So I beat Sonic CD

[Anayo]

This is less of a review and more of a discussion I was hoping to have, wondering what the rest of Racketboy thinks.

Basically I beat Sonic CD today and I wasn't that impressed. As 16-bit Sonic the Hedgehog fanboy I'm glad that I got around to playing it, but I'm reluctant to hold it on the same pedestal as the Genesis Sonic games.

I feel every Sonic game from those days has a list of "things" I expect to see that makes it Sonic. Animal characters; power ups; bonus stages where you can get emeralds; fast parts like loop-the-loops and corkscrews; cool music. Sonic CD had everything on that list, but each one had an asterisk next to it.

characters: Sonic CD features Sonic and Amy Rose. There's no Tails, Knuckles, or other neat characters like that.

power ups: I know the electricity, bubble, and fire shields weren't around until Sonic 3, but the only power up in Sonic CD being a generic barrier shield. This bugged me for some reason.

bonus stages: Sonic CD features a mode-7 play field where Sonic runs around and jumps on flying drones. To me it basically looks like a third rate version of the SNES Mario Kart. I prefer the spectacular half-pipe bonus stage in Sonic 2, or the "collect blue spheres" one in Sonic 3.

music: I heard Sonic CD was better with the Japanese soundtrack, but none of the tracks really had any 'kick' for me. Maybe I just like genesis chip tunes better than the stuff the synthesized stuff.

The "Past" / "Future" mechanic confused me. I honestly don't know what it was for. Did it have some impact on gameplay, or was it just to get a superficial change of scenery? Would there ever be any gameplay-related reason for me to deliberately warp forwards or backwards in time, or for instance warp to the past rather than future and vice versa? It left me with the impression they were trying to do something new but I don't see what bearing it had on the game.

The colors in Sonic CD were jarring to me. It left me thinking whoever designed the stages overlooked the basic artistic fundamentals of color theory. For instance, I've seen artists I admire break down their paintings into the hues used to render their work, and when reduced to abstract blobs of paint the color choices of the guys who know what they're doing usually look harmonious and pretty, invoking a certain mood. As far as I remember think all four Sega Genesis Sonic games were this way. Sonic CD to me was like a guy wearing bright yellow pants and a teal and purple polka dot jacket. OK maybe I'm embellishing a little but there were a lot of hot pinks and purples and neon greens, and it only seemed out of place to me cause I'm so familiar with the graphics style of the other Sonic games.

I was aware this was a somewhat controversial game, since I'd seen one reviewer praise it before while another would call it "cookie cutter and boring". I think I'm on the cookie cutter side of the fence. What do you think?

[Luke]

So what Genesis/Sega CD game does impress you?

How familiar with the Sonic series are you?

No knuckles or tails? I see that as a HUGE plus.

Did you get all the chaos emeralds?

Invincibility, a shield, and infinite life with one coin. That's Sonic. Why complain?

Best bonus stages in sonic history if you ask me. What isn't to like? They're actually mini games not based on chance but skill.

Did you read the game manual? Future and Past levels have an impact on the game's ending and progression.

Sonic CD has never been "controversial", nor will it ever be. I think the word you are looking for is polarizing, which is the wrong word too.

Are you playing the game on the Sega CD or an emulator or collection?


How anyone could call this game "cookie cutter" is incredible in the literal sense. The animated intro, the music, the level design...all amazing. Now saying it is the best Sonic game ever is polarizing, but saying Sonic CD isn't impressive is just silly.

[Mad_Hatter]

I believe I read somewhere that Sonic CD was originally supposed to be Sonic 2, but two of the head guys on the Sonic development team had some differences and they did their own thing (one working mainly on Sonic 2 and the other Sonic CD). So that is probably why the games are so different.

I have Sonic CD on my phone, and I don't really like it. I usually play the regular Genesis Sonic games on my Nintendo DS and liked them very much. Sonic CD is just not fun for me. I don't understand that whole change in scenery either. It's a weird game all together.

[ExedExes]

I was coming into this thread all ready to defend the virtues and bring the greatness that is Sonic CD, but Luke covered much of it.

The Past and Future mechanics are there for a reason -- you can prevent all the evil stuff from even making it TO the future by destroying the enemy generators in those Past stages.

I've got it for the PC, on the Sonic Gems Collection, and now on my tablet, which has the ability to play as Sonic or Tails, and use the American or Japanese soundtrack.

