I don't know what possessed them to make Sonic Labyrinth 2. Jokes aside Sonic 3D just isn't great no matter what version you play, not awful but decidedly below average. Sonic is strange and unweildly to control with a wide turning circle and a lot of difficulty judging depth or positioning from the isometric view, in the original versions he's slow and slugging and in the Director's Cut the increase to his speed makes him twitchy and uncontrollable whenever precision is called for. Huting down and gathering Flickies feels like a chore that just slows the game down, no different than looking for keys in Labyrinth. The game is both comically easy and frustrating at the same time, avoiding getting hit is a nightmare because of the difficulty in controlling Sonic and judging depth/distance, but there are few threats in the game that will ever actually kill you, just toss your rings and Flickies everywhere. Both soundtracks are great, but while the MegaDrive has higher highs the Saturn has fewer lows. Visually the game is a an oddity, the Saturn version is the nicer looking game but incredibly unimpressive for the console and with poor presentation and menus that resemble stock MS Office 2000 presets where the MegaDrive version is at least somewhat impressive for the hardware. Neither console version seems to run completely smoothly with occasional frame drops, doubly shameful on the Saturn hardware. The PC version, a port of the Saturn version, on a good PC it at least runs great but the sprites/textures are half the resolution of the Saturn and the special stage is outright terrible.

While I was impressed with the Mega Drive version of Sonic 3D Blast, the Saturn version, while looking nicer, is not as nice to play, especially when you add in context that this was the Saturn’s Sonic platformer and what its competition on the rival platform was: Super Mario 64.

This version of 3D Blast is mostly the same game as the Mega Drive version, but with completely different graphics. They’re still not actual 3D, but they look absolutely gorgeous, especially in motion. The downside is that I found it much more difficult to see where I was in relation to the level, resulting in more missed jumps and not hitting enemies. Some of the levels, like Gene Gadget Zone, even made me feel dizzy.

There’s a lot more physics applied to slopes as well, which made those sections frustrating as Sonic will slide and jump off them at odd angles. The ice level is also much worse, due to Sonic slipping much more.

If you want to play 3D Blast, I highly recommend the Mega Drive Director’s Cut version.

For the longest time, I've only been familiar with the Genesis version of Sonic 3D Blast, with the Saturn release being a more unknown factor. Sure, I could've changed this at any point by simply emulating it, but I can count the number of times I've thought "gee, I want to play Sonic 3D Blast" on one hand. An intrusive thought that I'd give about as much weight to as "you should start an electrical fire," it's best to disregard it entirely. Unfortunately, sanity doesn't always prevail and sometimes our hands are guided more by our inner darkness than our conscious mind.

Right out of the gate, the Saturn version of Sonic 3D Blast features a number of improvements, including a full CG intro cutscene that may not be as technically impressive as the one that opens the Genesis version, but which isn't so garbled that it can't be understood by human eyes. Levels also feature more complex surface textures and expanded color pallets, and I really love all the small background details, like monkeys climbing up trees in Green Grove Zone or tiles wobbling beneath Sonic's feet in Rusty Ruins. These touches add a lot of life and vibrancy, and not to knock the Genesis version for working within its limitations, but I think 3D Blast looks much better on the Saturn as a result.

It debatably sounds better, too. There's no question that Jun Senoue's score is filled to the brim with memorable tracks, but Richard Jacques has his own style and it's a damn good one. I'd actually compare this to Sonic CD in that they're radically different yet equally suited to the game, and I can see myself slipping into similar territory where my preference is constantly vacillating between the two. Rusty Ruins and the special stage themes have been stuck in my head all weekend.

Speaking of the special stages, the Saturn version of 3D Blast ditches the Genesis' piss-easy runways in favor of something more akin to Sonic 2, so if you can't stand dodging bombs and collecting rings along winding halfpipes (it's me, I hate it, I am referring to myself here) then I'm afraid I've got some bad news. Being fully 3D and running on more capable hardware does make these stages more manageable, but there's still plenty of instances where the track is made unreadable thanks to sharp turns and poor camera angles, so you can still expect to get blindsided by bombs pretty frequently. A lot of people seem to love these special stages, but I'm not one of them. I'm a Blue Spheres guy, not a Halfpipe guy.

The rest of the game is, regrettably, Sonic 3D Blast. I got a little more mileage out of the alternate soundtrack and improved graphics, but dealing with Sonic's unwieldy controls and awkward hitboxes makes collecting Flickies a chore no matter which console you play it on.

Last night I played with a couple of friends to Sonic 3D Blast. I remembered this game like it was funny, but actually is quite bad.

The gameplay is based on searching five birds, the Flickies, throught to open-stages and finally leading them to a goal. This idea feels original but it is poorly carried out due to the roughness of the controls, and the lack of variety between levels. Also, as you progresses on the game, the levels became more unfair instead of challenging. On the other hand, the music of the game is really good and the improved graphics of the saturn version are so cool.

In conclusion, I really don't recommend playing Sonic 3D Blast unleast you have nostalgia or you are a truly Sonic fan