Dreamcast Review: Sonic Shuffle (2000)

One of the things that I love about Sega is how innovative it has been, though sometimes it has been ahead of its time. It pioneered technologies that only later became more popular: motion sensor controllers (in the Dreamcast's case used for fishing simulation) playing console games online with other players, or even the technique of cel shading (which started with Jet Set Radio and was quickly followed by Sonic Shuffle). However, innovation can also be achieved through using another's idea as a basis and improving upon it. Indeed, this is how the majority of innovation occurs. I believe this is what Sonic Team tried to achieve here, using the formula that made Mario Party so popular and putting the Sonic brand on it. Largely disappointing is the fact that it failed to impress. One of the big problems is that the time investment required to progress in the game is quite large: one "board game" takes easily an hour to complete and you must win or you are back at square one. This perhaps wouldn't be so bad if the board game itself were more enjoyable. It involves a LOT of waiting while other players make their moves. Not only that, but the mini-games that are the real draw of these party games are few and far in-between. Unlike Mario Party, where mini-games are played after everyone has had a turn, to play a mini-game in Sonic Shuffle, one player has to land on the correct space. Even then, a mini-game is not guaranteed as landing on this space may turn out to be something stupid, such as a "mini-event" where there is a silly story you have to sit through (even during a computer players turn!) and the player will encounter some insignificant beneficial or negative result (such as the loss or gain of some rings). Another often encountered space is the "battle" where you have to fight some insignificant monster (or watch your AI opponents do it). It does not add anything to the game except more waiting. When you finally do get to play mini-games, the experience is less than what it could be because they are often quite hard. This itself wouldn't be so bad, but since these games happen so infrequently, it is difficult to practice them enough to gain any proficiency. An option to practice mini-games outside of actually playing the board game would have been welcome. In the end, you will need to invest several hour-blocks of free time and plenty of patience to get anything out of this game. And I can't guarantee that what you get will not be a headache.