Summary
Sonic Superstarsaims to welcome in a new era of Classic 2D Sonic platforming as it tries to capture how the old games felt while bringing new ideas and challenges to the table. One of the biggest ways thatSonic Superstarsmakes a name for itself is including Amy Rose as part of the main playable roster from the very beginning.Superstarsmay mark Amy’s first proper 2D debut, but the latestSonicgame only keeps a new trend going, possibly aiming to solidify it as part of the status quo rather than a one-time event.
This year has served as a rather important year for Amy Rose, as she has been made playable in not one, but technically six games in the last five months.Sonic Frontiersrecently made her playable in its The Final Horizon DLC, which added an entirely new ending to the open-zone title, but even that was following suit afterSonic Origins Plus.Origins Plusdid what many fans considered to be a pipe dream or impossible, andmade Amy playable in all four mainline Classic Sonic games, including her debut title,Sonic CD, which turned 30 last month. Considering how the spotlight is on Amy for once, the way she plays is very important for many players.
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How Sonic Superstars Improves on Amy’s Sonic Origins Moveset
AsSonic Originsanimation director Tyson Hesse has revealed that Amy’s presence in the game was meant to be a tease to her joining the group inSonic Superstars, there is naturally an overlap between the pink hedgehog’s moveset between both releases. Using her trusty Piko-Piko Hammer, Amy is given a bit of extra protection against enemies in the place of the insta-shield thatSonic 3 and Knucklesis particularly known for. However, inSuperstars, this is changed into a double-jump, with her hammer being used during every jump.
Beyond that, Amy’s moveset in 2D is rather similar between both games, and ultimately how she feels comes down to the differences in physics engines.Sonic Superstarshas a bit of a slow start compared toOrigins, but with Amy’s use of the Drop DashfromSonic Maniaas a permanent staple of her moveset, she may feel like the “easy mode” in the original games compared toSuperstars, where the level design is made to compensate for her inclusion. Still, though Amy may come off as rather easy to play, she takes practice to master.
Sonic Superstars Shows Potential in Sonic Frontiers' Playable Amy
WhileSonic SuperstarsandSonic Frontiersare vastly different platforming experiences, what withFrontiersbeing 3D andSuperstarsbeing 2D, there’s still an interesting detail to how both games approach Amy that’s worth analyzing, and that’s the absence of Amy’s trademark hammer. For an unexplained story reason, Amy’s Piko-Piko Hammer isn’t entirely usable in the state that she’s in after interacting withSonic Frontiers' Cyber Space. However, she can call upon her Fortune Cards for help, which changes her moveset drastically.
Considering just how many games Amy’s been made playable in lately, as well as howSonic Team aims to add more playable charactersin the future, there’s a good chance that theFrontiersand theSuperstarsmovesets will meet in the middle with the next 3D title. Her hammer could easily be used as her Drop Dash attack, and she could also include it as part of her new triple jump thatFrontiershas, likely to act as a sort of evolution of her skills between her Classic and Modern selves. HopefullySuperstarsis a sign of what’s to come, and Modern Amy fans won’t have to miss her Piko-Piko Hammer for much longer.
Sonic Superstarsis available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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