DF Retro x Modern - Sonic Colors Ultimate: Every Console Version Tested

The quality of the Switch port of Sonic Colors Ultimate has been a hot topic of discussion, but what of the quality of the remaster overall? John Linneman runs the rule over every console version of the game - and takes a look at the original Wii release to remind us *why* this Sonic title is definitely deserving of the remastering treatment.

[batmangovno]

Sonic Colors was such a masterpiece on the Wii. We didn't appreciate the load times enough. 3 seconds off the optical drive! Never felt like loading.

[FairlySadPanda]

Shame that the Godot mention didn't get more detail - this is a game from a massive IP using a little open source engine developed for a long time for free by volunteers! It's really exciting to see an OS game engine get attention.

[GeekCritique]

Ahh... fair, nuanced criticism with none of the cynicism. You guys are the best. :D

[Covarr]

On the Wii version, I highly recommend the "True Colors" mod to semi-restore the original act structure. Dramatically improves the game's pacing.

[teacherfromthejungles]

It's incredible how well Wii visuals still hold up.
Keeping in mind that Wii hardware is basically a GameCube on steroids, that makes it even more impressive.

[TheRealPhoenix_Retromods]

14:27 I supposed the Wii used pre-rendered assets in texture on a mesh to fake the long distance render (a classic trick of the area, God of War used A TON of this) then switch to real geometries at a certain position (probably because the culling distance had to be aggressive for performance.) When doing the port, Blind Squirrel transfered the mesh of the background, but not the texture. Hence the black geometries.

[gamingodyssy]

I'm loving playing sonic colors ultimate on series x its gorgeous in native 4k 60fps and instant load times everything is smooth as butter!

[kalemuncher]

I think those framerate hitches you saw in Tropical Resort are due to call-in issues for assets, which would also explain the pop-in problem with Starlight Carnival and Aquarium Park. It's very odd though

I'm glad I watched this video though, since it's reaffirmed that it's a good purchase (if you don't buy it on switch) and I'm excited to play this game for the first time

[ryukoprop]

I pray when or if they do an Unleashed Ultimate it is handled with more finesse than this project. They actually did a better job than I thought they would with Colors.

[itsdnk]

The Wii version’s music tracks have a more authentic low-fi, dirty EDM and drum and bass feel that is lost on the new overly crisp percussions and added “Casio Keyboard” keys added on top. Not a fan of that aspect.

[DebugMenu]

Today I learned that orangeous is a word.

[jeltajink]

Now that I understand what they where going with the new lighting I can apreciate it. The problem is that, at least I feel, it messes too much with the original artwork and intention of some stages. It tends to be too dark or too bright to see comfortable, and some changes are kind of out of nowhere, like the ultra-irradiating green lava on Asteroid Coaster or the blindingly bright lights of Starlight Carnival. I think there is a reason why you tipically don't see cartoon platformers with ultra-realistic light, even other 3D Sonic games tend to have a little exagerated lighting.

[doctoreggmannegaful]

Also the surround sound is all over the place, like the sounds play inconsistently from randomly selected channels and it's rarely based on the positioning of objects like surround sound should be.

[andrewsasala]

Great vid! It’s kind of sad that they don’t have a higher resolution on the PS5, maybe I’ll wait a bit…

[nicolagiampellegrini]

We also want psychonauts 2, you know 🤣. No matter if its late

[realfastkx]

Honestly this video made me realize how damn good this game on the wii looked!!

[WhiffyPlush]

This gives so much insight on the changes and platform differences, thanks for the hard work on this one!

[TheGaluMoD]

I really appreciate the postivity in this video but I do think the bloom is way overdone and the game generally looks better in its original form. Couple that with all the glitches and baffling gameplay changes, like the tails-save, and playing this game in dolphin is 100% the way to go imo.

[ezodagrom]

I really don't like the overexaggerated bloom in the ultimate version.

[juanignacioaschura]

Godot is an Argentine-built engine released under the MIT license. Its name is a reference to its continuous desire for feature creep. It deserved more coverage here, TBH, because it remains an underrated engine that only recently did receive its deserved funding.