Cube Posted January 27, 2023 Author Posted January 27, 2023 Sonic the Hedgehog’s Gameworld Original platform: Sega Pico Original release: August 1994 Available to buy: No The first thing to talk about with this is the console it appears on: the Sega Pico. This is an “edutainment” device released in 1993. The internals were the same as a Mega Drive, but it featured a drawing pad and a pen, and the cartridges were books. The console can recognise which page you are on, and you can even press parts of the book to activate things in the game. This game is a collection of minigames that take place in an amusement arcade. Each page of the book features a collection of minigames, plus some short dialogue (some of it voiced) from the characters. The first page features a car race where you have to tap a button to go fast, a Skee-Ball minigame where you have to select the right power to aim your ball, a climbing game where you tap fast to win, and a basketball hoop game where you have to aim to shoot balls into hoops (although I found it easier to just aim forward and wait for the moving targets to align). The second page has a Simon Says flag matching game, a crane machine where you pick up toys, and Whac-A-Mole where you have to tap the drawing pad to hit Dr. Robotnik. The third page has three mini games. One based on the “ball under a cup” game where a bird hides inside an egg and is swapped around with empty eggs and a card game where you have to match pairs of cards. The third is a battle between Sonic and Dr. Robotnik where they’re throwing rings at each other. You press a button and a random icon is selected which determines who gets to throw a ring. The final page of games has a game that is a bit like “Finders Keepers”. You have to run around multiple floors of a building, looking under everything for emeralds. Then the game has an extra page where you get to colour in and draw. In the Japanese version, it features casino based minigames instead, like a roulette wheel. For the intended audience, it’s a pretty fun minigame collection, and as it focuses on “dexterity”, feels like it’s much heavier on the “video game” side of things than “educational”. Wacky Worlds Creativity Studio Original platform: Mega Drive Original release: November 1994 Available to buy: No This is much more of an activity more than a game, and came with a mouse. It features six themed worlds: A sci-fi planet, fantasy kingdom, halloween, safari, dolls house and underwater. You can place stickers throughout the level. Some of these stickers are animated and you can recolour them. For the visual aspect of the game, that’s it. I made an image of Tails being attacked by a Metroid. The other mode of the game is a music maker, but I couldn’t figure out how to use it to make anything good. Considering that this came out a few years after Mario Paint, this is extremely bare bones and doesn’t even feature any actual drawing. Sonic the Hedgehog: Card Game (Waddington’s) Original Platform: Board Game Original Release: 1994 Not played: expensive to get second hand A Sonic board game from 1994 from British card manufacturer Waddingtons. The aim of the game is to get rid of all your cards. You play character card into the middle of the table, while a ring card is played by your deck and ends your turn. Sonic the Hedgehog 3D Action Game Original Platform: Board Game Original Release: 1994 Not played: expensive to get second hand This is a “spin and move X spaces” game. You either gain rings or lost them. Once you reach the flipper spot, you have to try and catapult your Sonic to the higher level, then proceed to defeat Dr. Robotnik. If you miss the second level, you have to move back round to the flipper again. Sonic Spinball (LCD Game) Original platform: LCD game Original release: 1994 Available to buy: No Not played: Cost of buying second hand too high. An LCD version of Sonic Spinball. This is a single-screen pinball game with limited ball positions and features. For an LCD game, it’s much easier to follow than the platform LCD games, and seems like it’s something enjoyable enough for a quick blast every now and then. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (LCD Game) Original platform: LCD game Original release: 1994 Available to buy: No This LCD I had the actual physical device. I forgot how horrible these were to use, with screens that are very difficult to see so you need bright light, but then the bright light causes a lot of glare on the screen you you can’t see what’s happening due to that. They really are a nightmare to use. The Sonic 3 LCD is similar to the previous ones, move to the right and defeat enemies until you get to the end of the level. In this, you’ll sometimes fall in water and need to jump out before a timer runs out. There’s no way to see which sections of the level are gaps you can fall down or walk across. I found that just mashing right, up and attack would work for getting through most of the game. Amazing Sonic (LCD Game) Original platform: LCD game Original release: 1994 Available to buy: No Not played: Cost of buying second hand too high. Amazing Sonic is a typical maze LDC game. You have to navigate Sonic around the maze to collect chaos emeralds. These games are always frustrating ad you only see a tiny potion of the maze at any one time. The rather random background of this one would make it even more difficult to see. Sonic Blast (LCD Game) Original platform: LCD game Original release: 1994 Available to buy: No Not played: Cost of buying second hand too high. This one seems very difficult to find actual image or footage of – I managed to find one very low quality YouTube video of it. Sonic Blast has nothing to do with the Game Gear game (or the 3D Blast games), it just happens to have used the same name before either of those were made. From what I can tell of the game, it’s a bit like a pinball game. You launch Sonic into the “machine” and he will bounce around. Instead of using flippers, you move platforms to fill in gaps to keep Sonic bouncing around until he bounces into everything he needs to complete. I don’t think you have any other control other than filling in the gaps. Sonic 3 Limited Edition Original Platform: Mega Drive Original Release: Cancelled (In Development 1994) Version Played: Tested two prototypes Available to buy: No All in all, this is just a very buggy version of Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Sega were planning on releasing the full Sonic 3 & Knuckles game on a single cartridge, without needing the lock-on. For some reason it never happened, but a couple of prototypes exist. 3
Dcubed Posted January 27, 2023 Posted January 27, 2023 I think you've categorically shown that there are WAY too many Sonic LCD games... 1
Cube Posted January 27, 2023 Author Posted January 27, 2023 3 minutes ago, Dcubed said: I think you've categorically shown that there are WAY too many Sonic LCD games... Just wait until I get to the McDonald ones. (That said, those ones actually understand that LCD games should be very simple games) 1
Cube Posted January 31, 2023 Author Posted January 31, 2023 Sonic Drift 2 Original Platform: Game Gear Original release: 18th March 1995 Available to buy: No While the first Sonic Drift was extremely brand, this one is immensely better. The control feels smoother and it has an increased sense of speed, but by far the biggest change is the levels. There are a lot more level themes this time around, and levels can have their own gimmicks. A few levels take place in tunnels, with the second one subject to earthquakes which causes rocks to fall down. One has jumps which need to be hit straight on, otherwise you’ll collide with the side of it. One takes place on water, and if you slow down you’ll sink. They levels feel imaginative and make such a big difference to the overall feel of the game. Sonic Drift 2 is a pretty good kart racing game, and somehow manages to look way better than a Game Gear game should do. Knuckles’ Chaotix Original Platform: Mega Drive 32X Original release: 21st April 1994 Available to buy: No The only Sonic game on the 32X add-on for the Mega Drive, and also the only Mega Drive Sonic game that has never received a re-release. While the Chaotix characters have been used again, Sega have let the game itself remain locked away. The main gimmick in Knuckles’ Chaotix is an interesting idea, but also its biggest weakness. You play as Knuckles, who is tethered to another character. In the main game, this is decided by a crane game, although if you get Heavy in this (a very slow robot), you may as well restart the game. This character is controlled by the computer with mixed resutls. There are some nice mechanics as part of this setup. You can hold a button to pause the computer player in place, building up tension to shoot off at high speed, you can also throw them to reach higher platforms – although most of the time they’ll bounce back at you. Unfortunately, a lot of the time this setup can be frustrating, the other character can get caught on platforms you don’t want and cause you to fail jumps. It’s a shame as the running and jumping feels smooth, and the sense of speed is phenomenal – the game is extremely impressive when you get to go at full pelt for a bit. But it’s not just the tethering mechanic that gets in the way: it’s the level design. It rarely feels like you’re progressing in a level. There are five different level themes (each with five acts), but every part of a level looks identical. This is fine for more linear levels, but the levels in Chaotix are more maze-like. Every now and then you’ll be going back on yourself and won’t notice straight away. Finding the end point just feels like stumbling in the dark. It’s a shame as when it works well, Knuckles Chaotix is a ton of fun. Unfortunately, these moments are surrounded by a lot of frustration. Tails’ Skypatrol Original Platform: Game Gear Original release: 28th April 1995 Available to buy: No Despite its cute style, this might be the most difficult Sonic game. You control Tails as he flies around with his ring gadget. You can throw this to enemies and interact with objects using it. The screen will automatically scroll to the right, and you need to interact with objects like mine carts, weights, balloons and poles to get Tails into the right position. There are also enemies that shoot at you. If you touch the ground or ceiling, you die. When enemies hit you, Tails will spin out of control for a bit (and if he touches the ground, he dies). Some objects will also cause Tails to die. With how small the Game Gear’s screen is, you don’t get much time to react. So there will be a lot of death. If that doesn’t sound bad enough, then you’re in look. Tails has a limited flight meter. If this runs out, you die. So you have to make sure you collect sweets to fill this up while avoiding everything else. This game is difficult in a rather frustrating way. One other odd thing is the boss design – they look like they were made for a different game, they look like characters from a toddler’s TV show. Sonic Crackers Original Platform: Mega Drive (Unreleased) Original