While not "Mega" in selection, Sonic more than makes up for quantity with several timeless games of incredible
Quick note: The Graphics and Sound scores are with the power of the Genesis in mind, although if you can appreciate 16-bit 2D sprites and music as much as I do you’d rank these games high even when compared to non-collection Cube games.
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG “Blast Processing at work, please speed up”
As the title may lead you to believe, this is the one that started it all. Sonic makes his debut in a platformer with very simple controls (all three action buttons make him jump) but a unique lifebar: Unless you are squished, fall into a pit, or drown, you cannot be killed as long as you have rings. However, all rings are lost after a successful enemy attack, and you receive a large bonus at the end of the level if you have lots of rings. This makes the stages quite thrilling as you try to collect hundreds of rings and dodge enemy attacks left and right, and this excellent gameplay mechanic applies to the other three platformers, too.
The story of the game is simple enough, but was relatively novel at the time: Instead of saving a princess from evil or saving the world from evil, Sonic’s just out to stop Dr. Robotnik, a mad-scientist-turned-animal-abuser who uses small animals to run his robots. Sonic must destroy Robotnik’s creations, free his friends (which run the gamut from bluebirds to walruses) and take out Robotnik to keep him from continuing his horrible plans.
This game is perhaps the one that most shows its age, and no longer quite holds up like it used to (although the music is still good to this day). A few sections in some stages are virtually identical to earlier parts of the same level, giving you a sense of déjà vu, and if you played Sonic 2 or 3 before Sonic 1, you’ll miss the Spin Dash.
This game still offers plenty of fun considering its age, though. It’s just too bad it wasn’t updated in any way like the Sonic Jam version was (with the Spin Dash and a save system added).
Graphics: 7
Sound: 8
Gameplay: 7
Difficulty: 8
Replay: 7
SCORE: 7
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 “OHHHHH! Miles Per Hour! I get it!”
Sonic 2 has a few simple additions that make it far better than Sonic 1 and also make it one of the best platformers ever. The levels are varied and fun, and sections never repeat. Tails joins the cast, but aside from being a bit shorter than Sonic (which actually does affect gameplay in some areas), the two heroes are identical. The game is a bit longer than the first one, and the ever-useful Spin Dash makes its first appearance. The music is even better than the first game’s tunes, and many are very catchy and will stick with you for eons, like Robotnik’s theme. The special stages show off what the Genesis could do pretty well (Quasi-3D graphics were amazing back in 1992).
Robotnik is still capturing animals, but his goals are much loftier this time: Instead of being content with just having a bunch of robots around, Robotnik has built the Death Egg (a large round space station with his noggin on it) and plans to conquer the entire world using the Chaos Emeralds. Take a guess at what Sonic wants to do.
A 2-player mode is a first for the series. The 2-player game runs on a split screen, and due to simply being an exact Genesis port, it lags even on the GameCube. The 2-Player mode is also a bit limited as it offers only three of the ten one-player stages for two players to compete in, plus a Special Stage. However, the single-player mode is more than fun enough to make up for it, and Sonic 2 is almost worth the price of admission by itself if you never played it before or it’s been a long time since you last did.
Graphics: 8
Sound: 9
Gameplay: 10
Difficulty: 6
Replay: 8
SCORE: 10
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 “ECHIDONA! Thass’ what I’m representin’!”
You may be noticing a pattern with the game titles at this point. This is the last generic title, though.
Sonic 3 introduces Knuckles, bringing the cast to the group of four most Sonic fans have nostalgic feelings for: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Robotnik, all getting’ up in each others’ business. Unfortunately Knux isn’t playable in this game, but that will eventually be remedied…
Knuckles begins his career as Mr. Gullible with Robotnik tricking him into going after Sonic and Tails to impede their progress while the Eggman works on rebuilding his Death Egg. The emeralds are involved again, too: Knuckles is the guardian of the Master Emerald, which is connected to the other emeralds in some fashion (I don’t think it’s really explained). In any case, it means Sonic has to do more animal freeing, more emerald hunting, and more Robotnik squashing. Fine by me!
