Sonic the Hedgehog 3, or simply Sonic 3, is a platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It was released as a sequel to Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
| Sonic the Hedgehog 3 | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Sonic Team |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Designer(s) | Takashi Thomas Yuda (character design), Hirokazu Yasuhara (lead designer), Yuji Naka (programming) |
| Composer(s) | |
| Platform(s) | Genesis/Mega Drive, Saturn, Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox |
| Release |  February, 1994
 May, 1994 |
| Genre(s) | Platformer |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
The game was released for the Sega Genesis in the United States on February 2, 1994. The European Sega Mega Drive release came later that month. The game was released in Japan for the Mega Drive on May 27, 1994. It was re-released for the Sega Saturn in 1998 as part of Sonic Jam, the Nintendo GameCube in 2002 as part of the Sonic Mega Collection and Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox in 2004 as part of Sonic Mega Collection Plus.
Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles have sold 4 million copies.[1]
Storyline
At the end of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the evil Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik had his Death Egg downed from orbit by the heroes, Sonic the Hedgehog and his companion Miles "Tails" Prower. Having not been completely destroyed, after all, the Death Egg has crash-landed on Angel Island. This island has special properties - not least the ability to float - which it gets from the magical jewel called the Master Emerald. When Dr. Robotnik learns of the Master Emerald, an all powerful jewel upon which the Chaos Emeralds base their powers, he tries to steal it to repair his Death Egg.
Of course, Sonic and Tails have to put a stop to this, collecting Chaos Emeralds as they go before Dr. Robotnik does. Unfortunately, Dr. Robotnik has tricked the guardian of the Master Emerald, an echidna named Knuckles, into thinking that Sonic and Tails are the thieves, so he tries his best to stop them.
Gameplay
Changes
Despite the fact that Sonic 3 is not as well-known nor sold as many copies as Sonic 2 did, it is considered by many fans and veterans, to this day, to be the greatest Sonic 2D platform game ever released, especially when combined with Sonic & Knuckles. The game gave Sonic a new look and approached the Sonic-style with a new attitude in mind. Levels are now three times larger than those found in the previous games and contain more secrets and different routes to take. Both Sonic and Tails have new abilities and new shields give Sonic additional powers. The game in particular pays much closer attention to the plot than previous titles in the series, as small "cut scenes" are played to show the story's progress. The addition of Knuckles, who was destined to become a recurring character in the series, adds to the experience as he occasionally shows up to try and hinder Sonic and Tails' progress. Overall, Sonic fans feel that this game has more depth and introduced more vital elements to the franchise than any other title in the series. The newer 2D Sonic games, such as Sonic Advance, model themselves closer to Sonic 1 and Sonic 2, which many Sonic fans consider a disappointment.
Overview of play
As the player, you control either Sonic or Tails. Your aim is to guide them through six zones, defeat Dr. Robotnik and collect all Chaos Emeralds along the way. The six zones are divided into two acts where, unlike previous Sonic games, each zone has a mini-boss at the end of the first act, and each first act connects directly to the second, preserving any shields the players may have. After a boss is defeated, the player is treated to a short cutscene that gives the impression of continuity between zones. This paints a vivid picture of Sonic 3’s game world, Angel Island, and contrasts with the arbitrary zone listing of previous Sonic games, whose individual zones for the most part had no correlation with the zones around them.
Basic gameplay remains unchanged from Sonic the Hedgehog 2, with the following additions. Sonic and Tails are now equipped with special moves that are activated by double-tapping the jump button. Tails’ special moves are flight power, or if he is underwater, swim power. In two-player mode, both of these special moves enable Tails to pick up Sonic and carry him around the map. Sonic now has four special moves, which are activated by double-tapping the jump button, each one’s availability being determined by the shield Sonic is wearing (the elemental shields are also available to Tails, but only grant him protective powers):
- Fire shield: absorbs all fire damage and enables the player to walk freely on lava. Sonic can use it to perform a horizontal charge in mid-air. This shield is deactivated upon contact with water.
- Electric shield: protection against all electrical damage. But more importantly, the electric shield will magnetically draw any rings nearby to the player. Sonic can use it to perform a vertical charge in mid-air. This shield is also deactivated upon contact with water.
- Water shield: deflects all water based attacks and enables the player to breathe underwater. Sonic can use it to bounce on his enemies.
- Insta shield: this is Sonic’s default special move, available to the player only if Sonic isn’t wearing one of the above three shields. Double-tapping the jump button in this instance allows Sonic to become invulnerable for a split second, allowing the player to attack well-armoured enemies, or to pass through projectile weapons unscathed.
Zones
Levels
There are 6 levels in Sonic 3, thay are:
- Angel Island Zone: A tranquil jungle island that is set ablaze by Dr. Robotnik after Sonic and Tails arrive. Knuckles the island guardian makes his first appearance here, as he recovers the emeralds from Sonic immediately after they land on the shore.
- Hydrocity Zone: The inner workings of a complex hydroelectric dam. This stage takes place mostly underwater.
- Marble Garden Zone: The marble ruins of an ancient civilization. Marble Garden is the only zone in Sonic 3 with no water in it. Dr. Robotnik uses his mobile vehicle to drill through the surface of this stage, causing massive earthquakes in the process that Sonic must outrun in a timely fashion. The final boss of Marble Garden is fought in the sky, while Sonic clings on to Tails.
- Carnival Night Zone: Tails drops Sonic into a playful carnival filled with balloons, pinball bumpers, and cannons to launch from, although unlike Casino Night Zone in Sonic 2 there are no slot machines.
