Does anyone else like portable Sonic? What was your favorite?

[Kidakairis]

Personally I really loved the Sonic Advance series. What I really liked about the original Sonic Advance was that it felt the most like the classic Genesis/Megadrive games. Sonic Advance 2 added new mechanics that I really liked, and you got a sense of speed that really brings it all together. The third Advance game added the team up mechanic which could be considered a hit or miss depending on the 2 characters you picked.

I also played Rush series and Colors on DS and really liked them. Personally if I had to pick a favorite I would pick Sonic Advance 2. I rarely hear of people discussing them which is sad considering how well made they are.

[Kintor]

Sonic 1 on the Master System was my first Sonic game; I love it even more than the Mega Drive version. So, you can imagine that I also hold the Game Gear version of Sonic 1 in high regards. There are a couple of graphical differences between the Master System and Game Gear versions but beyond that the gameplay and level designs are an exactly the same. Which is fitting, seeing as how the Game Gear is literally a portable Master System with an upgraded colour palette. But is it my favourite portable Sonic game? That's a tough question.

The Game Gear has a strong line-up of Sonic games. Sonic Triple Trouble is perhaps technically most impressive of the bunch but I still have soft spot for Sonic 1.Then you have the experimental games like Tails Adventure, Sonic Drift and Sonic Labyrinth which took the franchise in interesting new directions with mixed success. Although, both Sonic 2 and Sonic Chaos are also excellent 2D Sonic games in their own right.

I respect the Sonic Advance series, for continuing 2D Sonic games. I adore the Sonic Rush series, including the DS version of Sonic Colours, and I think it's a pity we haven't got a proper Sonic Rush 3 yet.

While on the other hand, the Taxman ports of Sonic 1, Sonic 2 and Sonic CD on mobile platforms are absolutely phenomenal. The extra upgrades and wide screen support that Taxman included makes these ports arguably the definitive version of these games outside their Mega Drive originally.

There's just so many Sonic games to choose from...

Eh, I suppose I'll just dodge the question. Sonic 2 on the Mega Drive is my favourite game of all; which I can play portably thanks to my Sega Nomad. So yeah, Sonic 2 on the Mega Drive via a Nomad is technically my favourite portable Sonic game.

[Salamander]

Most of my background as a Sonic fan actually comes from the portable games (I had the PC versions of CD and 3&K, but that's it), so I feel a lot of nostalgia for them, but even beyond that I respect them for holding the line on 2D Sonic in an era when the 3D line was being seen as increasingly execrable.  It's such a shame the handheld-exclusive line collapsed, because even as the mechanics diverged then I felt that they were closer to the spirit of Sonic's origins than the alternatives on the table.

Sonic Advance I actually always found to be a little sluggish and heavy in its physics, but I appreciate that, like the rest of the Advance series, it mingled recurring Sonic tropes with new zone ideas and was willing to be structurally unconventional in its approach to the Egg Rocket / Cosmic Angel Zones.  Advance 2 was speedier, and I like that it was willing to experiment with an almost full line-up of rolling bosses - but it does have possibly the worst Special Stage access system in the series, bad enough that it remains the only Sonic game where I've never gotten even a single Chaos Emerald (I think I only ever even got to a Special Stage once).  Advance 3 was similarly experimental in its use of the buddy system, and even if it was silly and unbalanced, I think it was a fun and logical idea - and it kicks the trend of having the final level be a technology-heavy Eggman base, so good on it for that.  Its use of Gemerl to create something approaching an S3K approach to storytelling was an important first step, too, and rather unexpectedly helps tie the Advance series to the handheld Sonic Battle.

