After drudging through Sonic’s latest adventure through mediocrity, I felt thoroughly deflated. In all honesty, I was starting to think I was just completely tapped out for this series and it would never give me the same highs it used to. As it turns out, all I needed was a brief refresher with a personal favorite of mine. It’s been a while since this series provided me any pleasure, but boy lemme tell ya, when Sonic hits it really hits.
For many, the predictable choice here would be Mania or 3&K, but despite their obviously quality, it wasn’t the skew of Sonic I was looking for today. Not even Sonic 2, a game I’ve loved for longer than I’ve had cogent memories, would scratch the particular itch I was looking for. Instead I reached for Sonic CD, a game that continues to stand tall as a singular pillar of excellence in this ridiculously far reaching series of games.
If you’ve known me online for the past few years, you should already know how hard I’ve fought on the Sonic CD frontlines in the past, and as such I won’t reiterate everything I’ve previously said of the game in this log - instead I just wanted to gush incessantly for a little bit about one of my favorite games of all time.
In retrospect, bringing in the character designer of Sonic to direct the sequel to the first game was an inspired choice, and this is felt as early as the very first level. Visually and sonically this thing is unparalleled in it’s swag (but you didn’t need me to confirm that), levels and their layouts are as chaotic as the series would ever see in this format, and the pace at which you can breeze through each zone is comical even by Sonic standards. Later titles like 2 or 3&K arguably worked better as 2D platformers for normal people rather than absolute freaks, but no other Sonic game understands the appeal of the character quite as well as this, and it’s obvious in all areas of its design.
Even the time travel, something that continually gets mocked by detractors of the game, is so effortlessly cool and natural for the character that it’s kinda weird playing the other games without the mechanic now. The main sticking points for most have to do with the execution of time travel itself, and its actual mechanical use in the story. If you personally land in this critical group of goblins, I hear you, but I just don’t care. You’re so concerned with traveling through time just for it’s “intended” function as a vehicle for the true ending of the game, when honestly, the best way to enjoy it may be to focus on the purely shallow benefits to it. On my most recent playthrough I disregarded the robot generators entirely, breezed through all seven special stages, and continued to utilize the time travel nearly 40 times in the run just to change the scenery and layouts while leisurely bouncing through all 7 of the game’s magnificent zones. Sometimes it’s the simple things in life that bring the most pleasure.
While on the note of the time travel, this most recent playthrough was done on the Sonic CD Restored version of the game along with it’s massive time travel overhaul, and while I’ll always be able to hang with even the nastiest ports of the game, this cleans up the experience to an honestly absurd degree. In fact, it was such a smooth experience I can’t help but wonder if people’s hatred of the game comes more from shitty ports than anything. While some of the changes here could be argued to be somewhat superfluous (from what I understand, time travel in the original CD version of the game is around 35% faster than the 2011 port, with CDR’s time travel being around 16% faster than even that), it’s clearly the closest representation of how the game not only was on release, but how it was always meant to be. Sure the time travel is absurdly fast here to the point where it’s maybe a bit too easy to pull off, but the core of the game shines so clearly with this port that I think it doesn’t take away from the experience at all.
In the bad timeline we landed in where this series is just inconceivably fucked up with no way to turn back, it’s nice to still have a title that shines bright in a sea of never-ending shadow. This game tickles my brain in a way not easily found elsewhere. The joy of flinging this blue bastard through pinball mazes from hell. The joy of effortlessly seeing all eras of time just for the sake of it. The joy of beating a level in 30 seconds or 5 minutes dictated only by how you feel like playing the game rather than by some slapdash gauntlet level design. The joy of true and uncompromising play.
For many, the predictable choice here would be Mania or 3&K, but despite their obviously quality, it wasn’t the skew of Sonic I was looking for today. Not even Sonic 2, a game I’ve loved for longer than I’ve had cogent memories, would scratch the particular itch I was looking for. Instead I reached for Sonic CD, a game that continues to stand tall as a singular pillar of excellence in this ridiculously far reaching series of games.
If you’ve known me online for the past few years, you should already know how hard I’ve fought on the Sonic CD frontlines in the past, and as such I won’t reiterate everything I’ve previously said of the game in this log - instead I just wanted to gush incessantly for a little bit about one of my favorite games of all time.
In retrospect, bringing in the character designer of Sonic to direct the sequel to the first game was an inspired choice, and this is felt as early as the very first level. Visually and sonically this thing is unparalleled in it’s swag (but you didn’t need me to confirm that), levels and their layouts are as chaotic as the series would ever see in this format, and the pace at which you can breeze through each zone is comical even by Sonic standards. Later titles like 2 or 3&K arguably worked better as 2D platformers for normal people rather than absolute freaks, but no other Sonic game understands the appeal of the character quite as well as this, and it’s obvious in all areas of its design.
Even the time travel, something that continually gets mocked by detractors of the game, is so effortlessly cool and natural for the character that it’s kinda weird playing the other games without the mechanic now. The main sticking points for most have to do with the execution of time travel itself, and its actual mechanical use in the story. If you personally land in this critical group of goblins, I hear you, but I just don’t care. You’re so concerned with traveling through time just for it’s “intended” function as a vehicle for the true ending of the game, when honestly, the best way to enjoy it may be to focus on the purely shallow benefits to it. On my most recent playthrough I disregarded the robot generators entirely, breezed through all seven special stages, and continued to utilize the time travel nearly 40 times in the run just to change the scenery and layouts while leisurely bouncing through all 7 of the game’s magnificent zones. Sometimes it’s the simple things in life that bring the most pleasure.
While on the note of the time travel, this most recent playthrough was done on the Sonic CD Restored version of the game along with it’s massive time travel overhaul, and while I’ll always be able to hang with even the nastiest ports of the game, this cleans up the experience to an honestly absurd degree. In fact, it was such a smooth experience I can’t help but wonder if people’s hatred of the game comes more from shitty ports than anything. While some of the changes here could be argued to be somewhat superfluous (from what I understand, time travel in the original CD version of the game is around 35% faster than the 2011 port, with CDR’s time travel being around 16% faster than even that), it’s clearly the closest representation of how the game not only was on release, but how it was always meant to be. Sure the time travel is absurdly fast here to the point where it’s maybe a bit too easy to pull off, but the core of the game shines so clearly with this port that I think it doesn’t take away from the experience at all.
In the bad timeline we landed in where this series is just inconceivably fucked up with no way to turn back, it’s nice to still have a title that shines bright in a sea of never-ending shadow. This game tickles my brain in a way not easily found elsewhere. The joy of flinging this blue bastard through pinball mazes from hell. The joy of effortlessly seeing all eras of time just for the sake of it. The joy of beating a level in 30 seconds or 5 minutes dictated only by how you feel like playing the game rather than by some slapdash gauntlet level design. The joy of true and uncompromising play.
the best sonic game and it's barely even a contest. peak vibes and the jp soundtrack is probably the nicest this series has ever sounded. really weird that people are circling back around to pretending this game is bad lol
I just find it amusing that the classic Sonic game with the time travel gimmick is so chronologically confusing. Due to being developed at the same time, Sonic CD was released after Sonic 2 but takes place before it, and seems a lot closer in graphical style to the original game!
Anyway, this makes a really interesting foil to Sonic 2 because it tries a lot of different ideas both for better and worse, the most obvious one being the time-travel mechanic. Being able to travel backwards and forwards in time means lots of additional content (four different variations of each stage!), and the optional goal of destroying machines in the past that will change the future for the better adds some replay value to what is actually a pretty easy base game. Through this format, Sonic CD casts itself as a time/score attack game, where each individual stage is short and relatively easy but you're encouraged to try them again and again, and rewarded with different content and a slightly different ending once you get good enough.
However, the execution is slightly off here: playing simply to get through the game is a pretty bland and frictionless experience, while trying to get the good ending requires tedious combing through levels trying to find the right machine to destroy, and there is very little middle ground between these two experiences of the game. By contrast, Sonic 2 lacks any such overarching gimmick but has much tighter level design, more interesting zones, and offers an experience with just the right amount of difficulty (except for Metropolis Zone, screw that).
Sonic CD does have one aspect that it excels in though, and that's the bosses. They're far more creative than anything in previous Sonic games, and almost none of them fall into the category of "figure out attack pattern, hit boss X number of times, profit". The two highlights for me are a pinball-themed boss (Sonic Spinball without the fluff and with better physics!), and a thematically-appropriate straight-up footrace against Metal Sonic which you simply win by getting to the end of the stage first!
I'd personally rank this slightly below Sonic 2 but it's still firmly in the "very good" category. However, the fact that Sonic CD was by far the best-received and best-selling game on the Sega CD was perhaps a warning sign that foreshadowed Sega losing more and more ground in the console wars with each successive generation. Oh, to find the right machine to break in the past to save this franchise from the bad future...
Anyway, this makes a really interesting foil to Sonic 2 because it tries a lot of different ideas both for better and worse, the most obvious one being the time-travel mechanic. Being able to travel backwards and forwards in time means lots of additional content (four different variations of each stage!), and the optional goal of destroying machines in the past that will change the future for the better adds some replay value to what is actually a pretty easy base game. Through this format, Sonic CD casts itself as a time/score attack game, where each individual stage is short and relatively easy but you're encouraged to try them again and again, and rewarded with different content and a slightly different ending once you get good enough.
However, the execution is slightly off here: playing simply to get through the game is a pretty bland and frictionless experience, while trying to get the good ending requires tedious combing through levels trying to find the right machine to destroy, and there is very little middle ground between these two experiences of the game. By contrast, Sonic 2 lacks any such overarching gimmick but has much tighter level design, more interesting zones, and offers an experience with just the right amount of difficulty (except for Metropolis Zone, screw that).
Sonic CD does have one aspect that it excels in though, and that's the bosses. They're far more creative than anything in previous Sonic games, and almost none of them fall into the category of "figure out attack pattern, hit boss X number of times, profit". The two highlights for me are a pinball-themed boss (Sonic Spinball without the fluff and with better physics!), and a thematically-appropriate straight-up footrace against Metal Sonic which you simply win by getting to the end of the stage first!
I'd personally rank this slightly below Sonic 2 but it's still firmly in the "very good" category. However, the fact that Sonic CD was by far the best-received and best-selling game on the Sega CD was perhaps a warning sign that foreshadowed Sega losing more and more ground in the console wars with each successive generation. Oh, to find the right machine to break in the past to save this franchise from the bad future...