Release: None (prior to Knuckles’ Chaotix) Available to buy: No A very early prototype for an unreleased Sonic game, with the concept becoming Knuckles’ Chaotix. Sonic and Tails are tethered by rings and, just like Knuckles Chaotix, you have to use this to get around the level. The jump, hold and pick up are all on the same button, and there’s no way to recall the other player. There are only two levels in the prototype. The first is a tall level where you have to get to the top of a rocket. It looks lovely and is a lot off fun to play, with the game being very speedy and being able to run up tall walls with ease. It’s also available in different colours, reflecting different times of the day, so it seems possible that each level was going to be set throughout a day to make them look a bit different. The other level is a very long linear level, although this has sections with no collision and parts where you can’t progress without going into debug mode. It’s definitely interesting to see the early ideas for Chaotix. Sonic’s Schoolhouse Original platform: PC Original Release: 18th October 1996 Available to buy: No An educational Sonic game that controls like Doom (but with no shooting, although Dr. Robotnik is pretty terrifying in this). This was created for PC and really feels like a different game with a Sonic license slapped on top. You move around a corridor with four main rooms: two maths, spelling and reading. All of these work in the same way: there’s a large central room with lots of either numbers, letters or pictures on balloons and blackboard with questions. You pick up the answer from the room and take it to the blackboard to unlock a door. This will lead to more questions/doors and then you can collect your reward: either a Sonic play token, a field trip bus token or a key to skip a door. In half of the middle room, there is monstrous Dr Robotnik who will eat the items you have picked up. You can set difficulty levels from kindergarten to fourth grade (although I have no idea what ages they represent). I found the spelling one on the highest difficulty to be quite hard, especially as multiple words can sometimes “fit” and you have to waste guesses trying various words that would fit the spaces, but isn’t what the game wants. In the garden are two games you can play: one has you running around collecting rings, the other is the memory game “pairs” with statues. You can also go on a field trip where you can listen to the various characters (all different animals) say facts about themselves. It’s fine for an educational title, but it really does feel like they took something else, threw in Sonic and put up some Sonic posters in the rooms. Sonic 3D Blast (Mega Drive) Original platform: Mega Drive Original Release: 8th November 1996 Version played: Mega Drive Director’s Cut Available to buy: Yes I was actually very surprised by this. The version I played wasn’t the original, but an enhanced version by the original programmer of the game. It increases the speed and adds some nice little touches. Sonic 3D Blast is an isometric platformer and also a kind of sequel to Flicky. You have to explore the “3D” environment, killing enemies to collect Flickies and then keeping them with you until you get to a large ring where you can progress. Getting hit will cause the Flickies to panic, meaning you need to pick them up again (the little icon in the bottom corner will shake so you know you’ve lost one). I found the controls to be very responsive, and aiming my jumps was very easy. I ended up enjoying the game a lot, even if it is very different from most other Sonic games. I really think that this could have been an interesting new IP if they replaced Sonic, as the expectations from a Sonic platformer is a lot higher. Sonic 3D Blast (Saturn) Original Platform: Saturn Original release: 14th February 1997 AKA: Sonic 3D: Flickies’ Island Available to buy: No While I was impressed with the Mega Drive version of Sonic 3D Blast, the Saturn version, while looking nicer, is not as nice to play, especially when you add in context that this was the Saturn’s Sonic platformer and what its competition on the rival platform was: Super Mario 64. This version of 3D Blast is mostly the same game as the Mega Drive version, but with completely different graphics. They’re still not actual 3D, but they look absolutely gorgeous, especially in motion. The downside is that I found it much more difficult to see where I was in relation to the level, resulting in more missed jumps and not hitting enemies. Some of the levels, like Gene Gadget Zone, even made me feel dizzy. There’s a lot more physics applied to slopes as well, which made those sections frustrating as Sonic will slide and jump off them at odd angles. The ice level is also much worse, due to Sonic slipping much more. If you want to play 3D Blast, I highly recommend the Mega Drive Director’s Cut version. Sonic Jam Original Platform: Saturn Original release: 20th June 1997 Available to buy: No Sonic Jam is a compilation of the following Sonic games Sonic the Hedgehog Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Sonic 3 & Knuckles It also features it’s own 3D Sonic level which houses all the bonus material: soundtracks, galleries, some videos and more. There are also some challenges within this level to complete. The movement is quite fluid, although the camera is pretty bad. If the Saturn had been more successful, I wonder if this would have been the basis for a full Sonic game on the system. The versions of the original games are also modified (with the originals still available). These make changes to the layout to make the game easier, such as stopping some annoying falls, although the implementation is a bit sloppy. One clear example is the moving platforms just after the invincibility in Green Hill Zone act 2: They’ve added additional platforms underneath the moving platforms, but it’s really obvious from the graphics that they weren’t originally there. It does add some nice stuff, like better scrolling clouds and better water effects. There’s also an “easy” moves which adds more platforms, removes obstacles and even completely skips some levels. Sonic 3D Blast (LCD Game) Original platform: LCD game Original release: 1997 Available to buy: No Not played: Cost of buying second hand too high. An attempt at creating a 3D world using a calculator screen. You have to avoid shots from a cannon while trying to find beehive-looking enemies to destroy to create flickies. Once you have enough, you can fight Dr Robotnik and complete the game. Navigating around the “3D” world using this sounds like it would be a nightmare. Sonic’s Bonus Game Original Platform: Flash Original Release: 1997 Available to buy: No The earliest Sonic flash game. This was a flash version of the special stage from Sonic 3D Blast and was used for competitions on Sega’s website. It’s very choppy, with Sonic’s movement not felling in sync with your actions. The objective is to collect the most rings while dodging or jumping over obstacles. 1 2
Dcubed Posted February 1, 2023 Posted February 1, 2023 (edited) Knuckles Chaotix is a real shame. The concept definitely has potential (so much so that it’s no surprise that SEGA revisited the concept not once, but twice! With Sonic Heroes and Sonic Advance 3). The level design is just so utterly, stonkingly shite though; you’d think it was designed by Virgin Interactive. BTW, you’re absolutely right to think that @Cube. Sonic Jam’s Sonic World was made with leftover assets from a cancelled 3D Sonic game (which was eventually retooled into Sonic Adventure). Edited February 1, 2023 by Dcubed 1
Cube Posted February 3, 2023 Author Posted February 3, 2023 Sonic (Keychain LCD Game) Original platform: LCD game Original release: 1998 Available to buy: No Not played: Cost of buying second hand too high. A teeny tiny LCD game on a keyring. Details on this one are very scarce, but it seems to be a “platformer” similar to the Sonic 1-3 LDC games. It looks like a mess to see and control based on the footage I’ve found. Sonic R (LCD Game) Original platform: LCD game Original release: 1998 Available to buy: No Not played: Cost of buying second hand too high. An LCD game based on the racing game Sonic R. You have to finish the course by avoiding obstacles, collecting items and hitting speed boosts. If you complete it in under 90 seconds you’ll get some bonus points. Sonic Shuffle Original Platform: Dreamcast Original Release: 14th November 2000 Available to buy: No This is Sonic’s attempt at Mario Party. It has some neat ideas of its own, but the execution is not so good. Instead of rolling a dice, you choose a card from your deck to move around. In multiplier, these are displayed on the Dreamcast memory card’s screen (if not everyone has one, then they’re shown on screen and you can shuffle them around after your turn). If you don’t have a card you want to use, you can pick a random card from an opponent and hope for the best. After you pick your card, you then choose which way around the board you want to go, heading for the stone to collect. An action will then happen based on the tile you land one. This will mainly be gain or lose coins, but there are also ones that trigger mini events, minigames or battles – including the tiles to earn a precioustone. The battles work by the enemy showing a card and you picking a higher one. There will then be a roulette and you have to stop it on a number matching or higher than the enemy to win the prize. The levels are a bit of a mess, though, with annoying layouts and paths that get blocked. There are also some tiles that only certain characters can get past. Sonic has none of these and instead gets double movement when playing the same number two turns in a row – which I found to get in the way more often than being useful. Sonic Shuffle has a storyline that is not only way to complicated to explain why everyone is playing a board game (a villain has taken over the dream world and put the goddess to sleep, shattering the stones that were protecting dreams), yet it fails to explain why Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy are all competing against each other. In the story mode, if you don’t come in first place, you have to do the stage again – and this is with the full amount of stones which can take 3-4 hours to complete. On top of this, the AI cheats at the game and will almost always win. They have the ability to pick the card they want from any player. With this and the length of time to try a stage, I instead tested the levels out in Verses instead. With four players, Sonic Shuffle can be a really fun game with some really nice ideas that make it more than just a bad Mario Party clone, but the moment an AI is introduced, it ruins the fun. Sonic Underground (LCD Game) Original platform: LCD game Original release: 2000 Available to buy: No Not played: Cost of buying second hand too high. An LCD game based on the rockin’ Sonic cartoon Sonic Underground. This LCD platform game is the most feature packed so far. Sonic’s speed constantly decreases unless you flick a large switch on the device, and