Sonic the Hedgehog 3

"Better than the first? Maybe. Better than the second? HECK, NO!!!!"

Don't get me wrong, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (now on called STH3) is a great game and I guess you could say it deserves to be called a sequel to the arguably best game on the Genesis, but it's definately not better. Keep reading to find out why.

STORY:
Just as Sonic was getting back from his journey to stop Dr. Robotnik, his plain crashes on Angel Island and a mysterious creature named Knuckles swipes all the Chaos Emeralds you collected in STH2 and takes them to Dr. Robotnik. You go after Knuckles and Dr. Robotnik from here on.

GAMEPLAY: 9/10
Okay, I really have no problem with the gameplay, with the exception of the bonus stages, which I will get into later. Tails is back to accompany Sonic, except he has now has a purpose, but only if a human is controlling him. If there are two people playing, then that means one player is Tails. Now, instead of just helping Sonic with all the baddies he has to encoutner, Tails can now pick Sonic up and fly him around, so if there is an object on a floating island that you can't get to, Tails can be great for flying you there. Sonic still has all his old moves, and the levels are once again divided into zones, with a boss at the end of them. Also, the staff from STH2 might have realized it could be hard going through the whole game without getting a game over and not being able to continue, along with some people not having the patience to go through it at once. Realizing this, the makers of STH3 have put in a saving feature, where you can save your game, with up to for files being able to be saved at once. In general, same gameplay as STH2 with some improvements. In addition to that, something that will make the game easier are all the protective things you can pick up. You can hit an item that encases you in a bubble, so you can stay under water as long as you'd like without the worry of drowning. You also can become fire proof, along with having an electric field around you, drawing rings to you. Now, I said I had a problem with the bonus level. The bonus level in STH2 was the best 3D graphics at the time, and that involved going through a tunnel collecting rings and trying to avoid bombs. They changed this, and not for the better. Now, you're on a giant 3D sphere, trying to navigate a way around it collecting blue spheres. Collect all blue spheres (can range from 8 to 72) to complete the level. However, there are some annoying items that when hit can knock you backwards, along with things that when hit launch you 3 spaces forward. There are also red spheres that you have to avoid, and whenever you collect a blue sphere, that sphere turns red. Land on a red sphere, and the round is over. Yeah, not as good as the 3D tunnel. This wouldn't be so bad if finding a bonus ring wasn't so hard. With the exception of the bonus round, the gameplay is just about flawless.

GRAPHICS: 7/10
Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Dr. Robotnik all look fine. Unfortunately, everything else looks like he went down a notch in the graphics department. The backgrounds aren't those colorful, interesting layouts that they were in STH2. Now, they look more plain, with the exception of the Marble Garden level. The machines Dr. Robotnik flies in as the boss look much less detailed and cool than they did in STH2. So, just remember: it's because of the characters that the graphics got a passing score, not because of the background.

SOUND: 4/10
Ugh, nowhere near as good as STH2. The boss music sounds good, and Knuckles' theme sounds good. That's just about it. The background tracks are terrible compared STH2. Of course, the sound isn't made up of themes and background tracks. There are also sound effects that need to be taken into account, but they aren't a heck of a lot better than the sound. Enemies still that weird POW noise when you kill them, which is fine. Sonic's spinball has a good sound, but that's just about it. The sound when Dr. Robotnik's boss contraptions explode sounds more like a rattlesnake. The sound you hear when you get water or fire protection sounds like something splashing in a blob of pudding. And the electric field around you sounds like a high pitched springing sound.

LENGTH: 6/10
The game is kind of short, and I wonder why that is? Um...oh, that's right. Maybe, just maybe, the game is short because SEGA DIDN'T FINISH IT! I know they tried to release this game around "Hedgehog Day", but did they spend so much time on those downgraded bonus stages that they couldn't finish the game in time? Maybe the length would have gotten a better score if some of the levels weren't pulled...

DIFFICULTY: 8/10
The game can be a little hard at times, mainly because the levels aren't side scrollers like in STH2 and more like a series of mini puzzles. Having to solve some small puzzles, along with navigating your way to the end made the game hard at times. The game did do a better job, however, with the bosses. The bosses , although not very creative, still take a little time and solving to figure out how to hurt them. I repeat...a LITTLE time and solving.

REPLAYABILITY: 5/10
Well, I don't see any problem with going back and playing this game again. Things to try to do on a second playthrough could involve looking for any bonus rings you missed, maybe trying the game with a second player or without a second player, to sharpen your skills, or maybe just for the sheer heck of it.

Total Score: 39/60
Averaged Score: 6.5 (rounds up to 7)

Buy or Rent?
Can you remember the last time you rented a Sega game? Me neither, because you can't anymore. If you find this game and are a Sonic fan who for some reason has not played this game, get it. It's not too expensive, and you'll probably have some fun with it for a while.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 08/29/05