Replayed as part of Sonic Origins Plus.
I am more no longer letting internet weirdo personalities gaslight me into thinking Sonic CD is some kind of poorly-designed Sonic title that hates the player. If anything, this is Sonic 1's philosophy fully realized, more than Sonic 2 and 3&K ever did, even despite my eternal preference to the latter.
Consisted of perfectly-sized gigantuan neonite playgrounds of dreams that beg you to explore every nook and cranny, CD's multilayered treasure hunting approach invites players to really experiment with movement. FUTURE and PAST signs plastered at every avenue give you plenty of chances and opportunities to play with your speed to warp through time, some obvious and some cleverly hidden.
The CD-ROM represented Sonic's potential when unchained from its predecessor's hardware limitations. Its recovery from obscurity opened the floodgates for the uninspired, tepid opinions of influential casuals to classify CD as largely inferior to Sonic 2, reason largely being its "insistance" on hindering Sonic's speed. This is where the hardest pill to swallow comes into play: that Sonic's original core philosophy was always in his physics, not his speed. Sonic was designed as a characteristic pinball. It's why he rolls down slopes. It's why his rounded design and quills can be hunched down into a BALL shape. In reality, as Sonic 2 was developed in America by a largely new team and focused on the occasionally staleing spectacle of going right really fast (with a more modern, uninspired art style I might add,) the passion in Sonic 1's development team effortlessly bled over to CD, evergreen, ever shining. Sonic's speed may be his Americanized ideal, but it was originally an end to a means, a reward for good play that Yuji Naka envisioned. After one more development team split for the development of Sonic 3, Sonic CD was the last and only game to really branch out Sonic 1's pinball-platforming core before transitioning into a high speed platformer, for better or worse, and in a way, no other Sonic game has carried that core philosophy since.
However, if a Grand Judge sentenced me to playing Sonic CD's special stages for 10 minutes as a punishment over a minor misdemeanor, I would ask for the electric chair as a preferable alternative.
I am more no longer letting internet weirdo personalities gaslight me into thinking Sonic CD is some kind of poorly-designed Sonic title that hates the player. If anything, this is Sonic 1's philosophy fully realized, more than Sonic 2 and 3&K ever did, even despite my eternal preference to the latter.
Consisted of perfectly-sized gigantuan neonite playgrounds of dreams that beg you to explore every nook and cranny, CD's multilayered treasure hunting approach invites players to really experiment with movement. FUTURE and PAST signs plastered at every avenue give you plenty of chances and opportunities to play with your speed to warp through time, some obvious and some cleverly hidden.
The CD-ROM represented Sonic's potential when unchained from its predecessor's hardware limitations. Its recovery from obscurity opened the floodgates for the uninspired, tepid opinions of influential casuals to classify CD as largely inferior to Sonic 2, reason largely being its "insistance" on hindering Sonic's speed. This is where the hardest pill to swallow comes into play: that Sonic's original core philosophy was always in his physics, not his speed. Sonic was designed as a characteristic pinball. It's why he rolls down slopes. It's why his rounded design and quills can be hunched down into a BALL shape. In reality, as Sonic 2 was developed in America by a largely new team and focused on the occasionally staleing spectacle of going right really fast (with a more modern, uninspired art style I might add,) the passion in Sonic 1's development team effortlessly bled over to CD, evergreen, ever shining. Sonic's speed may be his Americanized ideal, but it was originally an end to a means, a reward for good play that Yuji Naka envisioned. After one more development team split for the development of Sonic 3, Sonic CD was the last and only game to really branch out Sonic 1's pinball-platforming core before transitioning into a high speed platformer, for better or worse, and in a way, no other Sonic game has carried that core philosophy since.
However, if a Grand Judge sentenced me to playing Sonic CD's special stages for 10 minutes as a punishment over a minor misdemeanor, I would ask for the electric chair as a preferable alternative.
Joguei pelo Sonic CD Restored feito por fãs
À todo momento penso em como devo expressar o que eu sinto e penso de maneira "correta". Todos ao meu redor sabem expressar tão bem o que vem de dentro e acabo me sentindo "pra trás" e burro por causa disso. Me vejo duvidando de tudo que faço, falo e penso, "será que eu sei o que isso significa", "parece que eu tô tentando demais parecer inteligente" e etc. Quero tentar mudar isso escrevendo sobre o que eu absorvi dos jogos que eu terminar, tentando ser 100% honesto comigo mesmo, e o jogo que me fez voltar à pensar nisso foi Sonic CD.
Puta merda esse jogo entende completamente o que Sonic é e o que ele faz com isso é sensacional. Sonic é um espirito livre, livre como o vento, e quando você começa um novo save tu já consegue ver isso com a opening te mostrando tudo que você precisa saber do Sonic e o mundo que ele vive. O ritmo frenético das acrobacias fluídas do ouriço pelos campos rochosos ao som de "You Can Do Anything" estabelece o personagem como um ídolo e inspiração para o jogador e para os personagens da franquia em si, alguém com seu próprio senso de estilo e modo de viver, vivendo num mundo fantástico onde um pequeno planeta flutuando sobre um lago não é algo tão estranho de se ver.
"𝗧𝗼𝗼𝘁, 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝘁 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿
𝗧𝗼𝗼𝘁, 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝘁 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱
𝗧𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲!"
Começando a primeira zona, Palmtree Panic, a vibe já é jogada na sua cara com os samples de pessoas celebrando como em uma festa de aniversário; o Sonic tá aqui e ele vai salvar o Little Planet das amarras robóticas do Dr. Eggman! A bruxaria que fizeram pra criarem essa zona e todas as outras do jogo é indescritível, você só sente um sentimento de satisfação e maravilha ao explorar cada canto do level design desses lugares. Ao alcançar a velocidade da luz e viajar no tempo esse sentimento só aumenta se deparando com os diferentes períodos de tempo das zonas; o passado, um lugar arcaico, repleto por natureza, sem qualquer influência artificial, ainda para ser dominado pelo Eggman caso você falhe em achar o gerador escondido; o futuro ruim, um pesadelo robótico, industrial, artificial, mas não tão ameaçador, há um tom frenético, cínico e provocador na música e no ambiente. O Eggman venceu nesse futuro e ele está rindo da sua cara, não há tempo a perder!; e o futuro bom, ainda com resquícios de influências do Eggman, mas aqui a natureza venceu e retomou seu lugar, com uma música muito mais calma tocando agora, sinalizando um trabalho bem feito e uma recompensa para o jogador que se esforçou na sua busca pelo passado. Eu queria muito falar sobre cada zona individualmente, mas eu com certeza só vou me enrolar e acabar estendendo esse texto mais do que o que eu quero, então vou deixar por aqui essa parte.
Com esse jogo também veio a primeira aparição de dois personagens na franquia, Metal Sonic e Amy Rose. O Metal é perfeito pra complementar todo o conceito desse jogo e da franquia até aqui da "robotização" da natureza. Ele é a antítese de tudo o que o Sonic é e representa, um ser sem alma, sem livre arbítrio, o chaotic evil pro chaotic good do Sonic. Um dos pontos ruins que achei foi a falta de presença dele (e da Amy também) ao longo do jogo, algo que o Sonic 3 faz bem melhor com o Knuckles. Porém a Amy não fica pra trás, mesmo ao meio desse conflito entre entidades caóticas. Se o Metal representa um extremo nesse jogo, a Amy representa o outro. Ela não tem as habilidades do Sonic, não tem a crueldade do Metal, não tem a inteligência do Eggman e mesmo assim ela está aqui em busca do seu herói. Representando o coração dessa história, a conexão mais próxima com a natureza, a Amy vem pra mostrar que esse mundo não é feito só de seres super poderosos.
No fim, após derrotar o Eggman e salvar o Little Planet, Sonic deixa a Amy em segurança e dá adeus ao misterioso planeta que desaparece diante de seus olhos, tudo isso ao som de "Cosmic Eternity" que, assim como a música da opening, serve letras de inspiração para o jogador, solidificando Sonic não só como um personagem inspirador, mas também como um símbolo de tal até fora de seu mundo!
"𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁, 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳!
𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱
𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁, 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳!
𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗲
𝗖𝗼𝘀𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗘𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆!"
Sonic é eterno e Sonic CD é atemporal, espero que com as minhas palavras eu tenha conseguido passar pelo menos um pouco do que eu sinto sobre essa franquia e esse jogo!
Sinceramente eu não sabia como eu queria escrever esse texto, só fui colocando pra fora o que eu consegui. Estou pelo menos satisfeito que consegui escrever algo e quero que esse seja só o começo. Quero aprender sobre muitas coisas ainda, não só sobre video games, e acho que me expressar mais assim é o meu jeito de ir em busca desse objetivo. Obrigado por ler até aqui!
À todo momento penso em como devo expressar o que eu sinto e penso de maneira "correta". Todos ao meu redor sabem expressar tão bem o que vem de dentro e acabo me sentindo "pra trás" e burro por causa disso. Me vejo duvidando de tudo que faço, falo e penso, "será que eu sei o que isso significa", "parece que eu tô tentando demais parecer inteligente" e etc. Quero tentar mudar isso escrevendo sobre o que eu absorvi dos jogos que eu terminar, tentando ser 100% honesto comigo mesmo, e o jogo que me fez voltar à pensar nisso foi Sonic CD.
Puta merda esse jogo entende completamente o que Sonic é e o que ele faz com isso é sensacional. Sonic é um espirito livre, livre como o vento, e quando você começa um novo save tu já consegue ver isso com a opening te mostrando tudo que você precisa saber do Sonic e o mundo que ele vive. O ritmo frenético das acrobacias fluídas do ouriço pelos campos rochosos ao som de "You Can Do Anything" estabelece o personagem como um ídolo e inspiração para o jogador e para os personagens da franquia em si, alguém com seu próprio senso de estilo e modo de viver, vivendo num mundo fantástico onde um pequeno planeta flutuando sobre um lago não é algo tão estranho de se ver.
"𝗧𝗼𝗼𝘁, 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝘁 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿
𝗧𝗼𝗼𝘁, 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝘁 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱
𝗧𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲!"