you can collect multiple power ups to help defeat enemies and skip parts of the level. The objective is to make your way past all the enemies to reach the end of the level. Sonic Adventure (LCD Game) Original platform: LCD game Original release: 2000 Available to buy: No Not played: Cost of buying second hand too high. This is very different to all the other Sonic LCD games as it uses a full pixelated screen (like the Game Boy) instead of the calculator-style ones. This means that the graphics aren’t limited based on one sprite per location. That said, the gameplay does look as limited as the other LCD games. Based on footage, it looks like you move left/right and occasionally jump to hit enemies. Sonic the Hedgehog (2001 Sonic Cafe) Platform: Sonic Cafe Original Release: 18th June 2001 Available to buy: No Not played: No ROMs known to exist. This game launched the Japanese mobile platform Sonic Cafe – a service where certain phones had access to unique java-based mobile games. Unfortunately, most of these games have been lost to time and no copy of it is known to exist, only screenshots and descriptions form the old Sonic Cafe website. This one is a very basic platformer where the goal is to go fast and collect rings, avoiding enemies as you do so. The levels are extremely basic, although still more advanced than any of the LCD games. Sonic Tennis Original Platform: Sonic Cafe Version Played: 2004 edition. Original Release: 19th June 2001 Available to buy: No A mobile tennis game, and a pretty basic one. You have to beat Tails, Amy and then Knuckles in a best-of-3 tennis match. Get into position and hold the swing button to charge up your shot. Each opponent gets more difficult as you get through the game – Tails will get outs most of the time, while Knuckles is quite tough, especially for the game’s clunky controls. The game got a graphical update in 2004, which is the version I played, but the game itself is identical. 1 3
Dcubed Posted February 4, 2023 Posted February 4, 2023 Bloody hell! These LCD games are like little tumours that just keep popping up after you squash them! 2 1 3
Cube Posted February 6, 2023 Author Posted February 6, 2023 Sonic Logic, Sonic Head-On, Sonic’s Bomb Squad, Sonic J Original Platform: Mobile Original release: 2001 Available to buy: No Not played: Very little information available. In 2001, Sega released a bunch of phones on a Motorola black and white phone, but very little information is known about them. Sonic Logic is described as “Use your brain and the hedgehog to win” but I can't even find a screenshot. Sonic Head-On appears to be a port of an old Sega arcade game called “Head-On”. It’s a collect-the-dots maze game (but from before Pac-Man) where you have to also avoid the computer-controlled car. I think the fuzzy dot is supposed to represent Sonic. In the original game, it was two cars that looked identical in different colours. In Sonic's Bomb Squad you have to “Grab the bombs before they blow”. It looks like you control Sonic from a top down view, trying to run into all the bombs before time tuns out. Nothing else is known about this. Finally, Sonic J says “Jump and collect. Easy as that” and is probably an auto runner where the aim is to collect as many rings as possible. Sonic Golf Platform: Sonic Cafe Original Release: 28th January 2002 Available to buy: No Not played: No ROMs known to exist. A top down golf game featuring Sonic the Hedgehog – although barely. From the screenshots, Sonic never appears in gameplay, all you see is a tiny golf ball, he just appears in menu screens. A couple more mobile golf games featuring Sonic were released at later dates. Speed Original Platform: Sonic Cafe Original Release: 28th January 2002 Available to buy: No Not played: No ROMs known to exist. Speed is a card game where the aim is to get rid of all your cards as fast as possible. Each player is dealt 15 cards and they have a hand of 5, with two card in the middle and the rest forming two stacks. A card can be played on top of a card one above or below itself (so a 4 on top of a 5 or 3). It’s all about being fast. If no player can play a card, each player draws from the middle decks to replace the two visible cards and then continue. The first one to get rid of their cards wins. The mobile version of this seems to reduce the hand size by three. I really can’t see how this can be appealing to play against a computer, but it was popular enough to get two improvements, Speed DX and Sonic Speed DX. Sonic Fishing Original Platform: Sonic Cafe Original Release: 28th January 2002 Version Played: 2004 update Available to buy: No A fishing game where you can select lures based on Sonic, Tails or Dr. Robotnik. While fishing is relaxing, this game is the complete opposite. The time limit is extremely tight and you barely have time to think before you fail. Catching a fish will give you a points and add three seconds, although the game also likes giving you trash, which will give you zero points and zero added time. This game will annoy anyone in less than 20 seconds. This was updated in 2004 (the version I played) Good Friend Chao! Original Platform: Mobile Original release: 22nd May 2002 Available to buy: No AKA: Nakayoshi Chao! Not played: No ROMs leaked to public This Sonic Cafe games appears to be a Tamagotchi-style virtual pet game where you raise Chao. You can pet it and talk to it. Sonic Bowling Original Platform: Mobile Original release: 22nd July 2002 Available to buy: No Not played: No ROMs leaked to public What looks to be simple 10 pin bowling game for mobile phones. You can play with up to four players, who can control Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Shadow. Sonic Racing Kart Original Platform: Sonic Cafe Original Release: 8th July 2002 Version played: 2005 update Available to buy: No A Sonic kart game. Sonic will automatically accelerate, so you just turn around corners. There are no opponents as this is a time trial game, with the goal to get the best time on the 5 visually identical tracks in the game. You can change the settings on how rotation work – either the kart can rotate or the whole level can. I found the mode which rotates the level to be much easier. The big feature with this game originally was being able to download ghost data from others to compete against. Without that, this is just a casual drive. Eggman’s Number Guess Panic! Original Platform: Mobile Original release20th September 2002 Available to buy: No AKA: Eggman no Kazuate Panic! Not played: No ROMs leaked to public This Sonic Cafe games has you following instructions from Tails in order to diffuse bombs. It’s similar to Mastermind in that you have to decode a symbol by entering a number and being told how many are correct. Sonic’s Mine Sweeper Original Platform: Sonic Cafe Original Release: 28th January 2002 AKA: Sonic no Jirai Sagashi Game Available to buy: No Not played: No ROMs known to exist. It’s the popular game Minesweeper with Sonic the Hedgehog. Clear the board without setting up any bombs. Any cleared square will tell you the number of bombs on surrounding squares. Based on these, you need to figure out where the bombs are. This featured a timed mode where you have to finish within a limit to progress to the next stage and a free mode to clear at your own pace. Sonic Racing Shift Up Original Platform: Sonic Cafe Original Release: 28th January 2002 Available to buy: No Not played: No ROMs known to exist. Sonic is having a drag race against Shadow. There’s no turning and acceleration is automatic, so this game is all about changing gears. The buttons on the phone correspond to gear stick locations and you have to change at the correct moment to get the best score. This game featured the ability to download ghost data to compete against other players. Sonic Spinball (Life Savers) Original Platform: Flash Original Release: 2002 Available to buy: No Released to celebrate Sega Smash Pack on the GBA, this is a single screen pinball game loosely based on Sonic Spinball and also promoting an American sweet called Lifesavers (similar to Fruit Polos). It plays very similar to the good old fashioned Windows Pinball rather than Sonic Spinball – in Spinball, you could adjust Sonic’s movement in mid air, while this just has a “tilt” button to try and adjust it slightly. Bounce Sonic around and try to get the highest score. 4
Cube Posted February 7, 2023 Author Posted February 7, 2023 Going back in time for this one, because I've now played it Sonic the Hedgehog Game (Board Game) Original Platform: Board Game Original Release: 1992 Available to buy: No A Sonic board game from 1992. I didn’t think I was going to be able to play this, as it hasn’t be in print for a long time, and is very expensive second hand. Then I had an idea: I could try to recreate the game in Tabletop Simulator. I found an article about someone who had bought a second hand copy and contacted him for some photos of the board, as the images I found online were very low resolution. I then recreated the tokens using the art they were based on. Some were re-coloured, so I tried to match, and for some reason Moto Bug had angry eyes. For some of the badniks, I couldn’t find the same artwork, so they got replaced. Adding some anchor points so the Sonic figure and tokens “snap” to the board spaces and it was ready to play. In this board game, players take turns controlling Sonic as he goes through Green Hill Zone, Marble Zone, Labyrinth Zone and Scrap Brain Zone. You roll the dice and move that number of spaces. The goal is to collect as many rings as possible on your turn. When I was reading about the game from the vague descriptions (before I managed to find the rules), I dismissed it as a complete luck game. and presumed it would be absolutely awful. Playing it and, yes, it’s still mainly luck based, but it isn’t actually that bad. The main interaction comes from the two token types you have. Spindash tokens, which allow you to double your move and badnik tokens, which serve as extra obstacles. You have three of each. The spindash tokens can be used after you roll the dice and double your move. You can use them to get extra rings or avoid obstacles. You only have three, so make sure you use them at the right time. You have to place Badnik tokens on your opponents turn before they roll their dice. You place it on a blank space ahead of them. This is the main form of tactics, as they force a player to stop and fight. They have a dice roll-off against the badnik (another player rolls for them) and the highest wins. Sonic gets 2 rings if he wins and loses 2 if he loses. With careful placement, you can force other players to stop right before a large ring spot (the computers give you 10 rings), so there’s a surprising amount of thought in using them. When Sonic reaches the end of a zone, the player currently moving him gets to play a special stage. Both dice are rolled onto the special stage board and they collect rings for each one the dice touch (or 10 rings if they touch the chaos emerald – or pink jewel as the rules originally called it). They get to do this a total of three times, so there’s a lot of potential rings from it, so using your tokens right can be vital. The final zone, Scrap Brain, features a wheel segment where Sonic will go continuously round in a circle until he lands on an exact space (a bit like the end of Mouse Trap). Then he will face off against Dr Robotnik at the end of the game. It works the same as fighting badnkis, except you get 15 rings if you win. If you lose, the next player gets to try until someone wins. Despite how bad it initially sounded to me, playing the actual game has made me realise that this isn’t actually that bad, and for a game aimed at young children, is kind of fun for what it is. I’m glad I made a Tabletop Simulator version of this. Tabletop Simulator Workshop Link. 1 3
