Sonic the Hedgehog was first introduced to gamers worldwide on June 23 1991 and, since then, has become not only SEGA’s most enduring and popular character but also a beloved videogame icon. In keeping with tradition, I will be dedicating the entire month to celebrating SEGA’s supersonic mascot.
Released: 23 November 1993
Developer: Aspect
Also Available For: GameCube, Game Gear, Game Gear Micro, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox, Xbox One, Xbox Series S. Xbox Series X
The Background:
Sonic the Hedgehog was the major hit SEGA needed to knock Nintendo off their pedestal and assert themselves into the “Console Wars” of the nineties. However, while SEGA were all in on aggressively pushing their 16-bit Mega Drive console, Sonic also appeared on their 8-bit machines, the Master System and Game Gear, as part of their plan to capitalise on Sonic’s mainstream popularity and success. Though noticeably more obscure and divisive in their reception compared to their 16-bit counterparts, Sonic the Hedgehog (Ancient, 1991) and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Aspect, 1992) reviewed well and SEGA turned to Aspect to develop a third game, which the developers aimed to be faster and more detailed than its predecessors. Although Sonic Chaos only released on the Master System in PAL regions, the Game Gear version became a top-seller in the United States and it was highly praised at the time. Contemporary reviews may not be as favourable, but I’ve always had a soft spot for the Master System Sonic titles as they were my introduction to the franchise and I can still remember purchasing my copy of this game over thirty years ago and enjoying how much it mirrored its 16-bit cousins.
The Plot:
In another mad effort to conquer the world, Doctor Eggman steals the red Chaos Emerald, upsetting the balance between the remaining five jewels and causing them to not only scatter, but South Island to sink into the sea! South Island’s only hope are Sonic the Hedgehog and his two-tailed buddy, Miles “Tails” Prower, who set out to recover the Chaos Emeralds and stop Dr. Eggman before it’s too late!
Gameplay:
Like its predecessors, Sonic Chaos is an 8-bit action platformer in which you must race through six levels (known as “Zones”), each split into three parts (or “Acts”), with a boss battled in the third Act, collecting Golden Rings to stave off death and smashing Badniks for points. Unlike the last two 8-bit titles, Sonic Chaos is the closest to its 16-bit counterparts; not only are animations and mechanics from its bigger, better cousins included for the first time, but the game is much faster and finally includes Tails as a playable character, essentially making this closer to Sonic 2 than the actual 8-bit Sonic 2. Being that it’s a Master System title, there are only two buttons to worry about and they both do the same thing: pressing Button 1 or 2 will see your character jump and holding the button will see them jump a bit higher. However, when you use the directional pad (D-pad) in conjunction with Button 1 or 2, you get a few different results; both characters charge up and release a Spin Dash with down and a button and have unique abilities for when you press up and a button. Sonic will charge up a standing run (the “Strike Dash”) not unlike the Super Peel-Out and Tails will briefly fly for a short time. Because Tails’ flight isn’t activated by double pressing a button like on the Mega Drive, it’s a little clunky to pull off and not as useful for saving you from sudden bottomless pits, and the actual flying controls are equally awkward as Tails feels oddly “heavy” when in the air. Finally, you can press up and down to scroll the screen and check for hazards (and duck, in the latter case) and also hold down when running to roll into a ball, as standard, to plough through Badniks, monitors, and certain walls. Equally familiar is the ten-minute time limit assigned to every Act, though Acts are so short that it’s highly unlikely you’ll get caught out by this and you should breeze through every Act in under two minutes as they’re not very long, though there are often branching paths (with the highest being the fastest and safest route).
Since Sonic Chaos’ main unique gimmicks are in its power-ups, you won’t see much new in terms of Zone layout; loops, mobius strips, moving and crumbling platforms, and spikes all make an appearance, as you’d expect, but there are fair few boost pads scattered around to send you speeding ahead as well. Equally prominent in later Zones are the booster tubes that rocket you around at high speed, forcing you to make split second D-pad presses to reach secret monitors and new areas or avoid being sent around in a loop or plummeting to your death. Bottomless pits and spike beds are commonplace here, with some Acts requiring precision platforming to small or falling platforms to clear them, which can be a bit tricky as Sonic and Tails are noticeably slipperier this time around and struggle with their traction. You’ll venture underwater, where you’ll be blasted about by water jets and must grab air bubbles to avoid drowning, ride minecarts down slopes (hopping into tubes or to platforms at the last second), run across conveyor belts and laser-firing pressure pads, and encounter an unusual number of springs. Even Badniks have springs on them here, and they’re also at odd angles on walls, meaning you’ll be bounced around like a pinball, often precariously close to a death pit or under a ceiling full of spikes or destructible blocks, which can be somewhat disorientating. As the game progresses, cheap hazards and death pits increase, something that will Game Gear players to struggle thanks to the reduced screen size. When hit, some of your Rings will scatter for you to recollect, which is an improvement over the last game, and none of the finicky gimmicks from Sonic 2 return here, which is a blessing, though Sonic Chaos could’ve used a few of its own to make its Zones stand out a little more.
