Blast From The Past - Sonic 3D: Flickies Island 20th Anniversary

[TheOcelot]

On 5th November 1996 whilst the UK was enjoying those firework displays we like so much, in Europe another bright spark appeared in the form of a new Sonic game, which was released on the SEGA Mega-Drive/Genesis (a game console nearing the end of it's life-span). The name of this game?

THE DEVIL: REBORN

Sonic 3D: Flickies Island

Seriously, that's like the worst Sonic EU box-art I've ever seen  Sonic, stop staring into my soul! 

Thankfully the NA box-art was more cheerful:

Flickies Island was released in NA a week later on 12th November under the different name of "Sonic 3D: Blast", although the game was never released on the Mega-Drive in Japan. 

Sonic 3D was the last Sonic game (after Sonic 1, 2, Spinball and 3&K) to be released on the Mega-Drive. It wasn't a direct sequel to the numerical games, although it does carry across elements of their gameplay. It was unique in that it was developed by a third-party developer called Traveller's Tales under guidance of Sonic Team. Traveller's Tales also went on to develop Sonic R.

The story:

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Somewhere in the great oceans of the planet lies a mysterious atoll known only as Flicky Island. The home of the Flicky Bird race, the innocuous winged beings are surrounded by rumor and legend, with whispers that they have some connection to the Chaos Emeralds. It is these rumors that pique the interest of the nefarious Dr. Eggman, evil genius and arch enemy of a certain blue hedgehog. Reeling from his pre1vious failures at obtaining the gems, the doctor decides to find the island, set up shop and try to discover what lies hidden within.

During routine surveillance, Eggman spies a giant golden ring hovering over the landscape, where suddenly a flock of Flickies emerge from seemingly nowhere, perching on a nearby tree. After a moment, the entire lot fly back the way they came, through the center of the Dimensional Ring and vanishing once again. Realizing what he just saw, Eggman can barely contain himself. "So they live in another dimension, do they? Ha! I've discovered the secret of the Flickies!"

Without hesitation, Dr. Eggman puts yet another plan into motion. Capturing the Flickies and placing them into robots, he hopes to harness their power and finally claim the Chaos Emeralds for himself. Unbeknownst to the mad doctor, Sonic The Hedgehog and his friends decide to visit Flicky Island at the same time. Entering the fringes of the Green Grove, Sonic looks for his feathered friends but instead finds a familiar sight: mechanical creatures roaming the countryside.

With a single spin attack, our hero pops open the first Badnik, and sees a Flicky fly out. It doesn't take long for Sonic to guess that Eggman must be behind this. It's now up to Sonic to rescue the trapped Flickies, transport them safely back to their home dimension, and gather the Chaos Emeralds before Eggman can get his hands on them first.

Sonic is the only playable character this time round. Tails & Knuckles are restricted to being just cameos; the entrance to the special stages. There are seven zones (three acts in each); Green Grove, Rusty Ruin, Spring Stadium, Diamond Dust, Volcano Valley, Gene Gadget and Puppet Panic. After an epic encounter with Eggman consisting of three boss-fights in act 3 of Puppet Panic, you then take on Eggman's final weapon in the last act called "Final Fight zone".

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The gameplay? Well, it's a little bit different to the other classics. You can still spindash, collect rings of course, defeat badniks and kick Eggman's ass, but you also play the game from a unique isometric point-of-view. It was the first stepping stone to a full 3d experience. Acts 1&2 of each zone are split-up into small areas where the goal is to free five Flickies from their badnik captivity, then guide them to a special dimensional ring, which they jump through to safety, opening up the next section for Sonic to go and rescue another five Flickies. Acts 1 & 2 either consist of two or three sections to rescue Flickies (so that's 10 or 15 to rescue in each act).

Fun fact: Sonic Team once considered making Sonic 3 as an isometric game! Thank goodness they didn't 

Act 3 or each zone being unique in that instead of the Eggman boss appearing at the end of a normal stage, this time the act is just a small arena with a boss fight, nothing more.

Acts 1&2 have the usual 10 ring & extra life item-boxes. The elemental shields also make a return. You have the "lightning shield" which protects Sonic from electricity and attracts rings, the "flame barrier" which protects from fire and lava, and the new gold-shield which produced a homing-attack when pressing the jump button twice. You could say that Sonic 3D was the first game to introduce the concept of Sonic instantly homing in-on an enemy.

