Sonic CD

aka: CD Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog CD
Moby ID: 3316
SEGA CD Specs
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Description official descriptions

Sonic the Hedgehog and his self-proclaimed girlfriend Amy Rose travel to Never Lake, only to discover the legendary Little Planet there, tied in chains and covered by metal. It appears that Sonic's archenemy, Dr. Eggman, is using the powers of the planet to manipulate the fabric of time. He created Sonic's evil counterpart, Metal Sonic, who kidnaps Amy and disappears. Now the brave hedgehog must explore the Little Planet, collect seven jewels capable of altering the passage of time, free Amy, and defeat Metal Sonic along with his master.

Sonic CD is a fast-paced side-scrolling platform action game, similar in gameplay to other installments of the series. Sonic uses his patented spin attacks to destroy the doctor's minions and collects various items, such as protective rings, shields, and speed shoes. His special attacks include the Spin Dash and the Super Peel Out. A stand-out gameplay feature of this installment is Sonic's ability to travel to past and future versions of the stages he traverses. Depending on the player's action in the past version of a level, the future versions (which contain obligatory boss enemies) will change from "bad" to "good", having more or fewer enemies and obstacles, respectively.

Time Stones can be collected by completing special stages, in which Sonic has to shoot UFOs within an allotted time limit. The game's "good" ending can be achieved either by collecting all the seven Time Stones or by turning all future level versions into "good". The game has features that take advantage of the CD format such as CD audio, video clips, and more levels (over fifty in total).

Spellings

  • ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグCD - Japanese spelling

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Screenshots

Promos

Credits (SEGA CD version)

119 People (67 developers, 52 thanks) · View all

Executive Producer
Produced by
Director
Program Director
Art Director
Sound Director
Game Designers
Character Designer
Landscape Designers
Special Stage Designers
Special Stage Programmer
Animation Programmers
Animation Visual Directors
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 81% (based on 43 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 93 ratings with 9 reviews)

Sonic Boom, Sonic Boom, Sonic Boom

The Good
In Sonic CD you play as Sonic again who must stop Dr. Robotnik From taking the time stone from a planet that only appears on the last month of the year and Sonic must get the time stones and destroy the robots to restore piece to little planet on you’re adventure you run into Princess Sally (Amy Rose) and a new robotic version of Sonic kidnaps her so you also have to rescue her.

The graphics are Sega CD quality which means it looks better than Previous Genesis Sonic games but the odd thing is Sonic looks more like he did in Sonic 1 because he is a lighter tone of blue and is more tight in control than in Sonic 2.

The music as in all Sonic games is good with better quality sound since its Sega CD but none of the tunes compare to great songs from previous Sonic games like Starlight Zone or Metropolis Zone and Chemical Plant.

Since the game has time zones and making a better future by destroying the robot dispenser in every level and past, present, and future versions of the stages makes the game for good replay value.

The Bad
There’s really nothing too bad about this game other than mentioned above the lack of great tunes.

The Bottom Line
I’m going to be honest with you I didn’t play this game until the Sonic Gems Collection for the Gamecube came out cause getting a Sega CD isn’t exactly easy and this game, but if you have the opportunity to play this game I say go for it.

SEGA CD · by Classic Nigel (108) · 2006

The best Sonic game yet

The Good
Sonic CD, released in 1993 for the short-lived Sega CD system, is the pinnacle of the long-running Sonic franchise for a number of reasons. First and most important, Sonic CD introduced a brilliant Time-travel aspect that alters the look, lay-out and music for each stage. Upon touching a special pole ( Either Past or Future) Sonic can gain momentum- trail of light following his tracks- and zoom to the distant past or future. In the past, Sonic must find and destroy the robot generating mechanism to free his animal friends and save the future for that act. But if he fails... the future in the act will be taken-over by Eggman, and many enemy robots abound.

The music may be a mixed-bag for some, because both regional versions have their own unique soundtrack. The American version has a more organic flair to it. The Japanese version is a crazy mix of techno, hip-hop and pop, and must be experienced to get a good idea of it. Personally, I prefer the Japanese version, but the American soundtrack is great, as well.

As with any Sonic game, the graphics are very pleasing. The effects for the special stage are nice, as well.

The Bad
As with the other 2D Sonic games, the main adventure is considerably short, although the time-travel aspect and unlockable features extend the replay value a bit. The game is also pretty easy, as the game's acts and bosses can be cleared without a sweat.



The Bottom Line
Without a doubt, Sonic CD is the best Sonic game yet- possibly ever. Track it down for PC or GameCube (in Sonic Gems Collection) and revel in the games speedy brilliance!

SEGA CD · by Brad Shead (5) · 2007

I sense something - a feeling I have not felt since..

The Good
This is widely known as the best Sonic game ever released, and for good reason. On the surface, it seems like the same old Sonic 2, Sonic 3 gameplay. Same happy character, same joyful jumping and spinning, same beautiful levels, same catchy tunes, and the same innocent and nostalgic feel. But once level into this game, you notice all is not the same. The Sonic franchise has been given a shot of nitrious. The levels are darker, the music is cooler, and the character seems like he grew up a bit. The target audience seems to have changed from Pokemon playing GameBoy Kids, to those who are old enough to be Gran Turismo 4 and Madden 06' addicted. This is the action/adventure/platformer all us Genesis generation guys have been waiting for. True, like all Sonic games, this is a game for ALL ages.. but in this case, Sonic is a bit different, and we like him this way!