Começando a primeira zona, Palmtree Panic, a vibe já é jogada na sua cara com os samples de pessoas celebrando como em uma festa de aniversário; o Sonic tá aqui e ele vai salvar o Little Planet das amarras robóticas do Dr. Eggman! A bruxaria que fizeram pra criarem essa zona e todas as outras do jogo é indescritível, você só sente um sentimento de satisfação e maravilha ao explorar cada canto do level design desses lugares. Ao alcançar a velocidade da luz e viajar no tempo esse sentimento só aumenta se deparando com os diferentes períodos de tempo das zonas; o passado, um lugar arcaico, repleto por natureza, sem qualquer influência artificial, ainda para ser dominado pelo Eggman caso você falhe em achar o gerador escondido; o futuro ruim, um pesadelo robótico, industrial, artificial, mas não tão ameaçador, há um tom frenético, cínico e provocador na música e no ambiente. O Eggman venceu nesse futuro e ele está rindo da sua cara, não há tempo a perder!; e o futuro bom, ainda com resquícios de influências do Eggman, mas aqui a natureza venceu e retomou seu lugar, com uma música muito mais calma tocando agora, sinalizando um trabalho bem feito e uma recompensa para o jogador que se esforçou na sua busca pelo passado. Eu queria muito falar sobre cada zona individualmente, mas eu com certeza só vou me enrolar e acabar estendendo esse texto mais do que o que eu quero, então vou deixar por aqui essa parte.
Com esse jogo também veio a primeira aparição de dois personagens na franquia, Metal Sonic e Amy Rose. O Metal é perfeito pra complementar todo o conceito desse jogo e da franquia até aqui da "robotização" da natureza. Ele é a antítese de tudo o que o Sonic é e representa, um ser sem alma, sem livre arbítrio, o chaotic evil pro chaotic good do Sonic. Um dos pontos ruins que achei foi a falta de presença dele (e da Amy também) ao longo do jogo, algo que o Sonic 3 faz bem melhor com o Knuckles. Porém a Amy não fica pra trás, mesmo ao meio desse conflito entre entidades caóticas. Se o Metal representa um extremo nesse jogo, a Amy representa o outro. Ela não tem as habilidades do Sonic, não tem a crueldade do Metal, não tem a inteligência do Eggman e mesmo assim ela está aqui em busca do seu herói. Representando o coração dessa história, a conexão mais próxima com a natureza, a Amy vem pra mostrar que esse mundo não é feito só de seres super poderosos.
No fim, após derrotar o Eggman e salvar o Little Planet, Sonic deixa a Amy em segurança e dá adeus ao misterioso planeta que desaparece diante de seus olhos, tudo isso ao som de "Cosmic Eternity" que, assim como a música da opening, serve letras de inspiração para o jogador, solidificando Sonic não só como um personagem inspirador, mas também como um símbolo de tal até fora de seu mundo!
"𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁, 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳!
𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱
𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁, 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳!
𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗲
𝗖𝗼𝘀𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗘𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆!"
Sonic é eterno e Sonic CD é atemporal, espero que com as minhas palavras eu tenha conseguido passar pelo menos um pouco do que eu sinto sobre essa franquia e esse jogo!
Sinceramente eu não sabia como eu queria escrever esse texto, só fui colocando pra fora o que eu consegui. Estou pelo menos satisfeito que consegui escrever algo e quero que esse seja só o começo. Quero aprender sobre muitas coisas ainda, não só sobre video games, e acho que me expressar mais assim é o meu jeito de ir em busca desse objetivo. Obrigado por ler até aqui!
Take Sonic 1 and stretch it until it breaks, then copy each stage 3 times for the time travel, throw in one of the best soundtracks ever (and an okay one for America), and the result is somehow better than the sum of its parts. I'm not even sure you can describe this game as having level design sometimes, but I admire the gall of presenting the player with random pieces of scenery, springs, and platforms, and just saying "here's your obstacle. Goal's over there. Off you go". It definitely gets in the way sometimes, and ironically despite the sprawling stages I have no desire to fully explore most of them, but at the very least it's more interesting than Sonic 1.
really truly miss the days when people rightfully considered this a "hidden gem" and "the best sonic game". i'll beat the shit out of whatever popular internet chucklefuck decided to tell people that AKSHUALLY the level design is bad 🤓
This provides a unique Classic sonic experience
This title coming after the first Sonic the hedgehog in terms of development (As Sonic Origins proves) comes with a new method of mobility the Super-Peelout, it allows sonic to instantly reach max speed but has vulnerability compared to the spin-dash, this ability feels pretty important and becomes natural to use with the gimmick of time travel that CD introduces.
The time travel gimmick is impressive and adds lots of depth to the stage designs. This is done by passing future/past signs and maintaining max speed for a few seconds. This will warp Sonic into the past or future with different aesthetic and musical themes.
Level design: The level design of Sonic CD has the most visual flare out of all the classic games, bringing unique soundtracks with each time period also. But this sadly does not mean the layout of the levels is the strongest because some of the stages become easy to navigate without thinking within 20 seconds to beat the stage and doesn't provide too much challenge to navigate in new ways and on the other side of the coin some stages become confusing to find your way around (such as the final stage) which the difference in pace becomes very noticeable.
Bosses: The boss fights within Sonic CD are very unique, providing different ways to tackle them, these can range from jumping on stone blocks and navigating to the roof to having a race against Metal Sonic. These fights also can go back to basics in the starter stages to provide a brand new experience.
Soundtrack: The soundtrack of this game is fantastic. I played on the Steam release (that is no longer available, because of Origins) which gave me the opportunity to switch between the US and JP versions. I love the JP version of the soundtrack it feels so funky and stardust speedway is a banger. I find the US version to be really weird because despite absolutely loving the main theme Sonic Boom, there are weird cases where you question if they made the game for a younger audience with the game over screen sounding very creepy.
Overall: A gem of a sonic title that is very unique in a great way to provide a long-lasting memorable experience
This title coming after the first Sonic the hedgehog in terms of development (As Sonic Origins proves) comes with a new method of mobility the Super-Peelout, it allows sonic to instantly reach max speed but has vulnerability compared to the spin-dash, this ability feels pretty important and becomes natural to use with the gimmick of time travel that CD introduces.
The time travel gimmick is impressive and adds lots of depth to the stage designs. This is done by passing future/past signs and maintaining max speed for a few seconds. This will warp Sonic into the past or future with different aesthetic and musical themes.
Level design: The level design of Sonic CD has the most visual flare out of all the classic games, bringing unique soundtracks with each time period also. But this sadly does not mean the layout of the levels is the strongest because some of the stages become easy to navigate without thinking within 20 seconds to beat the stage and doesn't provide too much challenge to navigate in new ways and on the other side of the coin some stages become confusing to find your way around (such as the final stage) which the difference in pace becomes very noticeable.
Bosses: The boss fights within Sonic CD are very unique, providing different ways to tackle them, these can range from jumping on stone blocks and navigating to the roof to having a race against Metal Sonic. These fights also can go back to basics in the starter stages to provide a brand new experience.
Soundtrack: The soundtrack of this game is fantastic. I played on the Steam release (that is no longer available, because of Origins) which gave me the opportunity to switch between the US and JP versions. I love the JP version of the soundtrack it feels so funky and stardust speedway is a banger. I find the US version to be really weird because despite absolutely loving the main theme Sonic Boom, there are weird cases where you question if they made the game for a younger audience with the game over screen sounding very creepy.
Overall: A gem of a sonic title that is very unique in a great way to provide a long-lasting memorable experience
By looking at my username you already know what is my favorite part about the game.
The OST is great, both the PAL and NA versions. The level design is hit or miss.
This game introduced me to Sonic as a whole, but I don't have any nostalgia bias towards it.
The OST is great, both the PAL and NA versions. The level design is hit or miss.
This game introduced me to Sonic as a whole, but I don't have any nostalgia bias towards it.
To understand why this game is so divisive these days, one must first look back at the circumstances in which this game was first released. It was a game released solely on an expensive expansion to the Genesis known as the Sega CD. Due to its prohibitive price, the Sega CD was only accessible to those in prestigious, intellectually intensive careers like engineers or high class escorts. The developers, knowing this, decided to make a game that appealed to said intellectual elite. Unfortunately, the game has become accessible to an audience it was never intended for. Many people today don't like Sonic CD, but they also very likely would not enjoy reading an advanced physics textbook. These products were not intended for the masses, and thus cannot be judged by them. In many schools of Buddhist meditation, the knowledge of the illusoriness of the self is often safeguarded and only shown to the most diligent of practitioners. The reason for this is that the common man, when faced with such profundity, often responds with a gormless "so what?". This sadly mirrors the reception Sonic CD has today.
Capaz que você nem perceba da primeira vez que chegar em um Good Future em Sonic CD (o que, em todo caso, é capaz que nem aconteça da primeira vez que você zere), mas todo futuro de Sonic CD é muito, muito estranho.
Senão repare.
Especialmente se você, seja lá por que motivo for, estiver jogando a versão americana, porque a música é toda feita para ser atmosférica. O Spencer Nilsen e o Dave Young acho que entenderam a mesma coisa que eu entendi só agora há pouco, enquanto o Naofumi Hataya estava mais preocupado em fazer música boa mesmo. Mas toda vez que você chegar no terceiro ato de uma fase faça o esforço de olhar em volta. Eu digo faça o esforço porque, enquanto os primeiros e segundos atos em cada fase te obrigam a olhar em volta e procurar ou aneis para completar 50 e acessar a fase especial ou procurar placas de Passado e Futuro, assim como te obrigam a ser mais cauteloso e procurar seções propícias a te dar velocidade suficiente por tempo suficiente pra viajar no tempo, os terceiros atos são questão de ir lá e matar o chefão, só.
Mas nem caia no papinho das fases especiais. É bonito em tese, você poder zerar o jogo de dois jeitos completamente diferentes, embora traçando as mesmas fases — mas, na prática, as fases especiais de Sonic CD (da quarta em diante mais ainda) são impossíveis para todo mundo que não é do clube dos Viciados em Jogar Sonic com Excelência, clube que tem hoje uns dois membros e 100% deles têm artrose. Faz o que eu tô te falando — vai para o futuro em cada uma das fases — qualquer um deles, mas ir em todos os ruins e depois em todos os bons é melhor para ver do que eu tô falando aqui.
Palmtree Panic, no presente, é uma Primeira Fase de Sonic Clássico — uma colina cheia de árvores, mas não coberta de vegetação nem nada, com padrões geométricos no chão e um céu azul bonitão, limpo, tal. O Bad Future é uma versão dessa paisagem escrita pelo Katsuhiro Otomo, porque tudo é decrépito e quebrado e tem uns canos levando água suja pra algum lugar e tudo tem uma cor escura, feia. O Good Future é a mistura do Deep Forest com o Daft Punk — as plantas estão todas lá, aparentemente saudabilíssimas, mas misturadas com máquinas e motes de água limpa que tornam a fase ainda mais colorida e agradável que no presente.
