Sonic the Hedgehog CD

Sonic the Hedgehog CD or Sonic CD (ソニック ザ ヘジホッグ CD/ソニック CD) (as it is known in Europe and North America) is a platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, developed and published by Sega. It marked the first official appearance of both Metal Sonic and Amy Rose. It was released for the Sega Mega-CD in Japan on September 23, 1993, in Europe in October, 1993, and finally for the Sega CD in North America on November 19, 1993. The game was ported to PC CD-ROM in 1996.

Storyline
Little Planet is a beautiful and tiny world where special stones known as the Time Stones are found. The Time Stones are powerful gems that are capable of controlling the passage of time. The evil Doctor Eggman had his eye on these stones all along, ever since the planet appeared on the last month of the year. Upon locating the Little Planet, Dr. Eggman and his robot cronies immediately chain Little Planet down on a mountain with the face of Eggman carved into the mountain, then Eggman and the badniks set about converting the world into a giant fortress. But Sonic arrives onto the scene to stop Dr. Eggman from taking all the Time Stones that will allow him to manipulate time and conquer the world.

Travel through the past, present and future of each Zone and find Dr. Eggman's latest invention - Metal Sonic. Dr. Eggman will also make an appearance at the end of every round.

Gameplay
The main innovation of this chapter in the Sonic series is the manner in which the player can travel to four different versions of each zone, each in one of three different time periods of the same location: Present, Past, Good Future and Bad Future. This is accomplished by speed posts scattered around the level, bearing the labels "Past", and "Future". After running through one of these posts, the player has to run at top speed for a few seconds without stopping, to travel into the respective time period. Because these teleports are relative, there are no "Past" signs in the Past, and no "Future" signs in the Future; that is, warping to the past in the future returns the player to the "present" time and vice versa. Each stage has three "Acts" (although they are called "Zones" in this game, see below), the third of which always takes place in the future.

The different time zones have slightly different layouts and sprite placements, as well as significant changes in the level music, art and palette. In addition, the robots within a level fall into a state of disrepair as time passes; in the present, some machines have become worn down while in the future all of them have. This affects the speed and attacking ability of the robots; some of them become completely ineffective, while others do not significantly change.

The appearance of the future changes depending on the actions of the player in the past. Hidden within the past of every act, there is a robot generating machine. If this is destroyed within a zone or all seven Time Stones are already collected, all of Dr. Robotnik's robots will be destroyed in the past (as are some in the present). Should the player warp into the future, it is a "Good Future" in which there are no enemies and fewer hazards, and the landscape is a perfect marriage of nature and technology. If the machine is not destroyed, the warp will lead the player into the "Bad Future" in which Dr. Robotnik's robots run rampant, there are more hazards (though due to wear on some of the enemies, not always as many as in the past), and heavy pollution has harmed the level (such as poisoned water or corroded structures).

In addition to the robot generating machine, hidden within the past of each level is a machine which projects a hologram of Metal Sonic squashing one of that particular zone's animals underfoot. Destroying this machine causes animals to appear in the past and present levels. However the animals are always present in the Good Future, regardless of whether or not this machine was destroyed.

The third zone always takes place in the future and is mainly a short run up to the boss. Most boss battles are more elaborate than those in the other Sonic games, and typically require fewer hits than the usual 6 or 8. These boss battles, however, require more effort to actually hit Robotnik; one battle takes place on a makeshift pinball table and requires the player to use flippers to get up to Robotnik. Two battles do not involve hitting Robotnik to damage him; one takes place on a giant treadmill where the objective is to wear out Robotnik's machine by running on it, and the other is a race against Metal Sonic. The appearance of the third zone depends on the player's actions in the other two; if the player has achieved a Good Future in the other two zones (or all the Time Stones are collected), this zone will be a Good Future as well. However, if only one or neither stage has been made into a Good Future, the third zone will be a Bad Future. If all the third zones have Good Futures, the player is able to see the good ending but if the player gets all gems and all good futures, then a bonus ending is seen.

As in Sonic the Hedgehog, special stages can be accessed at the end of each zone if the player has collected, and is holding on to at least 50 rings, whereas in the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 checkpoints are used to enter special stages. This is one of the reasons that there are speculations that Sonic CD began development before Sonic 2. A giant ring will float above the finishing sign which Sonic can jump through to enter the special stage. They consist of a three-dimensional, flat surface. To complete a stage and collect the Time Stone reward, the player must seek and destroy six purple UFOs flying around the stage. If a UFO is destroyed, it gives a prize of either a super ring (have gold markings and give progressively larger bonuses starting with 20 rings when destroyed in series) or speed sneakers (have grey markings and temporarily boost speed). When the player is running out of time, an additional lighter-colored UFO with red markings will appear; destroying it will give the player more time. Collecting the seven Time Stones, only possible in the special stage, automatically guarantees that the player will reach the good ending even if one of the previously completed zones did not have a Good Future, and that all futures of upcoming zones will be good as well.

