Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles

Sorry for the long gap between reviews. Been really out of it recently for reasons I won't bore you with here.

From now on, I will be using the "fortune cookie" feature on The Backloggery. Today, the game that came up was Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (Genesis) (Actually it was Sonic 3, but it's kind of hard to review one without the other). Continuing with the previous formula:

Genre: Platformer
Developer: Sega
Platform: Genesis
Release: 1994
Rating: E

- Graphics -


16-bit graphics aren't usually talked about as "good", and Sonic 3&K's graphics are indeed on the more "standard" side... er, middle? While they were in no way bad, the Genesis has seen better. However, Sonic moves so fast it's kinda hard to pay attention to detailed graphics anyway, so it's not really too surprising. However, it is important to note the size of each level. With so much going on, the Genesis can only render so much at once at the rate Sonic can run!

Graphics: 6/10


- Story -

...What story? OH! The one in the player's manual that most people have probably never read! Anyone who bought the game used probably never even got the manual. If you're wondering what it says, I'll tell you the gist of it: It's the same as the first two Sonic games, with Sonic trying to rescue woodland creatures while stopping Dr. Robotnik from obtaining the 7 Chaos Emeralds. Knuckles, the guardian of Angel Island, has been tricked by Robotnik into thinking Sonic and Tails are the enemy, and frequently appears and presses various switches in order to try to hinder Sonic's progress. Knuckles is actually a playable character in a linked game, and has some very different levels from the other two.

Story: 3/10


- Gameplay -

Ah, here's the big one! Sonic games are all about gameplay (well, at least, the classic ones are), as was usual for the time period. Following the same formula as Sonic 1 & 2, we see the familiar Platformer genre once again take a unique twist when the speed element is added. Sonic's moveset from Sonic 2 is all present, with the addition of his shield reflector which is a brief shockwave that forms around him when A, B, or C is pressed in midair. Sonic's shield is replaced by other moves when he has a shield: Bubble shields allow him to bounce, Fire shields allow him to fly sideways a short distance, and Electric shields allow him a second jump. Tails can now fly, and can also carry Sonic while flying, although he can't fly as long while he's doing so. Knuckles will glide and can climb walls. These new movesets offer a lot of variation between the characters, and many places are only accessible by Tails or Knuckles!

Another noteworthy addition are the bonus stages, which offer players a chance to win shields, rings, and even 1-ups during the stage! Sonic 3 had only one stage, which looks like an odd gumball machine. S&K had one that rotated and had a slot machine in the middle (players could also get continues if they collected 25 or more rings while in the stage), and one that allowed players to try to get power-ups that involved jumping from point to point on an upwards-scrolling screen. If the cartridges are combined, all three levels are present, and the entrance ring of stars will shine a slightly different color for each one (white, yellow, and red). The star color-coding adds in a bit of strategy: If a player doesn't want to visit a certain type of stage, they can skip it if they know which colors to avoid.

Chaos Emerald levels now have the form of a spherical world, with various colored spheres in it. To obtain an emerald, players must turn all of the blue spheres to red, without touching a red sphere. There are also white spheres that act as bumpers, and S&K also included yellow spheres that act like springboards. These levels tend to be much easier than the levels in the prior games, due to the fact that players can rely mostly on memorization and reflexes, and less on luck.
[Note: The game "Blue Sphere" is actually an engine that randomizes levels such as this, and was originally played by hooking Sonic and Knuckles and Sonic 1 cartridges together, if I have been informed correctly- I never had either cartridge when I owned a Genesis]

Gameplay: 10/10


- Music -


While not quite as memorable as Marble Zone from Sonic 1, Sonic 3 and Knuckles still has a great soundtrack. The themes are very fitting to the levels, which is not something I've noticed is very common in Sonic games. I also enjoy how flowing some of the themes sound, such as Flying Battery Zone or Lava Reef Zone, and how many of the themes seem to often fit in with the motions of monsters and objects, such as Ice Cap, Launch Base, or Sandopolis Zones. A fitting soundtrack for the gameplay, as any soundtrack should be!

Music: 10/10

Total Score: 7/10

Also available on several collections on various systems, and as individual downloads for I believe all three of the current systems.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

I am going to break these reviews into what I consider to be four of the most important elements of gameplay: graphics, story, gameplay, and music, and average them out for a total score. Of course, these are relevant to the time period in which the game was made. Future choices will be decided randomly, but the first one always has to be special :)

I figured I'd start with one of my favorite games of all time: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64). 

