Sonic Vita 3

Sonic Vita 3 (ソニックヴィータ3 Sonikku Vu~īta 3) is a 2.5D platforming video game for the PlayStation Vita released in 2014, and developed by Sonic Team and Dimps. It was published by Sega, and distributed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. This game is a sequel to Sonic Vita 2, and just like its said predecessor, this game is a 2D Platformer with 3D graphics. This game still has a focus on speed, but also has a focus on tag team gameplay, with the largest stages in any 2D Sonic game. This game introduces a new character named Xave the Hawk, and a new villain named King Zorder, ruler of the Valien species.
== Characters ==
*Sonic the Hedgehog
*Miles "Tails" Prower
*Knuckles the Echidna
*Amy Rose
*Stravic the Hedgehog
*Rija the Cat
*Xave the Hawk
*Dr. Eggman
*King Zorder the Vailen
*Orbot
*Cubot
== Hero Story ==
After defeating Eggman once again and destroying his Death Egg, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy are relaxing in the city. Suddenly, Sonic sees a strange creature. After trying to see what it is, it attacks him, but Sonic manages to defeat it. Then, a note appears. From Eggman, it says that he is working with the Valien king, King Zorder, the most powerful being in the universe. Eggman is getting the Universe Emeralds, which will turn the universe into his to rule. After Sonic throws the note away, he, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy now go on an adventure to get the Chaos Emeralds stop this evil plan. But, Tails sees that the Chaos Emeralds are located on different planets, in different galaxies. So, the team has to use a galaxy portal, which will take them to these locations.
Eventually, they get to the Valien Planet, where the final emerald along with Eggman and Zorder are located. The team encounters Stravic and Rija, who are with another ally, Xave. Stravic tells them they are also trying to stop Eggman. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Stravic, Rija, and Xave decide to work together to stop Eggman. When arriving at Zorder’s kingdom, they encounter Eggman and Zorder. Sonic and Stravic fight Eggman, and end up defeating him. 
Suddenly, Eggman launches a missile at both of them, knocking them out. Zorder congratulates Eggman, but ends up betraying him, as Zorder tells his henchmen to escort Eggman, along with Orbot and Cubot. Zorder then uses the Universe Emeralds to turn the Universe into chaos, with a void of destruction.
=== Planets + Stages ===
==== Planets ====
# Central City
# Techno Planet
# Oceanopolis Planet
# Volcanic Planet
# Junkyard Planet
# Vailen Planet
# Zorder's Kingdom
==== Bosses ====
# Egg Unit 108
# Egg Synth
# Egg Shark
# Egg Volcano
# Egg Trashbot
# Vailen Guard
# Dr. Eggman's Eggwalker
== Dark Story ==
After defeating Eggman once again and destroying his Death Egg, Stravic and Rija are trying to find the portal that will take them back to their Universe. Suddenly, they find a hawk. His name is Xave, and he has been trying to find a way to back to his universe, due to ended up in this universe by a black portal. Stravic and Rija decide to team up with Xave, as they’re trying to do the same. Suddenly, they find a note. From Eggman, it says that he is working with the Valien king, King Zorder, the most powerful being in the universe. Eggman is getting the Universe Emeralds, which will turn the universe into his to rule. Stravic, Rija, and Xave go on an adventure to get the Super Crystals to defeat Eggman and Zorder, creating their team, Team Stravic.
Eventually, they get to the Valien Planet, where the final Super Crystal is. The team encounters Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy. Stravic tells them they are also trying to stop Eggman. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Stravic, Rija, and Xave decide to work together to stop Eggman. When arriving at Zorder’s kingdom, they encounter Eggman and Zorder. Sonic and Stravic fight Eggman, and end up defeating him.
Suddenly, Eggman launches a missile at both of them, knocking them out. Zorder congratulates Eggman, but ends up betraying him, as Zorder tells his henchmen to escort Eggman, along with Orbot and Cubot. Zorder then uses the Universe Emeralds to turn the Universe into chaos, with a void of destruction.
=== Planets + Stages ===
==== Planets ====
# Central City
# Urban Launch Station
# Techno Planet
# Volcanic Planet
# Junkyard Planet
# Vailen Planet
# Zorder's Kingdom
==== Bosses ====
# Vailen Robot
# Vailen Deathkart
# Vailen Music Ship
# Vailen Fire Titan
# Trash Monster
# Vailen Knight
# Dr. Eggman's Eggwalker
== Finale ==
The universe is in a destroyed state. King Zorder then uses the Universe Emeralds to transform into God Zorder, becoming unstoppable. Eggman knows that there is no way to defeat him, as everyone will be done. Sonic decides that they need to use the Chaos Emeralds and Super Crystals to defeat King Zorder. Sonic uses the Chaos Emeralds to transform into Super Sonic, and Stravic uses the Super Crystals to transform into Super Stravic. Super Sonic and Super Stravic give Eggman a Super shield, so he can help with this battle. It’s now Super Sonic, Super Stravic, and Eggman to stop King Zorder.
