This games certainly a weird one isn't it?
On the one hand there's a lot I enjoyed, the music is great, I prefer the jp/eu ost but the us ost is nothing to scoff at either, with my favourites being stardust speedway from the jp/eu side (all time periods) and tidal tempest on the us side (present), the themes are quite creative too and the pixel artwork is superb especially for the time. The music and theming help give this game it's own identity, something only this game can replicate. On the gameplay side of things I enjoy the super-peel out, I think sonic controls just fine, levels can be enjoyable and the special stages aren't too bad either, not great but miles better than sonic 1s and 2s (you can retry them as many times as ya like too!). The time travel gimmick of the game is a neat idea, it's always a treat warping to a new time period and seeing how different the level looks and sounds.
This specific version of the game makes it all look nice, adds a few tweeks here and there, and a nice menu to boot, as well as a playable tails, time attack, achievments, choosing which ost to play and extras.
Now for the iffy stuff, First off travelling through time can be a pain, for the most part I didn't have too much of a hard time building up speed for the past, but there are some levels where you'll definitely have a bit of trouble and it doesn't help how the future sign-posts are everywhere meaning it's easy to end up in the future by accident, same goes for finding the generators/ holograms, some are fun to find, others you'll need a guide. The level design can either be good or bad, it constantly flip-flops depending on what you're doing in the level, though there are some design choices that are persistent no matter your style of gameplay, mainly that the game is often filled with things that'll fling, bounce, crush, launch you and so on.
Let me break it down, for sonic cd, I like to categorise the levels into 3 types, 1) Levels that are fun to play through casually and explore. 2) Levels that are fun to play casually, not explore. And 3) Levels that are fun to explore, but not play through casually.
Lets take 3 levels for example, you have a level like palmtree panic which is fun to play through casually and to explore (finding the generators/ holograms), then there's a stage like stardust speedway which is fun enough to play through casually but exploring is a pain due to the level design clearly not being built for that, and lastly there's a stage like quartz quadrant which is fun to explore, but playing casually there's not much too it if you just blast through it. With these quirks in mind playing through the game is going to be a different experience for everyone, unlike other sonic games, no one can seem to agree whether this one's any good or not, If you blast through it the game might be a short enjoyable adventure or leave you wondering what you just played, but then if you explore and go for 100% you'll either be left with the feeling of satisfaction or annoyance.
It was weird for me, I was going after all the achievments and ended up doing 2 playthroughs, both 100%, and my first playthrough I had a pretty good time, it was all new to me and I ended up finding all the generators/ holograms pretty easily, randomly stumbling upon them, being flung in the right place at the right time. However on my second playthrough, that wasn't the case, I had a harder time finding a few of em and I started to notice half the level design is poorly designed. This is why I'm giving it 3 and a half stars, I just can't pin point exactly what I think.
At the end of the day, Sonic CD can be fun time, it has a lot of things I enjoy, but also a lot of finicky stuff that bogs it down, I recommend if you're a sonic fan or just curious, please give it a go and see what you think.
(If ya made it this far here's a tip, if you're going for 100% make sure to save the last time stone for act 2 of the final area, metallic madness, as getting all the time stones will destroy all generators/ holograms, thus meaning you'll be unable to get the Saviour of the Planet achievment, so just make sure you destory all the generators/ holograms before grabbing the last stone. PS, 1) There are no more metal sonic holograms in metallic madness, after you beat him in stardust speedway act 3 and (2) You CANNOT get the achievements with Tails)
On the one hand there's a lot I enjoyed, the music is great, I prefer the jp/eu ost but the us ost is nothing to scoff at either, with my favourites being stardust speedway from the jp/eu side (all time periods) and tidal tempest on the us side (present), the themes are quite creative too and the pixel artwork is superb especially for the time. The music and theming help give this game it's own identity, something only this game can replicate. On the gameplay side of things I enjoy the super-peel out, I think sonic controls just fine, levels can be enjoyable and the special stages aren't too bad either, not great but miles better than sonic 1s and 2s (you can retry them as many times as ya like too!). The time travel gimmick of the game is a neat idea, it's always a treat warping to a new time period and seeing how different the level looks and sounds.
This specific version of the game makes it all look nice, adds a few tweeks here and there, and a nice menu to boot, as well as a playable tails, time attack, achievments, choosing which ost to play and extras.
Now for the iffy stuff, First off travelling through time can be a pain, for the most part I didn't have too much of a hard time building up speed for the past, but there are some levels where you'll definitely have a bit of trouble and it doesn't help how the future sign-posts are everywhere meaning it's easy to end up in the future by accident, same goes for finding the generators/ holograms, some are fun to find, others you'll need a guide. The level design can either be good or bad, it constantly flip-flops depending on what you're doing in the level, though there are some design choices that are persistent no matter your style of gameplay, mainly that the game is often filled with things that'll fling, bounce, crush, launch you and so on.
Let me break it down, for sonic cd, I like to categorise the levels into 3 types, 1) Levels that are fun to play through casually and explore. 2) Levels that are fun to play casually, not explore. And 3) Levels that are fun to explore, but not play through casually.
Lets take 3 levels for example, you have a level like palmtree panic which is fun to play through casually and to explore (finding the generators/ holograms), then there's a stage like stardust speedway which is fun enough to play through casually but exploring is a pain due to the level design clearly not being built for that, and lastly there's a stage like quartz quadrant which is fun to explore, but playing casually there's not much too it if you just blast through it. With these quirks in mind playing through the game is going to be a different experience for everyone, unlike other sonic games, no one can seem to agree whether this one's any good or not, If you blast through it the game might be a short enjoyable adventure or leave you wondering what you just played, but then if you explore and go for 100% you'll either be left with the feeling of satisfaction or annoyance.
It was weird for me, I was going after all the achievments and ended up doing 2 playthroughs, both 100%, and my first playthrough I had a pretty good time, it was all new to me and I ended up finding all the generators/ holograms pretty easily, randomly stumbling upon them, being flung in the right place at the right time. However on my second playthrough, that wasn't the case, I had a harder time finding a few of em and I started to notice half the level design is poorly designed. This is why I'm giving it 3 and a half stars, I just can't pin point exactly what I think.
At the end of the day, Sonic CD can be fun time, it has a lot of things I enjoy, but also a lot of finicky stuff that bogs it down, I recommend if you're a sonic fan or just curious, please give it a go and see what you think.
(If ya made it this far here's a tip, if you're going for 100% make sure to save the last time stone for act 2 of the final area, metallic madness, as getting all the time stones will destroy all generators/ holograms, thus meaning you'll be unable to get the Saviour of the Planet achievment, so just make sure you destory all the generators/ holograms before grabbing the last stone. PS, 1) There are no more metal sonic holograms in metallic madness, after you beat him in stardust speedway act 3 and (2) You CANNOT get the achievements with Tails)