I am now sincerely curious as to how high Craig's NiGHTS scores are, now... Definitely sounds like he has teh 1337 skillz.

I've been having my fair share of fun with Sonic Rush. It's definitely better than the Advance games. My only problem is that Sonic and Blaze are so similar. The only real differences are the speed of their vertical and horizontal of their tricks and their R actions (Sonic's Jump Dash and Blaze's hover).

There Craig goes bragging again. *Rips out his heart and brain and implants them into an android* Now I have the world's greatest mechanical creation. If I get this game in 3(a little less now) days I might submit mine, even though they probably won't be as good.

Hardly... *Looks at the Time Trial scores* I'm nothing compared to that Ben guy... how the hell do you get under 1 minute on Water Palace? It's impossible, I've managed 01.02 but that was like my very very very VERY best run which I've been unable to top.

Is there some secret way of getting super speed that I don't know about, tapping the dash button does nothing and I can't hold it and tap B for tricks.

Dudes. I'm going to go crazy unless I work this one out, HELP!

I think the only way to gain extra speed is to always roll (tap down) down slopes for a touch of extra speed, and tap the boost the second you slow down, which I assume you're already doing...

In other news. I finally did Leaf Storm act 1 in under a minute. ^_^ (0:55:94 to be exact)

Craig, you need to be able to hold boost and do tricks at the same time. What buttons do you use? I use X for boost and B for jumps/tricks.

Tapping boost looks like it makes you go faster than holding it, but it's probably just the way the screen is jolted giving an illiusion of speed. Oh, and are you using Blaze? Blaze rocks Water Palace.

Edit: Another "Oh", and rolling seems to do nothing for you in this game at all. not even when going down downhill. It even decreases your speed while you're boosting.

Short review time!

Gameplay: High-speed, and full on action. The only times you'll find yourself slowing down is after you're hit by an enemy. The boss fights really get your blood pumping. They get harder as you progress, luring you into a false sense of security as you siphon away the boss's life counter.

Sound: Full of amazingly high-quality voiceovers. The song lyrics are fun and catchy, if unintelligable. (Taco, taco, wheat. Taco, taco my bacon?) My only complaint is that the music often doesn't reflect what the level has to offer. You can have an up-beat and cheerful tune playing in a dark and gloomy place, to be honest.

Graphics: Brilliant. I have yet to see the DS handle such power, and I am quite satisfied. Sometimes, though, I worry that it offered a little TOO much. The game tends to slow down considerably, especially in places where there's a lot of polygons flying around. (Namely the boss fights) Regardless, I hope to see more DS games with this quality graphics in the near future.

Story: It's short and sweet. Perhaps a little too sweet. It's almost as corny as Heroes. :p The entire basis of it seems to be taken from one of the last arcs in the third(?) season of Sonic X, but I don't want to spoil it for you. It could have been a lot better, but I'm not necessarily complaining. 2D Sonic games have never been much on story.

Notes: An all-around fun game. It tends to have its ups and downs. I found the final level to be rather bland, to be honest. It's full of twists and turns that makes you use strange button combinations to escape certain doom. The Special Stages are the best part of the game, as strange as it seems. I would have killed (well... maybe just attacked someone) for the chance to have a whole bunch of them like in S3&K, or even just play them in order like in Sonic Advance 3 with that cheat code. This replaces Sonic 3 and Knuckles as my favorite 2D Sonic game, and my second favorite Sonic game.

Now, for the spoilers, as a few things confused me.

Spoilers (Select To Read): Kinda of irrelvant, but I find it important after the 'Hyper Shadow' scare. What are we to call 'Super' Blaze? I nominate Burning Blaze! The Sol Emeralds obviously give you fire-based energies, so Burning is the obvious way to go. :p Plus, it sounds good with Blaze's name.

Also, the Eggmen mentioned that the Chaos and Sol Emeralds could destroy the worlds if left alone, or under the right controls. Is the reason they did so so slowly because Sonic had the Chaos Emeralds under control?

I fail to remember the exact quotation, but at the end of the final level, Sonic says something reminiscent of, "This is for you, Blaze." I calmly wait, wondering what it might be, but never see it. Is it somehow connected to the giant light Sonic shows Cream at the very last scene in the game? Or perhaps I'm just not understanding it right and blowing it way out of proportion.

~Nytloc Penumbral Lightkeeper

Got my copy today... *Slowly pulls mouse away from spoiler*

I got Sonic Rush for Christmas and have been playing off and on since. I've been playing it some than deleting the data. At first,it was becaue I had lost my styli, but now I think I'll really play it in earnest when I beat Sonic Advance 3(Darn 7th Chaos Emerald ).