Dcubed Posted February 7, 2023 Posted February 7, 2023 Wow! Bloody hell! Great job Cube! I would never have thought of using Tabletop Simulator to preserve an old board game like this, but that's incredible that you pulled that off! Kudos! Have you thought about getting into contact with Sonic Retro about this? I bet they'd be thrilled to be able to share your recreation! They're nuts about preserving every last thing with the Sonic series! (No, seriously! You really should share the Workshop Link with them!) 1 1
Cube Posted February 10, 2023 Author Posted February 10, 2023 Sonic The Hedgehog Card Game (1992) Original Platform: Board Game Original Release: 1992 Available to buy: No A Sonic card game made by Mattel in 1992. This is another game I’ve recreated through Tabletop Simulator, although I’m not 100% convinced the rules are perfect – they’re as close as I can figure out, though. One interesting thing about this card game is that it’s based on the Master System version of Sonic the Hedgehog, featuring zones like Bridge and Jungle. There’s also a very clear quality difference between the artwork provided by Sega and the additions made by Mattel. I added boards to the Tabletop Simulator version to help place the decks of cards and keep track of the zone cards that end the game. Each player has a stack of rings and emeralds. The aim is protect these while stealing with others. Sonic cards will protect your rings, while the badnik cards allow you to steal. Zone card will also come out, and when all six have been collected, the game ends. The game also ends if one player gets all chaos emeralds. The badnik and super sonic speed cards are also more powerful cards that allow you to steal two rings from opponents instead of one, but have a limited use. This game is pretty awful. Your choices are based on your card and you pretty much have to protect yourself if you’re not protected and go after opponents if you are. You’ll also want to go after an unprotected opponent, so everyone will pile on the same person until they can protect themselves. The best course of action is extremely apparent, so you don’t really make any choices yourself. Sonic the Hedgehog: Card Game (Waddington’s) Original Platform: Board Game Original Release: 1994 Available to buy: No A Sonic board game from 1994 from British card manufacturer Waddingtons. The aim of the game is to get rid of all your cards, it’s a bit like a very simplified Sevens. All the cards are shuffled and dealt between each player. During a turn, a player picks up one card and then works out if they can play it. Characters cards can be played in the middle of the table, and then the 1 cards can be played on top of them. Further cards must be placed in order. You can also place cards on opponents discard piles if it’s one higher than the visible card. You continue drawing cards until you can’t play one. If you can’t play a card, you discard it to your discard pile. You really don’t get much choice over what you can do. As you draw one card at a time, most of the time you have to discard it and when you can play it, you only have one option. It’s very rare that you can actually make a decision in this game. It’s a really poor game. Sonic Putter Original Platform: Sonic Cafe Original Release: 27th Janruary 2003 Available to buy: No Not played: No ROMs known to exist. A Sonic mini golf game. These courses feature gimmicks such as breakable walls and warp panels. Additional courses could also be downloaded for it. An updated version was released in 2009, with a flash version also available, however, not even a single screenshot can be found for this version. Sonic Darts Original Platform: Sonic Cafe Original Release: 21st April 2003 Available to buy: No This is a fairly basic darts game featuring Sonic playing against Shadow. It features multiple modes such as highest score across 10 rounds, first to 301 and first to 501. You move a curser over the point you want to aim at. The bar at the bottom will swing left/right and the bar on the right will swing up/down. This determines the accuracy, although you can be waiting ages for them to align in the way you want it to. There’s some basic dialogue between Sonic and Shadow between each round. You can also play with a friend in a pass-and-play mode. SonicN Original Platform: Nokia N-Gage Original release: 7th October 2003 Available to buy: No Nokia was a big attempt at making a “gaming phone”. Why bother with a Game Boy Advance when your phone can do that all for you! SonicN is a good example as to why, as this is a port of Sonic Advance. Sonic Advance is a good game, and you can render it almost unplayable by using the fullscreen mode in this, which zooms into a small square that the game wasn’t designed for. Luckily, this is optional and you can run the game in a bordered mode which adds rather ugly borders to the top and bottom. This makes what you are playing on extremely tiny and the resolution much smaller. Take the awkward buttons on the original phone, plus having to open it up to change card and then have the big Sonic game be a toned down port of a Game Boy Advance game (when the GBA already had a sequel to it), and it’s clear as to why it failed. Sonic Reversi Original Platform: Sonic Cafe Original Release: 27th October 2003 Available to buy: No Not played: No ROMs known to exist. A Sonic version of the board game Reversi (also known as Othello). Each player takes turns placing disks of their colour. If you place a piece and which bookends a line of the opponent’s colour, it will change them to your colour. You need to have the most pieces of your colour when the last piece is played. In the main mode, you play against Sonic characters. Strangely, you have to pay rings to play, three of which are given each day (you can only hold 15 at once), limiting how much you can play. Sonic Battle Original Platform: Game Boy Advance Original release: 4th December 2003 Available to buy: No A Sonic fighting game for the GBA. The graphics look outstanding for the console, with lovely 2D sprites complimenting the small 3D arenas. The story mode boasts a really great story, too, one of the best in a Sonic game, all revolving around a robot called Emerl, who you can customise using abilities from the other characters and enemies you encounter. Unfortunately, the gameplay is just…..ok. For the limited amount of buttons on the GBA, it utilises them really well, but the battles all feel the same, even with the different abilities, so the game tends to feel a bit repetitive. What makes this even worse is in the story mode, you’ll often fight in a situation, then have to do the exact same fight but everyone has more lives (dragging it out even more). This padding starts out really early, and it’s a shame because the length of the game would be fine without them, so they make the game a chore to play for no reason. The atmosphere of Sonic Battle is great, so it’s unfortunate that the gameplay can’t keep up with it. 2 2
Cube Posted February 13, 2023 Author Posted February 13, 2023 Tails’ Fly and Get Original Platform: Sonic Cafe Original Release: 4th December 2003 AKA: Tails no Flying Get Available to buy: No Not played: No ROMs known to exist. . Tails’ Fly & Get is a multiplayer minigame from Sonic Battle. You had to fly around and collect 20 rings as soon as possible without hitting bombs, which would cause you to lose 5 rings. This mobile version is singleplayer only, and was made to players could practice on their own, ready to beat their friends the next time they played. Sonic Speedway Original platform: LCD game Original release: 2003 Available to buy: No I have memories of playing this for quite a while after getting it from a Happy Meal. The game is very simple, move to an empty spot on the screen as racers come towards you (you’re supposed to be overtaking, but it never felt like it). As you progress, it gets faster and faster, after three speed increased, you’ll win the game. If you get hit a number of times, you’ll fail and have to try again. It is extremely simple, but also a lot of fun in short bursts. These McDonald’s LCD games worked rather well (better than the other Sonic LCD games) because it never tried to be more than what it is. Shadow Grinder Original platform: LCD game Original release: 2003 Available to buy: No The most basic platformer ever. Shadow is grinding down the longest hill ever. Jump over some gaps and the speed will increase. Do this a few times and you win. Miss a bunch of times and you fail. While these games worked well with simplicity, this is just way too simple, and incredibly boring as a result. Knuckles Soccer Original platform: LCD game Original release: 2003 Available to buy: No Dr Robotnik is playing penalties with Knuckles. As Knuckles, you have to block he ball as it flies to the goal – sometimes curving. This game is pretty easy (even at max speed), but is still slightly enjoyable. For a Happy Meal toy, it was a great little game. Sonic’s Action Game Original platform: LCD game Original release: 2003 Available to buy: No Similar to Shadow Grinder, this is a single button LCD game. However, the platforms are slightly more complex, with a couple of levels to jump over. This may sound like nothing, but it makes it into an alright game for a quick blast. Tail’s Sky Patrol (McDonald’s LCD) Original platform: LCD game Original release: 2003 Available to buy: No Move Tails up and down and collect rings. This one is almost as dull as Shadow Grinder, and is far too simple. Perhaps there could have been an enemy to avoid or something like that. (Yup, lots more LCD games, but someone's taken the effort of emulating them all). Sonic the Hedgehog Extreme Original Platform: Xbox Original Release: Unreleased (In development around 2003) Available to buy: No Not to be confused with another unreleased Sonic game called Sonic X-Treme. This was intended to be a skateboarding game featuring Sonic the Hedgehog. This was a pitch from a company called VisionScape, who worked on the cinematics for Sonic Heroes. VisionScape had already helped develop a skateboarding game called X-Bladez Inline Skater on the original PlayStation and were eager to create a new one with a license. Alongside Sonic the Hedgehog Extreme, they also built prototypes called Rocket Power: Zero Gravity Zone and Tech Deck: Bare Knuckle Grind. While the proposal for Rocket Power was for PS2/GameCube/Xbox, it