This game also features special stages. Whilst collecting all seven chaos emeralds does not grant a Super form, you do need to collect all emeralds to be able to take on the final boss. Disappointingly, Tails & Knuckles are not playable, however, they both appear (as prevously stated) in acts 1&2 as the entrance to the special stage. Just touch them with 50 rings and they warp/transport Sonic to the special stage. 

You can have two attempts at the special stage in acts 1&2 of the first five zones of the game. So that's 20 possible attempts to collect seven chaos emeralds. You won't need 20 attempts because Sonic 3D's special stages are ridiculously easy. For anyone new to the special stages, you might fail on the 7th stage, but trust me they're so straight-forward, really lacking in challenge.

Sonic 3D was also released on the SEGA Saturn in EU, NA & Japan:

Following the cancellation of Sonic X-Treme, Sonic Team (in the space of about seven weeks) remade Sonic 3D for the SEGA Saturn, which had the exact same level-layout but had a graphical upgrade (some really nice graphical effects like mist in Rusty Ruin) and a brand-new special stage & soundtrack.

I finally got to play the Saturn version via emulation about a week ago and it does feel slightly better then the Mega-Drive version. The special stages? They are inspired by Sonic 2's half-pipe stages. Let me just say they are more interesting, fun and a lot more challenging. The music for the special stage is superb:

They also made a PC version, which was based on the Saturn version minus the extra graphical effects like the mist in Rusty Ruin, and also made another brand-new special stage:

Sonic 3D (Mega-Drive) was also released in the Mega-Collection, Ultimate Genesis Collection & on Steam. So it's had it's fair share of releases!

My thoughts:

You know, whilst Sonic 3D is unorthodox, it's still a decent game. The thing is, I find it kind of boring these days, because it's very easy. The stage design often has alternative routes and lots of secret areas, but is still heavily restricted because of the isometric perspective and the gameplay is no-where near as fun as the other classics. The boss-fights to their credit offer a decent challenge, but it's not enough to keep me interested. By the time I get to the long-winded final-boss (which requires 10-hits and takes about five minutes minimum to beat) I'm normally feeling drained. To be honest, with Tails & Knuckles not being playable there is little to no relay-value.

There are fans who no doubt prefer this game over Knuckles Chaotix, which I can understand because once you get used to the slightly slippery controls, the game is relatively easy to play through.

To end on a positive note:

The soundtracks for both the Mega-Drive & Saturn versions are fucking fantastic. Personally I prefer the Genesis soundtrack, but both have some amazing music:

 

 

It's really cool that they remade the Mega-Drive ending credits music for Sonic Mania's announcement trailer, symbolizing the end of the Genesis-era and beginning of the Saturn MANIA-era! 

 

So, what do you guys think of Sonic 3D? What do you like about it? What don't you like? Which versions have you played? 

[Gregzilla]

I grew up with the Genesis version, and it's still the only version I've played barring ports.  I have a fair bit of nostalgia for it, but on the whole I wouldn't say the game is particularly great.  The biggest problem is the Flickies themselves.  I don't really mind the idea of hunting for robots, but picking up the tiny birds and losing them when you get hit is such a detriment to the fun.

Pretty much everyone knows that though, and I do think the game has some good elements - primarily in presentation.  It just has tons of charm in its aesthetics, being a very pleasing way to bring the classic geometric art style into pseudo-3D environments.  It just has a really appealing feel to it that's hard to explain - the atmosphere is my favorite thing about the game, whichever version you choose.  Both soundtracks have some fantastic tunes, with both versions of Rusty Ruin being some of my absolute favorite tracks in the series (the fact that Rusty Ruin Saturn's music can make me feel nostalgic despite not growing up with that version just shows how magical a piece it is).

It's unfortunate that the gameplay isn't anything special, because pretty much everything else about the game just screams "Sonic" to me.  The upbeat but beautiful music, the surreal environments, the checkerboard floors, I just love it.

[Menace2Society]

This game wasn't too bad. It had really nice visuals, the music was was superb as with most Sonic soundtrack... but it kinda fell flat on the gameplay department, although it isn't that bad.

