YMMV / Sonic Colors

Dr. Eggman: "Welcome to the Your-Mileage-May-Vary page! Here, you can discuss a variety of opinions of what makes Sonic Colors more or less of a pleasurable experience… if you're the self-centered, bossy type."

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• Accidental Innuendo:
  • In the DS version, Shadow wants to make sure Sonic hasn't "gone soft" since he's last seen him.
  • Eggman's line before he summons the first boss to fight Sonic, thanks to said robot's name being easily mistaken for a Double Entendre.
    Eggman: "Release the Big Boy!"
• Alternative Character Interpretation: Are the Nega Wisps still good-natured Wisps, trying to use their new powers to aid Sonic; or did Eggman's tinkerings cause a Face–Heel Turn and they're simply using Sonic to get back at Eggman?
• Aluminum Christmas Trees: Eggman advertises the Bucket O' Sushi restaurant with the tagline "Now with fish!", which establishes the joint as a Lethal Eatery. However, the term "sushi" does not in fact refer to the fish, but rather the particular way the rice is prepared—thus, vegetarian sushi rolls.
• Awesome Music: This is Sonic the Hedgehog. What did you expect?
  • "Reach for the Stars", the game's theme song performed by Cash Cash frontman Jean Paul Makhlouf. Not only does it rock, but it's incredibly uplifting. The rearrangement made for Sonic Colors Ultimate is arguably even better than the original.
  • Tropical Resort is fun, upbeat, and gets you pumped for the adventure ahead.
  • Sweet Mountain has jazzy, Totally Radical surfer music.
  • Starlight Carnival is very festive and exciting.
  • Planet Wisp is peaceful and exotic.
  • Aquariam Park is relaxing, appropriate for the design. The rearrangement for Ultimate gives the track a more Japanese flair perfectly befitting for the zone’s Wutai appearance.
  • Asteroid Coaster is pure Hard Rock, and makes you want to grab a guitar and start head-banging. It's reminiscent of Sky Deck from Sonic Adventure.
• Best Boss Ever: The Nega-Wisp Armor is a bit easy (once you know what you're doing, that is), but it makes up for it by being a fast-paced and climatic final boss that uses the game's own gimmick against you in interesting and creative ways. Also counts as a Best Boss Beating Ever.
• Best Level Ever:
  • Starlight Carnival (mostly for visuals), Tropical Resort (for its music and great way of establishing the tone of this game) and Planet Wisp (mostly for gameplay and music). The latter was chosen as the game's representative in Sonic Generations and was given the most focus in Team Sonic Racing's marketing.
  • Aquarium Park is a water level that actually manages to be fun. This is thanks to Sonic being given a few tools to improve his originally abysmal underwater mobility, namely the boost gauge, the Yellow drill and the ability to swim by spamming the jump button.
  • When it comes to individual levels, Act 1 of Asteroid Coaster is beloved for having the longest 3D segments in the game, coupled with the introduction of the awesome Purple Wisp and the memorable rollercoaster sequence in the beginning.
• Breather Level:
  • While Asteroid Coaster is considered the final full-length Zone in the game and features appropriately challenging Acts, Act 4 consists entirely of a single quick-step section running around the rings of one of the planets with no alternate paths or Color Powers to make use of. It takes less than a minute to clear, and is one of the easiest Acts to earn an S rank on.
  • Terminal Velocity Act 2 is just Sonic running for 30 seconds. There are floor gaps to avoid, but there are no enemies.
• Broken Base:
  • The game's writing. Fans are very split on whether the script is genuinely funny, and a step in the right direction for the series, or annoying, overdone and immature. The DS version’s drier script compared to the Wii version is also divisive. Some feel the less emphasis on comedy and jokes helps improve the story considerably, while others felt it resulted in a boring, less entertaining and immemorable script compared to the Wii version.
  • In the years since its release, the Broken Base has increased due to a bit of Hype Backlash factor. Now fans can't stop arguing whether Unleashed or Colors was the game that saved the series' reputation, or which one is much better designed.
