i played through the next entry in the sonic series, sonic the hedgehog CD orig. released for the sega CD (although i played it via the sonic gems collection on gamecube; apparently a PC version was also released way back when and nowadays you can also get a downloadable version that runs on more-modern versions of windows).
anyway, although i’d enjoyed sonic 2 a few years ago, this iteration was just too same-y compared to the previous two games. the locales are all pretty much the same as are the general aesthetics (although defeated enemies turn into flowers instead of cute litttle critters), and although the past/present/bad future/good future mechanic was interesting the game doesn’t really provide much incentive to try to get the best ending. the bonus stage was too hard, and aside from the soundtrack, which was noticeably better than most games, there wasn’t much that was memorable about the game. the main exceptions would be the traditional animation of the intro and epilogue, and the introduction of sonic series staple, amy rose (called “princess sally” in the original US release), and baddie metal sonic (although it was preceded by mecha sonic in sonic 2). the game also has a race sequence with sonic vs. metal sonic, although that was memorable more because of how frustrating it was than being a cool experience.
apparently the game was created in parallel to sonic 2, which perhaps explains their similarities. i’m hoping that sonic 3 (which was originally released just two-and-a-half months after sonic CD) will be a step forward, but at least i’m making some progress on getting caught up on the series.
tuneful sonic CD links:
– easter egg of what happens if sonic is left idle for three minutes
– entry at sonic.wikia.com, which includes sprites of the enemies and a run-down of all the bosses
– entry at wikipedia
– entry at howlongtobeat.com
video games rock 