Sonic Rush (2005)

Haven't really had time to play games as much due to personal issues but this game was seriously a great way of passing time (and procrastinating). I thought all the stages we're enjoyable and the trick system adds another element to the game that I liked. The addition of blaze is also very cool she handles very much differently and her campaign is also quite good and both are a breath of fresh air! Unfortunately the bosses in this game are some of the worst in any game, majority of them you are sat waiting for the boss to do some easily dodgable move that you can punish and just makes it tedious and boring. I do understand peoples criticism's with the bottomless pits especially with the limited screen size of the DS but personally learning the stages and trying to do them as was as possible was something I really enjoyed.

Overall this was a fun game to whip out on my 3DS during the little free time I have nowadays and even S tier'd every stage and boss for both campaigns. This was probably my favourite 2D sonic experience

I remembered this game fondly from my childhood, but it's pretty rough today.

First, the good: This game makes great use of the console it's on. Loop-de-loops can span both screens, the special stages are a fun touch version of Sonic 2's, and the slightly more three-dimensional perspective for boss battles is a technical step above what the GBA could have handled. It looks great and, if you're a fan of Hideki Naganuma, sounds great, too.

But good gravy do cheap deaths abound in this. Almost every level feels like there are just miles of bottomless pits and spikes. You are frequently sent headlong into enemies and obstacles with no ability to course correct: You can boost through them, but boost is limited, so you end up relying on trial and error, but then lives are limited, so you just end up frustrated.

Three stars might be a little generous: I was frustrated quite a bit. But the parts that work well work really well, and I can't say I was a lot more frustrated than Sonic Advance 2. I'll have to try its sequel (which I've never played) to see if it's aged any better.