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| Sonic CD |
Overview
Story
Notes
PC Version
Cheats / Secrets
Last Updated: 12.26.05 |
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Developer:
Sega
Publisher:
Sega
Platform:
Sega CD
Players:
1-2 |
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 11.19.93
 10.93
 9.23.93
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Rereleases
PC:
Sonic CD
Sega Mega Pack
Sonic CD/ Sonic & Knuckles Collection
Nintendo Gamecube:
Sonic Gems Collection
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Staff Credits:.
Executive Producer:
Hayao Nakayama
Producer:
Minaru Kanar Makoto Oshitani
Game Directors:
Hiroaki Chino
Kenichi Ono
Yuichiro Yokoyama
Takao Miyoshi
Akira Noshino
Chief Programmer:
Matsuhide Mizoguchi
Assistant Programmers:
Yuichi Matsuoka
Hiroshi Takei
Tatsuya Satoh
Noritaka Yakita
Character Design:
Kazuyuki Hoshino
Zone Artists :
Hiroyuki Kawaguchi
Takumi Miyake
Mashahiro Sanpei
Masato Nishimura
Hideaki Kurata
Chief Artist:
Hiroyuki Kawaguchi
Special Stage Art & CG:
Kazuyuki Hoshino
Judy Totoya
Sound Programmer:
Yukifumi Makino
JAP Music Producer:
Hiroyuki Tanaka
US Music Producer:
Spencer Nilsen
David Young
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| Overview |
Sonic CD was Sonic's first appearence on disc as well his only appearence on the Sega CD. At a time when the Sega CD's library consisted of poorly designed "live action" games featuring AVI movies instead of real gameplay, anything with Sonic's name on it was considered a breath of fresh air. Even though the Sega CD was not well-recieved, Sonic CD is still regarded by many fans as the best game in the series' history.
Sonic CD is just like every other Sonic game before it, except for a few twists. One of those twists was the time travel feature. During game play, Sonic would run past a sign post, and if he gained enough speed, he would be warped into a different time period. The time period that Sonic would be warped to depended on what the sign post that Sonic ran past said. If it said future, he would be taken to te future of the zone, which would be a a mechanical wasteland. If the sign said past, Sonic would be warped into a primitive version of the zone. While in the past, there were two things Sonic had to destroy so that there would be a good future, a Metal Sonic holigram and what looks to be an animal pod. If Sonic was to compete both tasks in acts 1 and 2 in the Zone, he act 3 would be the good future of the Zone, is Sonic did not complete those tasks, act 3 would be the bad future of the Zone. Another twist was the Time Stone's. These replaced Chaos Emeralds and had a different use. In order to get a good ending, you must collect all of the stones.
Sonic also has a new ability this time around: the "Super Peel Out," or a spindash replacement. While the name was created in the American market, it's more widely accepted than the manual's "Super Dash" title.
You'll encounter a bunch of different items and objects throughout the game:
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Big Ring
Worth ten rings. |
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Shield
Protects from one enemy attack. If hurt, shield will disappear, but no rings will be lost. |
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Clock
Description. |
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S Box
Description. |
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Future Warp
Used to travel through time to the future. After activating (touching) the sign, stay at maximum speed for about three seconds to activate the warp. Stop or run into a wall after reaching max speed to nullify it. Each warp can only be used one time. |
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Past Warp
Used to travel through time to the past. After activating (touching) the sign, stay at maximum speed for about three seconds to activate the warp. Stop or run into a wall after reaching max speed to nullify it. Each warp can only be used one time. |
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Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic is the fastest thing alive. He's also the only playable character in the game, so you better get to know him well.
Jump - (A, B, or C)
Super Peel Out - (Hold Up; then press A, B, or C)
Jump - (A, B, or C)
Jump - (A, B, or C)
Jump - (A, B, or C)
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Amy Rose
Sonic CD marks the first appearence of Sonic's pink admirer, Amy Rose. She's so excited to see him that she decides to follow him into the middle of danger...where she is kidnapped by Metal Sonic.
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| Dr. Eggman
"Robotnik" in the American market but Eggman in all things Sonic CD, this evil scientist wants to use the Time Stones to conquer the world in the past.
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Metal Sonic
Sonic CD also marks the first appearence of Sonic's robotic counterpart, Metal Sonic. Metal Sonic is Eggman's latest invention following an old proverb: if you can't beat 'em, be 'em. Metal's abilities are greater than Sonic's in every way on paper, so how can Sonic defeat him?
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| Story |
For one month out of every year, a tiny planet appears in the skies above Never Lake. The mysterious Little Planet is home to seven miraculous gems that control the passage of time. When these Time Stones awaken, deserts revert to jungles and polluted waters become pure again. Intrigued by the unusual power of these stones, Dr. Eggman sets his sights on Little Planet. As soon as it appears in the sky, he chains it to a nearby mountain, and, utilizing the planet's lack of boundaries on time, conquers the past so that he controls the future.
