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

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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)

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

Greatest Sonic game I played in my life

The Good
First thing, the music KICKED ASS!!! The US sound like 90's modern hard rock music, the Japan/Europe version sound like Japan Pop, hip-hop music which I loved that kind of music. The graphics looked better than Sonic 2 due to the internal RAM of the SEGA CD. The animated intro and ending must not be missed. You may like the replay value.

The Bad
Some the fights with Eggman were easy but fun to kill. I can memorize the whole game mapped in my head but a bit easy than Sonic 2. Many people couldn't own the game due to the high price of the SEGA CD at the time. It sucked... The GameCube version I played had some problems. The Tidal Tempest level had a graphic issue. The color of the water was clear due to the PC code not matching to systems. The ending has some frame-rate issues.

The Bottom Line
I had a story were I first played the game. I just thought I will never play this game in my life. SEGA was meant to put the game on the mega collection but it was left out due to emulation problems of the SEGA CD to the Gamecube. Yuji Naka needed make up an excuse saying "There was not enough space". They only put the intro and ending. When I first saw it., I was amazed of the animation. I thought the game was like that. It wasn't until 2005 when I get the Gems Collection for the GameCube. It was a classic! over all...The game is perfect for your collection.

SEGA CD · by Mario Duenaz (19) · 2010

One great game. Must be played

The Good
This game has a odd story line. To travel in time to stop the mad doc is great! The graphics is good and the music is very good.

The Bad
I didn't like how the bosses were made. They were very easy.

The Bottom Line
If you like Sonic you will LOVE it. If you hate sonic you will still LOVE it!

Windows · by Joel Chappell (2) · 2003

[ 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.