The controls are kinda off, platforming can be frustrating because of the perspective, the whole Flickie-collecting thing can get a bit tedious, and the special stages are pathetically easy in the Genesis version, but despite that, it's a game I'm willing to play and can have fun with, mainly for it's visuals and music.

That said... it is kinda forgettable, outside of music and aesthetics tbh. Sometimes, I completely forget it exists. :/

Still alright, though.

[Badnik Mechanic]

Not sure whose it was. But there was a hack for the game which removed the need for collecting the birds and it actually makes the game A LOT more dun to play.

Try to find it Snake.

[TheOcelot]

6 minutes ago, Mayor D said:

Not sure whose it was. But there was a hack for the game which removed the need for collecting the birds and it actually makes the game A LOT more dun to play.

Try to find it Snake.

Here you go:

There's also a hack which adds Super Sonic:

 

[PickleBrows]

23 minutes ago, Mayor D said:

Not sure whose it was. But there was a hack for the game which removed the need for collecting the birds and it actually makes the game A LOT more dun to play.

Try to find it Snake.

I've got to disagree with that one actually. I can see why the idea of taking the Flickies out would be appealing but I don't think the levels are overly great to speed through without that reason to stick around in levels longer. 

I definitely think Super Sonic would have been great though, just for his invincibility alone in the later levels.

[SuperMoonKnight]

I still find Gene Gadget Act 1 to be one of the best songs in the series. Link

In terms of the game itself, it's decent. While technically impressive, it's nothing special. The Flicky concept is unique, but the isometric view causes more harm than good. Platforming in this perspective is a nightmare. Still an interesting game however.

 

[Indigo Rush]

The music and visuals in the Saturn version are absolutely wonderful and have some of the best ambiance and mood in any Sonic game ever.

[Gregzilla]

I agree that the No Flickies hack doesn't really make the game better.  Without the Flicky hunting the levels really don't have any challenge.

I'd like to see another go at a hack like that, but just remove the birds themselves, not the exploration entirely.  I'd rather remove the Flickies but keep it about destroying all the robots.  Finding and destroying the robots wasn't really annoying to me, it was just picking up the tiny birds that made it too finicky and awkward.

[Milo]

The core gameplay is admittedly pretty dull, but over the years I've really grown to like this game. As others have said, the visuals/aesthetics are nicely done, and the music is ace (specifically speaking about the Genesis version, though the Saturn version is fine as well). The level design I also find to be relatively solid in terms of exploration, though the slippery controls puts a bit of a damper on it.

I like to think that had Sonic Team and Traveller's Tales held the project off until the Saturn (instead of being the Genesis swan song), we could had gotten a decent 3D Sonic title out of it. The Saturn's better hardware I imagine would had prompted the developers to gun for a 3D gameplay direction (a la the Sonic Jam hubworld or ST/TT's later Sonic R) instead of the isometric approach; and there would had been a bit more effort to make the game less of a fetchquest and more of a traditional Sonic platformer.

[Big Panda]

I think I'm like the only person who actually likes the EU boxart. Makes me nostalgic xP

[Your Vest Friend]

15 hours ago, Gabe said:

The core gameplay is admittedly pretty dull, but over the years I've really grown to like this game. As others have said, the visuals/aesthetics are nicely done, and the music is ace (specifically speaking about the Genesis version, though the Saturn version is fine as well). The level design I also find to be relatively solid in terms of exploration, though the slippery controls puts a bit of a damper on it.

I like to think that had Sonic Team and Traveller's Tales held the project off until the Saturn (instead of being the Genesis swan song), we could had gotten a decent 3D Sonic title out of it. The Saturn's better hardware I imagine would had prompted the developers to gun for a 3D gameplay direction (a la the Sonic Jam hubworld or ST/TT's later Sonic R) instead of the isometric approach; and there would had been a bit more effort to make the game less of a fetchquest and more of a traditional Sonic platformer.

See, I don't think that was really an option, given that the entire point of the game was to be a quick stop-gap for the Genesis/the failure of X-Treme.

[Milo]

6 hours ago, VEDJ-F said:

See, I don't think that was really an option, given that the entire point of the game was to be a quick stop-gap for the Genesis/the failure of X-Treme.

I'm aware of that, which is why I said I'd like to imagine that was the case.