  • The ranking system in this game, which focuses on getting a good score rather than just speeding through the stage. Some welcome it, as it encourages stylish runs and collecting lots of rings. Others dislike it because getting S ranks on some stages turns into Try Everything and Guide Dang It!, and point out that a hit in this game, unlike other recent games, wipes out the player's entire ring count instead of taking away only a fraction of it.
  • While part of the fanbase still sees the game as a true return to form for Sonic, some groups of fans criticize Colors' gameplay for being boring, disjointed and unbalanced. Comments in favor of the game point to the solidly built gameplay engine, unique zone concepts, art design and the tweaked gameplay mechanics and Wisp power-ups putting more emphasis on platforming like the Classic games. Those critical of the game point out that the platforming is incredibly cubic and inorganic across the entire game, the Wisps (especially the Pink Spike and Blue Cube) are pace-breaking and annoying to use, and Sonic's control in general is too finicky and touchy for the narrow platforms and tricky navigation the game asks of him.
  • The third voice actor switch, at least at the time of release. Starting with this game (and Sonic Free Riders), the entire cast, barring Mike Pollock as Eggman^note Although they were going to replace him too had they found someone who could match his performance, were replaced with all new voice actors. On one hand, many felt that the 4Kids cast had their run and that it was time for the series to move on. Others felt that the 4Kids cast were not good at voicing the characters and were hoping that the new voice actors would be better. On the other hand, many were upset that the entire main cast was replaced again and had grown accustomed to the 4Kids cast. The fact that they had been able to marginally improve since their debut (Jason Griffith in particular managed to greatly improve as both Sonic and Shadow after Sonic '06) and that none of the cast had been told of the change beforehand just like with the first voice actor change led many to feel bad for them.
  • Whether the DS version is better than the Wii version or vice-versa. Some find the DS version to be superior due to its speedier level design, better writing, cameos of Sonic's friends and the new content (such as the True Final Boss Nega-Mother Wisp), while others find it inferior due to the lesser presentation and being far shorter compared to the Wii version, as well as finding the new content to be lackluster.
  • The DS version's addition of a True Final Boss in the form of Nega-Mother Wisp. Some don't mind it and finds it be an enjoyable (if easy) fight, while others find it to be unnecessary and shoe-horned in just to have another Super Sonic fight against a giant monster (the idea of which was receiving complaints for being overdone at the time).
• Can't Un-Hear It: Why Mike Pollock was the only New York-based voice actor who was left in the English localization. Sega couldn't find a voice they felt worked as well as Mike's, choosing to renew his contract instead of replacing him. In fairness, Pollock was one of the few New York-based actors who was generally accepted with little complaints.
• Character Rerailment:
  • Sonic the Hedgehog returns to being a snarky Mascot with Attitude like he was in the 90s, rather than the flawless friendship believer Ideal Hero that he'd been through much of the 2000's.
  • Dr. Eggman isn't relying on an Eldritch Abomination, a Sealed Evil in a Can, or anything that becomes The Man Behind the Man or The Starscream to stop Sonic. No, Dr. Eggman is back to just using his robots, as well as the Wisps. That's it. And the Final Boss is none other than the good doctor himself.
• Contested Sequel: While considered to be wholesale better than Sonic Unleashed, fans are somewhat broken on whether Unleashed's daytime levels or Colors' levels are better. Colors' levels are either incredibly fun platforming and not as automated as Unleashed, or Unleashed is much more fun because of greater speed and more 3D and Colors' slower, boring levels. Other aspects, such as the writing and more comedic tone are also points of contention amongst fans:
  • Some consider the writing to be a fun breath of fresh air that keeps things simple, with quirky writing and wit to pad out cutscenes in between fun levels. The fact that Eggman has returned as the main villain and the story isn't too complex or dark is also seen as a bonus for many.
