Saturn trilogy: Sonic 3D Blast, Sonic R, and Sonic Jam
Three Saturn games in one Medium post.
To wrap up the Sonic trilogy on Medium, we need three Sega Saturn games featuring Sonic and his friends. First up would be Sonic 3D Blast (Sonic 3D: Flickies’ Island in Europe, Japan, and Australia).
To kick things off, we’ll be showing off Sonic 3D Blast, also known in Europe and Japan (Saturn only) as Sonic 3D: Flickies’ Island (ソニック3D フリッキーアイランド), a 1996 platform game for the Sega Genesis and Sega Saturn. We’ll stick with the Sega Saturn version, as our copies of Sonic Mega Collection Plus for the PS2 and Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection (Europe: Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection) for the PS3 and Xbox 360 have the Genesis version.
The Saturn version’s music and graphics look more lively than the Genesis version. The Saturn version’s soundtrack was composed and produced by Richard Jacques and features the song “You’re My Hero” performed by Debbie Morris, which is played during the credits.
Players control Sonic the Hedgehog, whose goal is to save the Flickies, collect the seven Chaos Emeralds, and defeat Doctor Robotnik and his robot army. Sonic retains most of his abilities from prior games: he can jump and spin in mid-air to defeat robots or hop on platforms, perform a spin-dash on the ground to gain speed, and collects rings as a form of health. Sonic can also collect power-ups, such as elemental shields, speed shoes, or invincibility, by breaking television monitors containing them. The game is split into several levels called zones. Every zone has three acts: two standard levels, where the player must collect Flickies by defeating robots in order to proceed; and a boss fight against Robotnik, without any Flicky-collecting involved. In normal levels, once the player collects all five Flickies from each section of an act, Sonic is either further advanced into the act, or taken to the next act. If Sonic and the following Flickies are hit by an obstacle or enemy, the Flickies and the rings Sonic collected will scatter.
As with previous games, Sonic 3D Blast includes “special stages”, in which the player collects Chaos Emeralds. Obtaining all seven Emeralds allows the player to play the final boss battle and discover the true ending of the game. To access these stages, the player must find one of Sonic’s friends (either Tails or Knuckles the Echidna) hidden within a level, and stand next to them with at least 50 rings collected. Here’s the link to the game’s OST on YouTube, if you want to listen to it.
It’s all for one and one for all! Another Sonic game that we want to review! Dig it, while the 1997 racing video game Sonic R takes flight! The lyrics go like this:
Everybody’s Super Sonic Racing, try to keep your feet right on the ground! When you’re Super Sonic Racing, there’s no time to look around! We’re just Super Sonic Racing, runnin’ to the point of no return! Everybody’s Super Sonic Racing, come on, let the fires burn!
The player races one of ten Sonic characters in various Sonic-themed race tracks as they attempt to stop Doctor Robotnik from stealing the Chaos Emeralds and enslaving the world. Sonic R features single-player and multiplayer game modes, and while similar to kart racing games such as Mario Kart, it emphasizes jumping and exploration. By collecting items and completing objectives, players can unlock secret characters.
Sonic R is a racing video game with single-player and multiplayer modes. The player selects a character and participates in a footrace on one of five race tracks, competing for the fastest time ahead of the other racers. Four characters are initially available, while the other six are secret characters that become available when the player completes certain in-game objectives. Although the gameplay is considered similar to kart racing games such as the Mario Kart series, Sonic R emphasizes jumping and exploration, as each track has multiple paths and hidden areas. The tracks, although original creations are thematically based on the art style and environments of classic Sonic games such as Sonic the Hedgehog’s “Green Hill Zone” and Sonic the Hedgehog 2’s “Chemical Plant Zone”.
The next one up would be a 1997 Sega Saturn game, we never owned it as we used to have a Sega Saturn. Nothing special, we would watch people restore vintage video game consoles back to life. We call it Sonic Jam because… that is its name.
Sonic Jam is a compilation that contains the four main Sonic the Hedgehog games released on the Sega Genesis: Sonic the Hedgehog (1991), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992), Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994), and Sonic & Knuckles (1994). Unlike later Sonic collections, Sonic Jam does not use a Genesis emulator; the games are true ports, and all are nearly identical to the original Genesis releases, except for minor bug fixes.
Sonic Jam also includes a special 3D environment, “Sonic World”, whereby the player can move around freely as Sonic and interact with various objects. “Sonic World” acts as an interactive museum in which the player can access an array of information on Sonic the Hedgehog-related content, such as viewing concept artwork, manuals, character portfolios, music, and original Japanese advertisements.
All done here? See you next time! GOTTA GO FAST!