In addition to Knux, other additions to the series include a complete visual overhaul, a save system, and special abilities to make Sonic and Tails more different: While Sonic has a new attack and can use special jumps from wearing certain shield items, Tails is able to swim and fly, reaching places Sonic could never go. Robotnik’s machines, meanwhile, get more and more complicated and weird, and minibosses are added to the formula. The 2-player mode is revamped, with a bunch of unique stages and a racing/laps design for competing.
The music is as awesome as ever. It may interest you to know that Michael Jackson wrote some of the music for this game, including the miniboss theme, Carnival Night Zone, Launch Base Zone, and IceCap Zone. As for sound, most of the classic effects from the first game are still present, such as the noise that plays when you grab a ring.
The game’s major flaw is that it’s too short, even though it’s the only one of the original four games with a save system.
Graphics: 9
Sound: 10
Gameplay: 10
Difficulty: 5 (Add 5 if you don’t know how to pass the Carnival Night Zone barrel)
Replay: 8
SCORE: 9
SONIC AND KNUCKLES “So what happened to Tails, huh?”
The title doesn’t lie: this time ol’ Red is a playable character, but for some reason Tails suddenly no longer exists. Knuckles has his own special abilities: He can glide, climb walls, and smash otherwise unsmashable walls, but he jumps lower and runs slower than Sonic. Sonic and Knuckles also takes slightly different paths through the game, and each of them has a unique final boss. Sonic actually gets two more levels than Knuckles.
The story takes place instantly after Sonic 3, with Knuckles continuing to impede Sonic’s progress. Robotnik’s got the Death Egg running again, and Sonic has to find a way into space to go get him, all while avoiding Knuckles, who tries everything from blowing Sonic around with wind machines to running him over with a huge rock. Gotta admire Sonic’s dedication to the task in the face of such deadly perils.
Sonic and Knuckles ditches the two-player mode and save system in addition to removing Tails, making the game almost feel like a step back from Sonic 3. The game remains very fun and entertaining, though, and is still one of the better games in the collection despite its flaws.
By the way, this game was originally going to be part of Sonic 3, but due to time constraints the game was split in two. This explains the short length of S3 and S&K.
Graphics: 9
Sound: 9
Gameplay: 9
Difficulty: 7
Replay: 7
SCORE: 8
SONIC SPINBALL “He’s a pinball wizard… maybe”
Sonic Spinball was one of the first Sonic spinoffs, and it was not very well-received. The game has only four stages, but they are long. A more pressing problem is the game’s difficulty: You’ve gotta be one hell of a silver-ball slinger to make it past the third stage. The game appears to be based on the Sonic comic book (from Archie Comics), since Robotnik doesn’t look like his usual self and many of the badniks found here are never seen in the platformers. Since this game’s on a collection, you won’t feel ripped off despite this title’s mediocrity. It’s still good for a play or two, though. Just don’t expect the great quality the platformers made you used to.
Graphics: 8
Sound: 7
Gameplay: 5
Difficulty: 10
Replay: 2
SCORE: 5
DR. ROBOTNIK’S MEAN BEAN MACHINE “The beans are counting on you!”
Okay, that is like the best title ever.
Anyway, you may know that this game is simply Puyo Puyo (Kirby’s Avalanche, Puyo Pop Fever) with a Sonic-colored coat of paint. Not just any Sonic, though… this game is based on the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog television show. While some people think that’s NO GOOD, I personally have fond feelings for that goofy old cartoon.
Bean Machine is a puzzle game, with one of the most unintentionally hilarious story lines ever (Robotnik shall turn the “jolly beanfolk” into not-so-jolly bean-shaped robots in his plot to “rid Mobius of music and fun forever”. How dastardly!
To save Mobius, you’ll need to connect four or more beans of the same color by deciding where to place the ones constantly dropping from above. It’s similar to Tetris, but also shares some similarities with Puzzle League and, especially, Columns.
As for the Sonic cartoon tie-in, there are thirteen stages, with levels one through twelve being fights against various henchbots made by Robotnik (with levels 4, 8, and 12 being minibosses of sorts due to their large presence in the cartoon). Level thirteen is the Eggman himself. The game also features multiple difficulty levels, 2-player versus, and a practice mode. High scores are unfortunately not saved, a feature I think would have added some replay value.
