Game Review: Sonic Chaos

Game: Sonic Chaos
Console: Sega Master System
Developer: Sega
Release Date: 25th October 1993

Released for the Master System only in Europe, South America and South Africa, Sonic Chaos was a Game Gear title for the rest of the world, much like the previous Master System instalments in the series; Sonic The Hedgehog and its sequel. Sonic Chaos differed from these by adding many elements from the 16 bit version of Sonic The Hedgehog 2 such as Tails as a playable character, Sonic's Spin Dash, and many of the level themes.

There are six zones featured in the game, each with three acts, the third of which is always a boss battle after a short section of platforming. Chaos Emeralds can be gained by collecting 100 rings in either of the first two stages of a zone, and then completing a bonus stage. Once all six Chaos Emeralds have been collected, the good ending can be viewed, although this only refers to a credits screen instead of "Try Again" flashing up on screen.

The movement controls for the game are a little slippery overall, and precision platforming is a little hard to achieve, especially in bonus stages. There is however a good variety of moves available to players as both Sonic and Tails. Both characters can perform the spin dash by pressing down and then the jump button, Sonic can perform the Super Peel Out, (making its debut in this game) by pressing up and then the jump button, and Tails can fly for a short while with the same combination of buttons.

There are also a couple of interesting items which appear in boxes through many different stages. The rocket boots are a Sonic-only item which allow him to glide quickly through the air still under the player's control, which is helpful to pick up long rows of rings, or to reach high places quickly. The spring item allows both characters to bounce along the level until they hit a wall, and reach places that are inaccessible with a regular jump.

Each act of the game is fairly short compared to the 16 bit games, and even previous Master System Sonic games. Most can be completed in under a minute if players are rushing through them without bothering to collect 100 rings to access the bonus stages. There's also a slight lack of enemies or real platforming challenges in most levels which makes the game a lot easier than many other Sonic titles.

The bosses of each act have fairly predictable patterns and aren't too difficult to beat, though they're not pushovers either. In a lot of ways the overall difficulty of this game reminds me of the early Kirby games in that the stages aren't particularly difficult to get to the end of and there are different ways to do so, including flying, defeating all of the enemies as you go, or just using sheer speed.

Graphically the game looks pretty good for being an 8 bit title. There's definitely some more detail than in the first two Master System Sonic titles. I had no trouble discerning enemies, rings or powerups from backgrounds and levels, and boss designs were interesting and varied. The soundtrack of the game feels a bit lacklustre for a Sonic title, especially considering the music from 16 bit games, but it's not bad or unlistenable at all.

Overall Sonic Chaos is a very different type of Sonic game to most; it doesn't particularly matter if you don't pick up all of the Chaos Emeralds on your way through the game (there's even the option to ignore them completely by playing as tails), levels are short and fairly easy meaning the the game can be completed in under an hour. This gives it a relaxed replayability for me as it's something I can run through without much difficulty, and that I know won't take hours or too much frustration to beat.

Rating: 73/100
Grade: C