Sonic The Hedgehog 3 was SEGA's big product for the Mega Drive/Genesis but SEGA's 8-Bit platforms, were still enjoying success (especially in Europe) and as such they get another unique instalment courtesy of Aspect Co. Ltd.
It was a well rounded title and the last official Sonic game to grace the Master System/Mark III. It also goes by an alternative name of Sonic & Tails. It also marks the first 8-Bit game where Tails is a playable character.
European Case (Click for larger)
Note: This feature covers the Master System/Mark III (console) version.
Robotnik Has An Emerald
Story
South Island is in trouble again. Dr. Robotnik (Robotnik) has managed to get hold of the Red Chaos Emerald. By tapping into its power he has somehow managed to throw the remaining Chaos Emeralds into a parallel universe.
Gameplay
Sonic Chaos retains all the traditional gameplay rules but adds new abilities and a few new items.
It’s clear that Sonic Chaos tries hard to bring as much 16-Bit class gameplay as it can and is somewhat successful, however, it shows that the platform is not really capable of it.
Sonic’s look has been updated and Tails is now playable complete with his flying ability. Curiously he begins the game with more lives and continue credits than Sonic.
Zones seem rather small and can be zipped through rather quickly.
On Screen
As ever, the crucial stats of Time Elapsed, Lives Remaining and Rings Collected are on screen but now contained to the top-left.
Controls
Controls are the same, however, both characters now handle with a heavier feel.
In order to perform the Spin-Dash with either character, hold DOWN on the D-Pad and rev up pressing JUMP buttons and releasing.
By holding UP on the D-Pad and pressing JUMP, Sonic will perform the Peel-Out from Sonic CD (press repeatedly to rev up) and Tails will begin to fly. Beware that characters are vulnerable whilst doing these moves.
Sonic can still bounce across the surface of water by running at speed and repeatedly pressing JUMP.
As always, rings that are Sonic and Tails’ lifeline are all around to be collected and they can still be killed by the same things (damage, drowning, falling of screen ect). Zones have plenty of hazards and Robotnik’s robots for them to contend with. Thankfully, ring scattering is done after a hit for some recovery.
To help our heroes the Special Items to be found are:
Ring Monitor – 10 Rings.
Stars Monitor – Invincibility. Sonic/Tails is invincible for a brief period of time. They can still be killed by falling off the screen and drowning.
Shoes Monitor – Gives a boost in speed for a short amount of time.
Sonic/Tails Monitor – Gives an extra life.
Pogo Spring Monitor – This attaches powerful springs to allow for jumping great heights and distances.
Rocket Shoes Monitor – Sonic only item. Allows Sonic to reach great heights and blast through the air for a short amount of time. There will be plenty of extra rings to find whilst doing this. Beware that taking a hit will make Sonic loose them and plummet. When playing as Tails these monitors are replaced with ring monitors.
The end of an act is signified with the familiar Bonus Panel, and now offers more points based on how fast Sonic or Tails dashed past it.
The image on the panel will equate to the following:
Flicky – Nothing.
Ring – 10 Rings.
Sonic – Extra life as Sonic or a continue credits as Tails.
Tails – Extra life as Tails or a continue credit as Sonic.
Blank – Run at the sign to spin it again.
Extra points for rings carried (100 per ring) and completion time of the act are then added. The totalling can be sped up by holding down a button for the impatient.
For every 50,000 points a continue credit is earned.
Each zone consists of 3 acts with the first 2 being full sized and act 3 being a small interlude before a boss fight. Unlike the previous 2 games there will be some rings available.
The stats are hidden during the fight for better visibility. Nice touch.
Special Stages
Curiously, only Sonic can enter the Special Stages where the Chaos Emeralds are located. Simply collect 100 rings during acts 1 or 2 to be whisked away. An extra life will also be earned.
Rather than several stages based on the same theme, each Special Stage is now its own environment and challenge that must be met within a time limit. There are five (!) in total.
Any large rings collected are worth 10 Rings and any Time Monitors will halt for countdown for a short period.
The Special Stage ends when time has expired, falling out of or the Chaos Emerald has been collected. The act is automatically cleared.
Having possession of all the Chaos Emeralds will still give extra lives for a 100 rings and will affect the ending of the game.
