Sonic CD
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Sonic: Gems Collection
(2005)
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Sonic CD
(2011 on
Xbox 360,
PlayStation 3,
Android...)
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
Groups +
Screenshots
Promos
Credits (SEGA CD version)
119 People (67 developers, 52 thanks) · View all
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Reviews
Critics
Average score: 81% (based on 43 ratings)
Players
Average score: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 93 ratings with 9 reviews)
This game should be called SoniCD...maybe not.
The Good
Sonic CD was the first and only Sonic The Hedgehog game to be released on Sega’s excellent and underrated Sega CD console. It is not the best Sonic game, but it is hardly the worst.
On a small planet outside of a Mobius, time stones have been discovered that as the name implies have the power of time. The evil Dr. Robotnik plans to steal these gems. It is up to Sonic to foil his nefarious scheme. Sonic CD spans time and space. And pits Metal Sonic up against Sonic. And introduces Amy Rose, a pink hedgehog that has the hots for Sonic.
The most unique element of Sonic CD is the time traveling aspect. In any given level Sonic can visit the Past, Present, or Future. To truly complete the game Sonic must conquer all time periods and collect all the Time Stones.
The Graphics in Sonic CD are good. They seem to be slightly better than Sonic 2. Yet not as good a Sonic & Knuckles. The graphics are gorgeous in a 16-bit kind of way.
The music and sound effects are good. As we would expect from and old-skool Sonic game. The main theme “Sonic Boom” is the first Sonic song to feature lyrics. It is a far cry from the lame songs of the Sonic Adventure games. But this is a good thing.
The Game plays like all classic Sonic titles. The action is fast and furious. And very fun. Each stage boss has a unique strategy you will need to employ in order to defeat. Collecting Time Stones replace collecting Chaos Emeralds and add and extra challenge.
The Bad
The bad of this game comes from it’s unbalanced difficulty. I do not mind a challenge. But I hate when games go from easy to difficult suddenly. This game jumps in difficulty in the last two stages. Why do game developers always pull this shit?
The Bottom Line
Sonic CD is a welcome addition to the series. Sega CD gamers could do worse than to add Sonic CD to there library.
SEGA CD · by MasterMegid (723) · 2006
Dude, this game is good...not bad....
The Good
I liked the part about when Robotnik (a.k.a. Eggman) built Metal Sonic and tries to defeat Sonic the Hedgehog. It's also very fun, and I also liked the idea of making a tiny world that orbits around...well...the planet Mobius every 6 months. It's also cool that you can travel through time.
The Bad
There is no Super Sonic, nor Super Metal Sonic, or the Chaos Emeralds. Instead, they put "Time Stones". How stupid is that!?!?
The Bottom Line
Well, I'd say it would probably get a 4.1 score, rather that a 3.6. it's a lot better then that. I don't know this game all the way, 'cause I haven't beaten it. I may post another thing IF I finish this game.
SEGA CD · by Bob McNeal (3) · 2005
The Good
Sonic CD is truly a good enough game to warrant the purchase of a SegaCD. The vibrant graphics, the stellar Japanese soundtrack, and the innovative time-travel mechanic all combine to make this my favorite Sonic game ever.
The game is split into 6 zones, each made up of the traditional two acts, and beginning with the ubiquitous "green" zone. The level design is excellent, and this contains some the fastest levels you'll see this side of Sonic Advance 2.
But it's not just a speed-fest. This time around, the Chaos emeralds are replaced by Time Stones, and it's not just a matter of collecting 50 rings anymore. To fully save each zone, Sonic must use his speed to literally warp to the past and future of each zone, in order to destroy Dr. Robotnik's and Metal Sonic's evil history altering machines. This means each act has a "past" and a "future", each with a slightly different layout. Of course, like all Sonic games, you don't HAVE to free all the zones and collect all the Time Stones to beat the game, but you do to truly "complete" the game.
The Bad
The negatives..well, 6 zones is a little too few, in my opinion. But the past/future mechanic pads these quite well. My other minor niggle involves the slightly non-traditional spin dash mechanic. This game was developed in parallel with Sonic 2, and both games implement it differently. Sonic 2's version was the one adopted by future games, making this one feel like the odd one out. But you get used to it.
Also, be warned that this game has two soundtracks. The Japanese and European releases had the original, and best, soundtrack. For some reason, Sega decided to totally replace the soundtrack for the US version, with a decent but inferior soundtrack. The original Japanese/EU soundtrack is the best Sonic music I've heard, and fits the game much better. For this reason, if at all possible, get the JP/EU SegaCD version, and stay away from the US SegaCD and PC port versions.
The Bottom Line
This game is matched only by Sonic 2, and that should be enough to make you want to play it.
SEGA CD · by phanboy_iv (84) · 2008
Discussion
| Subject | By | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Steam version | Lance Boyle (1532) | Feb 17, 2012 |
| Wow. | j.raido 【雷堂嬢太朗】 (94161) | 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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Related Sites +
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OC ReMix Game Profile
Fan remixes of music from Sonic CD. -
Video review of the system (WARNING: Language)
The Angry Video Game Nerd, James Rolfe, reviews the Sega CD and gives brief reviews of some games, including Sonic CD for Sega CD.
Identifiers +
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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.