Sonic Blast

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Sonic Blast
System(s): Sega Game Gear, Sega Master System
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Aspect Co. Ltd
Genre: 2D Platform
Release Date RRP Code Rating US 1996-11  ? 2573 EU 1996-11  ? 2573-50 JP 1996-12-13 ¥4,800 G-3385 BR 1997-12  ? 030.030
ESRB PEGI USK 0 OFLC CERO GRB

For the comic, see Sonic Blast (Archie).

Sonic Blast, known as G Sonic (Ｇソニック) in Japan, is a platformer for the Sega Game Gear released in late 1996. It was released in North America and Europe in November 1996. The Japanese release was on December 13, 1996, making it the last Game Gear game released in Japan. It was also released in Brazil for the Sega Master System by Tec Toy, SEGA's Brazilian distributor. The Master System version suffers from worse graphics, due to the system's limited palette. The full width of the screen was not used in that version, leaving a gap on the sides; similarly, the HUD was not shifted to reflect the change in screen resolution. Because of its large size (8 megabits), it won't run in the earliest Master System models.

While this game was released at the end of 1996 in the same month as the similarly named Sonic 3D Blast, it is worth noting that both games have little in common (in fact, the game has more in common with Sonic and Knuckles in terms of gameplay elements). No enemies, levels, or bosses, are shared between the games. The story is also completely different. Sonic and Knuckles join together to collect five of the Chaos Emeralds and confront Eggman at Silver Castle.

A prominent feature of this game was its rendered graphics, which had become popular in Nintendo's 16-bit hit Donkey Kong Country. These graphics are also similar to those of Sonic 3D Blast. The character graphics also took up a big portion of the screen.

Gameplay

Both characters are armed with signature moves. Sonic has his Spin Dash ( + Jump) and a double jump (press Jump in mid-air). Knuckles can also use the Spin Dash, and has the glide (press Jump in mid-air), and the wall climb (press Jump near a wall). When hit by a enemy only 10 rings are deducted from the counter, making this an easy game overall. Chaos Emeralds are found in the Special Stages which can be entered through the giant ring which is found in the first two acts of each level. The Chaos Emerald is only found in the Special Stage of the second act as the act 1 special stage only rewards a 1-up.

End Level Panel

At the end of Acts 1 and 2 of each level, a panel is spun, with a reward given based on what it lands on:

• Eggman: No prize awarded.
• Ring: Gain 10 rings.
• Sonic: Sonic gets a 1up, Knuckles gets 30 Rings.
• Knuckles: Knuckles gets a 1up, Sonic gets 30 Rings.
• Emerald: Gain a free continue.
• Super Sonic: Both characters get a 1up and 30 Rings.

Items

• 10 Ring: Worth 10 Rings.
• Shield: Absorbs one hit.
• Speed Shoes: Temporary speed increase.
• Invincibility: Temporary invincibility.
• Sonic 1up: Sonic gets a 1up, Knuckles gets nothing.
• Knuckles 1up: Knuckles gets a 1up, Sonic gets nothing.
• Marker: You return to this point if you lose a life.
• Eggman: No reward given.
• Question mark boxes: Grants any of the 8 power-up.

Manuals

• Sonic Blast US Manual
• Sonic Blast EU Manual
• Sonic Blast BR Manual
• G Sonic (Game Gear) JP Manual

Also Released On

• Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut for the GameCube (2003)
• Sonic Mega Collection Plus for the Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox (2004)
• Sonic Mega Collection Plus & Super Monkey Ball Deluxe for the Microsoft Xbox (2005)
• Sonic Blast (TV game) for the Techno Source Plug and play console (2006)
• Playpal Plug and Play for the Coleco Plug and play console (2006)
• Sega Fun Pack: Sonic Mega Collection Plus & Shadow the Hedgehog for the Sony PlayStation 2 (2009)
• Sonic PC Collection for the PC (2009)
• FunPlay 20-in-1 for the Plug and Play console (2009)
• Virtual Console for the Nintendo 3DS (2013)

Production Credits

Producer: Hiroshi Aso
Director: Ryushin Hamada
Planner: Katsunori Murakami, Hiroaki Suzuki
Map Design: Akira Okamoto, Ken Sasaki
Chief Programmer: Toshiaki Araki
Programmer: Yoshiaki Makishima
Chief Designer: Fumikazu Sugawara
Designer: Taro Murayama
Sound Composer: Kojiro Mikusa
Special Thanks: Kazuyuki Oikawa, Aspect All Staff

Resources

Screen Shots

Game Gear Version

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Master System Version

• MSSBlast 1.png
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Physical Scans

Game Gear Version

Game Gear, US
Cover
Cart

Game Gear, EU
Cover
Cart

Game Gear, JP
Cover
Cart

Master System Version

Master System,
Cover
Cart

Sonic the Hedgehog games for the following systems

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      Demos  Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8-bit) AutoDemo | Sonic & Tails Jitsuenyou Sample | Sonic Drift (demo)  Prototypes  Sonic the Hedgehog (Game Gear prototype) | Sonic Chaos prereleases | Sonic Spinball (8-bit) prereleases | Sonic Triple Trouble prereleases | Sonic Blast prereleases  Unreleased  Sonic's Edusoft