  • Others, especially those who had fonder memories of the prior era of Sonic games, felt that the comedic writing failed to actually address the criticisms leveled at the previous era (underdeveloped cast, strong story concepts but flawed execution, etc.), instead just keeping the same problems of flawed writing with a comedic bent slapped on over it, with the comedy being extremely average at best, to downright boring and missing its full potential due to not pushing beyond a "safe" boundary, or just outright dragging out jokes to the point that they stop being funny. Eggman returning as the final villain is also a mixed bag, since a number of fans feels like Eggman's potential was severely underutilized, or his presence as a final boss undermined by the characters not taking him seriously even when he should be due to a constant torrent of jokes at his expense long after they stopped being funny. The story not being dark is also a point of contention, not necessarily because the story is Lighter and Softer, but rather that the storywriters misunderstood the criticisms and the balance that many feel previous games managed to hit, and ended up being so focused on the comedic light aspect that it undermined any genuine sense of drama or pathos when it was actually necessary.
• Critical Dissonance: Has developed this over time. While the game continues to be held in high regard by critics and general audiences, the game has garnered a more divisive reception amongst the Sonic fandom in the years following its release, particularly in regards to its level design, structure and writing, as well as how it influenced future games to mixed results.
• Crosses the Line Twice: Eggman's PA announcements are a goldmine of this, unsurprisingly.
  Eggman: In the unlikely event of an emergency, please find the nearest escape pod. For anyone not named Eggman, your escape pod can be found back on the planet, still being assembled in the factory.
  Eggman: We seem to be losing pressure on Level 17. Please hold your breath against the harsh vacuum of space until you pass out from oxygen starvation. After that, you won't care. Enjoy the ride!
  Eggman: This exotic aquarium contains many rare and endangered species. Enjoy them with a delicious soy glaze at the Bucket O’Sushi restaurant!
  Eggman: Just a reminder: Please refrain from pushing buttons on the starship. Occasionally, one might jettison you into space. If this happens, your next of kin will be billed for the replacement hatch.
  Eggman: If you’re experiencing explosive decompression, please try to avoid staining the seat cushions. Those things are expensive!
  Eggman: Next stop: the Sweet Mountain. Enjoying our candy paradise is the perfect way to celebrate your next birthday… or to avoid reaching it!
• Cult Classic: The DS version is not as well-known as its Wii/Console counterpart, but is generally considered to be one of the portable's hidden gems, due to having gameplay reminiscent of the beloved Sonic Rush series (with some even calling it "Sonic Rush 3"), and for integrating popular characters such as Knuckles, Silver, and Blaze into the plot.
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Orbot and Cubot became really popular with the fans. Their popularity led to them being used as Eggman's go-to lackeys in most future installments of pretty much every Sonic-related media. It helps that they were inspired by similar duos from the franchise's past (without the annoying quirks that most of them had). Though Orbot debuted in the previous game, Colors gives him his name, red color scheme, and personality which would stick with him for the rest of the series.
  • Of the Wisps, the Cyan one is the most popular amongst fans, in part due to its sleek design.
• Epic Riff: Just about every song in the game has these, but most notably Planet Wisp and its Piano line.
• Fan Nickname:
  • Sonic Skittles, referring to either the game itself or the Final Color Blaster.
  • Sonic Rush 3 for the DS version, since that version uses the same engine, has similar gameplay, and is even made by Dimps.
• Franchise Original Sin: Listed on the franchise page.
• Genius Bonus: If the Retraux style of Game Land's music doesn't sound much like something the NES would produce, that's because it was never intended to be—Game Land's chiptune set is instead based on the sounds of the Sega Master System.
• Good Bad Bugs: If used in very specific places, the Laser Wisp can either make Sonic go through walls or grant the player 3D movement during 2D sections. Both glitches are heavily abused by speedrunners.
• Heartwarming in Hindsight:
  • Sonic's "No copyright law in the universe is going to stop me!" became this after Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comics) continued for a few years longer despite former writer Ken Penders successfully suing for the rights to the characters he created, even pulling off a massive Cosmic Retcon to remove Penders' characters from the comic.
  • Also, after several copyright debacles over fan works, Sega gained a reputation for not only being perfectly fine with fan games, but even giving jobs to ROM hackers. No copyright law in the universe will stop them.