I'm sorry if I offend anyone when I say this, but this game is better than Super Mario Bros., better than Crash Bandicoot, better than Alex the Kidd, better than Rayman, better than Shinobi, better than Ghouls 'N Ghosts, and better than any other 2d, if not any platformer ever.

Sonic CD puts a cool aura, and a good hero together.

This is the kind of "smooth" game that made SEGA's name in the 90s.

Whether played on Sega CD or Windows.. you'll see how simple & clean yet so very good this game is.

The Bad
Why did they not expand and improve on this? SEGA..... I'm sure this would of sold much better than the 3d adventure (after Sonic Heroes) starring dark Knuckles and a machine gun!?

The Bottom Line
A benchmark in 2d gaming. Stands alongside other greats such as:

Gunstar Heroes, Earthworm Jim, Donkey Kong Country, Street Fighter II, Alladin, Super Punchout, Blood Bros., Samurai Showdown 2, Andy Sullivan's Indy Heat, Guardian Heroes, Metal Slug, Contra ...

SEGA CD · by Forever Sport (22) · 2006

[ View all 9 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Steam version Lance Boyle (1532) Feb 17, 2012
Wow. j.raido 【雷堂嬢太朗】 (93195) Dec 30, 2011

Trivia

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The 1992 Sega Summer Catalogue contained this description for the upcoming Sonic CD:

Dr.Eggman is burning with the ambition of the world conquest. The peaceful world fell into chaos by Dr.Eggman and his army corps. Super hero Sonic acquired the time travel ability and he stood up to regain peace. What is ultimate weapon "DEATH EGG"? ... What is the weak point of Dr.Eggman?...From the dinosaur-age to the future, Sonic and sidekick (Debut!) begin the adventure which transcended time.

The catalogue names the sidekick as ‘Tail’ (no ‘s’). But Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was already done by the time Sonic CD was finished, so this was probably from when it was being developed as a remake of Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

Amy

In the U.S. version's manual, Amy is referred to as Princess Sally. This was most likely done to tie it in with the animated series. The only problem is: Princess Sally and Amy look completely different.

Chronology

Chronologically, Sonic CD takes place between Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, effectively (and technically) making Amy Rose the first of Sonic's allies to show up, and Tails the second.

Cut content

The original second level of the game, which was set in castle ruins, was removed because of size and debugging issues. The end of level boss (with large claws and chompers) can be seen in the final cinema sequence during the credits.

Some of the levels elements were re-used for the Time Attack Bonus levels.

Development team

Despite being a flagship title for the Sega CD hardware, the game had virtually no involvement from the team that produced the first two Sonic titles other than Naoto Ohshima. Neither Yuji Naka nor Hirokazu Yasuhara, both strongly associated with the series, had any involvement. It was also the first major Sonic title to not feature a soundtrack composed by Masato Nakamura.

Inactivity

At any point in the game, if you leave Sonic standing perfectly still (without pausing the game), after three minutes he'll say: "I'm outta here!" and jump off the screen. This ends your game.

Metal Sonic

This game features the first appearances of Metal Sonic, who is by far the most popular and well-known of all the Sonic robots.

Music

Sonic CD had nearly all of its music changed during the localization process. The US version has a completely redone Redbook soundtrack compsed by Spencer Nielsen, while the Japanese and European version feature the original soundtrack composed by Masafumi Ogata and Naofumi Hataya. The "past" version songs, which are played through the Sega CD's sound generator rather than being CD audio tracks, are the same in both versions.

According to Spencer Nilsen, composer of the North American version, SEGA of America wanted their products to differentiate themselves from the competition. The electronic dance friendly music in the original was deemed too popular at the time so SoA set out to try something completely different.

The game's title song from the US version, Sonic Boom, is included alongside other Sonic songs in Nintendo's 2008 Wii game Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Windows version

The PC version of this game had a complete and uncut anime opening sequence. This was only ever available to PC players until it was included as an extra feature on the Sonic Mega Collection. Only on the Windows version, the game CD can be replaced with a music CD (or another game with CD music) to change the music.

Awards

  • Electronic Gaming Monthly
    • November 1997 (Issue 100) - ranked #17 (Best 100 Games of All Time) (Sega CD version)
  • GamePro
    • Vol. 6, Issue 2 - CD Game of the Year 1993

Information also contributed by Big John WV, Chris Chidester, Kartanym, M4R14N0, Marguerite Richardson, MegaMegaMan and Pizzaking27

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Rogee.

SEGA CD added by Kartanym.

Additional contributors: Satoshi Kunsai, Alaka, Alexander Michel, LepricahnsGold, j.raido 【雷堂嬢太朗】, Thomas Helsing, Patrick Bregger, Thomas Thompson, Kayburt.

Game added February 15, 2001. Last modified January 27, 2024.