What's NOT to love about Sonic CD?

As I've said before, Sonic CD is best Sonic!

[BoringSupreez]

I wasn't going to leave a comment until I saw "cookie cutter." Of all the things you could say to knock Sonic CD, that's the least fitting. I can't think of a single game that looks, sounds, or plays anything like Sonic CD with the exception of the Genesis Sonics.

[Luke]

I've got it for the PC, on the Sonic Gems Collection, and now on my tablet, which has the ability to play as Sonic or Tails, and use the American or Japanese soundtrack.

Exed knows that I know that he knows his stuff. That in mind, the Sega CD version is THE best version of the game.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I played it at the end of last year and thought it was pretty good. One of the best Sonic games.

I'm a weirdo though and have the Win 95 version. Still need to get it on Sega CD.

[Original_Name]

The Past/Future mechanic dynamically alters the geological structures of levels and opens up new pathways as they are erected by industry or eroded by decay. If you're really into score attacks and speed runs, factoring time travel into your play-throughs allows for some compelling variables. In the first Sonic the Hedgehog, for instance, the method for getting the best possible speed run at ~0:25 is widely known, but Sonic CD gives a much wider variety of options for getting to the end of a level, so there are more determining factors and therefore greater depth in considering the optimal path through a given level.

More immediately though, you may have noticed that every time you traveled to the future it was a "Bad Future" -- plants hanging limp and brown, radioactive purple poisoned rivers, black wires snaking up tree trunks, industrial wastelands choking out the sun with gray smog. This is a future in which Dr. Eggbotnik has secured all of the Time Stones and has taken over the world. If you go back in time and destroy the "Machine" hidden in each level (http://www.soniczone0.com/games/soniccd ... php#basics), however, you will have undone his attempts to conquer the zone, and the future will become "Good". If you successfully gather all of the Time Stones and destroy the hidden "Machines", you will unlock the Good Ending.

I'm really receptive to criticism against Sonic CD -- it's the most unorthodox of all the Mega Drive Sonic side-scrollers, and expects a lot more out of the player than was probably reasonable given the precedent set by the original. Something to keep in mind, however, is that Sonic CD is for all intents and purposes as much the direct sequel to the original as Sonic 2 is. The Sonic the Hedgehog 2 team took a more straight-forward approach, taking what was solid and popular about the original and improving on it. The Sonic CD team took the more overlooked aspects of the original and translated the basic mechanics into an extremely imaginative, sprawling, maze-like world. Since most people played Sonic CD after 2, 3, & Knuckles, Sonic CD feels like a violation of the main series' mechanics and direction -- taken as the direct sequel to the original, however, it's the extremification of the maze and exploration elements that the series largely dropped from 2 onward (though they would resurface occasionally in levels such as "Desert Palace", but never to the degree of Sonic CD's level design). Fittingly, Sonic CD is almost like an alternate timeline that shows the direction the series might have gone in.

Sonic 2 was lead by Yuji Naka, the programmer of the original -- therefore the game is more about the mechanics. Sonic CD was lead by Naoto Oshima, the designer of the original -- therefore the game is more about the world of Sonic. Sonic CD treats the Sonic world almost as Miyamoto might treat Hyrule, only with the speedy platforming gameplay intact. Traveling to various points in time, getting lost in labyrinths of neglected ruins and highways and pinball machines, and watching the impact of a mad, lone human mastermind on the natural world connects you to Sonic's world in much the same way that wandering through dungeons and talking to villagers does in The Legend of Zelda. It also brings Sonic's fantasy and environmentalist roots to the fore, my two favorite elements of the series which unfortunately got diluted over time.

That's not to say that it's what you were looking for in a Sonic game -- like I say, Sonic CD is a very, very different kind of Sonic game. Personally, I think it's a damn cool game, and although it doesn't have the streamlined feel of Sonic 2, it is the least "cookie cutter" game in the series -- how could it be cookie cutter when it's so distinct from the rest of the series?

[marurun]

That is an incredibly thoughtful take on the game. It is rare I've read so eloquent a reflection on a game. Damn, now I need to go back and take some of my own game writing up a notch...

[MulishaSoldier929]

I'm going to add that Sonic CD also has the sickest animated opening of any video game I have ever seen! It that stills holds up today!