Sonic Shuffle, originally titled Sonic Square, was created by members from the same team that helped Nintendo build Merio Party. Hence the similarity in the two games. The game sees Sonic, Amy, Tails and Knuckles warped to a mystical land called Maginaryworld, where people's dreams come true, if you excuse the horrible cliche. A magical fairy called Lumina explains why the Sonic gang have ended up in Maginaryworld. An evil being, Void, is set to destroy the Precioustones, which is basically the source of power for Maginaryworld. If the Precioustones are destroyed, the magical land will cease to exist, and people will have nightmares (shame). As all good heroes do, Sonic and the team accept their challenge, and funnily enough, Eggman manages to get in your way also. so they all go to defeat Void, protect the Precioustones and restore Illumina, a kind of Goddess type thing. Sonic Shuffle is a lot like Mario Party, although in Nintendo's Board Game romp there wasn't much going on except Bowser, stars, rings. While on the board there never felt like there was any action inbetween mini games. Sonic Shuffle differs from this, as the aim is to gain the most Precioustones. You can do this either by collecting the most Rings in a game, gaining the most rings in mini games, winning the most battles, and by landing on the Precioustone spot, which is random throughout the game. Many things happen on the board. If you land on a green spot, you'll either enter a mini game, concerning all four players, or a mini event, which just involves yourself. There are many different versions of each mini event, and depending on who landed on the green spot, the mini game will be either in favour or against you. Purple spots enter battles, which gain you Forcejewels, they make special things happen when used, such as use five cards in one turn. Red ring spots loses you rings, and blue gains rings, but you can catch a combo, so watch what you step on. Even without doing anything, an 'Accident' can occur, which is basically another mini-game, and usually involves surviving or collecting rings. One particular Accident situation is above, in Emerald Coast. Yes, as all Sonic games, even when he's not the main baddie, Eggman has to make an appearance, just to make your life hell. Somehow Dr. Robotnik managed to get his big fat arse into Maginaryworld and he's here to cause you pain. He's the equivalent of Bowser in Mario Party, and appears after a Precioustone is collected. Whenever a whole pack of cards is used up by everyone, a new pack will be dealt to all the players. There are equal amounts of each number (4), and three specials. There is one Eggman card that may be lying in your pack and if you get it, don't use it, because Eggman will play a rotten trick on you. He usually crops up in mini games and whenever you have hit a space a certain amount of times. If you're too far away from the Precioustone when someone else gets it, you're in for a squishing! The main aim of the game is to collect the most Precioustones in an entire game. As explained before, there are many ways to collect these, the most common option being a race for the random Precioustone spot. When you manage to land on this spot you have to face a monster which keeps the Precioustone. Like all battles, to beat it you must have a number card higher than the one shown above the enemies head. Next the card spins like a roulette, from 1 to the number of that chosen card. Press A to stop it. Get it a number higher than the monster and you defeat it, and the prize is yours. Right at the very end, after someone has collected the last Precioustone in the game, it still ain't over. If you're short of a Precioustone, now's your chance to get back in the game, because a special end mini game will commence, and it usually involves a race while avoiding deadly obstacles. An example of the final mini game is a surfing mini game at the end of Emerald Coast level, where you have to surf the waves, avoid the logs and other obstacles and beat the other three players to the end at the same time. It's a frantic run to the finish, and the winner gets a Precioustone. Once all the Precioustones are totted up, then the winner is decided. Although this is a party game that could be a challenger to Nintendo's efforts, Mario Party, there are a couple of niggles which deny this game a great acknowledgement. First of all there is the occurrence of the excrutiatingly long loading times, you even have to wait for the Sonic Room >_< This makes the gameplay factor go very 'on and off' throughout the whole thing, and you could very well see how many trips to the loo and back you could make before the loading's ended (you may want to have an unstoppable, cautious bladder of course though ^_-). Plus there's the onmipresent feeling that the game is getting a bit tedious, especially during the solo player mode, where you can't have any friends of yours join in to complete the main Story, like Mario Party. Plus, the game has an element of cheating in the game somehow - the computer players never go for their own Eggman card, not even on Easy (where you'd think they'd slip up occasionally). No. Instead, they nick off with your best card - so although a genius and original idea, the whole cards thing to move is a bit underhanded. Overall, this is worth shelling out for a rental for an all-nighter with your pals (although your pals may think you strange to be playing Sonic - hey, we've all been there), but nothing really makes the game deserving of a full investment. Unless you like the game a lot or a Sonic hardcore, be my guest, but if you aren't, this is not Sonic quality gaming at it's best. Sonic Score: 6 out of 10! Agree? Disagree? Submit your own review! See other Sonic Shuffle Sections <-- GO BACK 'SSNG' © Dread & Andrew. 'Dreadknux' and 'The Sonic Stadium' © Svend VJ. 'Sonic News' is © Andrew P. Content © SVJ/AP. Sonic the Hedgehog © Sega.
