Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994)

So now I've reached the third title in Sonic the Hedgehog's original trilogy! But things are not quite so simple, as Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is not really a single game, but a duology. As the legend goes, the developers at Sega became so ambitious with their follow-up to the spectacular Sonic the Hedgehog 2 that time constraints forced them to split the game into multiple pieces. The first of these pieces is Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which was followed shortly thereafter by Sonic & Knuckles. The latter of these games featured a lock-on cartridge mechanic that allowed you to combine the two games into one massive mega-game titled Sonic 3 & Knuckles. For clarity's sake, this review is for the original, non-enhanced Sonic the Hedgehog 3. When I originally played this game in the Sonic Mega Collection, the two titles were presented as separate, though you could unlock the combined version. While Sonic 3 & Knuckles is the purported "original vision" of the developers, it's not Sonic 3 as I personally originally experienced it.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 still makes a hell of a first impression though. Sonic 1 and 2 were already lookers, but Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a bonafide pixel art masterpiece. Sonic himself is much more expressive than ever, and levels are incredibly beautiful, with some seriously impressive backgrounds. This visual excellence permeates the entire game, with it featuring not only gorgeous art, but also pushing the graphical envelope of the time with its use of pseudo-3D effects and complex animations. I would go as far as to say that Sonic 3 is one of the best looking 2D pixel-art games I've ever played.

There's also quite an interesting story to tell with its soundtrack, with none other than Michael Jackson having involvement in its vision. While he would be uncredited in the final product, his influence is clearly audible in parts of it.

The gameplay also feels like a great iterative improvement on what came before. Sonic controls exactly as he did before, but now also can perform a simple mid-air strike. It's not quite as transformative as the Spin Dash was, but combined with the host of new shields you can find that alter its function, it turns out to be quite a fun addition. Much like in the previous instalment, Sonic 3 presents a group of wonderful levels that propel you forward and serve as a playground for Sonic's inherently fun moveset.

There's a few other things that really enhance Sonic the Hedgehog 3's feel. It's a super nice touch that levels now flow seamlessly into each other, stringing together a light, but nevertheless charming story. It's also great that every act is now bookended by a boss fight, not just the final level of the act, and it's something that I always looked forward to and enjoyed. Also, Chaos Emeralds are now obtained from Special Stages that are found by locating giant rings that are hidden in each stage. I really liked this change, as it encourages deeper exploration, rather than simply seeking out the goal of each stage.

So, then. All of these things considered, it seems like Sonic 3 is yet another improvement on what came before! But why do I think this title is a step down from Sonic the Hedgehog 2? My first qualm is with Carnival Night Zone, a level with a confusing layout and annoying gimmicks that turned it into quite the serious hiccup in an otherwise great set of levels. Let's put it this way: Carnival Night Zone is the first time I learned that Sonic's timer is not just for decoration, and that you actually get a game over if it reaches 10 minutes.

My second issue is a grander, more overarching problem with Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Sans Knuckles) -- it feels unfinished. While it attempts to tie the story together in a way that makes sense, there's still quite an anti-climactic feeling at the end of the game, especially compared to Sonic 2's epic finale. Combined with the small list of zones, it really does feel like Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is only half of a greater game.

Maybe it's a bit unfair to review Sonic 3 without considering the "& Knuckles" bit, but as this was the way many people originally experienced the game, myself included, I think it's valid to evaluate it as a standalone entry. Someday I do hope to get around to playing Sonic 3 & Knuckles as it was intended, but since Sonic Superstars is hitting my mailbox very soon, that day will not be today.

Sonic The Hedgehog 3 is extremely well made and polished. It's refreshing after playing Sonic CD where the level design was extremely inconsistent and sloppy

Sonic The Hedgehog 3 was meant to be Sega's magnum opus for the Genesis Sonic series. It was gonna be twice as long as any other Sonic game prior, it was gonna have stunning new visuals and an interesting story. However, due to hardware limitations, Sonic The Hedgehog 3 was split into two games. I'll be reviewing the first half. Sonic The Hedgehog 3 is insanely good. None of the Zones felt stupid and were all consistently good.

This game introduces the Master Emerald, Angel Island, and the newest addition to the cast, Knuckles The Echidna who serves as a semi-antagonist since he was manipulated by Dr. Robotnik into believing that Sonic and Tails are after the Master Emerald, something he must protect.

Tails is playable here and is an easy mode. But he also can tag along with Sonic as he did in Sonic The Hedgehog 2. Knuckles is also playable. He is the slowest, but he can glide and climb walls which makes him the most traversable character.

After collecting the 7 Chaos Emeralds (Which can be done by finding hidden rings), you can become Super Sonic like in the Sonic The Hedgehog 2. However, Tails and Knuckles also have Super forms this time around

The music is also really well done and some of it was worked on by Michael Jackson (Which is a huge reason why we don't see this game re-released as much as the others). Still a great soundtrack but I wouldn't say it is better than Sonic CD.

Sonic The Hedgehog 3 is a fantastically made game filled to the brim with personality and charm. Truly it is the best 2D Sonic game yet

4/5

Would Recommend

Sonic 3 is a fantastic game. When locked on to Sonic & Knuckles, it's a 16-bit gaming masterpiece. Don't get me wrong, the first three games are great (Sonic 2 was far and away my favorite as a youngster). But for me, they don't match the presentation, scope and variety of "Sonic 3 & Knuckles."

