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DF Retro x Modern - Sonic Colors Ultimate: Every Console Version Tested

Bullet Club

Member



The quality of the Switch port of Sonic Colors Ultimate has been a hot topic of discussion, but what of the quality of the remaster overall? John Linneman runs the rule over every console version of the game - and takes a look at the original Wii release to remind us *why* this Sonic title is definitely deserving of the remastering treatment.
 

cireza

Banned
John take this game too easy as he saying there are little distracting bugs, but ignoring the bugs infront his own footage. Quite strange behavior.
A "strange" behavior would be to actually be so low, that people they try to throw flak at a video-game series by playing it on emulators and pretending the game is bugged.
But this wouldn't surprise me given the times we live in.
 
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Fake

Member
A "strange" behavior would be to actually be so low, that people they try to throw flak at a video-game series by playing it on emulators and pretending the game is bugged.
But this wouldn't surprise me given the times we live in.

You can turn on your magnifer when you want. I saw he increasing his magnifer in ground texture and at the same time ignoring some bugs in the screen.
Not to mention some harmful bugs about epilepsy.

Was an overlypostivity video to say at least, so, yes, is a strange behavior.
 
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Saber

Gold Member
I'm not entirelly sure if Linneman is trying to be soft on the remaster. I mean, yeah it has positives. But bugs can be seein during his video(theres some hilarious like Sonic stutter on the space level) and it feels like it isn't much of a deal. Its ok to like the game, but this should be pointed to be at least be fixed in the future. And lol at the emulator excuse, people already proved most of those are real bugs. Even Linneman said to avoid the Switch version yet theres some retard here and there ignoring this.
 
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Fake

Member
At work, summary?

-Native 4k on series X
-1440p on Ps5.
- Sonic Colors Ultimate don't have PS5 and Series X version
- Instead, they're running the game via BC
- So, Xbox One X runs at native 4k while PRO runs at 1440p
- Base PS4 and Series S run at native 1080p
- Xbox One and Nintendo Switch runs at 900p
- FPS, all version try to run at 60 fps
- Only PS5 and Series X/S runs at locked 60 fps
- Base PS4, PRO, Xbox One and Xbox One X don't hold 60 fps and have some dips.
- Xbox One struggle the most
- Nintendo Switch runs at 30 with dips
- Docked at 900p and mobile at 600p
- The Wii version takes 3 seconds to load a zone, while the NS takes 13 or more.
- Bugs
 
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Codes 208

Member
-Native 4k on series X
-1440p on Ps5.
- Sonic Colors Ultimate don't have PS5 and Series X version
- Instead, they're running the game via BC
- So, Xbox One X runs at native 4k while PRO runs at 1440p
- Base PS4 and Series S run at native 1080p
- Xbox One and Nintendo Switch runs at 900p
- FPS, all version try to run at 60 fps
- Only PS5 and Series X/S runs at locked 60 fps
- Base PS4, PRO, Xbox One and Xbox One X don't hold 60 fps and have some dips.
- Xbox One struggle the most
- Nintendo Switch runs at 30 with dips
- Docked at 900p and mobile at 600p
- The Wii version takes 3 seconds to load a zone, while the NS takes 13 or more.
- Bugs
Damn, i was looking to get the switch version but i may just opt for the pc version instead.
 

Codes 208

Member
The amount of glitches gives me ptsd of rise of Lyric. Does sega not take what their testers have to say seriously? (Im of course calling back to when the quality assurance team contacted arin from game grumps about how they told sega sonic boom was buggy but they wouldnt budge or do shit)
 

SkylineRKR

Member
Lame. I was hoping for an X|S boost at the very least, with 120hz or something. I have PS5 and S, so PS5 would be the best because of the higher resolution than S.

Its just that One X is native 4k, that Series X gets 4k, but sadly its a complete last-gen release still.
 
John take this game too easy as he saying there are little distracting bugs, but ignoring the bugs infront his own footage. Quite strange behavior.
This is how DF operate, they don't really analyze much of anything these days... I don't think they ever mention bugs? it's probably to avoid ruffling the feathers of their industry ties... or they just don't care, which is strange for people doing analysis.
 

