Sonic 3D Blast
| Sonic 3D Blast | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Traveller's Tales, Sega[1][2] |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Platform(s) | Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Sega Saturn, Windows, Virtual Console |
| Release date | PAL November, 1996 (Mega Drive) USA November, 1996 (Gen, Sat) PAL February, 1997 (Saturn) USA September 25, 1997 (PC) PAL September 30, 1997 (PC) JPN October 14, 1999 (Saturn) |
| Genre(s) | Platform,Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: K-A (Kids to Adults) OFLC: G (General) PEGI: 3+ |
| Media | 32 Mbit cartridge, CD-ROM (1) |
| Input methods | Control pad, joystick, keyboard |
Sonic 3D Blast: Flickies' Island (titled Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and called Sonic 3D Blast in North America, both names used in Japan) is an isometric platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It was developed in the United Kingdom by Traveller's Tales and published by Sega. The Japanese version was a Sega Saturn exclusive. The Genesis/Mega Drive version has been released on the Wii's Virtual Console service in late 2007 on the European and Japanese markets, and in November 19, 2007 for North America.
Archie Comics published a comic adaptation of the game for a 48-page special, published in January 1997. A loose adaptation of the game also appeared in issues #104-106 of Sonic the Comic.
The North American title Sonic 3D Blast should not be confused with the game Sonic Blast for the Sega Game Gear.
Contents |
Release history and versions
In addition to the original Mega Drive version, Sonic 3D was also available for the Sega Saturn to make up for the cancellation of Sonic X-treme, which was intended to be Saturn's killer game for the 1996 holiday season; the game was ported in seven weeks, during development of the Mega Drive version. FMVs, higher quality graphics (including a true 3D Special Stage, considered by many fans to be the best Special Stage in the series) and an entirely new, CD audio soundtrack composed by Richard Jacques (who later produced the Sonic R soundtrack). A European release followed in February 1997.
In September 1997 a port of the Saturn version was released for PC in Europe and North America, with the videos and soundtrack intact, as well as the notable addition of a save game system, but lacking some of the Saturn's effects (such as the fog in Rusty Ruins) and with a less impressive special stage that mixed the 2D sprites from the Mega Drive version with the basic 3D gameplay of the Saturn version. The Saturn version was eventually released in Japan on October 14, 1999, the same date as Sonic Adventure International.
Only one version of the Mega Drive game was released, with the title differing depending on whether it is played on a PAL or NTSC console. In PAL regions the title is Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island, and in NTSC regions the title is Sonic 3D Blast. This caused a problem, however, when the Mega Drive version was re-released in the Sonic Mega Collection. Due to the aforementioned feature, the game is titled Sonic 3D Blast when played on a PAL 60 or NTSC-J system.
Although the PC version's title differed between regions, its executable was titled "Sonic 3D Blast: Flickies' Island", a combination of both names. It should be noted though, that the combined name is rarely used, with fans usually favoring one name over the other. In addition, "Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island" was the title that was used for the Japanese Saturn version, but when the Mega Drive version was finally released in Japan as part of Sonic Mega Collection, its name was once again changed to "Sonic 3D Blast".
In October 2006, a 95 percent complete prototype was acquired and dumped for Internet distribution.[3]
Story
Dr. Robotnik discovers that some strange birds, called Flickies, live on an island in an alternate dimension. He learns that they can travel anywhere using large rings, so he decides to exploit them by turning them into robots to help him search for the Chaos Emeralds. One day, Sonic visits Flickies' Island and sees what Robotnik has done to them. He decides to free the Flickies and stop Robotnik from finding the Emeralds.
Music and audio
Several music tracks from the Mega Drive version were later reused in Sonic Adventure. This is not a coincidence, as Jun Senoue worked on the music for both games. Richard Jacques scored the Saturn/PC versions. Many of the themes used in the Mega Drive version come from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles. The game over music was also used in Sonic Pocket Adventure. Furthermore, hidden in the cartridge data (not accessible from the sound test screen) is the music track from Sonic 3's gumball bonus stage, which was also composed by Jun Senoue. Since the Saturn and PC versions of the game use Red Book audio, their soundtracks can be played using a CD Player.
The Saturn version also features a theme song, "You're My Hero" composed by Richard Jaques and performed by Debbie Morris. This song is heard during the game's end credits.
Gameplay
The game is played from an isometric viewpoint in a de facto 2D environment and uses pre-rendered 3D sprites. Sonic must collect Flickies (first featured in the 1984 Sega arcade game Flicky) and bring them to a warp ring in order to advance in a zone. Each zone consists of two regular acts and one boss act. There are 10 or 15 Flickies in each zone's regular acts, barring Panic Puppet's, while in each zone's third act the player faces Dr. Robotnik in one of his many machines.
