Sonic CD

"It's better than Sonic Spinball"

Shortly after Sonic the Hedgehog was released, planning of 2 sequels went underway: One of them was Sonic CD, while the other is the much more well-known Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Intended to come out before Sonic 2 (Which was released in late 1992), Sonic CD was delayed multiple times until it was finally released in 1993. Many fans hold this game in high regard, but is it really as good as they say?

Story
Dr. Eggman has taken over the Little Planet (I'm assuming it's a dwarf planet like Pluto), captured Amy--wait, I meant "Princess Sally", and is now trying to steal the Time Stones, allowing him to wreak havoc on the past, and only Sonic can stop him!

No, Princess Sally Acorn (From the Saturday morning Sonic cartoon) does not exist in this game, even though it says otherwise in the instructions. Who they refer to as "Princess Sally" is really Amy Rose (Yes, the same Amy from Sonic Adventure, though she never speaks and is dressed differently). With that little correction out of the way, the storyline isn't too bad, and the whole "Time Stones" and time travel thing is unique to the Sonic series.
Story: 7 out of 10

Graphics
Because it was intended to come out before Sonic 2, the graphics look almost exactly like the first Sonic game. There are almost no enhancements outside of some quazi-3D effects on the title screen and in some stages. It does look good, but dated compared to Sonic 2, which came out months earlier.
Graphics: 6 out of 5

Music \ Sound Effects
It's not too bad considering it's the first disc-based Sonic game. It's not on the level of Sonic 3D Blast for Saturn or Sonic Adventure, but it's still good with songs that just fit the Sonic style, plus it has one of the best Sonic theme songs ever (Sonic Boom; It's no Open Your Heart, but beats the Sonic Heroes main theme any day). Yes, I am talking about the American version's soundtrack, in case you're wondering. The sound effects sound a little different than normal, but for the most part, it's standard Sonic fare.
Music \ Sound Effects: 8 out of 10

Controls
What you've come to expect from a 2D Sonic game. Just the D-Pad and a Jump button, but it features 2 special moves: Spin Dash (A carry over from Sonic 2. It's not as useful as it was, because it takes much longer to charge) and Super Peel-Out (An original move that was useful to build up speed before time traveling). However, it's still the same perfect control scheme.
Controls: 10 out of 10

Gameplay
This is where the game falls short; it doesn't really feel much like a Sonic game, because of poor level designs preventing you from going fast (One of the main things Sonic is known for), which makes time travel much harder (Which you have to run fast and keep up that speed for so long before you'll jump to the stage in another time period), which in turn makes it much harder to finish 100%. The time travel feature is a unique idea (Being able to move between 3 different time periods of a stage as you search for special machinery to destroy in the past and present to get a good future for the stage), but was poorly implemented; it can get tedious trying to enter the past, then finding what you need to destroy to make a good future. Special Stages are back, but instead of a rotating maze with an emerald hidden or a half-pipe with rings and bombs, Sonic CD has you running around a track, destroying UFOs within the time limit (Time dropping if you run through water of hit an obstacle). The game's bosses are about even with the other Sonic games of the era; though it's sometimes hard to hit Eggman, his machines takes far less hits to defeat him.
Gameplay: 5 out of 10

Overall
It's an ok game held back by poor level designs. It's worth trying if you like other Sonic games and find a copy for less than $10, but don't expect anything on the same scale as other Sonic games from the era.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 12/04/08

Game Release: Sonic CD (US, 11/19/93)