Sonic the Hedgehog 3

"The Quintessential Sonic the Hedgehog Game... And Along With Knuckles, The Best!"

After playing Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for half a year or so, I went to the Game Center (where I purchased all of my Genesis games back in the day), and my gaze immediately caught the red, plastic case of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. When I arrived home that night, it had turned near blizzard-like, and as soon as I went inside my house, I took off my shoes, took off my jacket, headed into my basement, and booted up Sonic 3. I proceeded to play for the next three to four hours or so, forgoing my dinner (one of the very few times in my house where I did so), and getting stuck on Carnival Night Zone, act 2, at the infamous rotating sphere... nothing more will be said. It was not until I, "locked it on," with Sonic and Knuckles a few years later, until I really appreciated how great this game was. The fact is that Sonic 3 is an incredible game on its own (and better than its predecessor), but when locked on with Knuckles, it becomes one of the greatest games ever made, a truly long, epic, masterpiece, that stands the test of time. While I would love to review the locked game, I will only review the third game on its own (obviously). Game play, like always, will start us off.

Game play :10/10

The main game elements are virtually unchanged from the two previous games; you run and jump, defeat bad-niks, and collect rings. However the new additions make the game play absolutely perfect. For starters, the special stages are scattered throughout the levels now, and there is no ring requirement to enter them (they are giant gold rings, as they were in the first Sonic). Speaking of the special stages they are the best special stages in any Sonic game, ever. Dubbed the, "blue sphere stages," you have to walk on blue spheres (which turn red after you walk on them), and once you do, the Chaos Emeralds are awarded to you. If you step on each blue sphere on the perimeter of a set of spheres (nine or more), then every sphere in that set will turn into rings that you can collect (confusing I know, but it does make sense). Collecting a certain amount of rings will give you points as well as continues, and also an extra life. It is a wonderful addition to the main game, and the catchy music that is played throughout does not hurt the special stage either. In the main game, there are three new power-ups (in addition to the usual power-ups), and they consist of three different shields. Before I get into them though, there is another fantastic, "shield-like," addition, and that is the insta-shield. Simply put, jump once, then jump again, and you have Sonic's insta-shield, which protects you from spikes, lasers, everything, for a half second or so. It is very useful, and you cannot succeed in this game without it. Going back to the three new shields, they consist of elements; a water shield, a fire shield, and a lightning shield. The water shield encapsulates Sonic (or Tails) in a bubble, in which you can bounce around on with Sonic (when you double jump), and when underwater, you will never have to take a breath from a bubble ever again! Sadly, this shield is only really useful in the first, second, and sparingly in the final level, otherwise it is fairly useless. The fire shield is a shield that encapsulates your character in a flame, and it protects you from fire, and other projectiles. When touched with water it goes away, however it is the second most useful shield as you will use it more than the water shield. Double jumping with the fire shield will allow you to dash in a blur in the direction you are facing, knocking down anything in your path. The lightning shield protects you from projectiles, and electricity, and is the most useful shield as it attracts rings to your character, like a magnet. Also, double jumping will cause you to literally double jump, and this is invaluable to get to higher ground. Yet another addition is the gumball stage, accessible when you hit a star post with at least 50 rings. It is a bonus round where you can obtain shields, lives, and more rings. With all of these new additions, the story has to be new too right?

Story: 10/10

After destroying the Death Egg, Sonic tumbles back down to earth, and lands on a mysterious, mythical, floating island, known as Angel Island. Meanwhile, Robotnik has also landed on the island, and has made a deal with the island's guardian, Knuckles, to obtain the seven Chaos Emeralds, in order for his Death Egg to be repaired. While the story is nothing terribly different from the last game, it is still golden, and the addition of Knuckles to the Sonic the Hedgehog world really helps boost the story line, as Knuckles back story is not only interesting, but integral to the whole scheme of things. Graphics will continue the perfection.

Graphics: 10/10

This is one of the best looking Genesis games, far and away, and take into account that it is only slightly better than its predecessor. First off, the zones are more colorful and vibrant, and even more detailed. There is a great amount of depth to each background also, something that was lacking in the two previous games. Sonic finally looks, "proper," the right colours, the right look, animations, et al. Same with Tails, he looks a bit better than he did in Sonic 2. Knuckles looks great, and his yellow/red sneakers are a welcome change from the white/red of Sonic and Tails. The enemies look even more polished than they were in Sonic 2, and Robotnik has even more creative looking vehicles. Also, the special stage looks just stunning, like you are in space, and the gumball machine level puts you back in your kiddie days. Great stuff here, and the same can be said for the sounds.

Sounds: 10/10

Michael Jackson was rumored to have worked with Sonic Team during the development of this game, and some tracks in the game sound like a few obscure Michael Jackson tunes, however, nobody knows for sure if he had anything to do with this game or not. That being said, the music in Sonic 3 is second only to Sonic Adventure for having the best Sonic soundtrack. Just like with Sonic 2, name the zone, and I can recall the track from that level, fully, note for note. Every second act in every zone is a slightly remixed version of the tune in the first act of the zone. That is a welcome addition, as hearing a slightly different tune keeps the soundtrack from becoming stale. The sound effects are fantastic also, with, again, all the same sounds present and accounted for, with a few new sounds for the the new items, and power-ups. Sonic 3 was also the first Sega game to have music guru Jun Senoue on board, and those who are familiar with his music know that he is damn good at what he does. Will the replay of Sonic 3 keep it perfect?

Replay ability: 8/10

Sadly, this is the only area where Sonic 3 is worse than its predecessor, and that can mainly be attributed to the heavily shortened multi-player mode. The multi-player is only a racing mode, and it is very short and repetitive. The meat of the replay in this game is the main game itself. With its six save slots, you can play up to six different games at once, and that makes for a lot of play time, not to mention getting all of the Chaos Emeralds. Nothing spectacular, Sonic 3 is solid replay-wise.

Buy or rent?

As with every Sonic game, just go out and buy it, do not even bother renting it.

The best Sonic game to date has lots of replay value, lots of things to do, and a brilliant story... and this is all back in 1994! This game has stood the test of time, and will continue to do so. Those who do not feel it is better than its predecessor, really have to examine this game further, as no Sonic can come close to this game. Once again, Yuji Naka's Sonic team had a winner!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/03/09

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