Graphics and Sound:
While I still prefer Sonic’s sprite from the first 8-bit title, Sonic had never looked better in 8-bit than at this point; he’s larger, a little more detailed, and much more expressive when left idle. Many of his animations (jumping, bouncing off springs) are taken from the 16-bit Sonic 2, which adds a degree of legitimacy to the game not shared by its previous 8-bit titles, and he even does a little victory lap upon defeating the Zone’s boss. Sadly, Tails doesn’t come off quite as well; while he’s cute enough and has his own idle animation, his tails only animate when flying or running and disappear completely when jumping; he also can’t swim, which is a bit of a shame, though I liked how he trots far behind Sonic in the opening cutscene. In terms of music, Sonic Chaos does alright but is painfully limited by its hardware. Many tracks are recycled from Sonic 2 or a garbled, distorted mess and the only tracks I really enjoyed were the various boss tunes, which create a sense of dread and excitement every time the heads-up display vanishes and the boss looms into view. Performance-wise, Sonic Chaos also struggles; if there’s a lot on the screen then the game slows down significantly, meaning you really don’t want to take damage when there’s moving platforms and Badniks on the screen as it slows to a crawl and can mess up your counterattack. Sprite flickering and screen tearing are equally common, which is a shame as it plays well – and much faster than the last two games – when everything’s running smoothly.
Sonic Chaos follows a similar formula to the last game, beginning with a basic sprite-based cutscene and then throwing the title screen at you before you get into the action. Zones are nothing really new or special beyond some minor exceptions; you start out in Turquoise Hill Zone, the grassy, palm tree introductory Zone now so synonymous with Sonic titles. You can see the sea, some islands, and checkerboard walls in the background and run through loops and winding strips, making this feel like a statement that the Master System can pull off what the Mega Drive did so well. Gigalopolis Zone is a sprawling mechanical city with skyscrapers and twinkling lights in the background that showcases that the Master System was capable of more than just blank, low detail backgrounds; however, the Zone is a bit cluttered, especially in the foreground. Things are a little clearer in Sleeping Egg Zone, though you’ll be bouncing about the mossy ruins so much that you can easily fall down the many bottomless pits hidden from view. Green Hill Zone returns for the third time in a row, this time covered in metal, with bombs up the palm trees, bottomless pits everywhere, mechanical blocks sitting under the grass, and gears and other devices poking up from the ground. Aqua Planet Zone is, again, like a do over of Labyrinth Zone, featuring painfully slow underwater sections and ancient ruins, while Electric Egg Zone is a visual nightmare of conflicting colours, high speed tubes, lasers, and cheap hazards. If I’m honest, I think I preferred the visual variety in the 8-bit Sonic 2; take that and add in the faster, less aggravating gameplay of Sonic Chaos and you’d have something much more enjoyable and closer to the 16-bit games, for sure.
Enemies and Bosses:
Although four of Sonic Chaos’s small selection of Badniks will be familiar to seasoned Sonic players, the new ones don’t exactly break the bank and destroying them still doesn’t release a woodland critter back into the wild. The four you should recognise are the Buzz Bombers (who strangely lack their stinger projectile attack) and the Motobug-like Boing-o-Bit, which has a spring on its back to protect it from your jumping spin and to launch you into any ceiling spikes. The Bombin enemies are similar to the ones from the 16-bit Sonic 1; they sit right in your path, usually between laser hazards or on crumbling bridges, and explode in a shower of debris soon after. Anyone who’s played through the 8-bit Sonic 2 will remember the bird-like Mecha Hiyokos, who appear in clusters and hop about and also herald the appearance of the Aqua Planet Zone boss. New Badniks are the beetle-like Metal-o Turtle that just move back and forth trying to ram you, the bizarre Veg-o Bots that offer exactly the same attack pattern, and Frogger, a spring-loaded Badnik that bounces about. Badniks don’t appear all that often, though you’ll usually be surprised by them when you’re bouncing about and they’re often hovering near or over springs, pits, and spikes, slowing down the action and making you double think your jump.
