Sonic Blast

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Not to be confused with Sonic 3D Blast or Sonic Blast Man.

Sonic Blast
Single-player

Sonic Blast

rings. In separate special stages
, the player must run forward and collect rings to earn one of the Chaos Emerald shards.

The game was the final Sonic the Hedgehog game for the system, utilizing

level designs
and slow gameplay were also criticized.

Gameplay

level

Sonic Blast is a 2D

boss fight against Robotnik and one of his larger robots.[6] Zones range from the traditional Green Hill Zone[3] to underwater ruins,[4] and feature vertical loops, slides, and teleporters.[3]

In the Sonic series tradition, Sonic and Knuckles collect

extra lives, and the ability to save progress in a level. Some monitors, however, contain Robotnik's face and do not grant the player anything. Others contain question marks, which grant any of the power-ups.[3] At the end of an act, the player must hit a signpost to complete the level.[3] The signpost will spin until it lands on an image; the image will grant the player a reward.[3][b]

Similar in fashion to Sonic the Hedgehog 3, giant rings leading to special stages are hidden around levels.[5] The special stages follow the same basic format of those in Sonic the Hedgehog 2: the player-character runs forward and must collect rings to meet a required amount.[6] They must avoid bombs, and sometimes will jump, run on boost panels, or hop on springs to get more rings.[3] Successful completion of special stages will grant the characters extra lives, rings, or one of the Chaos Emerald shards.[6]

Development and release

A black Game Gear handheld system. From left to right: the directional controls, the screen, and two buttons labeled "1" and "2".
Sonic Blast was the final Sonic the Hedgehog game for the Game Gear (pictured).

Sonic Blast was the sixth and final Sonic the Hedgehog platformer released for the Game Gear. It was developed alongside other outsourced titles in the series, including Minato Gaiken's Sonic Labyrinth and Traveller's Tales' Sonic 3D Blast.[7][8][9] Like the previous Game Gear titles, Sonic Blast was developed by Aspect and published by Sega.[10] Key staff from Aspect's prior Sonic games did not work on Sonic Blast.[11] A prominent feature of the game is its pre-rendered visuals, which had been popularized by Donkey Kong Country.[12] The graphics were rendered in 3D before being converted into sprites; the final result has been compared to that of Donkey Kong Country and Mortal Kombat.[7][6] However, the visuals presented some limitations: Sonic and Knuckles have few animation frames, there is no timer, and the player only loses ten rings when hit.[13] Several gameplay elements were reused from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, such as Sonic's double-jump[c] and the playable characters.[5][6]

Sonic Blast was released worldwide in November 1996,

Kid's Gear brand on December 13, 1996, retitled G Sonic.[15][16] Worldwide, it was the last Sega-published Game Gear game;[17] it was the system's final game outright in Japan.[15] Though they have similar titles and were released around the same time, Sonic Blast and Sonic 3D Blast have little in common.[4] The game is fairly common in North America, but G Sonic is extremely rare, costing almost US$350.[18] A port of the game was released for the Master System exclusively in Brazil in December 1997, distributed by Tec Toy.[6][11][19] The game had to be simplified to run on the Master System because of its lower graphical quality. Like G Sonic, the Master System version of Sonic Blast is rare.[11]

The game has been rereleased in

Sonic Origins Plus in 2023.[22]

Reception and legacy

Retrospective reviewers did not remember Sonic Blast fondly.[6][12][13] Nintendo World Report (NWR) summarized the game as "a step back" from the other Game Gear Sonic titles, due to what they called "the attempt at aping Donkey Kong Country's pre-rendered sprites on a handheld".[12]

Most critics disliked the graphics, some claiming they ruined the game.

