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Sonic Blast

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n/a

G Sonic title.png
Sonic Blast
System(s): Sega Game Gear, Sega Master System
Publisher: Sega
Developer:
ROM size: 1 MB
Genre: Action
Release Date RRP Code Rating
Sega Game Gear
EU
1996-11 €? 2573-50
Sega Game Gear
US
1996-11 $34.99[1] 2573
Sega Game Gear
JP
1996-12-13 ¥4,800 G-3385
Sega Master System
BR
1997-12 R$? 030030
Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
JP
2012-04-18[2] ¥286 (300)[2] ?
CERO: A
Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
US
2013-06-20[3] $3.99[3] ?
ESRB: Everyone
Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
EU
2012-06-14[4] €5.00[5] ?
Expression error: Unexpected < operator.PEGI: 3+
Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
UK
2012-06-14[6] £4.50[5] ?
Expression error: Unexpected < operator.PEGI: 3+
Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
DE
2012-06-14[7] €5.00[5] ?
Expression error: Unexpected < operator.USK: 0
Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
AU
2012 $? ?
OFLC: General (G)
For the comic, see Sonic Blast (Archie).

Sonic Blast, known as G Sonic (Gソニック) in Japan, is a Sonic the Hedgehog platform game released for the Sega Game Gear in late 1996. It was later brought by Tectoy to the Sega Master System in Brazil.

Gameplay

Sonic Blast is the fifth and final "traditional" Sonic the Hedgehog game to be released on the Game Gear, and was developed during the same period of the similarly named Sonic 3D Blast (Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island outside of North America). The two share a desire to portray Sonic in a pre-rendered 3D style, similar to the groundbreaking visuals seen in 1994's Donkey Kong Country, however are otherwise completely unrelated games with different developers and different styles of gameplay.

Sonic Blast builds on some of the ideas seen in Sonic Chaos and Sonic Triple Trouble, however aligns itself more with the Sega Mega Drive Sonic games (Sonic & Knuckles being the driving influence). Miles "Tails" Prower is replaced with Knuckles the Echidna as a playable character, and several of the Game Gear-exclusive features of Triple Trouble are omitted, being replaced with more traditional special stages and boss fights.

Players control as either Sonic the Hedgehog (armed with a a double jump (press A or B/2 in mid-air), or Knuckles the Echidna (who can both glide and climb up walls). Through five stages, each with three acts. As with Chaos and Triple Trouble, the pair can spin dash, however unlike other Sonic games, getting hit only deducts a maximum of 10 rings, leading to an arguably easier experience.

Chaos Emeralds are found in special stages, which can be entered through giant rings hidden in the first two acts of each level. Blast is unusual, however, in that only the special stages in the second act will award the player with an emerald - those in the first act only reward an extra life.

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.

Signposts

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.

Versions

The decision to use pre-rendered graphics comes at a cost in Sonic Blast, as to ensure the detail is visible, Sonic and Knuckles' sprites are bigger than their counterparts in earlier titles. This in-turn makes the game appear more "zoomed-in", and as a result, less of the level is visible at any one time during play. This can be a problem on the Game Gear, as players are often unable to see what is coming, and can be subjected to cheap hits and deaths.

On the Master System, the increased screen resolution mitigates some of these problems, however is fraught with its own issues, mainly due to the slap-dash nature of the port. Menus, title cards and the special stages were not optimised for the Master System, and so are identical in appearance to their Game Gear counterparts, just with added borders. The in-game HUD was also not moved, and unusual artifacts can also be seen in areas normally hidden for Game Gear users.

Unlike a game such as Sonic Chaos where Master System code was ported to the Game Gear, here the reverse is true, and as Sonic Blast was designed to make use of the Game Gear's extended colour palette, the conversion to the Master System leads to less detailed and more contrasting graphics.

Also Released On

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

Manuals

Sonic Retro emblem.svg Main article: Sonic Blast manuals

Artwork

Screenshots

Game Gear Version

Master System Version

Physical scans

Game Gear Version

Game Gear, US
Sblastgg-box-us.jpg
Cover
Game Gear, EU
SonicBlast GG EU Box Back.jpgNospine.pngSblastgg-box-eu.jpg
Cover
Blast gg eu cart.jpg
Cart
Game Gear, JP
Sblastgg-box-jap back.jpgSblastgg-box-jap.jpg
Cover

Master System Version

Master System, BR
Sblastsms-box-brazil.jpg
Cover

External links

References


Sonic Blast
G Sonic title.png

Main page
Comparisons
Maps


Manuals
Magazine articles
Reception


Development
Hidden content
Bugs

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