Sonic CD

[Jess]

Sonic CDeez nuts lmao gottem (art by vadapega)

(I haven't actually played Sonic CD except like, once on android and I was like "wow it's sonic!" and never played again lmao)

[sertimus]

This is a romhack I can get behind. B)

That said, even having a SEGA Genesis and Windows 95 back then, I didn't play this game until I got Sonic GEMS Collection for the GameCube. The experience felt somewhat visceral for me. As slower as it felt compared to previous games, the combination of level design and soundtrack really hit me the most.

Spoiler

The boss fight with Metal Sonic

was especially very memorable.

EDIT: I'm so spoiled by Discord that I didn't think the spoiler tag would generate a block element, lmao

[Jess]

Metal Sonic is a very memorable character I think

[NovaSquirrel]

Just like with Sonic 3 & Knuckles, I think my first experiences with it were in the Windows version, played on a Windows 98 PC. I never finished it but I'm pretty sure I've gotten to Metallic Madness Zone? I think the time travel mechanic is cool but it feels wasted on a game where the zones are all just kind of abstract; imagine seeing what Oil Ocean Zone would've been like in the past. I'm more into the Japanese soundtrack than the US one but there's definitely lots of good stuff in both.

[Jess]

I've seen screenshots and videos of the stages in Sonic CD and....... well they got graphics, I'll give them that, and you'll definitely be looking at those graphics lmao

[Kirbizard]

I have never finished Sonic CD, it's one of the only classic Sonic games I never grew up with, I didn't even know the Mega CD existed as a kid and I seem to find it harder to get invested in when I go back to play it.

It sure is a videogame that looks nice and apparently it introduced Amy and Metal Sonic, so it's probably good. :)

[Sharb]

My only notes on sonic CD is that the game's a lot more fun to explore with knuckles and I don't trust anyone who likes the jump sound in CD over 1/2/3's jump sound

[Skirmisher]

Just like with Sonic 3 & Knuckles, I think my first experiences with it were in the Windows version, played on a Windows 98 PC. I never finished it but I'm pretty sure I've gotten to Metallic Madness Zone?

Haha that was me too kinda. I wasn't the best at the 2D Sonics as a kid and barely got anywhere in CD for sure. The vibe with the loading screens and the disc drive seeking and the pauses before the music started playing each time it switched, not to mention the US soundtrack being as wild and goofy as it was... Windows gaming was a whoooole trip, huh. (As best I recall, I've basically never played anything on an actual Sega/Mega CD, though I have played games half-emulated on Genesis flash carts.)

Tangent about my early history with Sonic games lol

I grew up with a weird introduction to Sonic games, where I played specifically Sonic 1 and 2 on the Genesis when visiting my grandma occasionally (several states away), but it was the early-to-mid-2000s and it was the only console she had which she bought for herself ages ago along with a handful of games, sitting in the basement under a CRT. Otherwise I had like Sonic R (on one of those "eXpert software" discs that didn't have the music!!! yes that's real! I never listened to the whole soundtrack until like 2017!) and Sonic CD, both for Win95/98 and obviously quite old by the time I played them... Also I played like a 1-hour demo of Sonic 1 on RealArcade?! I guess??

And then I heard about Heroes and played it on PC around the time it came out, and only years later read about Sonic Adventure DX and got a parent to buy me a copy off Amazon, and was fascinated by it... I had absolutely no clue the Dreamcast existed until I discovered one in a comic shop in 2012 LMAO

Hey actually does anyone remember the like falling-block-ish Flash minigame (or whatever it was) that was on the official Heroes site pre-release??? I have never tried to find info about this, but it's a vague yet persistent memory I have that I'm intrigued by every time I recall it. I think it played the main menu music track from the actual game?

[Jess]

You reminded me that for the longest time I didn't like Sonic, but in retrospect, for the longest time I only had ever played Sonic 1 at my sister's husband's (at the time) place, so I just thought that all Sonic games were like that lmao

Then I played Sonic Generations and I was like, hey this is alright actually

I think I also didn't like Sonic's attitude? But later I found out that that's pretty surface level and that Sonic is actually a good guy

[Foxxhoria]

I never knew about Sonic CD until like five or so years ago when I started hearing more about old consoles and other Sonic games, and at that point it came across like "the cool Sonic you can't have", although I know it was also released on places where it's easy to have it heh. But the Mega CD and subsequently Sonic CD always had this air of mystique about it, and once I started getting older consoles for myself, I decided I'd save dispelling the mystique until I could actually play it on a real Mega CD heh.

And so it came that I got one! And I've played it now. And with the cool soundtrack, since the PAL release didn't change the music from the original Japanese release hehe >:3

And I enjoyed it! I always preferred the exploration aspect of the classic Sonic games, and Sonic CD seems to be treated as a black sheep precisely because it focuses way more on that. But that made me enjoy it more than the other classic three in many ways (but S3&K is probably still the best overall package hehe).
The one place it lost a bit of steam for me was Stardust Speedway; the aesthetic was all so samey so even I had to focus very hard to keep track of where I was and where the things I needed to use to get where I wanted to go were. I didn't get past that level on the one time I played it. I think I'd be able to in future though, just didn't get enough chance heh. It also has probably my least favourite music of the levels I've played so far, too, though it still has a groove heh.

Love the (original) soundtrack though, hehe. The start of Palmtree Panic's music is iconic, I feel. Really announces the game's presence and justifies that Redbook audio :P