E é isso. A técnica é basicamente essa pra todas as fases. Você tem o presente como padrão e, em comparação a ele, o Bad Future é decadente, os motivos são opacos (o que dá a sensação sufocante de que tem muito mais coisa na tela) e existe uma sensação terrível de que as máquinas estão agindo sozinhas para nenhum motivo em particular, como se estivesse tudo abandonado e desfuncional; o Good Future é cheio de motivos transparentes ou cristalinos, como vidros, cristais, água etc., que passam uma noção de que tudo é arejado, harmonioso e bonito — sendo que existe uma percepção de que as coisas (água, especialmente) estão funcionando pelo prazer de funcionar, simplesmente porque é natural para elas fluir, rodar, existir daquele jeito.
Isso que é esquisito.
Você imaginaria que os futuros são completamente diferentes, mas fundamentalmente os futuros são iguais — você frequentemente vê andaimes, coisas por fazer, coisas inacabadas em todos os tempos. Você vê coisas sendo construídas, mas não vê ninguém construindo. Você percebe que todas as fases são muito vívidas, mas não tem ninguém vivendo nelas. Na Palmtree Panic, beleza, você pode até imaginar que no Bad Future o Robotnik meteu o louco e está explorando os recursos naturais pra fazer uns robôs do mal e não se importa com a natureza, afinal ele é a União Soviética, mas quando você chega na Metallic Madness e vê que tudo está tão arruinado quanto, a coisa perde o sentido.
Os badniks estão quebrados também, a própria base do Robotnik é insustentável e o futuro é mais um pós-apocalipse em que nada funciona do que uma distopia do jeito como nos acostumamos a ver na ficção, em que a coisa funciona só para alguns enquanto os outros estão na merda ou funciona de um jeito muito terrível. E isso se traduz no jogo-como-mecânica, também: as fases são, em geral, mais fáceis, exatamente porque as ameaças estão todas indo pro cacete e os peixes filhos da puta da Tidal Tempest que jogam uns tirinhos das costas já não conseguem fazer isso, as aranhas da Quartz Quadrant não conseguem jogar teia em você, essas coisas. E pior, eles ainda tentam.
Quando você percebe isso e vai pros Good Futures, a sensação de isolamento só piora: tudo funciona e é muito bonito, mas não parece ser pra ninguém. Você pode imaginar que existem pessoas usufruindo dessa água limpa e dessa roda gigante na Stardust Speedway, mas essas pessoas são fantasmas. Para todos os efeitos, o futuro cresceu para virar uma paisagem bonita e só. É especialmente desconcertante porque mesmo que o futuro seja bom, mesmo que tudo seja perfeito, as fases ainda estão especialmente desenhadas para matar você.
Quer dizer, os chefões de Sonic CD têm essa característica especial: eles usam de um jeito muito particular tudo que a fase te apresentou até então e você deve usar essas coisas a seu favor. Não gostou de trupicar pra lá e pra cá na Collision Chaos? Uma pena, porque o chefão é literalmente um jogo de pinball e você deve chegar ao topo pra vencer. Não consegue controlar o tempo do Sonic quando ele sai voando do chão da Wacky Workbench? Se fodeu, porque o chefão consiste justamente em usar essa mecânica. Quer dizer, isso tudo faz muito sentido em um futuro dominado pelo Robotnik, mesmo que tudo tenha ido pro caralho. Mas num futuro em que você conseguiu pará-lo, isso tudo passa uma sensação muito estranha. Uma sensação de que na real o futuro não importa — aquilo é entre você e o Robotnik, mesmo que o mundo esteja caindo aos pedaços ou que todos vivam felizes dentro de sistemas que não servem pra nada além de serem perfeitos em si mesmos.
Os futuros em Sonic CD são uma miragem.
Não existe substância neles. Ambos são uma coisa que serve a si mesma e não estão embasados em utopia ou distopia moral — são utopias ou distopias puramente estéticas, versões de paisagens que conhecemos estendidas a um infinito positivo, transparente e estável ou um infinito negativo, opaco e autodestrutivo — mas cuja autodestruição é exatamente o processo pelo qual ele se perpetua. Então quer dizer: os futuros não “pertencem” ao Sonic ou ao Robotnik, não representam nada. Se você quiser, você pode interpretar como futuros em que a tecnologia foi usada a favor ou contra a natureza, mas não dá para entender o princípio por trás dessa diferença porque, de um jeito ou de outro, você ainda tem que ir atrás do cuzão do Robotnik, ganhar do Metal Sonic na corrida, essas coisas. O mundo não diz respeito a você, mesmo que suas ações desencadeiem uma coisa ou outra — e, da mesma forma, você e Robotnik estão fora desse esquema.
Só que esse estranhamento é o artifício mais importante de Sonic CD. Porque, entende, ao apresentar um mundo que existe sozinho e existe apenas pra existir — por ser uma miragem — você se torna incapaz de julgar o que tem dentro dele e, aí sim, sua aventura se torna realmente algo seu. Você não deve nada pro mundo e ele não deve nada pra você, mas existe algo que você quer dentro dele, que é derrotar o maluco dos robôs e o robô que corre que nem você. O mundo, em vez de ser mundo, se torna um palco com proporções muito fortes — ou é a realização absoluta ou a ruína absoluta. E, por não estarem presas à moral, essas utopias ou distopias não estão presas a uma discussão sobre alguma coisa. A Utopia de Morus, por exemplo, introduzia princípios morais que eram considerados elevados ali naquela época (e que, hoje, já não valem em alguns casos) e a questão de se aquilo tudo funciona mesmo ou não fica no ar, como é o caso em todas as utopias — a socialista dos primeiros tempos, a comunista pós-ditadura do proletariado, a libertária etc. Você tem os princípios, mas não a imagem. Em Sonic CD, você tem a imagem, mas não os princípios. Essa abordagem permite que você retrate coisas bonitas, que tocam o coração dos jogadores, sem no entanto entregar o que você quer dizer com aquilo.
Cloudbank, por exemplo, é uma utopia em Transistor. É uma cidade que visivelmente funciona para o bem das pessoas, com princípios morais elevados e bases de sustentação social, política e mesmo existencial bastante sólidas. Isto é, era, porque Transistor se passa exatamente com Cloudbank sendo subvertida na sua matriz, deixando de existir em todos os níveis. Você pode discordar da Camerata, achar que os caras são reaças, que a Sybil é linda inconsequente e tudo o mais, mas o caso é que os princípios da utopia existiam e funcionavam, mas falharam. Não é uma utopia contingente e não vai virar uma distopia — simplesmente os princípios foram traídos em algum ponto, por mais que funcionassem e noventa e nove vírgula noventa e nove por cento das pessoas fossem supostamente felizes. E mais — você não vê isso. Você só vê as coisas se deteriorando, mas não elas funcionando.
E isso é mais forte como princípio que como imagem, embora nos façam imaginar como era tudo antes de CERTAS PESSOAS colocarem tudo a perder. Mas é muito intelectual, assim como todas as utopias já foram. As de Sonic CD, assim como as distopias também, são mais viscerais justamente por serem miragens. Elas são, realmente, lugares para estarmos, não materializações de ideias ou pensamentos que estão em discussão hoje em dia. Os futuros de Sonic CD são estranhos porque não fazem parte de nós, admitem que nossos princípios vão mudar e toda nossa noção de tudo vai acabar caindo por terra intelectualmente — mas ali, naquele jogo, as utopias ou distopias de Sonic CD serão sempre coisas muito bonitas ou muito feias e autossuficientes.
Precisamos de mais futuros como os de Sonic CD.
Senão repare.
Especialmente se você, seja lá por que motivo for, estiver jogando a versão americana, porque a música é toda feita para ser atmosférica. O Spencer Nilsen e o Dave Young acho que entenderam a mesma coisa que eu entendi só agora há pouco, enquanto o Naofumi Hataya estava mais preocupado em fazer música boa mesmo. Mas toda vez que você chegar no terceiro ato de uma fase faça o esforço de olhar em volta. Eu digo faça o esforço porque, enquanto os primeiros e segundos atos em cada fase te obrigam a olhar em volta e procurar ou aneis para completar 50 e acessar a fase especial ou procurar placas de Passado e Futuro, assim como te obrigam a ser mais cauteloso e procurar seções propícias a te dar velocidade suficiente por tempo suficiente pra viajar no tempo, os terceiros atos são questão de ir lá e matar o chefão, só.
Mas nem caia no papinho das fases especiais. É bonito em tese, você poder zerar o jogo de dois jeitos completamente diferentes, embora traçando as mesmas fases — mas, na prática, as fases especiais de Sonic CD (da quarta em diante mais ainda) são impossíveis para todo mundo que não é do clube dos Viciados em Jogar Sonic com Excelência, clube que tem hoje uns dois membros e 100% deles têm artrose. Faz o que eu tô te falando — vai para o futuro em cada uma das fases — qualquer um deles, mas ir em todos os ruins e depois em todos os bons é melhor para ver do que eu tô falando aqui.
Palmtree Panic, no presente, é uma Primeira Fase de Sonic Clássico — uma colina cheia de árvores, mas não coberta de vegetação nem nada, com padrões geométricos no chão e um céu azul bonitão, limpo, tal. O Bad Future é uma versão dessa paisagem escrita pelo Katsuhiro Otomo, porque tudo é decrépito e quebrado e tem uns canos levando água suja pra algum lugar e tudo tem uma cor escura, feia. O Good Future é a mistura do Deep Forest com o Daft Punk — as plantas estão todas lá, aparentemente saudabilíssimas, mas misturadas com máquinas e motes de água limpa que tornam a fase ainda mais colorida e agradável que no presente.
E é isso. A técnica é basicamente essa pra todas as fases. Você tem o presente como padrão e, em comparação a ele, o Bad Future é decadente, os motivos são opacos (o que dá a sensação sufocante de que tem muito mais coisa na tela) e existe uma sensação terrível de que as máquinas estão agindo sozinhas para nenhum motivo em particular, como se estivesse tudo abandonado e desfuncional; o Good Future é cheio de motivos transparentes ou cristalinos, como vidros, cristais, água etc., que passam uma noção de que tudo é arejado, harmonioso e bonito — sendo que existe uma percepção de que as coisas (água, especialmente) estão funcionando pelo prazer de funcionar, simplesmente porque é natural para elas fluir, rodar, existir daquele jeito.
