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Sonic 3D Blast

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Sonic 3D Blast
Developer(s)Traveller's Tales
Sonic Team
Publisher(s)Sega
Director(s)Takao Miyoshi
Producer(s)Kats Sato
Yoji Ishii
Yutaka Sugano
Designer(s)Takao Miyoshi
Kats Sato
Kenji Ono
Takashi Iizuka
Hirokazu Yasuhara
Programmer(s)Sega Genesis
Jon Burton
Sega Saturn
Neil Harding
Stephen Harding
Artist(s)James Cunliffe
Composer(s)Sega Genesis
Jun Senoue
Tatsuyuki Maeda
Sega Saturn
Richard Jacques
SeriesSonic the Hedgehog
Platform(s)
ReleaseSega Genesis
Sega Saturn
  • NA: November 20, 1996
  • EU: February 13, 1997
  • JP: October 14, 1999[3]
Microsoft Windows
  • NA: September 30, 1997
Genre(s)Platform, action
Mode(s)Single-player

Sonic 3D Blast, known as Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island (ソニック３Ｄ フリッキーアイランド, Sonikku Surīdī Furikkī Airando) in Europe and Japan, is a 1996 platform video game developed by Traveller's Tales and Sonic Team, and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis, Sega Saturn, and Microsoft Windows. Part of the Sonic the Hedgehog series, the game abandons previous Sonic games' side-scrolling style in favor of isometric gameplay, making use of some pre-rendered 3D models converted into sprites. The game features creatures known as Flickies, which first appeared in the 1984 arcade game Flicky. Controlling only Sonic himself, the player's goal is to collect Flickies and carry them to safety, periodically sparring with the series antagonist Dr. Robotnik, who is imprisoning them within robots.

The game was developed alongside another Sonic game for the Sega Saturn, known as Sonic X-treme, which would end up cancelled. While Sonic 3D Blast was initially created for the Genesis, which had already been discontinued, Sega also commissioned a port for the Saturn. The Saturn version of Sonic 3D Blast was developed as a backup plan in case X-treme could not be released.

Both versions of Sonic 3D Blast received mixed reviews from critics, who generally disliked its isometric gameplay but praised its visuals and music. The game was later ported in 1997 to Microsoft Windows computers and re-released on numerous Sonic themed compilations and digital distribution platforms.

Gameplay

Sonic stands by a shield power-up. Sonic 3D Blast features elements similar to that of previous Sonic games, but viewed from an isometric perspective.

In contrast to the other Sonic games released for the Sega Genesis, which were 2D sidescrolling platformers, this game is played from an isometric viewpoint in a 2D environment and uses pre-rendered 3D sprites, displaying pseudo-3D graphics.[4]

In the game, Doctor Robotnik discovers mysterious birds called flickies that live on an island in an alternate dimension. He learns that they can travel anywhere using large rings, so he decides to exploit them by turning them into robots to help him search for the Chaos Emeralds.[5] Sonic must find and destroy these robots located around the zones, and bring the flickies inside them to large rings.[4] Once he collects all five flickies from each section of an Act, he is either further advanced into the Act, or taken to the next Act. Every Zone has three Acts, two involving standard levels, and the third Act consisting of a boss fight against Robotnik, without any flicky-collecting involved.[6]

If Sonic or the following flickies are hit by an obstacle or enemy, the flickies will scatter. Each individual flicky's colour determines its behaviour. Blue and pink/orange flickies make an effort to find Sonic, while green and red flickies wander off at random; the latter even jumping about, making them harder to re-collect.[6]

As with previous Sega Genesis Sonic games, Sonic 3D Blast includes "special stages", in which the player collects Chaos Emeralds. Obtaining all seven Emeralds allows the player to play the final boss battle and discover the true ending of the game.[7] To access these stages, the player must find one of Sonic's friends Miles "Tails" Prower or Knuckles the Echidna hidden within a level, and stand next to them with at least 50 rings collected. Doing so allows the player to exchange the rings in order for the chance to play the game's special stage.

There are three different versions of the special stages among the different versions of the game, but all of them involve the same basic premise as the special stages from Sonic the Hedgehog 2.[8] The camera shifts to behind Sonic as he runs down a preset path and must collect rings while avoiding obstacles that, when run into, make him lose rings.[7] A certain number of rings need to be obtained at certain checkpoints to continue through the stage, and ultimately be able to make it to the end in order to receive a Chaos Emerald. The Saturn version of the game uses polygonal 3D graphics for the special stages, as well as navigating on a half-pipe structure. The PC version has the same gameplay as the Sega Saturn version, but uses sprites instead of polygonal graphics. The Genesis version of the game used 3D rendered sprites and has Sonic run on a flat bridge, with themes of sky and lava. If all seven Chaos Emeralds are collected, the Special Stages can still be played for extra lives.[6] Collecting all seven Chaos Emeralds is the only way to reach the "Final Fight" level, consisting of the final boss fight and the good ending of the game.[9]

Development and release

File:Green Groove in the Saturn version.png
While primarily playing and appearing the same as the Sega Genesis original, the Sega Saturn and PC versions feature greater graphical detail, such as greater texture on the tiled floors of the levels.

