i remember playing sonic heroes when i was a kid and seeing the cutscenes made me want to do all that parkour and ♥♥♥♥.

welp, 5 years after a game that i chose not to buy (thanks mania for being there for me though), sonic team somehow turned around and made this game.

what a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ difference between this and forces, it's not PERFECT, and not game of the year material, but it is such a joy to play and run around and parkour as sonic in this game. his control hasn't felt this good since adventure 1, and in my opinion, i think it's the best he's ever felt. (though his maneuvering while trying to rotate a jump in the air can be a bit finicky SOMETIMES; this includes both open-zone and cyberspace control. but it was a problem for me (in the open-zone) like, twice? maybe three times? throughout the whole game.)

cyberspace control is a little finicky, and 2d platforming can feel sluggish, momentum-less, and horrifying to platform with sometimes, but there are some levels that can still be fun all things considered. (still not generations or unleashed levels of quality, think forces++)

the combat is flashy, fun to chain combos with, and that's about it. it's not addicting, but it's fun in short spurts.

the major boss battles (i won't spoil) are ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ INSANE, and i screamed like a girl out of excitement for some of the ♥♥♥♥ i was seeing.

the story and characterization of this game is excellent thanks to them finally getting freelance writer ian flynn who knows sonic thanks to his contributions to the IDW comics to kick ass for a game as ambitious as this. the story is good, but my favorite part of his contribution with this game is the tone and characterization of the entire cast here. it's great ♥♥♥♥.

and the music? it's tomoya ohtani dude. WHAT A ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ SOUNDTRACK. it's so atmospheric and varied in genres, there is no doubt at least 10 pieces of music here for everybody. there was this one track playing during chaos island that actually made me cry. ohtani went all out on this soundtrack and put a ♥♥♥♥ ton of love into it.

this game was quite literally a dream come true, and the 5 year wait was so worth it. going forward, i hope that sonic team recognizes both their successes and failures with this title and improve upon the formula, since they're just about to hit something massive with this style of 3d sonic. (and tell sega to stop ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ rushing them like they were trying to do with this one)

i give this game an 8/10; i'm gonna have a loooooooooot of hours on this game going forward by parkouring and running around as sonic while listening to podcasts and stuff on my downtime.