Isso que é esquisito.
Você imaginaria que os futuros são completamente diferentes, mas fundamentalmente os futuros são iguais — você frequentemente vê andaimes, coisas por fazer, coisas inacabadas em todos os tempos. Você vê coisas sendo construídas, mas não vê ninguém construindo. Você percebe que todas as fases são muito vívidas, mas não tem ninguém vivendo nelas. Na Palmtree Panic, beleza, você pode até imaginar que no Bad Future o Robotnik meteu o louco e está explorando os recursos naturais pra fazer uns robôs do mal e não se importa com a natureza, afinal ele é a União Soviética, mas quando você chega na Metallic Madness e vê que tudo está tão arruinado quanto, a coisa perde o sentido.
Os badniks estão quebrados também, a própria base do Robotnik é insustentável e o futuro é mais um pós-apocalipse em que nada funciona do que uma distopia do jeito como nos acostumamos a ver na ficção, em que a coisa funciona só para alguns enquanto os outros estão na merda ou funciona de um jeito muito terrível. E isso se traduz no jogo-como-mecânica, também: as fases são, em geral, mais fáceis, exatamente porque as ameaças estão todas indo pro cacete e os peixes filhos da puta da Tidal Tempest que jogam uns tirinhos das costas já não conseguem fazer isso, as aranhas da Quartz Quadrant não conseguem jogar teia em você, essas coisas. E pior, eles ainda tentam.
Quando você percebe isso e vai pros Good Futures, a sensação de isolamento só piora: tudo funciona e é muito bonito, mas não parece ser pra ninguém. Você pode imaginar que existem pessoas usufruindo dessa água limpa e dessa roda gigante na Stardust Speedway, mas essas pessoas são fantasmas. Para todos os efeitos, o futuro cresceu para virar uma paisagem bonita e só. É especialmente desconcertante porque mesmo que o futuro seja bom, mesmo que tudo seja perfeito, as fases ainda estão especialmente desenhadas para matar você.
Quer dizer, os chefões de Sonic CD têm essa característica especial: eles usam de um jeito muito particular tudo que a fase te apresentou até então e você deve usar essas coisas a seu favor. Não gostou de trupicar pra lá e pra cá na Collision Chaos? Uma pena, porque o chefão é literalmente um jogo de pinball e você deve chegar ao topo pra vencer. Não consegue controlar o tempo do Sonic quando ele sai voando do chão da Wacky Workbench? Se fodeu, porque o chefão consiste justamente em usar essa mecânica. Quer dizer, isso tudo faz muito sentido em um futuro dominado pelo Robotnik, mesmo que tudo tenha ido pro caralho. Mas num futuro em que você conseguiu pará-lo, isso tudo passa uma sensação muito estranha. Uma sensação de que na real o futuro não importa — aquilo é entre você e o Robotnik, mesmo que o mundo esteja caindo aos pedaços ou que todos vivam felizes dentro de sistemas que não servem pra nada além de serem perfeitos em si mesmos.
Os futuros em Sonic CD são uma miragem.
Não existe substância neles. Ambos são uma coisa que serve a si mesma e não estão embasados em utopia ou distopia moral — são utopias ou distopias puramente estéticas, versões de paisagens que conhecemos estendidas a um infinito positivo, transparente e estável ou um infinito negativo, opaco e autodestrutivo — mas cuja autodestruição é exatamente o processo pelo qual ele se perpetua. Então quer dizer: os futuros não “pertencem” ao Sonic ou ao Robotnik, não representam nada. Se você quiser, você pode interpretar como futuros em que a tecnologia foi usada a favor ou contra a natureza, mas não dá para entender o princípio por trás dessa diferença porque, de um jeito ou de outro, você ainda tem que ir atrás do cuzão do Robotnik, ganhar do Metal Sonic na corrida, essas coisas. O mundo não diz respeito a você, mesmo que suas ações desencadeiem uma coisa ou outra — e, da mesma forma, você e Robotnik estão fora desse esquema.
Só que esse estranhamento é o artifício mais importante de Sonic CD. Porque, entende, ao apresentar um mundo que existe sozinho e existe apenas pra existir — por ser uma miragem — você se torna incapaz de julgar o que tem dentro dele e, aí sim, sua aventura se torna realmente algo seu. Você não deve nada pro mundo e ele não deve nada pra você, mas existe algo que você quer dentro dele, que é derrotar o maluco dos robôs e o robô que corre que nem você. O mundo, em vez de ser mundo, se torna um palco com proporções muito fortes — ou é a realização absoluta ou a ruína absoluta. E, por não estarem presas à moral, essas utopias ou distopias não estão presas a uma discussão sobre alguma coisa. A Utopia de Morus, por exemplo, introduzia princípios morais que eram considerados elevados ali naquela época (e que, hoje, já não valem em alguns casos) e a questão de se aquilo tudo funciona mesmo ou não fica no ar, como é o caso em todas as utopias — a socialista dos primeiros tempos, a comunista pós-ditadura do proletariado, a libertária etc. Você tem os princípios, mas não a imagem. Em Sonic CD, você tem a imagem, mas não os princípios. Essa abordagem permite que você retrate coisas bonitas, que tocam o coração dos jogadores, sem no entanto entregar o que você quer dizer com aquilo.
Cloudbank, por exemplo, é uma utopia em Transistor. É uma cidade que visivelmente funciona para o bem das pessoas, com princípios morais elevados e bases de sustentação social, política e mesmo existencial bastante sólidas. Isto é, era, porque Transistor se passa exatamente com Cloudbank sendo subvertida na sua matriz, deixando de existir em todos os níveis. Você pode discordar da Camerata, achar que os caras são reaças, que a Sybil é linda inconsequente e tudo o mais, mas o caso é que os princípios da utopia existiam e funcionavam, mas falharam. Não é uma utopia contingente e não vai virar uma distopia — simplesmente os princípios foram traídos em algum ponto, por mais que funcionassem e noventa e nove vírgula noventa e nove por cento das pessoas fossem supostamente felizes. E mais — você não vê isso. Você só vê as coisas se deteriorando, mas não elas funcionando.
E isso é mais forte como princípio que como imagem, embora nos façam imaginar como era tudo antes de CERTAS PESSOAS colocarem tudo a perder. Mas é muito intelectual, assim como todas as utopias já foram. As de Sonic CD, assim como as distopias também, são mais viscerais justamente por serem miragens. Elas são, realmente, lugares para estarmos, não materializações de ideias ou pensamentos que estão em discussão hoje em dia. Os futuros de Sonic CD são estranhos porque não fazem parte de nós, admitem que nossos princípios vão mudar e toda nossa noção de tudo vai acabar caindo por terra intelectualmente — mas ali, naquele jogo, as utopias ou distopias de Sonic CD serão sempre coisas muito bonitas ou muito feias e autossuficientes.
Precisamos de mais futuros como os de Sonic CD.
"getting the good future route is hard" mfs in shock realizing the time stones exist
Faço parte do grupo de pessoas que gostam de Sonic CD. Mesmo que esse título tenha seus problemas bem alarmantes de level design, a criatividade por trás do jogo é bastante marcante. Poder viajar entre três tipos de variações dos estágios após fazer o Sonic pegar uma velocidade alta é muito divertido de se fazer e a chegada do Metal Sonic e a Amy na série é algo para se lembrar. Dois dos maiores problemas de Sonic CD é que o game envelheceu mal e foi um jogo que ainda estava testando qual direção o mascote iria seguir.
I LOVE WOMEN!!!
This is gold: more fluid stages, nice time travel mechanics, creative bosses, and playable special stages
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.
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 already had a great running start when it came to the success of his original game, which brought him into the spotlight as Sega’s newest heavy hitter and potential mascot, but then when Sonic 2 was released, it solidified that role for him. Not only was Sonic 2 better than the original game in almost every single way, but it introduced many mainstays of the franchise, such as with Tails and Super Sonic, making it not just one of the best Sonic games out there, but also one of the best titles to have on the Sega Genesis. So, of course, like with Alex Kidd, Sega was going to make sure to keep Sonic games coming, with the next of these titles initially starting out as a port of the original Sonic the Hedgehog game for the Sega CD. However, this then quickly changed into a completely different game, which would be developed alongside Sonic 2, and would take place in between that game and the original. Eventually, the game would be released alongside two other brand new Sonic games (which we will get to at a later date), and it would simply be known as Sonic the Hedgehog CD, or just Sonic CD for short.
Whenever it comes to what many consider to be the best Sega CD game, people will often point to this title, while also calling it one of the best Sonic games ever made, and while I personally wouldn’t completely agree with that sentiment, I will say it is still a really great entry in the series. Like with the previous mainline Sonic game, it manages to take what was established in the previous games and add onto it, introducing completely new mechanics and gimmicks that would rarely get used ever again, making this one of the more unique and entertaining titles in the series. Of course, it does have its share of problems, as any Sonic game does (as any fan should be used to by now), but for what we got here, it still holds up pretty well to this day, and a must-play for anyone who owns a Sega CD.
The story is similar to the other Sonic games, except this time you are now saving a damsel in distress, and stopping Robotnik from taking over the extraterrestrial body known as Little Planet, and most of this is even shown to us through these very well animated cutscenes made by Toei Animation………… which look absolutely crusty on the original hardware, but hey, they are some of the better cutscenes seen on the system, the graphics are of a similar quality to the previous Genesis Sonic titles, but they still look great here, not only being just as colorful and detailed as before, but also having plenty of different new animations for characters for that extra level of detail, the music is…. complicated, with there being two different soundtracks that were made, one for the US and one for everywhere else, and while there are definitely plenty of great tracks to be heard in the US soundtrack, the Japanese soundtrack knocks it out of the park in every single way, it is so damn good, the control is typical of what you would expect from a Sonic game, so not much to talk about there, and the gameplay is familiar with those who have played the previous Sonic titles, but introduces plenty of new mechanics to keep things interesting.
The game is a 2D platformer, where you take control of Sonic once again, go through a set of seven zones, each with three acts a piece, run through them at the speed of sound while defeating many different badniks in your path to free all of the little animals trapped within them, gather plenty of rings, shields, and invincibility boxes along the way to give you an edge over the many robotic enemies you will face, and take on the evil Robotnik’s many different contraptions, ranging from the creative and challenging, to the completely pathetic and pointless. It has all the markings of your typical 2D Sonic title, but to its credit, it still manages to be pretty fun, and the level of speed is properly maintained throughout this title for the most part, making it still pretty fun to play.