Any way, what I have play, I've really enjoyed. The special stages are pretty awesome and I just love the trick system I mean it's so much fun to pull off. Man, I must say that this game is pretty great and I've just played the first 2 zones with Sonic and played just the 1 act of Blaze's Zone 1. This game is awesome!^___^

Shpoiluhrz Everyone can call Blaze whatever they want until someone important declares her to have an official title for her super form. I prefer the sound of Sol Blaze, so I use that.

as for the "this is for you", I prefer to think that it was Sonic whispering to her, because the dialogue Blaze muses over after the dimsensional split had to come from somewhere. Also, poor translation. It happened a few other times in the game but I don't remember the specific places...

Gah! Spoilers are fat!

Got my 7th Chaos Emerald, though it was horribly difficult. It moves too fast and my hands are too slow! But I managed. Doing midair tricks in Special Stage is helpful, but it takes effort to nail them.

Whoever designed Altitude Limit needs to be shot and dumped in salt. I thought the game was pretty easy but then a level with millions of bottomless pits shows up...like what gives?! I thought using both characters was easy once I figured out how to use Tension guage well, then I just sped through the levels with ease but Altitude Limit...man...

I'm on the final boss as Sonic, who's very very hard. Also, I've managed to get all 7 Chaos Emeralds...the last one...AGH. XO

I find this game very hard. I'm not very good at Sonic 2D games, but I did beat Sonic Advance 3. I dislike how it doesn't save after every act. If you die, you have to do the whole level over again. If Sonic Team let us save after every act like in SA3, I could probably get really far in this game. I'm only on level 3 with Sonic and level 1 with Blaze. I'm a lot better at Sonic 3D games then 2D, especially because you can save after each level, but Sonic Rush is still fun.

For what it's worth, it does save every two acts - that is to say, if you die on a boss you can go back to it.

Anyway, just finished the true final boss, and I must say this game is awesome. The levels are pretty well designed (well, apart from where enemies are placed directly following boosts), the bosses are interesting and challenging (I love Stage 7's boss. Spoilers (Select To Read): They pulled it off much better than other character battles, I thought - most of them consisted of just constantly attacking and hoping to get a hit in, while this one you could develop technique. Also the mini-game type thing at the end was delicious.), and the special stages were innovative and quite possibly up there with the Special Stage Gods, along with Blue Spheres and Sonic 2's (which I normally bypass due to it eating all your rings when you come out of it, but that's beyond the topic).

The only major gripe I have with this game is that you've got to get used to the style of it first - most Sonic games, if you have a previous experience of 'em, you can jump straight into and things'll be pretty easy for you to work out. With Rush I had to play through a good number of levels before I quite got the system, and even now I'm finding important things out I didn't know before. Ah well, Live and Learn as they say. Mainly, though, great gameplay, great graphics, great music, great Sonic Rush.

EDIT: Oh, and in regards to the ending: Spoilers (Select To Read): What was it that Sonic gave Blaze? And what was with Cream and that light...stuff? Is this unexplained in the game, or did I miss something?

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Sonic 2's (which I normally bypass due to it eating all your rings when you come out of it, but that's beyond the topic).

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Well if you do the SSs as Knuckles...

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Whoever designed Altitude Limit needs to be shot and dumped in salt. I thought the game was pretty easy but then a level with millions of bottomless pits shows up...like what gives?! I thought using both characters was easy once I figured out how to use Tension guage well, then I just sped through the levels with ease but Altitude Limit...man...

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Yeah, Altitude is annoying, but once you get the level layout downpat it's easy. I never used tension up until the last course...
Spoilers (Select To Read): Haven't managed to get 7th Emerald yet...what's all this about a super form of Blaze? I thought you just get the emeralds and that's it...is there a secret ending or sometihng? WHAT HAPPENS? I MUST KNOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!

Spoilers (Select To Read): After you get all the emeralds and have beaten the game with both Sonic and Blaze, you unlock the Extra Zone on the character select theme, which is essentially another super boss. Pretty cool, though, and it finalises Rush's story to some degree.

No supers in mid-level again yet, tho. =(

Also it seems that using spoiler tags in a quick reply causes them to get eaten. Hm.

@ Shadowfax....

Spoilers (Select To Read): Every Sonic game since Sonic Adventure has had a final story after all seven chaos emeralds are gathered, and the like. Did you think Rush would be any different o.o

Spoilers (Select To Read): Well it bettered its handheld predecessors in pretty much all other aspects. o.o...

Also why did I spoilers that it isn't too much a spoiler read standalone.

Oh well.

Well... TTG, I dunno if this is a spoiler or not, so...

