Sonic 3D Blast

"Darn it! Why did you birds have to get away from me?"

If the other Sonic Genesis games are fun to play, Sonic 3D Blast must be fun also right? Hmm...well you can say it is, but combined with flaws that were not presented in other Sonic games...I would say that Sonic 3D Blast is just a shoody Sonic game that means nothing compared to the other Sonic Genesis games. To go a bit more in-depth...

Story - 7/10
There is an island out somewhere called Flicky Island where it is inhabited by certain birds called (you guessed it) Flickies. However, the evil Dr. Robotnik has learned of their location and went there, imprisoning the Flickies and making them slave robots in order to obtain what he wants there, the Chaos Emeralds. Sonic, knowing this, heads there to stop him and save the Flickies.

At the time of this game, the story is actually decent. It is a Sonic game so it has the common setup of needing to stop Dr. Robotnik, but presenting a different story makes it a little more unique.

Gameplay - 3/10
Sonic 3D Blast is an isometric style played game, and the first in the Sonic series to do this. Good maybe? No, not even close.

I'll just throw it out. The gameplay setup is good in general. You start a stage, you need to bust robots to reveal Flickies that are hiding in them, you get all of them, get to a giant goal ring, and move on to another section of the stage, doing the same thing for about 2-3 more times. At the same time, you get a bunch of Sonic related obstacles such as bumpers and spikes, as well as power-ups such as shields. There are also special stages you can access to if you have enough rings to get to them. Sonic still also has Spin Attack and Spin Dash ability. This game still has the same Sonic gameplay setup, so that part is good. Now let's look at the bad...

One of the main and major problems you will run into in this game: terrible controls. This game has no grip on controlling Sonic. Sonic actually slides far too much when you brake, making you not be able to stop where you want to immediately but rather a couple of seconds later after. This is absolutely pathetic and will be something you will be used to in the later levels. And by that time, it would be too painful to play because you are apparently clashing into an obstacle every 4 seconds. That just gets rid of the entire point of speed that is to suppose to be in Sonic games. Oh, and about the speed, Sonic is slow. Not insanely slow, but slow as in you are not going to speed through a loop as you would usually in other Sonic games. Slow and hard to control...now that is just something.

And if you think clashing a lot is not that bad because apparently all you need is a single ring and then you are safe from losing a life, well think again. Because you suffer more. That is right, the Flickies that you got will move away from you after you get hit. In other words, while you are trying to find a ring in order to prevent yourself from dying, the Flickies are moving away from you and then you must once again, retrieve them. Sounds ok at first, but when you consider how big stages become later on, you could be scrambling around looking for that last Flicky you lost only to find out that it was stuck in a corner of a certain part of the stage, killing 3 minutes of your time when you could have been at the next section of the level already. That is just plain dumb, and it just becomes a repetitive tedious thing to do each time you get hit. Add to it that special stages also require a certain amount of rings in order for Sonic to enter them. When you get hit, all your rings are dropped but they are not all visibly there when you drop them. In other words, I could have 100 rings but only 30 of them are actually visible after I get hit. This makes everything more frustrating since apparently you are trying to look for Tails or Knuckles, carrying the necessary amount of rings to give them to enter the special stage, only to find out you lost them due to bumping into a cannon that just shot at you two feet away. Just plain pathetic.

I'll say this much. The bosses are just astounding. Compared to the rest of the game, the bosses are probably the only thing left that makes it worthwhile to play around. Isometric style bosses are no different than the 2D bosses in 2D Sonic games; you need to find a weakness, dodge the attacks, and then damage the boss somehow. Best of all, no Flickies to worry about so it becomes easier to play since you are just concentrating on the boss and nothing else.

All in all, the gameplay is just unacceptable. Maybe you can get some enjoyment out of it if you don't mind the bad controls, but just know that it is a huge hinderance far later on.

Graphics - 8/10
For an isometric Sonic game, the graphic looks superb for the system. It looks almost 3D in every essence, and that is saying a lot. The stages themselves are beautifully made, showing detailed designs and great coloring. First stage actually looks tropical with a bunch of trees and water. Sonic's design is also something in partial 3D, it does show specifics on how he looks. Overall, it is something to applaud about.

Music/Sound - 7/10
Not the best personally, but the music actually sticks to the game and they fit the themes well for each stage. The first stage is light-hearted and then it becomes more "technical" later on. It's unique in its own style, and it certainly does sound something you would hear in a Sonic game, even though it was created by a different company. Sound, classical Sonic sounds, so that doesn't bring up a problem. Overall, it is something enjoyable to listen to.

Replay Value - 3/10
Ugh, no. There is nothing that is worth replaying over in this game. First time through is good, and after a couple of stages, you would become hook to the game because it is so repetitive. But there is no point doing them all over again after you finish the game entirely. Maybe you would if you haven't got all the Chaos Emeralds the first time through but beyond that, since it has no save function, going through the entire bad control torture again is just not fun and not worth it.

Overall - 6/10
Sonic 3D Blast is certainly an ok game on its own, but its bad controls and poor designing just makes it far too terrible to play. There are many good points about it, but they are hindered by the various flaws in the game. Overall, it is a game that could be played but it is far better to play some other games instead.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 11/22/04, Updated 01/01/08

Game Release: Sonic 3D Blast (US, 1996)