Sonic the Hedgehog 3

"A great overall game, with few flaws."

Sonic The Hedgehog 3 is probably one of my favorite games of all time. It has great graphics, beautiful sound and a somewhat good story. But what is a game without its flaws?

Graphics- 10/10
You may be thinking, 10/10? How is that? I say this because its amazing for its time.See a 16-Bit game is probably the best you could get then. The color is amazing for a 2-D game. This is plainly visible from Angel Island Zone,Marble Garden Zone AND Icecap zone.They all show there separate characteristics, like a blooming jungle for Angel Island, to a winter wonderland for Ice Cap. Probably some of the greatest graphics for its time. 10/10

Sound - 10/10
The sound in this game is incredible, from Angel Island to Launch Base Zone.
Thanks to the Sega Sound Team, Icecap Zone has probably the catchiest music for a game I've ever heard.Also all the minor sounds in the game, from jumping to destroying a robot, is all on point to when you do it. You can jump into the water and hear water, and all of that good stuff! 10/10

Gameplay - 10/10
Great gameplay, everything reacts how it should. Tails serves a certain purpose in this game, as he can now pick you up and fly you to where you cant reach with Sonic alone.He also can help by killing the baddies with a human controlling him!You could do the same in Sonic 2, but Sonic would ALWAYS lose him. Also added was a save feature, I think because Sonic 2 was probably one of the longer games, and would take you around an hour or 2 to beat.The save feature is probably most used with Sonic 3 locked onto Sonic and Knuckles.

Length - 7/10
The only real downfall of the game. With Sega trying to release it on Hedgehog Day, the had to cut it short and incorporate it with another game for the full experience.(Sonic & Knuckles) The game only lasted me about 30 minutes to beat, with no help from the puzzles.Parts of the game add puzzles to make you think while you play, which probably separates it from th side-scrolling action of Sonic The Hedgehog, and Sonic The Hedgehog 2.

Difficulty- 8/10
When I was younger,i found this game near impossible, but now its a snap. The hardest part for me was in Carnival Zone Act 2, when you had to find out how to use the rotating carnival cylinders to get to a lower part of the level. If you've beaten the game you know what Im talking about. Its very very hard for a 5 year old to understand and beat the game, yet its very easy compared to many of todays games.

Story - 9/10
The storyline was in my opinion really good, with some help from Sonic & Knuckles.Alone, Sonic 3 has the normal continuing story of all the Sonic games. Dr. Robotnik is encasing animals in robotic suits to do his bidding. Gets kinda repetitive after awhile but with the help of Sonic & Knuckles, great things happen! There's the whole super emerald thing, a painting on a wall of whats going to happen, Knuckles fighting a super robot, return to the Death Egg, Hyper Sonic, Hyper Knuckles AND Super Tails! You need to buy both games for the entire story, but if your just looking for a good game for fun, go for this.

Replay Value - 10/10
With the exception of the short length, its a very repayable game. Ive found myself just playing through when i get bored, and its kept me playing for years. I would say thats a good replay value if you ask me! Most of the time though it can be the same story but you challenge yourself to do certain things, like get all the emeralds, beat it in a certain amount of time, never die, never continue, you know lots of things!

Overall- 9/10 (9.17 rounded down)
Overall, this game is quite amazing. It will satisfy near anyones need for a good game to give them some fun!

Rent or Buy?

I doubt you'd find this to rent ANYWHERE, so if you see it for sale cheap I HIGHLY suggest buying it. You wont regret it!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/10/05