Sonic The Hedgehog 3

Name:
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 - North America
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 - Japan
Sonic 3 - Europe

Other Names (Nicknames): Sonic 3 & Knuckles

Release Dates:
February 2nd, 1994 - North America
February, 1994 - Europe
May 27th, 1994 - Japan

Quality: 16-Bit, Side-Scrolling Platformer

Game System(s): Sega Mega Drive/Genesis

Also released on:
(1). Sega Saturn - Sonic Jam Collection
(2). PC - RealPlayer Arcade, Sega B-Club, and the Sonic & Knuckles Collection
(3). Gamecube/Playstation/X-Box - Sonic Mega Collection (Plus)

Developer(s): Sonic Team, and Sega Technical Institute

Character Introductions: Knuckles The Echidna.

Region Game Takes Place On: Angel Island (named the Floating Island in the US version).


Concept Introductions: Sonic has a new double-jump maneuver that triggers a brief shield that increases his attack range and protects him from damage upon quickly tapping the jump button twice: it is called the Insta shield. Tails' flying ability is also functional in Sonic 3. Four new additional powerups are created: the water bubble shield, fire shield, electric shield, and the Robotnik powerup (which rarely appears). Each of the shields not only protect you from the particular element they represent, but they also offer a special double-jump; the electric shield's being the most useful (not only does it attract nearby rings, but it's the only shield that protects from electrical hazards). These three shield types completely replace the conventional bubble shield from its two predecessors. The Robotnik powerup harms you. New sub-bosses are added at the end of the first act of each zone.

Concept Deductions: Special Stage entrance once again returns to the ring portals, but instead of finding them at the end of the zones, the ring portals are hidden in small caves throughout the zones. No rings are required to enter them. The powerup monitor's appearance changes, along with the checkpoint markers. The sign post at the end of the zone is no longer just standing there, but instead drops when you finish the first act and bounces around depending on how many times you hit it to gather points. It drops once you defeat a sub-boss.

Storyline:

           Sonic The Hedgehog 3 picks up right after the events of Sonic The Hedgehog 2. Sure, Sonic & Tails thought they managed to knock the Death Egg out of the sky at the end of Sonic 2, but nope. Instead, it crash landed on the legendary Angel Island, an island ascended high in the skies. The mountains crush and forests are set ablaze as the impact of the Death Egg drives the Angel Island into the ocean, creating a huge tsunami.

           Meanwhile, it was just a casual day for Tails. That's until Tails' emerald radar goes off, and gets readings from Angel Island. But that didn't make sense, he and Sonic still had the Chaos Emeralds from when they were at Westside Island! Curious as to whether or not this had to do with the recent tsunami, Tails took off in Sonic's plane to check it out. Sonic, however, was just enjoying a casual lay on the beach until a strange ring washed up on the shore with an engraving on its surface. Seeing it caused him to remember about the legend of the Angel Island, which was once part of the main continent. It was inhabited by a thriving civilization who based their power off of the Mighty Stone, which is known as the Master Emerald. However, the leaders got greedy, wanting to use the power of the stone for themselves. When they attempted to forcefully use the stone, the supposed shattering of the destroyed the entire civilization, while with the test of time, a god descended and restored part of the civilization, also raising a part of the land up as what is now known as Angel Island, with the Master Emerald being the source behind its ascension.

           Once Tails returned, they both got their asses in gear and set off for their next big adventure. Using the Chaos Emeralds to jet over the water, Super Sonic manages to fly onto the surface of Angel Island. The welcome wagon was not exactly welcoming, as a dreadlocked red echidna, named Knuckles, ambushed Sonic by surprise and snatched the 7 Chaos Emeralds. It appears this echidna was tricked by Eggman into thinking Sonic & Tails were here to take the emerald(s) for themselves. So while Knuckles kept Sonic & Tails at bay, Eggman was repairing the Death Egg at his self-built launch base.

Personal Criticism/Opinion:

           Released smack dab at pinnacle of Sonic's popularity, Sonic The Hedgehog 3 is usually the number one favorite of most Sonic fans. Of course, they like to combine it with its booty partner, Sonic & Knuckles by saying that their favorite game is Sonic 3 & Knuckles. On that note, when Sonic The Hedgehog 3 was first released, lots of fans were disappointed since it only appeared to be half of a game. The last scene just shows the Death Egg falling once again and Sonic watching from afar before the credits roll. Its second half, Sonic & Knuckles, was released later, which utilized technology that enabled Sonic 3 to lock onto it and make the full game, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, which is a very, VERY good video game. I won't deny, it's on my top #5 favorites, actually.

           Sonic 3 adds a lot more greenery and liveliness into the fray with its level design, still using the same slightly-more-realistic environment as from Sonic 2. However, it's just a trifle slower than its predecessor. There are a lot more obstacles in Sonic 3, making for much slower gameplay. There are also nifty little mini-bosses at the end of the first act of each zone. But obviously, the best feature of Sonic 3, next to Knuckles, is that it is the very first Mega Drive/Genesis Sonic game that utilizes save-game technology! However, the function isn't really that useful unless you plan on playing it locked onto Sonic & Knuckles. Otherwise, it's easy to beat Sonic 3 with all 7 Chaos Emeralds just as effortlessly as Sonic 1 and 2.

           Other than that, the best feature about Sonic 3 is the character it introduces: Knuckles! Unlike the sidekick status Tails was meant to take, Knuckles was made to be Sonic's rival. Some time after the game's release, Knuckles, in fact, became more popular than Sonic! (When I was 5 years old, me and my friend Josh argued over who got to be Knuckles when we roleplayed as the Sonic characters on my old trampoline.)

           Sonic the Hedgehog 3, still, is not at its full glory unless it is paired with its significant other. So if you want to find out about its other half, go to the Sonic & Knuckles Game Relations part. What would have really rocked was if you could triple-stack Sonic 2, 3, and Knuckles and play the entire Death Egg Saga.

Let's see some GAMER'S PERSPECTIVE:

Replay value? Awesome. Just like all of the older Sonic games, I can play them and beat them over and over again without ever getting tired.

Graphics? The sprites are well drawn and quite accurate when it comes to a 3D perspective in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. The animation is awesome and the level design is spectacular. Sonic's sprite is changed in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 ONCE again. The running animation is more stocky while Sonic's coloring is a lot more glossy and he is a bit more buff. I personally think it's not at all an upgrade from Sonic 1 or 2's sprites. Sonic 3 & Knuckles has the worse Sonic sprites I've seen on a mainstream Genesis/Mega Drive Sonic game. I am not counting Sonic Spinball's intolerable Sonic sprite.

Music & Sound Effects? Sonic The Hedgehog 3's soundtrack style is completely different from Sonic 1 and Sonic 2's, since Sonic 3 was the first Sonic game to have music done by who is now the main go-to man for Sonic music, Jun Senoue. While the same classic looping, fast-paced style is maintained with the music, the beats and solos are a lot softer from a 16-bit standpoint. The Icecap Zone themesong is today's most popular zone song in all of Sonic fandom, since it has the largest amount of fan remixes. The maintained sound effects are once again hand-me-downed from Sonic 2.

Storyline? It's turning out excellent. Sonic 3's storyline is a continuation of Sonic 2's, which is DEFINITELY a plus. Overall, combining the flavor text of the storyline from the manuals along with the storyline of the game as it goes along makes for a very indepth, adventurous plot. If you combine Sonic 3's storyline with Sonic 2's, it really builds up more suspense for the exciting conclusion in Sonic & Knuckles.

OVERALL RATING? I rate Sonic The Hedgehog 3 as a 9/10.