only got a game on GBA, which they only assisted developing for. Tech Deck: Bare Knuckle grind got a very limited PC release – it was sold on four separate discs, each with one level, as a “Digital Playset” that came with two figures. It’s obscure enough that no reviews of the game exist, although you can find copies of the game(s) online. The Sonic version of the game was the same as their Tech Deck pitch, just with different assets. The main difference is that it uses a hoverboard instead of a skateboard, but it controls exactly like a skateboard. An ex-VisionScape developer claimed that Sega stole their idea for Sonic Riders, but Riders is a very different game that actually utilises the hoverboards in it, so it seems very unlikely. Sonic the Hedgehog Extreme feels like a naff Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater knock-off, which really is no surprise. The core gameplay is similar in idea, but the execution is very wonky. You can ollie, go up quarter pipes, spin, do some basic tricks and grind for a very, very long time. You’ll also fall over a lot, due to poor collision detection, and often go through the walls. There are rings to collect and you’ll lose them all when you fall over. The demo version has three modes: mission, combat and race. The mission mode features a couple of missions. The first is a hunt for a chaos emerald. First you need to find a key hidden in a level, which utilises a grind rail loop, then use it to activate a warp panel which takes to you a smaller skating arena that has the emerald. Another has boxes in the level and I think the objective is to destroy them all. The missions in the final version of Tech Deck aren’t very creative: just picking up items, doing combos for X time and destroying objects. Combat is a Vs mode where you collect items and fire them at other the other player. Items include rockets, mines and grenades (if this were to be made into a full game, I suspect they would be altered into more Sonic-like items). There’s also a spinning melee attack. This mode doesn’t work fully, as you can make each other fall over, but there’s no end goal programmed in the demo. The final mode is a race. The level for this is surprisingly long, but also very boring. It works best to completely ignore all the skatepark elements like the quarter pipes. A layout like this would be great if the ramps provided extra momentum for a risk-reward mechanic, but just going forward is far better. From this demo and the final Tech Deck: Bare Knuckle Grind release, I think it’s quite clear why Sega passed on this pitch. I think a skateboarding game for Sonic could have worked well around the time this was in development, but it needed some interesting ideas to make it more than just a Tony Hawk knock off. 3
Dcubed Posted February 13, 2023 Posted February 13, 2023 Loving these posts @Cube (If not the unwavering deluge of shitty LCD games). Keep it up! 1
Cube Posted February 15, 2023 Author Posted February 15, 2023 Sonic the Hedgehog 3D Action Game Original Platform: Board Game Original Release: 1994 Available to buy: No I managed to track down a copy of this board game, so have been able to play the physical version – unfortunately, Tabletop Simulator isn’t built for games like this, so I’m not sure if it’s currently possible to “back up”, but I’ve taken photos to use as reference anyway. While this game is very simple, it has the most “Sonic” feel to it, and even includes platforming. You have to make it through a stage then defeat a boss. Moving is simple, you spin the spinner and move that amount. You collect any rings you land on. If you land on an enemy space, you’ll lose all your rings. If you have no rings, you’ll lose an extra life. Once you reach the bottom of the lower layer, you’ll reach the flipper. You need to get Sonic to the second level (where you land on the second level doesn’t matter, you’ll move to the first spot no matter what). Fail and you’ll have to try again. If you land in the river or outside the game box, you’ll also lose a life. Once you make it to the second level, you’ll do a circle and then reach Dr Robotnik. On his area, if the spinner points as Sonic (on anyone’s turn), you lose a life. Get past and you’ll need to use the flipper again, aiming for the 3rd level to win. It’s a very simple game and there’s not really any choices to make, but the tiered nature and the use of the flipper makes it somewhat fun, especially for kids. Sonic Hopping Original Platform: Sonic Cafe Original Release: 23rd February 2004 Available to buy: No A puzzle game with Sonic on a pogo stick. Moving forward or sideways will make Sonic jump two spaces, but moving backwards will make Sonic jump one space. You have to use these controls to collect all the rings. As you progress, the game will get more difficult with more holes and features such as tiles that collapse the first time you jump off them and buttons that activate other tiles. Surprisingly, it’s a really nice puzzle game that I enjoyed a lot, it’s a shame that there are only 30 puzzles in it as I would definitely enjoy more. Sonic Advance 3 Original Platform: Game Boy Advance Original release: 7th June 2004 Available to buy: No The third in the trilogy of GBA games, and this one introduces the concept of creating pairs of characters. The first character is who you control, while the second one doesn’t just follow you around (like Tails in Sonic 2), but also alters your abilities, creating different ways to play the game. The only downside to this is that you unlock characters throughout the game, so you have less time to test out some of the combinations. The levels in Sonic Advance 3 has some lovely themes, both in art style and music. Out of all the “Green Hill Zone-like” zones, Sunset Hill is probably my favourite, with a beautiful style and a great rendition of the original Green Hill Zone music. Toy Kingdom is also another lovely level. For the most part, the levels are a ton of fun to play, with lots of alternative paths to discover. I also enjoy that the game isn’t afraid to take things slow every now and then (I still think slow moments like Marble Hill Zone in Sonic 1 are still important). There are some moments with blind jumps, and the gimmicks can be overused – a couple of times I wasn’t sure if I’d somehow gone backwards because I’d encounter a nearly identical part of the level. Sonic Advance 3 is a very solid 2D Sonic game. The trilogy really does deserve to get re-released. Sonic Hopping 2 Original Platform: Sonic Cafe Original Release: 28th June 2004 Available to buy: No Not played: No ROMs known to exist. The sequel to Sonic Hopping, where Sonic has to solve puzzles. This game features a more mechanical theme as Sonic is infiltrating a secret base…with a pogo stick. I really enjoyed the first game, so it’s a shame that there’s no way to get this one. Sonic Hearts Original Platform: Sonic Cafe Original Release: 27th July 2004 Available to buy: No Not played: No ROMs known to exist. A basic mobile game of the card game Hearts. Hearts is a trick-taking game where the goal is to have the least heart cards at the end. A player starts a “trick” and other players follow. The person who plays the highest card matching the suit of the first card will take the lot. At the end of the game, the person with the least hearts wins – however, if a player manages to collect all the hearts, they will automatically win. Sonic Panel Puzzle Original Platform: Sonic Cafe Original Release: 22nd September 2004 Available to buy: No Not played: No ROMs known to exist. While this initially sounds like a typical sliding panel puzzle, it’s slightly different. The goal is still the same – complete the picture – but in this you use Dr. Robotnik as a cursor and select a tile to turn. All tiles horizonal and vertical from this location will flip over. Sega Superstars Original Platform: PlayStation 2 Original release: 22nd October 2004 Available to buy: No A minigame compilation for the PlayStation EyeToy, which was a webcam add-on for the PlayStation 2. It features multiple Sega characters from franchises like Super Monkey Ball, Crazy Taxi and Nights, but we’re only interested in the Sonic portion. The Sonic minigame is Sonic running down a tunnel collecting rings and emeralds, a bit like the special stages from Sonic Heroes. you move your hand around the circle and Sonic will move over to there. Spiked balls will turn up to get in your way and the goal is to collect the most rings. If you collect all seven chaos emeralds in the stage, you will become Super Sonic and be invincible. There are six difficulties – once you beat Sonic’s three difficulties you can complete more difficult version as Shadow. There’s also a little Tamagotchi-like chao garden, but no matter what I did, I couldn’t get my chao to hatch. Sega Superstars was an interesting novelty when it got released, but motion gaming has changed so much since this came out. At least this was Sonic’s only attempt at a camera-based control (it was, right? right?) 3
Dcubed Posted February 15, 2023 Posted February 15, 2023 Man! Look how thrilled Cube is to be here! What an amazing game! 2 1
Cube Posted February 17, 2023 Author Posted February 17, 2023 You'll be even more thrilled to read about even more LCD games! Sonic Gammon Original Platform: Sonic Cafe Original Release: 25th October 2004 Available to buy: No Not played: No ROMs known to exist. A standard game of Backgammon, with Sonic competing against Dr. Robotnik. This game featured a mode you could play once a day which uploaded your score to an online leaderboard. Sonic Heroes Puzzle Original Platform: Flash Original Release: 2004 Available to buy: No A puzzle game made to promote Sonic Heroes. There are three kinds of blocks each linked to a character. Rings are linked with Sonic, Emeralds are linked with Tails and bricks are linked with Knuckles. To score a combo (and make the blocks disappear), you need to form a group of one type then attach the matching character to it. Blocks fall down in a line of three and you can alter the order they fall it. While it’s actually quite fun, it’s also fairly easy. I’m usually had quite bad at puzzle games, but had no problems keeping on top of the blocks in this one. Sonic Mega Collection Plus Mini Original Platform: Flash Original Release: 2004 Available to buy: No A flash game that is serving as a demo for Sonic Mega Collection Plus. This demo is a flash port of Green Hill Zone from Act 1 from Sonic the Hedgehog, although it seems like an odd way to try and promote a collection of emulated games by making a really bad flash port. This demo isn’t emulating Sonic the Hedgehog, it’s the first fully running in Flash, which means a lot of alterations. There are no slopes or loops, everything is a straight line. The screenshot above is what I’m pretty sure was a loop in the original game. It’s a really strange experience because of this, because the graphics look right, but the level design itself is off. On top of that, the controls are wrong. There’s no physics or momentum, and Sonic’s jump is very stiff and feels completely wrong. This is a really