Sonic the Hedgehog 4 / YMMV

Breather Level:
- Episode I:
  - Casino Street Zone Act 2. The console version, Road of Cards, features large groups of cards that hand out items as they're flipped, meaning you can take about a dozen lives every time you play it. The mobile version of Act 2 is instead an effortless mini pinball table you have to collect points in.
- Episode II:
  - White Park Zone Act 2 is an easy roller coaster to run around, in contrast to the platforming featured in the other acts.
  - Death Egg mk.II Zone Act 1 has two boss fights, but also features surprisingly simple level design you can run freely through.
Broken Base:
- The cancellation of Sonic 4. Some say that the project was a failure and deserved to be cancelled, as the developers ultimately failed to find what made the classic games so beloved and tried to shoehorn new gimmicks into it. Others believe that the series was unfairly evaluated and that it should have been concluded, especially with Episode II fixing much of the perceived problems of Episode I. While Sonic Mania became much better received, fans are still split on whether it was a good idea to "replace" Sonic 4.
- The use of the post-Sonic Adventure designs. Some despised that they were was used in place of the classic Genesis designs, in spite of 4 supposedly being a direct sequel to the Genesis games, while others simply don't care and just accepted it, especially since they were the primary designs at the time.
- The soundtrack. Some like the soundtrack just fine and find the tracks to be catchy and fun, while others despise it, largely due to the faux Genesis soundfont that was used, making it sound incredibly unappealing and what many fans describe as being akin to the sound of dying cats (or ducks in Oil Desert's case).
Condemned by History: Episode I, while most fans were never particularly impressed with it, was widely praised by critics at the time for being a console Sonic game that returned to the franchise's 2D roots after years of poorly received Sonic games and much like Secret Rings, also got praised for its sole focus on Sonic, which was helped by marketing playing to fans tired of the franchise's expansive cast. Over the years, however, the more valid fan complaints, such as the awkward physics, would come to the forefront of discussions of the game. The much better received Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations^note would also ensure that Episode II, despite many considering it a superior follow-up, reviewed noticeably worse than Episode I. The final nail in its coffin came with the release of Sonic Mania and Sonic Superstars, which succeeded in replicating the Genesis Classics in all the ways Sonic 4 didn't. Though Superstars proved to become somewhat contentious in its own right.
Contested Sequel: Fan and critic reception for both games varies when compared to previous installments. While it's generally agreed that Sonic 4 as a whole is a step back from its Genesis predecessors, the contention comes from its individual episodes. Some fans say Episode II is better than the first episode due to its graphical overhaul, more natural gameplay physics, the return of Tails to the gameplay with new co-op moves, and increased originality in levels, enemies, and bosses, compared to the first episode's massive recycling of past gameplay content. Other argue Episode II is worse than the first episode due to Tails being required to progress through the levels, the overpowered nature of the co-op moves, tedious boss battles, and the general feeling that it failed to address many of the complaints pushed concerning Episode I. While many fans usually tend to look at Episode II more favorably, critics seemed to think otherwise, as it received a more mixed reception compared to the mostly positive reception to Episode I. The fact that Episode II came after the acclaimed Sonic Generations didn't help its case.
Critical Dissonance: Many critics gave Episode I good to average reviews, while fans tend to view it as an inferior game. Meanwhile, many critics ripped into Episode II, yet most fans consider the game to be an improvement over the original. Notable examples includes:
- GameTrailers gave Episode II a 5.5, which is lower than the score they gave Episode I, which received a 7.5. The review is full of constant comparisons to the Genesis games.
- Game Informer gave Episode II a 5 out of 10. Like the aforementioned GameTrailers' review, they gave it a lower score than Episode I, which received a 8 out of 10.
Cult Classic: While it's overshadowed in the general public by the divisive reputation of Episode I, Episode II has a dedicated fanbase for its fusion of classic 2D mechanics with fun new features, levels that combine old level themes in new ways, and being an overall improvement over Episode I.