- Icecap Zone: Sonic is shot from a cannon and lands on a snowboard in the snowy mountains. The first act takes place inside an ice-cold cavern, while the second act brings Sonic to Ice Cap's powder-snow surface.
- Launch Base Zone: Dr. Robotnik's site that houses the stricken Death Egg, with spinning elevators for facilitation of travel and alarms to keep out intruders.
Special stages
As in previous Sonic games, star posts are scattered throughout each act to save the player's progress. Furthermore, if Sonic has collected at least 50 rings and he hits a check point, a bright halo of stars will float above it, which Sonic can then jump through to access a bonus stage. The bonus stage is a large gumball machine in which Sonic constantly falls down. Spring bumpers on the side of the walls make sure he stays in the air, but whenever he hits one it disappears. Each time he passes the slot of the gumball machine it releases a ball which Sonic can then grab. Bonuses include shields, rings and lives. Additionally, black balls bump Sonic down while transparent balls contain nothing. The stage ends when Sonic falls out of screen.
Note that star posts in Sonic 3 are used to enter bonus stages this time instead of emerald stages, as in Sonic 2. The emerald stages are once again entered by jumping through a large golden ring. Contrary to the original Sonic however, these rings are hidden in the scenery, and multiple can be found in each act. In addition, the player is not required to collect any amount of rings to enter the emerald stage.
The stages themselves are 3 dimensional and appear spherical in lay-out, they are however flat stages that repeat themselves. Sonic moves across the surface of a giant orb and has to hit a set amount blue balls while dodging bumpers and red balls. Sometimes blue orbs are found in groups of squares. If Sonic checks all orbs round the side of a square the field turns into rings. Collecting 50 rings in an emerald stage gains the player a continue, and collecting all possible rings gains the player a "perfect" bonus, worth 50,000 points - one life.
Sonic is rewarded with an emerald when he hits all blue orbs in the stage. Should he touch any of the red orbs however, the stage ends and he is transported back to the zone.
Multiplayer
Sonic 3 retained head-to-head racing introduced in Sonic 2, although instead of using levels from the single player game, five entirely new tracks were created for competitions and Knuckles was added as a selectable character. Players can select to play a Grand Prix of all five tracks, a single track to race on, or race the clock in time trial mode.
The five tracks are:
- Azure Lake: A short but speedy course along the waters of Azure Lake. This track is the fastest among the five multiplayer stages, and can be completed in well under 20 seconds.
- Balloon Park: A bouncey stage similar to Carnival Night with a loop and several bumpers and balloons to get ahead. A well known bug in the loop can enable the player to skip large parts of each lap.
- Chrome Gadget: A tour through a Death Egg like maze filled with platforms and force fields. If a racer touches the bottom of a platform he dies.
- Desert Palace: This desert ruin takes the player through high speed loops and over quicksand bridges. However, should a racer start spinning in the loop to early, he will be hurled back at high speed to the beginning of the track.
- Endless Mine: The longest of the five stages, set in an abandoned mine cave. Endless Mine poses no real dangers to the racers but needs some well timed jumps and speed stops to complete the stage in a smooth fashion.
It is also possible for the second player to control Tails when playing with Sonic and Tails in the normal game. Much like in Sonic 2.
Technical specifications
Sonic 3 had the option, unseen at that point in the Sonic series, to record the game level where a player had been and resume it at a later date - which increased the replay value tremendously as several levels sport secret passages and, although not vital to the ending of the game, allowed the collection of 7 Chaos Emeralds at a later date.
A closer inspection of the ROM by fans provides some details on the marketing scheme pulled by Sega with the release of Sonic & Knuckles. While Sega originally stated that the new "revolutionary" lock-on technology literally transformed the secondary game (i.e. Sonic 3 or Sonic 2), the analysis of the ROM reveals that Sonic 3 was produced with full knowledge and possibly even having most of Sonic & Knuckles already completed to as far as Lava Reef Zone, as it provides a whole second version of the game, not an "add-on".
Trivia
- The first letters of the race track's names make up the sequence A, B, C, D and E.
- Sonic 3's cartridge contains unused music tracks that appear in Sonic & Knuckles. Also, if you let the water warning music play when you fight against the Hydrocity Zone miniboss and then emerge from the water, the miniboss music from Sonic & Knuckles will play.
- Marble Garden is the only zone in Sonic 3 not to feature water.
- Some levels from Sonic & Knuckles appear in the level select which is activated via a cheat code. Incidentally, this cheat code is considered one of the most difficult to execute in any game ever released. (However if one has an original Sega Genesis and a Sonic two cart, one can hold the A button while in the level select of Sonic 2, remove the Sonic 2 cart, insert the Sonic 3 cart, press the reset button, and gain access to the level select with out entering in the level select code.)
- Like a few other titles in the series, Sonic 3 has the occasional bug in which a player can get stuck in the scenery. The UK manual addresses this problem, but suggests that it is a deliberate "feature"; a "diabolical trap from which Sonic can not escape, and the player will have to reset the game."
- The fire shield and electricity shield appear in later games like Sonic Adventure 2 and Shadow the Hedgehog, but the bubble shield is the only shield that does not return; instead, they have a green shield.
- Sonic 3's game manual contains a misprint referring to the existence of a regular shield similar to that found in earlier Sonic titles.
- The theme music for the Ice Cap Zone is widely considered by fans to be the best piece of music in Sonic's history, and one of the best tunes of any video game. Because of its popularity, it has been remixed to death, with hundreds of remixes of it available on the Internet.
External links
- Sonic the Hedgehog 3 time attack records at The Sonic Center
- Sonic 3 at Green Hill Zone - contains info, screenshots and a basic walkthrough.
- Sonic 3 at IMDb