Check it out: Freedom Planet

Today's Super Platform Gamer reviews a platformer that was once supposed to be a fan-made Sonic game but then turned into an original game instead and eventually it turned out to be...

Sure, it came out long back and most would have been aware of it by now...but considering that the sequel is coming this year, I thought now would be a better time to review what the first game had to offer and how it holds up today.

Freedom Planet

Platform: PC, Wii U, Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch
Release date: 2014
Type of Platformer: Straightforward...but tough
Developed by: Galaxytrail
Collectibles?: Yes. While you don't get anything for getting them all, you unlock goodies like concept art and music!
Difficulty: Easy-Medium
Total number of levels: 14(including extra levels depending on the character being played as)


Now before we get to the gameplay, let's cut out to the story, and yes, this actually has a story and a nice one too.

An alien by the name of Brevon brainwashed a king's son for unknown reasons, meanwhile, Lilac and Carol notice a plane about to get crashed. The two attempt to investigate and upon doing so, save a duck who warns them that the kingdom stone was about to be stolen from the empire. From there, they do what they can to stop Brevon from taking the stone.


I'd say the story is interesting as it does have voice acting. And no, it's not entirely cheesy... it's good at best. I say that because the cast is just static and the story at times can drag a bit with some of the scenes being longer than they should.

I like this guy as he has one dialogue that's too quirky and yet it works!

But fret not! If you're not a fan of stories in platformers, you can simply skip the cutscenes or if you really don't want even a single voice clip mentioned, just play the game in classic mode.

Freedom Planet is an attempt to bring back nostalgia from the classic Sonic games on the Genesis. And it shows as you basically run through loops, slopes and run pretty fast. But the thing is..most of the time, the speed you get is only in certain parts and the physics don't exactly work like the ones that the classic Sonic games do.

You may think that you're gonna run fast..but that's for a short time

But that doesn't matter because the rest of the game is fun and you do a lot of platforming still which is more than the speed you would get.

You either play as Lilac or Carol(you unlock the third one upon beating the game once) Lilac can do a super dash(which requires the gauge to be full) which can give her super speed. Like you can even bounce on walls! And last a spin jump that gives a midair boost while being able to attack and also handy for getting that extra bit of height. Lilac can also do melee range attacks as well almost any direction. Oh, and she can also last longer underwater not that it matters much.

Carol isn't as acrobatic as Lilac but she can wall jump, perform a fast melee combo(which gradually drains the gauge) that can give multiple hits to enemies, and finally..she can ride a bike that can wreck through stuff, provided that she finds a petrol tank somewhere in the levels.

Anyone with a bike is good in my book!

By this, you would think that would there be level sections that are exclusive to these characters? Yes...and no.

Yes as in depending on who you play as, you get exclusive levels for the character. But no as in, the level sections in other levels while meant for the other character, can actually be passed through so the levels aren't as restrictive as the ones on Sonic 3 where Sonic can't access Knuckles levels for example.

This section is actually for Carol but Lilac and gets up there just fine with her super speed

Is this a bad thing? Nah. It doesn't ruin the level design since the levels are overall good with each of them having gimmicks that help them stand out without being a hindrance. However, some parts of the levels seem oddly placed or don't do much upon finding further.

What does this platform suppose to do here? Isn't it a secret or something?

Speaking of levels, they are straightforward as mentioned earlier. Just go through the level, beat the first sub-boss, then go through the second half of the level and beat the boss, kinda like with Sonic 3 having act 1 and act 2 sections at the same level.

Pro tip: Enemies can't actually hurt you by touching you. They instead hurt you by attacking you!

Occasionally, you'll come across some sections that have puzzle elements in them but they are very simple to solve and do not require too much of thinking...like pushing a block. Or getting a specific relic to enter a specific door. With this, you might be wondering how this could end up being tough if it's simple in theory. Oh, it is...except the bosses can pick a good fight on you and a good thing too as some of these bosses are fun!

They are generally tough and they are capable of taking a lot of hits. Some are fast and tend to test a lot of your reflexes and others have this do or die situations that can be intimidating. But if it ever comes to the point you can't beat them, just lower the difficulty. I'm not sure if it lowers their health but it does allow you to take less damage instead of more.

That slow-motion effect when you beat a boss is very fulfilling

Now in terms of collectibles? Well, there are the blue shards everywhere but for some odd reason, rather than getting a hundred to get an extra life, you have to get three hundred instead...and it is shown differently too. Like 300 is the default counter and when it comes to zero, it resets to 300...nothing bad..just odd

But that hardly matters because even if you end up losing all lives here by losing all your health, you have unlimited continues which lets you start from the last checkpoint anyways. Then the next collectible is of course the petals which serve as hit points. You can find anywhere as well as from a red flower that you have to smack to get some of them.

Then there are these weird coins that you find them in chests that when getting enough of them take you to a bonus room. And the Tao Tokens that also help get bonuses though they are well hidden.

Finally, the cards which serve nothing but getting some cool stuff like artwork and music. Though I have to say that finding the cards can be tough there can be few in one level and you might not want to use Lilac to get these as you want someone like Carol who has the wall jump to search for stuff.

In terms of powerups...they are weird. Wood shield attracts nearby petals and gives you one for every twenty blue shards you get, Earth shield attracts blue shards and somewhat resistant to...crystal attacks?

And this...metal shield protects you from spikes and electrical shocks? You see where I'm going with this as these powerups are not put to full use other than protecting you from some hits. Only Water and Fire shield stand out to me not because of their usefulness but because of their appearance standing out which makes them rather obvious. And you have the obvious rainbow shield which plays the theme song and makes you invincible for some time.

Eh..as long as they protect you from one or two hits, who cares?

Speaking of the theme, let's talk briefly about the music here. It's downright amazing. You have your peace kind of songs, you have the heavy kind and can come intense at times.

The music that plays during the boss fights really builds up the heat!

And the same can be said for the graphics. Visually beautiful for something that is to be from retro art. I can tell that its nearly on levels of a Sega Saturn game and that isn't good... it's great!

You have the rocky levels, levels with grass, levels with ice, and levels based on cities! There's never once where the levels aren't so lifeless and while the themes may seem similar when comparing it to the Sonic classic games, they still feel original and are not half baked.

So then the flaws? Well, it's kinda lacking with only 14 levels. But to be fair, you do get an extra character during gameplay and you do unlock modes like Time attack and other mini-games later on.

So overall, it's a great game. Sure, its story could be better and you could have more levels but it's fine..really. Pick it up if you can. You won't regret it.

Well folks, another review from SPG. Until next time, this is SPG saying

                                          QUIT RUNNING AND START JUMPING!