Sonic The Hedgehog CD: That Other 2D Sonic Game
Back in the 90s there was the big war for video game home console supremacy between Nintendo and SEGA. Nintendo spearheaded by Mario and SEGA with the mascot with more attitude with Sonic the Hedgehog. Growing up as a kid, we had the SEGA Genesis, looking back likely because it was the cheaper system and my parents thought “It’s all Nintendo what’s the difference, get the cheaper one.” As far as I can remember, the games I had for the system were Sonic 2, Mortal Kombat (not sure how we got away with owning that at my age), Mighty Morphin Power Rangers which was a fighting game, and Ecco 2: The Tides of Time (not sure how in the world we got our hands on that obscure game). Most of my time was playing Sonic 2 and always renting Sonic 3 at our local video store. So yeah you can say I grew up as a “Genesis does what Nintendon’t” kid, a saying many SEGA fans liked saying. Most I knew had grown up with Mario as for me it was Sonic, so Sonic has always had a cherished spot in my heart. Why it pains to see the franchise have its harsh ups and downs throughout recent history.
Nintendo and SEGA had two lets say… approaches and philosophies with how to hook new and old gamers alike. Nintendo was focused on software with pumping out killer hits like Super Metroid, Mario World 2 Yoshi’s Island, and the Donkey Kong Country Trilogy on their Super Nintendo system among others. SEGA has more of a focus on hardware and cutting edge technology. One of these hardware updates being the SEGA CD, An add-on to the console that gave the SEGA Genesis the ability to play CD based games. CDs were becoming the new standard in music and being able to play games on a CD bought in new opportunities. As opposed to standard cartridges, CD based games could pull off full motion videos or “FMVs” and could pump out soundtrack quality music and sound effects, not to mention more room in the CD to have higher quality spirits and graphics. However this came with a cost, players would have to deal with load times and back in the 90s the loading times were... not something I’d call good.
Not only was there a division between Nintendo and SEGA, there was consistent conflict between SEGA themselves between SEGA of America and SEGA of Japan. After the success of the original Sonic The Hedgehog in 1991, there was a split as to what to do with the next game of the series. SEGA of Japan wanted to use the power of the SEGA CD to make a new Sonic game but SEGA of America likely feared that having a successor to their biggest game being on a system that needed a not so cheap hardware upgrade would alienate their audience. Parts of Sonic team including its lead programmer, Yuji Naka went over to SEGA of America to make a Sonic game. The result was the game I mentioned earlier and fell in love with in Sonic The Hedgehog 2. But what about SEGA of Japan’s Sonic game? After all SEGA wanted to show the power of the new SEGA CD add-on. The result was Sonic CD (Or Sonic The Hedgehog CD to be exact). This is the game I’m going to be covering, as it would later be seen as kind of a black sheep of the 2D Sonic games, I feel that’s what makes it stand out from any other Sonic game.
Like I said before my family was likely the ones that think every game system in the 90s was “the Nintendo”, and seeing how I think they got a Genesis they likely went for the cheaper alternative at the time. So you can likely guess trying to ask mom and dad for a THREE HUNDRED DOLLAR add on to the SEGA Genesis went as about as well as you’d think. The SEGA CD was a neat idea but for that price tag it was a very hard sell for the casual player. It was a luxury only few gamers had. It was like gaming caviar or something like that.
I did not play Sonic CD and knew much about it until one day I went to a game store to find Sonic Gems Collection for the Nintendo Gamecube. One of the featured titles in the collection being Sonic CD. I had Sonic MEGA Collection before that had a ton of more known Sonic games and played all the time. Sonic Gems Collection focused on more of the lesser known Sonic Titles. It was like 20 bucks so I thought why not? I’ve always wanted to take a crack at Sonic CD as it was the only 2D sonic game I have yet to play at that point in time. I know for many this was their first experience of Sonic CD as like I said, knowing someone with a SEGA CD was rare
The story in this game is Sonic finds out that the evil mad scientist Dr. Eggman (Dr. Robtnik for some of you) is up to his nasty tricks again, this time the location being known as Little Planet. However Sonic has to deal with Eggman’s greatest creation, a robotic version of Sonic himself known as Metal Sonic, who has kidnapped Amy Rose, our dismal in distress. Amy would later become a recurring character in the Sonic universe and one of the most popular, becoming her own thing in Sonic Adventure, but that may be a tale for another time *wink wink*.
