Live Blogs A Double Liveblog of Sonic Unleashed

Komodin2010-12-11 02:51:43

Part 14: Re-Oriented

The viewer hath spoken! Yes, singular. It looks like we're heading back to Chun-nan next. We're in for a treat— this level is awesome; the music, the scenery, everything. Shall we begin?

Music: "Dragon Road - Day"; by Kenichi Tokoi. I. Freaking. Love. This song. The best day theme, if not the absolute best song in the game.

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Day Stage 3 - Dragon Road

• Go for the goal ring!

This stage is actually somewhat of an interesting case. There are several extra paths that use various techniques you haven't been taught yet, like the Lightspeed Dash or (if you went here instead of Spagonia) the Wall Jump. It's also an area where you can't collect every item in one go— near the beginning, the path splits into three routes— two of them have a capsule. This level is actually somewhat of a challenge— most of it is over water, and some areas will throw spears at you. It seems like you should've taken on Spagonia first, despite a certain factor that will come into play later that makes this appear to be the canon order. All in all, a really fun stage. No dragons, though. Strange...

• RESULT: S Rank; three Moon Medals. This, despite the fact that I died twice.
• ITEMS OBTAINED: Illustrations 2 & 12.

• Collect rings at top speed!

200 rings? That sounds like a bit much for this point in the game. Well, the path is littered with rings, and most of these missions will let you loop back to pick up more. You can't go all the way back, though— if you don't collect enough rings by a certain point, then you're basically screwed.

• Don't break anything along the way!

Heh. Oddly enough, this one isn't quite as difficult as Holoska. Most of the pots are placed near the walls, so as long as you take it slowly and stay near the middle, you should be fine.

• ITEMS OBTAINED: Yet another tablet fragment.

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Well, that was neat. Next time, we'll hit up Spagon— actually, we won't. I have a little something special planned for next time. See ya!

Part 15: Progress Report

This is somewhat of a special occasion, as Part 15 happens to fall on the exact date I actually turn 15. Happy birthday to me~ To celebrate, I figured we should take a breather, and check out all the cool stuff we've gathered so far in the story. Seeing as we've already been through 3 day levels and 3 night levels, our gallery should be well-stocked by now. Let's hear the oh-so-pretty "shving" of unlocked items, and have ourselves a look.

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ART - A neat little gallery of concept art.

• Enemy Art
  • 2 - Aero-Cannon. "These flying blue baddies launch missles at you through the air." Pricks.
  • 4 - Interceptor. "A massive foe from the narrow alleys of Apotos Village." Wimp.
  • 12 - Egg Flame. "A touch from these foes can burn anything to smoldering ash." We've only seen one of these so far (in Dragon Road Day, right where this item capsule is), but we'll encounter more of them later.
  • 15 - Dark Bat Sniper. "This souped-up Dark Bat opens fire from above." Yeah, well, you can fuck off.
  • 20 - Dark Master. "These wizards are easily recognized for their pointy blue hats." Friggin' wizards.
  • 23 - Nightmare. "The lowest of the low, Nightmares are the quintessential chump baddies." Heh, chumps.
  • 24 - Deep Nightmare. "Powered-up versions of the Nightmares: a little bit bigger, a little bit stronger." "Still just as pathetic."
  • 26 - Little Rex. "These guys will chase you like a dog runs down the mail truck." Admittedly, they're almost kinda cute.
  • 27 - Dark Fright. "The sheer numbers of these creeps make them a pain to deal with." I still call them Magikarps.
• Stage Art
  • 2 - "Windmill Isle 2 - The Sun-Bleached Pathway". I would so use this as a desktop background.
  • 4 - "Windmill Isle 3 - The White Tower's Great Bell". For the record, most of the stage art consists of copious amounts of Scenery Porn.
  • 5 - "Cool Edge 1 - Daytime Panorama". Case in point.
  • 10 - "Rooftop Run 3 (Day)". The rooftops here are actually somewhat red, when they're more orange or brownish in-game.
  • 25 - "Chun-nan Village (Night)". Nicely lit little town, isn't it?
  • 29 - "Movie Still 2 - Crashing Surf". Aka, the "obligatory shoop-da-whoop-reference laser". The movie stills are more like storyboard images, rather than actual frames from any of the cutscenes.
  • 35 - "Professor Pickle's Lab". Complete with the man Dan himself.
• Villager Art - Most NPCs in the game have their own page of concept art, which is nice. No two people share the same model, and they're all very Pixar-esque.
  • 1 - Apotos Village - Alexis
  • 2 - Apotos Village - Lambros
  • 3 - Apotos Village - Eric
  • 4 - Apotos Village - Gregorios
  • 5 - Mazuri Village - Kwami
  • 7 - Mazuri Village - Kofi
  • 10 - Holoska Village - Jari-Thure
  • 15 - Spagonia Village - Otto
  • 16 - Spagonia Village - Denise
  • 18 - Chun-nan Village - Useless NPC Shuifon
  • 19 - Chun-nan Village - Zonshen
  • 21 - Chun-nan Village - Hualin

