Sonic Colors: Ultimate/Changes from the Wii Version

This is a sub-page of Sonic Colors: Ultimate.

This page is rather stubbly and could use some expansion. Are you a bad enough dude to rescue this article?

Sonic Colors: Ultimate is a port of Sonic Colors. In addition to the extra content, there are actually tons of changes from the original version, ranging anywhere from tiny to huge. It's pretty comparable in this regard to Sonic Adventure 2: Battle and Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut.

As can be expected, anything having to do with the Wii was removed, such as the button prompts and being able to play as Miis in Game Land. These changes were made for obvious reasons and won't be covered here. Extra content that was added to the port (e.g., Rival Rush and the customization options) won't be listed either.

Menu Differences

• The game starts with the modern Sega intro that's been in use since 2018, rather than the intro that Sega games used at the time of the Wii version's release.
• An additional screen crediting Blind Squirrel Games has been added.
• The logo was updated in the intro movie.
• The file select screen no longer exists.
• The UI is larger than the Wii version's.
• In Game Land, the player can now choose the color of their Virtual Hedgehog from the in-game menu. In the Wii version, you had to press specific buttons to change the Virtual Hedgehog's color.

Gameplay Differences

• The game now runs at 60 FPS on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, in contrast to the Wii version's 30 FPS. The Switch version, however, remains 30 FPS, likely due to hardware limitations.
  • Depending on the player's monitor refresh rate, the game can go up to 144 FPS.
• Perhaps the most significant difference from the original game is the addition of a new Wisp variety, Jade Ghost, from Team Sonic Racing. It allows Sonic to float around and phase through walls in 2D sections. Some levels have had new paths constructed to accommodate the Jade Ghost, and the locations of some Red Rings were shifted around as a result.
• Lives have been replaced with "Tails Saves". If Sonic falls down a pit with at least one Tails Save, Tails will fly in and lift him from the pit. The player will not lose any collectibles (including Red Star Rings) for using a Tails Save.
  • This can make getting S-ranks much easier, as the player is not penalized for a Tails Save.
  • This does not apply to every pit, however - certain pits send the player back to the last checkpoint without any collectibles, just like the original game.
• Sonic's jump height is noticeably lower in the Switch version.
• There is now a new mechanic added to the Homing Attack called Sweet Spot, where a green ring and thinner white ring will appear around the homing reticle. Timing your Homing Attack to when the white ring is inside the green ring will grant extra speed and a small amount of boost energy.
• A new collectible, "Park Tokens", are scattered around stages. They play the original game's 1-Up jingle (which originated from Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)) when collected and allow the player to purchase cosmetic customizations from an in-game shop.
• Collecting 100 rings now grants the player temporary invincibility, a mechanic lifted from Sonic Forces.
• There are now more hints (and sometimes dialogue) provided by Tails during stages.

Graphical Differences

• Ultimate uses Godot as its rendering backend, replacing the Wii's rendering backend (which obviously couldn't be used in ports).
• Ultimate supports high-definition resolutions, unlike the Wii version, which only supports 480p. However, the resolution depends on which system (variant) is being used.
  • The PC version supports resolutions up to 4K.
  • The Xbox One version runs at 4K on Xbox Series X and S; it runs at 1080p on Xbox One X and 900p on the base model.
  • The PlayStation 4 version runs at 1440p on the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 Pro; on the base model it runs at 1080p.
  • The Switch version runs in 900p while docked and 600p in handheld mode.
• Rather than being re-rendered, the cutscenes appear to have been AI upscaled. This results in some disconnect between how the levels look in Ultimate and how they're depicted in the cutscenes, which still use the original Wii version's assets.
• The HUD disappears during automated sections, such as transitions from 2D to 3D and setpieces like the spaceship in Starlight Carnival Act 1.
  • The "Danger" sign (which appears at some points through the game) now looks more like the one used since Sonic Generations.
• There's a lot of bloom, which is particularly evident in Starlight Carnival and while boosting.
• Many textures have been upscaled.
• Many meshes have been "turbosmoothed" to make them appear rounder.
• The Chroma Cubes (breakable boxes) now have yellow, blue, or pink pulsating glows if the player approaches them with a Drill, Cube, or Spike Wisp.
• The Dash Rings and Rainbow Rings had their designs modified and now resemble Dash Rings' appearances in Sonic Adventure and the Sonic Generations mission "Tails: Toxic Skies".
• Light fields from the original Wii version were removed in Ultimate. This results in Sonic, as well as the objects and enemies sticking out in the environment.
• The results screen score and rank now appear in front of Sonic, rather than behind.

Final Color Blaster Icon

To do: Rip the Final Color Blaster icon from the game files Check if there's other leftovers referencing the Jade Wisp

Despite not usually appearing with the other Wisps, such as the Intro, Title Screen and Ending, the Final Color Blaster's icon has been adjusted to include the Jade Ghost in the top right.

• In order to make space for it, the amount of "slices" was changed from 7 to 8.
• The position of the Blue Cube was also adjusted.
• The Jade Wisp still doesn't appear in Final Color Blaster though and might have been cut due to time constraints.