interesting game despite this, as it gives us a glimpse into what a flash version of Sonic 1 might have looked like. Sega Superstars Webgame Original Platform: Flash Original Release: 2004 Available to buy: No This is a flash version of the Sonic minigame from Sega Superstars – a minigame compilation using the EyeToy. This combines the special stages form Sonic Heroes and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Move the cursor to move Sonic around the pipe as he runs forward to avoid obstacles and collects rings and emeralds. The game itself feels quite laggy, with Sonic not quite being able to keep up with the cursor movement, you also don’t have a long distance of visibility, with items only showing up when you’re close. Knuckles’ Treasure Hunt Original platform: LCD game Original release: 2004 Available to buy: No A simple platform game where you have to reach emeralds. One side of platforms will move up, while the other side moves down. You have to navigate Knuckles to each level – this one actually requires a little bit of thought and is one of the better ones. As you progress, you need to get to more emeralds in one go. Sonic the Hedgehog Extreme Boarding Original platform: LCD game Original release: 2004 Available to buy: No While most of the other LCD games have 3 places you can move to, this has 5 regular spots and 2 “jump” sports, offering far more control than the other games. This skateboarding game is reminiscent of the Sonic 2 special stage, avoiding obstacles and collecting rings. Even though it’s a lot more complicated than the other McDonald’s LCD games, it’s actually extremely easy compared to Sonic’s Speedway. Amy & Rouge Volleyball Original platform: LCD gameThis one was later re-released as Amy & Rouge Tennis. It’s the most game-like one as you have to move into position then press the “hit button” to send it back, trying to win against the computer opponent. Still not much to it, but an ok distraction for a few minutes. Original release: 2004 Available to buy: No This one was later re-released as Amy & Rouge Tennis. It’s the most game-like one as you have to move into position then press the “hit button” to send it back, trying to win against the computer opponent. Still not much to it, but an ok distraction for a few minutes. Big’s Fishing Original platform: LCD game Original release: 2004 Available to buy: No This one has movement AND an action button. We’re getting very fancy now. The game itself is very, very simple, though, lower the fishing lure to the right level and press the button to reel it in. It doesn’t get very fast, so it’s one of the more relaxing ones. Shadow Hockey Original platform: LCD game Original release: 2004 Available to buy: No This game is quite basic. You have to move Shadow and press the “shoot” button when the opponent is not in front of you. If he is, he’ll block your shot. Shadow Basketball Original platform: LCD game Original release: 2004 Available to buy: No Another version of Shadow Hockey. Move Shadow around and hit the “shoot” button when your opponent is not in front of you. Tails’ Soccer Original platform: LCD game Original release: 2004 Available to buy: No The game in this one is exactly the same as Knuckles’ Soccer, but with Tails instead. Because of playing though the game already, I beat this without my opponent (a Chao) score a single goal. Cream Flower Catch Original platform: LCD game Original release: 2004 Available to buy: No Catch the flowers as they fell from the tree. While it’s difficult to collect every flower, there’s also a lot of leeway over how many you can miss. A second version of this LCD game was released, which has Cream whistling a note when she catches a flower and has a count of the flowers you miss. Knuckles Baseball Original platform: LCD game Original release: 2004 Available to buy: No Another copy of Knuckles’ Soccer, this time horizontal. Knuckles plays a catcher, trying to hit all the balls sent flying by Sonic. (There are only three more LCD games left, but there's also a much newer Happy Meal Sonic video game). 2
Dcubed Posted February 17, 2023 Posted February 17, 2023 Quote (There are only three more LCD games left, OMG! There's light at the end of the tunnel! You're nearly there Cube! Don't give up! Quote but there's also a much newer Happy Meal Sonic video game). 1
Cube Posted February 20, 2023 Author Posted February 20, 2023 Sonic Millionaire Original Platform: Sonic Cafe Original Release:24th January 2005 AKA: Sonic no Daifuugou Available to buy: No Not played: No ROMs known to exist. Another card game given a Sonic theme – this one a Japanese card game called Millionaire. The objective of the game is trying to get rid of all of your cards. This game featured leader boards for high scores. Sonic Jump Original Platform: Java Original Release: 21st February 2005 Available to buy: No While Doodle Jump was a very popular game of this style, spawning multiple clones and even an Android/iOS remake of Sonic Jump, this actually came out four years before it. Sonic automatically jumps and you have to steer him up all the platforms to the top of the level. The bottom of the screen means death, so you can’t fall down very far. As you get through the levels, more kinds of platforms will crop up: moving platforms, collapsing platforms, spiked platforms, as the game gets more difficult. The controls, however, feel fluid, so it doesn’t feel frustrating when you fail, and practice will help you through the more difficult sections. This is a great little game, so it’s good that it got a remake. Sonic Reversi Hyper Original Platform: Sonic Cafe Original Release: 28th July 2005 Available to buy: No Not played: No ROMs known to exist. An updated version of Sonic Reversi, featuring nicer graphics. There don’t seem to be many other differences, other than a neutral chao has been replaced with a dark one. Amy’s American Page One Original Platform: Sonic Cafe Original Release:24th January 2005 AKA: Amy no Page One Available to buy: No Not played: No ROMs known to exist. The card game Page One or American Page One doesn’t seem to be hugely well known, with Google results leading to articles about this Sonic version of it (starring Amy). It’s essentially a version of Uno using standard playing cards. As there are no special cards, some of the numbered cards count as special cards: 8 is a wild, 2 is draw 2, 3 is skip and nine is reverse play order. Sonic Kart 3DX Platform: Mobile (Java) Original Release: 20th October 2005 Available to buy: No Not played: No ROMs leaked to public, copy known to exist The below video shows someone from Japan playing this mobile game. It appears to be a 3D kart racer, but with no items. Players would be able to compete each other online, or post their times to leaderboards. Shadow the Hedgehog Original Platform: GameCube, PS2 Original Release: 15th November 2005 Version Played: GameCube Available to buy: No Sega’s attempt at a darker Sonic game, starring Shadow the Hedgehog and featuring guns. It also has a lot of words like “Damn” because they chose to not stretch as far as actual swear words. And the humans you shoot are all just wounded. The structure of the game is a bit like Lylat Wars on the N64. Each mission, you pick between Dark/Normal/Hero objectives to get through six levels. Your choices will alter which mission you play, so you’ll need to play though the game multiple times to see them all. I actually really like this style of choices, and I think it works well for a Sonic game. The problem is that you have to get to each of the five final levels twice, picking a different choice at the end of each one, so a total of 10 playthroughs. This unlocks the end of the game with a final mission. The story is also a bit of a mess. There are some interesting themes for Shadow, as he learns different parts of his past in different playthroughs (and then some random Shadow Android stuff in others), but each “ending” feels more like the build up to the final moments rather than an actual ending. The proper ending then doesn’t seem to fit any playthrough, incorporating elements from different ones. This could have been sold by tying them all together – some time convergence that causes people to remember things from multiple timelines. The gameplay is enjoyable, but really rough. While there’s a lot of combat in the game, I don’t think I ever died through a lack of rings. I did die a lot form falling. Getting shot near an edge is pretty much instant deaths, and Shadow’s attacks can sometimes overshoot and send you tumbling to your doom. The missions are also things like “kill all enemies of X type”, and if you miss one early on, you have to use warp pads to try and explore the whole level again to find them. Another cause of frustration is that it’s difficult to target one type of enemy, you’ll end up killing the people who are supposed to be on your side. Sometimes you’re even forced to in order to progress (with the person helping you moaning about it). It works both ways, too, as both sides will attack you. If you’re helping the main villain, Black Doom, he will tell you off for killing his troops, even though his troops are trying to kill you. That said, I actually quite liked my time with Shadow the Hedgehog. It has a ton of problems, but there’s a cheesy charm to it that was just fun. Sonic X Snake Original Platform: Flash Original Release: 2005 Available to buy: No A flash game version of Snake, the classic mobile game where you eat bricks to get longer. In this version, you collect rings. It’s a very speedy version of Snake, so appropriate for Sonic. The background is quite ugly for the game, a faded out Sonic X logo with “Snake” added. Sonic XS Original Platform: Flash Original Release: 2005 Available to buy: No A 60 second flash game where you have to get to the top of the platforms, collecting rings as you go. The crudely drawn Sonic doesn’t control anything like Sonic, with a very slow floaty jump. He also attacks enemies by throwing rings at them. While this looks and plays like a flash game made by someone who has only had Sonic badly described to them, it’s an official game made to promote the show Sonic X. Shadow XS Original Platform: Flash Original Release: 2005 Available to buy: No The sequel to Sonic XS, a flash game that seems like a bootleg, but is actually official. This one features a black Sonic (the title suggests Shadow, but it’s clearly Sonic) and the enemy aggressiveness has been turned up a lot. Sonic X Bowling Original Platform: Flash Original Release: 2005 Available to buy: No A flash bowling game featuring Sonic the Hedgehog. Use the mouse to move the bowling ball, the arrow above it will sway from side to side to aim the direction. Click to let go. Instead of following the normal rules for bowling, this has its own strange points system where strikes and spares are worth more points as the game goes on. Aiming is very strange. Hitting the side of the pins seems to get strikes, which doesn’t look right at all. Sonic the Broad Jump Original Platform: Flash Original Release: 2005 Available to buy: No A very short flash minigame. Sonic starts