Sonic 3D Blast was the final Sonic game to be released for the Sega Genesis.[5] Sega had discontinued official support for the Genesis in 1995, but intended all along to produce the game for the 16-bit console because games typically sell for one to two years after their platforms' discontinuation.[10] However, Sega also commissioned a version of the game for the Sega Saturn in case Sonic X-treme, which was also in development for the Saturn at the time, was cancelled. This cancellation did indeed occur, so Sonic 3D Blast was safely released in time for Christmas 1996 in its stead.[11]

The game was ported in four months, during development of the Sega Genesis version. While it does feature some slight graphical upgrades and changes, the game largely looks and plays the same as its Genesis counterpart. Neil Harding wrote a program to convert the code from 68000 assembly language into C++ code which was used on the Saturn and the PC versions. The code was ported in three months, then an additional month was spent adding graphical enhancements. It features a higher quality opening video, higher quality graphics and an entirely new, CD audio soundtrack composed by Richard Jacques.[8] Sonic Team filled in for development of the special stage in the Saturn version of the game, which includes polygonal graphics as opposed to sprites only.[12]

A port of the Sega Saturn version was released for Microsoft Windows in 1997. It contains the same videos and soundtrack, but lacks some of the Sega Saturn's graphical upgrades, such as the fog visual effects.[13] Features exclusive to this version include the ability to save one's progress in the game, and a third version of the special stage that mixes the 2D sprites from the Sega Genesis version with the basic 3D gameplay of the Sega Saturn version.[8][14]

Music

The soundtrack for the Sega Genesis version, which features 24 tracks in total,[12] was composed by Jun Senoue and Tatsuyuki Maeda, with Masaru Setsumaru and Seirou Okamoto composing the final boss and staff roll themes respectively.[8] The Sega Saturn version's soundtrack was composed and produced by Richard Jacques,[8] and is stored on the Mixed Mode format, giving it CD-quality audio.[8] This soundtrack features the song "You're My Hero" performed by Debbie Morris, which is played during the staff roll.[8]

Compilations and releases

Compilations that include the game are Sonic Mega Collection for the GameCube;[15] Sonic Mega Collection Plus for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Windows;[16] and Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.[17] It was also digitally re-released for the Wii's Virtual Console system[5] in 2007 and Valve's Steam marketplace (Sega Genesis version only) in 2010.[18]

Reception

Sonic 3D Blast was met with mixed reviews. Aggregating review website GameRankings gave the Sega Saturn version 67%,[19] and the Sega Genesis version 59%.[20] Mike Wallis, an employee of Sega at the time, recalled in an interview that the game sold around 700,000 copies.[10]

Critics generally disapproved of Sonic 3D Blast's gameplay style, some finding its isometric perspective limiting. Lucas M. Thomas of IGN lamented that "the sense of speed and intense action that Sonic's name was built on is absent here, replaced by, essentially, a looping, lazy fetchquest".[5] Austin Shau of GameSpot echoed this concern, calling the gameplay "an exercise in tedium".[23] Besides the game's goals, Shau and Thomas criticized the controls, particularly in the area of Sonic's overly slow-paced movement and slippery deceleration.[5][23] Thomas did admit that the game "has its moments" of quick-footed vigor, but characterized these as few and far between,[5] and Shau summarized that, while not unsalvageable in isolation, the game's elements violently clashed and customers would be "spending 800 Wii points for a vat of oil and water".[23] Damien McFerran of NintendoLife stated that its repetition was broken only by its boss battles and special stages,[24] the latter of which Shau wrote off as "childishly easy".[23] Reflecting on its complaints years earlier upon the game's inclusion in Sonic Mega Collection Plus, however, Jeremy Parish of 1UP.com called the game "much better than you might be led to believe".[26]

Critics were generally more positive about the game's presentation. McFerran greatly enjoyed the game's visuals: "the CGI visuals are stunning considering the hardware, the animation is excellent and the level design is colourful and varied".[24] Thomas praised the game's "valiant" pre-rendered graphics, especially taking its limited hardware into account.[5] Shau stated that the graphics and sound were the only areas in which the game bore a welcome resemblance to its Genesis predecessors, and particularly appreciated the return of the ring-scattering sound effect and similarly music.[23] Game Revolution praised the rounded, cartoon-like graphics, referring to them as "some of the sharpest graphics we have ever seen."[6] Thomas gave the music a subscore of 7.5/10, the highest of any element of the game, and noted that its themes would be memorable to players.[5] McFerran welcomed the graphical improvements of the Saturn version,[24] and GameSpot's Jeff Gerstmann appreciated this version's superior handling of certain animations.[21] Entertainment Weekly, however, noted the game's unusually similar presentation on two platforms with differing expectations, claiming that "while 3D Blast is super by 16-bit standards, it falls flat on Sega Saturn, where 32-bit games with far more sophisticated 3-D graphics and gameplay are the norm."[25] Staff of GameSpot saw the PC version as similar to the others, but pointed out some slowdown effects while the camera scrolled, attributing these to its wide color palette.[22]

