Sonic 3D Blast
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- This article is about the Sega Genesis/Sega Saturn/PC game. For the Game Gear game, see Sonic Blast.
Sonic 3D Blast (alternatively Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island, or according to the minimized PC version, Sonic 3D Blast: Flickies' Island) is a platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series that appeared in several different platforms.
Sonic3dBlast.png
The game was released in Europe for the Sega Mega Drive in November 1996. The Sega Genesis version was released in North America later that month. The game was released on the Sega Saturn in North America in the very same month to make up for the cancellation of Sonic X-treme; the game was literally ported in a month with full-motion videos, highly spruced-up graphics (including an all-3D special stage, considered by many fans to be the best special stage in the series) and an entirely new, Red Book audio soundtrack. It was then released in Europe for the Saturn in February 1997. The Saturn version of the game was released for the PC in North America in September 1997, with the videos and soundtrack intact, as well as the notable addition of a save feature, but lacking some of the Saturn's effects (like the fog in Rusty Ruins) and a dumbed-down special stage, using sprites from the Genesis version but with the basic concept of the Saturn version. The PC version came to Europe on September 25, 1997. Finally, the game came out for the Saturn in Japan on October 14, 1999.
The game places Sonic in an isometric projection view in a de facto 2D environment. He must collect Flickies and bring them to the big warp ring in order to advance in a stage. There are 10 or 15 Flickies to rescue in each Act, except Act 3 of each zone, where you face Dr. Eggman.
The ROM used on both sides of the pond is exactly the same - the title differs depending on which country the game is in. In North America, the title is Sonic 3D Blast. In Europe, the title is Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island. The European title was used in Japan. The PC version, if minimized (for instance, if a user Alt+Tabs), uses a combination of both names, though the combined name is rarely used, with people generally favoring one region's name over the other.
Zones
- Green Grove Zone
- Rusty Ruin Zone
- Spring Stadium Zone
- Diamond Dust Zone
- Volcano Valley Zone
- Gene Gadget Zone
- Panic Puppet Zone
- The Final Fight
Criticisms
This game is often criticized for not being true to the core Sonic games, due to its lack of speed and rather clumsy controls (problems mostly caused by its isometric format). One high note is the music - not only is some of it (mostly the Saturn versions) considered some of the best early Sonic music, but several tracks from the Genesis version found new use, remixed in Sonic Adventure.