Fanon Discontinuity: Some fans have declared Sonic 4 as this due to Episode III's cancellation. The advent and acclaim of Mania has only added to this, with Mania being quickly called the "real" Sonic 4 by said fans, all while 4 got swept under the rug.
Faux Symbolism: The final boss of the Death Egg mk.II Zone is a heart. A realistic, beating, human heart.
Franchise Original Sin: The use of the modern Sonic Adventure designs over the classic Genesis designs have received a lot of flak by longtime fans. However, every major 2D Sonic title after Adventure, such as Sonic Pocket Adventure, the Sonic Advance Trilogy, Sonic Rush, Sonic Rush Adventure, and Sonic Rivals, have all used the modern designs. The reason why fans didn't flip back then over the usage of the designs in those games was largely because they were mostly original games that, while inspired by the original Genesis games to varying degrees, weren't trying to follow up on them. They were also implied to take place after Adventure in the timeline, so the designs made sense. 4 meanwhile, was marketed as a direct follow up to those original Genesis games, which led to fans expecting that 4 would use the designs from those games, only to be disappointed when that didn't turn out to be the case.
Game-Breaker:
- You can use the Retry option in the pause menu to retry Special Stages as much as you like while you're in them, cutting down on the number of times you have to replay the levels when compared to other games that use similar setups. It's harder to do in Episode I because you have to quickly react when you're about to hit an exit, but in Episode II you usually have plenty of time to see your failure coming and hit retry.
- The Rolling Combo in Episode II. Immune to almost every hazard? Check. A constantly moving Spin Attack that can take down even Snowy in one hit? Check. Makes the Stardust Speedway remake race incredibly easy? Check.
- Super Sonic. This time around it's taken even further since he can no longer drown, meaning the only things that can kill him are Bottomless Pits and being crushed. In the console version of Episode I, he automatically lights up Lost Labyrinth Zone Act 2. In Episode II, he's playable in boss battles and he does double damage to all bosses.
Goddamned Bats:
- All of Casino Street Zone has Batbots everywhere.
- Mad Gear Zone has the Slicers that'll ruin your day though they have a slight delay before attacking and the Homing Attack can take them out before they have a chance to attack.
- Steelion and Scarabesque in Episode II.
Hilarious in Hindsight: The very first act of Episode II, released in 2012, is called "A New Frontier". A decade later came the installment Sonic Frontiers with an opening theme that mentions "these new frontiers".
It's the Same, Now It Sucks!:
- What part of the fanbase thinks of Episode I. The stages, for example, have been accused of being carbon copies of the Genesis stages instead of original stages like they actually wanted.
- The general reason why Episode II received poorer reviews than Episode I. Despite the numerous improvements, many critics found the core gameplay to be not as enjoyable, and it also didn't help that Generations had stolen this project's thunder in-between the two episodes.
Memetic Loser: The Bubbles badnik from Sonic 3 was an ordinary if somewhat tricky enemy in its original appearance, but in 4 it was chosen to become homing attack fodder for whatever reason. Lines of completely defenceless Bubbles to use as makeshift stairs appear in nearly every level of both episodes, and it has become iconic for its lameness.
Memetic Mutation:
- A common photoshop deduced the shaded picture for the first teaser to be Pikachu wearing a sombrero◊.
- "Sonic 4 as you truly imagined it!"
- Many refer to Episode I music as having "dying cats", due to the odd synth instruments being used.
- The "Green Eyes" meme, created after an infamous rant made by a YouTuber following the first official trailer of Episode I.
- Castlevania Zone.
- WHITE CASTLE! SYLVANIA PARK!
- The intro of Oil Desert Zone Act 2 has been jokingly referred to as "dying ducks."
Mis-blamed: The shortcomings of both episodes have been blamed on Dimps. While they're not exactly blameless, many tend to forget that Sonic Team was involved in the game's production too and that Takashi Iizuka admitted that he wanted the game to have a different feel than the Genesis games. It didn't help that Colors was released around the same time as Episode I, which helped Win Back the Crowd for Sonic Team.
