Sonic 3D Blast

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Description

While visiting Flicky Island, Sonic notices that the Flickies, his small, feathered friends that can travel between parallel worlds, were captured and turned into badniks (the robot enemies of Sonic) by Dr. Robotnik in his never-ending quest for the Chaos Emeralds. Seven levels separate Sonic from the final showdown with Robotnik.

Sonic 3D was the last Sonic title released for the Mega Drive, the only platforming presence of the blue blur in the Sega Saturn, and one of his rare appearances in Personal Computers. The title, considering the era it was released, is somewhat misleading, as instead of full blown 3D graphics it uses an isometric view where Sonic can move not only forwards and backwards, but also left and right.

Gameplay is much slower when compared to other games in the series, and the number of badniks is reduced to five in each section. As usual, when Sonic destroys one badnik, an animal leaps free from its insides, but this time Sonic has to pick him up and lead them to an interdimensional ring. While they can be taken one by one, exploring the level with all five allow the player to reach for otherwise inaccessible continue tokens. Unlike all other previous games, time isn't a requirement: if the player completes a level in more than 10 minutes, it would only mean there would be no time bonus at the end. Finally, to collect all seven Chaos Emeralds, Sonic first must find Tails or Knuckles and offer them at least 50 rings.

Screenshots

Promo Images

Alternate Titles

• "Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island" -- European title
• "ソニック 3D フリッキーアイランド" -- Japanese spelling

Part of the Following Groups

• Animals: Hedgehogs
• Console Generation Exclusive: Sega Genesis
• Green Pepper releases
• Sonic the Hedgehog universe

User Reviews

An embarrassment to Sonic.	Windows	Satoshi Kunsai (2074)
Craptacular	Genesis	MegaMegaMan (2285)
Action	Genesis	attilathehun (4)
Not a fantastic game.	Genesis	Weston Sharpensteen (32)

Critic Reviews

SuperGamePower	SEGA Saturn	Feb, 1997	5 out of 5	100
Power Sonic	SEGA Saturn	2007	8.3 out of 10	83
Computer and Video Games (CVG)	Genesis	Nov, 1996		80
Entertainment Weekly	Genesis	Dec 13, 1996	B	75
Video Games	SEGA Saturn	Feb, 1997	70 out of 100	70
GameSpot	SEGA Saturn	Dec 12, 1996	7 out of 10	70
Sega-16.com	Genesis	Dec 18, 2004	6 out of 10	60
PC Games (Germany)	Windows	Sep, 1997	60 out of 100	60
Eurogamer.net (UK)	Wii	Nov 03, 2007	6 out of 10	60
The Video Game Critic	SEGA Saturn	Jun 27, 2000	C	50

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Trivia

References

The Flicky characters are based on an arcade game of the same name.

Sonic X-Treme

The game was set to be a "safety net" for the Saturn in case of Sonic X-Treme failing to pass the production stages. It did, and so Sonic 3D became the only platformer appearance of the blue hedgehog in Sega's 32-bit console.

Version differences

The bonus stages are different between the three versions. In the Mega Drive version, you travel across a bridge collecting Rings while avoiding spike balls. In the PC version, you move along a halfpipe, again collecting rings and avoiding spikes. In the Saturn version, you travel across a polygonal tube, which has spike balls, speed boosters, a whirling tube, springs, bottomless pits, and (of course) rings.

Awards

• Electronic Gaming Monthly
• March 1997 (Issue 92) - Genesis Game of the Year runner-up + Genesis Game of the Year (Readers' Choice)

Information also contributed by AxelStone and Luis Silva