running and you have to plan Sonic’s jump angle and power by aiming and holding down with the mouse. Once Sonic is in the air, you can perform more mid-air jumps, but only while ascending. Once Sonic lands, the length of the jump will be recorded. Shadow the Hedgehog Flash Original Platform: Flash Original Release: 2005 Available to buy: No A 2 level flash game to promote Shadow the Hedgehog. You can damage enemies by shooting them or jumping on them. Jumping does way more damage and you’re out of the way of enemy fire, so the weapons are completely useless. The platforming is pretty bad, with a bling jumps and a section of moving platforms which aren’t synched properly. The second level features Shadow on a motorbike. You have to avoid obstacles and shoot down enemies. It’s quite basic, but at least you can see what is happening. Sonic X Trading Card Game Original Platform: Board Game Original Release: 2005 Available to buy: No I’ve bought a copy of this in the past, but I’ve never played it – it was a secret santa gift for someone else. Unfortunately, I can’t find a reasonably priced copy of this anywhere now. I have, however, recreated it in Tabletop Simulator. Players can build decks (from the starter pack or by bundles you can buy) and put them against each other with the goal of being the first to collect three chaos emeralds. Once you’ve selected a deck of 30 cards, it will form your deck for the game. You then draw 7 cards and place 5 of them in your “Chaos Row”, with the other player doing the same. They get placed face down (although you can look at your own to remind yourself). You then take turns flipping over a card in the chaos row. You can’t flip over a card in the same column as what the opposing player has just flipped. If there’s an action on the card (which can involve forcing the other player to discard cards, or allowing you to alter the placement of your or your opponent’s card), you do it as it gets flipped. Once all this is done, you will count up how many “Rings” you have earned. These are the large number printed on the cards, and some abilities will add more rings to your count. The player with the most wins gets a chaos emerald. The current cards will then become the “Spare Row”, which will count for your ring score and interact with the new chaos cards. These will be discarded and replaced with the chaos cards each turn. Play carries on until someone gets three chaos emeralds. It has some interesting mechanics, and you can build some very powerful decks. I’d have to play a lot to fully comment on the balance, though, although if you have higher scoring cards, there’s not much point using the blank low scoring cards. I think the point of these were to fill up the blister packs with useless cards. Sonic Skateboard Original platform: LCD game Original release: 2005 Available to buy: No While you would expect this to be a direct copy of Sonic the Hedgehog Extreme Boarding, this is a much more simplified version of it. It condenses it back to three lanes, making it more like Sonic Speedway with the addition of collecting rings, although it’s still much slower than that game. Tails Sky Adventure Original platform: LCD game Original release: 2005 Available to buy: No A fun and simple space shooter. Move to the right lane and hit the fire button to gun down enemies. As the difficulty increases, the enemies will dodge more. This gets the LCD game format right. Amy & Rouge Tennis Original platform: LCD game Original release: 2005 Available to buy: No A game where you’re against an actual opponent. You play as Amy trying to beat Rouge the Bat at tennis, you have to move into position and press the hit button at the right time to it it back towards Rogue. For a little device you can just turn on for a round of tennis, it’s quite decent. 3
Dcubed Posted February 20, 2023 Posted February 20, 2023 (edited) @Glen-i!!! Someone actually likes Shadow the Hedgehog!! SIC 'EM!! Edited February 20, 2023 by Dcubed 1
Glen-i Posted February 21, 2023 Posted February 21, 2023 16 hours ago, Dcubed said: @Glen-i!!! Someone actually likes Shadow the Hedgehog!! SIC 'EM!! All those LCD and Flash games have really warped his sense of taste! It is cheesy fun though, won't deny that. Until you go for the true ending, then it just gets miserable. 1
Cube Posted February 22, 2023 Author Posted February 22, 2023 Shadow Shoot Original Platform: Java Original Release: 23rd January 2006 Available to buy: No An autorunner game with an isometric view. Shadow runs to the right and can move up and down. There are speed and slow panels, with the objective being to reach the end of the stage and defeat the boss within three minutes. The dash and jump panels causes Shadow to spin and destroy enemies, while you also have a pistol for shooting ahead. It’s fairly enjoyable, while still being clunky and, even though it’s short, does get repetitive by the end. Sonic Golf 3D Original Platform: Sonic Cafe Original Release: 27th February 2006 Available to buy: No Not played: No ROMs known to exist. A mobile golf game, but in 3D. This has the standard golf controls you’d expect from Golf games before Wii Sports. Choose your aim location, set spin, press a button to start a bar. The first press determines power, the second determines the accuracy of the shot. This one has three nine-hole courses. You can play as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles or Amy. Sonic’s Sevens Original Platform: Sonic Cafe Original Release: 26th June 2006 AKA: Sonic no 7 Narabe Available to buy: No Not played: No ROMs known to exist. This is a Sonic cafe version of the card game Sevens. All of the 7 cards are placed face up and you have to empty your hand by placing cards that go up or down the line. This mobile game featured a mode where you could upload your score to a leaderboard, but only three times a day. Sonic’s Napoleon Original Platform: Sonic Cafe Original Release: 28th November 2006 AKA: Sonic no Napoleon Available to buy: No Not played: No ROMs known to exist. A Sonic version of a Japanese card game called Napoleon. It’s a trick-taking game where you’re tiring to collect the face cards and 10 cards of each suit. It has similar online leaderboard features as the other games, but by far the best thing about the game is the image of Sonic in Napoleon’s hat on the title screen. Sonic the Hedgehog Chaos Crush Original Platform: Flash Original Release: 2006 Available to buy: No A Arkanoid/Breakout clone. Use the paddle to bounce the ball around to break all the blocks, some blocks require multiple hits. If you hit the blocks containing icons of Sonic, Shadow or Silver, your next hit will trigger a special shot, such as Shadow’s which fires up and breaks all blocks in its path. Sonic Rivals Dash Original Platform: Flash Original Release: 2005 Available to buy: No A single-level racing game which pits Sonic against Shadow, or Sonic against the clock for playing solo. The controls are awkward: for Sonic, it’s Z to run, X to jump and C to slide. This is so the person playing Shadow can play using buttons on the other side of the keyboard. The game is functional, although the platforms are all completely straight. There are no annoying power ups or catch-up mechanics, so it’s less frustrating than the main Sonic Rivals game. I also decided to play the following as they do have significant differences to the Mega Drive versions: Dr Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine (8-Bit) Original Platform: Game Gear Version Played: Master System Original release: December 1993 Available to buy: No A version of Dr Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine for the Game Gear and Master System. This features much simpler graphics, but due to the more limited colour choices, I can actually tell them apart a lot more, so I can actually play it much better than the Mega Drive version. Another addition to this version is the puzzle mode. It gives you 30 challenges with a set-up of beans and an objective, such as eliminate all beans of one type, getting large combos or just getting rid of all beans. It’s a really nice addition to the game, one that elevates it to be better than the Mega Drive version. Sonic Spinball (8-bit) Original Platform: Game Gear Version Played: Master System Original release: September 1994 Available to buy: No The Game Gear version is pretty much a worse version of Sonic Spinball, with even clunkier controls, the game feels extremely sluggish and it’s just not a nice experience. The levels have the same names and while the layouts are roughly the same, they’re adapted based on what the Game Gear can do, with different colour schemes and obstacles. The bosses are also not part of the level itself, instead you warp to a separate area with the boss. Some bosses are similar, but the first and final bosses are completely different to the Mega Drive version. Another big difference is the special stages, which are now small platforming levels that take place in giant bird cages. You have 90 seconds to collect rings and open up pods, some of which contain continues. 3
Cube Posted February 24, 2023 Author Posted February 24, 2023 Sonic’s Timed Train Original Platform: Sonic Cafe Original Release: 30th July 2007 AKA: Sonic no Jigen Ressha Available to buy: No Not played: No ROMs known to exist. Compared to all the other mobile games released on Sonic Cafe, this seems to be by far the most complex. In each zone (there are seven in total), Sonic has to reach the front of the train by running along the platform. However, you can’t reach the front in one go, so towards the end of the countdown, Sonic must rush through an open door then proceed form that carriage in the next area. It looks like there are a lot of obstacles to avoid, along with dash pads that send you in other directions that could sometimes be beneficial, or may just get in the way. Sonic’s Casino Poker Original Platform: Sonic Cafe Original Release: 28th August 2007 Available to buy: No Not played: No ROMs known to exist. The final Sonic Cafe game was another card game – this one being seven card stud poker. You create your own avatar to play against Sonic characters. It sounds like this game was dependant on an internet connection, as closing or being disconnected during a game would cause you to lose all your hold. Sonic Rivals 2 Original Platform: PSP Original release: 13th November 2007 Available to buy: No This has all the same issues as the first Sonic Rivals game. The racing mechanics are simply not fun at all due to rubber-banding AI and annoying power ups and items. Sonic Rivals 2 features eight campaigns, although four of them are duplicates of the other four. Each zone generally goes Race – Battle – Race – Boss. The battles are a bit like a really bad version of Smash Bros, and the bosses have you and a rival trying to get six hits on the boss before the other, so you end up fighting each other more than the boss. The story just makes everyone look like idiots. There is a saving grace for this game. Once you’ve played though one story, you unlock a Free Play mode. This lets you play the levels on their own. This shows