Obvious Beta:
- Episode I seems to be a justified example. It feels experimental; the programmers probably wanted to see what the average player would and wouldn't like in future installments.
- This is the case for the Episode II Beta8; although it is virtually finished, it has an instant ring debug command and minor graphical errors, as well as tiny leftovers for an additional ending.
Older Than They Think: Episode I is not the first 2D Sonic game to give Sonic the ability to use the Homing Attack on his enemies. He could use this attack in both Sonic Advance 2 and Sonic Advance 3 (with Cream as his teammate), though it was not nearly as enforced in those games as it is here.
Only the Creator Does It Right: The primary reason why Dimps became Mis-blamed, as while Sonic Team and Dimps co-developed the episodes, Dimps took all of the blame for the game not being up to par with the Genesis games.
Scrappy Mechanic:
- The camera is just a little too close to Sonic for some fans, causing them to barrel along without having enough of a view for what's headed for them.
- The Homing Attack from Sonic Adventure onwards bolted onto this decidedly old school game qualifies, though most aren't really upset about lock-on dashing as they are the horizontal leap you can take when you're not even locked onto anything.
- Sonic uncurling in mid-air after flying off a ramp or attacking an enemy. It's designed to force players to rely on the Homing Attack, but if they're a little too familiar with classic gameplay, they'll be shedding rings at least five times per act.
- The physics in Episode I. It doesn't help that a modified Sonic Rush engine is used. Iizuka's explanation didn't help matters, either.
- Sonic's acceleration feels significantly slower than the classic Sonic games. Good for the Scenery Porn, bad for a character who is supposed to be fast. Compare the generally faster gameplay in the classic stages of Sonic Generations.
- Not being able to play as Tails outside of Multiplayer mode in Episode II. Most stages can still be completed by having Sonic just stand there and using the Rolling Combo when needed, but some are still impossible to complete without controlling Sonic directly.
- You can only get one Chaos Emerald per stage, which essentially punishes you for getting emeralds early on in the easy stages by making you go through the longer, more difficult stages multiple times to attempt the Special Stage again if you fail (unlike Sonic 3 & Knuckles which let you grind the emeralds out by reloading the early stages).
Sequel Difficulty Spike: What Episode Metal amounts to, as it takes different acts from Episode I, and amps up the difficulty with more hazards and different Badnik placements. The physics are taken directly from Episode II, however.
So Bad, It's Good:
- The first part of the boss theme in Episode I, itself a remix of an unused boss theme from Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island, is often likened to particularly cheesy circus music, leading quite a few fans to ironically (and unironically) like it due to how humorous it ends up being.
- The intro to Oil Desert Zone Act 2's theme due to it sounding like "dying ducks".
So Okay, It's Average: The overall opinion on Sonic 4 as a whole:
- While Episode I is a perfectly playable game on its own, it completely fails at being a follow-up to the classic games in that its core gameplay is similar to Rush without the boost, and it tries to mask this fact by having derivative graphical designs from stages in previous Sonic games.
- Although Episode II is considered to be an improvement over Episode I in many ways, it is still largely regarded as being unremarkable and forgettable by many and still suffers from the same pitfalls that plagued Episode I such as unoriginal themes and poor physics, even if it's in a lesser form compared to Episode I. It doesn't help that Episode II was released only a few months after Generations, whose 2D classic stages made Episode II's stages look like a downgrade by comparsion.
Surprisingly Improved Sequel: In the case of those who thought Episode I was mediocre at best. When they said they were improving Episode II, they weren't kidding: better graphics, better stage designs, better physics, the ability to use Tails as a power-up and play as him in multiplayer, more creative boss fights, Red Rings, small nods to older games, and Episode Metal, to name a few.
Tainted by the Preview:
- Tails isn't a playable character in Episode II outside of Multiplayer mode. Not helping matters is that not only is Metal Sonic playable in single player, he has his own story campaign to boot in Episode Metal.