(On a more personal note, that does make me question why Sonic Team/TT's 3D Blast was always positioned by Sega as the secondary project to X-treme for the 1996 holiday season, rather than the other way around. Sure, getting on the video game 3D leap bandwagon was important, but considering the studio in question had never done a Sonic platformer before and had a long pileup of failed Sonic project pitches; you'd think you'd want to hedge your bets on the series' chief tried-and-true developer first... :/ )

[Mania Pipe]

I have some fond memories with this game, the Genesis version that is. I was never even aware that there was a Saturn version of the game at that time. At first, I honestly wasn't sure how to deal with the whole having to find the Flickies and take them to the goal ring to advance, well I still did have some problems with that, like trying to get them near you or having to catch for ones jumping around constantly. There was this issue I remember having in something like in Volcano Valley where it got pretty annoying for me when some of the Flickies would be hanging around in the magma and I didn't have a Fire Shield to dive in after them. So, yeah that was fun...

The Special Stages in this version were really some of the most boring I have ever played through, and not even that difficult to add, the Saturn version, despite being another half pipe one, it actually looked really fun, too bad the Genesis version never got that one instead of the running over some bridge.

I really did like some of the bosses in this game even though there were some of them that weren't particularly anything to write home about for me, especially the Final boss.

The aesthetics were fine I guess, but really nothing that popped out for me, well in the Genesis version, in the Saturn I do love how they touched it up there.

I really dug the music of this game, my absolute favorites being Rusty Ruin, Diamond Dust, Volcano Valley, and Gene Gadget and the credits. Also, I don't why I found it funny with the part where when finishing both special and regular stages that Sonic would seemingly get beamed up by aliens, I don't why I just do.

All in all, the game was somewhat decent, but really nothing spectacular in any stretch of the imagination. Despite having some bit of trouble with it because of the isometric view it was going for, I still like the game so I tend to be a bit more lenient towards it from time to time.

[PC the Hedgehog]

I'm glad that this game doesn't receive the hatred it did back in the early 2000s. Probably because there have been much more divisive Sonic  games since then.

3D Blast was far from the best Sonic game. The isometric 3D-esque style made platforming tricky. Collecting Flickies slowed the game down to a crawl. Still, as mentioned, the environments were gorgeous and totally Sonic-cy. And the music for both the Genesis version (Jun Senoue and that dude who did the music for Sonic Advance) and Saturn versions (Richard "Sonic R" Jacques)  were absolutely fantastic in totally different ways. Seriously, Diamond Dust Genesis and any version of Rusty Ruin are still some of my favorite Sonic tracks 20 years later.

Happy 20th anniversary, you divisive little dickens.

[Dizcrybe]

The game is pretty poor, the Genesis soundtrack is better, the Genesis version's special stages are one of the only two tolerable special stages in the series, that's all I've got to say.

[Blue Speedster]

I remember getting the MegaDrive version when I was about 7yrs old. Coming home from school, and seeing what looked like a game case in wrapping paper was not what I was expecting to see that day. I opened it up, and saw Sonic 3D Blast. I popped it into my console, and found it was very different to the previous Sonic games on the system, but oddly enough, played as much of that one as I did with Sonic 3 and Knuckles. One of the best aspects of the MegaDrive version is the special stages, which weren't the usual half-pipes again. The music was great, and the graphics, for a semi-3D Sonic game were actually not all that bad. Its a game that gets a bad rep for a reason I still don't understand. Sure its not like the 2D games, but SEGA were experimenting after Sonic R was released, so I applaud them for trying something new. It was also the start of Sonic being the only character in certain games in the series. Very underrated in my personal opinion 

[goku262002]

So is their a hack that combines the Supersonic with the no flickies hacks?

[Menace2Society]

1 hour ago, goku262002 said:

So is their a hack that combines the Supersonic with the no flickies hacks?

Yes, in fact, the Super Sonic hack is basically that, so yeah, lol.

[Mr Loopone]

It was a game that in my early days of gaming that I wanted along side Aladdin on the Mega Drive that I didn't get so I had to wait until the early 2000s to play the PC version. Found the game to be okay but didn't play it much, played Sonic R at lot more though. It had a problem with the sound where it started to crackle from Diamond Dust onwards, on the actual disc too so it was very static were the songs. The computer was also hit and miss in general since it was Windows Me and my copy has been donate to charity last year. Got to play the Mega Drive version via Mega Collection on the Gamecube but again I didn't play it as much as the other games. So Sonic 3D was a game that I didn't have much memories of, wasn't the only game at the time either.

