The most overrated Sonic game I've played. I tried to love Sonic CD, however something went wrong.
Sonic games are well known to be great in 2D, and I agree that many of the 2D Sonic games are very good. Sonic CD is also a pretty good game, but I was expecting a lot more. Sonic CD actually had a bit of story in it unlike some other 2D Sonic games made in the early 90's. The evil scientist, Dr. Robotnik, has made a robot that resembles Sonic's speed, which is the infamous Metal Sonic. Metal Sonic even kidnaps Amy Rose (her first appearance in the Sonic universe) a cute and cheerful hedgehog girl in love with Sonic. Dr. Robotnik also has sealed the Time Stones, which control time travel, into different dimensions. So, in order to beat the entire game, you must control Sonic to beat all the 7 zones and get the Time Stones in special stages. The story itself actually sounds very interesting and cool.
In Sonic CD, the gameplay is a lot like what you'd expect from other 2D Sonic games, such as the Sonic the Hedgehog series on the Sega Genesis. However, a new twist has been added for the series. In this game, Sonic can travel through time by passing through these posts that have time travel to ether the past or the future. To Time Travel, similar to the movie Back to the Future, Sonic must run at a fast enough speed and stay at that rate for a certain amount of time (about 3 seconds). Once you succeed, everything in the stage will have a different look. The past often looks more prehistoric or colorful, while the future is usually dark and metallic. In ether time zone, you must do a certain activity in order to change the effects in other time zone. For example, if you do something special in the past, then something different will happen in the future. All of this is complex, but interesting no doubt. Other then the whole time traveling technique, everything else is true to the classic Sonic gameplay, but it lacks some polish on a couple spots. Thankfully, the special stage is actually one of the best in the 2D Sonic history. Sonic must run around in a semi-3D world and terminate UFO's in order to get the Time Stones. The game just doesn't feel speedy like the games for the Genesis, and there are a lot of obstacles and enemies around that this doesn't exactly feel like a true Sonic game. So I can't really say that the Sonic gameplay here is great. However, those looking for an average Sonic game with an interesting twist, than Sonic CD is your ticket.
Graphics:
Very colorful graphics like you'd expect from a Sonic game. Everything has great detail and the special effects are very cool. The game even has 2 FMV movies, both of which are nicely detailed for a Sega CD game; however, it does look a little lame by todays’ standards. The special stages look very cool with the rotating capabilities the Sega CD has. The only flaw in Sonic CD is the frame rate. A Sonic game MUST have a solid and fast frame rate in order to get a good sense of speed. The frame rate, in general, is solid and fast, but when you get to places with loads of action (such as losing your rings) then you get a choppy frame rate until it's over. But other then that, "colorful", "interesting" and "impressive" come to mind when playing Sonic CD.
Sound:
I'm a little disappointed in the games' music. The US version of the game has different music unlike the Japanese and European versions. The US version mostly consists of relaxing and soft-pop songs, and they don't fit in a Sonic game. A Sonic game normally has music that's catchy, but very forceful. The music in the US version lacks this. A couple tunes are alright, but, as said before, they don't really fit in a Sonic game. On the personal side, when you battle Robotnik, I think the music played during that time is the worst ever in Sonic history. However, Sonic Boom, the main theme, sounds pretty good, so it's not a complete disappointment. Everything else, such as the sound effects, sounds crystal clear and very nice.
Conclusion:
After hearing many people saying Sonic CD was a fantastic game, I thought it'd be worth buying. But the game disappointed me because I didn't think it was as good as everyone said. However, I am impressed with some of the ideas presented in Sonic CD. I found Sonic CD to be good at best. Since Sonic Gems Collection (released recently) has Sonic CD, there will be less people getting the Sega CD version now. But I'd rather keep the Sega CD version because that’s where the game truly belongs. If you're a hardcore Sonic fan and are interested in getting a Sega CD for this game, then by all means, go ahead.
Pros:
-Interesting ideas
-Colorful detailed graphics
-Good story
-For some reason, I think the sound effects are one of the best in the Sonic series.
Cons:
-The gameplay is not as fast or as enjoyable as Sonic games on the Genesis
-The music is a little unfitting