Sonic Labyrinth
From Sonic Retro
| Sonic Labyrinth | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| System(s): Sega Game Gear | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Publisher: Sega | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Developer: Minato Giken | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Genre: Puzzle | ||||||||||||||||||||
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- "Labyrinth" redirects here. For the Sonic 1 zone, see Labyrinth Zone.
Sonic Labyrinth (ソニックラビリンス) is an isometric puzzle/platformer for the Sega Game Gear. Sonic 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 Doctor Ivo Robotnik secretly replaced his famous red shoes with another pair that took away his ability to run fast or jump.
Gameplay
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 (the arrows overhead determine the strength). There is no jump button whatsoever and the only way to make a character airborne is through the use of obstacles. The objective of each level is to collect 3 keys in order to be able to exit through the door which leads to the next level.
The power-ups are also not contained in monitors but are found inside colored triangles instead. Their formation, which constantly shifts to another formation, determines which power-up is given. These power-ups can increase time (yellow), destroy onscreen enemies (green), grant lives (pink), increase movement speed (blue), or grant invincibility (red). 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 colors of the triangles. Rings can only be found in the Scroll Zones which precede the boss encounters and these will increase lives, not health. Instead, health is determined by amount of time available and each hit 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. Boss levels lack a timer so these can be tackled at the players leisure.
The boss levels are different as they lack a timer. Sonic can use the rings collected in the preceding Scroll Zone as protection from hits, as in most Sonic games, but rings lost cannot be collected again. 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. The sixth Emerald is hidden in a Special Stage found in act 3 of the Labyrinth of the Sea. All Emeralds are needed to attain the good ending of the game.
The time attack mode allows players to race to achieve best times. When completed a best time and score are given. 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 prizes. The contest was only held from November 17-December 31st in 1995.
Production Credits
Director: N.Machida, H.Katagiri
Planner: K.Tanaka
Programer: K.Iwanaga, Y.Kataoka, A.Inoue, T.Ueshima
Designer: K.Kayajima, K.Tanaka, K.Tamura
Sound Programer: A.Iwanaga
Special Thanks: N.Matsushima, S.Yoshihara, K.Kumakura, N.Tabata, M.Araki, N.Gotoh, Y.Yanagisawa, A.Matsumoto, M.Morohoshi, N.Honda, K.Hijiya, M.Ohta, K.Mine, H.Ozaki, T.Takinoue
Manuals
- Sonic Labyrinth US Manual
- Sonic Labyrinth EU Manual
- Sonic Labyrinth JP Manual
- Sonic Labyrinth JP Manual (pdf)
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)
- 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)
- Virtual Console for the Nintendo 3DS (2013)
Physical Scans
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Artwork
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Manuals |
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| Sonic the Hedgehog games for the following systems | |
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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 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
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