Game Apologist - Sonic CD

hello there I'm Nick and this is the game apologist where we look for the good in bad games but if you even falling along with this coverage of classic Sonic titles so far we've had no real trouble finding the good and well great games and we saw the little ways to go before for now let's focus on what may be the first actual device of game in the mainline Sonic series Sonic CD released on the Sega CD and then on for the Sega Genesis that really deserves its own episode Sonic CD is often the first title you'll hear when asking for recommendations for this weird quasi system but if that's the case what makes it so divisive well a few things but in this debate it's mostly among Sonic fans and really it's generally over where this game stands in rankings when compared to other classic Sonic titles as it is by itself it's a really good game so we'll be tackling this with the bias of a Sonic fan of real challenge for me let me tell you so if you're on the outside looking in I'll do my best to give you an understanding of why fans debate this title even today I recommend checking out my videos covering Sonic 1 & 2 if you haven't yet because I'm gonna be referencing those games a lot this time around the divisive nature of this game really reinforces the theme of duality found within the game in the real world production of the title right at the beginning of this game way back even in the conception stage this game was sent on a divergent path it's like a parallel universe Sonic 2 that's because the developers behind the original Sonic game were split in two then formed their own separate groups and went on to develop two Sonic sequels at the same time Yuji naka and Sega Technical Institute would work on Sonic 2 in America while Naoto Shima got his own team and went to work on CD in Japan this also strangely enough kind of parallels the dual sequel development of Sonic's rival Mario thank you and that duality continues within the game itself two versions of the future two different endings two different soundtracks even two different Sonic's but we'll get into all that later as we pick apart this game anyway we now have two different sequels to Sonic the Hedgehog again with very simple mechanics in a strong first outing the one that could be improved upon the two sequels would expand the original game and tackle its issues in wildly different ways like I said in my first video a common gripe about Sonic 1 was that Greenhill was the best level of the game a tropical jungle gem worth of lair could get used to Sonics physics and momentum on a multi-layered map full of places to explore the problem being that once that opening zone was completed you were left with a more traditional linear platforming experience or levels that never fully utilize Sonic's abilities Sonic to solve this by practically remaking the first game it's streamlined a lot of its levels to keep the player moving as quickly as possible removing a lot of the exploration and vertical nature of green hill zone and reworking a lot of the mechanics and themes that were introduced through the first game giving them simplified but distinctive themes and layouts this makes Sonic 2 much more accessible and in turn it feels like it's meant to replace the original game you could play Sonic 2 without ever touching the first game and be perfectly fine Sonic CD on the other hand feels like it went the complete opposite way in terms of design and because of this in some ways it feels more like a true sequel than Sonic 2 does if I had to sum it up in one statement Sonic CD is made for Sonic gamers meaning you're probably gonna have a much better time with this if you've had prior experience with the Hedgehog not for any narrative reasons classic sonic has always been light on story this one has sonic trying to rescue a brand new character in a brand new location Sonic's is literally on a different planet in this game so no real continuity to worry about know this game feels like if you are fan of the first Sonic game and one in more of that game well CD would be right up your alley Sonic CD was released on the Sega CD after all and add-on to the Sega Genesis it wasn't likely that your very first experience with the Hedgehog would be with this title when Sonic 1 & 2 were already available on the base system you'd be picking up this monstrosity to get even more Sonic and that's exactly what this game is a whole lot more Sonic or Sonic 1 anyway sonic CD doesn't mean to refine but just add more of everything it brought the design philosophy of green hill and applied it to every single level of this game and then it's just not excessive with it and this is one of the major reasons why this game is so divisive to so many Sonic fans all the visual details that made Green Hill pop are now everywhere through the entire game but it also makes the game feel a little bit dated the design is cluttered chaotic and incredibly 90s every level looks like it'd be right at home on the cover of a Trapper Keeper like so many things from the early 90s a lot of these designs are throwing too many ideas together barely cohesive messy experiments with no focal point for your eye to follow the colors are vibrant the backgrounds are incredibly detailed but it's all over designed and messy and I feel like this is in direct contrast with Sonic's design I've went into this in great detail in my first Sonic video so I'll try to keep it short but a point I made about the characters look that even if there were obvious nineties ideas at play they kept it simple enough to make it iconic and timeless these levels on the other hand are so loud that they could glitch out and you probably wouldn't even notice a difference and it's not just in the aesthetics that feel over-designed but the level layouts as well I've said it plenty Greenhill and Sonic 1 is a jungle gym it's less about running to the end really quickly at first at least and more about using your speed to play around and explore the many gimmicks but once you learn how sonic played and how this world works then you could very easily zip through the zone in a matter of seconds the rest of Sonic one feels underdeveloped in comparison to the