Sonic makes his DS debut in this triumphant return to 2D...

Sonic’s arrival in 1991 came at a time when I was at a young and impressionable age; previously the geeky boy sat in the corner with his GameBoy was the kid to talk to thanks to the entrance of a certain spikey blue hedgehog with speed and attitude in abundance – I’ve got a lot to thank him for. So it’s been painful to see his awkward transition across the generations; the string of cash-ins towards the end of SEGA’s finest hour, the lack of an appearance during the Saturn’s most desperate hour and more poignantly the fact that Sonic has yet to flow with typical finesse in 3D.

Whilst a certain Sonic offshoot’s latest attempt at 3D has met with typical levels of failure (actually it’s much worse then that, but we’ll leave that for the next review), Sonic Team have manage to rekindle some of the series earlier success with Sonic Dash.

For years Sonic fans have begged, pleaded and burnt spikey blue effigies for a 2D version and thankfully the DS provides the platform to provide this, although the inclusion of a handful of subtlety implemented 3D effects helps to ensure this Sonic feels distinctly up to date.

Sonic’s return to 2D heralds the return of brilliant level designs, which in traditional Sonic custom keep you coming back until perfected like circuits of a race course. All the traditional moves, jumps and twists are back with a couple of new tricks to boot, in the shape of the homing Jump Dash from Sonic Adventure and an all-new Super Boost technique.

However that’s far from all, Sonic Dash takes the concept of Sonic’s fluid style, introduces a handful of new techniques and finally realises Naka-san’ attempt to blend trick mechanics with the staple Sonic gameplay. Unlike previous attempts such as the grinds from Sonic Adventure 2, the new techniques seam perfectly into the classic run+jump gameplay; more purposefully they expand upon the original premise, putting further subtleties into the skilful nature of largely holding onto one direction, frantically tapping the A button and suffering the most intense eye strain you’re ever likely to endure!

Tapping the B button whilst whizzing through the sky shows Sonic’s back to his sprightly best, pulling off cartwheels, loops and spins with gracious ease; tapping the right shoulder button performs the aspiring signature grind whilst further combinations provide access to a handful of other techniques. Not only do tricks get tallied up towards the end for the player’s final grade, but also help to boost the Tension gauge, a new introduction that governs how often the Super Boost can be used. There’s a perfect sense of harmony between the trick system, Super Boost and classic Sonic gameplay, resulting in a true return to form for the series and easily the most enjoyable original title since Sonic 2 first landed.

Naturally Sonic’s not alone in his latest adventure with Blaze the Cat sharing the billing. Thankfully Blaze plays almost identically to Sonic with cosmetic changes differentiating the two, so the core gameplay remains largely the same and thankfully doesn’t involve anything like treasure hunting or shooting. The age-old problem of only wanting to be Sonic still remains, however after disastrous attempts in the Sonic Adventure series and slight disappointments with Sonic Heroes, this is as good as could have been hoped.

Despite the 2D stages Sonic Rush features a 3D Sonic and various other visual effects, whilst the classic boss stages are created entirely in 3D and largely to similar designs to those featured in Sonic Team’s finest hour, Nights: Into Dreams. Elsewhere the classic bonus stage of Sonic 2 returns; however this time around the stage makes use of the DS touch screen which requires deft control to collect a certain amount of rings and ultimately a Chaos Emerald. The blend of 2D and 3D creates a distinctive style that brings Sonic right up to date, creating one of the finer visual offerings that the DS has around.

Perhaps the only real disappointment stems from Sonic Team’s inability to come up with clever designs to take advantage of the DS. Admittedly the second screen provides the ability to have far grander level designs then ever before, even though it does take some getting used to. But beyond the bonus stages that’s about your lot, which comes as a real disappointment given Sonic Team’s previous outing on the DS in the shape of Project Rub – arguably one of only a handful of titles to fully exploit the system. Original shots dating back to September 14th 2004 showed a vastly different title to what we have now, focussing on 3D visuals and what appears to be a “rubbing” technique on the second screen – if anybody knows whatever happened to this version answers on a postcard to the typical address.

Fantastic levels designs, intense gameplay, enjoyable boss encounters and plenty of new tricks brings Sonic back to finest; some have described it as the best Sonic yet and we’d certainly be inclined to agree, this is classic Sonic gameplay exactly as we remember it.

Sonic fans, DS owners and those looking for some classic action should check Sonic Rush out immediately; forget every other Sonic title around and take a trip back to remember just how good Sonic was before he went 3D – hopefully this all bodes well for Sonic’s return to his traditional form in the forthcoming PS3 and Xbox 360 title, more to the point can we have a Nights sequel on the DS please…