Sonic CD was the first Sonic game to use a backup save, using the internal Sega CD memory or a backup RAM cartridge. The game saves after the end of each third zone (after which, a new level begins) and records the best times of the player in the time attack mode.

The game itself has Sonic feeling generally more sluggish than normal. The spin dash he does is different to that of Sonic 2 ' s; the position he takes in both games is different. A new move was added to complement the spin dash: the Super Peel-Out (AKA Strike Dash, AKA Figure 8). The Super Peel-Out, performed in a manner much the reverse of the spin dash, by pressing up and any trigger button, causes Sonic to rev in position until you release the button, at which point he speeds off. The difference between the spindash and the Super Peelout is the spindash damages enemies who get in its way, due to Sonic's curled attacking pose; the Super Peelout, whilst quicker to charge up than the spin dash, does no damage, instead leaving Sonic vulnerable to attack (however, this can be foiled by pressing down immediately after performing the super peelout, sending Sonic into a roll that is just as fast as the super peelout as well as making him invulnerable to enemy attack).

Also, while leaving the game idle for more than a few seconds makes Sonic tap his foot impatiently (as per usual); leaving the game idle for 3 minutes causes Sonic (i.e. a digitized voice clip) to say "I'm outta here!", followed by him jumping off screen, resulting in a "Game Over".

Rounds
What would typically be called a "Zone" in other Sonic games is called a "Round" in Sonic CD. Likewise, an "Act" now becomes a "Zone". In the level select screen, levels are listed according to round numbers. For example, what the level select refers to as "Round 1" is Palmtree Panic. "Round 2", however, is missing; the level select instead skips directly to "Round 3" (Collision Chaos), suggesting a level was cut during development. This is even featured in the PC version, where files for each level are separated into folders - there are folders named "R1" and "R3", but no "R2". In total there are seven rounds to complete, each in three different time zones, essentially making it four different levels per Round, for a total of 70 original level designs.


 * Palmtree Panic: A tropical level with mountains and waterfalls in the background. The past features a more prehistoric looking Palmtree Panic. The bad future is completely mechanized with smog in the air and oil in the water. The good future is also mechanized but bright, vivid, colorful, and clean, with potted plants and trees adorning the area as well.


 * Collision Chaos: An unusual mechanized forest with a pinball theme. In the past Collision Chaos shows a rather surreal, orange tinted version of the level. The bad future is dark and creepy with gray machines. The good future shows a bright pink and blue futuristic paradise.


 * Tidal Tempest: An underwater area at the base of a volcano. In the past it's an underground cavern, untouched by man or machine. The bad future shows a broken down, polluted, over-industrialized water plant. In the good future Tidal Tempest is a fully operational turquoise aquarium harboring much plant life and fish. The water level appears to have risen over time: it's low in the past, higher in the present, and at its highest in either future.


 * Quartz Quadrant: Quartz Quadrant is a busy place with conveyor belts and platforms. The appearance of this level changes drastically throughout each time zone. It is a swamp in the past with hardly any technology, but a large quanity of quartz. It's an active mine and partially a swamp in the present. It is an overly mechanized mine with apparently no quartz in the bad future. It is an underground golden-colored city that is possibly made of quartz in the good future.


 * Wacky Workbench: A factory level located in a canyon. The past features an early construction of the Workbench. In the bad future the level is ruined and rusty, while the good future shows an advanced pink/purple plant similar to that of a fictional toy factory.


 * Stardust Speedway: One of the fastest rounds in Sonic ' s history. Stardust Speedway is a highway adorned with musical instruments above an enormous city. In the past the land is old, ancient, resembling a Roman city, and vines adorn the highway as there is little to no technology to speak of. It also has gothic styled building in zone's center. In the bad future Stardust Speedway has become a corrupted, polluted dystopian city underneath a large electrical storm with a completed statue of Robotnik in the zone's center. The good future looks like a giant futuristic amusement park, with bright pink and green colors dominating the landscape with a beautiful cathedral in the center of Zone 2.


