On the opposite side, Colors was following up on some of the worst games in the series. With all those expectations, it's a shame, but not a surprise that Forces was such a disappointment. It was following up some of the two best games in the franchise (Mania/Gens), and it was the first mainline game in 6 years.

It's a similar reason as to why Forces was so critically panned. This game was good enough, but at that point, good enough was rare for the Sonic series. Before this game, the last Sonic game that wasn't critically panned was Sonic Heroes. I think the main reason why this game is considered so good is because of what came before it. The only interesting thing they do with any of the wisps is the switch puzzles they do with the pink wisps, and that's the ONLY interesting thing. The most the drill wisp ever does is go down, the most the Frenzy wisp ever does is destroy some stuff, the most the rocket wisp ever does is go up, and the most the hover wisp ever does is go up but slower. Usually, the wisps never amount to anything other than the most surface level segments you could make with them. Alongside that, the wisps aren't implemented well at all. Plus, because the levels are so short the fast segments in them never stick, so the only parts of the stages you remember are the boring slow parts. Here it just feels like I'm being punished for going fast. Yes, the Classic games had stop and go elements, but they were balanced properly and it never felt like you came to a complete halt unless it was a cutscene. The 2D-level design has way too many stop-and-go elements. The levels make you do incredibly precise platforming that the controls just aren't designed around. It feels like the controls and the level design weren't made with each other in mind. But the story isn't my big problem with the game. Here it's just a bunch of bad jokes and nothing else, making the story way less engaging. At least in those games, you could make fun of the 'serious' moments. I know that most people complain about the story in Lost World and Forces more, and while those stories are bad, this one is honestly worse just because there's nothing to laugh at. First of all, the story is hilariously bad. This game is the definition of 'good enough,' and I'm not saying that in a good way at all.

Sonic Colors 2D Fan Game