I was skeptical at first about whether to get this because of Sonic's negative publicity in recent years. After watching a few gameplay videos, I decided to buy it. It's a really fun game. Sticks to the original Sonic formula while introducing a few new gimmicks (Notably the Wisps). One thing I love is the ranking system (ala Sonic Adventure 2 [Battle]). They finally brought it back. And there's an abundance of unlockables.

And the opening video (an unlockable [it's the trailer video shown at E3]) looks SO GOOD on the DS. I'm VERY impressed at the video quality they put on that tiny screen. But so far, that's the only video like it on this version.

For those who are skeptical about Sonic, give this game a chance. This may be what we've been looking for since the "Advance" series.

Sonic Colors on the Wii is, in my opinion, the first wholly great console Sonic title in years, truly kick-starting a wonderful new renaissance for Sonic after his hideous dark age period from mid-2000's until the new decade. It was a lovely surprise! What wasn't a surprise was how excellent the DS version of Colors was. You see, Sonic games for handheld systems have never lost any quality from Sonic's early, glory days. The Sonic Advance series, Sonic Rush, and Sonic Rush Adventure have all been, for the most part, totally awesome Sonic titles that kept glorious momentum in Sonic's favor. Sonic Colors for the DS may very well be one of his very best handheld adventures ever, and when you consider how great all of his handheld games have been, this is high praise indeed.

The story in Sonic Colors is fun, quirky, and quite silly, which fits right in with the tone of the Rush games on the DS. Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, in an apparent act of repentance and attempted redemption, has built an intergalactic amusement park in space, featuring several exotic planets with their own unique attractions, all so that others can visit and enjoy themselves in the festivities. Of course, Sonic and Tails are understandably weary and investigate this, only to find out that it's just another evil scheme of Eggman. In reality, he has been enslaving and harvesting the planets' citizens, called Wisps, for their energy! Surprised? Of course not! I must say though that I really enjoyed the lighthearted tone of the story, and the writing is quite excellent in this game. It's all very delightful to take in, and adds another element of fun into the overall experience. Unfortantely, the story is a lot harder to follow, as it features mere talking heads to further the narrative, as opposed to the Wii's snazzy cutscenes, but oh well. It's still nice, and honestly, the only purpose the story should serve is to introduce the gameplay, and then step back and let that take center stage. Thankfully, it does so here.

Sonic Colors was developed by Dimps, the company who has made portable Sonic titles since the Sonic Advance days (as well as helped on Sonic Unleashed's stellar daytime levels. They also are the guys behind the great Sonic 4 episodes I & II). This may be their best Sonic effort to date. The gameplay is fast, furious, stylish, and very intuitive. The level design on display here is quite great. Each zone has multiple paths and off-shoots and makes each playthrough feel fun and fresh. The bosses are also quite well designed. I cannot say the same for the Bosses in some of Dimps past Sonic titles, as they can be pretty terrible sometimes. Not so here. I enjoyed almost every boss fight in Sonic Colors. The touch screen Special Stage is similar to that of Rush's, and Sonic the Hedgehog 2's special stage, with a new "blue sphere" twist similar to Sonic 3 & Knuckles tossed in for good measure. As weird as that sounds, the special stages here are a blast! There's also an extra final story scenario if all Chaos Emeralds are collected, making it even more complete than the Wii version in that regard. Awesome.

Sonic's traditional "fastest thing alive" approach to platforming is as alive as ever in this installment and features some new "innovations" for a handheld title (up to the point of its release in 2010 anyway); innovations such as sliding, air stomping, and having an actual homing attack are here, adding a lot of variety to Sonic's repertoire. The solid traditional gameplay mechanics, such as Sonic's boost bar, are complemented by very fun, whacky new "Wisp" abilities. Fortunately for us, the wisps aid Sonic in his battle against the Eggman empire by giving him unique abilities via their energy. Some wisps are the same as the console version, such as the cyan one that turns Sonic into a light beam, or the yellow drill type. Others are brand new, such as a purple one that literally turns Sonic into a black hole that floats around the level, growing in size and pull as you devour everything in sight.