USgamer and NWR, complained the character graphics were too big for the Game Gear's small screen.[4][7] Jeuxvideo.com found the character animations poor and said they caused gameplay limitations.[6] Although they were mostly critical of the graphics, reviewers did acknowledge the visuals were impressive when considering the limitations of the Game Gear.[6][13] Pocket Gamer noted that prior to the game's release, "the capabilities of [the Game Gear] had seemingly been fully explored", writing while they offered some compromises, the visuals made Sonic Blast stand out.[23]

The gameplay was also criticized.

level designs,[5] while Jeuxvideo.com lamented the game lacked the speed previous Sonic games offered, and said the playable characters' abilities, as well as losing only ten rings when hit, made an already-easy game easier. They shared Nintendo Life's concerns about the level designs, and argued the boss fights lacked difficulty.[6] Digitally Downloaded said the game lacked polish: "were you to convert Sonic Blast into the engine of one of the other Game Gear games, its shortcomings would still be prevalent."[13] However, Pocket Gamer praised the game's take on the traditional Sonic formula, calling it "a strong choice for anyone who's enjoyed any other 2D [Sonic game]".[23] Digitally Downloaded, although overall critical, praised the game for its elements of exploration.[13]

Sonic Blast has been called one of the worst games in the Sonic series.

Complex declared it "the worst handheld Sonic game ever" and said "thank God they didn't attempt the '3D' aspect of its 16-bit older brother".[25] Some reviewers noted Sonic Blast was the first game to give Sonic the standard ability to double-jump,[13][5] which would be used in later games such as Sonic Colors (2010).[26]

Notes

  1. ^ Known in Japan as G Sonic (Ｇソニック, Jī Sonikku)
  2. ^ The signpost images are of Robotnik, a ring, Sonic, Knuckles, a Chaos Emerald, or Super Sonic.
  3. ^ In Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Sonic can double-jump when he equips a certain shield; Sonic Blast included the double-jump as a standard ability.

References

  1. ^ a b "Return of the Scream". GamePro. No. 88. International Data Group. November 1996. p. 60. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  2. ^ Massey, Tom (January 25, 2015). "A guide to gaming's most valuable treasures". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Sonic Blast (U.S. instruction manual) (PDF). Sega. November 1996.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Bonds, Curtis (June 27, 2013). "Sonic Blast Review Mini". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  5. ^
    Nintendo Life. Gamer Network
    . Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Godefroy, Sire (June 11, 2017). "Test Oldies : Sonic Blast, un épisode pas si indispensable que ça". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Webedia. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  7. ^
    USgamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original
    on August 25, 2017. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  8. ^ "G Sonic I Nintendo 3DS". nintendo.co.jp (in Japanese). Nintendo. April 18, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  9. Nintendo Life. Gamer Network
    . Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  10. USgamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original
    on June 25, 2018. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  11. ^ a b c Thorpe, Nick (March 22, 2014). "The History of Sonic on the Master System". Retro Gamer (179).
  12. ^ a b c d Ronaghan, Neal (June 21, 2013). "Grinding Game Gears: An Overview of Sonic's Portable Origins". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i A, Clark (August 14, 2013). "Review: Sonic Blast (3DS)". Digitally Downloaded. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  14. ^ Phillips, Tom (June 11, 2012). "Sonic Blast on Nintendo 3DS eShop this week". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  15. ^
    Nintendo Life. Gamer Network
    . Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  16. ^ "[セガハード大百科] ゲームギア対応ソフトウェア（セガ発売）". Sega. Archived from the original on June 1, 2012. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  17. GamesRadar. Future plc
    . Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  18. Allure Media. Archived from the original
    on March 13, 2018. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  19. ^ "Jogo Rápido". Ação Games. Editora Abril. December 1997. p. 10. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  20. ^ Goldstein, Hilary (November 3, 2004). "Sonic Mega Collection Plus". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  21. ^ Thomas, Lucas M. (June 21, 2012). "Nintendo's "8-Bit Summer" Announced for the 3DS eShop". IGN. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  22. ^ Shanklin, Will (March 23, 2023). "'Sonic Origins Plus' brings the hedgehog's Game Gear entries to modern consoles". Engadget. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  23. ^ a b Willington, Peter (June 18, 2012). "Sonic Blast review - 3DS reviews". Pocket Gamer. Steel Media Limited. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  24. ^ a b Delaney, John (July 28, 2008). "Sonic Blast". Retro Gamer. Future plc. Archived from the original on May 18, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  25. ^
    Complex
    . Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  26. ^ Bickam, Al (November 11, 2010). "Sonic Colours Review". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
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