The game opens with a really cool 2D cartoon animation set to the game’s theme song Sonic Boom (If you’re playing the US version). Kind of a weird cheesy song in today’s standards but for 1993 it’s catchy little tune. The animation itself is phenomenal and really sets the tone for the game.
So what makes Sonic CD stand out from its other retro Sonic games like Sonic 1–3? As you may guess, it mostly plays like an old school 2D sonic game. Point of the game is to get to the finish and use Sonic’s super speed to your advantage via momentum. It’s the kind of game where the more you play, the better it gets as you learn new routes and pathways in order to finish faster and faster. Speed is an addiction and Sonic was gamer’s fix.
However Sonic has a few new tricks up his sleeve this time. The spin dash made iconic in Sonic 2 is here, however Sonic can also charge up a sprint by holding up the jump button instead of down and the jump button for the spin dash. This is quicker to charge up than the spin dash but it leaves you more open to ruining into something head on and getting hit. Like most Sonic games, Sonic collects rings. He loses his rings when he gets hit. Get hit with no rings and it’s a death for our blue friend.
Sonic CD’s biggest thing that makes it stand out is the game has a time travel mechanic. In each level there are gates of “past”, “present”, and “future”. Passing a gate will turn it on and you have an icon as to what gate you have active on the bottom right of your screen. If sonic can get enough consistent speed then he time travels to a different version of the level. Sonic mostly starts in the present but can go to the past in a prehistoric like setting before technology has taken over, the “bad future” where the evil Dr Eggman has taken over the now corrupted world. Or if you can find the capsule in the past version of the level, that it makes a “good future” where there’s no bad guys and is very peaceful. I love this mechanic because in the past version of levels, it encouraged exploration to find these capsules rather than just going right and getting from point A to point B as quickly as possible. I also like the past levels because they do have a Sonic 1 feel to them as present and future takes advantage of the time mechanic, all while maintaining the high energy speed that makes Sonic so fun. Each level is 3 acts, 2 normal acts and the 3rd act being a much shorter version of the level before battling a boss. My only issue is there’s times you are flying at high speeds in a stage and end up time traveling when you don’t want to. Also the load times when you do time travel are not the best, around 5–7 seconds. However, that was a price to pay for CD games back in the 90s. Later, in more current digital releases of Sonic CD. The load times were fixed to be nearly none existent thankfully.
Boss stages are always in the bad future version of a level unless you got a good future in the previous 2 stages. And some of the bosses are some of Sonic’s best. There are 1 or 2 stinkers but there’s much more good that makes up for it. Not to mention one of the most iconic boss fights, a death race to the finish with Metal Sonic himself in what’s known as one of the highest points in not just Sonic CD, but in Sonic games as a whole.
The levels in this game are some of old school Sonic's best. Very open and has a great mix of speed and exploration. Each level feeling fresh and new from the last, such as the endless springs in “Collision Chaos”, the converter belts for even more speed in Quartz Quadrant, and the highspeed puzzles of Stardust Speedway. There are also special stages that Sonic can get to. These special stages involve Sonic destroying all the UFOs in a 3D environment. Well as 3D as you can get on the SEGA CD. The depth perception is a little weird at first but these stages are good once you get the hang of things. Clearing an extra stage gains you a “Time Stone”. Get all 7 Time Stones to unlock the game’s true ending animated video.
One thing I love about Sonic CD is the music. Thanks to the power of the SEGA CD, the game can pump out CD quality sound and music and Sonic CD brings the beat. The soundtrack is different based on what version of the game you have. The US version goes for a darker rock and ambient feel as the Japanese soundtrack goes for a more 90s groove that makes you want to jam. I dig both soundtracks as they go for different styles and give the game a different atmosphere. Personally, I like the Japanese soundtrack a little more but the US OST doesn’t miss either. They both bring different atmospheres to the game so it’s no doubt worth playing with both soundtracks. This is possible with digital releases of Sonic CD.
Overall, Sonic CD is a blast to play and a must play for any old school Sonic fan. The game is pretty common on most online gaming stores with a remastered version that includes the game and tons of modes along with it. This I think is the best way to play Sonic CD as again, you don’t have to deal with longer load times from the original version and you get both versions of the soundtrack as to just one. The levels are fantastic and the time travel feature is a really cool spin on the Sonic formula, it’s not perfect, but is a cool feature and makes CD stand out from other Sonic games and makes it stand out on its own. Many Sonic fans will go to the original trilogy but if you’re an old school Sonic fan and have not had the chance to play Sonic CD, then it’s a must play and is without a doubt worth checking out.
