Sonic Genesis Review

                They say lightning never strikes twice. However, certain events wind up proving that statement as hit or miss at best. One such event concerns the decisions of one such game developer, Sonic Team, and their decision making in 2006. This review concerns one of the two biggest mistakes these guys made with SEGA’s mascot ant their namesake, Sonic the Hedgehog. Before I get ahead of myself, a little background is in order first. Sonic Genesis was released in November 2006 for the GBA.

                The graphics are great… if you can ignore the constant frame rate problems and what’s known as “screen crunch”. An example of this can be found in the Marble Zone level. There, the screen is so condensed that it is very easy to wind up crushed by spiked chandlers or burned by flowing lava. As for the frame rate drops, those are much more obvious. Just try to pick up any speed, and the game slows to a crawl. In a Sonic game, this is downright unacceptable!

                The sound is abysmal. Sure the ring sound is there, but every other sound is nearly unrecognizable. The music is unbearable and will make you want to turn off the sound on your GBA system. Other sounds, such as hitting an enemy or even jumping, are of poor quality as well.

                There really is no addictiveness rating for this game. You’d be better off playing the original somehow, anyway. This game’s difficulty is much harder than it should be, mostly due to all of the things that you have to put up with.

                All in all, I would never recommend this game, no matter who it is that I am talking to. It’s just that bad. Did I mention that Sonic’s momentum is screwed up in this game, too? Good going, Sonic Team (sarcasm).