Sonic Generations 3DS Ain't No Compromise

One of the first games I ever owned was Sonic the Hedgehog on the Game Gear. I took it everywhere, a security blanket with buttons. So it was more than a touch nostalgic to get hands-on with Sonic on the 3DS, with its comparable form-factor and vividly-coloured screen. And I guess that's the point of the game itself. Sonic Generations is all about reliving the past, commemorating the history of one of video games' most iconic characters. It's both a retrospective and a love letter.

The game looks great, and not just for a handheld. Visuals are crisp and vivid. But underneath, it's the classic side-scrolling Sonic that we all know and some love, whether you plump for the pale-blue hedgehog or his ganglier, more zippy incarnation. Unlike its console sibling, the level doesn't change dramatically depending on whether you pick modern or classic Sonic. The differences are more subtle.

When you plump for the less-plump Sonic, the camera angle occasionally shifts when you're looping-the-loop or speeding down a hill at vomit-inducing velocities. But the major changes are to how Sonic controls and the range of abilities he possesses. If you select modern Sonic, the little guy will be able to dash and lock onto targets, both staples of recent Sonic games. Meanwhile, classic Sonic is exactly what you'd expect him to be. And if you like running around at a speed where you can't quite understand what's going on, it's great.

Takasi Iizuka, the man behind so many of Sonic's games, told us that his team had to overcome its uncertainty over working with the 3DS. "It was really a challenging experience for all of us in the team," said Iizuka, "because none of us has previous experience making games for 3DS. So we didn't even know the specs were or what the machine could do. We didn't know how far we could push it. For example, how fast can Sonic run on 3DS? And what kind of graphical quality could we get without sacrificing the speed? It was a lot of trial and error."


Thankfully, the 3DS version is not a diluted version of the console game. It can proudly stand alone. Aside from the opening stage (it's Sonic, it's obligatory that the Green Hill stage features), the 3DS version has entirely original levels that do not feature in the console version. I played Mushroom Hill, and happily spent twenty minutes vaulting brightly-coloured fungi. Like Mario 3D Land, stages are brief, which makes perfect sense for the platform. You can greedily devour 3 to 4 levels within the space of ten minutes.

Sonic Generations looks back at the whole history of SEGA"s mascot, but Iizuka finds it hard to pick a favourite out of the countless titles he's worked on. "It's really hard to choose because they all feel like children, so it's like asking a parent which of their children they love the most," he laughs. "So it's really hard to choose."


But after a little bit of gentle pressing, Iizuka reveals a slight preference for Sonic Adventure. "In terms of more memorable titles, it's definitely Sonic Adventure -- that was an iconic title that set out the new era for 3D modern Sonic games. That was one title where we started adding 3D mechanics, 3D perspective and a story, with cut scenes and voice overs. The was a lot of experimentation in that game. The process was really challenging and at times painful as the creator. But it's that's the most memorable title for me."

Sonic Generations 3DS certainly has promise, and Iizuka believes that Nintendo's handheld is perfect match for Sega's mascot. "The first Sonic title we provided for a Nintendo platform was Sonic Rush," he said. "When I did that I felt really uneasy about the idea that we were renting Sonic out to a Nintendo console. It felt really odd at the time. But now I've gotten use to it. It feels natural. Plenty of the users of Nintendo consoles are platform action fans, so Sonic and Nintendo consoles go very well together."

Sonic certainly looks at home on the 3DS. Here's hoping it continues the well-preserved tradition of Sonic handheld games that started, for me, with the Game Gear.

• More 3DS & DS Previews
• Latest 3DS & DS News, Reviews, and Videos