Aspects of this game I adore:

• The sprite work is just so gorgeous, in a style that feels completely unique to the franchise and the console.
• The soundtrack is my personal favorite of the series.
• The level layouts are sprawling, full of secrets, and less reliant on bottomless pits and fields of spikes than past (and future) entries.
• Each playable character has unique abilities, often with unique paths.
• The "blue sphere" special stages are a blast, and the rewards for completing them feel substantial.
• Adding just a pinch of story to tie levels together helps unify the whole experience.
• You can finally save your progress!!

It's an absolute shame that this game hasn't been as consistently available to play as its predecessors. Here are your options:

• The game is available on Steam. One benefit of this version is that you can install Angel Island Revisited, which adds widescreen support and some other features.
• Xbox Live still sells Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles separately, which can "lock on" when both are purchased. These are 360 games but are listed as "backwards compatible" for Xbox One.
• Some portions of the game (looking at you, Lava Reef Zone boss) are trickier than others, so if you consider yourself a casual player (as I do), emulation might be your best bet. I find Sonic games are a great fit for mapping "rewind" to a trigger button. While I prefer experiencing the game as I remembered it, there's an excellent Sonic 3 Complete rom hack you should definitely look into. You can even customize your patch to tweak the game to your liking.
• If you have a GameCube, Wii, PlayStation 2 or original Xbox, the Sonic Mega Collection is excellent. It often sells for less than $10 on eBay.
• Sega ported the game to Windows in the 90s for the Sonic & Knuckles Collection. Its soundtrack is poorer but its visuals are great. It can work on modern PCs with Sega PC Reloaded. It's easy to find online, but physical copies are also dirt cheap.
• The original Genesis carts are not considered rare and are relatively affordable.
• If you own a Saturn and have $100 to spare, Yuji Naka himself ported the game for Sonic Jam.

I would avoid Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection (which doesn't support the lock-on feature) and Sonic Classic Collection (which has some video and audio issues).

Gameplay, Story and Value:

We'll start with the easy bits first. Sonic 3 controls just like Sonic 1 and 2 before it, featuring the Spin Dash introduced in Sonic 2 but lacking the running in place ability from Sonic CD. New is the addition of a secondary jump ability, which by default extends your damage range by a hair and lets you bounce higher off of enemies and item boxes. To compliment this ability, three new shields have been added to the game. The bubble shield allows Sonic to breath underwater and bounce downward with a second button press. The fire shield makes Sonic immune to fire damage and launches you forward in a blazing fire ball when you press jump a second time. Finally, the lightening shield will pull rings towards you, and allows for a double jump. Personally, my goal was to try to always have the lightening shield, as the double jump proved invaluable.

When you start a new game in Sonic 3, you're given the choice of playing as Sonic, Tails or both Sonic and Tails. When both characters are active, a second play can take over Tails directly, which allows him to carry Sonic a short distance with his helicopter tails. The game is seven zones long, and it will autosave between every zone! What's more is that you can go back and replay any zones you've cleared, which makes for a good way of collecting all those Chaos Emeralds.

When you dock Sonic 3 into Sonic & Knuckles, seven additional zones are added to the game, which simply treats these as zones 8-14, and allows you to save across them just as in the initial seven! Additionally, you'll be able to play as Knuckles in the Sonic 3 campaign.

While the core gameplay mechanics are familiar, what Sonic 3 manages to actually do with them is spectacular. Controls are tight and responsive and everything just feels really good. The levels are designed in such a way that getting lost is impossible, even when you think you're going entirely the wrong way. While Sonic CD could send you backtracking or looping quite frequently, Sonic 3 somehow always manages to keep you moving forward. Equally impressive is how well the game conveys a sense of speed. Most of the levels have segments that'll have you blazing down ramps, across water, through loops, etc., and it always looks great!

The sole exception is one instance in the snow level where I simply could NOT make a jump. To get past it I simply had to plug in a second controller to have Tails lift me over the gap, but if I were playing as Sonic alone I'm not sure how I would have handled it.

Bosses in the game are varied and plentiful, with upwards of three per zone. Actually, they're easily one of the game's highlights, as facing them is always a lot of fun. The final showdown with Robotnik was both challenging and satisfying.

Presentation, Music and Sound:

Graphically, Sonic 3 is great, specifically when it comes to all the new animations he has for all the new things he's doing in this game. What's particularly impressive, however, is that even over the course of fourteen stages every zone manages to feel unique. Add to that the fact that some zones change visually at the halfway mark and the environmental variety you get here is pretty astonishing. The UI is the same as it's ever been, which is to say simple and effective, and everything you need to interact with in the game is clear and easy to understand. It may not be the best looking game on the system, which is simply to say there are better looking games, but it easily ranks among the top in visual quality.

The music is equally as good, falling right in line with the styles established in the first game while still feeling unique. I could argue the music in Sonic 3 is better than the original's, but only just. Sound effects are exactly what you'd expect from a Sonic game on the Genesis.

Afterthoughts:

I remember all the hype surrounding Sonic 3 as a kid, and I remember liking it alright, but never beating it. I also remember when I finally got my hands on Sonic & Knuckles. Again, it was just okay. Twenty years later (oh gods!) and for whatever reason I'm now finding this to be my favorite game on the console! I have fond memories of Sonic 2 as well, and I'm deeply curious as to if and how it will be able to top this grand adventure!

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