    • Becomes either Hilarious, or even more Heartwarming for Sega when their old rival company (Nintendo) started becoming more strict with their IPs and taking down fan projects starring Sonic's original competing franchise, something which many fans have not been shy to point out.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • We already got a Shout-Out to Kamen Rider Double in the Japanese version, but then, about a year later, we get the new series, Kamen Rider Fourze. One of the themes of that series is space, and two of the Astro Switches he starts out with, which he also uses for his primary Finishing Move, are Rocket and Drill. They even have the same colors.
  • Six years or so later, Satan, another Sega villain, decided to give the whole space amusement scheme a try in a Puyo Puyo light novel. It's the aptly named "Satan's Space Amusement Park."
  • The comparisons to Super Mario Galaxy were vindicated by the release of Sonic Lost World, which exploited the gravity mechanics and platforming elements present in Mario's game in a much more pronounced way than the entirety of Colors.
  • The main villain enslaving a race of cute creatures from another world and harnessing their powers to build an giant Amusement Park of Doom that the heroes need to stop? Seems Bowser's been talking to Eggman and would try the same scheme himself years later.
  • Super Mario Odyssey in turn seemed to take cues from this game for its Steam Gardens stage, which looks a lot like Planet Wisp.
• Ho Yay: After Cubot's voice chip is suddenly fixed, we get this line from Orbot.
  Orbot: "Ah, there's the sweet sound my auditory processors (ears) know and love."
• I Knew It!: Not many were surprised by the reveal of Colors getting an Updated Re-release, seeing as it had been speculated for a bit prior (and had been leaked onto the internet a month before its reveal). Even without that, several have assumed that if any of the modern-era 3D Sonic games were to get remastered and ported, Colors would be the one to get the remaster treatment, as it's a safer and less risky choice than the likes of Sonic Unleashed, due to its better critical reception.
• It's Short, So It Sucks!: Well, not that it sucks, but Nintendo Power gave the DS version a lower score simply because it's over too fast. They did say that it was great while it lasted, though.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • BBBE ^ExplanationSonic says this after he beats a boss. It stands for Best Boss Beating Ever.
  • Baldy McNosehair ^ExplanationThe Wisps don't know Eggman's name, so Yacker refers to him in alien gibberish that Tails translates to "Baldy Nosehair." Sonic thinks it's hilarious and resolves to call Eggman "McNosehair." This later entered Ascended Meme status when it was said by Sonic again in an episode of Sonic Boom.
  • "No copyright law in the universe is going to stop me!" ^ExplanationSonic says this before he fights another boss in response to a PSA at the amusement park claiming that everything in it is — "as far as you know" — Eggman's intellectual property. It was immediately seized upon as a retort to internet copyright laws, and continues to enjoy spikes in popularity every time a new one is proposed.
  • Good! Great! Awesome! Outstanding! Amazing! ^ExplanationThe Idiosyncratic Combo Levels.
    • All I did was press A! ^ExplanationAll for just pressing the A button at the right time.
  • UNLIMITED COLORS! ^ExplanationThe Final Color Blaster used by Sonic and the Wisps to defeat the Nega-Wisp Armor near the end of the game made for a very memorable scene among players, thanks in part to the music (an orchestral rendition of "Reach for the Stars"), the game's Large-Ham Announcer (who, in Japanese, turns the moment into an outright Shout-Out to Kamen Rider Double, as seen here), and the inherent cool factor of a prismatic Combination Attack Finishing Move. The nature of the attack also tends to invite usage of The Nostalgia Critic's "TASTE THE RAINBOW, MUTHAFUCKA!"
  • Sonic The Fish! ^ExplanationAmong the many glitches found in Sonic Colors Ultimate is one where Sonic can randomly turn into a fish. It immediately had fanart drawn of it.
  • "Yeah, uh I think your machine might still have some bugs." ^ExplanationTaken from a line from Sonic at the start of the game. In context, it's Sonic talking about Tails' translator which often comes out nonsensical. Outside the game, often done by gamers to make fun of the remaster's bugs and glitches.