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I dislike how it doesn't save after every act.

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Actually, it does.

No, it saves after you beat both acts, before the boss. Then it saves after you defeat the boss. I've taken a liking to Blaze, but as already mentioned, her choice of level order is frustrating.

Altitude Limit is evil.

The only thing I hated were the special stages. STOP USING THE F***ING S2 ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And the placement of the enemies and bottomless pit (especially in Altitude limit)

I'm collecting the Chaos Emeralds now, I hate how you get in, I sometimes get hit and lose my boost guage before I get to the entrance.

I know this is a bit old (and I don't know how to quote people yet), but another good site for comparing Sonic scores is: www.soniccenter.org (go to Rankings)

Meh, you're fine newbie. Report to MFC for your newbie "initiation", pronto!

I finally got around to buying this thing yesterday at Curcuit City. I got it for $30, better than the $40 Walmart wanted. First impressions? Niiice. Good OST, maybe not SCD JPN but better than S3&k I think. Blaze? Meh, as long as she doesn't appear in Sonic '06 and beyond I am okay with her. She's fine in this game. Gameplay? I almost shorted my DS if you get what I mean.

First of all, a few questions:
Which MFC (new or old)? If old, how do I post (couldn't find a post button)? If new, do I need to get a new account?
How do you quote people?

And now to be on topic:
I managed to get through the game a few days ago...I think the F Zone boss took me something like 45 minutes and many lives to get through the first time, and that last special stage...I eventually got through it after many hours of playing (I was in a car at the time (made me realize just how bumpy car rides can be), and holding the stylus without blocking the screen with my hand is tricky, since I can't even hold a pencil 'correctly' (never have been able to). It's just too bad I can't say I also beat the stage while Disney music was playing, since the music was stopped several miunutes before I got the Chaos Emerald!^^).

Overall, I think the game was great, and there were quite a few memorable music tracks (IMO). I've already started on time attack, but, looking at the record scores set by other people, it will be a long time before I can match (forget about beating, I'll work on matching first!) those scores! o0
I'd add a bit more, but (just like quoting), I don't yet know how to do spoiler tags (do you just put the code in the reply box or what?). I guess it will take me a while to get the hang of things around here *sigh* ...but I'm sure it will be worth the time and effort!

(Never mind about spoiler tags...I found the little tutorial that shows how to do them...I'll use them to put up "spoilery" info/questions about the game when I have more time. Assuming quoting people uses the same principle, I now know how to do that, too! ...Yay!)

I actually found the F Zone boss to be really easy...it was a little annoying how easy he was. Sort of dissapointing.

Really? ...I guess he wasn't really that hard. It probably had something to do with me being in a weird mood, running on very little sleep, and being in the aforementioned moving vehicle with Disney music playing (picture the 'tense situation' of that Sonic Rush boss ...only to have something like "A Whole New World" playing in the background! lol) while I was attempting to get past that boss.
Anyway...now to try out spoiler tags!

Spoilers (Select To Read): Blaze is a princess? I thought she was a queen? (Anywho, I prefer the princess title)

and

Spoilers (Select To Read): Correct me if I'm wrong, but that ending means that Blaze will probably return, right? I mean, Sonic pretty much tells her that she can use the ...um... Solar? Control to warp to his dimension any time she feels like it!

And why does Eggman Nega, near the end Spoilers (Select To Read): say "Oh no." when the mech that is the final final boss lands behind Blaze? It doesn't really make sense to me.

That's all for now!

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Which MFC (new or old)? If old, how do I post (couldn't find a post button)? If new, do I need to get a new account?

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The MFC that he is talking about is here. That is where your introductory topic goes, but if you post an intro topic, prepare to be eaten but not by me, of course.

SPOILAHZ

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that ending means that Blaze will probably return, right? I mean, Sonic pretty much tells her that she can use the ...um... Solar? Control to warp to his dimension any time she feels like it!

Not quite. If Blaze warped into Sonic's dimension again the distorition would start all over again, unless Sega decided it wouldn't. Either way, it is possible that she will return; whether it is a spinoff involving her world or a Sonic Rush 2 that involves Nega and Eggy doing the same thing all over again remains to be seen.

And why does Eggman Nega, near the end say "Oh no." when the mech that is the final final boss lands behind Blaze?

translation screw-up

Spoilers (Select To Read): translation screw-up

IT IS A BIG ROCK

sorry couldn't help myself >>

Spoilers (Select To Read):

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If Blaze warped into Sonic's dimension again the distorition would start all over again, unless Sega decided it wouldn't.

