Sonic the Hedgehog 3

"It's better. It's perfect. Why the good attitude? Come and see why!"

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 had been released a few years back on the Sega Genesis. What was there to expect next? Well, Sonic 3, and Sonic and Knuckles has been in play years later in 1994. As young as I was then, I remember that game being just new, and all the memories I had seen when I watched people play the game. It was released in two separate cartridges; one having two slots, and the other being a regular Sega Genesis cartridge. Putting the two together gave you Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Knuckles. I assume the reason they were separate is because the game was planned to be rather long, which is exactly what happened, because it's the longest Sonic game that has ever existed. What's it like? Lets find out.


Jumping right into gameplay and not the storyline this time. The storyline will be at the end, and there is a reason for that. Now in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Knuckles, one can choose either Sonic, Tails, or Knuckles. Sonic and Tails' abilities are a little different. Now sonic has the ability to regain moving while airborne, which none of the other characters can do, and hitting certain television boxes can give him further abilities. Tails can fly in this game. He could fly in the previous game, but only to catch up to Sonic, not when controlling Tails. Knuckles can glide and climb up walls. He is also the strongest of the bunch and can break through some walls that Sonic nor Tails can break through. Knuckles however cannot jump as high as Sonic and Tails can. These abilities and disabilities are used to try to divide Sonic and Knuckle's path through each level. For an example, there are some levels that have rocks that cannot be broken without Knuckles. However, above that is a platform that cannot be reached unless Sonic is used. This forced Knuckles to go into the wall, and forces Sonic to go up. These ares lead to completely different spots but still end up at the same levels.


The speed of each character seems to be the same as Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and there are more spots to use the speed then in sonic 2. It makes the game a lot more enjoyable. Each act closes in on an enemy, act 1 being a random bad guy, and act 2 being Dr. Robotnik. It seems to go better nicely, then with Sonic the Hedgehog 1-2, because it gives each stage a definition. It's as if there is a point of running through the stage. The boss battles are usual, like on sonic the Hedgehog 2, but with Knuckles, the battles are a little bit harder. Usually they are the same as the sonic battles, but Sega really decided to take advantage of Knuckle's lack of jumping skills. Basically, it's Sonic the Hedgehog 2, but the game is a lot longer, and you can select three different characters to play as.


For Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the graphics are very good. It's Sonic the Hedgehog 2 with a lot of chances. Tails no longer has the weird purple outline like he did in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. All the characters seem to have a darker shade then in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which makes them look a bit better and more clear. To top it off, there are some stages that look absolutely mind blowing. The graphics have been improved by a long shot, and some things have more details then ever before.


The music selection in this game is definitely something that should be mentioned. In Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the music would be different as you would go to different Zones, but in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, they change after every act slightly. Act 1 would be something, then Act 2 would be some kind of remix of it. It would have the same beat, but a slightly different tune. It gives viewers a reason to do the level. It's like having a boss on every stage; it gives the stage a purpose, a definition. It's good to see this in a video game. As for the sound, it sounds crystal clear, and some have been improved from Sonic the Hedgehog 2.


Now for the storyline. Sonic the Hedgehog has to have one of the most confusing story lines of all time. Unlike the other Sonic games, you can play as three different characters, with different story lines. In this game, nothing makes sense. It starts out simple, and the same as usual. When starting the same as Sonic, he comes in on a surf board and enters an island, and island that Dr. Robotnik entered and meet Knuckles. With that, now Knuckles is on Dr. Robotnik's side. Sonic bumps into Knuckles, and knocks over Sonic, having him spill all the Chaos emerald on the ground. Knuckles laughs, collects them and runs away. That's when Angle Island Act 1 starts. Could Sonic be that clumsy? He's carrying all the Chaos emeralds, and could drop them all at any time. Even from there, how did Knuckles know that was Sonic? Why did Sonic even go on that island? That's the biggest coincidence I have ever seen! From there everything seems to go fine. Knuckles keeps relentlessly attacking Sonic every chance he has, in the first few acts. However at the end, Knuckles is helping Sonic. When did this happen? To top it off, when playing as Knuckles, the boss battles are very identical, but Dr. Robotnik isn't the boss; it's someone else that looks like him. The gadgets are the exact same, so how are they different people? Well here's the story. The guy going after Knuckles is Dr. Robotnik. Him and Knuckles agreed to help out and take the chaos emeralds from Sonic, since Dr. Robotnik lied to Knuckles and told him that the Chaos emeralds were really his and Sonic was the bad guy and took them.


Well anyway, Dr. Robotnik was planning to kill off Knuckles so he could have the Chaos emeralds to himself. That's the story, however there is absolutely no dialog to tell us that! There are scenes in the game, but none have any indication on what's going on, unless you already know the story. Even with that, there's a stage in Sonic 3 where Dr. Robotnik verses Knuckles, when you play the game as Knuckles. What? Why is that? didn't I say that Dr. Robotnik had a disguise? Well, it's not some weird twist in the story, it's simple; Sega forgot to disguise Dr. Robotnik on that stage! Now why is Knuckles helping out at the end? Well that's apparently because Knuckles had caught Dr. Robotnik trying to steal the last Chaos emerald at the end. However when this part of the game comes, there is no dialog, so no one knows what is even going on! That's the storyline. It's the most messed up storyline in video game history. I can't even believe I was able to successfully provide the entire thing, because it's so confusing.


Sonic the Hedgehog 3 really improved everything that Sonic the Hedgehog 2 provided as a problem.; not that there was many problems Sonic the Hedgehog 2 had, but it's great to improve. Here, all the acts and zones have a definition, the graphics are better, the game play is a lot better, the overall replay value is better. The only real bad thing I can say about Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is the storyline, but with a game this good, who will even bother regarding the storyline as problematic? No one will probably even care, or notice. It's the same they're sucked into.


Sonic the Hedgehog 3
10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/01/08

Game Release: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (US, 01/23/94)