Sonic 15th Anniversary WEEK! Day 2 - 32-Bit Troubles

[GrayFox]

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The first thread about the 16-Bit days is still floating about. Feel free to contribute to any of these threads. Thanks for reading guyz.

The Sega Saturn.

A great console, that becomes even better when one ventures into the Japanese Saturn library of games. The Sega Saturn played host to a plethora of arcade faithful 2-D fighters, plenty of horizontal and vertical shooters, fantastic 'collections, and even great 3-D games like NiGHTs.

But it didn't play host to a Sonic game that can be called amazing. It didn't play host to Sonic's transition from 2-D, to 3-D. It didn't play host to a Sonic game that can be called 'traditional.'

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We all know the stories and the tragedy behind Sonic X-treme. Could X-treme have been the Sonic 3-D title that saved the Saturn from its early demise in the United States? Maybe? Possibly? What we do know though is that Sega didn't put forth their best efforts when trying to please Sonic fans. Yes, Sonic Team and NiGHTs helped us cope for a few, but we wanted Sonic.

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Sonic 3D Blast? A Genesis game guys? Oh all right, the 3-D special stages rocked, but its not enough. The game played from the isometric view, which obviously doesn't allow the player to control Sonic when Sonic did what he did best. Go fast. The game wasn't bad by any means, but it was just filler from Sega. A port of a 16-Bit game will not do.

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Sonic R? Hey controls are a bit iffy, but this game looks fantastic. Seriously guys, is the Saturn doing this? Really? Unfortunately its a short game that just needed more depth, and its still not a traditional Sonic game. Spinoffs are always fun and dandy, but at this point people were becoming impatient for a traditional Sonic game.

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Sonic Jam? Hell yeah, but this wasn't the Sonic that the Saturn needed. The 3-D Sonic World was absolutely fantastic looking and serves as a reminder of what the Saturn could have done with Sonic. But once again, traditional Sonic game? Of course not. A Collection of Sonic's Genesis/Mega Drive days is fantastic, but it can't stop people from wanting a real damn Sonic game.

The Saturn didn't host any mindblowing Sonic titles, nor traditional Sonic games, but Sonic R, Jam, and even 3D Blast remain quite enjoyable to this day.

But there was a good 2-D Sonic game during this time.





OH DEAR WHAT COULD IT BE?!?!?







http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v705/grayfox1212/chaotix_cover.jpg

Oh yeah, I went there, and you can't stop me. This was the game that kept me happy during the "32-Bit" days. Its release in 1995 puts it in this time period, and even though it wasn't on Sega's actual 32-Bit console, I consider it the Sonic game of this time period.

The game isn't for everyone. It doesn't play like a normal Sonic game, but that's why I enjoyed it. It is a solid alternative to a normal blast processing Sonic game. It's slower paced, and involved a much more thought provoking control scheme. The game won't blow your pants off, but it was a spinoff that retained qualities of Sonic, but put them in a new package. I'm cool with that. I'm also cool with the trippy special stages. Crazy polygons!?

As a Sonic fan, I was a bit disappointed during this time period, but I was still happy. I had plenty of Sonic games to enjoy, and I had Sonic Team's genius as well. Yes, the generation could have been better if there was a traditional Sonic title for the Saturn, but I think I'll live. I only had to wait a little while longer for the real Adventure.

Your Turn to flame, love, enjoy, or just plain ol' hate on Sonic's 32-Bit days.

[Kevincal]

Man, I remember walking into Toys R Us back in 1991 or 92 and I had a wad of cash with me from my birthday or something. I was only like 10 or 11 years old. Anyhow, I had only owned an NES in my life and it was time to upgrade to a SNES or a Genesis. The Genesis was cheaper and it came with a cool looking game called Sonic the Hedgehog. I bought it, brought it home, and was floored when I first started playing it...Everything was moving so fast I had no idea what was happening on the screen....it was awesome. My friends and sister were amazed. The game was truly godly.

Anyhow, I loved Sonic 1, 2, 3, and S&N and beat the crap out of all of them. I never did buy a Saturn back in the 90's so I missed out on the Sonic 3d "stuff." Which it seems I didn't miss much. I recently got Knuckles Chaotix and as a matter of fact, I just beat it for the first time today. The game is pretty easy, but fun nontheless. The graphics and music are Sonic quality for sure. I do have Sonic Adventure 1 and 2. I've hardly played part 2, but part 1 was sorta fun at first, but now I'm lost in the adventure world and it's very boring, since I can't figure out where to go....heh. Oh, and I like the Sonic cartoons. :D

[Amy Rose]

Knuckles' Chaotix is my absolute favourite game of all time. No other game has ever come near it in my opinion. It gets a lot of unneccesary hate, which I don't understand.