In terms of new additions, like with Sonic 2, there are quite a few. For starters, Sonic still retains his Spin Dash from the previous game, but now, he also has a brand new move called the Super Peel Out, where he can rev up his feet into a figure-8 pattern and take off towards whatever lies ahead of him. When you think about it, it is essentially just a fancier version of the Spin Dash, but honestly, I love using this move, and the speed and distance you get with it is really satisfying. It’s a shame that it is barely ever brought back after this, aside from one or two exceptions here or there. Alongside this, we also have two brand new characters who, like Tails, would go onto being mainstays of the entire Sonic franchise. The first of these new characters would be Amy Rose, Sonic’s on-again-off-again love interest, who for this game is just relegated to the damsel in distress role, because I guess Sega really was trying really hard to push Sonic as their own personal Mario. While I myself don’t personally like her as much as other characters seen throughout the franchise, I would still say that Amy is a pretty great character, one that is usually fun to see whenever she shows up in future games (especially ones where she talks), and whenever you get the chance to play as her in certain installments, she is also usually fun to play as. Not to mention, her classic design is fucking adorable, and you cannot convince me otherwise.
The second character that was introduced, on the other hand, was not only another great inclusion for this series, but has been my favorite character in the entire franchise ever since I first saw him: Metal Sonic. He may not be that creative of a character, with him just being an evil, robotic version of Sonic, but he makes up for it not only with his cool as FUCK design, but also with his many different appearances across the franchise. Usually, he is one of the highlights of anything he appears in, and most of his boss fights are some of the best in the entire series. In terms of what he does in this game though, not only does he show up to actually kidnap Amy right in front of you, but you also race against him to avoid Robotnik’s rainbow laser of death, and while it can be a bit annoying if you don’t time your jumps right, it is one of the best boss fights in the game in my opinion.
Moving on from characters though, the third biggest inclusion of this game, as well as the main gimmick of the whole thing, is with time travel. Throughout most of the levels, you will see plenty of signs that say Past or Future, and when you pass by them and then get enough speed, you will then be sent back or forward in time, to where the levels now look and sound different and have a different amount of enemies depending on the time period you’re in. While it doesn’t really change the gameplay that much, it can be pretty neat to swap between these time periods, as well as seeing all the differences between them for each of the levels, if you are that curious. But, if you do want to go for the best ending in the game, the time travel mechanic does become pretty important, as for every single Past version of a level, there will be a hidden transporter that will be producing enemies that you can destroy. When you destroy all of those, you then immediately create a good future for the zone, and unlock the best ending. Honestly though…. I’m not really too big of a fan of this method of completing the game. There is nothing necessarily wrong with it, but I just don’t like searching the levels to find these specific spots where these transporters are, as it completely breaks the pacing that Sonic levels typically have, and that is something I value heavily in these games.
Thankfully though, there is a more traditional alternative for people like me. Like in Sonic 1, if you collect 50 rings, a giant ring will appear at the end of the main stages, and when you jump in said ring, you will be transported to a Special Stage where you will get the chance to get a Time Stone………… yes, a Time Stone, not a Chaos Emerald. Usually, when it comes to special stages in Sonic games, I typically kinda dread getting to them, as they can either be really fun or annoying as hell, with no inbetween a lot of the time. With this game, though, we get to go through the really fun batch of Special Stages, where you are running in a 3D environment trying to destroy these UFOs, and when you destroy them all, you get the Time Stone. Sure, these stages can get kinda annoying at times, given how fast both you and the UFOs can get at times, but honestly, I greatly prefer this over plenty of other special stages in Sonic games, as I feel like I have a lot more control over what I do, and when I fuck up, I do feel like it is my fault rather then the game fucking me over.
So yeah, it may seem like I absolutely adore this game, but trust me, I do have my fair share of complaints about this title. For starters, the Spin Dash, at least in the original version of the game, FUCKING SUCKS. Not only does it look off from what it usually is, but it works differently to where you have to wait for it to charge up before you release the wind up button, making it pretty unreliable when compared to the Super Peel Out. Thankfully, this was fixed in the modern ports of the game made by Christian Whitehead, but if you are playing the original version of the game, or the port on the Sega Gems Collection, that Spin Dash is pretty much completely useless.
And secondly, while I wouldn’t say this applies to every level in the game, I will say that for a majority of the stages in this game, the level design is pretty horrible. Not to say that it doesn’t work well enough, but it feels like in this game specifically that a lot of the time, you can’t properly maneuver around a lot of parts without some jank getting in the way, such as with certain pathways and enemy placements. Not to mention, there are also plenty of moments where you can get stuck in the levels, needing to fight against the gimmicks to hope to make some progress, and there are plenty of examples you can find where you will see rings just clipped through the walls, unable to get. I don’t know how the hell they let that slide, but I guess Sonic Team was always known for half-assing their games at points, even from the beginning.
Overall, despite some shitty level design in places and a completely useless Spin Dash, I would consider Sonic CD to be one of the best 2D Sonic games out there, and it is without a doubt the best game on the Sega CD that I have ever played. I would definitely recommend it to those who are big fans of Sonic games, as well as those love 2D platformers in general, because this title will give you plenty to blaze through and enjoy, every step of the way. Although, if you are gonna play this, here is a quick word of advice: be ready for what you may see in the Sound Test. Some of it is pretty funny, and it can be cute as well, but then some of it is just… shudder....
Game #420
Whenever it comes to what many consider to be the best Sega CD game, people will often point to this title, while also calling it one of the best Sonic games ever made, and while I personally wouldn’t completely agree with that sentiment, I will say it is still a really great entry in the series. Like with the previous mainline Sonic game, it manages to take what was established in the previous games and add onto it, introducing completely new mechanics and gimmicks that would rarely get used ever again, making this one of the more unique and entertaining titles in the series. Of course, it does have its share of problems, as any Sonic game does (as any fan should be used to by now), but for what we got here, it still holds up pretty well to this day, and a must-play for anyone who owns a Sega CD.
The story is similar to the other Sonic games, except this time you are now saving a damsel in distress, and stopping Robotnik from taking over the extraterrestrial body known as Little Planet, and most of this is even shown to us through these very well animated cutscenes made by Toei Animation………… which look absolutely crusty on the original hardware, but hey, they are some of the better cutscenes seen on the system, the graphics are of a similar quality to the previous Genesis Sonic titles, but they still look great here, not only being just as colorful and detailed as before, but also having plenty of different new animations for characters for that extra level of detail, the music is…. complicated, with there being two different soundtracks that were made, one for the US and one for everywhere else, and while there are definitely plenty of great tracks to be heard in the US soundtrack, the Japanese soundtrack knocks it out of the park in every single way, it is so damn good, the control is typical of what you would expect from a Sonic game, so not much to talk about there, and the gameplay is familiar with those who have played the previous Sonic titles, but introduces plenty of new mechanics to keep things interesting.
The game is a 2D platformer, where you take control of Sonic once again, go through a set of seven zones, each with three acts a piece, run through them at the speed of sound while defeating many different badniks in your path to free all of the little animals trapped within them, gather plenty of rings, shields, and invincibility boxes along the way to give you an edge over the many robotic enemies you will face, and take on the evil Robotnik’s many different contraptions, ranging from the creative and challenging, to the completely pathetic and pointless. It has all the markings of your typical 2D Sonic title, but to its credit, it still manages to be pretty fun, and the level of speed is properly maintained throughout this title for the most part, making it still pretty fun to play.
In terms of new additions, like with Sonic 2, there are quite a few. For starters, Sonic still retains his Spin Dash from the previous game, but now, he also has a brand new move called the Super Peel Out, where he can rev up his feet into a figure-8 pattern and take off towards whatever lies ahead of him. When you think about it, it is essentially just a fancier version of the Spin Dash, but honestly, I love using this move, and the speed and distance you get with it is really satisfying. It’s a shame that it is barely ever brought back after this, aside from one or two exceptions here or there. Alongside this, we also have two brand new characters who, like Tails, would go onto being mainstays of the entire Sonic franchise. The first of these new characters would be Amy Rose, Sonic’s on-again-off-again love interest, who for this game is just relegated to the damsel in distress role, because I guess Sega really was trying really hard to push Sonic as their own personal Mario. While I myself don’t personally like her as much as other characters seen throughout the franchise, I would still say that Amy is a pretty great character, one that is usually fun to see whenever she shows up in future games (especially ones where she talks), and whenever you get the chance to play as her in certain installments, she is also usually fun to play as. Not to mention, her classic design is fucking adorable, and you cannot convince me otherwise.
The second character that was introduced, on the other hand, was not only another great inclusion for this series, but has been my favorite character in the entire franchise ever since I first saw him: Metal Sonic. He may not be that creative of a character, with him just being an evil, robotic version of Sonic, but he makes up for it not only with his cool as FUCK design, but also with his many different appearances across the franchise. Usually, he is one of the highlights of anything he appears in, and most of his boss fights are some of the best in the entire series. In terms of what he does in this game though, not only does he show up to actually kidnap Amy right in front of you, but you also race against him to avoid Robotnik’s rainbow laser of death, and while it can be a bit annoying if you don’t time your jumps right, it is one of the best boss fights in the game in my opinion.
Moving on from characters though, the third biggest inclusion of this game, as well as the main gimmick of the whole thing, is with time travel. Throughout most of the levels, you will see plenty of signs that say Past or Future, and when you pass by them and then get enough speed, you will then be sent back or forward in time, to where the levels now look and sound different and have a different amount of enemies depending on the time period you’re in. While it doesn’t really change the gameplay that much, it can be pretty neat to swap between these time periods, as well as seeing all the differences between them for each of the levels, if you are that curious. But, if you do want to go for the best ending in the game, the time travel mechanic does become pretty important, as for every single Past version of a level, there will be a hidden transporter that will be producing enemies that you can destroy. When you destroy all of those, you then immediately create a good future for the zone, and unlock the best ending. Honestly though…. I’m not really too big of a fan of this method of completing the game. There is nothing necessarily wrong with it, but I just don’t like searching the levels to find these specific spots where these transporters are, as it completely breaks the pacing that Sonic levels typically have, and that is something I value heavily in these games.