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MUSIC - The game's incredibly awesome soundtrack. Is there anything else to say?

• 4 - Day Stage - Windmill Isle
• 5 - Day Stage - Cool Edge
• 6 - Day Stage - Rooftop Run (Not providing a link, 'cause we haven't gone there yet. I'll give it a proper introduction when we actually take on that level.)
• 13 - Night Stage - Intro: Windmill Isle (By the way, the 6-to-8 second intros for the night levels are given their own seperate tracks in the OST. I find this amusing.)
• 14 - Night Stage - Windmill Isle
• 19 - Night Stage - Intro: Dragon Road
• 31 - Village - Gaia Gate
• 33 - Village - Apotos - Night
• 39 - Village - Spagonia - Night
• 40 - Village - Chun-nan - Day
• 41 - Village - Chun-nan - Night
• 42 - Jingle - Stage Clear

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MOVIES - Cutscenes.

• 1 - The Werehog's Fall
• 2 - Chip and the Chocolate Sundae
• 3 - The First Night
• 4 - Tails in Trouble!
• 5 - The Kidnapped Professor (And a whole pack o' robots!)
• 6 - A Daring Rescue
• 7 - The Gaia Manuscripts (Rrrrrr...)
• 12 - A Case of Mistaken Identity
• 13 - Amy's Shake-up

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SECRET DOCUMENTS - Now, I'm actually not gonna bother with these. They're pretty much hints for the game, ranging from using various moves, to where you can find various items capsules; most of which you'd likely have already found. I will, however, let you know that I have documents 1, 3, 9, 11, 17, 20, 21, and 22.

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TOTAL COUNT:

• 28 Illustrations
• 12 Music Tracks
• 10 Movies
• 8 Secret Documents
• 58 items in total.

Did you enjoy this little side trip? Even if you didn't, we'll actually be taking on Rooftop Run next time, so that's something for you to look forward to. Stay tuned!

Part 16: Back to Business

Sorry for the delays. I've been real busy lately— actually, I haven't. I've just been procrastinating.

Anyway, it's now time to go for the Spagonia day stage, which we probably should've gone to before Chun-nan. But whatever.

Music: "Rooftop Run - Day"; by Tomoya Ohtani. Widely regarded as one of the best songs in the game, and here it is in all its glory.

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Day Stage 4 - Rooftop Run

• Go for the goal ring!

This stage is ludricrously fun. It has all sorts of paths and places to go, and you can boost your cares away. However, there are a few items that are somewhat off the beaten path, such as a capsule hidden behind a pile of boxes, or accessed via a barely noticeable rail. The end of the stage pits you against an Aero Chaser. It flies around, shoots rockets and lasers, and can't really be beaten— just run to the end. In the HD version, they tend to appear in groups of 3. Overall, a pretty damn good level. By the way, did I mention that I Quick Stepped out of the path of an item at the very last stretch of the level? Yeah.

• RESULT: A Rank; two Moon Medals.
• ITEMS OBTAINED: Document 7, Illustration 37.

• Collect rings at top speed!

Your basic 200-rings mission. Nothing that special, except there's an area you can only access with the Lightspeed Dash, which you still haven't been taught how to do yet.

• ITEMS OBTAINED: A tablet fragment, if you can call that an item.

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Now all that's left to do is see the Professor. We'll deal with that next time, but there's something I want to show you before I go. After completing Rooftop Run Day, you unlock a couple of missions. One of them... is a tutorial. For the Wall Jump. Which you've probably used a few times already.

...

