Sonic History @ Sonic-Club.Com

Page 2

1993

Sonic 1993

SegaSonic
System: Arcade
Released: June 1993

The Plot
Robotnik has cashed in all the royalty checks he earned from his previous games - what else to do but buy an island of his very own? Eggman Island is thus created, and of course it's just full of evil things. Sonic and his two new pals, Ray (a squirrel) and Mighty (an armadillo), decide to literally drop in and investigate. Robotnik and the Badniks waste no time in showing how unwelcome our trio really is.

Click here for more shots.

The Gameplay
Did you ever play Moonwalker in the arcades? Then you've played this game, basically. Each of the three characters are controlled by a large trackball - rolling the ball in one direction makes your selected character move at the required velocity. A few attack buttons are attached to help you smack around the Badniks, use swings, and activate switches. Run around, collect golden rings, and generally give Robotnik a hard time.

Special Notes
Sadly, this game saw few players throw quarters into its ring slot. Sega did a very poor job of distributing it anywhere around the world, so if you see it, don't hesitate to play it. Mighty and Ray? Could they have chosen worse characters for you to be? Poor Tails is going to waste.

Sonic CD
System: Sega CD
Released: July 1993

The Plot
Time travel - a concept not limited to H.G. Wells novels or Michael J. Fox movies. Sonic is so fast that he can warp back and forth through time! Instead of using this ability to cash in on the stock market, Sonic goes about defeating the Robotnik's latest world domination-themed scheme. You see, Robotnik has discovered a small moon (suitably enough named Little Moon) where time is easily bent. A quick installation of giant Badnik factories in the past ensures Robotnik domination in the future - time for Sonic to intervene....

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The Gameplay
Imagine Sonic 2 with the ability to change the background graphics, and you've got Sonic CD, really. Special checkpoints are dotted through the stages - run fast enough past them and you're whisked into a different era. Changes made in the past directly affect the future - destroy a Badnik factory in the past, and the future version of a level is changed into a happy, idyllic place. Beyond that the usual rules apply - run to the right, collect rings, bust Badniks, and keep Robotnik at bay.

Special Notes
Back in the early '90s, CD-ROM meant that developers could just take the original game and add full motion video and Redbook-standard sound - and that's exactly what Sonic CD does. The Mode 7-style bonus stages are the closest you will get to anything that explores the Sega CD's potential, and there's a good dose of high-quality animation to draw you into the game. Sonic purists also claim that the original soundtrack for this game is one of the best examples of game music ever made.

Sonic Chaos
System: Game Gear
Released: November 1993

The Plot
Dr. Robotnik just refuses to accept defeat, it seems. Once again he has gone and imprisoned all of Sonic's fluffy pals in robotic exoskeletons, in his continual quest for Chaos Emeralds. South Island (the setting for the first Sonic game) is slowly sinking because of all this, but thankfully Sonic and Tails are once again on the job. With your help they may make Mobius a safe place once again.

Title screen.

The Gameplay
The dual-character concept found in Genesis Sonic 2 (and curiously absent from the Game Gear version) has been extrapolated in Sonic Chaos. You can be either Sonic or Tails, each with its own set of levels and objectives. Sonic's game plan was all about speed, while for Tails, success meant exploring the stages with his helicopter-style tails. No matter which character you choose, collecting rings and recovering the Emeralds is the name of the game (in a metaphoric sense, of course).

Turquoise Hill Zone.

Special Notes
Sonic Chaos (or, as it's known in Japan, Sonic and Tails) is one of the most visually striking Game Gear titles available. Thankfully someone figured out that the machine was more than a pocket-sized Master System and could be made to do some interesting things.

Intro.

Sonic Spinball
System: Sega Genesis
Released: November 1993

The Plot
In his continuing quest to get on the cover of Time magazine as the most evil man of the century, Dr. Robotnik has invented his most heinous machine yet. Dubiously dubbed the Veg-O-Fortress, this giant robot-making factory is so big that Robotnik needed a whole island to make room. Sonic, of course, catches wind of this no-good plan and tries to shut it down.

The Gameplay
Basically, this is an average pinball game with Sonic replacing the silver ball. You can guide him gently around the huge tables to reach hidden and more rewarding areas, with the overall objective of each level being the collection of Chaos Emeralds. These are needed to open portals to the dull boss characters, which are disposed of in standard pinball style.