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I think it's very possible that Sega would decide it wouldn't, since they had that whole scene about the sets of emeralds not causing chaos (or something like that) if the person (or creature) in possession of the emeralds knows how to use them. Thus it could be said that, since Blaze now knows how to use the Sol Emeralds, she can prevent them from causing the dimensional distortion again.

They should make soundtracks of the advance/DS Sonic games! (I really enjoyed many of the tracks!^^)

(Edit: whoops! ...misspelled "spoiler")

FWIW, all the soundtracks are available, ripped from the games, on Shadow of a Hedgehog. You'll need a fileplanet account to download them, tho - it's free to set up, mind...well, so long as you pick the right options and are alright with the possibility of being stuck in a queue.

If you don't want to hassle with a whole signup, email drewdex2@hotmail.com and the password is "tikalSHARED".

As for Gameplay, new opinion...This is what Sonic is all about. I've not had such a good Sonic platformer since CD or maybe S3&k. Way better than the Sonic Advance series. I love the 3D "sprites".

*uberbump*

I wish to inform everybody that as of today, I actually have this game.

Frankly, I don't quite get why people think this is the best Sonic game in a good while, but it's pretty decent. Bottomless pits keep killing me, though.

I love it. This game ROCKS!

Personally, I LOVED the return of the S2-style Special Stages. In my opinon, they (and the ones here and in Chaotix) were the best they've had (Heroes ones were okay, and I loved the Tornado 2 ones in SAdv3, but...)

Heh, oddly enough I too bought this game today. I'm loving it right now. So great. Unbelieveably fast. So many tricks to do, this time around. I like it, I love it, and Sonic Team please make some more of it. ^_^

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Frankly, I don't quite get why people think this is the best Sonic game in a good while, but it's pretty decent. Bottomless pits keep killing me, though.

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Well, when you compare it to the last few Sonic games that has been released, Rush seems like it is the best Sonic game in ages.

Anyway, I enjoy this game much more than SA2, SH, and any of the Sonic Advances. It feels like it is Sonic Advance 2...done right. The trick system has been improved and the speed is just as fast as ever. The level design...is a slight improvement over the Advances, but it still suffers from the onslaught of "bottomless pit-itis". It was especially frustrating trying to complete Blaze's first level since that was really Sonic's fourth level making the game unbalanced in that aspect.

The Special Stages are pretty neat though. They are my favorite SS next to the Sonic 3&K ones. Also, they are not a pain to access--unlike the Advances' SS.

As for Blaze...*shrugs* she doesn't really offer anything new gameplay wise. She's just a slower Sonic with a higher jump and a more speedy version of Knux's hovering technique. She also seems like a more intelligent version of Knuckles's, personality-wise. I don't dislike her, but I won't really miss her if Rush is the only game she appears in.

Oh yeah, and the music is good.

One question, since I own the Japanese version could anyone tell me how does the English version of Blaze sound like? You can name any 4Kids-dubbed anime character to whom she sounds the closest to help with your de*****ion. Japanese Blaze sort of sounds like a boy.

English Blaze sounds almost like the dub voice of Black Magician Girl/Mana from Yu-Gi-Oh.

I'm curious to know what Blaze's Japanese voice is like, myself (I own the PAL version)

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English Blaze sounds almost like the dub voice of Black Magician Girl/Mana from Yu-Gi-Oh.

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Hmm..I guess this doesn't help me at all since I never really watched YGO. Ah well.

Also, I like it how the s-c-r-i-p-t in de*****ion is censored in my previous post.

Would anyone care to share the name of Blaze's Japanese VA btw? I can't seem to find it anywhere.
Oh, and Blaze's English VA is Bella Hudson (mistranslated as "Berra" in the credits!)
www.imdb.com/name/nm1724747/

It would appear she DOES play the girl from Yu Gi Oh! just mentioned. She also plays Wave in Sonic Riders, and the President's secretary in Shadow.

Then, if that's the case, it's a 4Kids conspiracy! =O

She's also seem to be the voice for Monkey D Luffy.

Okay, I do know how dubbed Luffy sound like and...x_x.

o.O @ Monkey D Blaze.

I've got to play this game sometime, really.

Well, she may voice both characters but Blaze doesn't sound anything like Luffy.

I'm really making this Altitude Limit Boss harder than he is. It's pissing me off too. Geez.

Yayz. I now have all S-ranks on every level and boss for zones 1-7. I have S-ranks on the final-zones, but...not yet on Exception. I think that's what the extra-zone was called. My highest rank on Exception was an A. I still can't get that illusive S-rank.

And my current Zone 2 Act 1 Time Attack record is about 1:21:xx with Blaze.

Battle between Sonic and Blaze: AWESOME. Especially the final hit. MAN, I love this game!