Sonic 3D Blast

The Good
Attempts at 3D games on 16-bit systems are generally hit or miss - Sonic 3D Blast definitely falls into the former category. With minor exceptions of tricky enemy placements or moving platforms towards the end, the game's presentation is very clear and intuitive, not to mention most textures being far prettier and more detailed than in 2D games on the Mega Drive. On top of that, Sonic controls really smoothly, which cannot be said about some fully 3D games in the series like Adventure or Heroes.

The level design might feel a little simplistic early into the game, but the more you progress, the more varied and uniquely designed each zone you explore will be. It also feels generally more fair and balanced than in the earlier Sonic games, with malicious traps and artificial difficulty being fairly rare, especially for a fourth-generation console game. And while the gameplay itself is definitely slower-paced, the interesting level design more than makes up for it.

Another great thing about Sonic 3D Blast is the original soundtrack, primarily composed by Senoue Jun and Maeda Tatsuyuki. The tracks are very memorable, with interesting, synthwave-anticipating sound design, polished arrangements, catchy melodies, and a lot of atmosphere.

The Bad
One thing that drags Sonic 3D Blast down quite a bit is the difficulty spike towards the very end. While most of the game is reasonable and balanced when it comes to difficulty, the two final bosses are extremely unforgiving, almost like the infamous final sequence in Sonic 2.

The Bottom Line
Sonic 3D Blast is a strangely overlooked gem, a great example of 2.5D graphics and design on 16-bit consoles, and quite possibly the best entry in its iconic franchise. 8/10

[played in official emulator as part of SEGA Mega Drive Classics on PC]

The Good
The graphics are very nice for a genesis game. The worlds, cutscenes, and characters all look great. When this game was released on November 30, 1996 the Sega Genesis (or Mega Drive) was in it's twilight stage. So you would expect to see nice graphics. The music has a lot of effort put into it. Lots of the songs are catchy and hard to forget. But really, they're not as good as the previous Sonic Genesis games.

The Bad
The gameplay can get SO BORING! Instead of just racing to the goal, you have to get a certain number of birds called "Flickies" before you can continue or finish the stage. And since the Flickies can be so hard to find, sometimes PARTS of levels can take you 30 minutes! It should be optional. If this game had a time limit, it would've been a disaster. The controls are very weird. The game isn't a side scroller, instead Travellers Tales decided to make it an Isometric platformer making controling with the d-pad awkward. The Saturn version was better if the 3D control pad is used because it has a thumbstick.

The Bottom Line
Sonic 3D is a mixed bag. The graphics and music are good, but boring gameplay and poor controls make it fairly average. It was NOT worth $50 back in '96. Part 1/5 in my Travellers Tales saga.

DID YOU KNOW THAT: This game was released in Japan ONLY on the Saturn in 1999? By then, the Dreamcast was out!

The Good
Donkey Kong Country for the SNES can't touch this. This is Sega's swan song for the genny. It pushed it too the limits. Great graphics. Remember it takes more than 200+ static colors on screen to make a game graphically super. The resolution and shading is really great for the 16 bit dinosaur. This game brought sonic to the next level. No longer a side scroller, but a fully roaming sonic. Game play is excellent. For a genny cart it sounds actually pretty good.

The Bad
There is nothing not to like about this game unless you hate sonic.

The Bottom Line
The final installment of the sonic series for this system. This is a must game for all genny owners. The peak of game development on Sega's 16 bit machine.