Genre: Adventure
Developer: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo 64
Release: 1998
Rating: E

- Graphics -

If you've never played a game on the N64, an online gameplay video or even an emulator really can't give you an idea as to how horrible the average graphics were for the system. Some of the earliest games on the system used 3D graphic setups that were less advanced than some games used on the SNES!

All of that (well, most of it) changed in 1998, with the launch of a game that would begin to push the the known limits of the console to unheard-of levels of clarity. 

With well-defined textures, everything that moved in 3D (and also most of what didn't move), and relatively high-poly models for more important characters, some people at the time probably wondered how the came was even running so smoothly at all times. And yet, Nintendo wasn't finished with pushing the system for almost three more years! The world of Hyrule is one of the largest 3D places to explore that we have seen in a game in that point in time, and with so many small, some even pointless, places to explore, it's possible to play the game for over ten years and still find new awe-inspiring places. I even once came across a piece of artwork dedicated to an odd camera angle that occurred while the player was in an otherwise-normal cave!

Graphics: 10/10

- Story -

While the story is fairly cliche in the long-run, and unfortunately some of the best plot twist have been spoiled for would-be new players by newer games, the Zelda-specific additions to an otherwise generic Good vs. Evil plot can really bring a player into the world and hoping for more information about the religion, lifestyle, biology, and even some basic logic in the world of Hyrule. The relatively in-depth Triforce Legends, the addition of the optional tidbits of information from Gossip Stones, and the small bits of information from villagers otherwise useless to the gameplay really give the game a lively and captivating feel.

Story: 8/10

- Gameplay -

While the gameplay is not the best we've seen to date in the series, with Wind Waker having a much better monster AI and Twilight Princess having more interesting items to play with, it's probably the second most well-rounded game in the series in this category thus far. 

AI for enemies can be almost eerie; some enemies such as ReDeads even sometimes seem to show emotion for fallen-- er, "re-fallen"-- comrades. Some tend to be less intelligent, such as Lizalfos and Stalfos practically waiting in line for the turn to fight, but given the difficulty of those guys when you first see them, I don't think I'd want them ganging up on me!

I must say, the complexity and atmosphere of the dungeons probably couldn't be any better, and some of the challenges faced by the player are truly timeless, not getting too much easier after even playing through the game 20 times. Each dungeon pulled off the intended atmosphere almost perfectly, some of the best examples being the creepiness of Jabu-Jabu's Belly and the Shadow Temple, and the exotic, abandoned feel of the forest temple.

Controls were relatively seamless considering the clumsiness most players face while trying to figure out the classic question in regards to the N64: "How the heck do I HOLD this thing?!" Aiming items like the bow and hookshot, targeting, horseback riding, equipping more than the 2-3 items at once, and even opening doors, which were all first introduced in this fifth installment of the series, were second nature quickly (and if they weren't, we had a little poof-thing to tell us anyway). Speaking of Navi, while it's clear the developers understood that they made her a little overly-annoying (apparent in the changes made in Majora's Mask), her role as an aid to understanding the complex controls actually could come in very useful to players. True, we veterans have tried and failed to be rid of her, but think back to when you first played the game: Would you have known things like how to open a door or dive if she hadn't told you? Without spending 10+ minutes trying to figure it out? Personally I think one of the coolest additions was the ability to play the ocarina like a real instrument, even using Z and R to make notes flat or sharp (which was not actually used in any way during the game itself: it was purely for entertainment)

The boss battles in the game were well designed and balanced: bosses that could potentially cause a lot of trouble for players generally took less hits, while also incorporating the player's supposed skill at that point of the game (i.e. Gohma could easily be taken out with only stunning her one time, while Twinrova took a lot longer even with Biggoron's Sword)

Gameplay: 10/10

- Music -

Almost every original Ocarina of Time track in the game aside from dungeon themes have been recycled somewhere in the series, and are increasingly famous even to some non-gamers. The quality was fairly normal for the system, unlike the graphics, but the sheer number of tracks (a total of 82 on the official soundtrack), most of which are very lovable and difficult to forget, make the music stand out in most peoples' minds as exceptional. 

Music: 10/10

Total Score: 9.5/10

Also available on Gamecube (+Master Quest), Virtual Console, and 3ds (coming soon)