first zone and Sonic CD solves this by turning every level into Green Hill Zone not in theme at least not after palmtree panic but just in the sense that they are jam-packed with things to do there is a massive emphasis on exploration through this entire game all these levels feel like two dimensional mountains per game that requires you to move horizontally to complete levels it's incredibly vertical in design and they become falling labyrinths in later stages unlike Sonic 2 this game wants you to backtrack it wants you to eat up as much of the allotted ten minutes as possible and that's where it kind of loses the whole point of green hill unless you're very committed to speedrunning this thing and dedicate some time and talent you're gonna find it somewhat difficult to zip through any of CD's levels but it's not without purpose exploration is now an important part of the new gameplay gimmick time travel there are actually 4 versions of every zone built into this game past present good future and bad future to get the good future you are required to do some exploring they didn't put in all this effort just so you could rush your spiney but through this entire game without appreciating all their hard work actually finding a nice clear space to speed up is a challenge within itself as speed is required to move you through time once you hit a past or future signpost you need speed to activate the mechanic once you hit the necessary velocity right sparks will flash behind Sonic and it's important to keep them going all the sparks are going off you'll notice the little time icon will begin to flicker if you come to a stop during this crucial period the sign will vanish and with it your portal into the past or future meaning you've got to do some more exploring to find another sign to find another clear path to stay at top speed and then get into the past so you can make out with Sonic's mom should I keep referencing Back to the Future Mina I got this in Doctor Who that's the only time travel references I know to make here you're actually running through Titan to find robot generators you take this sucker out in the past and it destroys all remaining robots and makes a good future for that act which are renamed zones in this game even though that term had already been established so I don't really know why they changed it it's another needless complication speaking of weird changes there is a we've little difference they made with the robots in this game normally in a Sonic game you destroy these suckers and a little animal pops out in this game they swapped out the little animals with flowers not entirely important but it's there I don't know if it's just because these levels are larger in this game than the others but it does feel like there are less enemies in this game compared to other classic Sonic games and the flowers are actually an interesting way to keep track of how many baddies there are in each level since flowers can't scamper away like the animals do in the other games these almost act like a trail of breadcrumbs to let you know where you've already explored which can be really helpful when you're trying to track down a generator and what you do destroy generator it destroys all the other robots in the level and now the landscape will be sprinkled with fresh vegetation but if you do miss your little animals you can also track down a secondary machine which projects a hologram that oh my god we'll get more in depth with this woodland critter curb-stomp err a little later but for now all you need to know is you have to wreck these Holograms like you would a generator and you'll now have animals dancing around through the land it doesn't really do anything but if you want to feel like a Disney Princess you certainly have this option well I don't mind this weird little change I do kind of mind that they renamed the accent to zones I know this point is incredibly nitpicky but accent zones were another little way that sonic team used to stand out from other platformers of the day instead of levels these were zones and that kind of put a weird ownership on this design I know this is a small detail but it feels like a needless complication in fact this game feels like it's full of needless complications as you'll also see in Sonic's new moves they have the spin - like Sonic - but for whatever reason it doesn't share that excellent revenant it's just a standard ball and it's incredibly gimped to sonic to version you only get one set speed you can't rev it up to make it go faster and it's never as fast as sonic tubes they try to make up for this by adding the super peel-out which instead of pressing down an a you now press up an a and it's basically the same as a spin - you're just not in ball form now the animation looks awesome and it does give you more speed than the spin - but it also lacks the protection provided by the spin - you can barrel through robots while you're rolled up but the peel out leaves you vulnerable to take damage at high speeds now again it's important to note that this wasn't made after Sonic 2 it was made at the same time and across the world during a time when the internet wasn't exactly a huge thing who knows how many noes were shared between the two separate development teams and maybe they were trying to do some risk/reward thing by having players choose between more speed or more defense I don't really know but the complexity doesn't stop there a lot of the fans feel the new gimmick also makes progress somewhat tedious the time travelling has led to some gripes I see fairly often among Sonic fans some just feel it's far too different from traditional Sonic gameplay and since levels are designed around the mechanic it leads to a less enjoyable experience if you're trying to play this like a normal Sonic game that's just a complaint to these particular critics there are other fans who love this mechanic but even among these fans I see some consistent complaints pop up from time to time namely with the future versions of each zone are you still with me all right well hang on it's about to get even more confusing so try to keep up each level starts you off in the present and you're required to go into the past if