The Zones | Screenshots
Turquoise Hill Zone, Gigapolis Zone, Sleeping Egg Zone, Mecha Green Hill Zone, Aqua Planet Zone, Electric Egg Zone Special Stage 1, Special Stage 2, Special Stage 3 Special Stage 4, Special Stage 5
Turquoise Hill Zone
Gigapolis Zone
Sleeping Egg Zone
Mecha Green Hill Zone
Aqua Planet Zone
Electric Egg Zone
Special Stages
Version Differences
This game has more significant differences between the console version and handheld. The Game Gear version differs by:
- Lower screen resolution.
- Different intro, title and character select screens. There are more colours available on the Game Gear.
- The music for the intro is different. The console version uses that from Electric Egg Zone Act 3.
- There is music for temporary speed boost after collecting boots.
- The name for The Gigalopolis Zone was changed to Gigapolis Zone (same as the Japanese version) with a different backing track.
- The boss for Gigapolis Zone does not shoot the spiked ball at Sonic/Tails before exploding.
- Act 3 for Aqua Planet Zone, Mecha Green Hill Zone and Electric Egg Zone are different as is the arena for fighting the boss.
- There is victory jingle for calculating score after collecting a Chaos Emerald.
- There is only one ring monitor in Electric Egg Zone Act 3
- Sonic's bad ending see's him running after Robotnik, tripping and falling rather than pursuing being rolled up in a ball.
- Tune 09bh-09fh does not exist in the console version.
- The Game Gear manual has names for all of Robotnik's Badniks (enemies).
- Tails' name in the credits has been corrected from "Miles Power"
Cheats and Tips
Level Select (Master System and Game Gear)
At the title screen press: UP, UP, DOWN, DOWN, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, START. If successful there will be an extra life sound.
Sound Test (Master System and Game Gear)
At the title screen press: DOWN, DOWN, UP, UP, LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT, START. If successful there will be an extra life sound.
Sonic Fireball / Hadouken
At the sound test menu roll: DOWN, DOWN-RIGHT, RIGHT, then BUTTON 2. Sonic throws a fireball.
Sleeping Egg Zone Boss
Can be easily defeated by getting behind as it will not turn around to aim its cannon.
Soundtrack
The tunes in the game are available to download on the Soundtrack Page.
Impressions
Sonic Chaos builds well on top of Sonic 2 with the inclusion of a playable Tails (whom only made cameos in the 8-Bit version of Sonic 2), Peel-out, Spin-Dash and Special Stages too.
There are some improvements in the graphics with good use of colour even with the less colours available in the console version. Some backgrounds even sport some parallax scrolling but there are some places where things look rather basic. Sonic and Tails now have more frames of animation.
Music and sound fx are good with a few catchy tunes. These are all original and not imported from the previous games.
Zone design is very good and thankfully they are not laid out to be as difficult as Sonic 2 though the Special Stages will can be rather tricky.
Its nowhere near as tough as Sonic 2 making it more enjoyable.
but its sluggish feel can sometimes be off putting.
It’s clear though that everything pushing the hardware as scrolling can feel jerky as Sonic or Tails begin to move up a pace. The controls can feel sluggish however.
In summary, this is a good edition in the Sonic 8-Bit library.
Emulator Compatibility
Both the Master System and Game Gear versions of this game run perfectly with KEGA Fusion, DEGA and MEKA emulators. These can be downloaded from the SEGA Master System and Game Gear Emulators page.
Misc Info
- The Master System version can be played on a Mega Drive with a Power Base convertor. It is how the tunes for this page were captured.
- The Game Gear version was included on Sonic Mega Collection Plus (Xbox, PC and PS2)
- The Game Gear version was included in Sonic Adventure DX (Gamecube and PC) as an unlockable extra.
- The Master System version is available on the Wii Virtual Console.
- The music for the title screen and the jingle for loosing a life are reused from the 8-Bit version of Sonic 2 and have had the pitch altered.
- The music in Mecha Green Hill Zone is a remix of Green Hills Zone from the 8-Bit version of Sonic 2 which in turn was a remixed in to the "Toot Toot Sonic Warrior" theme from Sonic CD.
- Similarly, Chaos' final boss theme is an arrangement of the Sonic 2's boss theme in the Game Gear version which was remixed as Metallic Madness from Sonic CD.
- Tune #09bh is never used but was later deployed in Sonic Triple Trouble for the music for Sunset Park Act 3.
- The Japanese Game Gear story in the game manual differs.
- This is another game where the traditional seven Chaos Emeralds are missing.
- Aspect Co. Ltd also produced Sonic The Hedgehog 2, Sonic Chaos / Sonic & Tails, Sonic Blast and Tails' Adventure.
