Updated 04-May-2020.
Mondo shtuff from around the internet, all about SONIC 3D BLAST!
My botty best at summarizing from Wikipedia: Sonic 3D Blast is a 1996 platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series for the Sega Genesis and Sega Saturn . the player embarks on a journey to save the Flickies, birds enslav most of the programming was outsourced to the British studio Traveller’s Tales . development lasted eight months, and the team drew inspiration from Donkey Kong Country (1994) and Sonic Labyrinth (19 Sonic 3D Blast was the final Sonic game for the Genesis . critics were directed at its isometric gameplay, controls, and pace . an unofficial director’s cut version was released by the Genesis version’s lead players control Sonic the Hedgehog, whose goal is to save the Flickies and collect the seven Chaos Emeralds . Sonic retains most of his abilities from prior games: he can jump and spin in mid-air to Sonic 3D Blast includes “special stages” in which the player collects Chaos Emeralds . if Sonic is hit by an obstacle or enemy, the Flickies and rings Sonic collected will scatter . blue, pink and orange Sonic’s friends are hidden within a level and must collect at least 50 rings . this allows the player to play the game’s special stage . a certain number of rings need to be obtained at certain checkpoints to “Final Fight” level allows a final boss fight and the good ending of the game . if player collects all seven Chaos Emeralds, Sonic proceeds into a black void . Sonic engages in a Sega had discontinued official support for the Genesis in 1995 . the game’s basic concept was conceived by Sonic Team during the development of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994) most of the programming was done by the British studio Travel the game was developed from scratch in eight months, beginning in July 1995 . it was originally titled Sonic Spindrift . the game had a unique full motion video intro sequence . the team decided to use 3D instead of 2D because they thought “it was time for something new” inspiration for the isometric viewpoint was drawn from Sonic Labyrinth (1995) and Super Mario RPG (1996) the game was ported in seven weeks, during development of the Sega Genesis version . the game features graphical changes, such as weather effects and higher resolution textures . Sonic Team filled in for development of special stage in the Saturn version of the game . the team attempted to rework X-treme into bonus stages . but they were unable to properly transfer Sonic’s model from the Saturn version was released in North America in fall and in Europe on February 1997 . the Genesis version was not physically released in Japan; only the Saturn port was, on October 14, 1999 . a port of the Sega Saturn version the Genesis version of the game is available in several Sonic-themed compilations . it was digitally rereleased for the Wii’s Virtual Console in 2007 . the Saturn version was also a commercial success . “sonic the Hedgehog 2” is one of the best Sonic games of all time . the game’s goal is to destroy enemies and land on moving platforms . critics call the game “an exercise in tedium reviewers were more positive about the game’s presentation . reviewers felt it was a “nice departure” from the style of side-scrolling Sonic games . reviewers praise the game’s graphics and sound . the game bore a welcome resemblance to its Genesis predecessors . reviewers also praise the return of the ring-scattering sound effect and similarly “some of the sharpest graphics we have ever seen,” says Game Revolution . a subscore of 7.5/10 is the highest of any element of the game . Entertainment Weekly notes the game’s unusually similar presentation on the game’s controls are considerably improved with the Saturn’s analog controller, though Sushi-X finds it of little help . in retrospect, the game has been viewed more negatively; some journalists called one of the worst games the game is remembered as a black sheep in the franchise . a loose adaptation of the game also appeared in issues 104 through 106 of Sonic the Comic . Burton released an unofficial director’s cut patch for Sonic 3D Blast in 2017 . improved controls and additions include a level editor, password save system and time attack challenges . in 2017, Burton released a unofficial directors