SKaT3R
1993
The Most Unique Classic Sonic Game.
This game following up sonic 2 had alot of expectations but did it meet them? we are here to find out so lets start with the feel and control of sonic,he overall feel's a bit worse here but is still quite a delight to control and has a new ability as an alternative to the spindash.The Super-Peelout, this ability allows sonic to instantly reach max speed while looking up and holding jump but doesn't curl into a ball like the spindash making him prone to taking damage.Another new thing this game introduced was time travel a gimic that you have to run past a PAST/FUTURE sign to activate once u pass it u have to maintain high speed for a few seconds.If successful you will be warped into an alternate version of said stage with new aesthetic and music that are needed to get the true ending.
Level Design: all the stages here look amazing and have alot of visual flare and memorability i'd argue this is the best looking levels of the 4 classics but level layouts feel a bit weaker than 2's and 3's.
Boss Fights: This game is really creative with its boss fights ranging from being flung upwards on stone slabs to reach eggman to racing metal sonic this game's bosses keep you on edge and utilize unique gimics.These are some of the best boss fight of the classics games only sonic 3 is contestant.
Overall: A very underlooked sonic game that gets insane critic scores for very deserved reasons and a very strong entry into the sonic the hedgehog franchise.
TRIVIA:
the game was initially being developed in japan as sonic 2 didn't get good reception in japan so while sega NA worked on 3,JP worked on CD.The game also has a different soundtrack for the US and JP/EU releases.
This game following up sonic 2 had alot of expectations but did it meet them? we are here to find out so lets start with the feel and control of sonic,he overall feel's a bit worse here but is still quite a delight to control and has a new ability as an alternative to the spindash.The Super-Peelout, this ability allows sonic to instantly reach max speed while looking up and holding jump but doesn't curl into a ball like the spindash making him prone to taking damage.Another new thing this game introduced was time travel a gimic that you have to run past a PAST/FUTURE sign to activate once u pass it u have to maintain high speed for a few seconds.If successful you will be warped into an alternate version of said stage with new aesthetic and music that are needed to get the true ending.
Level Design: all the stages here look amazing and have alot of visual flare and memorability i'd argue this is the best looking levels of the 4 classics but level layouts feel a bit weaker than 2's and 3's.
Boss Fights: This game is really creative with its boss fights ranging from being flung upwards on stone slabs to reach eggman to racing metal sonic this game's bosses keep you on edge and utilize unique gimics.These are some of the best boss fight of the classics games only sonic 3 is contestant.
Overall: A very underlooked sonic game that gets insane critic scores for very deserved reasons and a very strong entry into the sonic the hedgehog franchise.
TRIVIA:
the game was initially being developed in japan as sonic 2 didn't get good reception in japan so while sega NA worked on 3,JP worked on CD.The game also has a different soundtrack for the US and JP/EU releases.
1994
Is 3rd Time The Charm?
Warning:Am going to be reviewing this game as Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 is the longest entry to the series yet sporting 13 (14 if all emeralds are collected) different zones to traverse and explore.In this game the playable characters (Sonic,Tails,Knuckles) all have there own pro's and cons.This game also for the first time has a utilizable save system
Sonic
+The Fastest
+Able To Utilize Elemental Shield And Hyper Form
-No real special ability without a shield
Tails
+Easiest Of The Bunch
+Can Fly
+Can Swim
-Slowest of the 3
-Can't use the elemental shields
Knuckles
+Can Glide
+Can Climb Walls
-Most of the same issues as tails
Level Design: For the most part this game's level design continues the trend of able to go fast but easily punished the 2nd game had.Sadly unlike that game there is a speed cap and you cant go off screen and there is more percision based platforming overall better than the 1st worse than the 2nd.
Bosses: This game by far has the best bosses of the classic 3 and even has mini-bosses at the end of act 1 for each zone overall very good.
Overall: A game that is better and worse than it's predecessor with a lower focus on speed I find myself slightly giving the edge to 2,but make no mistake sonic 3 is still an amazing game and a great time.
TRIVIA:
Rumor has it that michael jackson wrote the music for 3 and there not baseless claims.
Warning:Am going to be reviewing this game as Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 is the longest entry to the series yet sporting 13 (14 if all emeralds are collected) different zones to traverse and explore.In this game the playable characters (Sonic,Tails,Knuckles) all have there own pro's and cons.This game also for the first time has a utilizable save system
Sonic
+The Fastest
+Able To Utilize Elemental Shield And Hyper Form
-No real special ability without a shield
Tails
+Easiest Of The Bunch
+Can Fly
+Can Swim
-Slowest of the 3
-Can't use the elemental shields
Knuckles
+Can Glide
+Can Climb Walls
-Most of the same issues as tails
Level Design: For the most part this game's level design continues the trend of able to go fast but easily punished the 2nd game had.Sadly unlike that game there is a speed cap and you cant go off screen and there is more percision based platforming overall better than the 1st worse than the 2nd.
