System: Sega Genesis
Released: 1994
Normally, this is the part where I kick off the review with a lame joke or something that eventually leads to the main topic... but unfortunately, nothing is really coming to mind... Dead serious. I can remember when I begged my parents to buy it for me, I can remember how much I hated the water level and how much the lift in the Carnival Night zone sucked, but really... I have nothing this time around to start things up... ON TO THE STORY!
Story:
The story picks up exactly where Sonic 2 left off. Sonic has defeated Robotnik once again and destroyed the Death Egg, causing it to crash land on the the mysterious floating Angel Island. Not willing to take any chances, Sonic and Tails chase Robotnik to the island, only to run into the island's guardian Knuckles the Echidna, who attacks them and steals their Chaos Emerald and gives them a rough welcoming to his homeland.
As it turns out, the island is powered by it's own emerald, the Master Emerald. With enough power to keep an island hoisted in the clouds, Robotnik sets his eyes on the jewel and plans to use it to get his Death Egg up and running all the while keeping Knuckles busy by tricking him into believing Sonic and Tails are after it.
A step up from it's predecessor. The sense of continuation from the last adventure works nicely, though I just wish more of the story was added into the game some how rather than having to find out what the doctor is up to through the manual. All the game tells you is Sonic and Tails are on Angel Island, Knuckles is a jerk and Robotnik is trying to kill you once again.
Score: Score:
out of Design:
You run, you jump, you curl in to a ball and you destroy robots. It's the same idea here. Sonic is virtually the same, though Tails finally lets the gamer fly him through the air (an option what was stupidly left out of Sonic the Hedgehog 2) and is even given the ability to swim. Though, Sonic is given a nifty little upgrade in the form of element shields. In the first two titles, a player could gain a shield to protect the character from losing rings, but this shield is no where to be found in this title. Instead, we get the fire shield that turns Sonic into a burning inferno that thrusts him forward in attack. The bubble shield which causes Sonic to bounce all over and gives him the ability to breath under water. Lastly, the lightning shield which gives Sonic a double jump and turns him into a power-ring magnet. Unfortunately, Tails can't use any of the special powers when he grabs a shield... Though, Sonic still can't swim, so I guess their even.
As far as the levels go, it's back to six stages again (though, sub bosses are a nice touch at the end of the first act, followed by the main boss), which feels like a step in the wrong direction compared to Sonic 2's eleven. Though, the levels here are bigger in design and hold all kinds of secrets at every turn... In fact, exploration is required when searching for the Chaos Emeralds. This time around, the special stages are found in giant Power-Rings that are hidden through out the level. This time around, the player has to run across a 3D-ish grid turning blue orbs into red ones. The challenge is to keep up with the increasing speed and avoid the red orbs or you forfeit the emerald and have to try again later.
Though, one neat feature I forgot to mention was the ability to save your progress in multiple save files, allowing players to go back to previous zones and give them another chance to get the rest of the Chaos Emeralds. A nice little touch.
Score:
out of Gameplay:
It's common knowledge that you should never mess with a good thing... Though, it's also true the same thing can get a little stale after awhile. Aside from the shields and a flying/swimming fox, the game play feels identical to the second game. They even brought back the 2 player races with the ability to play as Knuckles, but I never really cared for it. Rather than racing to the finish, you race laps and over time it gets a little boring. At least all five levels are not re-used from the games, but instead were created just for this feature. A nice touch, but I prefer the two player mode in Sonic 2.
Overall, not really anything new to offer. Not a bad thing by any means, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 had some great gameplay and same holds true here, but I wish they could have done a little more to mix things up a little... Well, Sonic does ride on a snow board for a minute, and one battle takes place in the sky, but that's all I can really think of.
Score:
out of Presentation:
You know, one thing that Sonic has yet to let me down on are the visuals and sound. Each game, the visuals are always more pleasing than the last and the music is always catchy and unique from level to level. This time, Sega hit the ball out of the park.
The visuals are some of the best I've seen from the Sega Genesis. Each level is just beautifully designed, from Angel Island's first half of the level filled with a bright blue sky to a rich sunset in the last half, Marble Garden goes from grassy hills to ruins under ground, Casino Night Zone from a lit up neon playhouse only to have the power cut off in the second act, these are some beautiful details that really make the levels shine compared to past designs. As for the music, now how do you top the smooth CD quality music from Sonic CD? You get Michael Jackson to work on the music, that's what! Sega hired him for the music in the game, but due to the negative light Jackson had at the time, things got a little bumpy and eventually his name was dropped from the credits, though I have also heard he chose to have his name taken out due to being unsatisfied with the final product. Whatever the case, the music is some of the best from the franchise.
If you want to find out more about the Michael Jackson and Sonic 3 soundtrack, check out this link:
Score:
out of Overall:
It's a nice addition to the series. It's a fun game with some great visuals, but it falls short of being one of the best... though, it just so happens there's an excuse for that...
We only covered the first half of the game.
Stay tuned, for next time we'll be finishing the review off with the missing half of this title.
Score:
out of