Also, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY SONIC! ^^

[Kevincal]

Ya, it sure does get a lot of hate on the web. It also goes for a lot of money on Ebay. 8-)

[dreamcaster]

I'd have to say I do like Sonic R and Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island (as it was called here in Australia).

Sonic R shows what the Saturn can do in 3D, and whilst the controls were sluggish, the idea was quite unique and I applaud Traveller's Tales for not just making a sub-standard Mario Kart clone with Sonic characters. Unfortunately, I don't actually own the Saturn version of this, but I have the PC and Sonic Gems Collection versions (which run in high-resolution!).

Sonic 3D is flawed. It's problem is that you expect a Sonic game to be fast, and it really isn't It has more of the pace of a Mario game and for that, the game deserves criticism for being un-Sonic. That said, the game IS very good. Having played both the Mega Drive and Saturn versions, the 32-bit incarnation is a LOT better. The controls are tighter (especially with the Saturn analogue pad) and the music is excellent, the graphics sharper and of course the 3D special stage (which is essentially the Sonic 2 special stage in full polygonal 3D and it looks AMAZING).

Oh, and it has an FMV intro too (which freezes on my copy because my disc is so scratched :( )

As for Knuckles' Chaotix, it's a very pretty game and a unique 2D Sonic-style platformer (the chain links are interesting). I haven't played it much, as I don't have the real thing (only a ROM) and as such feel bad playing it through emulation.

The 32-bit era may have been considered the 'dark age' of Sonic, but I found that whilst there wasn't a true 3D update, the was a lot of experimentation that resulted in some very unique Sonic titles (Sonic R, Sonic 3D, Chaotix).

As for the Saturn not having a true Sonic game, for me, this wasn't a deterrant when I considered buying one. At the start of 1997 I was considering which next-gen console to get, and it was Sega Rally and Daytona USA that was the Saturn's appeal, not a lck of Sonic. The whole reason I ended up staying away from buying a Saturn was because they were already disappearing off store shelves and I was too scared to buy into a console whose support was dwindling so early.

[Julio III]

The games from this era are probably the most unplayed sonic games due to the Saturn (and 32X) lack of popularity.

Myself, I've only played Sonic R in 2player mode only for about 15mins. Both of us were struggling with the control scheme and the visuals and stuff dissapearing wasn't good. I do want to give it another go, and in one player where hopefully the visuals will be better.

Again, only played Sonic Jam with a friend for a few mins. The 3D bits have a wierd camera angle compared to the Adventure games but i do want to give it another go. Sonic 3 was fun to play though and it seems like a great compilation.

Sonic 3D - only played on the MegaDrive, it was ok, just a bit un-Sonic-like. Never played Chaotix, always wanted to and the new videos and things of Xtreme look very nice indeed

[GrayFox]

I am quite happy the lack of a true Sonic didn't stop me from getting a Saturn during its first year.

Yeah, no Sonic game did absolutely suck, but we had fantastic games like Panzer Dragoon, Virtua Fighter 2, and Sega Rally to play. That's more than one person can handle.

[alec006]

Knuckles Chaotix such a fun game took me awile to play it due to not having that 32X passthru cable but once i got it it was really fun.Then the saturn which had some ok sonic games,3D had a better sound track and better control with the analong saturn controller then Sonic Jam had timeless classics including some Sonic History then Sonic R which was short and you couldnt back up in it but it was an alright racing game.The 32Bit days were alittle dark but managed to squeeze into sonic history.

[MegaDrive20XX]

I raise a glass to you Sonic, here's to another 15 years and so forth... :cheers:

[Juganawt]

Sonic R, what a great little game that was!

I loved it to pieces. It was just such a feelgood game, you smiled as you blazed through the levels. The graphics were good, speed was wonderful, and control system (while taking a bit of getting used to) was superb.

It's just a shame that every other 32bit Sonic game (and some would say every Sonic game released after it with the exception of Sonic Adventure 1) has been garbage.

You did forget to mention two Sonic games in this article - Sonic the Arcade Game, and Sonic The Fighters.

Sonic the Arcade Game was a rather weird version of Sonic 3D, which introduced new characters into an isometric perspective and a new control system for a Sonic game - the trackball.

Sonic the Fighters was a superb 3D fighting game based on Sonic characters. A Really great game that never saw a home conversion until the recently released Sonic Collection on Gamecube.

oh, and some of the characters from Sonic the Fighters were also in Fighter's Megamix on the Saturn as hidden characters, along with the girl from Virtua Cop 2, and a Daytona USA car!

[GrayFox]

Sonic R, what a great little game that was!

I loved it to pieces. It was just such a feelgood game, you smiled as you blazed through the levels. The graphics were good, speed was wonderful, and control system (while taking a bit of getting used to) was superb.

It's just a shame that every other 32bit Sonic game (and some would say every Sonic game released after it with the exception of Sonic Adventure 1) has been garbage.

