Not to be confused with Sonic the Hedgehog Blast, Archie Sonic Blast, or Sonic 3D Blast.

Sonic Blast, released in Japan as G Sonic (Gソニック, G Sonikku^?), is a platform video game from the Sonic the Hedgehog series developed by Aspect and published by Sega for the Sega Game Gear. It was released in late 1996, with a port to the Sega Master System developed by Tectoy and released exclusively in Brazil. It was the last Sonic game for the Game Gear. It is notorious for using pre-rendered visuals for its graphics unlike its predecessors, a trend popularized by Donkey Kong Country.

The narrative of Sonic Blast follows Sonic and Knuckles as they embark on an adventure to find the scattered fragments of a Chaos Emerald shattered by Doctor Eggman and to destroy his latest fortress, the Silver Castle. The game is often called one of the worst in the franchise; critics panned the graphics, arguing that they hampered the overall gameplay experience, and noted issues with the slow pace and level design.

Plot[]

While resting on South Island with a Chaos Emerald in his hand, Sonic the Hedgehog is awakened when the Emerald shines with a blinding light until it shatters into five smaller pieces that fly away. Doctor Eggman admits responsibility, claiming that he tried to zap Sonic with a laser beam but hit the Emerald instead, causing it to shatter. Pleased with the results nevertheless, the doctor reveals his plan to build his new fortress, the Silver Castle, and then find the Emerald's shards. As Eggman leaves, Sonic is joined by Knuckles the Echidna, and the two embark on an adventure to thwart the villain's ambitions.^[4]

Sonic and Knuckles travel through the various Zones of South Island, destroying Eggman's various contraptions and hunting for the Chaos Emerald shards. Eventually, they enter the completed Silver Castle and have a final showdown with the doctor in his new vehicle. The game's ending will depend on the player's process:

• If the player has not managed to gather the five shards of the Chaos Emerald, the Silver Castle will fall into the sea while Sonic/Knuckles watches from South Island and Eggman escapes.
• If the player manages to get the five shards of the Chaos Emerald, they will have a definitive battle against Eggman after defeating the Silver Castle boss. After defeating it, Eggman will not escape and Sonic/Knuckles will juggle around the Emerald shards.

Characters[]

Image	Character	Description
	Sonic the Hedgehog	The hero of South Island. He's the world's fastest sound-speed hedgehog who protects the peace by thwarting every evil scheme of Dr. Eggman.[5] This time, he'll face off against Dr. Eggman for the Chaos Emeralds.[5]
	Knuckles the Echidna	Sonic's rival, the flying echidna.[5] When he finds out that the Chaos Emeralds are in danger, he decides that he can't leave it to Sonic.[5] But in truth, his goal is to punish Dr. Eggman, not the Chaos Emeralds.[5]
	Doctor Eggman	He's the world's greatest super-genius scientist! But he's also the world's most evil man.[6] He's the most vindictive in the world! But he's also the world's worst screw-up.[6] This time, he's going to beat Sonic to a pulp! But this time, he's going to get beaten up by Sonic again.[6]

Gameplay[]

Sonic Blast is a 2D side-scrolling platform video game, which plays similar to past 2D Sonic games. In this game, the player takes control of either Sonic or Knuckles, each with their own abilities: Sonic is able to perform the Double Jump to gain extra height in midair, while Knuckles can glide and climb walls.

The main objective for each character in the game is to pass through five Zones, each divided into three Acts with a boss fight at the end of the third. The Zones have multiple routes to the goal along with many secret locations to be discovered by the player though the use of the characters' abilities. To finish an Act, the player has to spin a Goal Plate at the goal or defeat a boss.

In gameplay, Rings appear scattered through the Acts. The number of Rings the player carries is indicated in the top left corner of the HUD. Like in past games, they serve as the player's main method of protection from harm, for if the playable character is hurt while they carry at least one Ring, the player will survive, though they will lose ten Rings. Receiving damage while not having any Rings will cost the player a life. The player can also lose a life if they drown or get crushed. After losing a Life, the playable character will respawn at the start of the Act or respawn at the location of the last Marker Item Box that was opened. If Sonic or Knuckles run out of lives, they will get a Game Over, but the player can resume playing as long as they have at least one Continue. Extra lives can be obtained by breaking 1-Up Item Boxes,^[7] collecting one-hundred Rings, running through the Goal Plate, and in the first Special Stage Acts. Up to nine lives can be carried at once.

The secondary objective in the game is to collect the five Chaos Emerald shards. This can be done by entering a Giant Ring in the second Acts of the Zones and completing the Special Stage that follows. Only one Big Ring can be found per Act. Getting all five shards will not modify gameplay, although it will unlock a secret boss that will lead to the good ending cinematic if the player defeats it.

Scoring system[]

Main article: Point#Sonic Blast

Controls[]

Button formation		Movement
Game Gear	Master System	Sonic	Knuckles
left/right		Walk/Run
up		Look up
down		Look down/Crouch
left/right + down		Spin Attack
/		Spin Jump
down + /		Spin Dash[8]
/ (midair)		Double Jump[8]	Glide[8]
up/down (on wall)		N/A	Climb
START		Pause

Objects[]

Items[]

• Air bubble
• Chaos Emerald
• Emerald Shard (first appearance)
• Giant Ring
• Item Box
  • 1-Up
  • Eggman Mark
  • Invincible
  • Marker
  • Random
  • Shield
  • Shoe
  • Super Ring
• Ring

Gimmicks and obstacles[]

Goal Plate rewards[]

Like in previous 8-bit Sonic games, a Goal Plate appears at the end of the first two Acts and will grant different bonuses when they stop spinning after the player passes them.

