Spark the Electric Jester 3 Reviews

gotta go fast and make the devil cry

sonic if it was good

Best game I've played. Based.

best 3d platforming controls of any game ive played hands down

This is the Sonic Adventure 3 we've always wanted, but they made him yellow and put half the levels after the credits

I didn't think too much of the first two Spark games. The first one was a poorly designed 2D platformer trying to jam together two concepts which just don't really go together, and the second was a decent but not great attempt to translate that broken concept into 3D with similar trappings but much better design to make up for it. Spark 3 is the game that finally irons everything out and gets it right. This game is excellent. The most important change between this game and 2 is the structure of both the individual levels and the level progression in general. There is now a medal system, similar to Sonic Unleashed Wii, where you are awarded "Freedom Medals" by completing stages, and when you collect enough of them, the next stage unlocks. This is to incentivize you to play the various extra stages which have been added to the various worlds which, early on, gives you an opportunity to try out the speed and combat gameplay styles in both open and linear stages. Combined with the tutorial stages that actually instruct you on each specific mechanic, as opposed to Fark's Schoolhouse from the prior game which threw everything at you at once, you are given a much better idea of how you are intended to play the game and the chance to mold your own specific playstyle. As a bonus, most of the extra levels are pretty fun, being essentially better versions of the extra acts from modern 3D Sonic games. The level design in general has improved a lot from the second game. Whereas the second game felt very much like Sonic Adventure 2, this game has more in common with Adventure 1, more specifically the beta of Adventure 1 where the level design was even more open than it is in the final product. The levels in this are really big and full of various routes which makes this game a lot more fun and reasonable to route for Speedruns than 2. The big addition to the levels is the grind rails, and they are more functional than grind rails have ever been in Sonic with an extremely consistent way to target and switch rails. This game actually manages to somewhat redeem Rail Canyon from Sonic Heroes by making an actually great expy of it years before Shadow Generations did that for real. One thing I'm very grateful for is that the level themes break off from directly referencing games like Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog by the end of the game. Instead, there's a museum stage which feels like a slight reference to Ground Scaravich's stage from Megaman X6 with its trippy visuals, an airport level which is pretty original though it references Metal Harbor in the extra stages, and a distaff counterpart to Titantic Tower where you have to descend into a massive underground city. It feels like Lake Feperd was carving out Spark's own identity as a series, distinct from its influences, towards the back half of the game. Going along with that, there are legitimate setpiece moments in this game where you pilot vehicles. The opening stage is a car level which is jank in the best ways, and the car comes back at various points and is fun and hilarious each time. In Protest City, there's a really well-desinged shmup section where you pilot a VTOL helicopter and progress similar to the 9S mech sections in Nier Automata or the VTOL levels in Star Fox Zero but faster and with better controls. In the airport level, there's a shout out to the Xenogears Battle Arena, which I never expected to see referenced in anything, where you pilot a mech for a bossfight only with much better mechanics. It's a credit to the developer that all of these are really fun to play. People who weren't fans of combat in the last game will be happy to learn that combat is entirely inessential even in the levels brought back from Spark 2 that had minibosses. There are combat sections which do wall you off and force you to fight, but there's always a way to skip past them even in the last level. I wouldn't recommend it, though (obviously except for speedruns), as combat has actually been improved from the last game. Not only do you have Fark's moveset from the last game, but you now have additional combos, upgrades, and abilities that you can purchase from the upgrade shop. The combat system feels a lot more fleshed out, and boss encounters are a lot more fun as they're harder to melt now that they have area attacks that you can't parry. Parry has sadly been nerfed in general so you can't bypass level obstacles with it anymore either. While it is sad, the levels are designed around i, so it never becomes an issue. I was very happy to see the Jester powers removed from the levels and added to the upgrade shop instead. Now, there's not a constant question of developer intent towards these powers; they are now communicated a lot better as powers specifically for combat, and the ability to use them at any time is good. Though, I wouldn't be opposed to platforming based Jester powers coming back as temporary upgrades in a later sequel. The medal system has thankfully been overhauled from the last game in that Speedrun medals are a lot more fun to get, and there are now Explorer Medals you can find dotted around the levels for those like me that like to examine the level design. Unfortunately, I don't like what was done with score medals. While I didn't like getting the score medals in 2 because the requirements where so strict, getting the appropriate amount of points within the 5 minute time limit was a legitimately interesting challenge. I do like the change in this game of locking your score rather than reducing it to zero, but for whatever reason the time limit was extended to an HOUR. Don't get me wrong, if you're looking for the Explorer Medals, you can almost clock an hour (the only level I did was Protest City), but just going for the score challenge you will get the right amount of points long before that. It just feels untested because there's no reason to no get the Diamond Score Medal on every level. The only other complaint I have is not really a complaint but more of a disappointment. This game doesn't quite reach the spectacle of 1 or 2. I actually like the ending of this game quite a bit, but the big bosses, and especially the final boss, with the fantastic vocal themes and music were so hype that it feels like a letdown even if it's not. Also not really a fan of the new moveset you get right at the end of the game, but it's nothing bad, just underwhelming. All-in-all, Spark 3 is awesome. It's some of the most fun I've had with a high speed platformer, and I say this with no cynicism: It's better than any 3D Sonic. Like with many fan developers, Lake Feperd has actually surpassed the inspiration in quality, and it's a credit to him. I've also appreciated seeing his journey across the three games, making mistakes and learning from them while not giving up on his style. For the first time, it feels like all the parts of a Spark the Electric Jester game are working together rather than against each other, and it really works with everything coalescing. I'm really looking forward to whatever Lake Feperd can do next with Spark 4 or whatever game he works on next.

It marries the old school Sonic design philosophy of "speed is a reward for good play" with modern moment-to-moment Sonic gameplay. The game REALLY pushes back at you for trying to maintain top speed, which can feel punishing coming from a series where you can hit top speed at the push of a button. Once you get past that and start to utilize the tools and level design specific to this franchise, you can tap into a practically uncapped speed that's an absolute joy. The combat is more complex than you would expect from a game where it's not the focus, but it's still shallow and runs dry long before the ending. Thankfully it's appearances are brief and let you flex it's parry mechanic, which feels great.

im coming back to this game 2 and a bit years later because i need to review it, it is painful that this game doesnt have more attention. the combat is fun and enjoyable to learn, the platforming is absolutely spectacular, and the music is so good i didn't even care that they repeated songs for levels in a certain area, BECAUSE ITS AMAZING!!!!. Spark deserves the world and more, i love you Spark

The feeling of speed and control are in a great balance. It takes a bit to learn but it's worth it. And the ending is absolute cinema.

Solid 8/10- basically Sonic Adventure 3 made by an indie dev. The speed-based gameplay is as good or better than the Sonic Adventure games, but the combat leaves a lot to be desired, and the vehicle segments feel really out of place. Also, the OST didn't really do much for me, but it's not terrible by any means, either. TL;DR Do you think Sonic Adventure was peak Sonic? Play this. EDIT I love this game so much, but the pacing of Utopia Shelter is absolutely horrendous and the game's biggest flaw, IMO. It's like the godforsaken lovechild of Labyrinth Zone from Sonic 1 and Space Station ARK from Sonic Adventure 2, but 20+ minutes long and far more tedious.