Sonic Colors: Ultimate

Although not a perfect remaster, seeing Sonic Colors get ported to contemporary hardware was a welcome surprise. The Sonic series continues to struggle with finding a way to incorporate gameplay hooks that don’t amount to shallow, pointless gimmicks, but in Colors SEGA discovered the perfect mix. With Ultimate, that balance has been restored for a new generation of players to experience. Hopefully, SEGA takes cues from Ultimate as it works on that mysterious upcoming 3D Sonic sequel. For those who played the original Colors, there’s plenty of reason for a double-dip with Ultimate, and for those who have yet to give it a try, this is the best 3D Sonic game there is. Give it a play.

Quotation forthcoming.

Sonic Colors: Ultimate will be enjoyed by both fans who have already played the original game and new players. The former will be surprised by how good the title looks on Nintendo Switch, while the latter have the best opportunity to play one of the best Sonic games.

Sonic Colors Ultimate is well-executed revisit of a high point in Sonic’s long career. Most of the quality here stems from the content of the original, rather than the new additions and tweaks for this re-release. Things like the Jade Ghost and extra customization options are welcome, but not game changing, and the musical and graphical improvements are minimal. At the end of the day, though, this is still a well-performing, portable version of a classic and that’s arguably all that it needs to be. We’d give this one a recommendation, then, to anyone who has yet to experience Sonic Colors, as this is certainly the best and easiest way to try it out. If you’re a fan of the original, we’d still say it’s worth a punt — you'll still love the game on Switch. Just be aware that this isn’t a massive overhaul of what came before.

Sonic Colors: Ultimate revives a must-play Wii classic, with fantastic level design and great replay value. However, there are a few performance issues exclusive to the Switch version that prevent it from being the definitive way to play.

Sonic Colours Ultimate might offer a few extra bells and whistles over the Wii original but with it a bunch of bugs and rough edges too. It’s a real shame, as SEGA had a chance to take what remains one of the hedgehog’s best 3D adventures to date and make it even better. In the end, what we wound up with is a messy update that gets the job done but that’s about it.

While there are issues, both in the game itself and the porting, Sonic Colors Ultimate is a fun enough time.

This classic Sonic game offers some really fast-paced courses to run through, but the port can be very glitchy. It also looks and plays like a dated game. Unless you're a major Sonic fan, you might want to stay clear.

Sonic Colors Ultimate brings a very good game featuring an amazing soundtrack to modern systems with visual enhancements, but it is let down by some glitches and an overall lack of polish in its current state on Nintendo Switch.

I’d say there’s a great Sonic game here, and newcomers will find plenty to love. But if you own it already, maybe wait for a sale.

Sonic Colors Ultimate tries to offer a remastering of the original Wii, but fails in multiple areas. Although the base experience is still fun, this job leaves a lot to be desired.

At the end of the day, Sonic Colours Ultimate does offer a decent Sonic adventure. Everything you'd expect from a modern Sonic game is here: speeding through different acts, alternate pathways, hidden collectibles, great design, and, yes, unbalanced gameplay and a couple of bugs. If you're a hedgehog diehard, Sonic Colours Ultimate is most definitely worth a look, but if you aren't, then take this one with a blue grain of salt.

Finally, although Sonic Colors Ultimate is a very dynamic game and very pleasant to play, it still suffers too much from the flaws of the original game as well as from the various problems specific to Sonic 3D games. In spite of a handling that should certainly be reviewed, the game offers interesting gameplay elements as well as a particularly attractive artistic direction. But this new edition does not offer any real interesting novelties. Moreover, the game suffers from major technical problems on Switch.

Everything about Sonic Colors should work, but like so many 3D Sonic games before it, its ultimate potential remains just out of reach. There's fun to be had, and the high points are incredibly cool, but the shoddy gameplay boils the entire thing down to a surprisingly mediocre experience that's tragically unworthy of what this concept deserves. [Issue #58 – March/April 2022, p. 74]