Chaos Emeralds
The Chaos Emeralds seen in the Mega Drive version are Emerald cut instead of the usual Brilliant cut. (Coincidentally, the Sol Emeralds are also Emerald cut.)
To warp to a bonus level where the player can try for a Chaos Emerald, either Knuckles or Tails must be located within the regular levels. The player must have 50 rings or more, and must stand next to either Tails or Knuckles. At this point, the player's rings will be absorbed, and the played will be transported to the Chaos Emerald level.
There are three different versions of the bonus levels.
Sega Saturn: Sonic must run down a three dimensional halfpipe covered in rings and bombs and must collect enough rings to progress to the end of each stage.
PC Version: Sonic must run down a halfpipe similar to those in Sonic 2.
Sega Genesis: Sonic must run down a bridge, collecting rings and avoiding bombs.
Flicky Types
The Flickies Sonic rescues in each level come in four different colours. Each colour has its own personality.
- Blue Flickies make a conscious effort to find Sonic. If they cannot find him, they fly around in a tight circle, making them easy to locate.
- Pink Flickies act largely like blue ones, but fly around in bigger circles if unable to find Sonic. In the Volcano Valley Zone in the Mega Drive version, the pink Flickies are replaced with bright orange, flaming Flickies, presumably due to colour palette limitations.
- Red Flickies constantly move between two close points, not making any effort to find Sonic. Their movement range is small, but they jump very high and can thus be hard to catch.
- Green Flickies wander randomly with no interest in finding Sonic, they even sometimes appear to try to avoid Sonic.
Reception
Upon release, Sonic 3D Blast gained mixed responses from fans and critics alike-mostly negative, however for many reasons which include (taken from Gamespot.com's review for each version):
- Clunky Control: This mainly stems from the isometric nature of the game, the slippery movement of Sonic and the fact that the Genesis and the (default) Saturn controller used D-Pads instead of analog sticks (However, to make up for this the Saturn version is compatible with the 3D Analog controller which originally came bundled with NiGHTS into Dreams. In addition, Sonic can be moved with the game controller's analog stick in the Sonic Mega Collection version.)
- Repetitive Gameplay: The gameplay solely relied on destroying enemies and bringing the Flicky birds to the Warp Rings so that Sonic can progress through the levels.
- The Main lack of Sonic's trademark speed: Unless a speed-up power up was used, Sonic merely jogs when moving in game.
- Incredibly easy special stages: A skilled player could easily beat all seven special stages without failure by Rusty Ruin Zone Act 2 in the Genesis version.
However, the game was praised for it's graphics, boasting some of the best visuals ever seen on the Sega Genesis. It was also lauded for it's great soundtrack and challenging boss fights.
The Saturn version however received better reception than the Genesis version due to superior graphics and music, offering a solution to the control problems, and for restricting getting an emerald from the special stage to one per act, changing the special stages to play more like Sonic the Hedgehog 2's special stages making the special stages far more difficult. Unfortunetely, the Saturn version was also criticised for featuring notoriously long loading times and lacking a save feature, which many people saw as an enormous oversight.
However, the PC version of 3D Blast received poor reception due to even worse controls, lacking some of the Saturn versions brilliant graphical effects, and boasting an inferior special stage. It was praised however, for having a save feature and shorter loading times.
Gamespot Reviews:
- Sonic 3D Blast (Genesis): N/A
- Sonic 3D Blast (Wii's Virtual Console): 4.0 Poor
- Sonic 3D Blast (Saturn): 7.0 Good
- Sonic 3D Blast (PC): 5.6 Mediocre
Images
 The Saturn version's Special Stage, with real time texture mapped polygon graphics. |  Diamond Dust Zone, Saturn version, with more colorful graphics. |  The title screen of the European Sega Saturn version. |
 The Mega Drive/Genesis version's pseudo-3D Special Stage, with pre-rendered 3D sprites |  Diamond Dust Zone, Mega Drive/Genesis version with less detail. |  Sonic 3D's title screen when put into a Sega Genesis. |
References
- Quote from Producer of Sonic 3D Blast Mike Wallis: They were part of the backup plan with Sonic 3D Blast, and Travellers Tales did the game and SOJ did the Bonus Levels (Special Stages)[1]
- According to Programmar Jon Burton, Sega actually supplied the game design and level layouts, so we (Traveller's Tales) implemented the gameplay, created the technology to run that kind of game on a Mega Drive and created the rendered graphic style and so on, he recalls.[2].
- Sonic 3D Beta website