Synless

Member
Why couldn't they have just used Dynamic resolution with the PS4 with a native 4k being the highest possible outcome. That is brutal on PS5 for it to be so low given the graphics of this game.
 
This is how DF operate, they don't really analyze much of anything these days... I don't think they ever mention bugs? it's probably to avoid ruffling the feathers of their industry ties... or they just don't care, which is strange for people doing analysis.

No, they do. Look their Cyberpunk videos.

It's because in this case, bugs exists, but people overreact.
My ps4 copy arrived today and it's running flawless, had no issues.
P
If i see some bug, i'll post here!
You know, im not those blind fanboys who defend companies, if i find something i'll post.
 
This is how DF operate, they don't really analyze much of anything these days... I don't think they ever mention bugs? it's probably to avoid ruffling the feathers of their industry ties... or they just don't care, which is strange for people doing analysis.

No, they do. Look their Cyberpunk videos.

It's because in this case, bugs exists, but people overreact.
My ps4 copy arrived today and it's running flawless, had no issues.

If i see some bug, i'll post here!
You know, im not those blind fanboys who defend companies, if i find something i'll post.
 
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Holammer

Member
I watched right now John on his livestream saying to avoid the PC version as well.
Well, it's on EGS so avoiding comes naturally.
That's probably why they dumped it on Epic with such short notice. Get some "minimum guarantees" money and spend 6-12 months fixing it as it would have been savaged in Steam user reviews.
 

01011001

Banned
that Switch version is such a joke... just to really drive this home:

the Wii's GPU had a peak of 12 Gigaflops/s
the Switch's GPU a peak of 393 Gigaflops/s

The Wii runs this at 480p 30fps
the Switch runs it at 900p 30fps

The Wii loads levels in less than 5 seconds
The Switch takes often up to 15 seconds

The graphical improvements on the Switch are so minor you have to actually stop and look at the textures to see them. During movement everything is so blurred due to the speed and the low framerate that you barely see an upgrade.
The most visible changes are ones that would be possible to implement into the Wii version with barely any performance impact. These changes are the color palette and the stronger bloom effect.

So what you get in the end on Switch is a game that barely looks any better, has a pixels per second increase of less than 2x (about 1.7x) and longer loading times.
meanwhile the Switch's GPU in docked mode is about 32x as powerful as the one in the Wii, and in handheld mode about 20x as powerful... (this is not even taking into account that the GPU of the Switch is way more modern as well)

...2x pixels per second + barely any real improvements in graphics (in fact shadow draw distance is lower on Switch than on Wii) + slower loading... and all that on a console that has up to 32x more GPU power available. this is beyond ridiculous.

Colors Running on Dolphin vs Colors on PS4 Pro (closest shots I've found):

8HvnvXU.png


basically, BLOOOOOM and some color changes... that's basically the big difference here in this shot. now imagine on Switch at lower res and lower settings!
 
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stranno

Member
that Switch version is such a joke... just to really drive this home:
That happens all the time. There are barely ANY PS2 port to any other platform done right. Those games, without any kind of modern standards, are just handcrafted for those systems. It's probably not easy to convert them to modern stuff.

I mean, just take a look at Bully: Schollarship. It is a piece of crap, and it runs on a 360 or Playstation 3, it should be better than Playstation 2, but nope..
 
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01011001

Banned
That happens all the time. There are barely ANY PS2 port to any other platform done right. Those games, without any kind of modern standards, are just handcrafted for those systems. It's probably not easy to convert them to modern stuff.

I mean, just take a look at Bully: Schollarship. It is a piece of crap, and it runs on a 360 or Playstation 3, it should be better than Playstation 2, but nope..