The Rush games I still like a lot, and I think they're probably the highest-quality of all the handheld games (even more than the 3DS ones - no handheld game since Rush and Rush Adventure has had 3D in-engine cutscenes, for instance), but they did make some unfortunate design decisions; Rush was far too bottomless-pit-heavy for its own good, while I think it's fair to say that few were won over by the boat system in Rush Adventure.  But they introduced the Boost, which at the time was I think rightly applauded for keeping the series fresh (without anyone imagining it would come to be the Modern series's dominant gameplay mechanic), and they also introduced the Trick system so that you had things to do while grinding rails or flying through the air; it was a good system for giving you positive feedback, if nothing else.  And their level tropes and boss design, particularly in Rush Adventure, were ambitious and experimental; the storytelling, too, is probably the most solid the handheld series has ever had, introducing one of the best-liked Sonic characters of recent years in Blaze, even if Rush Adventure has been criticised for having too much dialogue - though to me the bigger problem is that Rush Adventure tries to cram in a hundred missions, all of which are repetitive reiterations of the same challenges applied to each and every single level.  (Never will I forget that, following one mission to beat a past level under certain conditions, the next was... just to beat the same level, no strings attached, which you had to have done just to unlock the mission!)

The handheld games definitely started to take steps backwards once they become mere imitations of the console games; Colours DS in particular took an actual mechanical step backwards by eliminating tricks, and like I said, Rush and Rush Adventure managed 3D in-engine cutscenes but no subsequent handheld game ever bothered.  Generations 3DS had a lacklustre level line-up that was largely meaningless to handheld players, and while I liked some of their level-ending set-pieces, many of them played themselves (I literally took my hands off my 3DS for the killer whale one).  I've said this a lot of times over the years, but I think if they'd produced an iterative sequel to Rush Adventure, and kept in the jetski travel element but reskinned it to just be Sonic in person running over the land from a CD-Special-Stage-esque angle to explore a broader land-based map and find the individual zones, it would have been celebrated.

[The Chairman Of The Board]

1 hour ago, Kintor said:

Sonic 1 on the Master System was my first Sonic game; I love it even more than the Mega Drive version. So, you can imagine that I also hold the Game Gear version of Sonic 1 in high regards. There are a couple of graphical differences between the Master System and Game Gear versions but beyond that the gameplay and level designs are an exactly the same. Which is fitting, seeing as how the Game Gear is literally a portable Master System with an upgraded colour palette. But is it my favourite portable Sonic game? That's a tough question.

 

The Game Gear has a strong line-up of Sonic games. Sonic Triple Trouble is perhaps technically most impressive of the bunch but I still have soft spot for Sonic 1.Then you have the experimental games like Tails Adventure, Sonic Drift and Sonic Labyrinth which took the franchise in interesting new directions with mixed success. Although, both Sonic 2 and Sonic Chaos are also excellent 2D Sonic games in their own right.

 

I respect the Sonic Advance series, for continuing 2D Sonic games. I adore the Sonic Rush series, including the DS version of Sonic Colours, and I think it's a pity we haven't got a proper Sonic Rush 3 yet.

 

While on the other hand, the Taxman ports of Sonic 1, Sonic 2 and Sonic CD on mobile platforms are absolutely phenomenal. The extra upgrades and wide screen support that Taxman included makes these ports arguably the definitive version of these games outside their Mega Drive originally.

 

There's just so many Sonic games to choose from...

 

Eh, I suppose I'll just dodge the question. Sonic 2 on the Mega Drive is my favourite game of all; which I can play portably thanks to my Sega Nomad. So yeah, Sonic 2 on the Mega Drive via a Nomad is technically my favourite portable Sonic game.

 

Actually, Sonic 1 MS and Sonic 1 GG aren't exactly the same gameplay wise. The MS version has a bigger screen, so you can see more which makes the gameplay different and it's harder. For example in Green Hill Zone on the GG you can continually jump into Dr. Eggman and defeat him before he has a chance to come down and shoot at you, in the MS version you can't touch him until he comes down to shoot at you. 

My favorite portable game is probably... Sonic Genesis GBA.

