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Sonic Labyrinth

From Sonic Retro

"Labyrinth" redirects here. For the Sonic 1 Zone, see Labyrinth Zone.

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Sonic labyrinth title.png
Sonic Labyrinth
System(s): Sega Game Gear, Virtual Console
Publisher: Sega
Developer:
Genre: Action[2][3]
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code Rating
Sega Game Gear
JP
1995-11-17[3] ¥3,800 G-3374
Sega Rating: All Ages
Sega Game Gear
US
1995-11[4] $? 2584
ESRB: Kids to Adults
Sega Game Gear
EU
1995-10[5] €? 2584-50
ELSPA: 3+ OK
Sega Game Gear
UK
1995-10[5] £29.99[5] 2584-50
ELSPA: 3+ OK


Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
JP
2012-05-16[6] ¥286 (300)[6] ?
CERO: A
Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
US
2013-06-27[7] $4.99[7] ?
ESRB: Everyone
Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
EU
2012-05-10[8] €5.00[9] ?
PEGI: 3+
Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
UK
2012-05-10[10] £4.50[9] ?
PEGI: 3+
Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
AU
2012 $? ?
OFLC: General (G)
Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
DE
2012-05-10[11] €5.00[9] ?
USK: 0

Sonic Labyrinth (ソニックラビリンス) is an isometric puzzle/action game for the Sega Game Gear. Sonic the Hedgehog must move around a pinball-like arena, using his power to roll into a ball to defeat Badniks and pick up keys in order to exit through the Goal door and clear the stage. The only move Sonic can use in the game is the Spin Dash, because Dr. Eggman secretly replaced his famous red shoes with a pair of Speed Down Boots that took away his ability to run fast or jump.

Story

In his frustrations over Sonic the Hedgehog foiling his schemes, Dr. Eggman came to the realisation that if Sonic's speed was taken away, he would not be able to outrun his traps and stop him from taking over the world. As such, Eggman invents a pair of Speed Down Boots and switches Sonic's red sneakers with them while the hedgehog sleeps. Upon waking up, Sonic puts on the boots, and suddenly finds himself unable to run or jump.

With Sonic stripped of his speed, Eggman accidentally announces in an act of triumph that in order for Sonic to remove the boots, he must use the power of the Chaos Emeralds to deactivate the boots. Having been given clues on how to take them off, Sonic follows Eggman into his latest fortress on South Island, the Super Labyrinth, in order to locate the Chaos Emeralds using only his Spin Dash.

Gameplay

SLabyrinthLoSky.png
Gameplay screenshot.

The game uses a 3D isometric overhead view similar to that of Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island. However, gameplay is restricted to a single button which is the Spin Dash. To use the Spin Dash, the player must press and hold either 1 or 2 to charge the move with the overhead arrows determining the strength of the charge, with four arrows being the strongest charge and no arrows being the weakest, then release the button to dash away in the direction Sonic is facing. While Sonic is rolling about, pressing 1 or 2 will make him skid to a halt. There is no jump button whatsoever and the only way to make Sonic airborne is through the use of obstacles.

The Super Labyrinth spans four Zones, each with four Acts. In the first three Acts, the objective is to collect 3 keys in order to be able to exit through the door which leads to the next Act. In these Acts, Rings do not appear to serve as Sonic's health. Instead, health is determined by the amount of time available and each hit from an enemy or hazard will shave 10 seconds off the clock. When time runs out, Sonic will lose a life. Fortunately, seconds can be added to the clock by collecting keys or by destroying enemies.

SonicLabyrinth GG ScrollZone.png
Scroll Zone gameplay.

The fourth Acts are different as they begin with Sonic speeding downhill in a Scroll Zone (スクロールゾーンMedia:SonicLabyrinth GG JP manual.pdf[12]). In these sections, Sonic can be moved with Left and Right to collect Rings and avoid spikes, while repeatedly pressing 1 or 2 will make Sonic brake in order to slow his descent. Sonic can use the Rings collected in the Scroll Zone as protection from hits in the upcoming boss fight, as in most Sonic games, but Rings lost cannot be collected again. The Scroll Zones and bosses lack a timer and so can be tackled at the player's leisure. After defeating the Boss, a Chaos Emerald is awarded, meaning there are a total of 5 Emeralds which can be earned without any extra effort. To attain the good ending of the game, the player is also required to find the hidden Bonus Stage in Act 3 of the Labyrinth of the Sea.

Items

The power-ups in Sonic Labyrinth are not contained in monitors but are found inside coloured triangles instead and are collected simply by touching them. Their formation, which constantly shifts to another formation, determines which power-up is given. Interestingly, these triangles cannot be found in the third Act of Labyrinth of the Sea, but there are oil slick-spitting octopus robots that have two colored diamonds that cycle through the colours of the triangles.