Bosses: This game by far has the best bosses of the classic 3 and even has mini-bosses at the end of act 1 for each zone overall very good.
Overall: A game that is better and worse than it's predecessor with a lower focus on speed I find myself slightly giving the edge to 2,but make no mistake sonic 3 is still an amazing game and a great time.
TRIVIA:
Rumor has it that michael jackson wrote the music for 3 and there not baseless claims.
1992
An Amazing Sequel
Sonic The Hedgehog 2 as a sequel to the first is an improvement in every way.This game unlike the first rewards players for going fast and using momentum to their advantage,Overall improves on the foundations that the first game layed out for it.In this game additions include Tails "Miles Prower" that would be a reoccuring deuteragonist for the series going forwards,The Super-Sonic Spindash (spindash for short) that allows sonic to rev'up and get a quick burst of speed that compliments the level design ALOT,and finally SUPER-SONIC a form that is obtained via gathering all 7 Chaos Emeralds.From special stages that has the player manoeuvre through halfpipe like structures and collecting enough rings to get said emerald 7 times,that are entered with hitting a checkpoint with 50 rings.The final boss of this game has you fighting 2 bosses with 0 rings and is probably the only flaw of the game due to the jankiness of the 2nd boss.Overall this is a game that is just better,longer and has more features than the first and unlike the first this game has aged amazingly.
Trivia:
The game's worldwide release (Tuesday November 24, 1992) was later dubbed Sonic 2sday as a marketing campaign.
Notes: the reviews for these games going forwards wont be as long as the Sonic 1 review.
Sonic The Hedgehog 2 as a sequel to the first is an improvement in every way.This game unlike the first rewards players for going fast and using momentum to their advantage,Overall improves on the foundations that the first game layed out for it.In this game additions include Tails "Miles Prower" that would be a reoccuring deuteragonist for the series going forwards,The Super-Sonic Spindash (spindash for short) that allows sonic to rev'up and get a quick burst of speed that compliments the level design ALOT,and finally SUPER-SONIC a form that is obtained via gathering all 7 Chaos Emeralds.From special stages that has the player manoeuvre through halfpipe like structures and collecting enough rings to get said emerald 7 times,that are entered with hitting a checkpoint with 50 rings.The final boss of this game has you fighting 2 bosses with 0 rings and is probably the only flaw of the game due to the jankiness of the 2nd boss.Overall this is a game that is just better,longer and has more features than the first and unlike the first this game has aged amazingly.
Trivia:
The game's worldwide release (Tuesday November 24, 1992) was later dubbed Sonic 2sday as a marketing campaign.
Notes: the reviews for these games going forwards wont be as long as the Sonic 1 review.
1991
Influential Game That Has Aged Poorly...
Sonic The Hedgehog (a game released in 1991) is certainly a staple in the genesis/mega drive's library,but that said it doesn't come without its flaws
-GREEN HILL ZONE: A great start to the game vibrant colours,design that compliments momentum and rewards skilled players with a faster route but harder to stay on,but new players don't feel too punished overall a great start.
-MARBLE ZONE: Here is where the great setup and potential this game takes a massive nose dive.As instead of having great level design that allows veterans to excel and go fast and new players to make it through with struggle,here no matter how skilled the player.The time you will end up finishing it will remain almost stagnant and punishes going fast.The only amazing thing to come out of this zone is the boss.
SPRING YARD ZONE: Here is a zone that is neither excellent or terrible just good.With its pros and cons,the pros include alot of curvatures,slopes and ramps for sonic to curl up towards to gain momentum with hazards to punish you from completely just holding right then down but then there's the cons that include the boring colour pallete,frequent sections that have you waiting for platforms to move and an abundance of haphazardly bumpers just to kill speed for the sake of killing it.
LABYRINTH ZONE: F͟**K͟ ͟T͟H͟I͟S͟ ͟Z͟O͟N͟E͟
STAR LIGHT ZONE: Ahh a breath of fresh air in a game of ranging bad to mediocre zones here is a zone that is truely amazing with the only con really being colour pallete and a lack of stars for a zone named STAR LIGHT ZONE.But apart from that its got great level design that promotes momentum that also includes a seesaw mechanic that the game familiarizes you with before using it in the boss of said zone in a very fun and interesting way.
