(Originally published to Glitchwave on 12/10/2022)
[Image from igdb.com]
Sonic CD
Developer: Sonic Team
Publisher: Sega
Genre(s): 2D Platformer
Platforms: Sega CD (Genesis/Mega Drive)
Release Date: September 23, 1993
Even though Sonic CD does not fall under the same garish trappings seen in most other games on the Sega CD, Sega still used the quasi-cinematic technology the peripheral provided to some extent. Sonic CD begins with an opening cutscene that details some exposition that formally introduces Sonic’s journey, as opposed to springing the player into action mere seconds after seeing the title screen. Sonic is seen sprinting through a rocky field, and the urgency of the scene is unclear because it’s not as if Sonic has the ability to walk casually at a relaxed pace on his off time. Once Sonic stops to look at the sky, the missing context is given with the looming shadow of Robotnik’s newest creation. Apparently, Robotnik has taken full advantage of the annual presence of a “little planet” that appears over Morbius’s stratosphere. The mad doctor has colonized the celestial body and turned it into a concrete jungle with him and his critter-powered robots as its new residents. Robotnik’s massive influence over Morbius’s orbit strikes Sonic as a bad omen, so he plans to deal with the source of Robotnik’s presence directly by running up the chain, tethering his creation to the ground. Meanwhile, a pink girl hedgehog (Amy Rose in her earliest form) is being held captive by Metal Sonic on the industrial globe. Sonic CD’s opening cinematic is breathtaking, showcasing a blend of anime art stylings that keep up with Sonic’s turbulent speed. I’m now convinced that Sega intentionally inhibited the budget for every other game released on the Sega CD to make damn sure that their precious Sonic outshined them all. The opening of Sonic CD silences all of the Sega CD’s critics by proving the hardware's capabilities. Concerning the graphics of the actual game, Sonic CD looks like a slightly tuned-up version of the visuals from the games on the base Genesis console. The subtle difference on display here gives the visuals a fleshy tint that makes the overall aesthetic look sharper. Backgrounds and foregrounds here are so strikingly detailed that it’s borderline excessive, a testament to the fact that Sega used the Sega CD’s hardware to deliver that bombastic Sonic presentation.
Sonic CD is still a tried and true Sonic title, regardless of the cinematic properties associated with the Sega CD add-on. All of the enhancements Sonic 2 introduced, like the spin dash, have been solidified, translating Sonic’s evolution to a technically superior piece of hardware. As for what Sonic CD brings to expand on that evolution in terms of gameplay, the developers fully realized the Sega CD’s flashier potential and decided to revel in it. Coinciding with the more striking visuals, Sonic’s gameplay has never been so glitzy and filled with kinetic pomp. Palmtree Panic Zone, the opening zone of Sonic CD, separates itself from every previous first Sonic level that touts that tropical valley setting with a few new frills. The roller coaster ramps seen across most Sonic levels have been heightened to the scope of skyscrapers, with a visual twist of the camera focusing behind Sonic while he’s trailing up the towering foundations to highlight their length in the most three-dimensional spectacle the series has seen up to this point. On the same level, Sonic is thrust through the interior crust of the land, and his speedy ejection point is outlined like when a cartoon character bursts through a wall. Collision Chaos Zone has more springs and pinball bumpers than the casino-themed Casino Night Zone from Sonic 2, and the chibi Sonic that sprouts up from the exposure to the shrink ray in Metallic Madness Zone is adorable. These unseen touches are nice, but not all of them are so benign. Wacky Workbench’s design theme involves Sonic having to keep to the bottom of the level and avoid being sprung up to the upper portion, where he’ll meet nothing but dead ends. The problem is that the floating platforms near the bottom levitate from side to side, and landing on them from above takes some luck-based guesswork. The machinations of Stardust Speedway are so enclosed to a certain trajectory that I got Sonic stuck. Metallic Madness is so labyrinthian in design that I got lost trying to make my way to the goal. I repeat: I got lost in a Sonic level. Overall, the added perks of Sonic CD, whether they be amusing or nauseating, amount to nothing but gimmicks.
All of Sonic CD’s level gimmicks take a backseat to its primary new feature: the time warp mechanic. Each level is littered with signposts that either say past or future on them and running at a continuously swift momentum with a blue light tailing behind will transport Sonic to the period stated on the last signpost Sonic came in contact with. Past levels have a much more organic look to them, like Green Hill Zone, while future levels look a grimier Chemical Plant Zone. If the player destroys the Robotnik robot generator found in the past, warping to the future will see a brighter, more optimistic outlook for the level. This gameplay mechanic underlines a pertinent theme that Sonic CD conveys. Seeing the beautiful topological nature of the little planet compared to the present day of Robotnik’s adulteration is a clear distinction that spells out a clear ecological message. Sonic has always been relatively eco-friendly, what with being the savior of Mobius’s fauna being kept in giant capsules. In Sonic CD, there is something more overt with the flowers that pop up after a robot is destroyed like Sonic is expunging Robotnik’s industrial influence with one machine being destroyed at a time. As a game mechanic, warping time is a tad undercooked. The differences in each level’s time mostly correlate to aesthetic changes, as any changes in level layout are only slight. Shifting between periods also seems to be executed by luck, considering the constant obstacles in Sonic’s path guarantee that instances, where he can build up enough speed to time travel, are scarce.