I buy that on PS2 games, because the PS2 had very exotic hardware. but this is an engine that was used on Xbox 360 and PC at the time, running on the Wii, which had relatively easy to develop for ATi hardware.
games on PS2 sometimes used baked in graphics effects that were hard to port over (the realtime shadows in Silent Hill 2 for example), the Wii didn't really have this stuff... outside for ways to easily have planar reflections in games maybe
 
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celsowmbr

Banned
At work, summary?
– Game uses original C++ code and Hedgehog engine
– Graphics backend handled by the Godot Engine
– Assets redone
– Textures, models, and more enhanced
– Reworked geometry and lighting
– Neon signs glow more vibrantly
– Everything appears more legible
– Sonic is lit and shaded differently, and he’s more vibrant
– Higher resolution ground textures
– Geometry has been altered
– Rough edges have been cleaned up
– There is a change in visual design for Sonic Colors: Ultimate
– User interface remade with higher resolution assets
– Stages can be slightly glitchy in terms of overall presentation
– Rings have more polygons and shadows are more accurate to their position
– AI upscaling used for cutscenes, but still based on the Wii original
– Resolution is 900p on Switch when docked
– 600p in portable mode
– Assets on Switch are of a lower quality compared to other consoles
– 30 frames per second on Switch
– Long loading times on Switch

Source : https://nintendoeverything.com/sonic-colors-ultimate-analysis-and-tech-changes/
 

01011001

Banned
complete sidenote here... but I just freaking realized that they changed the spelling of the name depending on region... I have never seen any other game do this lol...

US COVER:
sonic_colors_nintendo_wii.jpg


GERMAN COVER:
R.cf6c91d085d83c66d6815531a36cfbc7
 

Codes 208

Member
complete sidenote here... but I just freaking realized that they changed the spelling of the name depending on region... I have never seen any other game do this lol...

US COVER:
sonic_colors_nintendo_wii.jpg


GERMAN COVER:
R.cf6c91d085d83c66d6815531a36cfbc7
Many pubs do this (most of the time anyway)
 

Codes 208

Member
examples? I've never seen this... maybe I just never noticed (although it took me until just now to notice it here as well... so lol)
The funny thing is i was already looking for examples and i guess theres actually a lot less than i was expecting. And its even funnier to me that something like For Honor using the American spelling for ‘honor’ but isnt spelt differently based on region (Honour) despite being published and developed by ubisoft, a European company

i was also expecring bloodborne to be bloodbourne for the pal regions but nope.
 

01011001

Banned
The funny thing is i was already looking for examples and i guess theres actually a lot less than i was expecting. And its even funnier to me that something like For Honor using the American spelling for ‘honor’ but isnt spelt differently based on region (Honour) despite being published and developed by ubisoft, a European company

i was also expecring bloodborne to be bloodbourne for the pal regions but nope.

yeah like I said, I never saw any british spelling in any game... or console for that matter (GB Color, NeoGeo Pocket Color)
it's weird that Sega bothered tbh.
I bet most don't do this simply to have an easy to search and uniform title worldwide.

also in For Honor it's also kinda funny because of the setting the game is set in (medieval times with british knights etc.)
 
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Fake

Member
Ive heard the pc version is a basic port but is there a particular reason as to why to avoid it?
 

stranno

Member
I buy that on PS2 games, because the PS2 had very exotic hardware. but this is an engine that was used on Xbox 360 and PC at the time, running on the Wii, which had relatively easy to develop for ATi hardware.
games on PS2 sometimes used baked in graphics effects that were hard to port over (the realtime shadows in Silent Hill 2 for example), the Wii didn't really have this stuff... outside for ways to easily have planar reflections in games maybe
Colors was exclusive Wii code by the time, I don't think the usage of PhysX, if that's true, makes any difference. Wii wasn't that streamlined, after all it was just a GameCube with slightly more friendly memory layout. They had to convert the TEV code to programmable pixel shaders, among other things. If the game has issues, it was certainly not that easy.
 

01011001

Banned
Colors was exclusive Wii code by the time, I don't think the usage of PhysX, if that's true, makes any difference. Wii wasn't that streamlined, after all it was just a GameCube with slightly more friendly memory layout. They had to convert the TEV code to programmable pixel shaders, among other things. If the game has issues, it was certainly not that easy.
the game still runs on the Hedgehog Engine, which was also used on 360 and PC, it was a direct followup of Sonic Unleashed which already used the same engine on Xbox and PS3
 
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