In the steamy wake of so-so Sonics on Xbox 360, Sonic Team has finally pulled off what we’ve been waiting for: they’ve taken the blue speedster back to his wonderful basics. The first episode of Sonic 4 has none of the expanded universe or multitudes of characters that no one cares about; it’s just Sonic racing to the right as fast as he can to foil Doctor Eggman and save his animal buddies.

Everything in Sonic 4 is a loving homage to the franchise’s glory days. From the opening “Sega” chime to the pinball levels in the Casino Street zone to the rotating worlds in the Chaos Emerald special stages (you know, the ones in the first Sonic that made you want to chuck your controller at the nearest wall), everything we could have expected from an 16-bit sequel is here, in full HD glory. The clever, branching level design is back as well, baiting players into spending hours trying to find the fastest way through the requisite Green Hill–style zone or Donkey Kong Country–influenced mine-cart level in the revamped Labyrinth zone.

The big question, of course, is how it plays. Does it feel like a real Sonic game? It does, but everything’s a tad slower: it takes Sonic longer to accelerate and his top speed isn’t quite what it used to be. As a result, you’ll suffer fewer insta-deaths from spikes and the occasional pit, but the change may alienate the more hardcore old-school fans. We liked the slower pace, however: it means less trial-and-error and makes you rely more on your reflexes in the moment. We expect leaderboard-focused players in particular to find sly uses for the new auto-lock aerial spin attack during speed runs.

With so much classic-gaming joy, we’re thankful this is only Episode 1. Hopefully, the next episode will be either longer or cheaper, though: we beat Sonic 4’s four multi-stage zones and unlockable bonus stages in just over two hours, which is pretty disappointing given the $15 price (really, Sega?); all but the biggest platforming fans will feel a bit cheated. Had the game been a more reasonable $10, we’d have scored it higher.

On Xbox Live Arcade

+ Fantastic level design.

+ No stupid characters or bad voice-acting.

- Slower speed may alienate some longtime fans; pricey given its short length.

? Has it really been 16 years since the last 2D Sonic console game?

8.0