They eventually defeat King Zorder, as he explodes into ashes, and the universe starts to shake. Suddenly, there is an explosion as everything goes back to the way it was, with the everyone back on Earth. 
Eggman escapes, and goes back to his Empire to plan his next plan. The portal for Stravic, Rija, and Xave to return to their universe also opens. All of them say goodbye, as Sonic and Stravic fist bump for the last time, as Stravic also gives Sonic some of his power. Stravic, Rija, and Xave then go into the portal, returning to their universe. With another day saved, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy walk into the City sunset, as they reminisce on this large journey.
=== Locations + Stages ===
==== Locations ====
???: Ruined Galaxy
==== Bosses ====
King Zorder's Final Form
== Gameplay ==
This is a 3D Side Scroller, and this game has four playable characters in the Hero Story (Sonic, Tails Knuckles, and Amy), and two in the Dark Story (Stravic and Rija). The level design in this game is focused on speed, just like in Sonic Vita 2. However, this game is mainly focused on Tag Team gameplay, where you play as one character with another character that follows you around, and you can do Tag actions with your partner character, similar to Sonic Advance 3. The stages in this game are also overwhelmingly large, featuring the largest stages in any 2D Sonic game.
Just like previous 2D Sonic games, the goal is to reach to the end of each Act. Depending on how long it takes you to complete the stage, you will get a rank. There are two acts, with the third act being a Boss Fight. Other traditional elements from 2D Sonic games also return, such as collecting rings and shields, defeating enemies, avoiding hazards, etc.
In terms of moveset, all seven characters utilize the standard Spin Jump, Spin Attack, Spin Dash, etc. However, each character has an extra ability, for example Sonic has the Homing Attack and Jump Dash, while Tails has the Propeller Flight and the Tail Swipe. The characters are also able to preform different Tag Actions, depending on the pairing. For example, if Sonic is paired with Tails, Tails can carry Sonic and fly. Just like in the previous game, each character also utilizes a "Boost" ability, where they can dash through enemies and projectiles at fast speeds.
For the stages difficulty, the Hero Story is Regular, and the Dark Story is Hard.
Defeating bosses in this game grants you a Chaos Emerald, just like in Sonic Vita 2. Due to this, there are no Special Stages in this game.
=== Movesets ===
==== Sonic ====
* Run
* Jump
* Jump Dash
* Homing Attack
* Spin Dash
*Boost
*Air Boost
* Slide
* Trick Action (Humming Top, Hop Jump)
* Wall Jump
* Stomp
* Light Speed Dash
* Copter Combo (Tails Tag Action)
* Glide Combo (Knuckles Tag Action)
* Hammer Combo (Amy Tag Action)
==== Tails ====
* Run
* Jump
* Propeller Flight
* Tail Swipe
* Spin Dash
*Boost
*Air Boost
* Slide
* Trick Action (Window Jump, Happy Spring)
*Wall Jump
*Stomp
* Lock-On Shot Blaster
* Speed Combo (Sonic Tag Action)
* Glide Combo (Knuckles Tag Action)
*Hammer Combo (Amy Tag Action)
==== Knuckles ====
* Run
* Jump
* Glide
* Climb
* Punch Attack
* Spin Dash
*Boost
*Air Boost
* Slide
* Trick Action (Burning Straight, Spiral Upper)
*Wall Jump
* Drill Claw
* Screwdriver
* Speed Combo (Sonic Tag Action)
* Copter Combo (Tails Tag Action)
* Hammer Combo (Amy Tag Action)
==== Amy ====
* Run
* Jump
* Hammer Jump
* Hammer Attack
* Spin Dash
*Boost
*Air Boost
* Slide
* Trick Action (Humming Top, Hop Jump)
*Wall Jump
* Hammer Slam
* Spinning Hammer Attack
* Speed Combo (Sonic Tag Action)
* Copter Combo (Tails Tag Action)
* Glide Combo (Knuckles Tag Action)
==== Stravic ====
* Run
* Jump
* Jump Dash
* Homing Attack
* Spin Dash
*Boost
*Air Boost
* Slide
* Trick Action (Humming Top, Hop Jump)
* Wall Jump
* Toxic Poison Stomp
* Light Speed Dash
* Magic Combo (Rija Tag Action)
* Grappling Combo (Xave Tag Action)
==== Rija ====
* Run
* Jump
* Magic Flight
* Blade Swipe
* Spin Dash
*Boost
*Air Boost
* Slide
* Trick Action (Magic Dashthrough, Swirl Hop)
*Wall Jump
* Blade Slam
* Lock-On Blade Boomerang
* Void Combo (Stravic Tag Action)
* Grappling Combo (Xave Tag Action)
==== Xave ====
* Run
* Jump
* Wingpack Glide
* Hook Climb
* Punch Attack
* Spin Dash
*Boost
*Air Boost
* Slide
