Ah, "Sonic CD," a game that swings like a jazz quartet on an off night—lots of ambition but the rhythm just isn't there. Imagine if Duke Ellington sat down at the piano, poised to deliver a soul-stirring number, and instead, we got the tinny tunes reminiscent of a speakeasy band on their first gig—unpolished, unrefined, and unexpectedly underwhelming. That's the soundtrack of "Sonic CD," trying to be the Miles Davis of video game music but landing more in the realm of a forgotten lounge act.

Then there's the level design, which feels like something straight out of a Groucho Marx routine—chaotic, confusing, and running into its own punchlines. You could almost hear Groucho quipping, "Why, they've got levels going everywhere and nowhere at once, just like my love life!" The paths twist and turn with all the perplexity of a Laurel and Hardy skit, where every doorway leads to another slapstick mishap rather than to the finish line.

Navigating through "Sonic CD" is akin to sitting through a Henny Youngman one-liner marathon—after a while, the confusion isn't just part of the act, it is the act. Each level feels like it's been designed on the whims of a stand-up comic mid-routine, where not even the performer knows the ending. It's like the game is playing its own private joke, but forgot to let the player in on the laugh.

In essence, "Sonic CD" is that late-night jazz club gig you hoped would be memorable, but the band wasn't quite up to the task. The game reaches for the stars but ends up playing in the backrooms of the gaming world, where the lights are dim and the crowd is unforgiving. So here’s to "Sonic CD," a game that aspires to be the headline act but ends up as the warm-up band, still tuning its instruments as the audience files in.

Sonic cd is not a very good game. For one the game is extremely short, each stage is only 3 or 4 minutes long at most and overall I was NOT A fan of the exploration type levels in this game. They just made the game feel empty and pointless.

I liked the time travel mechanic and thought it made for an interesting difference between this and sonic 1-3. The music was super good like always, they played the same music every boss though which I wasn't a big fan of.

I also wish that metal sonic appeared more in this game, he shows up occasionally throughout the game and then you race him and he fucking explodes. It's just really underwhelming, especially with a character who had so much potential. All in all, Sonic cd is not great but has some redeeming qualities if you look hard enough.

... Sonic 2 who?
Good lord, this is such a good game. Which is funny, considering I absolutely hated it when I was little and super into Sonic.

"Sonic is supposed to be fast! What's up with the weird maps and this time traveling stuff?" I'll tell you what's up with 'em, 10 year old me: They're peak, that's what they are.
If you pick up Sonic CD expecting to take your time and explore stages thoroughly instead of trying to get to the goal as fast as possible, as I did in this last playthrough, you'll have a great time.

Beautiful FMV cutscenes, cool zones with tons of visual variety, my favorite special stages and favorite soundtrack; CD has it all.

I guess my only complaint is that the timer shouldn't really be there. Having a Time Limit system in a game where exploration is encouraged is very counterintuitive. That aside, absolutely goated. 🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐

UPDATE 28/03: Platinum'd it. This game is so good.