 

Now that I made everyone tear their hair out waiting to tell me all of it's faults, I'll tell you the truth. My favorite portable game is probably either Sonic Rush or Generations 3DS. There are so many great handheld Sonic games too choose from that I can't really pick a favorite. I love the GG games and the entire GBA/DS/3DS line up is great. Plus we can't forget Sonic Pocket Adventure on the NGPC (Neo Geo Pocket Color). And probably the gem of the Sonic handheld game series (haha) SonicN. You know, the game that's a copy of Sonic Advance 1 that they ported to the NZone. 

Thinking about it now, the SonicN name gimmick was probably a prototype for Sonic X haha. 

[SonicComicFanboy]

 Sonic Rush is still one of my favorite sonic games of all time!  And Rush Adventure while abit tedious is still enjoyable to me overall as well.

[Kintor]

43 minutes ago, The Chairman Of The Board said:

Actually, Sonic 1 MS and Sonic 1 GG aren't exactly the same gameplay wise. The MS version has a bigger screen, so you can see more which makes the gameplay different and it's harder. For example in Green Hill Zone on the GG you can continually jump into Dr. Eggman and defeat him before he has a chance to come down and shoot at you, in the MS version you can't touch him until he comes down to shoot at you.

You raise a good point about the Game Gear version have a smaller field of view. This is honestly what makes the first boss in Sonic 2 Game Gear so notoriously deadly, while the Master System version of that boss battle is much easier even though the mechanics are exactly the same.

Which is in stark contrast to the first boss in Sonic 1 Game Gear, which is slightly easier since Robotnik is no longer invincible when he's in the air. This is the only substantial gameplay difference between both versions of the game, as best I can tell none of the other bosses have been tweaked. Not even the Jungle Zone boss, which in either version still remains one of the most formidable and challenging boss battles in Sonic history.

Regardless, the levels, bosses and gameplay are near enough identical between the Master System and Game Gear that they are essentially the same game for the purpose of most conversations.

 

[JezMM]

1 hour ago, Kintor said:

You raise a good point about the Game Gear version have a smaller field of view. This is honestly what makes the first boss in Sonic 2 Game Gear so notoriously deadly, while the Master System version of that boss battle is much easier even though the mechanics are exactly the same.

 

Which is in stark contrast to the first boss in Sonic 1 Game Gear, which is slightly easier since Robotnik is no longer invincible when he's in the air. This is the only substantial gameplay difference between both versions of the game, as best I can tell none of the other bosses have been tweaked. Not even the Jungle Zone boss, which in either version still remains one of the most formidable and challenging boss battles in Sonic history.

 

Regardless, the levels, bosses and gameplay are near enough identical between the Master System and Game Gear that they are essentially the same game for the purpose of most conversations.

 

Sorry but you're completely misremembering.  Sonic 1 MS vs GG has more differences between the two versions than any other 8-bit Sonic game.  A decent but not ENTIRELY complete/detailed list here.  At LEAST Bridge Act 2, Labyrinth Act 2 and Sky Base Act 1 and all the special stages had their layouts reworked partially or heavily (a memorable example is the Labyrinth chaos emerald is just out in the open on Game Gear, there's no invincibility/spikes puzzle), and the final boss is very different, with Eggman attacking using columns of fire on the ground rather than the back and forth electricity barrier (overall the GG boss is easier, there is significantly less retreating to the lefthand of the screen required to survive).  The Bridge and Jungle zone bosses do in fact have different arenas too, Bridge has Eggman protected by a bridge when he's not at full height, and Jungle zone's half-pipe platform is steeper on Game Gear.

Also it's not the screen size that makes Sonic 2's first boss so hard - on Master System, all the rocks fall at the same speed and height and can all be easily jumped over even at their maximum height, and Eggman doesn't charge at you until the final rock has hit.  On Game Gear, they bounce at random speeds and heights, and Eggman charges through before the final rock hits, usually causing you to have to avoid both with a single jump.

