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SegaSonic the Hedgehog .:: SegaSonic the Hedgehog

Name: SegaSonic the Hedgehog

Other Names (Nicknames): SegaSonic, SegaSonic Arcade, Sonic Arcade

Release Dates:

June, 1993 - Japan

September, 1993 - USA

September, 1993 - Europe

Quality: 32-Bit Isometric Arcade coin-op

Game System(s): Arcade (Sega System 32 board)

Also released on: N/A

Developer(s): Sonic Team and Hitmaker.

Publisher(s): Sega

Credits:

Director: T. Tsuda

Programmers: H. Kawatake, T. Hasegawa, T. Kawauchi

Designers: Manabu Kusunoki, K. Miyagi, Masahiro Hoshino, Satoshi Yamagata

Sound: Hiroshi Miyauchi, K. Hanada, N. Tokiwa

Voices: Takeshi Kusao, Hinako Yoshino, Yusuke Numata, Masaharu Satou

Special Thanks: Naoto Ohshima, Stene Ray Burton, James Spahn, Motoaki Sasaki, E. Taki

Character Introductions: Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel

Region Game Takes Place On: Eggman Island

Concept Introductions: SegaSonic Arcade actually introduced the isometric gameplay before Sonic 3D Blast. The objective was just different. It was the traditional Sonic style of gameplay — get to the end of the zone. However, the difference is, there is ALWAYS something chasing you down such as a giant gear, a bunch of icicles, a crumbling floor, or a giant Eggman machine. These dangers along with the occasional hazard in your path, are the only things that can harm you in this game — no badniks. This is obvious since it's an arcade game. You can't sit still forever in any arcade game. There are seven known zones, and each of them have the same aforementioned gameplay style. All three characters have the exact same gameplay; no special moves for each of them. And the only thing they can do besides run is the tried-and-true spinball jump. Moving the character was done by a trackball, which works a lot like a trackball mouse, which automatically confirms that playing this game was a bitch. Apparently, 3 people could play at a time as Sonic, Mighty, and Ray.

Concept Deductions: No Special Stages, no powerups, no score, no Chaos Emeralds, no checkpoint markers, no badniks, no nothing. The ring-survival system is not in SegaSonic Arcade since if you're good enough, you can permanently stay in game if they kept it. Instead, you get a health bar, and rings just replenish a bit of the health. Once you lose all your health, you lose a credit. Other than that, nothing else is changed.

Main Framework: Forcibly linear level design with an isometric perspective.

Storyline: Sonic and his new friends Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel have been captured by a giant machine that is shaped like Eggman's face, and now they must escape from his base on Eggman Island, and at the same time, perhaps destroy it all.

Personal Criticism/Opinion (by Nuclear Envoy):

SegaSonic the Hedgehog didn't exactly get the largest of releases here in the United States, like most Sonic arcade games. It's even rarer than Sonic the Fighters. Ironic, since its popularity at the 1993 Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas was astounding. Its distribution among Western markets, regardless, was nothing short of scarce. Damn those Japanese for not giving us this game. (*Shakes fist.*)

         The gameplay is pretty much the same as any normal Sonic game. Just get to the end of the zones. But as mentioned, it is in an isometric view, and the control of the characters is done through pushing the palm of your hand along a trackball while tapping away at a single button to make the character jump. The game's distribution on the internet was never even that good either since the only available SegaSonic Arcade ROM is a prototype dump where only five of the zones are playable before you get a Game Over message. A small cutscene displaying Dr. Robotnik pressing a button behind an immense control panel (probably to activate some trap; this IS his turf afterall) links each zone, which has a name scheme that was the first to coin the "same starting letter" gig seen in Sonic CD, and Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island: Volcanic Vault Zone, Trap Tower Zone, Landslide Limbo Zone, Icy Isle Zone, Desert Dodge Zone, Wild Waterway Zone, and the pattern breaker, Eggman's Tower.

         Next up, character intros. Ray the Flying Squirrel was a one-off hit, basically. Showed up once, nothing is known about him, and he's never coming back, especially since he was not even distributed well across American and European audiences. All that is known is that he's yellow and he's a flying squirrel. A rumor has been made that his tail is real strong, and that he can stand on it (which wouldn't be surprising), but it has never been confirmed.

         And then there is Mighty the Armadillo. SegaSonic the Hedgehog was the game Mighty made his debut on. NOT Knuckles' Chaotix. So this proves that Mighty isn't just some Sonic copy. (However, it is possible that Mighty was made even before Sonic since the two remaining animals that were to be chosen to be SEGA's mascot were a hedgehog, and an armadillo… hmmm.) In this game, like Ray, Mighty was given very little depth and charisma. He was just there for the gameplay. It wasn't until Chaotix that Mighty was given an age of 16 and a peaceful and resourceful personality.

GAMER'S PERSPECTIVE:

Replay value? Eh, well, for the ROM, the replay value is pretty much the same as any Sonic game. But if you happen to run into an arcade platform for this thing outside the internet, I imagine the replay value isn't good unless you're willing to spend a quarter to play again, even if you've beaten it.

Graphics? The graphics in SegaSonic Arcade are great. A whole lot better than its opposing Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island (the Genesis/Mega Drive version anyway). The objects for the levels and the template pieces are very well rendered with some of the utmost detail (especially all of the ash and burnt metal from after you destroy the machine on Landslide Limbo Zone). The character sprites were also well done. Maybe a bit more shading and they would have been perfect.

Music & Sound Effects? Eh, from the ROM, the music isn't good enough to even criticize. It’s real glitchy and fuzzy. But it was afterall a prototype ROM, so I'm in no position to judge. If you manage to pick up the ROM, don't look forward to any good tunage.

Storyline? First time Sonic's ever actually been captured and forced to journey through a region completely under Eggman's control. S'not bad.