Create Sparks in this High Speed Sonic Spiritual Successor
Spark The Electric Jester 2 Mini Review
Sonic games were a huge deal in the 90’s. During that time, there wasn't a game that came remotely close to the style of gameplay that Sonic brought to the table. Although simple in concept, Sonic was a hard game to replicate—especially to replicate well. Throughout the years, Sonic gained a ton of popularity and now has one of the biggest and most loving communities as a whole.
Unfortunately, Sonic games started being ridiculed for mediocre gameplay. This led to a huge divide in the fan base on how Sonic games should be played. There was a massive divide over the preference of 3D vs 2D perspective. As a huge Sonic fan myself, being born in 1992, I grew up with every Sonic game and was thrilled just to have any new game at all, 3D or 2D alike. I love every single game (other than Forces), even to this day.
Honestly, SEGA hasn’t really scratched that 3D sonic itch for me since Sonic: Lost World. Sonic fans rejoice! We have a new hero that has stepped into the scene. Our friends at Feperd Games were kind enough to provide me a chance to play Spark: the Electric Jester 2. With pride, I’ve got to say, Spark 2 is an absolute banger!
Spark: the Electric Jester 2 was originally released on PC for Steam back in April of 2017. Spark 1 was a nice snazzy mix between Sonic: the Hedgehog 3 and Mega Man: Zero (obviously learning heavy on the Sonic side. I’ll be posting a review of that game on a different day, it’s definitely worth a look.) This new Spark game takes the Sonic: Adventure series’ perspective of 3D action, and boy, it does it well.
When booting up the game, you’re met with a very obvious call back to Sonic: Adventure 2’s animated wallpaper, featuring the characters you’ll be seeing in the game. Another neat touch added is the similar map system.
The game’s overall graphics are pretty good. A crisp 4k on Xbox One and the inclusion of HDR really bring the vibrancy and color home. During my playtime with the game, the HDR was a little on the dark side regardless of any adjustments I made. This is just a personal issue, so it doesn't reflect poorly on the game itself.
The controls on the game are very tight and responsive, plus I was pleasantly surprised and impressed with how the game felt when running around. This game really nails the Sonic: Adventure 2 feel, and actually improves on it. The speed in this game is fantastic! It uses a momentum based system, so if you are running downhill at all, you speed up and keep said speed. With a click of LT, you can keep that momentum going and even do a slight dash in the air, which got me out of a lot of situations. The pacing in this game is fantastic as well. If you get good enough at it, you can keep up a steady speed without any slowdown.
Lastly, every path in this game is free to explore, and the stages have many paths, twists, and turns you can go through, giving the player several options on how they want to tackle the levels. There's nothing linear about this game!
The Bad
Although the music is fantastic, several tracks are just reused audio from the first game. However, the music during boss fights is a neat touch. As the fights progress, lyrics are added to the music giving a very strong Crush 40 vibe. Honestly it’s spot on, and the sound and style of the music are pretty mesmerizing. I almost thought it was actually Crush 40 for a bit.
The animations in cutscenes are really choppy, and the story will leave you confused, even if you have knowledge of the first game or not. No character in the story has enough screen time to really make you care about the plot. The story is pretty weak overall, and the villains have no weight to them. On my first playthrough, I skipped several cutscenes because I personally wasn't feeling the story. During my second playthrough, I watched everything in its entirety, and still couldn’t bring myself to like the story much.
Luckily, the gameplay was fantastic, and the gaming itself is far more important than a bad plot line. But my dislike of the story is purely subjective, and it’s ultimately up to the player to formulate a opinion.
Final Thoughts
This is a game I can highly recommend to any Sonic fan! Spark: The Electric Jester 2 is a blast to run though, and any fan of the Sonic: Adventure series is in for a treat! Spark doesn't use rails on any portion of gameplay at all, and the player has 100% control of every loop and every turn. The controls are tight and responsive, and I never once felt like I didn't have full control over my character.
If you are a Sonic fan and just have an itch for some nostalgic Sonic: Adventure style gameplay, then this is the perfect game for you. It does a fantastic job at capturing the magic of the series. I believe everyone that loves Sonic: Adventure 2 should give this game a go. Spark: 2 is available on Windows via Steam and Xbox One for $19.99.