So yeah, not arguing with the fact that for general conversation purposes one can group the Master System and Game Gear games together (as long as the subject of game difficulty isn't being discussed), but just, literally you are wrong about the examples you explicitly gave as being exactly the same.

(I don't blame you either, I grew up with the Master System one but tend to play Game Gear more often these days since I have it handy on my 3DS... and STILL some changed thing or another I forgot about surprises me on every single playthrough).

[Irish David]

I really enjoyed Sonic Advance 2, was my favourite of the Sonic Advance games. Lots of exploring to do, could be quite challenging at times but loved the level design. Sonic Rush and Sonic Rush Adventure were both very good as well. Didn't have much exposure to the Game Gear games so cant really comment on them.

[Âmesang]

I really need to get back to finishing Sonic Advance 3… swallowing my pride and confessing I should use a guide to track down all of those gosh-durn'd Chaos Emeralds.  Aside from the Advance series my only portal Sonic would be Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on my tablet.

…is it possible to connect a 32X to a Nomad? I really miss playing Knuckles' Chaotix.

[Kintor]

1 hour ago, JezMM said:

So yeah, not arguing with the fact that for general conversation purposes one can group the Master System and Game Gear games together (as long as the subject of game difficulty isn't being discussed), but just, literally you are wrong about the examples you explicitly gave as being exactly the same.

(I don't blame you either, I grew up with the Master System one but tend to play Game Gear more often these days since I have it handy on my 3DS... and STILL some changed thing or another I forgot about surprises me on every single playthrough).

Well, I can see that you've gone to a lot of trouble to find flaws in my argument. Not that I expected my post about how I like Sonic 1 on the Game Gear to be a controversial opinion. Lesson learned I suppose; I must remember, as the ancient rhetoricians taught, all conversation is a form of argument...

Yet I can't help but feel your reducing the matter to mere semantics. Sonic 1 on the Master System and the Game Gear is fundamentally the same game, anyone who has played one version of game will instantly feel right at home in the other, more so then other unrelated Sonic games. A tweak here or an adjusted field of view there doesn’t change the fact that you're going through the same zones and fighting the same bosses throughout.

Heck, if you have a Master System Converter you can play Master System cartridges directly on the Game Gear. That's the genius of the Game Gear's design, it's an 8-bit console made portable and completely compatible with the original systems games. It's a testament to the talent of Sega's designers and programmers, as is illustrative by the fact that both 8-bit versions of Sonic 1 are near identical.

[JezMM]

12 minutes ago, Kintor said:

Well, I can see that you've gone to a lot of trouble to find flaws in my argument. Not that I expected my post about how I like Sonic 1 on the Game Gear to be a controversial opinion. Lesson learned I suppose; I must remember, as the ancient rhetoricians taught, all conversation is a form of argument...

Yet I can't help but feel your reducing the matter to mere semantics. Sonic 1 on the Master System and the Game Gear is fundamentally the same game, anyone who has played one version of game will instantly feel right at home in the other, more so then other unrelated Sonic games. A tweak here or an adjusted field of view there doesn’t change the fact that you're going through the same zones and fighting the same bosses throughout.

Heck, if you have a Master System Converter you can play Master System cartridges directly on the Game Gear. That's the genius of the Game Gear's design, it's an 8-bit console made portable and completely compatible with the original systems games. It's a testament to the talent of Sega's designers and programmers, as is illustrative by the fact that both 8-bit versions of Sonic 1 are near identical.

 

As I already said, I agree with you that they can be considered two versions of the same basic game, I wasn't arguing against that idea or even arguing at all, I was simply correcting you on individual statements you were making that were objectively false (namely that the first boss being a cakewalk was the only significant change between versions, which simply isn't true - though I do appreciate that it is the most memorable because of how early on and laughably easy it is).

[Tornado]

44 minutes ago, Âmesang said:

…is it possible to connect a 32X to a Nomad? I really miss playing Knuckles' Chaotix.

