DAY 2 / GAME 2 Sonic CD

DAY 2 / GAME 2

  Sonic CD

             As the ball get's rolling on this project, order is still a bit of a question.  Although I'd like to jump around to break up any monotony, I think I'd like to get some of my absolute favourites out of the way first.  Even though, as the project will prove, there are a lot of games that are my favourite.

             Sonic the Hedgehog was the first console game my brother and I ever owned; the Genesis our first console.  I've played other games before then, and I'll get to that down the road.  But this was special.  Sonic was the first game I knew I wanted before even seeing it in person.  And during a time when consoles were dominated by only one mustachio'd mascot, I really was rooting for a new face.  I liked Sonic, it was fast. Featured sharp, clean graphics and great audio.  All of which was proper for a flagship title on a new system.  And Sonic himself was quick and full of energy which was something I could relate to as a 9 year old boy.

            

So now, why Sonic CD?  Simply put, in my experience it was the finest of the series.  Apparently when Sonic 2 was being produced, it got split into a Japanese and American team and ended up as two different games.  The Japanese one being Sonic CD and the later becoming Sonic 2.  Sonic CD took full advantage of the CD drive and single-handedly sold me on the add-on unit.  It had a terrific soundtrack, more replayability than most other Sonic titles and had an overall harsher, more heavy metal feel to it even.  It felt solid and the controls felt tighter and faster than 1.  It even featured some amazing short intro and ending animations done by Toei Animation and Studio Junio in Japan.  

            I still pick up this game and play it now and again.  More so than any other Sonic title.  The Time Trial portion even added that bit of replayability for jumping into a favourite level here and there.  It's been ported a number of times, even to mobile platforms, so it's easy to get a copy.  The most recent HD re-release of the game is fantastic as well, featuring both the US and Japanese sountracks (which differed for some reason) and even remastered video clips which look amazing.  This is definitely one of the more timeless titles of my past and I find it amazing that 20 years later I'm now sitting down and playing it with my daughter.

Star and number rating systems are silly and can't sum up a game in any way.  But if I were, say, to rate this game, out of a number of stars, I would simply give this title, All The Goddamned Stars.