WHAT IS THE POINT

Part 17: Insert Obligatory 'Deviled Egg' Pun Here

It's been a while since we've had a boss, hasn't it? Well, first things first— stuff to collect. It was brought to my attention after Part 15 that I was too lazy to go and grab some records from the NPCs. We have plenty of time, so let's deal with that. (By the way, whenever you've beaten a world, you can switch between day and night at will. I CONTROL THE SUN AND MOON. I AM YOUR GOD. So, an old man in Apotos gives us Soundtrack 32. (And a secret mission, to boot!) A young man in Mazuri has AAAAAAAANGST during the night, but an older man gave us Soundtrack 35 for answering a question. (I actually chose the wrong answer first, just to see what he'd say.) A woman at the village shop gave us Soundtrack 34. (Free of charge, I'm assuming— we never actually get to buy anything in the SD version, anywhere.) A young girl in Holoska gave us Soundtrack 36, while a different girl in Spagonia gave us #38. Nice people. Speaking of Spagonia, we've got shit to do here; let's get on with it. By the way, what is it with old men being able to put together tablet pieces? Without further ado: Boss!

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Boss 3 - Egg Devil Ray
It's another daytime boss. This one is actually rather enjoyable— not too easy, but not too cheap. Oddly enough, this particular mech resembles a fish more than any type of ray— perhaps Eggman needs to do a little more research? Ah well, I guess "Devil Ray" invokes Rule Of Cool here. Surrounding the actual machine is several smaller turrets, which will fire lasers. After trying to laser you for a while, the Devil Ray's shield will go down and you can score a hit on it. The battle will sometimes transition to a 2D section, or a 3D top-down view that vaguely resembles a Bullet Hell.

• RESULT: S Rank; one Moon Medal.

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Here's another question for you— why do we always end off having to go visit Professor Pickle? Oh, who cares.

Part 18: The Long, Icy Road

So, according to the Professor, our next destination is Holoska. We head over there, talk to some people, and get ourselves a Moon Tablet. On to business!

Music: "Cool Edge - Night"; by Fumie Kumatani. Love it. Probably the second best night theme in the game.

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Night Stage 4 - Cool Edge

• Act 1 - The Aurora Snowfields

I'm rather fond of Cool Edge Night. The music is awesome, the scenery is amazing, and the levels feature a lot of platforming. That being said, this act actually had the last Sun Medal I collected my first time through— I forgot to clear it when we rented the game, and that Force medal eluded me for a while afterward. Here, we're given a proper introduction to the Egg Blizzard (a cousin of the Egg Typhoon). They appeared during the Day level, but only for a short time. We also meet an SD-version-exclusive enemy: the Spike. Contrary to its name, it's not spiky, and it's actually rather round. They function as Action Bombs for you to throw. As for the actual level, there's also a section featuring giant snowballs, and let me tell you: if you're not careful to avoid them, you will be raped. All in all, just collect as much stuff as you can and go for the goal.

• RESULT: S Rank; three Sun Medals.
• ITEMS OBTAINED: Illustrations 19, 34, & 35.

• Act 2 - Ice Floe

This is likely the most platform-intensive level in the whole game. It can be a bit precarious at times, but if you're good at controlling the Werehog, you should be fine. If you're not? You will despise this level. With a passion.

• RESULT: S Rank; three Sun Medals.
• ITEMS OBTAINED: Illustrations 18, 72, & 75; Movie 8.

• Act 3 - The Temple of Ice

Why does this level remind me of a Zelda dungeon? Anyway, this temple has a lot of doors and switches, as well as various obstacles. Overall, it's not too hard, but there is one room that's an utter pain: You need three keys, but one of them is up on a higher level, where you need to cross thin ice platforms to reach it. This would be all fine and dandy, except there are Dark Bat Snipers gunning for you, with the intent to knock you off of the platforms. What's worse, you may end up falling off while trying to take them out! I'd recommend a midair attack. After beating that and the rest of the level, you're pitted against a pair of Darknuts Dark Titans. There are also Spikes in the room, but they're more for annoyance.

• RESULT: S Rank; three Sun Medals.
• UPGRADES: Larger health meter.
• ITEMS OBTAINED: Illustrations 13, 39, & 83; Movie 14. And a tablet piece.

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Back to the professor, then? Typical.

Part 19: Back with— Well, Not Much of a Vengeance

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISE!

Well, it's been a while. Two months? To be honest, I forget where we left off.