Special Notes
There isn't much to note about this game - mainly because it was so forgettable. The average quality of this game shocked many a Sonic fan, as they had never seen a Sonic title that fell below their expectations once you'd gotten over the novelty of bouncing around what is basically an extended version of Casino Zone. Sadly, this kind of disappointment would become common over the next few years.

Sonic Drift
System: Game Gear
Released: November 1993

The Plot
Sonic and his pals play a lot of Mario Kart and decide that they can do the same thing on the Game Gear. That's about it, really. What kind of plot were you expecting from a racing game, anyway?

The Gameplay

Title screen.

You can choose from Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Dr. Robotnik and race on a variety of levels directly based on stages from Sonic 1 - including Green Hill Zone and Scrap Brain Zone. As you complete laps, you collect rings that give you temporary powers depending on what character you are. For example, Robotnik throws bombs, while Tails gains the ability to leap into the sky for a short period. Of course, the winner is awarded with Chaos Emeralds aplenty.

Robotnik on the road.

Special Notes
Sadly, this game only saw a release in Sega's homeland, though a sequel made up for that. Each of the tracks is perfectly flat and doesn't give off a great sensation of speed, making this an unnecessary racer. It's an interesting precursor to Sonic R though.

The jaws of defeat.

Sonic Spinball
System: Game Gear
Released: September 1993

The Plot
Exactly the same as the Genesis game.

The Gameplay
Beyond the cutbacks in the audiovisual department, there isn't much to differentiate the main part of this game from the 16-bit game - for better or for worse. The bonus games have been totally reworked, and Sonic bounces from birdcage to birdcage under a strict time limit.

Title screen.

Special Notes
Back in the day when the Game Gear was first created, handhelds weren't expected to render ultrafast scrolling in multiple directions without any blur. Unlike the Game Gear versions of regular Sonic games, the camera in Sonic Spinball hadn't been designed to zoom in to accommodate the small screen. Still, GG Sonic Spinball still looked like a complete mess, even with the simplified visuals.

1994

Sonic 1994

Sonic the Hedgehog 3
System: Sega Genesis
Released: February 1994

The Plot
After smashing the Death Egg into bits at the end of Sonic 2, Sonic and Tails decide to take a much-needed vacation. While they're enjoying some rest and relaxation, the remnants of the Death Egg (complete with Dr Robotnik at the controls) crash into a floating island that goes by the name of (surprise) Floating Island. This island in the sky stays up in the air with the power of Chaos Emeralds - the same energy-filled rocks that could potentially turn the Death Egg into an indestructible weapon. Robotnik fools life-long resident of Floating Island, Knuckles the Echidna, into believing that Sonic and Tails are thieves. Knuckles then spends the rest of the game setting up tricks, traps, and obstacles to give our dynamic duo a hard time.

Snowboarding.

The Gameplay
From standard screenshots, Sonic 3 looks to be just another Sonic game. Thankfully it's a lot less simplistic this time around. If this was another rehash, then we could have kissed the whole Sonic phenomenon good-bye, right then and there. The gameplay is more puzzle based, with switches and secret areas all over the place for Sonic and Tails to overcome. As in Sonic 2, you can take the role of Tails and complete the quest separately, with a different ending as a reward. Bonus stages (which are entered via giant golden rings, a la Sonic 1) now take the form of high-speed mazes on checkered spheres - a harder challenge than you might think.

Intro.

Special Notes
The graphics in this game are amazing, and you'd be hard pressed to find modern side-scrolling platformers with as much flair and vibrancy as this one. Every stage is huge and inventive, which makes up for there being only two acts in each zone. New to a Sonic game is the save system - six slots are available on the game's built-in battery for Sonic and Tails' progress.

Sonic and Knuckles
System: Sega Genesis
Released: October 1994

The Plot
Continuing on from where Sonic 3 left off, Robotnik's Death Egg is once again wrecked. It now lies on top of an active volcano on Floating Island, and the nasty doctor immediately sets out to retrieve the Chaos Emeralds so he can escape. Sonic and Tails find themselves in Mountain Hills. They, too, are still on a mission to find those pesky emeralds. Knuckles is just sick to death of all these people running around his Island, so he'll do anything to make Floating Island a quiet place once again.

Title screen.

