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Sonic The Hedgehog games wouldn't be what they are if it weren't for the varied and colorful environments each game takes players through. All the way from the bright and joyous Green Hills to more gritty and unfriendly levels like the Death Egg, Sonic games are as much about the world as the hedgehog himself.
Sonic Colors is one of the best games for this in the franchise's modern era. The theme of an outer-space amusement park meant that the confines of realism didn't restrict the designers. As such, they created one of the most visually interesting, diverse, and long Sonic games to date.
7 Planet Wisp - Too Slow
People who played the version of this stage in Sonic Generations may be in for a nasty surprise when they play the original version in Colors. Where the Generations version balances the platforming with fun and fast sections, the original leans all the way to precision platforming. It doesn't work.
Sonic's controls are a little loser in this game, which works well in other stages but is cause for endless frustration in this stage. Sonic's controls in this game are not made for precision platforming (that's generally Mario's job), and that's all this zone has to offer. Rare fast sections are over in the blink of an eye, and every other section is either slow, frustrating, or both.
6 Starlight Carnival - On Rails
Starlight Carnival looks a lot better on the surface because it seems like there are plenty of high-speed sections with platforming challenges. The problem is that for the vast majority of these sections, the player has no control. Sometimes the game at least bothers to make the player dodge obstacles, but often all the player has to do is watch as a light-bridge wooshes about the screen for 30 seconds.
Even when this level gives the player control, it isn't very fun. The shorter "puzzler" stages aren't very challenging, and the Wisps they center around are some of the least fun to play with. It's a beautiful zone worthy of a remaster, but that's all it's got going for it.
5 Sweet Mountain - Just Fine
As the second zone in the game, Sweet Mountain doesn't push the level of challenge too high too quickly, which is good, but it also needed to push it a little higher than it did. It's arguably the most forgettable zone, purely because it's over in a flash.
The Rocket and Drill Wisps that the levels focus on are two of the most fun in the game, but it doesn't use them in interesting ways. The only time they show up is to get past an obstacle they're very obviously required for. It still has a decent sense of momentum to it and several fun sections, but it comes away being pretty average.
4 Tropical Resort - Hitting The Basics
Tropical Resort is the first zone in the game, which is arguably what makes it one of the more enjoyable ones. Here, the game isn't worrying about having the player execute a bunch of precision platforming or boring Wisp challenges; it wants players to get that great feeling of blasting past obstacles and hitting all the right marks to keep the momentum going.
Rather than punishing players for failing to hit a prompt at high speed with death, it instead rewards the players that manage it with faster routes. Generations would use this philosophy for most of its 3D levels and be much better for it. Sometimes simpler is better.
3 Terminal Velocity - Traveling At The Speed Sound
This zone is a lot shorter than most of the others and only has two non-boss levels, and one of those is only 30 seconds long, but they're still pretty fun. The game has no problem with challenging the player by this point and throws a gauntlet of obstacles at them.
What's great about it is how it manages to use all these obstacles while keeping the sense of speed high. It is a little annoying how players have very little control over Sonic's forward movement, but it allows the focus to be on dodging what's coming their way.
2 Aquarium Park - A Good Water Level
Water levels usually have the reputation of being the worst part of any platforming game, but Sonic Colors does a surprisingly good job of theirs. For one thing, traversing the water isn't too much of a chore. The overly floaty nature is a bit annoying, but the fact that players can jump infinitely and instantly drop down at the press of a button is a huge boon.
Additionally, it has a surprising amount of fast sections. The latter half of the game prefers big open highway sections with a bunch of obstacles over really slow precision platforming, and it's brilliant. In several stages, players won't even have to enter the water if they manage their boost properly. It's a great design.
1 Asteroid Coaster - The Ride Of A Lifetime
Asteroid Coaster is the perfect example of how fun 3D Sonic levels can be. The levels have design styles from all over the rest of the game, but it manages to make all of them the most fun versions they can be. The on-rails sections are short and give players other things to focus on during it, and the precision platforming sections are few and far between, meaning it's a nice change of pace when they show up, rather than a constant chore.
The speed sections are by far the best the game has to offer. Obstacles are scattered in such a way to make a fun and fair challenge without slowing players down too much if they're good at it. Additionally, there are many sections where the game lets players open up with the Frenzy Wisp, arguably the best there is.
Sonic Colors Ultimate was released on November 11, 2010, and is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Nintendo DS, and Wii.