Sonic CD, 1993 Sega/Sonic Team (20 From Sega/Mega CD #5)
7The lone SONIC THE HEDGEHOG entry on the Sega/Mega CD console. The soundtracks for this game were IMHO the best on the whole system! Especially that main tune "Sonic Boom".. This also introduced the concept of time travel to the Sonic franchise-- this can allow you to alter the past to affect the future, and you can visit either by touching the PAST or FUTURE signs, then building up enough speed to go back/forward in time. If you select PAST, you should try to find the enemy generator (that the Sonic villain Metal Sonic-- in his debut-- is running), and then the animal cage, and destroy them both. This will make for a good future for that one particular zone (out of 21). OR... you can collect the 7 Time Stones. This is done by first beating a zone with 50 rings, so that you can enter a bonus stage.. and then destroy all the blimps in the bonus stage before time runs out. This is the biggest disappointment of the game for me (though not having Tails or Knuckles in the game might be bigger disappointments for other gamers), due to the poor sprite scaling/rotation for a system that was supposed to be cutting edge in this regard. Plus, jumping through the blimps to destroy them is far more difficult and choppier than it sounds. You also have to contend with the water costing you TONS of time if you run through it. Find the blimps that restore your time when you jump through them (they are brighter-blue colored). At any rate, once you get 7 Time Stones you will be guaranteed a good ending when you beat the game, so it's easier than the time travel route. Most everything else you knew about the Sonic franchise to this point is here-- including the awesome DEBUG code! This lets you change Sonic into all sorts of game sprites and place them if you like-- this is a great way to get to the end of a stage faster (but due to scrambled numbers it's harder to access the bonus stages with the requisite 50 rings). The stages in this game are vast, which is usually a big positive, though late in the game you can get lost easily. All in all this is a fantastic entry in the Sonic series and an ABSOLUTE must for Sega CD owners. See you soon with game #4!