  • The pop-up asking players if they accept the new Rival Rush mode lacks any kind of sound or animation when it appears, and coupled with its general design, many comparisons to pop-up ads on sketchy websites have been made.
• Most Wonderful Sound:
  • The stock bowling pin sound with "SLAM!" when you knock away a bunch of enemies at once with a Boost or certain Color Powers.
  • The sound of the goal ring in the more platformy acts, indicating you're nearly at the end of the level.
• Narm Charm:
  • The cutscenes and dialogue are pretty juvenile and Saturday-morning cheesy, but that may be exactly why so many players find them entertaining.
  • As expected from a Sonic song, the lyrics to "Reach for the Stars" are cheesy as hell, which is why fans love it so much.
    "The sky with stars so briiiight, the colors feel so riiiight!"
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • The Purple◊ and Violet◊ Wisps transform Sonic into a beast with razor-sharp teeth and a grinning black hole, respectively. They look surprisingly intimidating when compared to the rest of the game's cartoonish visuals.
  • The Purple and Violet Wisps themselves. They were once regular Wisps, but they were abducted by Eggman, had their hyper-go-on energy extracted from them, and transformed into violent, Slasher Smile-wearing, eyeless creatures. Eggman's process of extracting their powers is also rather unnerving, and the DS version reveals that Tails' translator can't even get a read on them.
  • The orchestrated drowning music, albeit a bit less scary in the "Whoa, I'm scared" sense, and more scary in the "I'm gonna lose a life here and have to start this section over" sense. Even scarier: making Sonic stand still when the countdown begins will actually show him struggling for air this time. You can see it here.
  • Some of the glitches in the Ultimate remaster can be downright terrifying, particularly the glitched out black hole near the end of the game.
• Once Original, Now Common: When this game first came out, it was lauded as one of the best 3D games in the series that finally solved the Video Game 3D Leap-related problems the series had endured for years. Things that were praised were the simpler and more concise focus, as well as the game's lighter atmosphere. Fast forward over a decade later, and you'll find a significant group of fans who have accused this game of Hype Backlash and don't find anything particularly amazing about it, often accusing it of playing it too safe in terms of story or content. Something to keep in mind is that when this came out, Sonic had a notorious reputation for games with a lack of focus, polish, and narratives that tried to take themselves seriously, but fell flat due to execution. So a game like Colors seemed revolutionary at the time, but because the series would stick with that direction for subsequent games, it's caused a level of burnout and for this game to fall out of favor.
• Porting Disaster: Despite being on more powerful platforms, when Sonic Colors Ultimate was released for early access Digital Deluxe players, it came with a lot of bugs and glitches compared to the original release, including crashes, numerous audio, visual and gameplay glitches, poor lighting, save data corruption, and seizure inducing glitches, too. The Nintendo Switch version is considered the worst of them, amplifying all of the problems much more frequently, on top of having new issues such as having longer loading times than the original Wii version and the Tails Assist often causing the controls to outright break when used (the quality of the port was so bad that Nintendo decided to issue refunds to anyone who bought the game, a rarity from them). While the devs would scrambled to patch the game and fix the issues after much feedback, many of the game's issues still remain.
• Scrappy Mechanic:
  • The Blue Cube is often cited as one of the less fun Color Powers, as it only momentarily transforms Sonic, and while it does destroy everything on screen, using it takes a while and causes Sonic to stop dead in his tracks.
  • The lollipop swings in Sweet Mountain Act 5 can be difficult to get the hang of, as the timing of when to jump off to go higher is very specific, and not as obvious as it might seem at first.
  • The overabundance of 2D is another big criticism, particularly because the 2D sections are rather slow and blocky compared to the 3D sections.
  • The Gameplay Grading goes off of score rather than time like in some previous games and in Generations, the idea being that a good performance involves finding secrets and performing advanced techniques, not just speedrunning the Act. However, a large percentage of your points will often come from Rings, and in this game you lose all of your Rings if you get hit, unlike many other modern Sonic games where you only lose a fraction of them. Get hit once, especially at the end of a Marathon Level, and you can kiss your S grade goodbye.