This game, incidentally, is a rare case of a Sonic-themed game with Sonic nowhere in sight. I suppose that makes Robotnik the star. Let’s give him a big hand!
Graphics: 7
Sound: 7
Gameplay: 8
Difficulty: Varies depending on difficulty mode
Replay: 7
SCORE: 8
SONIC 3D BLAST “We tightened up the graphics on your Sonic, sir!“
This game, one of the Genesis’ last big-name titles (and its last Sonic game), starts off with a bang: A full-3D intro sequence showing Sonic running, with several Flickies following him. The video looks good enough that you’d think a Genesis would explode trying to process the graphics. And while it’s certainly not amazing today, imagine what a Genesis owner with no knowledge of the PlayStation and N64 would think upon watching it (like me in 1997, for example).
Also incredible is the music. This game has an excellent, excellent soundtrack, easily on par with the platformers. Much of the sound and even a few jingles are taken directly from Sonic and Knuckles.
Gameplay, however, is the game’s big downfall (Like Spinball, this one wasn’t very popular either). Instead of speedy adventuring through action-packed levels, Sonic instead goes through rather bland areas and collects birds. There are only five badniks per area, and each contans a bird. Sonic must collect all five and bring them to a giant ring, where they will warp away and a teleporter will appear to either bring Sonic further into the stage or send him to the exit. Boss fights are tough due to the iffy controls and top-down camera angle, but Robotnik’s contraptions are as nifty as ever.
The story is typical Sonic fare: Blah blah small animals blah blah emeralds blah blah Robotnik blah blah evil must be stopped. Robotnik even says “Sonic? AGAIN?!” when Sonic first spots the mad doctor making more badniks.
The game again lacks a two-player mode (although I doubt the Genesis could handle a split-screen version of this game), and overall the experience is lackluster, although it’s definitely worth at least one playthrough. The game really shows off the Genesis’ power, both visually and audibly. It’s too bad, then, that the game itself isn’t much fun.
Graphics: 10
Sound: 10 (Diamond Dust owns your soul)
Gameplay: 5
Difficulty: 9
Replay: 3
SCORE: 6
BLUE SPHERE “Who wants to play the same thing 500 times?!”
Sonic and Knuckles had a very innovative feature: Lock-On technology. Basically, the S&K cart had a cartridge slot on top. If you inserted Sonic 1 into this slot, you’d get Blue Sphere, and inserting any game besides Sonic 1, Sonic 2, or Sonic 3 would give you one random stage from Blue Sphere and a password to play that stage in Blue Sphere.
Blue Sphere is just a whole bunch of levels in the style of Sonic and Knuckles’ Chaos Emerald bonus stages. As the game puts it, your job is to “GET BLUE SPHERES”. Hence the name.
To break it down a bit, aside from GETTING BLUE SPHERES, you must also AVOID RED SPHERES, and if needed BOUNCE OFF OF STAR SPHERES and JUMP USING YELLOW SPHERES. Beats me what this game’s obsession with spheres is.
The problem here is that the bonus stages just aren’t that fun. They get real annoying, real fast. But if you happen to like them, you’ll be in hog heaven since the total number of levels in Blue Sphere is in the hundreds, possibly over nine hundred.
Graphics: 9
Sound: 6
Gameplay: 5
Difficulty: 9
Replay: 2
SCORE: 4
KNUCKLES IN SONIC 2 “What a brilliant title!”
Using Sonic and Knuckles’ Lock-On feature with Sonic 2 allowed you to play Sonic 2 as Knuckles. This is certainly a novel idea, but since this isn’t an actual new game, you probably won’t find yourself playing this one too often, particularly if you’ve already played the crap out of Sonic 2 before unlocking this. If you didn’t really touch Sonic 2 before trying this one, you’ll find it to be quite an enjoyable experience.
