I. Overview
???Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure is a platforming game released in 1999, and its exclusively for the Neo Geo Pocket Color handheld. I would arguably say it's the best game on the system, it's clear that the game designers really cared about the game and tried to emulate the success of the sonic games of old. The result? An incredibly polished game that despite the first impression delivers on all levels. I found this little gem during my marathon where I vowed to play every single sonic game ever released, just for the heck of it.
II. The specifics...
???Graphics: I was actually surprised to learn upon first inspection that the game is actually 16-bit, and although it seems like an 8-bit game at first impression, I quite liked the way the cel-shaded-esque graphics looked, and it fit the theme of the game as well. Sonic is just as smooth as ever, and there is no detraction from anything quality based. That being said, this game looks amazing, it's incredibly impressive how the designers managed to make a game so reminiscent of the old sonic games on the genesis through a different art-style. The pseudo-3d levels differ from this look and feel but still pretty damn good for a handheld game. All in all, definitely not complaining about the graphics. 10/10
???Sound: Every piece of music has it's own theme and feel, and complements the stages really well. A lot of the music is from the sonic games on the genesis; specifically "Sonic 2" (my favorite sonic OST) and "Sonic 3 and Knuckles" but with their own little spin on them. Being a sonic fan, the thing that got me hooked aside from the game was the music. It was enough to make me bob my head and even hum along to the music while I play which added to the experience. The sound files have that "handheld feel" but without sounding choppy or distorted, and overall it's a joy to listen to. I got multiple nostalgia goose bumps while listening to this music and any fan of the series will surely enjoy it as much as I did. Overall, the sound is another selling point of this game and I can't really find any negatives. 10/10
???Addictiveness: Being a sonic fan, I can't say I ever get enough of running at past mach 5 speeds collecting coins, jumping on enemies and showing that eggnog Robotnik what's what. In essence, the game is designed to be addictive as it brings out the perfectionist achievement hunter in everyone. You don't stop with the first play through either. You start to want to collect those chaos emeralds (something special happens when you get all 7), unlock bonus stages, get those pictures clips to unlock the bigger pictures, and try your luck in the time trials. This game is nothing short of addictive; the very definition. The only drawback is that the game itself was quite short, but I'll get to that later. 9/10
???Story: To be honest, the story isn't the selling point of this game, or any 2d sonic platformer. It's the common story of good versus. evil with the odd princess here and there. You don't play a sonic game for the story, you play it for the slick platforming and upbeat music. The story is nothing special, but it's not bad either. 6/10
???Depth: Sadly, the game is a bit short, and it's the only thing keeping this game from a perfect 10, but it will keep you busy for a couple hours or more if you decide to unlock the bonus content. It's not the longest sonic game in existence, but it's honestly not that bad either. However, each individual stage is packed to the brim with coins to collect, power-ups to gain, and secrets to find, with each path giving you a slightly different game experience. There's plenty of content, but don't expect this to be your sole game to play when the power goes off for a week. 8/10
???Difficulty: You have a couple options when it comes to this: A normal mode, an easy mode, and a time limit switch. I personally felt like it was a bit on the easy side, aside from collecting the picture clips, those honestly made me want to throw my controller against the wall at times. The game controls well, easy to pick up and play. Also, sonic doesn't feel like a dead fish, he slips and slides around as a speedy hedgehog would really giving a sense of speed to the game. Based on this it's hard to rate the difficulty of this game because it's whatever you want it to be, so I'll give it a 6/10.
III. The Verdict
???This honestly should have been the standard of most handheld games, and it's sad that many others weren't as polished with as much attention to detail as this game was;a true technical marvel. Overall score: 8.3/10 (This score is based off the above. If story and difficulty wasn't a deciding factor, the game would easily be a 9/10)
IV. Final Notes
???Please be gentle as this is my first review. I normally don't review games but when I played this I was just stunned at how well this game was made and felt like I had to tell others. So, there's my 2 cents, for what it's worth. Enjoy. I. Overview
???Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure is a platforming game released in 1999, and its exclusively for the Neo Geo Pocket Color handheld. I would arguably say it's the best game on the system, it's clear that the game designers really cared about the game and tried to emulate the success of the sonic games of old. The result? An incredibly polished game that despite the first impression delivers on all levels. I found this little gem during my marathon where I vowed to play every single sonic game ever released, just for the heck of it.
