In the previous blogs I talked about how much fun I had playing through Sonic Lost World on the Nintendo Wii U. The game from 2013 had stage designs, and game play which I felt were perfect for the Sonic franchise. Sadly those things weren’t revisited by Sega in the following titles. I had no sense that the ideas explored in Lost World would ever be seen again. That really bummed me out. Almost a decade later Sega announced that they were going to explore a completely new adventure for Sonic and company. One which would have hints of the Lost World stage design. I was happy with the news until I found out that Sonic Team would not develop it. Not only that but it would be exclusive to the Apple Arcade. As somebody that didn’t even have a subscription to Apple Music I was skeptical that it would be any good. I held Sonic Team in high regards, and didn’t think anybody else could do the series justice.
The developers at HARDlight had created a slew of mobile hits based on console Sonic titles over the past 20 years. I didn’t doubt their track record for adapting hits. I was skeptical that they could develop an original Sonic game. To say that it blew away all of my expectations was a severe understatement. Sonic Dream Team was not only a great Sonic title, it was arguably the best game ever created for the iOS / Apple Arcade. The game debuted on December 5, 2023, and had a few updates following its release that only made it deeper, and more rewarding. The inclusion of Shadow the Hedgehog had elevated it into a Top-5 Sonic game in my opinion. I was happy that many of the elements from Lost World were revisited. If this was the only thing that HARDlight did then I would have been very happy, but they improved upon everything that Sega explored previously. The goal of the HARDlight developers was to get audiences into a state of flow. The comparisons of their stage designs to a roller coaster, or skatepark were valid. We were able to enjoy a sense of speed, and freedom to explore the dream world in every dimension without the use of traditional controls. To be fair I played it on my computer with an Xbox controller.
When it came to boss encounters I absolutely loved what the studio produced. Since everything was set in a dream world then HARDlight had the freedom to push the encounters that Sonic, and his friends would have. We were already familiar with the robots that Eggman created. However the game made everything more surreal, more cartoonish. The world was fluid, malleable. The bosses could be mechanical, organic, or a combination of the two. For example the very first boss was a giant inflatable crab called Dr. Crabulous. In any other Sonic game this character would have been metal, and not much different than a dozen other bosses. Since this was a dream then it made sense that Dr. Eggman was building weird challenges. You could actually find the weak points of Dr. Crabulous, and let the air out of it as it bounced around the stage. The subsequent levels, and bosses were equal parts dreamlike, and memorable. The second and third boss encounter was an evolving battle. The Factory Foremen were a trio of more traditional Eggman robots that could team up against you. When the larger fourth robot showed up it would combine like a Transformer and become The Four Man.
The enormous robot not only had a punny name, but was such a clever design that it made me want to buy a 3D printer just to recreate it. Seriously Sega, how do you not have these bosses in toy stores? But I digress… each battle helped pull us deeper into the dream world. HARDlight studio had a unique approach for their game. The stages they created were designed to allow Sonic, and his allies a chance to shine. Not only that but you could swap between characters in the middle of the stages. By comparison we could use any character in Sonic Superstars, but only one at a time. In Sonic Dream Team only certain characters could fight the bosses to let them shine. For example the Four Man encounter was meant for Cream the Rabbit, or Tails. This approach allowed every location, and every boss fight to contribute to the story. Each character was important, they all helped push the plot along. None of the new bosses was more bizarre than the Guardian Hunter. Dr. Eggman had created a dream construct capable of trapping Ariem. He let the multi-limbed monster loose in the dream world. The alien-like creature was one of the creepiest monsters that had ever appeared in the series. It would be up to Knuckles the Echidna, or Rouge the Bat to stop it.
Ariem was thankfully rescued from the Guardian Hunter. Dr. Eggman did not give up even when all of his bosses were defeated. He refused to abandon his pursuit of the Reverie. The diabolical doctor had spent so much time in the dream world that he had learned how to shape it through something called the Dream Core. In a last ditch effort to beat the heroes he mutated into the final boss. Unlike other Sonic games where Eggman chased Sonic in a giant robot, this time around he became the giant. This new persona was called Nightmare Eggman. At this point Sonic Dream Team felt exactly how the Sonic universe would crossover with NiGHTS into dreams… The cameos of the Nightmaren bosses in Sonic Lost World were fantastic, but I’m referring to how the dream world would work in the Sonic universe. Ariem could be seen as the surrogate for NiGHTS. Nightmare Eggman mirrored Wizeman, the final boss in the classic Saturn game. The all-powerful monster could shape reality. The only way he could be defeated was a head-on battle where the heroes faced their own fears.
