There hasn’t really been a very good Sonic the Hedgehog game in the past 10 years or so. Sonic Generations and Sonic 4 almost got it, but they weren’t quite there.  So if you miss the classic 2-D Sonic games of old, you’re in luck.  There’s a new game in town that plays like those classics, and it’s not even made by Sonic Team or SEGA!  The game is Freedom Planet, and it’s a fast-action 2-D platformer with lots of loops and thrills and awesome bosses!  It was a hit last year on Steam, and now you can download it on the Wii U as well.  It’s a perfect fit on the Wii U system, and that’s the console I played it on for this review.

Similar to 2-D Sonic games, you’ll run through levels with lots of loops and corkscrews and robotic enemies, and battle a boss at the end of each stage. But it doesn’t play EXACTLY like a Sonic game from the Genesis days, as it has some elements from Treasure titles from the 32-bit era, too.  Like Silhouette Mirage on the PSOne, and Mischief Makers on the N64.  Some parts also reminded me of Gunstar Heroes and Ristar on the Genesis.  So if you liked any of those games, you’ll enjoy Freedom Planet as well.

You can play as three different characters. Lilac, Carol, and Millia.  Lilac is a dragon, but she really looks more like a lavender Sonic the Hedgehog.  She plays most like Sonic, too.  She has slash and uppercut attacks, and can do a cyclone jump that acts as a double jump and an attack.  When a meter is full, she can unleash a spin attack to help her bounce around to reach higher places.  Carol is a green lizard cat thing.  She has slash attacks, too, but she can also climb walls and bounce on special platforms.  If you come across a gas canister, Carol will hop on a motorcycle, allowing you to go super-fast!  Millia is kind of a secret unlockable character, but it’s not very hard to get her.  She is a rabbity dog thing who can summon blocks to throw at enemies and activate a shield to block attacks.  She can also fly for a little bit.  While she can run as fast as the others, she offers a slower-paced gameplay style as she has no direct attacks and has a smaller energy bar.

There are two main modes of play: Adventure and Classic. In Adventure Mode, there are fully voiced cutscenes between levels.  Only problem is the cutscenes are oftentimes way too long, and a game such as this really doesn’t need an epic storyline to be fun.  Luckily, Classic removes all of that, which is how I recommend playing the game.  There is also a time attack mode, too.  Power-ups include lots of different kinds of shields, diamonds and caged animals for extra lives, and healing items as well as invincibility.  Hidden in each level are star cards that unlock music tracks, voice clips, artwork, and other goodies when you gather them and beat the stage.  With three playable characters and lots of secrets, there is tons of replay value.

There are three difficulty selections, and while I was able to blast through the whole game on Easy, I still couldn’t beat the final form of the last boss! Argh!  But really the only other problems I had with this game were the long cutscenes and some hit detection that was slightly off or inconsistent.  And the in-game instructions are not very well-written on the Wii U, although it’s pretty easy to figure things out by playing.  If you enjoy classic 16- and 32-bit 2-D platformers, you should definitely download this.  Hey SEGA!  If you want people to like Sonic again, have the Freedom Planet folks make your next game!  Or better yet, have them revive Ristar!

Kid Factor:

Freedom Planet is rated E-10 with an ESRB descriptor of Fantasy Violence. Enemies just explode or run away when you defeat them, and your characters just fall down or explode when defeated.  Only thing worse is some of the cutscenes have characters being tortured or killed, but the sprite-based visuals keep things from getting too horrifically graphic.  Reading skill is helpful for some of the text, and younger gamers may get frustrated at the more difficult later levels.

Tags: Game Reviews