Sonic, meanwhile, is on his way to Never Lake, completely unaware of Eggman's latest ambition. Our blue hero arrives on the shores of the lake and is shocked to see the legendary Little Planet chained to the local terrain. It doesn't take him three guesses to figure out the perpetrator of this deed, so he dashes up one of the chains to free the planet and throw a wrench into his rival's latest scheme. Unfortunately, Eggman has been clued in to his enemy's arrival, and preparations have already been made.
Meanwhile, a young girl hedgehog named Amy Rose is lured to Little Planet by a card reading that told her of a destined encounter with Sonic. Once there, Amy becomes the perfect target for Eggman to make sure he's got Sonic's attention and to show off his latest, most sophisticated creation to date: Metal Sonic. This robot duplicate of our hedgehog hero was designed to match Sonic's every move and even surpass his own namesake speed. This deadly new rival kidnaps Amy in front of Sonic's very eyes, then escapes with his prize to Eggman's base. |
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Palmtree Panic
The typical tropical zone. This is the zone to learn the controls if your new to Sonic games. The vertical ramps are just plain awesome.
Boss:Eggman attacks you with his EGG-HVC-D01. With spiked shoesies and bumper hands that act as shields, your only chance to attack is right before he charges, at which point he retracts the shield-bumper-hand things leaving himself vulnerable. A bumper falls off after each hit, making him a bit easier to attack each time. Eggman is defeated after two hits.
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Collision Chaos
A pinball table zone. At the beginning of Zone 1, you're introduced to Metal Sonic who kidnaps Amy. As usual, press one of the jump buttons on a flipper to send Sonic flying. Smack into a bumper for 100 points, up to five times for a total of 500 points. The breakaway targets are worth 100 points each. (Zone 1 is one of only two stages in Sonic history to have more than one exit, the other being Spring Yard Act 2.)
Boss:Eggman's hanging around at the top of a pinball arena and your job is simply to bounce, bump, and flip your way up to him. He drops mines to slow you down, but once you've made it to the top, just jump and hit him three times to defeat him. |
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Tidal Tempest
A water zone, it is similar to Labyrinth Zone is Sonic 1. If you reach a dead end, look for a switch, as that will more than likely solve your problem.
Boss:In the first phase, you have to chase Eggman through a repeating maze. After taking four hits, Eggmnan will retreat to an underwater arena where he'll pull air bubbles from the ground and surround his mobile with them. Those air bubbles serve as two things: oxygen for your own life and a shield for Eggman. Inhale enough bubbles to leave an opening large enough to attack through, but avoid the little projectiles he fires at you. One hit and Eggman is defeated. |
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Quartz Quadrant
A mine inside some underground caverns.The direction of conveyor belts are indicated by their color, but there's usually a switch nearby that you can use to reverse the rotation. Watch for falling rocks and stalactites.
Boss: This battle is fought in a small arena with a conveyor belt flowing into spikes on the left. On the right, Eggman's in a giant piston similar to the Final Zone boss of Sonic 1: hit him once to knock the piston down onto the conveyor belt. Eggman's only attack is to drop mines from the top of the screen. When the mines hit the ground, they split into four smaller mines which fall of the screen. You can't hit Eggman at all, so the goal is simply to run against the flow of the conveyor belt. As you run, the belt picks up speed and brushes against the bottom of Eggman's piston. After awhile, Eggman will take off and the piston will explode. |
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Wacky Workbench
If you touch the ground when it's flashing (which it is most of the time), you'll be bounced high into the air, where most of the action takes place on moving platforms. Electrical conduits weave through the background, and like Sonic 1 8-bit's Sky Base, you'll take damage if you're in front of them when they flash. There's a small hidden alcove near the beginning of Zone 1 past and future: in the past, it features a statue of what is presumably some goddess. Walk up to the statue and Rings spout from her hands. In the future, the statue is replaced with a golden Eggman memorial. Destroy it and a brief shower of mines drops from the ceiling
Boss: This time, Eggman tries to escape in a vertical arena with three rooms. In the first room, hit him once and he dashes upward, breaking through the ceiling above. Four chunks of ceiling will fall: don't let 'em smush you, but jump on top of one of the two innermost pieces. Now, the floor will be electrified and the four chunks of ceiling will be catapulted into the air. You need to leap through the hole in the ceiling, but your weight will slow down the chunk you're standing on, so you need to jump to another one in midair to make the leap. (If you're on one of the two outer chunks, you will be smushed.) Repeat this process two more times, keeping in mind that on the third round, spikes will fall from the ceiling in addition to the chunks of metal. |
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Stardust Speedway
Both Zones of this flashy aerial highway feature a cathedral right in the middle of the city. In the present, it's a giant golden Eggman statue in the construction phase. In the past, it's a Russian-style palace. In the future, it's a fully built Eggman statue, and in the good future, it's a more modern building with neo-gothic style architecture.