  • The fact that the Music and Sound FX volume bars are combined, rather than separate, in Ultimate, annoyed a lot of people.
• Sequel Difficulty Drop: The difficulty is much easier than that of Unleashed, due to much fewer obstacles that require quick reaction, and the stages are much shorter.
• So Bad, It's Good: Some of the more jokey cutscenes in the game. "Baldy McNosehair" in particular has been mocked to the point of becoming a meme for the fanbase.
• Surprisingly Improved Sequel: The previous few Sonic games, especially on the Wii, were a mixed bag for many. This one, however, got nearly universally good, if not great, scores and was generally well-received in the long run.
• Suspiciously Similar Song:
  • Aquarium Park's music sounds like the theme song to Love Hina.
  • Compare Tropical Resort Act 1 to "I'll Do A Little Bit More" by The Olympics. It also sounds similar to "Greased Lightning".
  • Aquarium Park's Act 1 track sounds similar to "AGHEA", which was used for a Team Fortress 2 meme, Gentlementlemen.
• Tainted by the Preview: Many regarding Sonic Colors Ultimate.
  • The announcement that Ultimate was coming to the Epic Games Store instead of Steam garnered a lot of backlash from fans, especially since most of the games in the series have been available on Steam for years (to varying degrees, and notable exceptions being Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Sonic Heroes (which is on PC, but is essentially Abandonware as there hasn't been a rerelease), Sonic Unleashed and a few of the Wii-exclusive games). Not helping matters is that the game was shown to have had the pre-order option for Steam on the official website, the trailer has legal spiel referring to Steam too, but it appears the latter to have been quickly changed at the last minute.^note This is mainly due to the site layout being reused from Persona 5 Strikers' site.
  • Many fans were less than impressed by the changes in graphics and lighting in the reveal trailer and first screenshots, with many finding it to be washed out and both overly dark and bright in places compared to the original game. It has brought in comparisons to Sonic Adventure DX, which received similar criticisms from fans for its lighting and graphical changes.
  • The revelation that the Tails icon in early screenshots is actually related to an added feature in which Tails would save you from bottomless pits when falling has already angered many fans, who were hoping to see him as a playable character in a 3D Sonic game again.
  • A Sonic YouTuber who got a review copy posted a video with over 20 minutes of glitches from the Playstation 4 version. He was called out about it and bashed since few reviews mentioned anything about glitches or crashes, but then people who pre-ordered the Digital Deluxe version were allowed to play it a few days early and word began circulating that the game was indeed very, very broken.
• That One Level:
  • Planet Wisp, Act 3. Seems simple enough, but it is far too easy to just barely miss those tiny platforms that you have to cross and plummet to your death... The Cube power-up also has an annoying tendency to run out when you're standing on the blue blocks, which revert to rings, and — you guessed it — cause you to plummet to your death.
  • The levels with the yellow moving springs can also give grief, as you have to both keep up with the spring and not overpace it, as well as having to stomp on it to gain more height, which is very finicky and sometimes likes to not bounce you high enough to reach platforms. Best not let it tempt you to your death with its hard to reach rings. Asteroid Coaster Act 3 makes it even harder with moving walls that push you toward the screen and instantly kill you if you don't stomp on the spring at just the right moment.
• That One Side Quest:
  • The DS version brings us Mission 2 in Sweet Mountain. Now, normally, rescuing the 25 Wisps isn't so hard if all you're trying to do is simply pass it or collect the mission's red rings; however, it becomes a total nightmare when trying to S rank the mission, mostly due to the fact that when you get to the robot that tosses you up into the air and you have to float down while trying to dodge bomb balloons and land on the hot dog it's holding and then go into its mouth, the problem is that you move at a very sluggish pace when floating down and have no way to land on the hot dog and into the robot's mouth faster, so that section of the mission winds up wasting a lot of your time, and since it's a rescue the Wisps mission, that means there are no extra time capsules to pick up to give you extra time on the mission's countdown timer. By the time you're past the giant robot with the hot dog part, you probably won't have enough time left to earn an S rank for the mission.
