Even to this day, Sonic CD stands out from its Genesis companions, but where once that difference came from how elusive it was—only having a few scattered ports and being included in some random collections— and how few actually managed to even play it when compared to the rest, as it became more easily available during the seventh generation, now it’s because the mythos surrounding it seems to be a space more about disputes than agreements, a far cry from the rest of the original series. I’m not saying that there’s a set of absolute truths surrounding the other games, in fact I myself find hard to love Sonic 2 as much as so many, many others do, but there’s a certain consensus regarding all of those 3 games (& Knuckles) that seems to be lacking over at Sega CD Land.

There seem to be as many enjoyers of the game as there are detractors, and this division of opinions is very much visible to outsiders of the series, and that’s exactly why for the longest time I was both very interested… and weary of Sonic CD. Even so many years later, with its past that once was present behind and now facing the futures, the game is still surrounded by a mysterious aura, or at least it was to me: enveloped in uncertainty, a game so seemingly strange and unique, surrounded by positives and negatives from both sides…


… and yet, the one that ended up captivating my heart.

Despite my best wishes and attempts, I found it incredibly hard to actively enjoy both Sonic 1 and 2, I still wouldn’t call them terrible games under no circumstances, but their low points and my gripes seemed to made it game that I consistently liked, with only some net positives being completely clear… With Sonic CD, I’d end quicker by saying what I didn’t like, in fact yeah, let’s get that out of the way!:

Even tho it has some incredibly interesting ideas and the laser mechanic, Metallic Madness is easily the lowest point of the game, it’s where the game gets closer to the lowest point of some of the past games’ zones, and where much of what I liked from the rest of the experience seems to be missing a bit; it also shares the same problem with Sonic 1 on how actually 100 precenting it doesn’t grant much of an active reward aside of getting the true ending (sort of, we’ll get to that) and…. Uh… I guess some acts share similar design and I wished there was more of a difference in some temporal variations?... Yeah I don’t know I got nothing else… and I could have never seen that coming.

My Sonic Genesis experience has been filled with buts and wishes to be able to love it more, but now I arrive at Sonic CD and from start to finish the only thing I could find myself feeling was… joy, the way I could just gleefully smile while traversing Whacky Workbench, being completely fascinated at the sights and sounds in Palmtree Panic, the feeling of peace and realization at getting my first good future in Collision Chaos; from a first glance Sonic CD doesn’t seem that distinct when compared to the likes of 2 — or even 1 for that matter—, but it’s when playing that the differences shine.

Sonic games always incentivized replays and getting to know the pathing and mastery of its controls, but CD rewards knowledge even beyond that: levels feel MASSIVE, so expansive and open ended that no matter the way you go, you’re most likely going the right way, and it always feels like that. Every single zone is always so damn fun to explore, so many interesting to surprises to discover that it never feels as if you are going around circles or that you are somewhere you shouldn’t be and it’s this exploration that gets tested in the Past version of the stages since you’ll need to find Robotnik’s machine somewhere. What awes me the most it’s how, for a game with so many moving parts (both literally and figuratively), it never slows down, it’s here where I’ve reached the highest speeds more-so than in any other game, dodging and dashing, making use both of the spin dash and the super peel out in different scenarios and situations, and even when the game slows you down, it never feels as it stops you in your tracks and actively makes you wait or do precision platforming for which Sonic isn’t designed for (maybe aside of Metallic Madness), Sonic CD knows what it is and what it wants to do, and does so while looking beautiful.

All zones look incredible, they share a borderline abstract look that gets amplified in the future versions, the good going always for a softer more celebratory look while the bad futures create this overtly and violently mechanical feeling, one that can be seeing again in almost all of the Act 3s; it translates the ideas of the Robotnik’s conquest of this small planet to a tea, and seeing the much more natural, organic look of the past versions and seeing far more free animal where once robots stood it’s not only the perfect way to push players to get the good futures without saying any words, it outright looks incredible. The sprites and sights are a marvel to behold, and they really feel like actual, interesting places, places with history that have been subject to change and thanks to you can improve and hold a much brighter future… and I haven’t even talked about the music! I’ve been utterly lovestruck by the original JP/EU soundtrack, no matter what song, so matter what jingle, it never misses, a perfect dance of techno mixed with the most perfect of ideas to evoke feelings on the player, details like how the themes from the past feel a liiiiittle bit more compressed or how the power-up music ends just as the power-up finishes taking effect are so obvious yet wonderful I can’t stop loving them, easily one of my favorite OST I’ve had the pleasure to listen in a long time. Compliments to the original soundtrack used to be accompanied by a jab to the American OST, but honestly… I also like that too! Nost as much as the Japanese and European one, that’s for sure, but the American goes for a much more atmospheric feeling that it’s appropriate and works super well, the fact this game basically created to amazing soundtracks in one is the funniest yet fitting showcase of how this is a experience that goes the extra mile in every conceivable way, even when it’s not necessary…

A complaint that I’ve seen being predicated by some people over on discussions and even video-analysis is how you don’t really need to engage with the time travel in any capacity to beat the game or complete it to get the true ending, and that is true, but now I cannot scratch the felling that, maybe… that was the point. For how much I’ve talked about it, the past and futures of each of the two first acts of every Zone aren’t required in any way, they aren’t mandatory, and you can ignore them if you choose too, but I found it extremely hard to simply because of how compelling they are: getting to a stop sign and managing to find a way to achieve high enough speeds to time travel its fun on its own, but even beyond that, getting to see how a Zone was before Robotnik completely destroyed it, managing to impact it and actively foil its plans to achieve a better future, or to just witness the bad future or jump across space and time is such a creatively strong decision, it incentivizes speed, it incentivizes exploration, it generates wonder, and the fact that all of that it’s options isn’t a reason to complain, but instead to be marveled at the sheer amount of work at display and the open ended nature of Sonic CD, and it works, it works so incredibly well that I played it yet again after beating it just to try out different paths and time travels, something I had never done with a Sonic game so soon, but with this one I just couldn’t resists, helped in great part by the short nature of the game itself.

CD clicks in a way very few games of this series manage to do with me, a game which even its special stages manage to be a fun time worth mentioning (and far more 3D than 3D Blast honestly!); trying different, challenging ideas to a base formula doesn’t always work, but Sonic CD uses them to expand a world and create a beyond unique adventure, one that starts and ends with beautiful animations, and that across its many levels it just kept me wishing for it to keep going a little bit more, not attempt more unique albeit easy boss battles, to see more of Metal and Amy; Sonic CD is more than an experiment, it’s this world and character taken to it’s most open-ended and crazy potential, and seeing be a reality alone it’s worth admiring, but for it to be so good and inspiring while doing it is on a whole other level.

Sonic CD is easy to love for some, but also easy to dislike for others, it’s a strange game with a ton of ideas that don’t click for some, but honestly, I think it’s quite fitting, a game that attempts so many interesting concepts that gambles between a good future and a bad one, and it ended up getting a mix of some considering how people looks at it in so many different ways. And yet, it keeps on going, and I’m happy to say that at least for me, it creates a future worth fighting for.

Also, I know I’ve been complaining about Metal Madness quite a lot, but it’s all forgiven honestly, why you ask? Because it has this! Not other zone has peak character design! Look at it! LOOK AT IT! THE PUREST OF BOIS! LONG MAY LIVE MINI-SONIC!