SegaSonic the Hedgehog is not simply a reworked version of the original game in the franchise. That’s what I assumed it was when I first heard of it. This one actually has an interesting history behind it. Sega was always in their prime in the arcade scene. They put out such hits as Outrun, Space Harrier, and later on, Virtua Fighter. All were resounding successes. Their biggest franchise, however, was one they created specifically for the home market; Sonic the Hedgehog. Side scrolling platformer titles never sat well with the arcade market, but Sega wanted to bring their blue boy into their most profitable business. This is where SegaSonic the Hedgehog comes into play. Let’s take a look at this long forgotten game from Sega’s most popular franchise.
Remember Sega’s bad habit of including multiple playable characters into Sonic games? Well, this was one of the early examples. SegaSonic the Hedgehog is a three player simultaneous play multiplayer game. Player one is Sonic by default, but anyone else jumping in takes control of Mighty the Armadillo (who would later return for Knuckles Chaotix) and Ray the Flying Squirrel (this guy was largely forgotten about until Sonic Mania decades later). It’s a bit puzzling that Sonic’s second hand man Tails wasn’t included, but I imagine the developers didn’t want fans asking why he can’t use his trademark flying ability. Whatever, let’s move on.
The story here is that Sonic (and his two aforementioned friends) are kidnapped by Doctor Eggman and must escape from an island as fast as possible. In typical fashion the game is based around Sonic’s ability to run fast. Unlike other games in the series up to this point the action is presented from an isometric perspective. Gone are the multi-tiered stages, as are hidden chaos emeralds and even bonus stages. SegaSonic the Hedgehog is a much more straightforward affair. Your only goal here is to get to the end of every level intact, and these are straightforward paths from start to finish.
This isn’t a particularly easy game however. Enemies populate every stage, and with the isometric view they can be tough to evade. What’s more is your moveset is rather limited. You can only run at varying speeds as well as jump. You have to jump into foes to defeat them. The isometric viewpoint is a stark contrast from other Sonic games (this one was released years before 3D Blast) but the big new change here is that this game doesn’t use a directional pad, or even a joystick. Instead you control Sonic and friends via a trackball. The characters respond to the speed at which you’re moving it. It’s a neat idea but you’ll always want to be moving as fast as possible in most situations.
That’s because every stage has a hazard that you need to outrun. Be it a collapsing bridge, falling icicles, a spiked bulldozer chasing you, etc. This is a design choice clearly in place to keep you moving and putting quarters into the machine. Unfortunately moving fast is tough because of the controls. You can’t change your trajectory in the middle of a jump which leads to a lot of accidental deaths. Furthermore when you reach a pit your character teeters on the edge and if you don’t respond fast enough you’ll fall to your doom. These nuances are a bit annoying to be honest, but I do understand why they were put in place. Arcades certainly don’t do charity work, that’s for sure.
On the surface it looks like the extent of your abilities is simply to run and jump. A few hazards were included however wherein you can do a few other things. Some areas feature malfunctioning conveyor belts that you must stand on and run in order to activate. The developers limited this ability to moving elements blocking your way forward. Additionally there are some areas in which you can scale walls, or cross chasms by climbing on the monkey bar like pipes. There are a few problems with this. The isometric viewpoint makes targeting these difficult. They also don’t add a lot to the experience; these obstacles are short lived and not particularly interesting.
SegaSonic the Hedgehog does away with a few franchise mainstays. The most obvious one is the function of rings. Previously, being hit by an enemy causes you to lose all of these, and if you’re hit when you have none you die. That’s not the case here. This is the only Sonic game wherein you have a life-bar. Sure, rings restore your energy, but it’s just not the same. There are also almost no boss fights here. There are a few sections wherein you have to defeat a hazard before you can proceed, but these are far and few between. For the most part when you reach the end of a stage that’s that, and you’re whisked away to the next area. This makes gameplay a bit repetitive.
I’m not sure that the Sega Genesis would have been up to the task of handling SegaSonic the Hedgehog. The graphics are more complex than in any mainline title from this era. The characters feature a lot of sprites, and the action is pretty fast with lots going on (especially with three players at once). There were talks of bringing this one to the Sega 32X, but clearly this never came to fruition. While the environments have a lot of detail they just aren’t that interesting. From the start I was hoping for some trademark checkerboard areas, but instead I got generic indoor areas, mechanical scenery, and other such drab ideas. There’s the typical ice and lava stages, but these aren’t very interesting to be honest. The graphics are technically sound but artistically dull.
I have some major issues with the soundtrack. It just doesn’t scream ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ to me. They didn’t include any of his trademark themes, and while some will no doubt consider this a good thing, I don’t. The style is also off. It’s very generic bleeps and blips and generally a step behind what arcade games of this era sounded like. In my opinion it would have been better if the composer had gone with the traditional Genesis style. If I heard this one in a packed arcade I would have no idea it was a Sonic game.
What’s a little more impressive is the use of voice samples. The three characters have their own lines of dialogue and various grunts and yells. While unnecessary (I really don’t think Sonic games should have voice acting) it sounds pretty impressive for a game of this time. It can however get a bit repetitive. We certainly didn’t miss out on a killer soundtrack.
SegaSonic the Hedgehog is a game we didn’t miss out on, in my opinion. Sega could have literally thrown any other characters into this game and it would be unrecognizable as a Sonic title. That’s not how you bring the blue blue into the arcade scene, if you ask me. And also, why the name? Supposedly Sega was still in the process of trademarking the ‘Sonic’ name and so to avoid any issues they named this one as such. SegaSonic the Hedgehog would have been right at home on the Sega 32X however. It’s a platform with half baked ideas, and this one fits the spirit of that well. Even if you do find this rare arcade game I recommend passing it up no matter how big a Sonic fan you are.
