Sonic the Hedgehog 3

"One of the best games EVER"

I want you to imagine for a minute what kind of game deserves a 10-out-of-10 rating?
No, sonic isn't a game to give you chills, palpitations and drooling in its awe, but let me just say, it is really really really really good!

Miscellaneous Features: 10/10
Gameplay/Entertainment rating: 10/10
Graphics: 9/10
Sound: 9/10
Replayability: 9/10

Synopsis
This is the THIRD game in the Sega Genesis series, and we start where Sonic 2 left off...
Sonic and Tails are flying low over the sea in their put-put-plane, when (apparently) it starts to cut out. Sonic hops out and runs off onto Angel Island, where who should he bump into? Literally?
Meet Knuckles, Sonic's new Arch-Nemesis. He's an Echidna, the same size as Sonic, and the evil Doctor Robotnik (Co-Starring in Sonic 1 and 2) has persuaded Knuckles to be his new side-kick.
Sonic loses all his Chaos Emeralds from his collision with Knuckles, and before he even knows what hit him, Knuckles has stolen all his emeralds.
What is Robotnik up to NOW? Apparently he is making another attempt to conquer the world!
As usual he's taken all sonic's furry animal friends and placed them in robots out to get Sonic.
Sonic must do all he can to put a stop to the evil Dr. Robotnik, once and for all!

I should also tell you that Sonic gets to re-collect all the Chaos emeralds along the way. If you collect all 7, you become SUPERSONIC, which really is a lot of fun.

Miscellanious features: 10/10
--SAVE I haven't been able to test this out, but the game includes a save feature. But I wonder, if you turn the power off do you lose your game??? That said, the save feature is still really very good, a definite bonus
--COMPETITION MODE Verse your friends in competition mode. It's clearly added value to the game, making your money and entertainment value go further.
--SUPER SONIC I just LOVE being supersonic, from the moment you activate him to his speed and shiny fur. He's really a plus. (Get him after 7 emeralds)

Gameplay: 10/10
-Sonic 3 beats all of its predecessors with new moves, features and add-ons. He can spin, turn into Supersonic if he gets all 7 emeralds, get bonus-spheres like water-bubble (bounce and breath under water), electric-bubble(double-jump! and attract rings), fire-bubble (air-whoosh, protection from fire and certain enemies).
-The gameplay is excellent, with stages that are HUGE, dynamic and really interesting. Unlike before, stages don't just move from left to right. You get to choose which route you take, and go on the rides of your choice. That is really a dynamic feature of the game that makes it so magical.
-Bosses are unique, fun and challenging. You get a lot of pathetic bosses in other games. Here you look forward to the bosses and enjoy it.
-Levels are all interesting Some reviewers complain that the game is too short, with just 12 levels. I'd still think it's super! There are 6 ''zones'' or climates that you will go through, and each zone has 2 stages. Stages are long, and will all take you at least 4 or 5 minutes each! And stages are INTERESTING folks, like I said, it's not just about moving from left to right.

Graphics: 9/10
-Most reviewers say... I've read some of the reviews on GameFAQs, the positive reviews and the negative reviews, and they all say the graphics is fantastic! The makers REALLY put a lot of effort into quality.
-Backgrounds Get a '3D' effect with backgrounds that move when you move. They add a unique 'environment' to the game.
-Enemies Enemies that move realistically and appeal to the imagination. With excellent graphics.
-Animation It's practically flawless! Things are smooth, clear and work very well with the background.

Sound: 9/10
-Don't get me wrong, the sounds are all good and work really well with the levels! But they might get a little tiresome. That's not to say they aren't good quality and highly original, but I feel they could have been better.

Replayability: 9/10
--It's definitely there! I think 9/10 is fair here. First of all, some players might like the chance to be supersonic, so they play the game and try and get him ASAP.
--Stages are dynamic The stages are so dynamic that it would definately be worth a second try. You could play as Tails and try alternative routes. It would definitely be fun again because your experience is always UNIQUE. You'll see parts of stages you never saw before.
--Competition mode Once you're finished playing the game, you might like to verse your friends or family on Competition mode. Added Replayability value.

Overall: 10/10
Why full marks? Because it really is ''out there''. It's a very high-quality game, lots of fun, a high-standard of EVERYTHING. It's unique, it's playable, it's good value, somewhat challenging, entertaining, and hell, doesn't that make 10/10?
As a reviewer, sometimes you have to rate things in comparison to alternatives in the field. If a game out there clearly has better sound than the game you're rating, you can't really give full marks, because then the other games gets 11/10.
So as an OVERALL, Sonic is really like I say 'out there' as one of the ultimate best games ever, and it's full marks in my book!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/22/02, Updated 08/22/02