Tiger's standard version of Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Tiger's "Pocket Arcade" version of Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is an LCD game made by Tiger in 1994, as a tie-in to the Sega Mega Drive game also called Sonic the Hedgehog 3. It was available in the Tiger's second generation casing and also as a Pocket Arcade version with a flip up cover. The background image is of the bonus stage from Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Sonic & Knuckles and Blue Sphere.
Gameplay
Players control Sonic through six Zones. Tails can be called upon to airlift Sonic through the sky, but can only be called upon three times; the primary use for this is to airlift Sonic out of underwater segments. The pick button is actually used to pick up Rings and Chaos Emeralds found in each level. Sonic starts with four lives but can gain more by picking up 1-up icons scattered in each level. If ten rings are collected a star ring will show up, which will warp Sonic to the Gumball Machine bonus stage. However, if a player is hit while holding rings they will be lost, and if none are held then a life will be deducted. Several power-ups can be found in the game: Invincibility, Super Rings (worth four rings), Flame Shield and Lightning Shield. Level length is determined by time; later levels have a longer time limit exposing Sonic to more traps.
Levels contain underwater segments which will cause Sonic to drown unless he collects Air Bubbles or jumps out of the water in time or has a Water Shield. The underwater timer acts separately from the normal game timer; the player can spend additional time underwater than the normal stage time, which can be used to rack up the score but exposes Sonic to more traps.
The gumball bonus stages are similar to the console version as items will fall out of the machine after Sonic jumps up to hit it. Sonic can bounce against the bumpers on the side of the stage to gain height as well as jump up to reach it. The stage ends after a 1-up power up appears (after eight "gumball rings"), or if the time runs out, suggesting that Sonic had fallen to the bottom of the stage.
Controls
The game features a standard direction pad and three buttons, "Tails", "pick", and "spin". Both consoles also contain four function buttons to turn off the system, toggle sound effects, pause the game, and turn on the console and start the game. Sonic moves by pressing the right or left key, though the level only scrolls when Sonic moves right. Tails can be called for with the "Tails" button. The "Pick" button can be used for picking up items.
Points
- Collect a Ring = 50
- Defeating Rhinobots, Coconuts, Catakillers, and Bugernauts = 100
- Defeating Mega Chopper, Pointdexter, and Tunnelbot = 200
- Defeating boss and collecting Chaos Emerald = 2,000
- Defeating final boss and collecting Chaos Emerald = 4,000
Music
The music in the game is based on the music from Sonic 3. When the game starts, the Sonic 3 title screen theme is heard. During the levels, a version of the background music from Angel Island Zone is played.