you want to destroy a robot generator to ensure the level has a good future so you have reason to be in the past and present but the game provides no real purpose to explore the future version of each level because there's nothing in that particular time zone for you to track down if anything it accesses something of a punishment if you roll through the wrong sign you don't slow down fess up before the time travel kicks in and sends your TARDIS coloured hedgehog into the future adding yet another layer of finding the sign finding a space to pick up speed going back in time where you get to the present we have to find a sign to find some space to pick up speed go back in time all over again all while eating up precious time you could be using the hunt down a generator I'm pretty okay with the setup if you don't take care and watch your speed while you have a future sign the game launches you forward in time and shows you what will happen to well if you don't track down that generator it's always dark and dreary these bad futures aren't designed to be pleasant unlike Sonic 1 & 2 this shows there are actual repercussions to this world if Sonic doesn't do any of the secondary objectives and really as much time as you spend hunting down these generators I feel like adding another objective in the future would just be tedious I'm just fine not having any extra craft to do in the future I feel like these particular complaints probably come from fans who have played this game to death know where everything is already and will just like something else to do for me even though I've beaten the sonic CD more than a handful of times over the years I still have a hard time keeping track of every single robot generator by the time I found everything I'm more than ready to be done with that level like Sonic 1 these zones can overstay their welcome I really don't mind not having even more to do in the future versions of each stage and I feel the developers did a fairly decent job giving the future versions some meaning in the setup not only acting as a punishment and therefore adding a layer of challenge but also how its implemented into the third act of every zone and yes I'm still gonna call them zones an axe deal with it the third act is interesting for a couple of reasons like I said up front the developers of Sonic CD and sawtooth tackled issues with the first game in very different ways one of which was the time you would spend in each zone Sonic 1 had three acts and they would overstay their welcome sometimes giving you three different levels with the same theme and layouts can get a bit tedious Sonic 2 sorted this out by simply chopping out that third act leaving only two acts for each zone Sonic CD would tackle this issue in an entirely different fashion like Sonic 1 each zone is split up into three acts but unlike the first game where the third act is a whole other level on its own and CD it's basically a boss room you have very little platforming and almost no challenge to cope with before your showdown with Robotnik I actually love this it gives a sense of drama to the fight Sonic two's boss fights were just at the end of the second act I felt like you just accidentally ran into this doofus while he's out running errands Sonic CD third acts were usually built around the baton and the little bit of land leading up to the fight just builds up tension giving the third act the singular purpose of serving the boss battle was a fantastic solution to the tedium but they also serve a secondary purpose the third act of each zone always takes place in the future version of that zone and because of this the environments act as something of a score if you zip through the level without balling with any of the secondary objectives you'd get a bleak bad future this imposing atmosphere would add to the tension of the upcoming battle and even if you wreck Robotnik's current ride it never really feels like you truly won the damage was already done stopping Robotnik now wouldn't change what he's already done but if you managed to bus both generators in the two previous acts the future would be this bright cheerful fusion of nature and technology animals will be dancing around almost as if they're cheering you on even if Robotnik's here they ain't leaving if they're not scared why should you be he's just one last piece of trash to clean up before you carry on to the next area of course if you wanted a more traditional sonic experience and you wanted a good ending without dealing with all this time-travel nonsense you could still play this game exactly like Sonic one can just collect 50 rings jump into a giant warp ring at the end of the act and play through bonus stages to collect casts every time stones more pointless renaming of crab like most Sonic games the bonus stage is radically different from the others in CDs case they took advantage of the tricks that the Genesis could never do and basically ripped off super Nintendos mode 7 the objective here is to break all the UFOs within the time limit be mindful of speed boosters and fans and win the day I like these stages but I also like old clunky attempts at 3d environments in games the biggest part my had was the depth perception in the original version of the game since the UFOs in Sonic are two-dimensional sprites on a 3d plane it can be a little tricky to land a hit but maybe that was just me I still enjoy them all the same and that's about it when it comes to gameplay but there is one last major point of contention between fans when it comes to this game the music yes even in the soundtrack we find yet another needless complication for whatever reason Sonic CDs American released got its own soundtrack leaving the original one for Japanese and European audiences the only real point of contention fans have is which one sounds better oh yeah and how the music of the past versions of each stage remains completely unchanged in American versions so I guess it's kind of jarring and some people don't like that there's not much else to say there it just comes down to personal taste I think generally most Sonic fans lean in favor of the Japanese soundtrack but I don't know I think they're both pretty good actually