Now to be honest with you guys, when a movie or video game franchise finally reaches it's third installment, things can go either two or so ways, It can go the Indiana Jones three way and become quite possibly the best installment of the franchise, OR it can go the teenage mutant ninja turtles three route AND become the worst of the entire franchise, Well It is no surprise that Sonic the hedgehog has finally reached his third installment in his series, and I have yet to see what this one will be like! But anyways, this is Sonic the hedgehog three for the Sega genesis.

Story-7/10
The main plot of this game goes a little more or way deeper then the previous two installments, but here It is, It has been a year or so since you stopped Dr robotnik's mechanical death egg in Sonic the hedgehog two, HOORAY, HOORAY, HOORAY! But just when you though it was all over, Just wait till you see what has happened next, The game opens up with Sonic and tails flying to a mysterious Island call the floating island, Sonic then super sonics his way there, and right when he gets there, He is immediately stopped by this Red fellow named Knuckles the echidna Who has become one of the more prominent characters in the series and a long time buddy of Sonic AND tail, but anyways, Meanwhile, we then discover that Dr robotnik's death egg has crash landed on the island! He then detects sight of a mysterious emerald on the island, He lastly discovers that he can find the power of the emeralds and thus bring the Death egg back to life all in once piece! Knuckles then agrees to aid Sonic and tails on their journey, and so It begins, Can Sonic and tails bring down the doctor for the third time? Or will they end up falling to their death? Let's find out shall we?

Gameplay-8/10
Main gameplay in Sonic the hedgehog three has somewhat changed for the better, I mean, There are alot of new things to do and such in the game! And here is what is up, Well first, this game actually uses a save feature! Which means that you can save your game data and pick up from where you last left off, Second, The game offers various modes of play, Just sonic, just tails, or you can play as Sonic AND tails! Toejam and earl anyone? So anyways, in Sonc the hedgehog three, you take the role of Sonic and tails ONCE again, as you run, jump, and dash your way through more then 6 various worlds and levels! Along the way, Sonic and tails will be defeating robotnik and his evil baddies in each world! The controls are pretty simple, You use the D-pad to move, you press A B and C to jump, and well, that is pretty much all! The level design in this game has quite changed! First game was 2 platforming levels and a boss at the end, Second game was one platforming level and one boss level, and thankfully the level structure this time around has gone back to normal! It is just two platforming levels, and then comes the boss! In each level, there are these giant rings that will take you a big 3D special stage! Here you control sonic and tails as you guide them through this big 3D level collecting all the blue circles and avoiding the red ones, If you hit any red ones, It is all over. The game also introduces two new types of levels to the mix as well, You get a couple of snowboarding levels where you ride a sled down the snowy hill, And there is also one stage where you control Super sonic and roar through the night sky! Anyways, Everything here besides that still feels really fresh and innovative, and that is for the best! At the end of each world, Sonic and tails will have to fight a big and huge boss that will take alot of strategy and thinking to beat. Anyways, that Is all pretty much it for the gameplay!

Graphics-9/10
This game was released in 1994, and for what it is worth, It looks really darn good! Actually, It looks like without a doubt the best looking sonic game on the genesis! When you boot up the game, you are greeted with a big fancy and colorful title screen with Sonic doing the wink finger at you, and that looks pretty good. But if there is one thing I just love about this game, It has GOT to be all the levels! The levels this time around arrange from glaciers, jungles, underwater temples, and so on! Now for the actual character sprites, they look pretty okay as well, Sonic and tails look all brand new and refurbished, and That is a plus, But the main cast of characters in this game has vaguely changed for the better! We now have Sonic, tails, knuckles the echidna, and last but not least, Dr robotnik! The HUD is pretty self explanatory, It shows your rings, lives, score, and that is It.

Sound-8/10
Out of all the sonic games I have reviewed on the genesis so far, You got to really hand it to Sega, as they have made Sonic the hedgehog three's soundtrack without a doubt one of the catchiest soundtracks in a while! I mean. What IS a sonic game without some funky and cool music to go with it? Nothing! But anyways, each level after the last has cute, charming, happy, bright, and just overall awesome music to go with it! Be it the underwater temples of HYDROcity, the big starry casino of Carnival night zone, Or the final hour feel of the launch base! Now for the sound effects, they are your typical fare as well, Not that it is a bad thing, I mean some old things are great you know! But anyways, for the sound effects, you get some typical stuff like the rings, the jump, the shield, and so on. And they are all very cartoony and awesome sound effects in general. Now while the music in each level can get really repetitive sometimes, It is no problem!

Addictiveness-8/10
This game was pretty darn fun back in 1994, and my opinions on it still haven't melted away just yet! The things that make sonic's adventures so darn addictive is just all the speed, action, and fun there is to it! As I have addressed before, Sonic is such a cool character to control! He is agile, fast, and cool! No wonder why we all love him! But anyways, another thing that makes this game fun is collecting all the various extras! As with the previous two installments, there are tons of things to collect, Chaos emeralds, extra lives, etc. And speaking of lives, I always end this game with over 20 of them! Yeah, It seems they give out lives like candy in this game.

Depth-8/10
This is the third installment of the series, so of course this game has to offer the most out of all other ones before it! But anyways, this one offers quite alot to do! And here is what is up with this game, Well to start off, the game offers over six big worlds each with three levels, so get ready for a long 2-3 hour quest! Hmm...the game also offers over seven or so chaos emeralds to collect by completing those special stages! Collect all of them and you can turn into Super sonic at ANY time! One last thing, the game once again offers that two-player mode from Sonic the hedgehog two, you know, the one where you and a friend can race each other through any of the game's levels? Yeah, this game does It better though, more levels and characters! I remembered playing this mode and It didn't disappoint one bit!

Difficulty-7/10
Now to be completely fair with you guys, this one in my opinion is actually one of the more harder sonic games I have played on the genesis! Here are some reasons why, some of the levels in this game are way too big and so you can easily get lost! (Marble zone Act 2, I will destroy you!) But oh well, the game is supposed to be challenging you know! That is why us gamers play video games! To be entertained, to be challenged, and so on! But if you are good, then this game won't give you THAT much of a hard time.

Overall-10/10
You must buy this game now! It is without a doubt the best Sonic game for the genesis! I mean, it has everything you loved from the first two games, but just made really really better! I gave this game a 10 because It is fun, challenging, cute, charming, and I ran out of compliments! But anyways, just buy this amazing game! You won't be disappointed guys! So anyways, this has been RedHotToddy's 115th review! So see you guys later or tomorrow in my 116th review!