Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure

"Feel the need for speed!!! Sonic is back at his best for the NEOGEO POCKET COLOR!"

- Tagline

Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure, or just Sonic Pocket Adventure, is a video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It was released in 1999 for the Neo Geo Pocket Color handheld game console. The game is similar in level design and gameplay to Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis but includes a few features from the original Sonic the Hedgehog, as well as special features such as puzzles and multiplayer options. It was the second Sonic game to be released for a non-Sega system (the first was Sonic Jam for Game.com). It was also the last game for almost eight years to feature Sonic as the only playable character in single player until Sonic and the Secret Rings was released in 2007.

Zones
As in other Sonic titles, the levels in Sonic Pocket Adventure are known as zones, with each zone containing two parts. The players must navigate through all the zones in order to beat the game, with the second level in each zone containing a boss. There are six regular zones in the game, as well as one secret zone that contains only one level. Below is the full list of zones in order of appearance in the single player mode.


 * 1) Neo South Island: A green island which is based on the styling of Green Hill Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog. It is visually based on Green Hill Zone, but has the loops and corkscrews from Emerald Hill Zone (Sonic the Hedgehog 2) and the vertical ramps from Palmtree Panic from Sonic CD.
 * 2) Secret Plant: Based on Chemical Plant Zone, another zone from Sonic the Hedgehog 2. There are purple chemical liquids found on Act 2 of this zone.
 * 3) Cosmic Casino: This zone is based on Casino Night Zone, also from Sonic the Hedgehog 2. As Sonic, the player must navigate through a casino-themed area filled with bumpers and various other obstacles.
 * 4) Aquatic Relix: Based on Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ' s Aquatic Ruin Zone. This zone, and Secret Plant, are the only levels in the game which feature underwater sections.
 * 5) Sky Chase: Similar to the Sky Chase Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog 2, here Sonic walks on the wings of Tails' plane, the Tornado.
 * 6) Aerobase: Based on Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ' s Wing Fortress Zone. This zone takes place on a very large flying warship in which Sonic must find a way to get inside.
 * 7) Gigantic Angel: This zone's background design has been taken from Scrap Brain Zone from the original Sonic the Hedgehog. This zone takes place in a large base full of traps and hazards, most of which are taken from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ' s Metropolis Zone.
 * 8) Last Utopia: This is the last proper zone and is a stand-off between Sonic and Dr. Robotnik. Robotnik is in a large flying machine which has a Chaos Emerald powered cannon.
 * 9) Chaotic Space: A hidden bonus level that must be unlocked in order to play. This zone plays similarly to the Doomsday Zone from Sonic & Knuckles.

Multiplayer


In addition to the single player mode, Sonic Pocket Adventure allows multiplayer gaming for two players. In order to compete, both players are required to have a Neo Geo Pocket Color and a copy of the game, and one link cable. The multiplayer component is entitled 'Duel Mode' and features two modes of play; Sonic Rush and Get the Rings. 'Sonic Rush' has players competing to be the first to finish a zone and the objective of 'Get the Rings' is to collect the specified amount of rings before your rival. Player 1 is always Sonic, while player 2 is Tails. Incidentally, Sonic Rush is also the title of Sonic's first outing on the Nintendo DS.

Music
The music in Sonic Pocket Adventure is largely taken from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, with the Neo South Island Zone Act 1 song being from Sonic Jam.

Extras
Tails is playable in the single player mode as a result of a glitch in some emulators causing debug to occur.

This game is also the only game to mix the current Sonic style with the classic one. For example, the in-game sprites very much look like it would be pre-Sonic Adventure, but close-up graphics show that his eyes are indeed green, indicating closer resemblance to the post-Sonic Adventure style. Eggman himself wears his original red shirt and yellow cape for most of the game, but wears his newer outfit in his base, at the finale of the game.

Reception
The game was well-received, getting many positive reviews. One notable review is IGN's where they gave Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure a perfect 10/10. This is the only Sonic game, to date, to have a perfect 10/10 from IGN.

Trivia

 * For strange reasons, the music in Sonic Pocket Adventure has been swapped around, making the music seem unfitting for boss battles. This can be seen when facing the final boss, as the music Sky Sanctuary from Sonic and Knuckles is played during the fight. In fact, almost all of the music in the game has been taken from Sonic 3 & Knuckles but remixed into an 8-bit fashion.
 * This is the only Sonic game for the Neo Geo Pocket Color.
 * This is the first Sonic game made by Dimps, who would later go on to make all of the Nintendo handheld based Sonic games.

Beta Elements
Main article here: Sonic Pocket Adventure/Beta elements