let's hang on this point for just a minute I'm kind of glad this game came out with two unique sets of music it shows how important a soundtrack can be for a big playing with one version sets a completely different tone from the other the Japanese original has a lot more rythm melodies infused with nineties record scratches and voice samples and it makes you want to move as any good sonic soundtrack should the American soundtrack on the other hand does its best to match the music with its surroundings it really downplays a lot of the energy to give you some more ambience it's incredible how the music changes how a level can feel I'll show you what I mean take a listen this is the Japanese version of collision Kaos makes you feel like you're walking into a 90's dance club [Music] but then you try the American version and it's this tense dreary piece and suddenly everything feels more imposing all because of the music [Music] in a few curious as to which one I prefer well I grew up with the American version so I have a bit of a bias towards that soundtrack like the levels themselves the Japanese music is soaking in 90s design which you could argue makes it a better match but while it is full of heart-pounding energy I sometimes find it to be a bit much especially during the slog of that last level I'm trying to navigate a maze of scrap metal just calm down I generally prefer the American tracks because I spent a lot of time in these levels just exploring the music tends to be less distracting it doesn't give me a sense of urgency when I'm trying to track down generators but it really comes down to what I'm in the mood for at the time and sometimes my preferences just change from level to level that said some of the American tracks have just stuck with me so hard as a child and will always blow their Japanese counterparts right out of the water don't get me wrong I do enjoy some Japanese stuff and honestly I much prefer the Japanese main theme over America's sonic boom even if it has a ridiculous name toot toot sonic warrior that's the name that's what it's called I have no jokes what more could I add look at that stupid mess of words someone was paid to sing those words wasn't it worth listen to all this talk about music just so we could get to this point to to sonic warrior to - indeed but yeah like I said outside of that track some American versions of the music are simply better for me at any rate the special stage music in the Japanese edition is just a mess of noise I prefer the otherworldly nature of the American one and I'm sorry the boss fight' music for the American version is just better [Music] [Music] [Music] it's mechanical creepy and imposing and in Japan [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] it's everything wrong with 90s music all-in-one track and while I have grown to appreciate the Japanese version of the bad future start a Speedway [Music] [Applause] for me there is simply no topping the desperate dark melody of the American version when it comes time to run the iconic race against metal sign [Music] we might as well talk about this guy this is metal song or mecha sonic as I knew him back in the day thanks to a certain comic book or if you are a UK fan metallics look whatever you want to call this thing it's basically robotic doppelganger of Sonic and a new antagonist for this series now robot doubles and evil twins are nothing new in fiction and sonic already had more than a couple Robo clones by this point but unlike those generic piles of scrap Kisuke Hoshino a character designer who worked on the game would create something that would not only rival sonic and speed but also in style like I've said previously in my other sonic video and even in this one I feel Sonic's design was a brilliant mix of contemporary coolness and timeless charm Moschino metal sonic seemed to take on the same design philosophy instead of being a pile of metal plates form together in the shape of Sonic Metal Sonic would take the simple standout features of Sonic's design and form something with its own identity it's blue but now with a chrome finish really the entire color scheme is just as simple as Sonic's just replace the white and the skin pigmentation with silver and hints of yellow metal even has his own Cyclops eye but it hurts the white and adds sinister glowing red pupils instead of Sonic's bare belly metal has an empty hole for air intake for that jet engine that he uses as a source of speed he has skinny arms and legs with exaggerated hands and feet like Sonic but instead of being all phone-in noodley metal has rigid joints of thin cold metal almost giving it a skeletal look even Sonic's iconic spikes are repurposed into metals own iconic crescent-shaped quills and while he does have speed he doesn't run thanks to that after mentioned jet engine eerily hovers or blasts through the air all this brings together something that looks like Sonic but is very clearly not Sonic it's not just a robot it's something supernatural something sinister it looks like a skeletal ghost of Sonic it keeps that simple but easily identifiable look of the Hedgehog but instead of attitude we get something that looks cold and dangerous he doesn't have an iconic smirk not even an evil grin like this stupid schmuck right here it's an emotionless killing machine who know a robotic Hedgehog could look so intimidating but metal isn't memorable in design alone the role he plays in this game cemented him as one of the greatest sonic villains of all time for many of fans back in the day outside of the Holograms in the quit cutscene in the second stage where he NAB's a me who we'll get to in a moment you really don't see this guy for most of your adventure honestly the only actual interaction with him takes place on the second-to-last level and is over in just a couple of minutes man what a couple of minutes they are these brief glimpses at this cool and creepy robot just builds the anticipation for the inevitable showdown metal songs on the cover of the game regardless of the region you played it in this guy was clearly meant to be a big deal no way all of this buildup was for another run-of-the-mill boss fight where you hop on something a few times