Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure (1999)

This isn't a perfect Sonic game by any means, the controls feel somewhat floaty, the game is fairly short and we see the typical frustrating classic Sonic-ness later into the game. Frankly, I don't think this is anything that's going to interest modern retro gamers unless you're a Sonic or Neo Geo diehard.

That said though, it's important to look at this game in context. For the time that it was released this was perhaps the first decent Sonic game on the go after a line of mediocre Game Gear games. This game has charming graphics and gets really close to the fast Sonic gameplay of the Genesis titles, it even expands upon those titles by adding collectables and such.

Honestly, if I was a kid when this game came out I'd consider putting down Pokemon to play this.

It's easy to write off Sonic Pocket Adventure today. Its levels are sort of like remixes of Sonic 2, with bits of other Genesis-era Sonic games sprinkled in, plus some character design touches from Sonic Adventure (which debuted the same year). It lacks the quirk of its portable predecessors or the unique identity of the Sonic Advance titles that would follow a couple of years later. It doesn't really stand out.

But at the time? This game was a big deal to me!

Imagine this: It's 1999. You own a Dreamcast. You love Sonic Adventure. And you want to play Sonic on the go.

Before the Neo Geo Pocket Color and Sonic Pocket Adventure, your options were pretty terrible. The Game Gear was discontinued two years prior, and its Sonic games never felt right anyway. The Nomad could play Genesis cartridges, but these were hard to throw in a back pack, and it ate batteries like it was trying to win a contest. Tiger's Games.com had an atrocious version of Sonic Jam.

But Sonic Pocket Adventure was different! It was the first portable Sonic game to feel like a true, honest-to-goodness Sonic game. Sure, it borrowed elements of past Sonic titles... but so did Sonic Mania, and I played the heck outta that game! Plus it had some nods to Adventure in it, which was tremendously successful fan service for me at the time. This game sold me on the Neo Geo Pocket Color, which was affordably priced (around $70), had plenty of battery life, and a small but fun library of games I'd end up pouring hours into.

Replaying this today, I'm struck by how solid it feels. Original or not, it might still be my favorite portable Sonic game. Very few cruel death traps, some fun collectibles added, you can save your progress. Just good, clean Sonic fun to be had.