Thankfully though, there is a more traditional alternative for people like me. Like in Sonic 1, if you collect 50 rings, a giant ring will appear at the end of the main stages, and when you jump in said ring, you will be transported to a Special Stage where you will get the chance to get a Time Stone………… yes, a Time Stone, not a Chaos Emerald. Usually, when it comes to special stages in Sonic games, I typically kinda dread getting to them, as they can either be really fun or annoying as hell, with no inbetween a lot of the time. With this game, though, we get to go through the really fun batch of Special Stages, where you are running in a 3D environment trying to destroy these UFOs, and when you destroy them all, you get the Time Stone. Sure, these stages can get kinda annoying at times, given how fast both you and the UFOs can get at times, but honestly, I greatly prefer this over plenty of other special stages in Sonic games, as I feel like I have a lot more control over what I do, and when I fuck up, I do feel like it is my fault rather then the game fucking me over.
So yeah, it may seem like I absolutely adore this game, but trust me, I do have my fair share of complaints about this title. For starters, the Spin Dash, at least in the original version of the game, FUCKING SUCKS. Not only does it look off from what it usually is, but it works differently to where you have to wait for it to charge up before you release the wind up button, making it pretty unreliable when compared to the Super Peel Out. Thankfully, this was fixed in the modern ports of the game made by Christian Whitehead, but if you are playing the original version of the game, or the port on the Sega Gems Collection, that Spin Dash is pretty much completely useless.
And secondly, while I wouldn’t say this applies to every level in the game, I will say that for a majority of the stages in this game, the level design is pretty horrible. Not to say that it doesn’t work well enough, but it feels like in this game specifically that a lot of the time, you can’t properly maneuver around a lot of parts without some jank getting in the way, such as with certain pathways and enemy placements. Not to mention, there are also plenty of moments where you can get stuck in the levels, needing to fight against the gimmicks to hope to make some progress, and there are plenty of examples you can find where you will see rings just clipped through the walls, unable to get. I don’t know how the hell they let that slide, but I guess Sonic Team was always known for half-assing their games at points, even from the beginning.
Overall, despite some shitty level design in places and a completely useless Spin Dash, I would consider Sonic CD to be one of the best 2D Sonic games out there, and it is without a doubt the best game on the Sega CD that I have ever played. I would definitely recommend it to those who are big fans of Sonic games, as well as those love 2D platformers in general, because this title will give you plenty to blaze through and enjoy, every step of the way. Although, if you are gonna play this, here is a quick word of advice: be ready for what you may see in the Sound Test. Some of it is pretty funny, and it can be cute as well, but then some of it is just… shudder....
Game #420
I fucking love Sonic CD. I understand why some think it's kind of rough, but I think the whole experience is just pure fun. The levels are big but they're fun to run through and explore. The special stages are fucking amazing and I love playing them every time. The metal sonic race is just peak. The japanese soundtrack is funky shit. It's just amazing. I can't think of much that I actually don't like. Maybe Wacky Workbench? I still don't really hate that level it's just kind of annoying.
9/10
9/10
Thanks to Xyloverse for watching me stream this and play through this game twice in one sitting. I genuinely can't believe I've known a fair amount about this game for so long yet have just now gotten to playing through it for the first time.
Sonic CD is a strange game. Not really concerned with pushing the Sonic formula forward as it is bringing its own spin on things by sidestepping straight Innovation in exchange for having some of the most experimental design in the series. Levels are twisted playgrounds of all sorts of different ideas and mechanics and feels it yearns to be more deeply explored through all the past-present-future possibilities rather than strictly sped through, with continuous speed more or less rewarding you with the ability to travel to the different times. Even outside of things mechanically being different in the same stage for the different times, I found the drastic aesthetic changes more than incentive enough to at least attempt to see every possible version of each stage. Which I wasn't able to do in two playthroughs myself so I think it speaks for itself that this game has almost endless replayability with how differently you can approach levels.
It certainly isn't without its faults as not all levels are necessarily great and some mechanics aren't as fleshed out as much as they could have been, but Sonic CD comes together as such a unique experience that I think everyone interested in video games should at least play once to at least witness its beauty in action. That and play with Japanese audio if you can, the music is way better in that version and it even has an exclusive final boss theme that was completely scrapped from the American release and replaced by the normal boss theme.
Sonic CD is a strange game. Not really concerned with pushing the Sonic formula forward as it is bringing its own spin on things by sidestepping straight Innovation in exchange for having some of the most experimental design in the series. Levels are twisted playgrounds of all sorts of different ideas and mechanics and feels it yearns to be more deeply explored through all the past-present-future possibilities rather than strictly sped through, with continuous speed more or less rewarding you with the ability to travel to the different times. Even outside of things mechanically being different in the same stage for the different times, I found the drastic aesthetic changes more than incentive enough to at least attempt to see every possible version of each stage. Which I wasn't able to do in two playthroughs myself so I think it speaks for itself that this game has almost endless replayability with how differently you can approach levels.
It certainly isn't without its faults as not all levels are necessarily great and some mechanics aren't as fleshed out as much as they could have been, but Sonic CD comes together as such a unique experience that I think everyone interested in video games should at least play once to at least witness its beauty in action. That and play with Japanese audio if you can, the music is way better in that version and it even has an exclusive final boss theme that was completely scrapped from the American release and replaced by the normal boss theme.
... 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.
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.
Maybe the best looking game ever and i honestly adore the maze like level design. Like this shit is borderline non euclidean it's great. I know people complain like "oohhhhhhh i gotta break all the robot transporters this game stinks!!!!!" but you can also just... not? just play the game normally if you want to! Reminds me of people complaining about crash 4's 100% completion requirements, deeply stupid gamer shit!
Scott the woz is pretty funny but he has very boring taste in video games. Like he compares sonic cd's level design to jackson pollock paintings as a negative???!!! Come on man that sounds like the dopest shit ever!
Scott the woz is pretty funny but he has very boring taste in video games. Like he compares sonic cd's level design to jackson pollock paintings as a negative???!!! Come on man that sounds like the dopest shit ever!
Has the best aesthetics and soundtrack of the franchise and I admire the ambition behind the time travel concept and multiple objectives to get the Good Ending. The level design just isn't always the best at working with that goal of a more exploratory Sonic game. Still a very fun game overall due to the core physics being enjoyable to play with in these very vertical levels.
Sonic CD haters are not welcome in my household.
Sure, Sonic CD’s level design is messy, chaotic, and makes gaining speed a little difficult, but it’s also well-suited for exploration. I can see how the game might seem lame or frustrating if you’re just trying to go from zone-to-zone, but if you take the time to hunt down the robot generators, you’ll see just how much fun can be had in this game. Additionally, Stardust Speedway is one of my favorite levels in any video game ever, and Metallic Madness is a pretty great final zone (and I’m tired of pretending that it’s not).
Sonic CD also succeeds in visual storytelling. The plot is mostly just Sonic vs. Eggman again, but you have some finer details that heighten the stakes. The bad futures show just what will happen to Little Planet (and by extension, Sonic’s world) if Eggman takes over: it’s a polluted, industrial wasteland with the mad doctor’s face plastered everywhere, where all plant life has been choked to death by smog and all animals have been shoved into Badniks to serve as living batteries. Needless to say, the game motivates you to save the future, no matter the cost.
On top of that, Sonic CD introduces Amy and— more prominently— Metal Sonic, Eggman’s top enforcer, a robotic clone meant to outdo the titular hedgehog in every way, and one of the coolest villains in the franchise. The game masterfully builds up your inevitable showdown; Metal kidnaps Amy, abuses and oppresses the animals of Little Planet, and lures Sonic to a climactic race on Stardust Speedway. The race is one of the greatest moments in the series’ history, as Sonic books it to the finish line to rescue Amy and prove who the one, true Sonic is, while Metal attempts to electrocute and plow straight through him. You’ll feel like a total badass once you leave Metal Sonic in the dust and head into Eggman’s base of operations, then defeat the bald fucker and free Little Planet from his control.
There’s also a pretty nice environmentalist theme that ties everything together. By obtaining the good futures, you’ll see a world where nature and technology not only coexist, but seem to actively benefit from each other. It shows that machines and ecosystems can and should exist in harmony— it’s greedy bastards like Eggman, who seek to use one of them utterly dominate and destroy the other, that are the problem.
Then there’s the music. Holy fuck. I’ve only ever listened to the Japanese soundtrack, so I can’t speak for the American version, but HOLY SHIT THE MUSIC SLAPS BALLS!!!! Seriously, every single track is an absolute banger that milks the game’s CD hardware for all it’s worth. Special mention to Metallic Madness (Present), with its incomprehensible rap lyrics that will nevertheless be stuck in my head for the rest of time.
All in all, Sonic CD is awesome. Amazing visuals, music, and story, along with lots fast-paced gameplay and exploration. It’s probably my most replayed Sonic game, and im definitely not ashamed of that.
Sure, Sonic CD’s level design is messy, chaotic, and makes gaining speed a little difficult, but it’s also well-suited for exploration. I can see how the game might seem lame or frustrating if you’re just trying to go from zone-to-zone, but if you take the time to hunt down the robot generators, you’ll see just how much fun can be had in this game. Additionally, Stardust Speedway is one of my favorite levels in any video game ever, and Metallic Madness is a pretty great final zone (and I’m tired of pretending that it’s not).
Sonic CD also succeeds in visual storytelling. The plot is mostly just Sonic vs. Eggman again, but you have some finer details that heighten the stakes. The bad futures show just what will happen to Little Planet (and by extension, Sonic’s world) if Eggman takes over: it’s a polluted, industrial wasteland with the mad doctor’s face plastered everywhere, where all plant life has been choked to death by smog and all animals have been shoved into Badniks to serve as living batteries. Needless to say, the game motivates you to save the future, no matter the cost.
On top of that, Sonic CD introduces Amy and— more prominently— Metal Sonic, Eggman’s top enforcer, a robotic clone meant to outdo the titular hedgehog in every way, and one of the coolest villains in the franchise. The game masterfully builds up your inevitable showdown; Metal kidnaps Amy, abuses and oppresses the animals of Little Planet, and lures Sonic to a climactic race on Stardust Speedway. The race is one of the greatest moments in the series’ history, as Sonic books it to the finish line to rescue Amy and prove who the one, true Sonic is, while Metal attempts to electrocute and plow straight through him. You’ll feel like a total badass once you leave Metal Sonic in the dust and head into Eggman’s base of operations, then defeat the bald fucker and free Little Planet from his control.