till it blows up the boss fights in Sonic CD like everything else in this game are unlike any other battles in the classic Sonic series for the most part anyway that clever treadmill challenge collision chaos is pinball battle that put sonic to use casino night boss to shame and of course the infamous showdown with Metal Sonic instead of having an actual fight with Metal Sonic you raced him through a hazardous final act of start a Speedway you have to navigate this on wall voting spikes as well as metal Sonic's electric shield and speed boosts a simple concept that fits perfectly with the entire philosophy of the franchise now I've got to be honest with you guys I'm not one of these fans that considers CD the best of the series I don't even think it's in my top 5 that said the race against Metal Sonic is hands-down my favorite boss encounter for this entire series yes even compared to the grandiose final battles in other titles future boss races or even rematches with Metal Sonic to me nothing tops this original encounter I just find a kind of ironic that Sonic 2 built the entire game around emphasizing Sonic's speed but gave you a static run-of-the-mill battle with a giant clunky robot double but here in Sonic CD the game that slowly sounds sonic more than any other classic Sonic games and it gives you a robot double that actually challenges sonic speed and as common as these robo clones tend to be in the series it's a shame we really only see this race concept used here it's also a shame that the next and final boss encounter is so pathetic in comparison the boss fights in this game are all over the place bringing in some of the weakest and some of the best of the classic series all within the same game everything feels like it's building up to the showdown with Metal Sonic and every after that it's just clean up all this attention to metal song seems off up little else for the other new character a neros just as sega seemed to take a great deal of inspiration from Mickey Mouse when designing sonic they also seemed to take a great deal from Minnie Mouse when designing a me made me by taking the same character design by slapping on a dress nothing really stands out about this character I mean they don't even get her name right in the American manual and she's really only here for you to save her I'm not really sure why she's here at all I thought the whole saving the planet from the bad future while driving home and an environmental message was good enough on its own a message that's pervasive in all the classic games but in other titles the zones start off in a more colorful inviting regions of nature but eventually lead you to more mechanical environments as the game progresses upping the challenge while making things feel more hostile as life and the natural world faded from the zones in Sonic CD they still kind of carry that subtle storytelling but it's not exactly consistent from zone to zone especially with that messy design I mentioned earlier but they still use the environmental message all the same they just built it into the time travel mechanic giving the player a much more active role in saving the natural environment wait what was I talking about oh yeah Amy I completely forgot honestly I even forgot she was even kidnapped until you save her at the end of the race with metal know at least they flush her out a little bit more in future games so we'll get back to her when the time comes even though I spent a great deal more time talking about metal side that's really all I got for Amy Sonic CD seems to be full of these highs and lows as you might have noticed with my flip-flopping through this entire episode and considering how long we've spent talking about this game without ever really breaking down levels like I've done with the past two sonic episodes you can see how this title is a bit divisive Sonic CD is weird it's unique it's full of that experimental charm that's pervasive through this entire franchise you can see the developers had fun in the weird little Easter Egg pictures or they're working some things out I'd even mentioned these awesome cutscenes from TOEIC which really stood out back in the day from the cutscenes the music the level designs the time traveling the boss fights those weird little Easter eggs Sonic CD was unlike any other classic Sonic game and really still is unlike any Sonic game period even Sonic 4 episode 2 which they touted as the direct sequel plays nothing like CD yeah you do get a fight metal a couple more times but it's not like they revisited a time travel mechanic or anything but we'll deal with that game in its own episode I know I bounced around a lot in this episode I try to sprinkle in my own personal opinion as much as possible still it might be hard to read how I actually feel about this game so to wrap things up I'll just tell you that I don't think this game is perfect or even the best of the classic series but despite the messy aesthetic and sometimes confusing level layout I don't think this is a game to skip it shows that even the classic sonic formula which is just run to the end of the level alive maybe collect some emeralds if you feel like it even this simple design can be used in wonderfully unique ways it might not be my favorite but I love that it exists I love that I have a classic Sonic game that asks me to tackle these mechanics in wildly different ways go in with an open mind a desire to explore and a little bit of patience and it's gonna be a grand old time and with that we come to the end of another episode I have been Nick and I'm sorry for wasting your time - to Sonic warriors to toot [Music] [Music] you [Music] Oh [Music]

Channel: Game Apologist

Views: 285,134

Rating: 4.885849 out of 5

Keywords: sonic cd, bad, good, game apologist, metal sonic, robotnik, eggman, music comparison, game review, hedgehog, sega cd, mega cd, psuedo sonic, stardust speedway, soundtracks, videogames, gaming, duality, divisive, toot toot, sonic warrior, sonic boom, japanese soundtrack, future, past, classic, tardis colored, doctor who, back to the future, ufo stage, time stones

Id: BSElrCqZFKM

Length: 28min 28sec (1708 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 19 2018