Sonic The Hedgehog Pocket Adventure
Published By: Sega Enterprises, Ltd.
Reviewed by Mojo-Jojo
5/4/00

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First Impressions: The first thing I thought when I popped in this cart and took Sonic for a spin was, wow, they did it! Sega managed to bring back the fun (and memories) of the old-school 2-D 16-bit gaming era. I was reliving the glory days of Sonic on the Sega Genesis right there between my palms. What a wonderful feeling! Right down to the synthesized Se-ga sound byte introduction.

Graphics: As a veteran of Sonic games on the Sega Game Gear, the first thing I noticed, or rather didn’t notice, was slow-down. The Neo×Geo Pocket Color easily handled Sonic’s speed, the backgrounds, and enemies as I raced through the stages in search of more speed and more coins. The acts and the bonus stages look like they were pulled straight from older games.

Sound/Music: Again, the sound is straight from older Sonic games. It does enhance the game, the feeling of speeding through an act, but it's a rehash.

Gameplay: If you aren’t looking for a great challenge or a leap forward in handheld Sonic gameplay, then you won’t be disappointed. The zones and acts that make up Pocket Adventure are very predictable, as are the end bosses.

There are six zones made up of two acts. Throughout all the acts are rings, box items such as the force field, 10-ring up, etc. and puzzle pieces, diamond shaped and hidden, for the most part. If you gather 50 coins by the end of Act 1 in each zone, then jump through the giant ring (very Genesis-esque), a Bonus Stage begins. Maneuver Sonic around the tube, avoiding bombs. Collect the set number of coins for that stage and you receive a Chaos Emerald, seven in all. Throughout the different zones, there are a few cameos. Flies the Tornado, Knuckles, and Metal Sonic are both end bosses, and what Sonic installment would be complete without Dr. Robotnik!

There is an addition to Pocket Adventure: the Rooms screen. There is a Trial Room, Duel Room, Puzzle Room, and Options setting. The Trial Room has three functions, the Time Trial, Advance, and Ranking. The Time Trial allows you to select which act you would like to play, then you speed through as quickly as you can, as you can easily guess. The Advance Trial is the same as the Time trial, except you need to collect 50 coins as well as speed your way through the act of your choice. And the Ranking screen keeps your highest score, making it possible to challenge your own records as well as your friends’ records.

The Duel Room allows you to challenge your friends to a Time Trial or Advance Trial.

The Puzzle Room has two options, Build Puzzle and View Puzzle. This is where the replay value of Pocket Adventure comes in. It’s nearly impossible to find all of them the first time through the game with the 10-minute time limit set. There are five puzzles made up of 16 pieces. In the Build Puzzle Screen, you can move around the pieces from picture to picture and reposition them to show the masterpiece, a Sonic character. And in the View Puzzle screen, you see your creation. Although the pictures the puzzle makes aren’t anything to write home about, the feeling of accomplishment you get by finding the pieces and putting together just one puzzle will make your day!

In the Game Option Room, you can change the difficulty setting, turn the 10-minute time limit on and off, switch players (data can be saved for up to three different people using the same cartridge), and set the auto-power off feature.

Enjoyment: Although the gameplay lacked originality, it felt good. It was fun, not just one time through, but enhanced by the pursuit of Chaos Emeralds and puzzle building. The replay value of this game is wonderful, and did I mention that the game is fun? And that’s what gaming is all about.

Multiplayer: Not the most involved multiplayer handheld game, but a nice feature to Pocket Adventure. Everyone likes the opportunity to show off their Sonic prowess to their friends.

Overall Impression: The puzzle feature is wonderful. The pieces are a challenge to find, if not to put together. I wish the zones themselves and the end-bosses were more challenging and introduced new gameplay aspects to the Sonic world. Sure, transforming into Super Sonic was fun, but didn’t we do that back in Sonic 2? I loved the nostalgia of the game, but was left wanting for new, creative gameplay.

Marketing Efforts Towards Women: This game, like most other Neo×Geo Pocket Color games, seems to completely lack marketing altogether, let alone marketing targeted towards females.