Collection essentials #297: Sonic CD (Sega CD)

Here we have the best-selling and perhaps the most famous Sega CD game, starring everyone’s favorite blue hedgehog. It’s also one of the earliest Sonic games, starting development not long after the first game was released. Sonic CD hit shelves between when Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 did for the Sega Genesis.

Like most Sonic games, Sonic CD pits Sonic the Hedgehog against the evil Dr. Robotnik. This time, Robotnik has decided to try and convert this small magical planet into his own fortress to take advantage of its power. The power of the planet is held in seven special “time stones” which can control the flow of time and even make time travel possible. This game sees the introduction of a popular recurring character in the series, Amy Rose, a fellow hedgehog who has a big crush on Sonic. Robotinik kidnaps her to try and lure Sonic, which does work even though Amy is the one obsessed with Sonic and not the other way around.

Time is not just a story element here, as the developers chose to add a time travel element to the classic 2D fast-paced Sonic platforming gameplay. In each area, Sonic can find signposts that say “Past” or “Future”. Upon touching one, he then will be able to time travel in that direction if he can stay moving for several seconds uninterrupted. Why would one want to time travel? Well, when you go to the past, you can seek out an insidious device sent by Robotnik to destroy. Doing so means that there will be a good future, and going to the future after destroying such a device means the rest of the level will be considerably easier. Going to the future without doing so leads to a more difficult “bad” future in which Robotnik and his goons have ruined the environment. The third act of each area is always in the future no matter what, so players have more incentive to do this .

Like any normal Sonic game, there are bonus stages, and in this game the bonus stages involve controlling Sonic from a third-person perspective (as opposed to 2D) and attempting to destroy a series of UFOs. Successfully doing so will grant Sonic one of the time stones. Once Sonic gets all of them, the rest of the futures in the game will automatically be good, and you will get the best ending upon defeating the final boss.

The composers of Sonic CD’s soundtrack really took advantage of the CD format to produce some really nice tunes that weren’t possible on a Genesis cartridge. And this game’s music is notable because they actually changed much of the soundtrack for the American release. I’m not sure why they felt the need, because the original music was already really good. They actually couldn’t replace all of the music, and the original songs for the “past” renditions of levels were kept the same as in the Japanese and European releases. The redone American soundtrack is quite good in its own right (I love the present-day theme for Tidal Tempest in particular), but I prefer the original tracks, and since the past tracks are designed to be similar to the other time periods of the same level, I think it makes the game’s music feel more cohesive.

I did have fun with Sonic CD, but I felt like the time travel mechanics could have been implemented better. Trying to maintain your speed to time travel can be awkward and frustrating. Once you’re in the past, you may not have any idea where to look to find the machine that you’re supposed to destroy. So to me it often feels like more of a hassle than actual fun to try and change the future, so when I first played the game I just opted to ignore it for the most part and settle for the “bad” ending. When you do that the game is still enjoyable, but in my opinion less so than other Sonic games. It also doesn’t do very much to take advantage of the Sega CD hardware outside of the music, though that doesn’t especially bother me.

Sonic CD has been ported or remade a few different times. In the modern day, it is notably a part of the “Sonic Origins” compilation. In that version you can choose between the original music or that of the American release, a great option to have. I’d say try out the Sega Genesis games in the series first, and if you’re still hungry for more, CD is certainly worth checking out. Being an old school Sonic fan myself, this one is an obvious essential.