* Trick Action (Straight Grapple, Launch Grapple)
* Wall Jump
* Hook Slam
* Grappling Hook
* Void Combo (Stravic Tag Action)
* Magic Combo (Rija Tag Action)
==== Super Sonic/ Super Stravic ====
* Super Sonic Boost
* Light Speed Dash
* Electricity Blasts (Super Sonic only)
* Toxic Void Blasts (Super Stravic only)
==== Dr. Eggman ====
* Lock On
* Lock On Missle
=== Stage Ranking System ===
* S Rank- Complete a stage with the highest amount of points in 3:00 or less
* A Rank- Complete a stage with the highest amount of points in 3:01-3:59
* B Rank- Complete a stage with the highest amount of points in 4:00-4:59
* C Rank- Complete a stage with the highest amount of points in 5:00-5:59
* D Rank- Complete a stage with the highest amount of points in 6:59 or more
=== Boss Ranking System ===
* S Rank- Defeat a boss with No Deaths
* A Rank- Defeat a boss with 1 Death
* B Rank- Defeat a boss with 2 Deaths
* C Rank- Defeat a boss with 3 Deaths
* D Rank- Defeat a boss with 4 Deaths
=== Capsule Items ===
* Shield
* Magnet Shield
* 10 Rings Bonus
* 20 Rings Bonus
* Random Ring Bonus
* Invincibility Bonus
* Speed Shoes Bonus
* 1-Up Bonus
== 100% Completion Info ==
In order to get 100% Completion in this game, you must collect all of the Red Star Rings and get all S Ranks. There are five Red Star Rings per stage, with 150 Red Star Rings in total, and 44 S Ranks that you must earn. You also must complete Hard Mode in both stories, with 30 Hard Mode stages in total. Doing all of this will grant you Debug Mode, which works exactly like how it did in Sonic Vita and Sonic Vita 2.
== Reception ==
Sonic Vita 3 received mostly mixed reviews from critics and journalists with Metacritic scoring a 66 out of 100 based on 22 reviews and GameRankings scoring a 70.98% based on 36 reviews. The game was praised for being a great game to wrap up the Sonic Vita trilogy, also improving the physics and controls, making the game have the best controls and physics in the trilogy. The game was also praised for it's replay-ability, along with its amount being great. However, the game was criticized for the stages being too large, which could lead to frustration. The game was also criticized for the game's "Hard Mode" being criticized for its bugginess, and being unfair at certain points, such as too many bottomless pits. It was also criticized for some of its Tag Team gameplay, calling a majority of the pairing unpolished and unfinished. The game sold a worldwide total of 978,750 copies, and went on to be a Greatest Hits title on the PlayStation Vita.
== Trivia ==
*In 2015, there was a spin-off game called "Sonic Vita All Stars Racing".
*This game reuses the character models from the previous two games again, however the characters have more idle animations, while Xave and King Zorder have their first character models.
*Also like Sonic Vita 2, this game uses the Hedgehog Engine.
*This game reuses many things from Sonic Vita 2, such as character animations, gameplay, etc, as well as having the same composers and same type of music, rock, with some synth added in. This is mostly due to the fact that Sonic Vita 2 and 3 were made by the same team.
* This game's level design is similar to Sonic Vita 2, but extremely larger, and the Tag Team action.
* Just like the previous two games, this game has 2D art for the box cover.
*Most of the cutscenes in this game are similar to the cutscenes from the Sonic Rush and Sonic Rivals games, with it being characters with speech text that you read through. However, action scenes and the intro and ending cutscenes are done in game.
*This game features the largest sized stages in any 2D Sonic game.
*Also like the previous two games, the opening cutscene at the beginning before the title screen is 2D, done by TMS Entertainment, the same animation studio that worked on Sonic X.
*This game was rushed, as it only had 10 months of development. Due to this, this game's Tag Team mechanics weren't able to be finished, and as such many of the pairings feel unpolished. However, the controls in the game are the most polished in the Sonic Vita Trilogy.
* Unlike the last two games, this is one of the few Modern Sonic games released in 2014 alongside the new Sonic Boom brand.
*In February 2017, Sonic Vita 3 was included in the "Sonic Vita Trilogy Pack" available for PC via Steam.