Sonic 3D Blast was released for the Sega Saturn
on November 20, 1996. The game was ported
from the Genesis, to the Saturn, in just 7
weeks, as a last minute effort by Sega to
have a Sonic game out by Christmas, following
the cancellation of Sonic X-treme.
Sonic 3D Blast features an isometric viewpoint
utilizing sprites to simulate a 3D environment.
Graphically speaking it's pretty good. The
levels themselves are oozing with colors and
a tremendous amount of detail. A few stages
even showcase convincing weather effects,
such as rain, snow, and fog.
Unfortunately, the timing of Sonic 3D Blast
was pretty bad, released a few months after
Nintendo's revolutionary Mario 64. I can imagine
Saturn gamers being disappointed that their
mascot title was a two dimensional port of
an average Genesis game. Still, looking at
it 19 years later, Sonic 3D blast is a good
looking 2D game.
Also worth mentioning are the excellent enemies.
They are well animated and detailed. They
have the same pre-rendered 3D look of the
levels, but really stand out and look terrific.
Sonic himself looks well enough, if not a
tad too shiny.
The main gameplay element of Sonic 3D blast
is collecting Flickies, cute little animal
creatures, to progress through the levels.
You must search the level and destroy 5 of
Eggman’s robots to release the Flickies,
and then walk near the creature to collect
it. It will then follow you around until you,
or it, are hit by an enemy or other obstacle.
If hit, you must chase the Flicky down and
recollect it. After collecting 5, you must
bring them to a warp ring. You can then progress
to the next part of the act. The early acts
have 10 Flickies to collect, and later acts
are divided into three parts, requiring 15
total Flickies.
This is where Sonic 3D Blast falls apart for
many. Past Sonic game's placed the emphasis
on speed. Sonic 3D Blast places the emphasis
on exploring. You cannot progress through
the level without finding the 5 enemies and
capturing Flickies. This slows game play down,
with some levels taking me as long as 10 minutes
to complete. The controls are also slippery,
making precise movements difficult. Some enemies
fly, and combined with the isometric viewpoint,
they can be tough to accurately hit.
However the worst part of the game is the
platforming. Running through the wide-open
areas is easy enough, and some of the big
jumps are manageable, but the game occasionally
features precise platforming with small platforms.
These are just a giant pain and do not fit
the control scheme at all. I do recommend
using the Saturn's 3D Control Pad when playing.
The analog stick makes walking at 45 degree
angles much easier than the standard d-pad.
There is a bright spot to the game play, and
that is the boss battles. The open arenas
lend themselves well to the slippery controls
and let Sonic run at full speed. Dr. Robotnic
features his usual egg mobile with add-ons
to try and destroy the blue blur, and each
is satisfying to learn the attack patterns
and defeat.
The Saturn version of Sonic 3D Blast did receive
an exclusive bonus game though. After collecting
50 rings, you need to find Tails or Knuckles
to be whisked away to a bonus game and attempt
to earn a Chaos Emerald. The bonus game mimicks
the half-pipe bonus game in Sonic 2 for the
Sega Genesis, only it's rendered completely
in 3D.
These are actually pretty fun. The camera
movement is smooth and does a good job showing
what’s ahead, putting more emphasis on quick
reaction times than pure memorization. It's
also nice to see Sonic rendered with polygons.
However, the real bright spot of Sonic 3D
Blast is the outstanding music. Each of the
7 levels features it's own track suiting the
level design brilliantly. From the smooth
melodies of the first couple of levels, the
harsh music for the volcano level, to the
techno sounds in Dr. Eggman’s levels, the
music never disappoints.
While not what gamers were hoping for at the
time, Sonic 3D Blast does manage to capture
the spirit of Sonic and the universe he presides
in. The levels follow the typical pattern
in Sonic games, with fairly linear designs,
and secret areas to find. All of the sound
effects are here as well, including the jumping
noise, the chime when you collect a ring,
as well as the "Sonic got through an act"
jingle.
However, I still find myself torn. If the
game didn't feature Sonic I probably wouldn't
have played it. At the same time, if it wasn't
a Sonic game, I would have found the pace
more acceptable.
Overall, Sonic 3D blast is an entertaining
game with slick visuals that have aged well,
and a soundtrack that alone is worth the price
of entry. If you come at the game with an
open mind, you just might find yourself having
some fun. Three out of five.