Like in the 8-bit Sonic 2, each Zone ends with a battle against one of Dr. Eggman’s “Master Robots”, larger Badniks or robotic creations that must be bested in a short third Act that hides some scarce Rings and miniature platforming challenges. The first Master Robot is the Lady Bug, essentially an enlarged Boing-o Bot that’s impervious to aerial attack thanks to the giant spring on its back but which folds like paper if you just ram it with the Spin Dash over and over. Gigalopolis Zone’s Bead Worm resembles a giant Caterkiller and puts up a bit more of a fight; it’ll launch its spherical body at you and can only be damaged by hitting its head, but as its body just bounces you away when still attached it’s not exactly a gruelling fight. Things get much trickier when battling the Bouncy Boss Robot; this Dr. Eggman-branded unit bounces about on a spring, occasionally performing a big jump to try and squish you, but it’s greatest threat comes from the bullets it fires and the bounce back upon hitting it, which can drop you right in the path of its fire so you really need to grab the Rings for this fight. Mecha Green Hill Zone’s Tree Crawler is a bit of a step back, especially if you continuously bounce on top of it, rendering its straight shot and spread projectile and crushing slam completely ineffectual. This is a good strategy for the Sphere-o Bot, too, though this boss can be troublesome; it also bounces around firing bullets, which is bad enough, but it’ll send missiles raining into the arena when you defeat it, which can be difficult to dodge because of janky hit boxes. The fight against Dr. Eggman is similarly two-phased; he plods back and forth in his Laser Walker mech, firing a single shot or an annoying bolt that ricochets all over the place, usually right into your bounce back off a successful hit to his cockpit or a useless blow to his craft. After enough hits, he transforms into a flying craft and tries to ram you; you must hit his cockpit or you’ll instantly die, but one well-timed hit and the game’s finished.
Power-Ups and Bonuses:
As ever, Sonic and Tails can grab Golden Rings for health and smash monitors for power-ups. You can grab ten additional Rings, a temporary speed up or period of invincibility, but no shield this time around. Passing by the Bonus Panel at the end of Act 1 or 2 will also grant you a Ring bonus or continue, depending on which character appears, and your Rings, speed, and final score are all tallied at the end of each Act. As mentioned, Sonic Chaos’ biggest unique gimmicks are in the new power-ups: Sonic can grab a pair of Rocket Shoes to temporarily (if awkwardly) rocket through the sky, passing over huge chunks of Acts or collecting Rings in Special Stages. Both characters can also jump on the new Hop Springs to be launched higher into the air, but these are also very difficult to control and bashing into platforms, even just a glancing blow, will cause you to lose the power-up and plummet to the ground (and, most likely, down a pit).
Additional Features:
I mentioned Special Stages just then and, yes, they do appear here, finally mirroring their format from the 16-bit games as they hide one of five Chaos Emeralds but, in typical 8-bit Sonic fashion, with a strange twist. First, only Sonic can enter Special Stages and he must do so by collecting 100 Rings; if Tails gets 100 Rings, all he gets is an extra life and he’ll never see the game’s true ending, effectively making Tails the game’s “easy mode”. Sonic, however, is teleported to a maze-like sub area and given about one minute to find a Chaos Emerald, collecting regular sixed Rings and Giant Rings for extra lives and the odd stopwatch to freeze time here and there. You’ll be racing through the sky on the Rocket Shoes, bouncing on platforms with the Hop Spring, steering Sonic through tubes, clearing gaps with your regular jump and hidden springs, and navigating a far larger, more complex tube maze to find all five gems. In my entire life of playing this game, which is some thirty years as of this writing, I’ve only ever gotten the first two Chaos Emeralds, so Dr. Eggman always escapes from me at the end of the game, but I’d wager save state manipulation on the modern ports of the game would make getting all five marginally easier.
The Summary:
My first exposure to Sonic the Hedgehog was on the Master System; I still praise his 8-bit adventures for daring to try something different and not just be downgraded ports of the 16-bit games, but it’s hard to argue against them being flawed, even sub-par experiences compared to the Mega Drive titles. Sonic Chaos seeks to rectify that and largely succeeds; it’s the closest to the 16-bit games the Master System would ever get, featuring far more detailed sprites and environments that make its predecessors seem crude by comparison. The addition of Tails was a welcome inclusion, and I was glad (and surprised) to see his flying abilities retained and Sonic’s skillset expanded at last. The structure of the Zones is also much closer to the 16-bit games, while still being their own thing (with a strange emphasis on springs), though they’re much too short to really be all that memorable and the slowdown really hampers the overall gameplay experience. I’m also not a fan of the Special Stage entry requirements or execution; again, it’s more like the 16-bit games to not have the Chaos Emeralds hidden in Acts but their maze-like structure is a bit of a pain. I did like the new Rocket Shoes, but they weren’t used as much as the cover art would lead you to believe, and I enjoyed most of the bosses, even though some were ridiculously easy, and others were a little cheap and/or frustrating. In the end, Sonic Chaos is the 8-bit Sonic adventure we should’ve gotten with Sonic 2 and shows the potential the Master System had at offering something much closer to its bigger, better counterpart and is definitely worth your time if you were unimpressed by the previous 8-bit games and wanted to see something more familiar.
My Rating:
Pretty Good
Was Sonic Chaos apart of your Master System or Game Gear library back in the day? How do you think it compares to the previous 8-bit games and where would you rank it amongst them? Were you glad to see Tails added as a playable character and to see Sonic’s abilities expanded? What did you think to the Rocket Shoes and the Special Stages? Which of the Zones and bosses was your favourite? Did you ever find the five Chaos Emeralds and see the good ending? How are you celebrating Sonic’s anniversary this month and which games are your favourites? Whatever you think about Sonic Chaos, share your thoughts below and go check out my other Sonic content across the site!
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