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Ta-da! Here's my glorious return to reviewing. Rather than trying to pump reviews for the latest, greatest game, I've decided to take a look back at the games of yester-year. First up on the list is a game many have called the greatest Sonic game to date.
Released on the Sega CD in 1993, Sonic CD was supposed to be a sign of what the Sega CD add-on could do and what was to come. Ironically it was one of the few Sega-CD games that did not suck. Info on the origins of Sonic CD are scarce, other than the fact that it was released in-between Sonic 2 and Sonic 3.
From a gameplay standpoint, Sonic CD was more in-tuned with Sonic 1 than Sonic 2. More emphasis was placed on dodging obstacles and enemies than Speed (sonic 2) or Exploration (Sonic 3 / S3&K).
For some apparent reason a time traveling gimmick was added to the mix. It worked like this: every stage was peppered with signs marked future or past. If you run by one Sonic starts to sparkle, in order to keep this sparkle you have to be constantly moving, after a short amount of time you warp to a period of time based in that level. An amusing concept, but it doesn't really go anywhere nor does it really effect anything, besides changing the level BGM and the graphics for the level (as well as somewhat slightly altering its design). The whole point of this seemed to be a half-assed attempt to place a bit more emphasis on speed, but there's ultimately no reward for changing time periods.
Other than the time traveling bit, little else about Sonic CD is different from the Genesis Sonics. You still race through levels, grabbing up as many rings as possible, until you reach the goal, every third act ends in a clever, but easy boss fight against Sonic's arch-nemesis, Dr Robotnik (Eggman). The switch back to 3 is a little disheartening, since I've always believed that 3 acts per stage bogs the game down and made some stages drag on (Labyrinth Zone from Sonic 1 and Metropolis Zone from Sonic 2 come to mind). It doesn't really effect Sonic CD all too much, however, since the third act is usually little more than the boss fight.
Featuring some of the best audio tracks ever featured in a Sonic game and a amazing (for it's time) opening and closing animated FMV, Sonic CD made great use of the Sega CD's strengths. One complaint is the weird SFX, especially Sonic's jump, which sounds weird when compared to his normal sounding one.
Looking back I can easily see why this was heralded as the sonic game, great music and amazing animation wrapped around classic Sonic gameplay, what could one ask for? Length for one thing, yes Sonic CD's only glaring flaw is the one inherent in all Sonic games, short length. It can be easily completed in less than 2 hours, very short for a game that features a save feature (a crude precursor to the one featured in Sonic 3). Yes, there is some replay value through the bonus stages and collecting the time gems, which in turn unlocks the "good" ending. However the bonus stages are easily completed and the alternate ending is roughly similar to the regular ending. At best this adds a measly hour of gameplay, if that.
In today’s age Sonic has seen a drastic change, gone is the cool blue hedgehog, replaced by this new poser version. The Series I grew up to adore has took a wrong turn and ended up in a Star Wars Eps 1 state. That is to say its Sonic, but something is most certainly missing. No further proof of this is Sonic CD, while it may be outdated and "slow" compared to the Sonic Advance series, it still has something those don't: heart.
Score:
Then: 9/10
Now: 8/10
Thanks for reading be sure to leave me any comments, good or bad, and be sure to answer my poll!
Released on the Sega CD in 1993, Sonic CD was supposed to be a sign of what the Sega CD add-on could do and what was to come. Ironically it was one of the few Sega-CD games that did not suck. Info on the origins of Sonic CD are scarce, other than the fact that it was released in-between Sonic 2 and Sonic 3.
From a gameplay standpoint, Sonic CD was more in-tuned with Sonic 1 than Sonic 2. More emphasis was placed on dodging obstacles and enemies than Speed (sonic 2) or Exploration (Sonic 3 / S3&K).
For some apparent reason a time traveling gimmick was added to the mix. It worked like this: every stage was peppered with signs marked future or past. If you run by one Sonic starts to sparkle, in order to keep this sparkle you have to be constantly moving, after a short amount of time you warp to a period of time based in that level. An amusing concept, but it doesn't really go anywhere nor does it really effect anything, besides changing the level BGM and the graphics for the level (as well as somewhat slightly altering its design). The whole point of this seemed to be a half-assed attempt to place a bit more emphasis on speed, but there's ultimately no reward for changing time periods.
Other than the time traveling bit, little else about Sonic CD is different from the Genesis Sonics. You still race through levels, grabbing up as many rings as possible, until you reach the goal, every third act ends in a clever, but easy boss fight against Sonic's arch-nemesis, Dr Robotnik (Eggman). The switch back to 3 is a little disheartening, since I've always believed that 3 acts per stage bogs the game down and made some stages drag on (Labyrinth Zone from Sonic 1 and Metropolis Zone from Sonic 2 come to mind). It doesn't really effect Sonic CD all too much, however, since the third act is usually little more than the boss fight.
Featuring some of the best audio tracks ever featured in a Sonic game and a amazing (for it's time) opening and closing animated FMV, Sonic CD made great use of the Sega CD's strengths. One complaint is the weird SFX, especially Sonic's jump, which sounds weird when compared to his normal sounding one.
Looking back I can easily see why this was heralded as the sonic game, great music and amazing animation wrapped around classic Sonic gameplay, what could one ask for? Length for one thing, yes Sonic CD's only glaring flaw is the one inherent in all Sonic games, short length. It can be easily completed in less than 2 hours, very short for a game that features a save feature (a crude precursor to the one featured in Sonic 3). Yes, there is some replay value through the bonus stages and collecting the time gems, which in turn unlocks the "good" ending. However the bonus stages are easily completed and the alternate ending is roughly similar to the regular ending. At best this adds a measly hour of gameplay, if that.
In today’s age Sonic has seen a drastic change, gone is the cool blue hedgehog, replaced by this new poser version. The Series I grew up to adore has took a wrong turn and ended up in a Star Wars Eps 1 state. That is to say its Sonic, but something is most certainly missing. No further proof of this is Sonic CD, while it may be outdated and "slow" compared to the Sonic Advance series, it still has something those don't: heart.
Score:
Then: 9/10
Now: 8/10
Thanks for reading be sure to leave me any comments, good or bad, and be sure to answer my poll!
