In actuality, this is a very sneaky way for them to admit that we’re not actually getting any of the full games here: We’re merely getting a small selection of levels from across each of the three reference games. At first glance, you might just assume that they’re referring to the original Genesis releases as classics in their own right, and that their levels are all classics by association. However, that “classic levels” line is the real sticking point here. It compels players to “Play classic levels of Sonic 2, 3 and Sonic & Knuckles” - which at least acknowledges that the first game is not included as part of the compilation. It’s also important to note that the blurb on the back of the game’s box is deliberately vague about the actual contents of the game.
At the very least, Sega is complicit in allowing Tiger to take a stab at their star franchise in the first place, and that’s honestly damning enough as is. That being said, I would have to imagine that Sega / Sonic Team saw fit to provide the developers with some amount of their original game assets, as I don’t believe the Tiger team reproduced all the sprites and animations here from scratch. As with most Tiger titles, it was developed by an internal team within Tiger Electronics, doing their best to recreate the experiences of the third-party licenses afforded to them. Unfortunately, those who bought the game would soon discover that it was lacking far, far more.Īn important note to address at the top here: Sonic Team isn’t responsible for this game - at least, not directly for its development. Taking its name from the Sega Saturn compilation of Genesis Sonic titles (including 1, 2, 3 & Knuckles), Sonic Jam on the sold itself under much the same premise, though lacking the content from the original Sonic the Hedgehog. But it’s a game which warrants further inspection: A Sonic game so completely devoid of any mechanical fluency or merit, it’s incredible that it was ever allowed to see release. I only had a handful of paragraphs with which to briefly describe Sonic Jam in our retrospective of the Tiger. So, howsabout we remove the variable entirely, by moving to a game system completely incapable of even conveying speed? A system that – despite coming out nearly seven years after Sega’s Game Gear – could only produce four colors in a monochrome palette and run at a top speed of what feels like five frames per second? But even that game had its moments of high speed - barely controllable speed, yes, but speed nonetheless.
In a previous article covering Sonic Labyrinth, we saw what happened when Sonic was stripped of his running shoes and made to move at a more leisurely pace.
Whether you actually have much input over said speeding or you’re simply made to sit and watch as the game handles most of the steering for you, that velocity is still something like a series staple that the franchise does not fare well without.
Say what you will about modern Sonic the Hedgehog games, but at least they understand what is arguably the blue blur’s biggest selling point: He’s gotta go fast. Tails-riffic art by Full-color variant available here!)