Sonic CD is a bit of an oddball as far as the early main-series Sonic titles go. It had a lot of different ideas that were not really explored again and Yuji Naka had very little involvement with the game at all. With a much greater emphasis on exploration as opposed to speed, it doesn’t quite fit in with the other games in the series, yet it is definitely Sonic.

The soundtrack of this game is well-known because they changed it for the US release. Both soundtracks have their merits, but I prefer the US one. They also introduced vocals to the Sonic music scene for the title screen. So yes, this game is to blame for creating the trend that led to All Hail Shadow. “Sonic Boom” is the better song, but the Japanese soundtrack’s “You Can Do Anything” is kind of amazing in a certain way.

One interesting thing that Sonic CD added is the super peel-out, an ability similar to the spin dash. The super peel-out is activated exactly like the spin dash, except you have to hold the up button. It is faster than the spin-dash, but you will take damage from enemies while running along. This ability is only ever used again in a few game gear games, and is pretty much forgotten at this point. It has its uses in this game, but it is not anything amazing.

Time Travel is in Sonic CD as well. That’s right, a platformer with time travel before Jonathan Blow was even thinking about strange metaphors for the atomic bomb. There are three time periods: Past, Present, and Future. The basic layout of the levels remains mostly the same, but there are different paths and other differences depending on when you are. There are also some interesting things to note between the time periods, such as the increase in corruption from Robotnik in the future and present as compared to the past. The past is the only time period of any importance as in it you can find and destroy two objects to make the future happier.

The two objects are a hologram of Metal Sonic that is somehow oppressing the local wildlife and a robot generator machine. When you destroy both the present and future become devoid of enemies and contain more flowers and happy dancing animals. Each act has a Metal Sonic hologram and a robot generator, and if you create a good future in the first two acts, the third act containing the boss will be much happier looking, and it even changes the appearance of Robotnik. Hunting down the hologram and generator adds a lot to the game and is a lot of fun, but it is not the only thing that the game has going for it.

Each level has a lot more alternate paths than the usual Sonic game, and all of the zones are very well designed. They’re larger than the usual Sonic zone, and, while you can run through them very quickly, the real fun comes from the exploration. You can find the previously mentioned two objects in every level, as well as a lot of alternate paths. Again, I’m going to talk about each zone in detail.

Palm Tree Panic

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Palmtree Panic is the usual sunshine and rainbows happy first zone with lots of speed to get you uses to the game. To travel through time, you must first find a signpost for the period you wish to go to and then you need to work up a certain speed and maintain it for a few seconds. Palmtree Panic provides you with enough loops and straight stretches for you to get acclimated to the time travel and is pretty well designed overall. The end of act 1 introduces Amy Rose as an adoring fan waiting right in front of the end-level sign in the Present. I don’t think they ever had dialog in mind when designing her character, so I can forgive the game for introducing her. Also I seriously doubt they expected this to ever happen.

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The thing about Sonic CD bosses is that they are different from the usual. In Sonic games, you generally have to hit Robotnik eight times before you win; in Sonic CD it’s usually quite less and is done much more interestingly. This first boss is quite easy and only takes three hits to finish off, so not much to say about this one.

Collision Chaos Zone

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This zone looks really, really weird; everything’s purple and there are weird yellow mountains in the background. It’s the pinball/casino level that every early Sonic game has, minus the casino part. It starts off with Amy being kidnapped by the much cooler Metal Sonic, and that’s the only plot you get until Stardust Speedway. The level is a lot of fun because of all the flippers, bumpers, and tunnels strewn throughout both acts. There are also some tricky parts, such as a section filled with springs that try to shoot you into a bunch of random directions.

This boss is basically Sonic Spinball. You start at the bottom and have to use flippers to reach the top. Once you’re up there, you just have to jump at Robotnik to win. It’s really interesting that the bosses in this game are so different from not only the regular Sonic games, but from eachother.