  • Even worse is Mission 3 in Asteroid Coaster. Merely completing this level is utterly hellish, as you have to complete the entirety of Asteroid Coaster Act 2 — by far the most difficult level in the game — in a single life under a very unforgiving time limit. Getting an S rank for this mission requires absolute perfection. Do not attempt unless you have a lot of time to waste and a very tight grip on your sanity.
• They Changed It, Now It Sucks!:
  • The revelation during E3 2021 that the soundtrack would be almost completely rearranged in Colors Ultimate has immediately brought upon this reception from fans, with many finding the decision to be unnecessary. Many of the rearrangements and the changes they made have also been criticized by fans, finding them to be vastly inferior to the original tracks. Fortunately, the original tracks are still mostly kept^note aside from the opening and ending themes, Terminal Velocity and the boss themes, which are absent, albeit they're relegated to only playing in the last 3 acts. However, this would change with Patch 3.0, which adds in a toggle that allows you to switch between the original and new soundtracks, meaning you can now play the entirety of Colors Ultimate with the original soundtrack.
  • The Miis are absent from the Sonic Simulator in Ultimate, including on the Switch version, despite that console having full support for Miis. If you want to play as your Mii, you'll have to get the original Wii version.
• They Copied It, So It Sucks!: When the game was initially revealed, some people, going by just a couple short CG trailers, compared it to Super Mario Galaxy. Ironic, considering there's a level in Sonic Adventure 2, a game from 2001, that is very reminiscent of Super Mario Galaxy and gravity gimmicks as such were already present in Genesis-era Sonic games. As more information was revealed, the comparison was further extended by the presence of the Luma-like Wisps, Sweet Mountain Zone, and the drill power.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
  • The cutscene prior to the third boss fight teases a boss fight against a mind-controlled Tails, but Eggman's mind-control ray runs out of power before it can happen.
    Eggman: Lousy cheap alien energy…!
  • For the final boss battle, Eggman weaponizes the Wisps so that he can use their powers against you. Unfortunately, the potential of this interesting twist is not fully explored from a gameplay perspective, as Eggman only attacks with Cube, Spikes, and Laser. Boost is employed to put some distance between the robot and Sonic between hits, and said robot is under a constant Frenzy to power up the attacks, but Rocket, Drill and Hover go entirely unused. Eggman does use all 5 Wisp types in the DS version, though.
• Visual Effects of Awesome: Given that this is a Sonic game, it's a fair given that Colors is simply beautiful to look at visually and is not only one of the best-looking Sonic games, but one of the best-looking games on the Wii (looking better than a lot of HD games released around the time) and holds up well even years later.
• Unexpected Character:
  • Metal Sonic took a lot of fans by surprise for the Ultimate edition, as the character wasn't in the original version (not even the Nintendo DS version, which had almost all the recurring characters) and the leaks never mentioned him.
  • Many fans were surprised by the presence of the Jade Wisp in the Ultimate remaster, given that its only other appearance had been in a spin-off racing game.
• Win Back the Crowd: For some, Sonic finally solved the problems associated with the series's Video Game 3D Leap with this game, and to say his fans were ecstatic is an understatement!
• Woolseyism: Since the script is largely gag-based, many jokes were changed between the Japanese and English versions. It's most notable with the Running Gag of Cubot's voice chip; in English, his voice modes are Cowboy, Pirate, and Brooklyn (complete with a Taxi Driver reference), with his default voice being deliberately grating and high-pitched. In the Japanese version, his voice modes are instead Ninja, Sumo Wrestler, and Camp Gay, with his default voice constantly telling "dad jokes".

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Dr. Eggman: "Critical system failure! Repeat, critical system failure! All wiki access is temporarily suspended. Please evacuate the wiki via the Home Page ahead. THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT."

If you could tell me how to lend a hand
I would try to understand
No words could say how much I care
Together we can take a stand!
Don't fall apart!
Speak with your heart!
And always take it with you back to the start!

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