Sonic Colors

Sonic Colors was released on Nintendo DS alongside the Wii version, but it is a different game tailored to the handheld and its two displays, not merely a simplified port. Sonic the Hedgehog travels through colorfully themed levels set in an alien amusement park, collects alien creatures called Wisps, and uses their abilities - such as drilling through the ground, firing a laser, or a burst of speed - to progress through both platforming and more action-oriented passages full of loops and fast drops. Compared to the three-dimensional Wii version, the DS variant is presented more from the side, closer to the series' classic Mega Drive-era approach, which became one of the title's main draws.

The graphics make full use of the DS display's capabilities and offer clear, smooth sprite animation despite the lower resolution, with colorful effects matching the amusement park theme. The music is energetic and electronically flavored, typical of the series' modern era, and complements the brisk pace of the levels well. The controls rely mainly on buttons with occasional use of the touchscreen for the Wisps' special abilities, while the bottom display serves for a map overview and level progress.

Critics at the time of release often rated the handheld version very positively, in many cases even better than its Wii counterpart, precisely because of the return to a more traditional two-dimensional approach that fit better with the core of the series and its emphasis on speed and precise jumping. Today this installment is considered one of Sega's more successful attempts to bring Sonic back to form after years of uncertain experiments, and on DS it ranks among the solid platformers starring the hedgehog, recommendable even to those who prefer the series' classic two-dimensional approach and would like to see how well it holds up on a smaller screen with a stylus at hand, where the speed of the action proved just as convincing as on home consoles.