Since I have played two versions of the game but sadly not the "best" Saturn version, can at least have an opinion of it. It was okay but could be better. Graphics on the PC version looked very nice, lovely even while the Genesis version it was more technical rather than stylish. The opening FMV, special stages and the menu screen were the nicest parts of that version but it does show more of the restrictions of the console such as the colour palette and prerendered Sonic mixed with basic isometric land of the levels clashed with each other. The backgrounds and the enemies didn't have this problem as much but Sonic, Tails and Knuckles showed the weakness of the console. A shame since Sonic had quite a bit of animation on him. PC version and the Saturn version doesn't have this problem since Sonic and the environment fitted better.

Music is good for both versions and unlike Sonic CD at the time, I didn't find it jarring to have two completely different soundtracks. If you ask me a favorite, I can't answer.

Special stages, Genesis version is technically impressive for the console but not much challenge (that I actually like) while the PC version is Sonic 2 style and faster but with perspective problems and slippery. PC version is also a step down in terms of graphics compared to the main game that is weird...

Sadly the game, I didn't find it fun to play and got bored of playing when it got to Volcano Valley, sometimes even Diamond Dust. I put it down to the isometric view where most games that use it are opposite to Sonic as in that they are slow, puzzle based games and trying to merge Sonic with the gameplay of Flicky didn't really work out. The platforming is tricky due to the angle, getting hit and recollecting the flickies are annoying. Also regarding the levels, they seem large/long and seems to suffer from the same problems as 3&K for me.

[molul]

Glad to see some love for Sonic 3D  I remember whatching the first screenshots. I was like "YES! This is what the Mega Drive needs: a new Sonic game with Donkey Kong Country's graphics". I also remember the reviews. I don't know outside of Spain, but here, the main videogame magazines gave the game a 99/100 score, something that was only done with DKC trilogy... It was clear that they increased the score because it was Mega Drive's last "big" game, and last Sonic game on the console.

I bought the game as soon as I could. I didn't like the cover AT ALL. It was really ugly. Like it was designed by some amateur fan that started playing with 3DS Max. 

I finished the game in 5 hours. I remember being really disappointed (it was the last Mega Drive Sonic game, for God's sake! XD). Every other Mega Drive game I had lasted a few days at least (Dynamite Headdy, 5 months; awesome). This one was pretty straightforward. Special stages were really easy. Also, no Super Sonic and no other playable character... Disappointing, but I played it a lot anyway. I liked the graphics and music a lot. I guess I didn't switch to another game because back in the day I could only get a few games a year. I HAD to use it as much as I could XD

I didn't mind the gameplay wasn't like previous Sonic games. Collecting flickies was fine for me. I also liked that they recovered an old Sega IP. However, when I started with emulators, I've played all Mega Drive Sonic games a lot, except for Sonic 3D. I didn't like it that much. But recently I've been listening to the tunes again, and I got hooked again. 

It's a very good game. Not great, but not bad or average. Graphics and music are top. Gameplay is kinda original. It lacked a few details that might have improved the final result, but I think it's much better than Knuckles Chaotix, for instance. Not gonna ask for a remastered version, though  

[Chaos Incarnate]

I don't like it very much. Keep in mind I've only given the Genesis version a go, but aside from the kickass soundtrack, the controls are horrible and the flicky collecting marathon gets old fast. I don't really mind the isometric viewpoint, but I don't know if it really works for a Sonic game. 

[Failinhearts]

Ah, Sonic 3D Blast... a game I never even got close to completing but I always have fun playing through Green Grove Zone for shits and giggles.

I remember being a young boy, playing Sonic Mega Collection Plus on the Xbox and I came across it. "Sonic 3D Blast! That sounds awesome!"

And as a little kid, it was awesome... even though I had no idea what I was doing, but it was fun simply running around as Sonic and seeing little birds follow me.

I was a simple man, 'k?

Regardless of how far I actually went, and how flawed the game undeniably is, it still holds a special place in my heart. Plus, the music rocks.

Happy 20th birthday, you anomaly of a game!