Tidal Tempest Zone

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Tidal Tempest takes place in a fancy temple-ish place and is filled with water. It seems easier to drown in these water segments than in other Sonic games, making this level a bit harder if you’re not paranoid enough to grab every air bubble. The difficulty is mostly due to the maze-like level design. The zone features a lot of twisty passages and switches that need to be pressed to open up a new area. Tidal Tempest is a good level, but it can be difficult in many places.

In Tidal Tempest, the boss battle is split between two parts. The first part consists of chasing Robotnik through a maze while trying to get some damage on him. After a few hits, a secret passage opens up and part two begins. Part two has Robotnik surrounded by a ring of bubbles, that you have to breathe your way through to reach Robotnik. He goes down in one hit after this, so it’s not too difficult.

Quartz Quadrant Zone

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Quartz Quadrant is the least interesting zone in the game, but it still has some cool ideas. The really good thing about Sonic CD is that every zone after Palmtree Panic has a unique gameplay feature. Quartz Quadrant has conveyor belts with buttons you can hit to switch the direction they move in. This has some interesting uses, such as tunnels filled with conveyor belts that can open up a new area if the belts are heading in the right direction. The level does not have much in the way of exploration, which is probably why I did not enjoy it as much.

You defeat Robotnik through the power of friction in this zone. The battle starts off with hitting Robotnik’s machine once, and then simply staying alive as friction erodes the bottom of it.

Wacky Workbench Zone

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Despite the incredibly silly name, Wacky Workbench is my favorite zone in the game. There are a lot of alternate paths to take, most of them accessible by bouncing off of the floor. In this level, the floor will electrify every few seconds, causing everything touching it to be launched very high in the air. Taking the low path in this zone is very difficult due to this, but its a lot of fun to try for it. It gets difficult in Act 2 when there are a lot of dangerous electrical fields all over the place.

This boss, like all of the Sonic CD bosses, makes heavy use of the environment. Robotnik drills his way up through several floors, and to reach him you have to stand on blocks that get shot up into the air from the electrical floor after a few seconds. Unlike the rest of the level, the electricity hurts you this time.

Stardust Speedway Zone

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Stardust Speedway is a very confusing, but fun zone. There are speed-boosts everywhere that shoot you down long, complicated loops and passageways. Its very easy to get in a loop of getting thrown between three or four springs/paths/speed boosts over and over again. Because you move so fast, it is very easy to accidentally travel through time, which can get annoying at some places. It’s a fun level, but the boss is the best part.

This is probably the coolest boss “fight” ever. There is no fighting, you just race Metal Sonic the end of the level. It’s actually quite hard, but it’s still more fun than most Sonic bosses. you have to dodge spikes and attacks from Metal Sonic as you go on. The real tough part is that Robotnik follows behind with an instant death laser shooting down, so if you stop moving for too long, you’re dead. Also you rescue Amy at the end, so hooray I guess.

Metallic Madness Zone

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This is the final, hardest, and longest zone in the game. There are spikes everywhere, a lot more difficult enemies, and some really weird machinery. The most memorable part of the stage is the area with a laser beam that shrinks you, causing you to play as some sort of chibi Sonic. It’s only for a small section of the level, but it’s pretty fun and is a nice break from confusing conveyor belts and falling platforms.

This is probably the only boss where I felt like I had to use the temporary invincibility from taking damage to win. I don’t know if it’s possible to do the first point of damage without taking some yourself, but once you get that first point of damage in, he goes down pretty fast.

Special Stage

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The special Stage in Sonic CD involves running around a pseudo-3D environment and killing UFOs. I’m not sure why you’re supposed to kill these aliens, they don’t do anything at all. They just float around and seem peaceful and not at all threatening. Sonic’s just xenophobic I guess. They are unlocked by finishing the level with 50 rings. They’re kinda fun, but not incredible. If you win, you get a Time Emerald. The Time Emeralds are one way to get the good ending, the other is to destroy the two objects in every single stage.

Sonic CD is one of my favorite games in the series, the great environments and open level design along with the creative bosses make it great. It’s definitely the most original in the series.

Tagged with: Amy Rose • Metal Sonic • Robotnik • Sega • SEGA CD • Sonic • Sonic CD • Sonic Retrospective • Sonic the Hedgehog