Have you ever played Sonic CD?
Well, the likelihood is that you haven't- unless, like me, you downloaded it from Xbox Live Marketplace or the PlayStation Network Store over the past couple of weeks. This game has been out since 1993- yet I've only just had the chance to play it, thanks to the miracle of modern gaming and digital downloads.
Sonic CD was released in 1993 for the Sega Mega-CD. Remember that piece of junk? Yeah, me either, because basically no one owned one. As a result, Sonic CD faded into relative obscurity, it's greatness hardly experienced. I'm a huge Sonic fan but I've never been able to play it. However, since it is now available for download on PS3 (as well as on Xbox 360, nd I'm sure it is on iPhone, Android and perhaps even PC at some point), I have had a chance to download it.
So, how is it?
Quite simply, it's brilliant. It's difficult, and while it is defintiely a classic 16-bit Sonic platformer, it also has enough to it to make it different to all the others you've played so far. It's more colourful even than previous Sonic games (and sometimes the combination of colours and flashing lights looks like it could induce a few seizures), it's got CD-quality music (which sounds really weird because it looks like Megadrive Sonic but has a soundtrack which is far beyond the Megadrive's capability), and, most uniquely and importantly... time travel.
Yeah, that's right- by running past a signpost which says either "Past" or "Future", and running as fast as you can for a few seconds (Back to the Future much?), Sonic will time travel to that period. The level will change, looking either younger and healthier or older and more decrepit, and the music changes too. In order to get the best possible ending you need to go to the Past on each stage and destroy the machine Robotnik uses to create his army of Badniks before the end.
It's the good ol' Sonic you know with a few added twists, and is awesome. It's widely regarded as one of the best Sonic games ever made- if not one of the best platformers ever made- and I would agree. I think it's only something like £3.30 on PSN right now, so if you've never played this and you're a Sonic the Hedgehog/platformer/retro game fan, I recommend that you get it and play it right now.
2 comments:
Heh I actually have the original Mega CD version and play it sometimes using Gens emulator :)
Glad you found it though, it's a brilliant game! I've just got Sonic Generations for 3DS at Xmas and I'm pretty impressed with that, although I think it's more that the 3D is actually working that impresses me :D
I'm a huge Sonic fan and I've known about Sonic CD for ages, but it's alluded me somehow. The closest I got was playing a demo of the first level on PC ages ago.
I love Sonic Generations on console (should probably review it soon), but I've not had the chance to try the 3DS version since I don't own a 3DS.
Until recently I thought it was just like Sonic Colours/Sonic Rush, but I've seen footage recently and it looks like the console version. Playing that on a handheld looks pretty cool- gives me at least one game I'd want to own a 3DS for.
Post a Comment