No. Not only does the 32X cover up the AV port, but it doesn't have the required pinout on the cartridge slot to communicate with it.

[Kintor]

30 minutes ago, JezMM said:

 

As I already said, I agree with you that they can be considered two versions of the same basic game, I wasn't arguing against that idea or even arguing at all, I was simply correcting you on individual statements you were making that were objectively false (namely that the first boss being a cakewalk was the only significant change between versions, which simply isn't true - though I do appreciate that it is the most memorable because of how early on and laughably easy it is).

I'm not getting in this argument. I think the statements I made about the similarities between Sonic 1 on the Master System and Game Gear is more than fair, given the context of this thread. I can see already from many of the responses that a lot of people have never played the Game Gear or Master System Sonic games. Telling them that the 8-bit Sonic 1 is pretty much the same game regardless of which version you buy is more than enough information should want to give the game a try.

***

Speaking of which, anyone tried Sonic Jam on the Game.com:

This might just be the worst port of a 2D Sonic game ever. More so then Sonic Genesis on the Game Boy Advance

[JezMM]

4 minutes ago, Kintor said:

I'm not getting in this argument. I think the statements I made about the similarities between Sonic 1 on the Master System and Game Gear is more than fair, given the context of this thread. I can see already from many of the responses that a lot of people have never played the Game Gear or Master System Sonic games. Telling them that the 8-bit Sonic 2 is pretty much the same game regardless of which version you buy is more than enough information should want to give the game a try.

"The first boss in Sonic 1 8-bit is the only part of the game that is significantly different between the Master System and Game Gear versions" isn't an oversimplification, it's simply false, that was literally all I was saying.  I just literally wanted to say hey you were wrong about this thing, just so you're not going around with this incorrect idea about the game in your head etc.

Once again because it's like this statement is invisible to you or something: I was agreeing with you that both versions of Sonic 1 are basically the same game and that you'll get the same overall experience from them regardless of which version you play.  It's just that one thing you said about the bosses, that's all!

[Tornado]

Sonic Jam is impressive because they tried to actually port the games, assets and all, to the game.com. Though looking good in screenshots was about the extent of how well made game.com games had to actually be, so it's not really surprising, per se.

[Kintor]

26 minutes ago, Tornado said:

Sonic Jam is impressive because they tried to actually port the games, assets and all, to the game.com. Though looking good in screenshots was about the extent of how well made game.com games had to actually be, so it's not really surprising, per se.

I do admit that the 2D sonic sprites and even most of the level backgrounds hold-up surprisingly well in monochrome. Of course, framerate is a different matter entirely. Not that I've ever actually seen a Game.com in the wild, I can only go by the comments from people unfortunate enough to play still.

Which brings me back to my original question. Is there anyone in the Sonic fanbase who has actually played Sonic Jam on the Game.com?

We all pride ourselves on the rare and obscure Sonic games we've played over the years. Some have Sonic Pocket Adventure. Others have seen an actual Sonic Championship arcade cabinet. I treasure my copy of Knuckles Chaotix.

But Sonic Jam on the Game.com? That's unheard of and perhaps for good reason.

[mikeblastdude]

I had a Game Gear as a little kid in the early ‘90s that I would play constantly, and since then I’ve followed Sonic’s portable library very closely. I enjoyed all of the Sonic platformers on that system (except Sonic Blast…), although my favorite game from that era was Sonic Triple Trouble. I know it’s a bit clunkier than the earlier handheld games, but I just had such a good time with that one, and I really loved the music.

I also got a Neo Geo Pocket Color a while after it was already dead and pretty inexpensive, and of course got Sonic Pocket Adventure for it. I enjoyed it, but it didn’t really seem like anything special, probably because of lack of original content.