So the story is fun, the level/boss design is fantastic, and the gameplay mechanics are pure gold. Polishing it all up is the presentation, both in audio and visual. Of course, all of the sound effects you'd expect are present and that's all good. The voice-acting, as little as there is, is done well, and the meme-generating Wisp voice declarations are always enjoyable. The soundtrack is most definitely one of the best Sonic soundtracks of the last several years, in my opinion. Each composition is just spectacular, and thankfully not much was lost in translation to the DS here.

The visuals are just as high-quality as the sound design and music. Sonic and characters are 3-D polygons, as they were in the Rush titles, and backgrounds are intricate sprites. The art design in the game is incredibly imaginative. The places you'll go in this game are so specatuclar, ranging from a massive fleet of interstellar carnival space cruisers, to a planet made of sweets and junk food, to the incredibly beautiful and naturalistic planet wisp (complete with the massively epic chain holding the planet in place). The enemies all change depending on location too, showing an amazing attention to detail. It's great. The art design is fantastic as it is, but the execution of it is perfect here. I love it all.

I realize this review is long and gushing, but honestly, the game fully deserves it. Over the past decade, pretty much every Sonic handheld title has been a real treat, but even among those excellent games, Sonic Color for the DS stands out. It is one of Sonic's highest portable gaming pinnacles, one of his very best overall games of the entire decade, and is even a highlight in his entire 20 years of history. This is a fantastic title that really nails the "fastest thing alive" and "with attitude" approaches to platforming that Sonic is famous for. So buy it, boost and dash through it, and have a blast foiling yet another of Eggman's grand ambitions.

If you love the classic Sonic games, Sonic Rush games, or Sonic Advance games, you'll definitely want to pick this one up. The gameplay is, other than the new "Wisp" abilities added, almost identical to the Rush games, which is a good thing. Music is great, level design is great, graphics are impressive (for DS), character control is very good, and the new voice actors did a good job (though it's really only Sonic that has a few speaking lines here and there). The only thing I really found wrong with this game was the length: it's about 5 or 6 hours long, not counting the time it would take to go back and get all "A" ranks on the levels and missions, and find the hidden red rings. The core game, however, can be beaten very quickly.

Bottom line: if you like Sonic, good platforming games, or just want a good DS title to play before the 3DS launch, this is for you.

When I first got this game, it was really easy to start playing. I finished world 1 (Tropical Resort), and world 2 (Sweet Mountain), the first day I had it, but that's not the point. I mostly like the game because the Wisps make it different than any other Sonic game. The music is pretty good, it actually helps me concentrate sometimes, and the graphics are amazing! I also think the special stages are fun, because that's basically the only time when you use the stylus. Sonic Colors has just the right amount of difficulty towards the end of the game, but it is pretty easy in the beginning. I sometimes like to watch the enemies- one world they carry trumpets, another spatulas, and another chainsaws. The storyline is okay, but I haven't paid much attention to it. Going back to get higher ranks, pink rings, or Chaos Emeralds is really fun, so it has a lot of replay value, too.

Overall, if you're thinking about it, DEFENITLY buy this game. You won't be dissapointed.

Cons: Looooong levels, missions are very hard to complete, difficulty level rises from extremely easy to very hard within two worlds so this makes the game very hard to complete.

Pros: clear graphics, cool theme with the whole idea that Sonic gets special powers from aliens called wisps, catchy music.