SCRAP BRAIN ACTS 1&2: Very difficult zones that put the players skills to the test in a not so tedious way and are very enjoyable to play through.
SCRAP BRAIN ACT 3: %$£^8237485656%%$&$%&^
(Labyrinth Zone Mk.II)
FINAL ZONE: A very cool concept for a boss with execution that ends up being better in the next game that has the player fight said boss with 0 rings sadly the boss itself is really easy to predict and the only deaths you will take are to the janky hitboxes of the laser orbs.
BOSS FIGHTS: Overall every boss (barring labyrinth act 3) is very fun with good mechanics overall solid in this department.
Final Thoughts:A figurehead in gaming's history indeed but did it age well as a game? rhetorical question - No,no it didn't.From the stop and start levels for 3/4's of the game that contradicts marketing and sonic's control scheme.To the painstaking labyrinth zone this game doesn't fully utilize sonic's kit that is the main reason it aged so poorly, as future entries just refine what this game tried in a much better way.
TRIVIA:
1.In this game's development there was alot of concepts such as sonic himself wasn't always going to be a hedgehog.Instead ideas of an armadillo,dog and a rabbit.Outside of the dog both an armadillo (Mighty) and a rabbit (Cream) would be recycled for later characters.
2.His name at one point was going to be Mr.NeedleMouse
3.He was also going to have a band and human girlfriend which to also would be recycled in other sonic media (Band could be chaotix or sonic underground) and a human girlfriend would be recycled in Sonic 06.
Sonic The Hedgehog (a game released in 1991) is certainly a staple in the genesis/mega drive's library,but that said it doesn't come without its flaws
-GREEN HILL ZONE: A great start to the game vibrant colours,design that compliments momentum and rewards skilled players with a faster route but harder to stay on,but new players don't feel too punished overall a great start.
-MARBLE ZONE: Here is where the great setup and potential this game takes a massive nose dive.As instead of having great level design that allows veterans to excel and go fast and new players to make it through with struggle,here no matter how skilled the player.The time you will end up finishing it will remain almost stagnant and punishes going fast.The only amazing thing to come out of this zone is the boss.
SPRING YARD ZONE: Here is a zone that is neither excellent or terrible just good.With its pros and cons,the pros include alot of curvatures,slopes and ramps for sonic to curl up towards to gain momentum with hazards to punish you from completely just holding right then down but then there's the cons that include the boring colour pallete,frequent sections that have you waiting for platforms to move and an abundance of haphazardly bumpers just to kill speed for the sake of killing it.
LABYRINTH ZONE: F͟**K͟ ͟T͟H͟I͟S͟ ͟Z͟O͟N͟E͟
STAR LIGHT ZONE: Ahh a breath of fresh air in a game of ranging bad to mediocre zones here is a zone that is truely amazing with the only con really being colour pallete and a lack of stars for a zone named STAR LIGHT ZONE.But apart from that its got great level design that promotes momentum that also includes a seesaw mechanic that the game familiarizes you with before using it in the boss of said zone in a very fun and interesting way.
SCRAP BRAIN ACTS 1&2: Very difficult zones that put the players skills to the test in a not so tedious way and are very enjoyable to play through.
SCRAP BRAIN ACT 3: %$£^8237485656%%$&$%&^
(Labyrinth Zone Mk.II)
FINAL ZONE: A very cool concept for a boss with execution that ends up being better in the next game that has the player fight said boss with 0 rings sadly the boss itself is really easy to predict and the only deaths you will take are to the janky hitboxes of the laser orbs.
BOSS FIGHTS: Overall every boss (barring labyrinth act 3) is very fun with good mechanics overall solid in this department.
Final Thoughts:A figurehead in gaming's history indeed but did it age well as a game? rhetorical question - No,no it didn't.From the stop and start levels for 3/4's of the game that contradicts marketing and sonic's control scheme.To the painstaking labyrinth zone this game doesn't fully utilize sonic's kit that is the main reason it aged so poorly, as future entries just refine what this game tried in a much better way.
TRIVIA:
1.In this game's development there was alot of concepts such as sonic himself wasn't always going to be a hedgehog.Instead ideas of an armadillo,dog and a rabbit.Outside of the dog both an armadillo (Mighty) and a rabbit (Cream) would be recycled for later characters.
2.His name at one point was going to be Mr.NeedleMouse
3.He was also going to have a band and human girlfriend which to also would be recycled in other sonic media (Band could be chaotix or sonic underground) and a human girlfriend would be recycled in Sonic 06.