Ever since the first Sonic Advance, I’ve bought pretty much every handheld Sonic game either on its launch day or very close to, with the exception of the Sonic Rivals games. I absolutely loved the Advance games (unpopular opinion: Sonic Advance 3 is my favorite of the trilogy), and I enjoyed Sonic Rush quite a bit as well. Sonic Rush Adventure though, was just an amazing game for me. That’s probably what I would consider to be my favorite handheld Sonic title overall.

After that, as a lot of people would agree with, the handheld games started to go downhill in quality, with the 3DS version of Sonic Lost World being absolutely terrible. It’s a shame, really.

Oh, and also, I did have a Game.com for a brief period of time in the early 2000’s, with Sonic Jam. Yes, it was just as bad as it looks.

[Tornado]

I just threw out all of my game.com games last summer, which did include Sonic Jam.

[Kidakairis]

I just finished reading everyone's post and am happy so many others took such a liking to so many different portable games. Personally the only 8bit sonic I have ever had the pleasure of playing is Sonic Pocket Adventures and it was at a friend's house. Personally I really liked it even if you could finish the game in under an hour if you had unlocked the chaos emeralds prior which he had. I am really considering investing in a Game Gear but may just get the games digitally through the 3DS if they happen to have them all.

I had read someone had mentioned the android remakes and consider them to be the best way to play through Sonic 1 and 2. I purchased a bluetooth controller and a cable to hook my tablet up to my TV because of how good of a port it was. The wide screen support and visually enhanced special stages really make the game more enjoyable as well as the inclusion of Tails and Knuckles in Sonic 1 and the addition of Hidden Palace zone in Sonic 2.

Personally I was a little bummed out that Sonic Mania was only announced on PC and the new Consoles without any news of an android port, but I digress that is a topic for another board and still has a chance of being announced later.

[Maxtiis]

21 hours ago, Kidakairis said:

I just finished reading everyone's post and am happy so many others took such a liking to so many different portable games. Personally the only 8bit sonic I have ever had the pleasure of playing is Sonic Pocket Adventures and it was at a friend's house. Personally I really liked it even if you could finish the game in under an hour if you had unlocked the chaos emeralds prior which he had. I am really considering investing in a Game Gear but may just get the games digitally through the 3DS if they happen to have them all.

I had read someone had mentioned the android remakes and consider them to be the best way to play through Sonic 1 and 2. I purchased a bluetooth controller and a cable to hook my tablet up to my TV because of how good of a port it was. The wide screen support and visually enhanced special stages really make the game more enjoyable as well as the inclusion of Tails and Knuckles in Sonic 1 and the addition of Hidden Palace zone in Sonic 2.

Personally I was a little bummed out that Sonic Mania was only announced on PC and the new Consoles without any news of an android port, but I digress that is a topic for another board and still has a chance of being announced later.

Well, Sonic Mania is coming out on the Switch so technically it is portable.

[Kidakairis]

5 hours ago, Maxtiis said:

Well, Sonic Mania is coming out on the Switch so technically it is portable.

I guess technically it is. Nothing wrong with those who like the Switch I think it is a cool concept but I like portable gaming to be something I can fit in my pocket I don't like carrying extra cases with me when I go out that is the main reason my tablet stays home. To each there own though glad you like it, hopefully they make a slick smaller model in the future hopefully, and a price cut wouldn't hurt ether .

[Maxtiis]

30 minutes ago, Kidakairis said:

I guess technically it is. Nothing wrong with those who like the Switch I think it is a cool concept but I like portable gaming to be something I can fit in my pocket I don't like carrying extra cases with me when I go out that is the main reason my tablet stays home. To each there own though glad you like it, hopefully they make a slick smaller model in the future hopefully, and a price cut wouldn't hurt ether .

Oh, it can totally fit in your pocket .

[Kidakairis]

2 hours ago, Maxtiis said:

Oh, it can totally fit in your pocket .

Man I would be so afraid to sit down like that. In the coming months I won't be surprised if Nintendo brings back a market for cargo pants .