Legacy

Archie Comics published a comic adaptation of the game for a 48-page special, published in January 1997. A loose adaptation of the game also appeared in issues 104 through 106 (May through July 1997) of Sonic the Comic.[27]

Certain tracks from the game were later arranged for Sonic Adventure in 1998; composer Jun Senoue stated he included those tracks because he personally enjoyed them, but they hadn't widely been heard, as he only composed the music for the Sega Genesis version which was not released in Japan.[28] Senoue rearranged his Green Grove Zone Act 1 and Panic Puppet Zone Act 1 themes for use in Sonic Adventure,[8] and an unused beta song in Sonic 3D Blast would also be re-used by Senoue as the boss theme in Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1.[8] Additionally, a remixed version of the "special stage" song appeared in the Nintendo 3DS version of Sonic Generations in 2011. The music for the Genesis version of "Green Grove – Act 1" was also featured on the Sonic music compilation Sonic Generations: 20 Years of Sonic Music, which released with the collector's edition of Sonic Generations.[29]

A ticket redemption arcade game of Sonic 3D Blast called Sonic Blast in Flickies Island will be released worldwide in June 2018 which features songs from the Saturn Version and Many More and go around Flickies Island in 20 Stages in 3 Acts.

References

  1. ^ "ソニック３Ｄブラスト". Sega (in Japanese). Sega. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  2. ^ "Computer and Video Games #180 pg. 49". Sonic Retro. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  3. ^ "ソニック３Ｄ　フリッキーアイランド". Sega (in Japanese). Sega. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  4. ^ a b "Sonic 3D Blast, Wrecking Crew, Super Air Zonk". GameZone. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Thomas, Lucas M. (4 December 2007). "Sonic 3D Blast Review (Genesis)". IGN. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  6. ^ a b c d "Sonic 3D Blast Review". Game Revolution. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Sonic 3D Blast Special Stages trailer". GameTrailers. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Sega-16 – Side by Side: Sonic 3D Blast (Genesis vs. Saturn)".
  9. ^ "Sonic 3D Blast endings". VG Museum. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  10. ^ a b Horowitz, Ken (19 June 2007). "Interview: Mike Wallis". Sega-16. Archived from the original on 4 September 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  11. ^ "Page 7 – The greatest Sonic game we never got to play". GamesRadar. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  12. ^ a b "Sonic Boom!". Sega Saturn Magazine: 58–63. January 1997.
  13. ^ Newton, James. "Talking Point: Your Sonic the Hedgehog Memories". NintendoLife. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  14. ^ "Sonic 3D Blast gallery". EuroGamer. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  15. ^ Mirabella, Fran (2 November 2002). "Sonic Mega Collection". IGN. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  16. ^ Goldstein, Hilary (3 November 2004). "Sonic Mega Collection Plus". IGN. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  17. ^ Miller, Greg (12 February 2009). "Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection". IGN. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  18. ^ "Sonic 3D Blast™". Steam. 1 June 2010. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  19. ^ a b "Sonic 3D Blast for Saturn". GameRankings. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  20. ^ a b "Sonic 3D Blast for Genesis". GameRankings. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  21. ^ a b Gerstmann, Jeff (12 December 1996). "Sonic 3D Blast Review (Saturn)". GameSpot. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  22. ^ a b GameSpot Staff (21 October 1997). "Sonic 3D Blast Review (PC)". GameSpot. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  23. ^ a b c d e f Shau, Austin (12 December 2007). "Sonic 3D Blast Review (Genesis)". GameSpot. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  24. ^ a b c d McFerran, Damien (2 November 2007). "Sonic 3D Blast Review". Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  25. ^ a b c Walk, Gary Eng (13 December 1996). "Sonic 3D Blast Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  26. ^ Parish, Jeremy (29 November 2004). "Sonic Mega Collection Plus Review for PS2 from". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on July 28, 2012. Retrieved February 9, 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ Sonic the Comic, no. 104 (May 1997). Fleetway Publications.
  28. ^ Oliver, Tristan (11 July 2011). "Video: Summer of Sonic 2011 Retrospect Released". Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  29. ^ Sonic Generations: 20 Years of Sonic Music – Liner Notes/Tracklist – Track 7
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