 * Metallic Madness: Robotnik's base of operations on the Little Planet. Near the end of Zone 2, Sonic is shrunk and must make his way through small passageways before he can be restored to normal size. The past shows the base still in construction with cranes adorning the skyline, while in the bad future Metallic Madness is a dark, sinister completely broken-down base ruined from neglect. The good future still shows a mechanized factory but it has become more in tune with nature, as though Robotnik was never there.

Special stages
As in Sonic the Hedgehog, special stages can be accessed at the end of each zone if the player has collected, and is holding on to at least 50 rings. A giant ring will float above the finishing sign which Sonic can jump through to enter the special stage.

The special stage consists of a three-dimensional, flat surface. To complete a stage and collect the Time Stone reward, the player must seek and destroy six UFOs flying around the stage. The UFOs move around in an erratic fashion, which can make them hard to hit. If a UFO is destroyed, it gives a prize. A Ring Bonus for UFOs with yellow frames, and a temporary speed boost for ones with white frames. If the timer goes below 20 seconds, a special blue-and-red UFO appears in the center. Although this UFO doesn't count towards the actual UFO count (in other words, the number won't decrease), it awards the player an extra 30 seconds, allowing them more time.

In addition, there are many different types of stage environment that can make or break your game. Springs bounce you upward, bumpers bounce you back if you try to stray off-course, fans make you hover for a short time, chopper tiles slow you down and cause you to lose rings, and dash panels force you into different directions. If you step into the water portions of the stage, you'll proceed slower and quickly lose time, so stay out of them if possible. In the Special Stage Time Attack, the water does not cause a time penalty.

Bosses
Like in the first game, Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit), an Act 3 (in this case, Round 3) is the final level of the zone, and where the player will face off with Robotnik. However, it takes place in a Bad Future, unless the player can change it to Past, Present, or Good Future.


 * 1) Bobbin Walker: Robotniks machine will fall into the boss arena, revealing a giant walker with Bobbins placed on its arms. His machines feet are protected with Spikes, making it difficult to attack from the front. The player will need to reach the machines head, and then destroy the arms. Then Robotnik isn't protected. Once his machine is defeated, Robotnik will fly away with a jet-pack strapped to his back. If the player obtains the invincibility at the beginning and quickly gets to Robotnik while it is still in effect, he can be defeated very easily.
 * 2) Pinball Machine: Robotniks Egg Mobile is strapped to a metal table where he will sit there laughing until Sonic can reach him and destroy his machine. The layout of the boss arena is a giant pinball-like maze where the player must hit the flippers and launch Sonic in the right direction. Then, the player can jump up and hit Robotniks vehicle, and he will run away in his Egg Mobile.
 * 3) Bubble Shield Blaster: As Sonic chases after Robotnik, hitting his machine about seven times, Robotnik will flee into the water. Once Sonic approaches, Robotnik takes a bunch of air bubbles to surround him (proving to be a big mistake, because Sonic can grab air to survive underwater), and will shoot four fireballs while passing through the middle to the other side. After destroying most of the shield, Robotnik is basically a free target. Then, the water will fall down, revealing dry land and a capsule with flower seeds.
 * 4) Mine-Dropping Conveyor Belt: Robotnik appears in a tubular control area where a set of spikes guards the place from where Sonic came from, and a mine dropper that Robotnik controls. Sonic will need to run on the moving conveyor belt, but also avoid the mines Robotnik drops (Which they will split into four tiny ones). After some big efforts, Robotniks machine will crash and he will run away, giving Sonic room to compete the level.
 * 5) Rocket Mobile: The new machine designed by Robotnik is a giant rocket where he sits inside, piloting it. Once hit, Robotnik will get angry, and make four blocks fall down (on the third one, spikes will fall). Then, an electromagnetic shock will be made on the floor, causing the blocks to rise. Once Robotniks rocket is destroyed, a massive explosion will occur, and Robotnik will run away.
 * 6) Metal Sonic: Once reaching Metal, Robotnik will appear with an Egg Mobile with a laser blaster, destroying the track on the race. During the race, if the player falls behind, he/she will be destroyed by Robotnik. If Metal Sonic beats the player, then Robotnik will still destroy the player, where the door will close behind Metal. If Metal is beat, the door will close behind Sonic, and Metal will be destroyed, and Robotnik can't breach the door. Then, Sonic will save Amy Rose, and the level will end.
 * 7) Final fight: Robotniks final machine consists of a ball-shaped pod, with four giant rectangular blocks to protect his vehicle. He can use them to walk, shoot, and bounce. They will rotate around his pod (Going at higher speeds each time). Each time Robotnik is hit, one of the blocks will fall off. Once the machine is destroyed, the factory starts exploding, and Amy Rose appears. Players are treated to a good ending or a bad ending (depending on whether or not all Time Stones are collected) after that.