I would recommend this game to someone who is an expert at video games. Apparently, I am not that good yet and therefore this game was VERY frustrating for me. In fact, I have already sent this game back for a return to get my money back. The idea is great, but if only this game were a little easier. I was also very surprised by the great graphics. I recommend the getting a 3ds and the game Sonic Lost World for it. Now that's a game worth paying for

Typical sonic game; 2 dimensional linear course with loops and monsters along the way. The game itself is pretty great albeit short with only a few levels it can be completed in no time, however there is very high replay value (as with all sonic games). The writing in this game is by no means good and not even solid the characters say dopey things and sonic is just as overconfident as always, but hey we dont buy sonic games for their dialogue do we? Where it lacks in story it makes up for in gameplay which is the whole point of this game. The kids will love this one so as long as you can get it for 20 or less I would pick it up you wont regret it.

What I think Sega did=
1. They took Sonic Rush/Rush Adventure
2. They slapped on some new levels
3. They slapped on wisps (awesome idea Sega!)
4. Made the hub a little better
5. Bam!
You've got sonic rush, just a little better!
If you like the Sonic rush Series, you are going to love this game, and who knows? Maybe Sonic Rush 3 will be on the 3DS

It's a fun game, really it is, but the difficulty goes from extremely easy to extremely hard within a few levels. The music is some of the catchiest I've ever heard(seriously, it's like chart topper quality music), I can see the graphics clearly. This game has its pro and cons. Overall, it's just okay.

Dimps has done a really great job with the handheld Sonic games every time around, while the console games are each a hit-and-miss after Sonic Heroes (Until the Wii version of this game, that is). However, until now, Dimps' Sonics never shared the same name with a console game. But is the game as terrific as the Wii version?

When starting a new game, it shockingly shows a CGI cutscene from the Wii game. Yep. This is going to be good (But if only more CGI cutscenes were shown). As for the game itself, it builds on Sonic Rush's fantastic gameplay (You can see my review for that if you want) and 2.5D graphical style, while adding in its own setting and storyline, as well as Wisps (For power-ups) and a Homing Attack.

The level design is extremely fun and has a fair amount of platforming elements thrown in together with fast speed! Plus, while Sonic Rush had pits for you to die in here and there, Sonic Colors doesn't have as much, giving you more time to gaze at the running hedgehog in awe. Things get even more exciting when collecting a Wisp. There's one that lets you Boost more, but others have different powers, such as drilling into the ground, using flames to hop in mid-air and beyond, etc.

Unlike the Wii version, though, in which there were 6 acts and a Boss in each world, Sonic Colors for DS has 2 and a Boss, making the game rather short. Fortunately, there are Missions in the game, and they are surprisingly hosted by other Sonic characters (Knuckles, Blaze, Charmy, Espio, and heck; even Silver and Omega!), which add some replay value. Actually, one thing that would keep you playing is the online play. Yup. Sonic Colors has you race against other people worldwide! Unfortunately, I couldn't find anyone online most likely due to Sonic Generations being released. Hopefully, you'll have better luck than I did.

But overall, this is still a fantastic game. Definitely a must-have for DS. Even if you already own the Wii game, it's totally worth it.

Overall, yet another fun handheld Sonic game. Just like in the Sonic Rush games, sonic gets an added boost so you can fly through levels quite quickly, which is Sonic at his best. My only complaint about this game is its length. There's only one playable character (Sonic), so it only took me about eight hours to beat this game (even including all of the optional missions). It's also very confusing how to get the seventh chaos emerald. Pro tip: go to the metal sonic icon and play a "multiplayer race" against the computer. Once you win, you'll get to go to the last special stage. It took me quite some time to figure this out! Here's another pro tip: you can restart the special stages at any time with no penalty, so you won't need to go through a stage multiple times. The special stages in this game are very well done, BTW. Considering you can get this game for pretty cheap these days (even a new copy), I'd say it's a game Sonic fans should pick up.

P.S. Be forewarned! Some parts of this game are WAY too hard for a Sonic Game. The third and sixth bosses are just brutal (think Sonic Advance 2 but way harder), and the final level (Asteroid Coaster Act 2) must have given me about 15 game overs until I finally beat it. If it wasn't for those three parts this game would be literally hours shorter.