The Gameplay
In its stand-alone mode this is, for all intents and purposes, just more of Sonic 3. You can control Sonic or Knuckles as they explore Floating Island, looking for those ever-popular Chaos Emeralds. Knuckles has a slightly different range of moves from Sonic, which makes this a deeper adventure than before. It's when the game is locked on to Sonic 3 (Sega's lock-on technology offered backward compatibility) that it really opens up. A host of new special-stage challenges open up and let you control Tails. Collect all the Super Chaos Emeralds, and Super Sonic and Knuckles are turned into Hyper Sonic and Knuckles, with Tails transforming into Super Tails.

Special Notes
Sega's lock-on technology was a great idea from start to finish and Sonic and Knuckles was the first Sonic game to take advantage of it. Not only did it extend Sonic 3's gameplay further than anyone could have imagined, but it also gave new life to the first two Sonic titles. When connected to Sonic 2, you could select Knuckles as a controllable character. After using a code, you could even lock it on to Sonic 1 and play with Knuckles and Tails on new stages.

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Sonic Triple Trouble
System: Game Gear
Released: November 1994

The Plot
Like that sadly unseen episode of Itchy and Scratchy where Scratchy kills Itchy, Sonic Triple Trouble starts off with a previously unthinkable situation: Dr. Robotnik has collected all of the Chaos Emeralds! Just as he's starting his latest Emerald-powered weapon of destruction, an assistant presses a wrong button, and before you know it, all the Chaos Emeralds are sent flying to five parts of Mobius. Sonic and Tails catch wind of this and immediately set out to collect the gems themselves, as does Knuckles, who still doesn't completely trust our two heroes. Further complicating matters is Nack the Weasel, a bounty hunter who sees a huge check at the end of the Chaos Emerald rainbow.

The Gameplay
The usual rules apply: You collect rings, work for Chaos Emeralds in the bonus stages, and keep Robotnik at bay at the end of each zone. Beach-, factory-, and snow-themed stages make their repeated appearance, and the plane from the end of Sonic 2 is back for more action. Sonic and Tails pilot it in psuedo-3D through one of the bonus zones, with the other Emerald challenge being a race to escape a temple before a strict time limit runs out.

Special Notes
Known as Sonic and Tails 2 in Japan, this multifaceted platformer features graphics and sound that would be more suited to the Genesis. It looked absolutely incredible, and it continued the storyline and gameplay from Sonic 3 quite well.

1995

Sonic 1995

Sonic Drift 2
System: Game Gear
Released: March 1995

The Plot
Exactly the same as Sonic Drift 2. A bit disappointing, at that.

The Gameplay
As you would expect from a Mario Kart clone, Sonic Drift 2 includes a fairly decent grand prix mode and an option to engage in two-player matches, if you can find someone else who still has a Game Gear. Racing games on the antique (even for its time) hardware were hardly noteworthy, and Sonic Drift 2 is no exception. Speedwise, this game crawls, especially when the banked corners make an appearance. Some of the courses are well worth a look, including stages set on the beach and the infamous Casino Zone.

Click here for more shots.

Special Notes
Sonic Drift 2 is, essentially, Sonic Drift with several tweaks. Among these changes are more characters, linked two-player mode, deeper grand prix option, hills and banked curves on the tracks, advanced enemy AI to ensure a constant challenge, and slightly more attractive visuals. A dutiful sequel in all regards.

Near a rocket-powered penguin.

Sonic Labyrinth
System: Game Gear
Released: November 1995

The Plot
Sometimes you have to wonder why Dr. Robotnik thinks he's such a supergenius. First of all, he replaces Sonic's speedy shoes with lead-lined slow sneakers - a good idea. Then he blows it all by telling Sonic how to get his shoes back so he can get beaten once again. Wouldn't it be smarter to just replace the shoes and not tell Sonic anything? Anyway, you control Sonic as he rolls - slowly - through the Labyrinth Zone, in search of the shoe-giving Chaos Emerald.

Spikes.

The Gameplay
Imagine Marble Madness with more bumpers and traps, with an extra bit of puzzle action and exploration potential. Each area has a time limit within which Sonic must find his way to the exit - failure to do so will result in the destruction of the entire universe, or at least the loss of a life. Each stage is composed of multiple mazes, and you need a good sense of direction to get through them all (map-making skills don't hurt, either).

Special Notes
Sonic Labyrinth could have been a contender. Had Sonic's ability to jump been retained and the puzzle element toned down a bit, this could have been a great game instead of a very average one.

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