Development
After the release of Sonic the Hedgehog, Lead Programmer Yuji Naka had grown dissatisfied with the rigid corporate policies at Sega, so he moved to the United States to work with the Sega Technical Institute. Incidentally, a large number of the original design team of Sonic also left for the U.S., to help instruct the American developers. With half of Sonic Team and two of its most important creators present, the Sega Technical Institute eventually got the job to develop Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

Meanwhile in Japan, Sonic CD was handled by a separate development team, headed by Sonic creator Naoto Ohshima. Initially, as revealed in interviews and magazine clippings, Sonic CD, and Sonic 2 for the Mega Drive/Genesis, Master System and Game Gear were all supposed to be the same game. However, during development, Sonic CD evolved into a vastly different type of game. Eventually, the gameplay of Sonic 2 would be favoured for the future games, but this explains why the theme and handling of Sonic CD are different, as well as the use of Sonic 1's sprites for Sonic. The time posts also had pseudo-3D sprites similar to the Knuckles' Chaotix title screen.

Sonic CD was released after Sonic the Hedgehog 2 but before Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Some fans believe the story of Sonic CD either takes place before Sonic 2 or after Sonic & Knuckles due to the misconception that Sonic 3 takes place where Sonic 2 left off, but in actuality, the Japanese manual states that there was some time in between games. However, due to considerable delays, it is apparent that Sonic CD was supposed to launch at the same time, if not before, Sonic 2.

Soundtrack Differences
The US and Japanese versions feature two different soundtracks, with the European release sharing the Japanese soundtrack. The Japanese soundtrack was composed by Naofumi Hataya, and featured songs by Keiko Utoku. The songs were entitled "Sonic - You Can Do Anything" and "Cosmic Eternity - Believe In Yourself".

The US version was delayed a few months to have a new soundtrack composed by Spencer Nilsen, who did other Sega CD soundtracks as well as some early Sega Saturn soundtracks. All the music (save for the Past tunes, which were in PCM audio rather than Red Book CD Audio) was replaced, and new themes were composed. The new theme was "Sonic Boom", performed by Pastiche (Sandy Cressman, Jenny Meltzer and Becky West). Both the opening and ending had similar lyrics but different instrumentation. This is credited as the "Special Edition for North America" soundtrack.

The intro and ending FMV sequences were slightly re-edited to fit in time with the respective music. Since then, every re-release of the game in the US (up to this point) exclusively has this soundtrack, including both the PC version and the one in Sonic Gems Collection (the latter having the Japanese soundtrack in Japan but with the slightly altered programming of the US version's) as well as in the special features section of Sonic Mega Collection; apparently due to licensing issues, the Japanese soundtrack has never made it to the States. However, it has surfaced in Sonic Screensaver and Sonic Jam and as several remixes in some 8-bit Sonic games, making it seem to be a faulty argument.

This, rather infamously, caused the biggest JP/US version differentiation review clash ever when GameFan magazine, who gave the Japanese version 100%, gave the game a less-than-flattering score for the US version and it was made clear that the score had been based on the US version's soundtrack alone, as rather than any changes in the gameplay.

It is interesting to note, that the last development version of Sonic CD (after the Japanese release) which was run on American NTSC systems, contained the Japanese soundtrack completely intact, indicating that at one point in localization, the soundtrack wasn't considered for revision. However, when it came time to release, the soundtrack was completely replaced.

Ports
Sonic CD was ported to PC CD-ROM in 1996, marking Sonic's debut on the PC under the Sega PC brand. This version was released in Japan on August 9, 1996, in North America in August 26, 1996, and in Europe in October 3, 1996. Among the most noteworthy changes of this version was the fact that the entire FMV animated intro and ending sequence is available for this version. The Mega-CD version only had a truncated version of the intro and ending sequence. The Japanese version of the game had its manual translated from the US version, and all versions had the US soundtrack, with the "Past" tunes converted to normal CD tracks.

Due to the design of Microsoft DirectX in Windows NT-based machines (namely, Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows XP), the installation program for the game can crash. While this can be worked around (usually by using compatibility modes in Windows XP, which rarely works on Sonic CD's installer), the program will still not execute. Using a third-party patch written by a member of the Sonic community, Sonic CD will run on the latest versions of Windows.