II. The specifics...
???Graphics: I was actually surprised to learn upon first inspection that the game is actually 16-bit, and although it seems like an 8-bit game at first impression, I quite liked the way the cel-shaded-esque graphics looked, and it fit the theme of the game as well. Sonic is just as smooth as ever, and there is no detraction from anything quality based. That being said, this game looks amazing, it's incredibly impressive how the designers managed to make a game so reminiscent of the old sonic games on the genesis through a different art-style. The pseudo-3d levels differ from this look and feel but still pretty damn good for a handheld game. All in all, definitely not complaining about the graphics. 10/10
???Sound: Every piece of music has it's own theme and feel, and complements the stages really well. A lot of the music is from the sonic games on the genesis; specifically "Sonic 2" (my favorite sonic OST) and "Sonic 3 and Knuckles" but with their own little spin on them. Being a sonic fan, the thing that got me hooked aside from the game was the music. It was enough to make me bob my head and even hum along to the music while I play which added to the experience. The sound files have that "handheld feel" but without sounding choppy or distorted, and overall it's a joy to listen to. I got multiple nostalgia goose bumps while listening to this music and any fan of the series will surely enjoy it as much as I did. Overall, the sound is another selling point of this game and I can't really find any negatives. 10/10
???Addictiveness: Being a sonic fan, I can't say I ever get enough of running at past mach 5 speeds collecting coins, jumping on enemies and showing that eggnog Robotnik what's what. In essence, the game is designed to be addictive as it brings out the perfectionist achievement hunter in everyone. You don't stop with the first play through either. You start to want to collect those chaos emeralds (something special happens when you get all 7), unlock bonus stages, get those pictures clips to unlock the bigger pictures, and try your luck in the time trials. This game is nothing short of addictive; the very definition. The only drawback is that the game itself was quite short, but I'll get to that later. 9/10
???Story: To be honest, the story isn't the selling point of this game, or any 2d sonic platformer. It's the common story of good versus. evil with the odd princess here and there. You don't play a sonic game for the story, you play it for the slick platforming and upbeat music. The story is nothing special, but it's not bad either. 6/10
???Depth: Sadly, the game is a bit short, and it's the only thing keeping this game from a perfect 10, but it will keep you busy for a couple hours or more if you decide to unlock the bonus content. It's not the longest sonic game in existence, but it's honestly not that bad either. However, each individual stage is packed to the brim with coins to collect, power-ups to gain, and secrets to find, with each path giving you a slightly different game experience. There's plenty of content, but don't expect this to be your sole game to play when the power goes off for a week. 8/10
???Difficulty: You have a couple options when it comes to this: A normal mode, an easy mode, and a time limit switch. I personally felt like it was a bit on the easy side, aside from collecting the picture clips, those honestly made me want to throw my controller against the wall at times. The game controls well, easy to pick up and play. Also, sonic doesn't feel like a dead fish, he slips and slides around as a speedy hedgehog would really giving a sense of speed to the game. Based on this it's hard to rate the difficulty of this game because it's whatever you want it to be, so I'll give it a 6/10.
III. The Verdict
???This honestly should have been the standard of most handheld games, and it's sad that many others weren't as polished with as much attention to detail as this game was;a true technical marvel. Overall score: 8.3/10 (This score is based off the above. If story and difficulty wasn't a deciding factor, the game would easily be a 9/10)
IV. Final Notes
???Please be gentle as this is my first review. I normally don't review games but when I played this I was just stunned at how well this game was made and felt like I had to tell others. So, there's my 2 cents, for what it's worth. Enjoy. |
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