Hey, guess what? We're actually going to try and describe the plot of a Mega Drive-era Sonic game! This game takes place on the Floating Island (or Angel Island, or whatever), where Dr. Robotnik (before he was known as Eggman) has crashed his Death Star rip-off, the Death Egg. Sonic & Tails naturally have to make sure he doesn't re-launch it using the Chaos Emeralds, but they are hindered in their progress by a new antagonist - the fearsome Knuckles the Echidna, the guardian of the island who's been tricked by Robotnik into helping him. At the time this game came out, Knuckles was new and kind of a big deal, since the addition of Tails in Sonic 2 had been so well-received, gamers were looking forward to a new character, and Knuckles was mysterious and cheeky enough to work. Of course, today the character roster for Sonic numbers in the billions, and Knuckles has been tricked by Robotnik so many times it's safe to say his IQ is equivalent to that of a watermelon.
Kids, there's nothing more cool than being hugged by someone you like.
Even today, Sonic 3 is quite an enjoyable platformer. It retains the speed that made Sonic 2 such a hit, and adds some new tricks of its own, including some new power-ups such as an electric shield that draws in rings, and fire and water shields which protect against their respective elements. You can play as either Sonic or Tails, or as both in a team-up or race through local or online multiplayer. The levels are pleasingly varied and the boss encounters are entertaining, if consistently a little too easy. It's a worthy follow up to the previous two titles, that doesn't do a whole lot different, but remains fun nonetheless. The XBLA release adds leaderboards and drops the in-game save system in favour of the generic Vintage Collection system. This lets you save anytime you like but unfortunately doesn't let you replay levels after you've finished the game with your collected lives, continues and emeralds as the old system did.
One thing that Sonic 3 did introduce, however, is the Blue Sphere special stages. Whereas Sonic the Hedgehog saw you spinning around a 360 pinball machine, and Sonic 2 had you running down a half-pipe, the Blue Sphere mini-game was something a bit different. Accessed by finding giant floating rings around the various levels, it sees Sonic or Tails on a small spherical world, a bit like Super Mario Galaxy, except their movement is locked down on a grid. Their aim is to touch all of the blue spheres they come across while avoiding red ones. If they touch all of the spheres on the perimeter of a larger field of spheres, they'll convert the spheres into rings. Finishing a stage perfectly earns them a Chaos Emerald, collecting all of which later unlocks Super Sonic. It's actually quite a mesmerising little mini-game, although it's not quite as fast paced as you'd expect from a Sonic game.
But if someone tries to touch you in a way or in a place that makes you feel uncomfortable, that's no good!
Sonic 3 on XBLA boasts enhanced high definition graphics that look... just the same as the old graphics. There is now a smoothing option, the same as there always is in these re-releases and collections, that makes the game look cleaner but less detailed. By default, the game is shown in a little box surrounded by a boring blue border, but you can stretch the game's image to whatever size you wish. As for the graphics themselves, Sonic 3 is about as good looking as a 16-bit platformer gets. It came at a time when 3D was starting to be experimented with, as we have a cool 3D Sonic wagging his finger at us in the game's logo, a few new animations for Sonic which show him rotating in 3D-like fashion, and the pseudo-3D special stages. Everyone was waiting to see what Sonic would be like once he was really, properly in 3D! Oh, past selves. How we wish we could go back to warn you... But tragically, cannot.
There's a lot to like about Sonic the Hedgehog 3 on XBLA. The online play isn't featured in any of the other re-releases, and for 400 Microsoft Points, it's not the most expensive title ever released on the service. However, seeing as it doesn't come with its direct-sequel and expansion pack Sonic & Knuckles, and also considering that the Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection was released not so long ago, we question whether it isn't worth picking it up inside the larger pack. Still, if you've got points to burn and you're looking for a fast-paced retro platformer, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 has still got the goods.
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