when you, for instance, collect all the chaos emeralds). Even a slightly altered epilogue would have been appreciated.
   
   SO, TO SUM UP: When I completed the game, I just felt like there should have been more to it… but, the game that IS there is still pretty fun. Fun enough to warrant a 6 out of 10, anyway.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
8. Metaisaac

   Sep 1, 2018

   1

   What can i say it is just like sonic boom on the wii u but 2% better and that is a bad thing! Wait it is the same but with no bug or gitchs!What can i say it is just like sonic boom on the wii u but 2% better and that is a bad thing! Wait it is the same but with no bug or gitchs! This game is boring as heck… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful

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