You did forget to mention two Sonic games in this article - Sonic the Arcade Game, and Sonic The Fighters.

Sonic the Arcade Game was a rather weird version of Sonic 3D, which introduced new characters into an isometric perspective and a new control system for a Sonic game - the trackball.

Sonic the Fighters was a superb 3D fighting game based on Sonic characters. A Really great game that never saw a home conversion until the recently released Sonic Collection on Gamecube.

oh, and some of the characters from Sonic the Fighters were also in Fighter's Megamix on the Saturn as hidden characters, along with the girl from Virtua Cop 2, and a Daytona USA car!

I gotta say, Sonic R's music was great. I forgot to mention that.

And I was going to include Sega Sonic and Sonic the Fighters, but considering Sega Sonic never was officially released and Sonic the Fighters had such an amazingly low run in the arcades, I decided it was better to concentrate on games that we had more opportunities to play.

[Amy Rose]

SegaSonic was officially released, what are you talking about? >.>

Oh, Sonic R's soundtrack is fantastic! The saving grace for the game, since it's pretty broken. I had a lot of difficulty trying to control Knuckles running around the tracks, something which has been fixed a little in the Sonic Gems version.

For those playing at home, Sonic The Fighters was called Sonic Championship in the US. :)

[GrayFox]

SegaSonic was officially released, what are you talking about? >.>

Oh, Sonic R's soundtrack is fantastic! The saving grace for the game, since it's pretty broken. I had a lot of difficulty trying to control Knuckles running around the tracks, something which has been fixed a little in the Sonic Gems version.

For those playing at home, Sonic The Fighters was called Sonic Championship in the US. :)

Well, I've never seen it in America. I did play Sonic the Fighters here in the States though.

It was released in Japan in like 93 or something, but did America officially get it? Any confirmation ever? I've always wondered that, I just assumed only Japan and maybe the UK got it.

Edit - I guess GHZ says it was released in 'western' markets in extremely limited quantities. Hm, I wonder if us yanks ever got some.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

Sonic R is a great game. Yes, the control is hard to get used to, but it's not broken. You can get used to it and when you do it becomes an amazingly fun game with a heavy dose of zen since the controls are so drifty.

I really like it more than the original 2D Sonic games, in fact. Or at least it keeps me coming back more than they do.

I don't know about calling it short, either. Maybe if your only goal is to come in first on all the tracks, but if you actually want to master the game, it will keep you coming back and back and back, trying to perfect your runs. Just like Sega Rally or any good racer...or like the 2D Sonic games, for that matter, which is why I think a foot racing game was such a brilliant evolution for Sonic, in many ways it's a more "authentic" Sonic game than Sonic Adventure was (though, in their best moments, Sonic and Tail's games in Sonic Adventure played pretty much like Sonic R actually).

I've never played Sonic 3D Blast on the Saturn, but the Genesis version was incredibly frustrating to me. Unlike Sonic R, I was simply never able to get a handle on the controls. It seems like it would have been better if it had been a straight view rather than diagonal, having to press diagonally on the dpad to run straight was really too much for my pea-brain.

Knukles Chaotix, I must admit, I never really tried very hard to get into. Once again control stood in the way, but I don't know if that was a surmountable challenge. I always wanted to try it with two players, but never got the chance.

[j_factor]

Sonic Championship (the Fighters) was awesome. My local arcade had it, and I must've sunk over a hundred dollars of quarters into it. It was supposed to come out for Saturn too, but it kept getting delayed until they canned it. I had that preordered, and I never got my $5 back. :(

[NeoZeedeater]

I was disappointed in Chaotix back when it came out but last year I was itching to play an old-school Sonic game and I really enjoyed it. The "elastic band" mechanics take some getting used to and the level design is weak but the classic Sonic style is there. With a bit of fixing up it could have been one of the best games ever.

[CosmicMonkey]

If only the Sonic the Fighters arcade game had gotten a Saturn release. Or what about the System32 Segasonic the Hedgehog with analogue pad compatability or a special trackball?

Sega could have easily released a couple of decent Sonic games for the Saturn. Oh well.....

[sabre2922]

I had all of the U.S. release Sonic games -well all except for R.

I remember Sonic Jam on Saturn being the BEST Sonic compilation EVER and is but one of the MANY reasons I wish I still had my old Saturn and all the AAA games that I miss so much.

If I remember correctly Sonic Team did the emulation and basically the whole port of the classic Sonic games for the Saturn and they were SPOT ON in everyway IMO (unlike the current-gen compilations) and I thought of that game and Nights as Sonic Teams LAST GREAT games believe it or not , I remember the old "SONIC TEAM" logo and voice on both Nights and Sonic Jam and upon hearing that I KNEW that I was going to be playing one of Saturns finest games.

Now its a completely different story as Sonic Team just isnt the same.