Wii	Ultimate
File:Final Color Blaster Icon Wii.png	File:Final Color Blaster Icon Ultimate.png

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Audio Differences

General

• The game and its cutscenes now run in native 5.1 surround sound, as opposed to the original's Dolby Pro Logic II-encoded stereo.
• Ultimate is fully dubbed in French, German, Spanish and Italian in all cutscenes and other voice-overs, in addition to English and Japanese (it was only the latter two in the original).
• The game's audio mixing at launch was extremely poor; sound effects would pan to the left and right at what seems like random. For example, the menu sounds, which should usually be hard-panned to the center, erratically alternated between left, center, and right.
  • The v2.6 patch "fixed" this by setting the audio to mono.
• Sound effect volume is increased by a considerable margin, rivaling that of the various ports of Sonic Adventure 2.
• Some sound effects were changed. For example, using a dash panel now plays the ramp and spring sound simultaneously instead of the original sound, while dash rings play both the original sound and a spring sound. It's unclear why this change was made (the dash panel change is particularly odd as the correct sound effect is played on rail dash panels).

Music

• The intro movie now uses "Reach for the Stars (Re-Colors)", the remix of "Reach for the Stars" that debuted at the Sonic Symphony on June 23, 2021. The version used in the game, however, seems to be a different, possibly unfinished version compared to the version used at the Sonic Symphony, as the latter contains a slightly different instrumental that's mixed louder than the vocals, and the piano at the end is different.
• The entire soundtrack was remixed. However, the original tracks are still present - by default, the game uses the remixed tracks in the first three acts of a world, and then the original tracks in the last three. This means that every act now has its own unique music. The December 15, 2021 patch gave players the option to toggle between the default track setup, the original tracks, and remixed tracks.
  • For whatever reason, the Planet Wisp remixes are exclusive to those who purchased the Digital Deluxe version. Without Digital Deluxe, the game will use the original tracks in all of Planet Wisp's acts regardless of which soundtrack they have selected.
  • The only Wii tracks that were never heard in-game prior to the December 15th patch were those for Terminal Velocity and the bosses. While it's understandable that the two-act Terminal Velocity got skipped, all of the game's three bosses get a rematch later on...
• At launch, some tracks, like Wisp music or the second half of the results screen theme, didn't always play when they should. This was fixed in the November 22, 2021 patch.
• The game now uses the Sonic Lost World versions of the Cyan Laser and Underwater Yellow Drill jingles.
• The remixed Super Sonic theme is much longer, looping every 20 seconds instead of every 3.
• The player can now listen to the soundtrack from the "Options" menu.

Voice Lines

English Audio	Japanese Audio	Transcript	Boss
		Sonic: Sorry, I got bored and broke your robot! ソニック：悪いね、タイクツだったんで壊しちゃったぜ	Frigate Orcan
		Sonic: That should put a stop to this wisp-draining insanity! ソニック：ウィスプ改造なんてバカなマネもこれでおしまいだな	Frigate Skullian

• Sonic now uses two of the various voice clips of him taunting bosses that went unused in the Wii version in the Starlight Carnival and Asteroid Coaster bosses. It should be noted that the lines are somewhat difficult to hear in-game, as they're drowned out by the frigates exploding. Oddly, these seem to be the only ones that are used - even though lines exist for every other boss in the game, they remain unused.

• Some of Tails' Navigator voice lines were revised and re-recorded to reflect the various changes made to this version. Some additional lines were also recorded. Interestingly, the English version of these new recordings was done by the previous voice of Tails, Kate Higgins, as opposed to the current voice, Colleen O'Shaughnessey. Notably, this is the first time Higgins has voiced the character since Sonic Lost World, though this was more than likely for the sake of consistency (though Higgins voiced Tails in some animated shorts that accompanied the release of this version).

Stage Differences

To do: Well, everything. In particular, specify where Jade Ghost paths were added and where Red Ring locations were shifted.

Tropical Resort

Wii	Ultimate

• Aesthetically, Tropical Resort underwent some of the more obvious changes in the transition to Ultimate. The stage is now significantly darker than it is in the Wii version, with different light sources and overall less vibrant colors.
• Neon signs glow brighter than they did on the Wii.
• The glass floor texture is more transparent.
• Act 5 is the first level to add the Jade Wisp. Here, it is encountered early, shortly after the first Cyan/Pink Wisp area. It can be used a new area where players activate a switch to reveal a Red Star Ring, which they then use the Cyan Wisp to obtain.
• The aforementioned Red Star Ring was moved from its original location later in the level; in the original, the player had to collect the Pink Wisp and follow the main path until they found it hidden under Chroma Cubes.

Sweet Mountain

Wii	Ultimate

• Sweet Mountain's overall appearance is similar to that of the Wii version, though the sky is brighter and the lighting has more of an orangish tint.
• Act 1 adds the Jade Wisp, which can be used to access a new shortcut underneath the stage's 2D section.
• The Jade Wisp was also added to Act 5 and allows access to an area underneath some slopes shortly before the stage's end. Here, the player can turn a switch to obtain some extra rings.
• Another Jade Wisp was added towards the beginning of Act 6. Using it to go under the main path allows players to obtain two Park Tokens and a Tails Save.

Starlight Carnival

Wii	Ultimate

• The lights in Starlight Carnival are much brighter than they were in the Wii version.
• Act 3, which originally had no Wisps at all, now has the Green and Jade Wisps.

Planet Wisp

• There is less grass at the beginning of Act 1 and it no longer reacts to Sonic.
• The metal surfaces throughout the world now reflect light.
• Act 2 adds the Pink Wisp; in the Wii version, it only featured the Purple Wisp.

Terminal Velocity

To do: Nega Wisp Armor screenshots

• The design for the Nega Wisp Armor has been altered to better match up with the Colors DS version of the boss.

Wii	DS	Ultimate
File:Nega Wisp Armor Wii.png	File:Nega Wisp Armor DS.png	File:Nega Wisp Armor Ultimate.png