The only instance where the gimmicks aid Sonic CD is with the Robotnik encounters. A commonality between the first and second Sonic games is that fighting Robotnik at the end of every third act was not challenging. All of the schemes Robotnik devised to halt Sonic from ruining his diabolical plans were amusing at best but proved ineffective. In Sonic CD, Robotnik’s attempts are just as ill-fated and poorly conceived, but at least I can give Robotnik an A for effort. Robotnik’s encounters are some of the most creative short boss impediments so far in the series. After chasing Robotnik through the narrow halls of the third act of Tidal Tempest, destroying Robotnik’s hover pod with one spin dash is a matter of depleting his shield, a series of rotating bubbles. Sonic’s only devices in surviving underwater are also Robotnik's, and something is satisfying about Sonic literally sucking away at Robotnik’s defenses. The end of Quartz Quadrant sees Robotnik in an impenetrable piston, but unlike the final bout of the first game, where Sonic must spin on it a dozen times, he must erode it with the friction caused by the stage’s conveyor belt. Robotnik’s fight at the end of Metallic Madness is a multi-staged duel where the player has to memorize the formations his robotic mech shifts into, almost like a formidable boss battle. Key word: almost.
Robotnik only receives points for inventiveness, but luckily, Sonic CD offers a worthy contender. Just last game released only a year prior to Sonic CD, Metal Sonic was in its prototype stage as an ugly tin can that served as a slight barrier before fighting Robotnik for the final time in Sonic 2. In Sonic CD, Metal Sonic has been refurbished with a glowing blue sheen to convey a much stronger resemblance to Sonic, making him a worthy rival instead of a crude imitation. Metal Sonic showcases this equal footing to Sonic in the last act of Stardust Speedway, where a race between flesh and blood Sonic and his metallic counterpart takes place as the level’s boss. The race against Metal Sonic is the most challenging single portion of a Sonic game thus far. Metal Sonic’s innate speed isn’t as fast as Sonic’s, but that energized boost he performs puts him on an equal standing. Spikes are littered all over the course to impede Sonic, and failing to cross the finish line before Metal Sonic will result in Robotnik blasting Sonic with an unavoidable laser that kills Sonic regardless of how many rings he has. Metal Sonic practically takes center stage as the game’s antagonist for this tense moment.
I’d hate the trial-and-error difficulty that factors into the race against Metal Sonic, but Sonic CD is strangely accommodating. Considering my consistent grievance with the previous two Sonic games, one would think that Sonic CD was my clear favorite thus far. Why do I say this? Because the radical technology of the Sega CD has gifted a Sonic title with the ability to continue after dying. Yes, after all of the ribbing I’ve done regarding Sega’s pension for lacking merciful penalties in their games on the Genesis, the system’s “advanced” peripheral finally gives the player some reasonable leeway in regard to failure. I’m fairly relieved at this, but I’m not jumping for joy because the reason for offering continues is not due to Sega going soft on players. The previous Sonic games played with the idea of unlocking a “true” ending, achieved if the player completes all of the special stages and unlocks Super Sonic by grabbing each special stage’s Chaos Emerald. Sonic CD also has special stages where Chaos Emeralds are the reward, and spin jumping on six UFOs is much easier than collecting rings speeding through a halfpipe or being subjected to the rotations of an ephemeral device. Unlike the two previous games, completing the special stages in Sonic CD does not contribute to unlocking the game’s “true ending.” Hell, Super Sonic isn’t even available in Sonic CD. Instead, the player must destroy all of Robotnik’s generators found across each level's past sections. Doing this will unlock the true ending because it will ultimately prevent Robotnik’s industrialization of this floating, organic land mass before it ever happens. Even if the player doesn’t destroy every single generator, the “bad ending” is still sufficient in my book. Sonic saves Amy, and Robotnik’s ties with his new project are severed as it becomes too unstable. Sonic blows his pod to smithereens as he attempts to fly away. The ending screen still shows the planet shackled to the earth, with the text stating “try again” at the bottom, implying that the player failed. I say let the planet sit in the sky as a perpetual eyesore because the qualifications for restoring it to its biotic self are excruciating. Nothing compliments a game revolving around speed like a meticulous scavenger hunt, right? Searching every nook and cranny of the stage is completely counterintuitive to Sonic’s gameplay. The developers implemented continues so the player wouldn’t feel the stress of constraints on their shoulders while finding these, but they never asked themselves if the idea was sound in the first place. Is this really what it takes for Sega to stop treating their games like arcade machines?
The “revolutionary” Sega CD was intended to give Sonic the extra boost missing in his titles on the regular ol’ Genesis console. The only aspect Sonic CD added that proved refreshing was implementing continues, an aspect sorely needed in a Sonic title. Other than that, all the kooky additions tacked on to Sonic CD amount to nothing but snazzy window dressing. They do not add or necessarily detract from the classic Sonic experience, but adding all of these gimmicks when the Sonic series was still developing its stride was not the correct direction for the series. I can’t be all too enthralled about the continue feature as is because its utility is intended for something tedious and laughably inappropriate for Sonic. I should've known this was Sega’s idea of evolution because the company has a history of administering superficial game changes and calling it progress. Sonic CD is a competent title that feels unique and best played by ignoring all of the fetch quest bullshit Sega wants you to adhere to. The most unfortunate matter is that with the advances the game had over all the other Sonic games, its full potential was ultimately squandered.
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