Many things happen on the board. If you land on a green spot, you'll either enter a mini game, concerning all four players, or a mini event, which just involves yourself. There are many different versions of each mini event, and depending on who landed on the green spot, the mini game will be either in favour or against you. Purple spots enter battles, which gain you Forcejewels, they make special things happen when used, such as use five cards in one turn. Red ring spots loses you rings, and blue gains rings, but you can catch a combo, so watch what you step on. Even without doing anything, an 'Accident' can occur, which is basically another mini-game, and usually involves surviving or collecting rings. One particular Accident situation is above, in Emerald Coast.
Yes, as all Sonic games, even when he's not the main baddie, Eggman has to make an appearance, just to make your life hell. Somehow Dr. Robotnik managed to get his big fat arse into Maginaryworld and he's here to cause you pain. He's the equivalent of Bowser in Mario Party, and appears after a Precioustone is collected. Whenever a whole pack of cards is used up by everyone, a new pack will be dealt to all the players. There are equal amounts of each number (4), and three specials. There is one Eggman card that may be lying in your pack and if you get it, don't use it, because Eggman will play a rotten trick on you. He usually crops up in mini games and whenever you have hit a space a certain amount of times. If you're too far away from the Precioustone when someone else gets it, you're in for a squishing!
The main aim of the game is to collect the most Precioustones in an entire game. As explained before, there are many ways to collect these, the most common option being a race for the random Precioustone spot. When you manage to land on this spot you have to face a monster which keeps the Precioustone. Like all battles, to beat it you must have a number card higher than the one shown above the enemies head. Next the card spins like a roulette, from 1 to the number of that chosen card. Press A to stop it. Get it a number higher than the monster and you defeat it, and the prize is yours.
Right at the very end, after someone has collected the last Precioustone in the game, it still ain't over. If you're short of a Precioustone, now's your chance to get back in the game, because a special end mini game will commence, and it usually involves a race while avoiding deadly obstacles. An example of the final mini game is a surfing mini game at the end of Emerald Coast level, where you have to surf the waves, avoid the logs and other obstacles and beat the other three players to the end at the same time. It's a frantic run to the finish, and the winner gets a Precioustone. Once all the Precioustones are totted up, then the winner is decided.
Although this is a party game that could be a challenger to Nintendo's efforts, Mario Party, there are a couple of niggles which deny this game a great acknowledgement. First of all there is the occurrence of the excrutiatingly long loading times, you even have to wait for the Sonic Room >_< This makes the gameplay factor go very 'on and off' throughout the whole thing, and you could very well see how many trips to the loo and back you could make before the loading's ended (you may want to have an unstoppable, cautious bladder of course though ^_-). Plus there's the onmipresent feeling that the game is getting a bit tedious, especially during the solo player mode, where you can't have any friends of yours join in to complete the main Story, like Mario Party. Plus, the game has an element of cheating in the game somehow - the computer players never go for their own Eggman card, not even on Easy (where you'd think they'd slip up occasionally). No. Instead, they nick off with your best card - so although a genius and original idea, the whole cards thing to move is a bit underhanded. Overall, this is worth shelling out for a rental for an all-nighter with your pals (although your pals may think you strange to be playing Sonic - hey, we've all been there), but nothing really makes the game deserving of a full investment. Unless you like the game a lot or a Sonic hardcore, be my guest, but if you aren't, this is not Sonic quality gaming at it's best.
Sonic Score: 6 out of 10!
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