SonicLabyrinth GG Sprite Items.png
SonicLabyrinth GG Sprite Items.png
? ItemMedia:SonicLabyrinth GG US manual.pdf[13] / Question (クエスチョンMedia:SonicLabyrinth GG JP manual.pdf[14])
Destroys all on-screen Badniks.
SonicLabyrinth GG Sprite Items.png
SonicLabyrinth GG Sprite Items.png
1UPMedia:SonicLabyrinth GG US manual.pdf[13]Media:SonicLabyrinth GG JP manual.pdf[14]
Awards an extra life.
SonicLabyrinth GG Sprite Items.png
SonicLabyrinth GG Sprite Items.png
InvincibleMedia:SonicLabyrinth GG US manual.pdf[13] / Twinkle (トゥインクルMedia:SonicLabyrinth GG JP manual.pdf[15])
Makes Sonic invincible for a short time.
SonicLabyrinth GG Sprite Items.png
SonicLabyrinth GG Sprite Items.png
SneakersMedia:SonicLabyrinth GG US manual.pdf[13] / Speed Boots (スピードブーツMedia:SonicLabyrinth GG JP manual.pdf[15])
Increases Sonic's walking speed for a short time.
SonicLabyrinth GG Sprite Items.png
SonicLabyrinth GG Sprite Items.png
HourglassMedia:SonicLabyrinth GG US manual.pdf[13] / Magic Clock (マジッククロックMedia:SonicLabyrinth GG JP manual.pdf[15])
Adds 30 seconds to the timer.

Time Attack

SonicLabyrinth GG TimeAttack.png
Time Attack gameplay.

The Time Attack mode allows players to race to achieve best times in an alternate version of Labyrinth of the Sky Act 2 with no enemies or items. When completed, a best time and score are given along with a star-based rating, and the record will be lost when the Game Gear is turned off. In addition to that, there is a 5-digit password which has no actual use in the game. The password was for use in a contest held in Japan where one hundred players with the best times would be awarded prizesMedia:SonicLabyrinth GG JP manual.pdf[16]. The contest was only held from November 17 to December 31, 1995Media:SonicLabyrinth GG JP manual.pdf[17], and the password has no use today, nor did it ever have any use outside Japan.

History

Development

Sonic Retro emblem.svg Main article: Sonic Labyrinth/Development

Versions

Also released on

Production credits

Sonic Retro emblem.svg Main article: sega:Sonic Labyrinth/Production credits

Manuals

Sonic Retro emblem.svg Main article: Sonic Labyrinth/Manuals

Magazine articles

Sonic Retro emblem.svg Main article: sega:Sonic Labyrinth/Magazine articles

Artwork

Physical scans

Segaretro-round.svg Reception »
Game Gear, JP
Laby jp back cover.jpgLabyrinth-box-jap.jpg
Cover
Game Gear, US
Labyrinth-box-us.jpg
Cover
Game Gear, EU
Labyrinth-box-eu-back.jpgNospine.pngLabyrinth-box-eu.jpg
Cover

Technical information

ROM dump status

System Hash Size Build Date Source Comments
Sega Game Gear
CRC32 5550173b
MD5 aa6598585b2cdb92a14476beeb34991b
SHA-1 e24bf33d8d5a79f371485f20f207b6b26f5b341e
512kB Cartridge
Sega Game Gear
CRC32 b531a09e
MD5 27c46dadda7bd6d04bd7863975cdde39
SHA-1 77b7a4972725c605346cb441ad0b532bff21065d
512kB 3DS Virtual Console (US/EU) VirtualConsole SonicLabyrinth 3DS World Icon.png
Sega Game Gear
 ?
CRC32 5550173b
MD5 aa6598585b2cdb92a14476beeb34991b
SHA-1 e24bf33d8d5a79f371485f20f207b6b26f5b341e
512kB 1995-05-25 EPROM cartridge Page

External links

References


Sonic Labyrinth
Sonic labyrinth title.png

Main page
Comparisons
Credits


Manuals
Magazine articles
Reception


Development
Hidden content

Sonic the Hedgehog games for the following systems
Sega Master System
Sega Game Gear
 1991  Sonic the Hedgehog     1992  Sonic the Hedgehog 2     1993  Sonic Chaos | Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine     1994  Sonic Drift | Sonic Spinball | Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble     1995  Sonic Drift 2 | Tails' Skypatrol | Tails Adventures | Sonic Labyrinth | Sonic 2 in 1     1996  Sonic Blast    
 Unreleased  Sonic's Edusoft