Nightmare Eggman was enormous, and omnipresent in the last stage. His head alone could fill the entire horizon. He grew additional arms while attacking the team. This was similar to his appearance in opening animation. Players had to use every trick that they learned from previous stages in order to navigate through the continually shifting final stage. The mountainous villain had the same imposing presence, and disembodied hands of Wizeman from NiGHTS into dreams… and even the successor NiGHTS journey of dreams. His colossal gloved hands appeared out of thin air, trying to strike down our heroes. As I was going through the battle I kept commenting to my family how much it felt like a crossover with NiGHTS. I was so impressed with everything that went into it that I said I 100% supported the studio if they were to develop a new NiGHTS game.
The entire final boss battle was a collaborative event. The game kept jumping between the main characters as they raced against the clock. They were united in an effort to get Ariem to the Dream Core so that she could expel Dr. Eggman from the dream world, and allow our heroes to return to their own universe. In this way Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Rouge, and Cream could each share in the climax of the story. I was amazed with how everything was handled. The last time I saw an all out battle of heroes against a single villain was during the end of God of War Ragnarok. The Playstation 5 hit from 2022 was a cinematic experience. Sega managed to capture the same all-or-nothing energy but in a mobile game. I had waited a lifetime to see that many Sonic cast members get equal billing. I was not let down. The thing that never let me down above all else was the challenge. I was happy to revisit each stage and try to get an S-Rank after beating the game. It never suffered from technical issues. It never suffered from balance issues even when using different characters. It was difficult in some places but never left me feeling cheated. Unlike Sonic Superstars this title rewarded me for playing efficiently.
The nightmare level design, and skyscraper-sized bad guy became one of the most memorable challenges in series history. I loved everything that went into the game. All of the previous stages, all of the previous boss encounters were wonderfully done. It was the final battle that elevated my opinion of HARDlight studio. I could tell that the studio members had grown up on a steady diet of all things Sonic. They proved it countless times through all of their releases. I sincerely hoped that Sega would give the studio even more creative freedom in subsequent games. In the last few years there had been no news if Sonic Dream Team would get ported to consoles. It was a shame that Sega seemed to ignore the popularity of the title. Perhaps it had something to do with being exclusive to Apple Arcade. Maybe Sega were prohibited from releasing it on a different platform. HARDlight seemed to be the heir apparent to Sonic Team. The love, and understanding that they had of every Sonic Team game was on full display. They had proven their worth on the mobile titles they developed over 20 years.
If there was a western team that Sega could trust the blue blur to then it should be HARDlight. As much as I enjoyed Sonic Superstars I felt that the spikes in difficulty broke the otherwise classic gameplay. Sonic Dream Team was sort of the opposite. They made the modern 3D experience even more accessible, while still honoring the established game play elements. The developers knew how to take a classic idea, and bring it to a new generation of players. With most of the original members of Sonic Team now retired, or working at different studios then perhaps it was time for a new Sonic developer to take over. Similar to
how Sega chose the person that would reboot the Virtua Fighter franchise. Yu Suzuki was the father of the Virtua Fighter series (along with Shenmue, After Burner, OutRun and a dozen other gems). Mr. Suzuki mentored Toshihiro Nagoshi. The creator of the Yakuza games learned the ropes by following almost everything that Mr. Suzuki produced. When Mr. Suzuki stepped down it was obvious that Mr. Nagoshi should be the perfect new leader. I would argue that HARDlight had earned similar consideration for the next Sonic console project.
The best I could do was steer the visitors of my blog to Sonic Dream Team. The more that people played the game, and shared info on it the more Sega might consider porting it. I would do my part to keep it relevant. I would create fan art of Ariem, and Nightmare Eggman to share on social media. I would write about my favorite Sonic games when I had the opportunity. It was the least I could do. Did you play this game? What did you think about it? Do you think the people at HARDlight would come up with a great console Sonic title, or perhaps a reboot of NiGHTS into dreams…? Tell me about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me
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