The SEGA Game Gear, much like the Game Boy, had a long lifespan. Launching in 1990, it was intended to offer 8-bit gaming on the go, sharing many titles with the Master System. But as the years went by, the Master System faded into the past, prompting developers to create handheld iterations of their 16-bit Mega Drive titles.
To say results varied wildly would be an understatement. The best example of this is the Mortal Kombat series – the first two entries on Game Gear played well, all things considered, but the third game (a European exclusive, oddly) proved a bit too much for the humble handheld. The same went for Primal Rage, Earthworm Jim, and many more late arrivals.
Even SEGA themselves were guilty of pushing the Game Gear too hard. Again, it’s easy to call out the perfect example. 1996’s Sonic Blast was intended to be a companion piece to the Mega Drive’s Sonic 3D Blast, launching alongside it. Arriving in November, it’s safe to assume it was intended to be the ‘big’ Christmas release for the system – not that the Game Gear was faring too well commercially by 1996, with only around a dozen games launching that year.
To stand toe-to-toe with Sonic 3D Blast, developer Aspect used 3D rendered sprites, similar to Donkey Kong Country, Killer Instinct, and Vectorman. While 16-bit consoles were able to do this graphic style justice, particularly the SNES with its rich colour palette, on Game Gear it did nothing but highlight how old and outdated the handheld had become.
You may be looking at the screenshots on this page and thinking that it doesn’t look too bad. It’s bright and colourful, we’ll give it that. In motion, though, it looks terrible. It’s so choppy and stilted that it gives the impression of being unfinished, constantly distracting with its visual quirks. Think along the lines of those shoddy Sonic bootleg games found on Game Boy multigame carts. Our best guess is that Game Gear couldn’t handle the frames of animation needed to make Sonic move smoothly, either due to the cart size being too small, or the limitations of the system itself.
The sprites are far chunkier than in previous Sonic games too, taking up a lot of screen real estate, meaning there’s barely enough time to react when enemies appear. Even the first Sonic game, from 1991, had measures in place to deal with the lower screen resolution, adding signposts not found in the Master System iteration. Such helpful touches were seemingly thrown out in favour of visuals that looked attractive on the back of the box.
The chunkiness of the sprites also results in levels that are short, lacking the extra routes found in Sonic Chaos and Sonic Triple Trouble. Further, it robs the experience of personality too, with backdrops being barren and bland. Even the zone locations are uninspiring: Green Hill Zone, Yellow Desert Zone, Red Volcano Zone, Blue Marine Zone, and Silver Castle Zone. True to their names, they’re coloured accordingly – Yellow Desert Zone is simply a mishmash of predominantly yellow sand tiles, and so forth, with little in the way of creative flair.
Unlike in Sonic Chaos, Dr. Robotnik shows up for battle at the end of each stage. While these battles take place on dull black backgrounds, they end up being a highlight. Not quite a saving grace, but one area that has clearly had thought put into it. It can take a couple of attempts to beat ol’ moustache chops, learning patterns along the way. By gaining all five(!) chaos emeralds a secret battle commences straight taking down Dr. Robotnik in Silver Castle. Curiously, an earlier battle pays homage to Journey of the West, featuring Robotnik on a floating cloud and armed with a red staff.
Sonic Blast’s other merits are few. The music isn’t too bad, the straightforward bonus rounds play to the system’s strengths while recalling 16-bit Sonic 2, and this is also the first handheld Sonic platformer to feature Knuckles as a playable character, with the red warrior able to glide.
You’d think the addition of Knuckles would be a selling point, but no – he’s absent from the front cover, with a large render of Sonic taking his place. On the subject of box art, the Japanese version was known as G Sonic and billed as part of the ‘Kid’s Gear’ series – with SEGA of Japan using this brand to push the Game Gear towards a younger demographic. This would suggest SEGA of Japan believed Sonic Blast was easier and more simplistic than its predecessors. Yet, in the US and Europe, it was marketed as a regular Sonic game, suitable for gamers of all ages.
Brazil went on to gain an exclusive version of Sonic Blast for the Master System, with this iteration having its own problems. Rather than filling the whole screen, and making the necessary adjustments, it has large ugly borders. Visually it appears rougher too – the Game Gear could display more colours than the Master System, and that’s something that hasn’t been adjusted either, resulting in a sketchier look.
While it’s easy to link Sonic Blast’s faults solely to its change of visual style, it would seem that other factors came into play. Developer Aspect was one of the Game Gear’s most prolific studios, having created Sonic 2, Sonic Chaos, Sonic Triple Trouble, and a few Disney tie-ins. They obviously knew the system inside and out and had already perfected the handheld Sonic formula with Triple Trouble – which was speedy, good looking, and reasonably challenging. We can only assume Blast was created on a tight schedule or was perhaps handed over to a smaller, inexperienced, team within the studio. As for the rendered visuals, we imagine SEGA themselves mandated that requirement to make it look contemporary.
The recently leaked documents detailing SEGA of America’s 1997 fiscal year indicated that a Vectorman title for Game Gear was planned. A straightforward run ‘n gunner using this visual style would have perhaps worked a little better. Sonic Blast’s shortcomings are numerous, from its choppy animation and lack of polish to its dull and uncreative level design. Most importantly though, it doesn’t even have the feel of a Sonic game, lacking the important sense of momentum. It isn’t unplayable, or broken, but it’s still easily the worst of Sonic’s Game Gear adventures – or at least on par with the sluggish, and confusing, maze-based Sonic Labyrinth.
Given the lack of magazine review scans online, it would seem SEGA knew they had a dud on their hands – I even looked for coverage within Sonic the Comic and failed to find a single trace. Then again, most magazines had likely ditched Game Gear coverage by late 1996.
The Game Gear was at least able to go out on a higher note – 1997’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park, also developed by Aspect, was a traditional action game better suited to the handheld. Maybe we should be thankful SEGA didn’t choose to cram 3D rendered dinosaurs onto a Game Gear cart.
Packshots via SMS Power.