While the DirectX version of Sonic CD for PC is the most common and the best-selling initial commercial game for Windows 95, it is not the first version of Sonic CD for PC. The original version of Sonic CD for PC was powered using Dino libraries, an Intel-developed precursor to DirectX. This version of Sonic CD was never individually sold at retail, it was only sold with Packard Bell computers as a pre-installed game, and sold as double-paks along with other PC Sonic games. Upon the release of DirectX 3, Sega ported the Dino dependencies to DirectX calls and released Sonic CD in its DirectX form.

In addition to the PC port, Sonic CD is part of the Nintendo GameCube (and, in Japan and Europe, PlayStation 2) compilation Sonic Gems Collection. This version is, in turn, ported from the PC version with some enhancements regarding the game's framerate and action speed (with no framerate slow-down). This is likely because to emulate the Mega-CD original, Sega would have to emulate both the Mega Drive/Genesis processors in addition to the new processors for the Mega-CD&mdash;which might have been difficult, if not impossible for GameCube and PlayStation 2 hardware to do at full speed. As a result of the PC port, Sonic CD on Sonic Gems Collection features audio converted from 11 kHz WAV for all its sound effects (which is noticably lower quality than the other games included), as well as the high-colour versions of the intro and ending videos; however, it also is missing certain effects present in both the Mega-CD and PC version, such as transparent water in Tidal Tempest Zone, or fades of any sort. There are other mistakes as well, such as the background of Stardust Speedway's Bad Future containing static lightning in reverse, and the sound effects not registering properly for the Stardust Speedway boss. The soundtrack in this version depends on the region, though European versions of the game contain the American soundtrack (unlike previous European releases which featured the Japanese soundtrack).

Trivia

 * The animated short that introduces the Mega-CD version of Sonic CD is substantially shorter than the intro in the PC and GameCube ports, as well as the Sega Saturn Sonic Jam video, but animates slower. The uncut intro shows more of Sonic running through the landscape and over a lake. Strangely, a very small cut (about 2 seconds of footage) of the mountainside that Dr. Robotnik uses to tether the little planet down, which has a massive carving of Robotnik's face on it, is missing from the uncut intros but present in the Mega-CD version. There are also a short segment missing from the ending FMV of the Mega-CD version that were restored in Sonic Jam and Sonic Mega Collection. This infamous segment is viewed in its original form at the Pencil Test.
 * When accessing the debug mode of Sonic CD, a secret picture of Tails appears. Tails also appears in the Tornado, at the D.A. Garden / Play Music.
 * The PC version featured a few minor enhancements. Mainly, the movies were partially restored, and the Special Stages run faster. Several effects, such as the title screen, run faster. The game can also perform in 60 frames per second instead of the original 30. These changes are also seen in Sonic Gems Collection which is the PC version.
 * In addition to the change of soundtrack, the U.S. version also replaced Amy Rose's name in the manual with that of Princess Sally to garner support for the television show, despite the fact that the Princess Sally character was already established as a completely different looking and separate character (this was fixed in the PC version).
 * This was the first Sonic game to include centiseconds in the time as opposed to just minutes and seconds (others would follow such as Sega 32X's Chaotix, as well as all of the Competition Race stages in Sonic the Hedgehog 3).
 * Loading the game CD into a regular CD player will enable one to hear the game's music.
 * Issue #25 of the Archie comic book features a cover story loosely based on Sonic CD.
 * Sonic the Comic adapted the story of Sonic CD in its "The Sonic Terminator" arc, from Sonic the Comic #24 to #28.
 * In Sonic Adventure, when Amy is remembering "the good ol' days", Sonic is seen rescuing Amy from Metal Sonic. This is probably her remembering scenes from Sonic CD. However, in the flashback, Amy doesn't retain her old school design and Sonic will have any upgrades he has acquired by that point. Most likely, the programmers did not bother to create a new character model of Amy's old design for use in one cutscene.
 * This is the first Sonic game with animated 2D cutscenes.
 * If you stand still for three minutes, and you don't move at all, Sonic says "I'm outta here." Then you get a game over.
 * The names of all seven stages are alliterations.
 * The sprite for Sonic appears to come from Sonic the Hedgehog
 * This is the first Sonic game were sonic runs with his arms at the back of him when you do the super peel out move by holding the D-pad up and pressing the A button
 * The theme song, Sonic Boom, is a playable track in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
 * If you unlocked the sound test and input codes, you can unlock several hidden pictures.
 * During the ending credits, when Sonic is in Collision Chaos, he is seen spin dashing on some boxes, much like the Bonus Stage in Knuckles Chaotix. It could be because the two games were made by most of the same staff.