Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Name: Sonic the Hedgehog 3
System: Sega Genesis
Developer: Sonic Team
Publisher: Sega
Release Date: 1994
Genre: Platformer

While I think I have to give the crown of best Sonic title to Sonic 2, Sonic 3 is a spectacular game that outdoes the second game in several ways. Better graphics, more complex levels and the diversity of gameplay introduced by the ability to play as a flying Tails all help to make it a very refreshing take on the Sonic formula.

Sonic 3 was an anomaly for me as a kid, but I'm not exactly sure why. Perhaps it was the more complex level designs with diverging paths or the longer stages or even just the visual style, but I never felt as comfortable with its worlds. That not to say I didn't enjoy the game, but I never got very far into it. I don't recall ever beating Hydrocity Zone as a kid, and if I did it was only a few times and I never got much further. The Zone really is not that hard if you stay on the upper portion sans water, which I never managed to do. Those second zones (Marble, Chemical Plant, Hydrocity) always gave me fits, but Hydrocity was by far the hardest. Maybe because it was so long, but it always seemed like such an epic grind of drowning, skeletal fish and spikes. As far as Angel Island Zone goes, it was more difficult than the Green Hill Zones of the first two games, but still eased one into the game. The visual style was a nice change from the other Sonic first levels, though it stuck to the green pallete. I always enjoyed the colors and look of the stage, especially after the aerial bombing as the end of Act I. At the end, the Robotnik battle is interesting, but not real challenge compared to later bosses. All in all, I think I spent too much time exploring the levels and lallygagging about than truly trying to beat them. I guess as a kid it was not all that vital to achieve victory, not when there was sightseeing and cool new lightning and fire shields, and new bonus stages to explore.

The thing that really hits me when replaying it now is that this game is much easier than it used to be, definitely easier than Sonic 1. Angel Island is a cinch, and Hydrocity Zone isn't very difficult as long as you stay up on land, which isn't hard to do throughout most of it.

The graphics are just gorgeous, some of the best of any 16-bit title I have played. The levels are full of color and texture that completely blows away the first two games in the series. The music, like all the Sonic games of this era is simple and catchy.

The most startling aspect of the game is the sheer speed. While all the Sonic games are fast, 3 takes that sense of speed to a new level. The Zones are filled with slopes and accelerators (save Angel Island) that unleash Sonic upon the hapless robots around him. While this is a blast, in retrospect it gave me the feeling that I was breezing through the game, almost as if I was looking out a car window at scenery. I don't want to overstate this point, because it is minor, but spending last night playing through most of the game left me with little impression of the individuality of the zones because they are all filled with the ramps and slopes and the same sort of routes with a different color paint slapped on. The ice level is the most egregious offender in this, and while its design is cool and there are interesting enemies (penguins!), you spend most of the level just much falling down steep slopes and get little time to truly enjoy your surroundings. Perhaps it is just because I have not played through every level countless times like I have with Sonic 1 and 2, and anyway it only detracts slightly from the game, but I cannot help shaking that impression.

While I wouldn't rank it as good as its predecessors, this is an amazing game and one that perhaps suffers somewhat because it was split in half, with Sonic and Knuckles constituting the back 9. All in all, Sonic 3 is well worth picking back up, even now, as it is an absolute classic.

Score: 9.5