There’s also a pretty nice environmentalist theme that ties everything together. By obtaining the good futures, you’ll see a world where nature and technology not only coexist, but seem to actively benefit from each other. It shows that machines and ecosystems can and should exist in harmony— it’s greedy bastards like Eggman, who seek to use one of them utterly dominate and destroy the other, that are the problem.
Then there’s the music. Holy fuck. I’ve only ever listened to the Japanese soundtrack, so I can’t speak for the American version, but HOLY SHIT THE MUSIC SLAPS BALLS!!!! Seriously, every single track is an absolute banger that milks the game’s CD hardware for all it’s worth. Special mention to Metallic Madness (Present), with its incomprehensible rap lyrics that will nevertheless be stuck in my head for the rest of time.
All in all, Sonic CD is awesome. Amazing visuals, music, and story, along with lots fast-paced gameplay and exploration. It’s probably my most replayed Sonic game, and im definitely not ashamed of that.
Great Music, stellar vibes, but the level design as well as a few other nitpicks leave a lot to be desired.
crazy how one of the greatest albums of all time also came with a game
continues the tradition from sonic 2 of shitting the bed at the end of the game
i do like this game but the level design really leaves a lot to be desired to the point i've started an in-joke with a friend calling certain things in games "sonic cd level design"
All the ambitious aspects of this game were completely forgotten about by the developers. They really made a past, present, bad future, and good future each with their own visuals and soundtracks (With both a Japanese and American soundtrack) with slight level design changes between them all for every single level...and didn't put even a single reason to engage with this entire part of the game.
To get the good ending through time travel you've got to get EVERY single robot generator, miss even one and you'll get the normal ending. Making ones like the one in wacky workbench where you have to get crushed in a specific crusher to be teleported into a hidden generator even more obnoxious. They managed to make a 20 minute long sonic game require a guide to interact with its main gimmick. The time travel isn't handled very gracefully either, as more or less you'll generally just have to find a spot made specifically to let you keep speed long enough for time travel, like two springs on flat ground facing each other or something. It's one of those things where you'll get it to happen on accident when you don't want it to but when you actively try you'll fail.
The problem with this whole thing is how it effects the levels themselves. They were designed with a LOT of complex multi-tiered routes. Not like the ones in sonic 2 exactly, but like they filled 100% of the available space with SOMETHING. Definitely levels made to be explored. Meaning, if you're not going for the robot generators, you're going to be mindlessly running through big chunks of the game and beating levels before they even begin, with mostly very short stages. It's just a shame part of what would make this game so unique and cool is so superfluous.
Made worse by the fact that you can just do all the special stages to get the exact same good ending and good future as getting all the robot generators in the past. Gee, inflate playtime by like 800%+ to get the good ending through time travel, or do some of the easiest yet funnest special stages in the series. Plus if you're going for special stages, it encourages you even less to explore sometimes as you need to take 50 rings to the end of the level, and the longer you're wandering around the more likely you'll get hit by something. Though I suppose if you do get hit you've got to explore a bit to get them back.
To top it all off, the good ending in question is like, the exact same cutscene except in the good ending you don't get to see Robotnik. I kinda like the bad ending better lol.
The game's still cool and definitely stands out due to its generally more wacky level designs. And like Sonic 1, I've begun to appreciate it more over time, but there's not a whole lot to get into when the game's designed around you exploring, yet there's nothing to find. What you're left with is a VERY short Sonic game with love it or hate it experimental level design and really weird boss fights. (The pinball one is a really cool idea for a Sonic boss, otherwise they're really nothing special. The final boss doesn't even feel like he'd be the last boss)
I'd love to see a reimagined version of this game where time travel is WAY more encouraged. Maybe something like instead of having to find a single robot generator in the past and needing them all for the good ending, rings are replaced with time stone shards while you're in the past and you just need to bring enough of them to the end of the level to get the good ending. And generally the special stage method of taking 50 rings to the end of the level just like sonic 1 is my favorite version of special stage entry, but it really doesn't do this game any favors. Since there's literally no reason to ever go to the future, maybe lock the special stages in the future, with them being WAY easier to get to if you've already gotten the good future. And the reward for doing the special stages on top of getting the good future is an extra end boss that's actually climactic with a more dramatically different good ending. Perhaps this overcomplicates things but I really think the time travel stuff is what would have made this game truly special, but as it is, it needs a massive overhaul for it to be anything more than a wasted effort by the devs. ALSO, why does the screen lock when you get close to the end? They put a sign indicating you're about to reach the goal post, solving the problem of finishing the level on accident when you're hunting for generators. But also unless you stop IMMEDIATELY when you see this sign the screen locks like it does in other 2D sonics and you cannot go back. They really solved the potential problem and didn't bother getting rid of the screen lock that's like 90% of the problem anyway.
Cool game, but feels very half-baked. I used to be much more of a hater but the experimental level design gives the game a fun identity. I could see my score possibly rising a bit someday if I get more into speedrunning the individual levels. It's got a decent time trial mode for its time.
~Sonic 3&K review next~
To get the good ending through time travel you've got to get EVERY single robot generator, miss even one and you'll get the normal ending. Making ones like the one in wacky workbench where you have to get crushed in a specific crusher to be teleported into a hidden generator even more obnoxious. They managed to make a 20 minute long sonic game require a guide to interact with its main gimmick. The time travel isn't handled very gracefully either, as more or less you'll generally just have to find a spot made specifically to let you keep speed long enough for time travel, like two springs on flat ground facing each other or something. It's one of those things where you'll get it to happen on accident when you don't want it to but when you actively try you'll fail.
The problem with this whole thing is how it effects the levels themselves. They were designed with a LOT of complex multi-tiered routes. Not like the ones in sonic 2 exactly, but like they filled 100% of the available space with SOMETHING. Definitely levels made to be explored. Meaning, if you're not going for the robot generators, you're going to be mindlessly running through big chunks of the game and beating levels before they even begin, with mostly very short stages. It's just a shame part of what would make this game so unique and cool is so superfluous.
Made worse by the fact that you can just do all the special stages to get the exact same good ending and good future as getting all the robot generators in the past. Gee, inflate playtime by like 800%+ to get the good ending through time travel, or do some of the easiest yet funnest special stages in the series. Plus if you're going for special stages, it encourages you even less to explore sometimes as you need to take 50 rings to the end of the level, and the longer you're wandering around the more likely you'll get hit by something. Though I suppose if you do get hit you've got to explore a bit to get them back.
To top it all off, the good ending in question is like, the exact same cutscene except in the good ending you don't get to see Robotnik. I kinda like the bad ending better lol.
The game's still cool and definitely stands out due to its generally more wacky level designs. And like Sonic 1, I've begun to appreciate it more over time, but there's not a whole lot to get into when the game's designed around you exploring, yet there's nothing to find. What you're left with is a VERY short Sonic game with love it or hate it experimental level design and really weird boss fights. (The pinball one is a really cool idea for a Sonic boss, otherwise they're really nothing special. The final boss doesn't even feel like he'd be the last boss)
I'd love to see a reimagined version of this game where time travel is WAY more encouraged. Maybe something like instead of having to find a single robot generator in the past and needing them all for the good ending, rings are replaced with time stone shards while you're in the past and you just need to bring enough of them to the end of the level to get the good ending. And generally the special stage method of taking 50 rings to the end of the level just like sonic 1 is my favorite version of special stage entry, but it really doesn't do this game any favors. Since there's literally no reason to ever go to the future, maybe lock the special stages in the future, with them being WAY easier to get to if you've already gotten the good future. And the reward for doing the special stages on top of getting the good future is an extra end boss that's actually climactic with a more dramatically different good ending. Perhaps this overcomplicates things but I really think the time travel stuff is what would have made this game truly special, but as it is, it needs a massive overhaul for it to be anything more than a wasted effort by the devs. ALSO, why does the screen lock when you get close to the end? They put a sign indicating you're about to reach the goal post, solving the problem of finishing the level on accident when you're hunting for generators. But also unless you stop IMMEDIATELY when you see this sign the screen locks like it does in other 2D sonics and you cannot go back. They really solved the potential problem and didn't bother getting rid of the screen lock that's like 90% of the problem anyway.
Cool game, but feels very half-baked. I used to be much more of a hater but the experimental level design gives the game a fun identity. I could see my score possibly rising a bit someday if I get more into speedrunning the individual levels. It's got a decent time trial mode for its time.
~Sonic 3&K review next~
In my opinion, this is the underrated gem of the classic Sonic era. This game, more than its peers, focuses on large explore-able levels, with time travel bringing you between different variations of the same places. Each level starts with a "bad future" in which Eggman has taken over and the environment is destroyed, and to prevent this you have to travel to the past and destroy the badnik generator. To get the good ending, you must either do this in every possible level (all boss stages take place in the future with no time travel) or get all seven time stones from the special stages.
The physics in this game aren't exactly as snappy as Sonic 2 but they hold up just as well and handle platforming and exploration much better than Sonic 1's. Visuals are very appealing, and this game has an absolutely GODLY soundtrack. I much prefer the Japanese version of it, though the American soundtrack isn't bad, just a downgrade. The vibes are immaculate and help a lot to keep you engaged as you spend a lot of time looking around the levels for time travel posts or the badnik generator.
As for gripes, some of the levels are a bit too large or convoluted, particularly Wacky Workbench and Metallic Madness. This game suffers from the standard "running into something you couldn't see" problem most 2D Sonic games have as well, and given how crucial rings are to unlocking special stage attempts it can be very annoying. Despite this, I think this game holds up very well and I revisit this a lot compared to the other classic Sonic titles, Sonic 3 notwithstanding.
The physics in this game aren't exactly as snappy as Sonic 2 but they hold up just as well and handle platforming and exploration much better than Sonic 1's. Visuals are very appealing, and this game has an absolutely GODLY soundtrack. I much prefer the Japanese version of it, though the American soundtrack isn't bad, just a downgrade. The vibes are immaculate and help a lot to keep you engaged as you spend a lot of time looking around the levels for time travel posts or the badnik generator.
As for gripes, some of the levels are a bit too large or convoluted, particularly Wacky Workbench and Metallic Madness. This game suffers from the standard "running into something you couldn't see" problem most 2D Sonic games have as well, and given how crucial rings are to unlocking special stage attempts it can be very annoying. Despite this, I think this game holds up very well and I revisit this a lot compared to the other classic Sonic titles, Sonic 3 notwithstanding.
If I could bottle the aesthetic of this game and slap it onto another game that's actually fun? That would be one of my favourite games ever.