Bashing Sonic CD

This is all Arin Hanson's fault.

 

The Super Peel-Out is one of the most worthless mechanical additions to the franchise, offering a superficial "strategical choice" between it and the Spindash that only seems relevant when trying to use a runway to time travel, which is usually a worse idea than simply building up to a normal run as the higher running speed gives the player less time to react to obstacles to jump over and avoid losing speed. Its prevalence and lasting impression on the fandom has never been for its utility, instead predicated entirely on how cool Sonic looks when performing it. Which, to be fair, he does look pretty cool.

Rest of the game's alright.

 

the original/"standing" spindash is balls
super peelout looks cool but isnt that useful, as CBL said
its design philosophy of later stages being almost mazelike in their hugeness and complexity is interesting, but not...well executed imo?
especially for a game where the good ending is locked behind either collecting a bunch of stuff in the stages or a bunch of hard special stages
i like the exploration concept but i just dont think they made it work
(mania has a similar design philosophy for stages but it's less agonizing there
both because theres always a direct path available to just blast forward, making the exploration an optional reward for smart play,
and because the good ending is only locked behind emerald collection)
oh yeah also i just dont like the special stages. that may be just me but those ufos have the worst hit detection

anyway the games visuals and music and such have always been close to my favorite in the series, up there with chaotix and mania's best, but, idk
at least cd 2011 fixed the spindash and added tails

 

I love Sonic CD and never understood the complaints about its level design. My time attack records are all under two minutes, and I'm no expert player, so I've never found just going for the goal to be any more cumbersome or "start-stop" than the other Genesis games. Quartz Quadrant might be my favorite zone of all time, perfectly blending speed and platforming. The much-maligned Wacky Workbench is a unique platforming challenge that can be completed surprisingly quick if you carefully cross over the moving platforms. My only real complaint is that the time travel, while fun to do the first time to hunt down all the generators, isn't exciting enough to keep doing. Every time I've played CD since first 100%-ing it, I just go for the goal or get the time stones.

 

I love Sonic CD theoretically, as long as I'm not playing it. It's almost stressful trying to navigate the levels to get to a Time Post and keep the speed without bumping into anything. Last time I beat it I went for the Time Stones, and I kept resetting the special stages because I kept landing on the water and losing a lot of time.
Though, playing with Tails and going for the Robot Generators was a better experience. I might actually go back one day and replay the whole thing with Sonic and beat it by getting the Robot Generators.

 

THIS SMELLS LIKE EGORAPTOR?!

 

Am I the only one who thinks CD is the best of the classic series (excluding Sonic 3)? I can't be the only one.

 

...so, the second-best of the classic series, then? :P And of course not, there have always been folks who loved CD above all the others.

For me as a kid, it was SUPER special, because I only got to play it on the rare occasions when my parents would rent a Sega CD. Sonic Boom was the first favorite song I ever had. Then eventually, I got the PC version in '96, and finally having the ability to see that intro and ending WHENEVER I WANTED (just put in the disc and open file explorer, the movie files were right there) was incredible. Finally being able to play the GAME as much as I wanted, well...

It was a mixed bag. I knew that while I liked it, there was something a little rougher about this one. Picked up a used Sega CD a few years later (for only $35! ah, 1999...), and over the years, I came to think of it as a step or two below the others. I came around on it more and appreciated it for what it was once the 2011 port came out, and finally bothered to make a Good Future in every stage without the Time Stones a few years ago! Helluva special stage too, and the soundtracks, both versions, contain some of my favorite music in the series.

 

Sonic CD was always the Lost Levels of the Sonic series for me (which is coincidental, because like Sonic CD, I love the Lost Levels and actually kinda prefer it over the original). It was so foreign, unrestrained, and raw - for me, playing CD for the first time (the original Sega CD version) back in 2014 was such a magical experience. The soundtrack (the American one), too: it's so atmospheric and unique for the franchise. I played the shit out of it when I eventually got the 2011 version on Xbox One.

 

Wow, okay. I was expecting to be the only person who likes Sonic CD a lot coming into this thread titled "Bashing Sonic CD", so I held back on saying much. But, y'know, if we're actually going to be collectively honest...

I'm a weird one when it comes to what makes me like a video game—I'm a sucker for a good soundtrack and appealing/interesting visuals, and games with minimal/mediocre soundtracks disinterest me instantly. Coming from that angle, it's not really surprising that I love CD a whole bunch. The original soundtrack by Naofumi Hataya and Masafumi Ogata absolutely kills—it brought me some of my favorite songs in the entire franchise—and I love the look of a few specific zones, and... honestly, that's enough to make me like it.

