The new shields offered a lot of variety in gameplay and strategy, and the zones were fast, beautiful, and HUGE! Hydrocity and Ice Cap in particular were absolutely amazing in their mixture of pure speed, novelty mechanics, and killer soundtracks. Is that supposed to be Knuckles’ eyes in the bushes? I’ve always wondered that… Plus the special stages where you destroy UFOs in a 3D space, while a bit tricky to control, are innovative and fun! It was way ahead of its time and reminds me much more of Streets of Rage than Sonic. And while the US soundtrack is just fine, the Japanese soundtrack is freaking amazing ! (you can toggle each in the 2011 version of the game). I thought it was so cool to see each zone in the past, present, and either a “good” or “bad” future.
The time travel mechanics are a neat idea (I’m a sucker for a good time-traveling tale like Chrono Trigger). And I was surprised to see how much Sonic CD does well all these years later! The graphics are quite stunning and bursting with color (I do love bright colors in my games and game accessories). I only recently *finally* finished this game! I’ve never owned a Sega CD, so I downloaded the re-release done by Christian Whitehead in 2011 on my Apple TV and played using my XBox One controller. Is the “NOT FOR RESALE” label nostalgic for anyone else? 5.
