MeinMMO author Johanna Heuck readily admits that she is not particularly good at video games. However, there is one game that no one could beat her at: Sonic Rush for the Nintendo DS. But then she learned that her skills were not based on talent, but on memorization.
I am not particularly good at video games. Even though I always start the video games on the “Normal” difficulty level, the likelihood is high that I will lower it during the game.
In Sonic Rush for the Nintendo DS, you can’t do that, but I don’t need to even today. Because: I am actually good at the game.
At least I thought so, until I immersed myself back into my childhood game as an adult and realized that the appearance of my gaming skills is deceiving.
We introduce the latest 2D Sonic in the video:
Back to My Childhood Game
As I watch the trailer for the third Sonic movie, I suddenly wonder where my Nintendo DS with Sonic Rush is. I find it surprisingly quickly in my dresser, put the game in, and to my astonishment, the device starts up with the game without any issues.
In Sonic Rush, we can play as either Sonic the Hedgehog or Blaze the Cat. Both have their own storylines in which they also meet.
As Blaze, you collect the Sol Emeralds, and as Sonic, you search for the Chaos Emeralds. For both, the levels are the same, through which you have to speed through in classic Sonic 2D style.
Within a level, you jump back and forth between the two screens of the DS. The fast music, combined with the speed, is fun! And Blaze is just so cool!
Sonic Rush has the best soundtrack ever. You can listen to it on YouTube here:
The Illusion is Destroyed
My friends also played the game on their DS, but they didn’t have as much fun as I did. A buddy of mine once said, “It’s too fast and stupid for me.” Too fast?
Breaking the sound barrier with Blaze (or Sonic, but I always took Blaze) and flying through the levels was exactly what was great!
But my friend’s frustration was justified, and I only understood the reason now. Because Sonic Rush, like other Sonic 2D games, you simply have to memorize to be good at it.
The game is so fast that when the characters are at full speed, you don’t even have a second to react to incoming obstacles. So, not crashing into something or getting hurt by a suddenly popping-up enemy on your first playthrough is slim to say the least, almost impossible.
The only way to truly become “good” at 2D Sonic games is to memorize them.
Jumping at the right moments or using the boost has nothing to do with skill, but whether I know it from a previous run.
Sonic Rush has a Different Goal
This discovery was painful for me, after all, I thought I was finally better than others at a video game. However, I discovered a different goal in Sonic Rush.
I simply enjoyed playing the levels, even though I knew them by heart. I wanted to beat my own and the best times of others.
Moreover: At least the 12-year-old Johanna could impress other 12-year-olds when she played through the levels for them. Except for the water levels, where I always had way too much panic of drowning!
And well, then I at least bragged in front of my friends that I memorized something and could apply it. I definitely couldn’t do that in school, so I did it in a 2005 Nintendo game instead.
In a way, it was more about me feeling cool with the fast music and as Blaze the Cat. And no one can take that away from me, not even Sonic Rush and its annoying truth.
If you would excuse me now, I need to play Sonic Rush through again while rocking out to the soundtrack.
In general, I am not particularly good at video games, and there is one genre that I am particularly bad at: shooters. However, I was swept up in the hype surrounding Space Marine 2 and wanted to try it out: Space Marine 2 made me want to play Warhammer 40,000, even though I’m really bad at it