- The fact that you need to own both Episodes I and II in order to unlock Episode Metal is this for Wii owners, since Episode II was never released for the console.
That One Achievement: In the Xbox 360 version of Episode I, you're awarded an avatar for collecting all of the rings in the pre-credits area. What makes this annoying is that Sonic moves on his own, so you're done if you miss any, and if you don't get it, you have to finish the final stage all over again just for another shot at it.
That One Boss:
- Episode I:
  - The boss of Lost Labyrinth Zone Act 3 can be really hard for some. Make one mistake and you're squashed by the walls.
  - The Death Egg Robo from Sonic 2 returns as the final boss. He's even harder in this game, even though you actually have rings this time when you fight him.
- Episode II:
  - The boss fights against Metal Sonic. If your reflexes aren't up to par, you'll find yourself dying a lot.
  - The final boss due to how it requires timing and patience in order to avoid the obstacles.
That One Level:
- Episode I:
  - The Special Stages. They have the most complex design and a ton of bumpers next to the exits. The low time limit doesn't help matters. The physics are odd as well: Sonic bounces when hitting walls and when grounded on them, he sticks too much, which results in very imprecise, time-wasting controls.
- Episode II:
  - True to Dimps tradition, the Special Stages range from easy to somewhat difficult until you get to the last one, which is nearly impossible.
  - Sky Fortress Zone Act 3 can be difficult for some, especially for badly coordinated players in Multiplayer mode.
They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: Some of the issues the games have been criticized about includes the use of Sonic's modern design in a sequel to the classic-style games, Eggman not being called Robotnik, the over-reliance of the Homing Attack, and the physics.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character:
- Many fans were not very happy regarding the fact that Tails is reduced to being a helper character in Episode II and isn't a playable character at all outside of multiplayer mode.
- The idea of Metal Sonic as a playable character in Episode Metal has a ton of potential. However, Metal Sonic is purely a clone of Sonic in terms of gameplay, lacking any unique moves of his own. While this does make sense since Metal Sonic is a clone of Sonic, it's still disappointing, especially since Metal Sonic is shown to have his own set of unique moves in numerous games, including this one, that could have separated him from Sonic moveset wise (such as his electricity attacks). The mysterious orb he gets in Lost Labyrinth also adds nothing to him gameplay wise, despite the cutscene of him obtaining the orb showing him as getting a massive power surge from it and his boss fights having him use the energy he gained from it for several attacks.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
- The game, particularly Episode II, was touted in marketing to have a large connection to Sonic the Hedgehog CD and its events, which could've been interesting. However, outside of Little Planet being the Death Egg mk.II, Metal Sonic's presence and the brief reappearance of Stardust Speedway in Episode Metal, the game has very little connection to CD and many of its unique elements, such as the Time Stones and the use of time travel, do not return or even get alluded to in Episode II, despite the game being a unique opportunity to do so due to its connection to CD.
- Episode Metal shows Metal Sonic finding a mysterious purple orb in Lost Labyrinth that is shown to have granted him a massive power surge on top of new attacks, as shown in his boss fights in Episode II. What is this orb exactly? Why does it make Metal Sonic more powerful? The game never answers this, and given Sonic 4 has been Cut Short and Sega has expressed no interest in continuing the 4 storyline, it likely never will.
Uncertain Audience: Episode I suffers heavily from this due to confusion over its own identity. Potential new players were turned off by the level themes being exact recreations of those from the Genesis games, making the game look like it was pandering to older fans. Veteran fans on the other hand disliked the physics being carried over from Sonic Rush and the large focus on the Homing Attack, seeing these changes as misguided attempts to bring modern gameplay features into the classic series. Episode II generally resolved these issues thanks to it utilizing classic level themes in new ways as well as improved physics and gameplay innovations, but the damage had been done, making a lot of folks reluctant to try it and leading to the cancellation of the series.

YMMV / Sonic the Hedgehog 4

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