that this would have been a decent game without the racing elements, as the levels themselves are a lot of fun, with some interesting gimmicks. It’s a shame that this doesn’t let you play the bosses on your own, but this mode is still far better than the main game. Sonic the Hedgehog (iPod) Original Platform: iPod Classic (5th Gen), iPod Nano (3rd Gen) Original release: 18th December 2007 Available to buy: No Not played: No way to play other than getting hold of original device with it installed. Sonic the Hedgehog got a port to the old click wheel iPod. While the rom has been backed up, it has not been cracked so even if you get hold of a compatible device, there’s no way to install it. The only way I could play is was to somehow get a device with the game already installed, which would be very difficult to track down. The main “feature” of this port is the use of the clicky wheel. However, instead of using it in a fun and unique way (having to spin around to move would be an interesting novelty), it just acts like a really bad D-pad. There are two options. Option A had the middle button as the jump button, pressing the fast forward/rewind to move. Option B has you touching the fast forward/rewind to move and clicking down to jump. Looking at reviews, both were horrible. This version also adds an auto save at the start of each zone, infinite continues and an in-game tutorial for the control schemes. It also keeps the time and battery in the corner. The port itself (which isn’t emulation) seems to be really well done and accurate, it’s just the terrible controls that supposedly lets it down. Sonic Maze Craze Original Platform: Flash Original Release: 2006 Available to buy: No A tie in game to Sonic and the Secret Rings where you play as Sonic’s Shoes. Sonic has lost them and you need to navigate them through mazes to reunite them with Sonic. While the control are simple – the shows follow the mouse pointer – it’s surprisingly difficult, with lots of narrow paths and obstacles. Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity Original Platform: Wii/PS2 Original release: 8th January 2008 Available to buy: No Zero Gravity takes all the complex elements of Sonic Riders and, instead of improving on them, mostly just gets rid of them. Their air gauge is gone, instead replaced by a gravity meter, while preparing for a jump has been changed to pressing the jump button at the last possible moment. While I can see why some people would hate these changes, I personally found Zero Gravity much nicer to play, with some good track design (although there was one I hated, Crimson Crater) and surprisingly good graphics for the Wii, especially the water-based level. The story, while extremely short, has a more interesting story, plus some really nice cutscenes. While I did enjoy this more than the first Sonic Riders, it also feels a bit too “safe”, and is a less interesting game overall. It’s just another mascot racing game, while the first game tried to be unique. 2
Dcubed Posted February 25, 2023 Posted February 25, 2023 (edited) This is relevent to @Cube's interests... The long-lost English language version of Sega Sonic Cosmo Fighter has just been found! And it features Sonic's first canonical English voice-over! Pack it up Ryan Drummond, Jason Griffith and Roger Craig Smith, this dude's got you all beat. This is Sonic's true voice now. Edited February 25, 2023 by Dcubed 1 3
Cube Posted February 27, 2023 Author Posted February 27, 2023 Sonic Jump 2 Original Platform: Java Original Release: May 2008 Available to buy: No Not only does this play exactly the same as the first Sonic Jump, but all the levels themes and backgrounds are exactly the same. Sonic Jump 2 isn’t really a sequel to the firs game, but rather a hard mode. There are sections in this game that are more difficult than the first, although it’s really not noticeable while you’re playing – not until you encounter a boss. The bosses are exactly the same, they just take double the number of hits as the original game. . As Sonic Jump was a good game, this is still good, but you won’t really tell that much difference from the first due to using the same levels and assets. Sonic Unleashed (Wii) Original Platform: Wii, PS2 Original release: 18th November 2008 Version Played: Wii Available to buy: No While people are more familiar with the HD Sonic Unleashed, the game also made an appearance on the Wii and PS2. However, it wasn’t simply a downscaled port of Sonic Unleashed, but is a completely different game following the same story and locations. While the settings for the levels are the same, the level design is completely brand new. For the Sonic levels, they aren’t as much of a spectacle, but I actually think that the Wii levels are better designed and more fun to actually play, with interesting branching paths. The Sonic gameplay is also different. The boost gauge is in segments, with one hit of the boost button acting like a use-anywhere dash pad. You have to be careful where you use it, as slamming into a wall knocks Sonic back (although the animation of it is a lot of fun). I also found that the drift in this game worked much, much better than the HD version, it felt great going past corners. Another thing was the “action point” mechanic where hitting multiple enemies and other things can be chained. Unfortunately, not much is done with this, and it feels like they didn’t have time to fully flesh it out. The biggest issue with Sonic Unleashed on Wii is the amount of Sonic levels. There are only 7 levels, as Mazuri (other than a boss fight) and Empire City have been cut. There’s also only one act per level. Instead, you complete challenges (collecting rings, time limit, not getting hit) in sections of the main stage. One good thing is that Eggmanland is separated into Day/Night stages, with the Day stage being a lot more fun, better than the overly long gauntlet in the HD games. On the flip side, the Werehog has three to five levels per stage. The combat controls are very different, having to alternate shoulder button presses to punch (or shake the Wii Remote/Nunchuck). It makes it feel more of its own thing and less of a direct God of War copy. These sections are fine, but nothing special, although some of the grabbing onto objects can be a bit wonky. Some sections of the game also make you play multiple areas of Werehog stages – there’s around two hours of game between the first and second Sonic levels. With how enjoyable the Sonic portions of this were, it’s a shame that Dimps didn’t get a chance to make a full Sonic game based on the gameplay in this. Sonic the Hedgehog (Leapfrog Didj) Original Platform: Didj Original release: 2008 Available to buy: No Not played: Console too expensive. While the Sonic game for the first Leapfrog console was just a clone of another educational game, this one is a proper Sonic platformer with some educational elements added. It plays similar to the Mega Drive games, with four different zones to get through. The main difference is that you’ll come across giant rings that will give you spelling challenges. This seems like a great way to do an educational game – by mixing it into proper gameplay. Sonic Chronicles (Flash) Original Platform: Flash Original Release: 2008 Available to buy: No A demo version of Sonic Chronicles, letting you test out the movement and interface of the game. You can move Sonic around across a few locations, collecting rings, and interreact with characters and obstacles. Unfortunately, the only version I could find is missing all the text data, so the main chunk of what the game was showing off – the dialogue – is missing. Sonic X Emerald Grab Original Platform: Flash Original Release: 2007 Available to buy: No A Sonic clone of Bejewelled (the most popular clone being Candy Crush). Swap two neighbouring icons to form a string of three to make them disappear and get points. If the falling tiles make another matching set, you get a lot of points. This Sonic one has a very short time limit. Sonic X Ring Thing Original Platform: Flash Original Release: 2007 Available to buy: No Rings, Emeralds and Dr Robotnik will fly from the bottom of the screen to the top. Clicking on rings gets you 1 point, emeralds get you 5 points and Dr Robotnik takes away 10 points. It’s very, very basic. The icons also barely react to being clicked, so you get points, but there’s no clear visual response to it. Sonic Speed Spotter Original Platform: Flash Original Release: 2007 Available to buy: No It’s spot the difference featuring images from Sonic X. Hover your curser over the parts of the image that look different and click. You get 20 points for a correct click and -5 for an incorrect click, with a time bonus if you find them all in a short time. The differences got repetitive throughout the game, most of them had the inside of an ear missing, a different band of colour a character’s hair was gone in three images in a row and so on. There is also inconsistency over which things count as a single large change or lots of small ones. Sonic and the Black Knight Original Platform: Wii Original release: 10th March 2009 Available to buy: No The second Sonic storybook game after Sonic and the Secret Rings. This one is an adaptation of the legends of King Arthur, with Merlina the Wizard summing Sonic into her world to help defeat an evil King Arthur. The biggest issue people had with Secret Rings has been fixed in this game. The game uses both the Wii Remote and nunchuck, with the analogue stick controlling movement. Sonic is still on a “track”, so will automatically make turns, but your movement is still important. The other big change is that Sonic wields a sword, shaking the Wii Remote to attack. You can plough through most enemies while retaining speed if you time things right, so it’s still a fast-paced game. The levels are all set in a medieval world, but are still really nice to look at. Other than one section involving a collapsing bridge, I really enjoyed them. There are also additional missions which take place either on parts of the main level or levels unique to the mission. One thing I did find odd about the game is that it has a fake credits. There’s a fight that could potentially be a final boss, then the credits roll. Unlike other games with fake credits (like Kid Icarus Uprising), there’s no interruption. The game even boots you to the main menu afterwards, but there is still a decent chunk of the game afterwards, including unlocking the ability to play as Knight versions of Shadow, Knuckles and Blaze. It really wouldn’t surprise me if someone had no idea that part of the game existed. Sonic and the Black Knight is a lot of fun and, other than a few annoying moments, is a very enjoyable experience. It also has an outstanding soundtrack, with Knight of the Wind being one of the best songs in the franchise. (Also, in terms of playing, I'm on the last game that I think is feasible). 1 1
Ike Posted February 27, 2023 Posted February 27, 2023 Will you be playing Soleil/Crusader of Centy as part of this? Sonic makes a cameo (albeit very minor).
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