Boss:This isn't a boss, it's a race. Your opponent is Metal Sonic, and he isn't going to play fair. The course is straightforward, but littered with obstacles which you have to jump over or otherwise avoid while Metal can simply tear right through. Additionally, every time you pull ahead, Metal will glow with electricity and nail you. Eggman is trailing not far behind in his Eggman Mobile, tearing up the highway with a powerful laser beam. Beat Metal to the end and he slams into a wall. |
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Metallic Madness
When you've reached the giant factory, Eggman must be close at hand. Zone 2 is a bit of a pipe labyrinth, ala Scrambled Egg. Near the end of the stage, Sonic must pass through a laser that shrinks him down to his continue sprite. After navigating a micro-sized chunk of stage, you're reverted to normal size before crossing the goal. Immediately before fighting the boss in Zone 3, you must first defeat a trio of flying lightbult bots just like the ones in Stardust Speedway. Their attack patterns are a bit different: they fly around the arena and are invisible until they pause to fire a laser blast downward. This is your only chance to attack, but don't touch the laser.
Boss: Eggman's final machine is simple enough: it's his normal Eggman Mobile with four panels circling the exterior. The trick is to reach between the panels to land a hit. Each time Eggman takes damage, one of the panels falls off and his method of attack changes. In the first two rounds, he'll lower himself to the ground and roll across the floor. In round three, he shoots off his remaining two panels which then fall vertically onto the arena. In the final round, he'll fire off his last panel which then falls into the arena at an angle. Four hits, and Eggman's ambition is officially crushed. |
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Special Stage
The special stages on Sonic CD are quite different from the ones in previous games. You are dropped onto a flat surface and you must destroy all of the UFO's in a set amount of time. These UFO's contain items, like speed shoes or rings. If your starting to run out of time, a blue UFO will apear and if you destroy it, you will gain extra time. Watch out for the terrain and the water, they both slow you down and water also reduces the time on the clock by ten seconds for each second your in the water. Look for dash and minidash tiles, as they are a big help. Once you destroy all UFO's, you are awarded a Time Stone. |
| Notes |
Soundtrack Switch
The American version of Sonic CD features a different soundtrack than the Japanese and European versions. Sega of America hired Spensor Nilsen to compose the new soundtrack. We're not quite sure why Sega felt it was necessary to change the music, as most fans regard Hiroyuki Tanaka's original as the superior one. You can download the different soundtracks in our Media Center.
Oddly enough, the tracks for the "past" versions of each zone are the same in both versions. |
Sonic 2 CD
At Sonic CD's announcement, it was originally expected to be a Sega CD version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 with a new soundtrack, improved graphics, and animated cutscenes. It wasn't until after the release of the second batch of screenshots that the public realized it was an entirely new game. |
Save Feature
Sonic CD was the first Sonic game to feature a save feature. There is only one save slot, recorded to the Sega CD's RAM card. If you start a new game, the slot will be overwritten. |
America's Agony
Sonic CD is the only Sonic game to date that was released in the United States after all the other regions. The game was released in Japan two months earlier and Europe recieved it a month after that. The delay was caused by the time required for Spensor Neilson to make a new soundtrack. |
| PC Version |
XP Incompatibility
Sonic CD has failed the test of time and no longer works well on newer PCs running newer operating systems. The game is completely incompatible with Windows XP. If you really care to know what the problem is, the game's programming uses the default Windows codec to decompress its files. While the decompressor for the file format still exists in Windows XP like it did in earlier versions, Sonic CD's ancient method of using it no longer works. The game ends up looking for the decompressed files but finds nothing, creating an infinate stream of errors. We all love the folks at Microsoft, don't we?
One member of the community has kindly created a patch for Sonic CD that fixes this problem and allows it to work on Windows XP. It must be applied using an administrator account. The patch is not approved by Sega, so you are to use it at your own risk.
Click Here to Download - 300 KB
Created by Korama, Used with Permission |
Refined Films
The PC version offers much better quality versions of the opening and closing cutscenes than the Sega CD outing. The compression is not nearly as strong and they can be viewed with nearly any media player outside of the game. |
Crossing Over
Sonic CD's PC version was the first Sonic game to be released off a Sega-made platform. |
| Cheats / Secrets |
Level Select
At the title screen, press: Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, B. |
Programmer's Scores
At the title screen, press: Right, Right, Up, Up, Down, C, START. |
Sound Test
At the title screen, press: Down, Down, Down, Left, Right, A. |
Secret Special Stage
Input the Sound Test code. Adjust the numbers to read: FM#07, PCM#07, DA#07. Press START. |
Debug Mode
Input the Sound Test code. Adjust the numbers to read: FM#40, PCM#12, DA#11. Press START. A picture of Tails will appear with the text "See You Next Game -- Judy Totoya"
A - Changes highlighted item
B - Toggles between items and Sonic
C - Places highlighted item |
Art Screens
To access these hidden art screens, input the Sound Test code and adjust the numbers:
MC Sonic - FM#42, PCM#03, DA#01
Sega Forever - FM#46, PCM#12, DA#25
Demonic Sonic - FM#42, PCM#04, DA#21
??? - FM#44, PCM#11, DA#09 |
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