But aesthetics aside, there's something about the game's level design and overall structure that makes it really easy to replay for me. I don't have a great explanation or analysis, the game just clicks with me. I can have a good time making good futures in every act, and that's something that just hasn't changed ever since the start of the decade when the Taxman remake happened. Part of it might be how setpiece-based the levels are, with exception to most of Wacky Workbench and parts of Stardust Speedway and Metallic Madness; the levels and their flow are really memorable for me.

Also, Cosmic Eternity is a jam that doesn't get enough recognition.

 

By golly, the game is slow and "Collision Chaos" has a name that is so self-aware that it sits quietly in the corner at parties and cries on the way home.

But if you take the NTSC release and replace all the CD tracks with the Japanese music, you get one of the best sounding games ever, between Sonic Boom and the music that matches no matter what time zone you go to.

 

I never cared much for its chaotic level design that kinda makes time travelling a much bigger pain than I think is needed. Never really cared much for the special stages, either. Tbh, getting the good ending isn't that much worth it. The graphics and music (both regions) are great, though the level environments themselves are indeed strange. Spindash and peelout kinda suck, but eh.

The code that runs the game on the other hand is just a dumpster fire

 

Wait, why take the NTSC release specifically?

 

I love Sonic CD, I don't care what other people think.

The amazing art style and music make up for any shortcomings. The time travel mechanic was probably a pain to program so I forgive some wonkyness.

It forever has good memories etched into my childhood. My friend made a cassette with Sonic CD music, he leant it to me and I listened on repeat. It was incredible. I saved up any pocket money I could for months and finally bought it second hand, even though I didn't get a Mega CD untill I was older. Just for the music. I still have the disc and case.

As for Arin Hanson, remember when he used to be funny? Nah me neither.

 

Is Arin the game grumps guy who isn't actually good at video games? Because watching them play games makes me upset at how bad he is at figuring out how to do things that the game implicitly teaches you how to do.

Anyway... I didn't actually play Sonic CD until Gems Collection so I don't have the nostalgia that some members here do. I've never 100% it because I'm lazy and the vertical level layout doesn't lead itself to time travel very well in my opinion. Sonic Boom is one of the best Sonic songs, but other than that I don't have any special place in my heart for the music. And I never heard the Japanese soundtrack since I played Gems Collection. The Metal Sonic fight was cool, I enjoyed that it was a race rather than a traditional boss fight: felt very Sonic. Both the super peel out and the spin dash were inconvenient or downright harmful (if you peel out into an enemy).

That being said. The visuals were cool. I liked playing as shrunken sonic, and the game itself was more like the Genesis games than anything else that came out around the time of Gems Collection so I like it. The Taxman version is great and the fact that Sonic CD being hard to emulate eventually brought us Sonic Mania is awesome.

Sonic CD is good. I just don't like it as much as the Genesis games.

 

@Rudie Radio Waves 60hz + Sonic Boom intro.

 

In about two weeks i’m planning to make a scripted video talking for a short while about the recent Sonic 1 and CD bashing that like 9 different popular youtubers have made. I legitimately feel like i’ve seen the same review of CD and the first game 20 times each, and I feel like they are getting more and more misunderstood with time, and how different they were being made. it’s easy to go “Green Hill is good but rest of the game bad” and that’s the first game. Of course some things aren’t going to work and others will, but you never see any one bitching on a huge scale about the first game of a long running series, and CD is worse. CD is my favourite game of all time but people don’t like it for the same reason Sonic 1 gets bashed and the level design is built different. It drives me crazy and honestly i’m just going to do something about it

 

My only complaints are stuff like that some of the levels don't flow very well. Mostly referring to Tidal Tempest and Wacky Workbench here. This was clearly a design decision carried over from Sonic 1, though, since I have the same complaints about Marble Zone and Labyrinth Zone. It definitely feels like a sort-of 'Sonic 1.5' in that aspect. Also, the time travel mechanic is really really cool, IMO, but there's no reason to actually use it. During my first casual playthrough, before I knew the best spots to perform a time travel, the only time traveling I really did was accidentally ending up in the bad future.

But that's all nitpicking, because Sonic CD has such a unique style and is still fun overall, it's impossible for me to actually hate it.

 

How odd, I didn't even know about Sonic CD until I read about it on various fansites. The busy levels can be very irritating sometimes and the more conventional design isn't for everyone. Long story short, it didn't age well. Multiple endings are great and all, but also made it more difficult to enjoy a regular playthrough, at least for me. The touched up version brought me back to the game. Now that I'm old enough to understand its game mechanics, it became easier for me to appreciate it for what it is: An innovative new take on the formula. Definitely a title everyone should try at least once.