AUTHOR: SEGA RELEASE: 1993 TYP: Jump & Run SPIELER: 1 LEVEL: 70 SPRACHE: Englisch WERT: 18€

Über 70 Level! 3D Spezial-Level! Spielstand speicherbar! Superschnelle Action, verblüffende Grafiken und ohrenbetäubender Hifi-Sound erwarten dich in Sonics neuestem und bisher umfangreichsten Abenteuer!

Over 70 levels! 3D special stage! Hard action, stunning graphics and mean music make this Sonic's toughest challenge ever!

SEGA Magazin Ausgabe 2/1993: ^{[Grafik: 85% Sound: 88% Gesamt: 89%]}
Wenn die Programmierer am bewährten Spielprinzip festhalten, kann eigentlich kein schlechtes Spiel herauskommen. Sonic ist und bleibt einfach ein herrlich erfrischendes Hüpfvergnügen mit einer genial einfachen, einfach genialen Steuerung. Dieses Sonic Abenteuer gewinnt natürlich durch den glasklaren CD-Sound und die fulminanten Bonusrunden noch mehr an Qualität. Allerdings ist das Leveldesign nicht immer so clever wie beim Modul und mir teilweise eine Spur zu hektisch.
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This is a standard Sonic the Hedgehog side-scrolling action game. Dr. Robotnik has taken over the Little Planet, captured Amy, and created Metal Sonic with the goal of collecting all the Time Stones to be able to manipulate time and conquer the world. It is up to Sonic to stop him, by rushing through levels set in different time periods, collecting Time Stones. Sonic CD has features that take advantage of the CD format such as CD audio, video clips, and more levels (over 50 in total). www.Mobygames.com

I've been very harsh on Sonic CD in the past, mainly because it's a colossal letdown compared to the Genesis Sonic games. Yes, it offers classic 2D Sonic action with plenty of expansive new zones, but these have got to be the most unappealing, poorly designed stages I've ever seen. In the first three Sonic games, each zone had a distinct look and feel. In Sonic CD, the stages seem to be a jumble of pastel-colored geometric shapes in random arrangements, and you can't tell one from the next. The Quartz Quadrant and Wacky Workbench zones are perfect examples of the uninspired, cookie-cutter designs. In addition, there are too many gadgets that send your blue ass flying every which way. The only cool element is the laser that shrinks Sonic down to half his size. But the main gimmick is the ill-conceived notion of „time travel“, which teleports you to past or future versions of the same stage. This occurs when you touch a „Past“ or „Future“ sign and then maintain a certain speed for a few seconds (easier said than done). Trouble is, the past and future versions are just as boring as the present! It's basically just the same maze with a change of color and music. Besides the gratuitous use of color, Sega tried a few other tricks in an attempt to elevate Sonic to the „next level“. An animated cartoon intro shows Sonic running up and down mountains, and while it's awfully choppy, I can't resist singing along to that catchy „Sonic Boom“ theme song - it's great! The CD-quality music that plays during the stages is a mixed bag, but the tropical island music of the first stage is pleasant enough, and the moody vocals of the Tidal Tempest are downright mesmerizing (and redeem an otherwise mediocre stage). The bonus „Speed Zone“ stages utilize the Sega CD's rotation capability, but it looks more like a poor-man's Mario Kart. The animation is quite choppy and it's hard to anticipate your jumps. But perhaps the game's worst sin is rampant slow-down, something you would never expect from a Sonic game. Compared to its predecessors, this is a major disappointment. That said, on a system mired with so many mediocre full-motion video games, this sub-par Sonic is still one of the better titles for the Sega CD. www.videogamecritic.net

Held by many as the best Sonic game ever, and no doubt responsible for shifting the majority of Mega-CD units (along with Night Trap) Sonic CD is an excellent pure platform blast that kicks off with a short animated cartoon accompanied by a delightfully cheesy rap song. If you've played the original Sonic game then most of the levels will be familiar as the zones here seem to be re-named versions of the original 6 (starting in a grassy area, moving on through a pinball zone to a slightly frustrating underwater level etc). This isn't a criticism though, for whilst the themes aren't original the level designs certainly are. Scattered through the zones are signposts labelled „Past“ and „Future“. Hit one of these and if you can keep Sonic running at full speed for a short time a warp takes effect, carrying you to either a past rendition of the area or one of two futures (where Dr Robotnik has either been victorious or defeated). Whilst it can be tricky to pull these off and there's no way to determine which future of the two you'll get, it does mean that there's up to 4 variations of each level where the signposts are found adding some extra longevity to the game. Carrying 50 rings over the finish line generates a huge warp ring that will take you to the 3D bonus stage. This is the only aspect of the game that is slightly disappointing, as it involves running around an area avoiding hazards and destroying UFOs to win the chaos emeralds. Thankfully you can save your game and restart at your leisure, and combining this with unlimited continues means anyone can reach the end by investing enough time. A Time Attack mode allows you to set fastest times for each zone in the game, but each level can only be accessed once it has been cleared in the main game, giving some incentive to finish the story mode. Graphically Sonic CD is exactly what you'd expect - bright, colourful and fast. The sprites are perhaps slightly larger and better defined than in the cartridge games, but there's only occasional tricks that remind you you're playing on the Mega-CD. The sound, on the other hand, is full CD audio and suits the game well, and the load times are almost entirely seamless. The difficulty level seems to have been wound up a notch or two, and though the game only rarely resorts to unfair tricks such as springs that send you hurtling into spikes it does mean that for the majority of the time you're not playing at the speeds that the Sonic games are famous for. Demand for Sonic CD keeps eBay prices up around the £20 mark despite the number of copies available, but once you've played it you'll understand why. www.sega-mega-cd-library.co.uk