...?

Oh, that's right: a boss.

...

SON OF A—

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• Boss 4 - Dark Moray

So, upon reaching the core of the ice world, our Werehog friend stumbles into a wide chamber, where the aforementioned eel-thing is conviently thawed out and awakened. Let's do this!

This particular fight has two phases— destroying the shield around the center platform, and then going for the boss itself. Taking out the shield requires destroying various generator-like structures around it. Up until the third 'wave', the Moray shouldn't give you any trouble— you only need to worry about the flunkies guarding the outer platform. Once you've brought down the shield, here's where things get a little tricky. The boss will try to hit you with SHOOP DA WOOP ice breath, ice bombs, and general flailing around like a madman. Hitting it a few times will cause it to drop canisters which can be used to freeze it. They aren't required, but they're a massive help. Take out enough of his health, and he sends you to the outer arena and regenerates the shield. Repeat the procedure twice more, with more enemies to deal with each time. A WINNER IS YOU.

• RESULT: S Rank; one Sun Medal.

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We restore the Light Blue emerald, and that's enough for now. Not much of a way to kick things off again, but I'll take it. See you next time!

Part 20: Turning Up the Heat

(This is the first update after the forum was archived and the LB moved over here. It kinda bugs me how I can only post in comments, since it means I've essentially been Demoted to Extra in my own damn liveblog.)

Professor Pickle has decided to move! Can I have your lab now? Anyway, it seems he's moving to our next destination— Shamar.

Music: "Cutscene - Project Dark Gaia"; by Hideaki Kobayashi.

Oh, quick cutscene. Eggman has an idea! Wonder where that will go.

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Music: "Shamar - Day"; by Kenichi Tokoi. Pretty damn catchy.

We quickly fly off to Shamar, and upon talking to people, we find that they got here before us. How? Oh, forget it. More text, get tablet, Gaia Gate. This particular temple resembles some sort of Arabian palace, with fire and such. Pretty neat, but that's not what we're here for.

Music: "Arid Sands - Day"; by Tomoya Ohtani. Pretty average, as far as day music goes.

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Day Stage 5 - Arid Sands

• Go for the Goal Ring!

My first time through this game, I was actually rather fond of this level. It had a nice amount of difficulty, and there's all sorts of stuff you can pull off. Amusing anecdote: When I was trying to S Rank this level, I was going smoothly until the twisty portion with all the spikes. I tried to Lightspeed Dash through, but I boosted accidentally. I avoided all of the spikes and continued on unscathed to my S Rank. 'Twas awesome.

• RESULT: B Rank, 1 Moon Medal. I was a little reckless. Sue me.
• ITEMS OBTAINED: Illustration 6.

(Then we're given a quick tutorial for the Lightspeed Dash. Boost into a trail of rings, and you follow it. It'd be a good idea to note that you could do this the entire time. Including in the stage we just played. Moving on!)

• Gather rings at top speed!

270. No problem. This is set in the level's 2D section, which vaguely reminds me of Desert Palace from Sonic 3. We also encounter a new enemy, which I've only seen in the Wii version— a turret. Tricky bastards.

• Don't break anything along the way!

This seems like it wouldn't be out of place in Sonic and the Secret Rings. Given the location, it's incredibly fitting. I adore how a jar will implode if you step even a meter close to it. I say the Holoska one's harder, though.

• Gather rings at top speed! Again!

Only 70 this time, though rings are kinda scarce. This is set in another 2D section, which still reminds me of Desert Palace. This area has a different layout, and a few more turrets— we'll see this again later.

• ITEMS OBTAINED: Soundtrack 8, and a tablet fragment.

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Vague stuff from Chip, and back to the conveniently-located professor. I'll be away from home for a week or two, so I likely won't have another update until January. Happy holidays, everyone!

Oh wow, a low-level run. I'm amused, Komodin. The Sonic Colors liveblog seems to be going great as well.

It's been 11 days since I commented. Where's the update? I'm looking forward to it! By the way, I should seriously get the HTML link system memorized. It seems so much harder than I thought.

Hey, guys! You're not gonna believe how amazed I am at how well-written this is! Its good/great/awesome/outstanding [[link:https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Memes/VideoGames AMAZING!]]

Hey, Blueeyedrat! I got Super [[Dragonball Saiyan Sonic today, in Sonic Colors!

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