It should also be noted that Knux’s climbing and gliding allows for the uncovering of never-before-seen secrets, and his poor jumping skills make the game harder than it is with Sonic or Tails. Graphics: 8
Sound: 9
Gameplay: 10
Difficulty: 7
Replay: 7
SCORE: 9
SONIC 3 AND KNUCKLES “The alpha and omega of Sonic games”
This… is it. Not even Sonic 2 is as amazing as what happens when Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles Lock-On and join forces. The result is a gigantic, epic adventure, over a dozen Zones long. Bring Tails into Sonic and Knuckles. Take Knux into Sonic 3. The save feature and 2-player mode from Sonic 3 return, and there are 14 emeralds to collect. The sheer amount of Sonic here is incredible, and this game would do very well by itself if it were released as a DS or GBA port (unless the screen is squashed).
Also worth checking out is the “Debug Mode” cheat code, which allows for the ability to make your own stages, provided they go vertically instead of horizontally. I’ve wasted dozens of hours crafting my own obstacle courses and checking out glitched no-man’s-land sections of levels using debug. It’s loads of fun, and while it’s also available in Sonic 1 and Sonic 2, it’s at its most complete form here.
Graphics: 9
Sound: 9
Gameplay: 10
Difficulty: 6
Replay: 10
SCORE: 10
FLICKY “Let’s blow the dust offa this relic”
This underwhelming arcade game was ported to Genesis with a modicum of finesse in the 90’s. It shows its age very badly, but it serves as a history lesson: The small blue birds you rescue in the platformers and in Sonic 3D Blast are Flickies, just like the bird you play as here. Also, Sonic 3D Blast’s bizarre gameplay formula (collect birds and bring them to the goal) originated here, in 2D form. This game’s worth a play, but like all the other games with high-score tables, it really would have helped it out if the high scores saved to your memory card.
Graphics: 3
Sound: 2
Gameplay: 6
Difficulty: 7
Replay: 4
SCORE: 4
RISTAR “Play with me?”
Unless you’re really up on your Sonic lore, you probably don’t know why the seemingly out-of-place Ristar is in this collection. There is a reason, and it’s a good one…
The original design for Sega’s killer app Genesis game was not about a super-fast hedgehog, but a rabbit that would grab items, enemies, and walls with his ears. The game was slow-paced with an emphasis on puzzle-solving. The idea was scrapped but then resurrected in 1996 for one of the final good Genesis games. The character was now a star with limbs but the song was the same: Ristar uses his unusually stretchy arms to grab anything he can get his grubby little mitts on to puzzle and platform his merry little way to the exit.
Being a late Genesis title, Ristar has excellent sprites and solid music. There’s some fuzzy, slightly annoying voice samples, but nothing too distracting.
Ristar’s a tougher game than most of the Sonic titles, so it’s kind of a good thing that it doesn’t unlock until you’ve spent some time with the others. Ristar’s game is very different from Sonic’s, but he’s got charm and has a nice little adventure for ya.
Hey, note to Sega: How ‘bout a sequel?
Graphics: 9
Sound: 8
Gameplay: 8
Difficulty: 9
Replay: 5
SCORE: 8
EXTRAS
Extras? What extras? Including the original manuals in digital form was a cool decision, and there’s a buttload of comic book art, plus some pictures of the Sonic cast you’ve probably seen before. You’ll also find a few movies, including a blatant ad for Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, a less obvious ad for Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, a promo video for Sonic Advance 2, and the opening and ending movies for Sonic CD (which is odd considering Sonic CD isn’t even in this collection). Certainly nothing that exciting, although the movies are good for a watch, and the first ever Sonic comic is fully reproduced and good for a yuk or two. Still a better batch of stuff than what Namco Museum offers, but developer interviews and maybe even the beta versions of some of the games would be neat (You know you wanna play Sonic 2’s Hidden Palace Zone).
OVERALL
Although there are certainly a few duds in this compilation (It’s not as bad as Gems Collection, at least), Sonic Mega Collection succeeds by including some awesome platformer classics that more than make up for the slackers and remind you of back when Sonic was brawling Mario for the title of Video Game King and Sega still made consoles.
OVERALL SCORE: 9