Icon	Name	Reward
	Sonic Plate (ソニックプレート[9], Sonikku Purēto?)	1-Up (Sonic) 30 Rings (Knuckles)
	Knuckles Plate (ナックルズプレート[9], Nakkuruzu Purēto?)	1-Up (Knuckles) 30 Rings (Sonic)
	Emerald Plate (エメラルドプレート[9], Emerarudo Purēto?)	Continue
	Super Sonic Plate (スーパーソニックプレート[9], Sūpā Sonikku Purēto?)	1-Up + 30 Rings
	10 Ring Plate (10リングプレート[9], 10 Ringu Purēto?)	10 Rings
	Eggman Plate (エッグマンプレート[9], Eggumanpurēto?)	Nothing

Characters[]

Playable characters[]

• Knuckles the Echidna
• Sonic the Hedgehog

Non-playable characters[]

• Dr. Eggman
• Super Sonic (cameo)

Enemies[]

Zones[]

Sonic Blast features five Zones, each split into three Acts. Once the player has cleared the first two Acts within a Zone, they must confront and defeat Eggman in that Zone's third Act to proceed with the story. Gathering all of the Emerald shards will trigger the extra final boss of the game.

1. Green Hill Zone
2. Yellow Desert Zone
3. Red Volcano Zone
4. Blue Marine Zone
5. Silver Castle Zone

Bosses[]

1. Green Hill Zone boss
2. Yellow Desert Zone boss
3. Red Volcano Zone boss
4. Blue Marine Zone boss
5. Silver Castle Zone boss
6. Final boss (extra boss)

Special Stage[]

Main article: Special Stage (Sonic Blast)

Special Stages are a set of ten different extra levels from which the player can get rewards. These stages can be accessed through hidden Big Rings in the first two Acts of the Zones. In Act 1, completing Special Stages will grant the player a 1-Up, while completing those in Act 2 will give them a Chaos Emerald shard.

In the Special Stages, the playable character will run forward through a checkered area. The player cannot stop their character from moving forward, though they can move them left and right and make them jump. To complete a Special Stage, the player has to collect a certain amount of Rings. After either completing or losing a Special Stage, the player will be taken back to the normal Act, where they will be able to continue as normal.

Reception[]

Reception
Review scores
Publication	Score
Nintendo Life	6/10 (3DS)[10]
Digitally Downloaded	(3DS)[11]
Jeuxvideo.com	9/20 (3DS)[12]
Pocket Gamer	(3DS)[13]

Sonic Blast received mixed reception at the time of its release, although retrospective commentary has been far more negative. Nintendo World Report summarized the game as "a step back" from previous Game Gear Sonic titles, due to what they called "the attempt at aping Donkey Kong Country's pre-rendered sprites on a handheld".^[14]

Most critics disliked the graphics, some even claiming they ruined the game.^[12][11] Digitally Downloaded stated the visuals were more distracting than impressive, writing they hampered the fluidity of the gameplay and prevented the use of elements they considered integral to the series.^[11] Nintendo Life thought the game aged badly when compared to the other Sonic 8-bit entries, citing "muddy colours and shaky animation",^[10] and USgamer said the character graphics were too big, especially for the Game Gear's small screen.^[15] Jeuxvideo.com found the character animations poor and noted the gameplay limitations they caused.^[12] Despite their mostly negative reaction to the graphics, many critics did acknowledge that the visuals were impressive when considering the limitations of the Game Gear.^[12][11] Pocket Gamer noted that prior to the game's release, "the capabilities of [the Game Gear] had seemingly been fully explored"; they wrote while they offered some compromises, the visuals made the game stand out.^[13]

Sonic Blast has been called one of the worst games in the Sonic series.^[14][15] Nintendo World Report exclaimed the game "should be avoided at all costs",^[14] and Retro Gamer stated that the game's title screen was its only redeeming quality.^[16] USgamer wrote it was "an unpleasant end to the Game Gear" and attributed its shortcomings to the system's discontinuation.^[15] Complex declared it "the worst handheld Sonic game ever" and said "thank God they didn't attempt the '3D' aspect of its 16-bit older brother."^[17]

Re-releases[]

In 2005, Sonic Blast was released as a plug-and-play console by Techno Source, entitled Sonic Blast.

Sonic Blast was re-released in later Sonic compilations, including Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut and Sonic Mega Collection Plus, along with there being an unlockable demo of the game's ending in Sonic Gems Collection. Sonic Blast was released on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console in North America on 20 June 2013.^[2]

The Game Gear version was re-released along with the rest of the Sonic Game Gear titles on Sonic Origins Plus, which released on June 23, 2023 for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, Nintendo Switch, & PC.

Trivia[]

• The name of the game's five Zones each begin with a color: green, yellow, red, blue, and silver, respectively). These colors relate to the Chaos Emerald piece found in the given Zone.
• The Bonus Plate featuring Super Sonic is the latter's only appearance in an 8-bit System Sonic title, even though Sonic himself cannot transform in the game.
• Due to the game's large ROM size, it will not work on early Master System models.
• The international logo for Sonic Blast is very similar to that of Sonic 3D Blast.

• An unused animation for Sonic is present in the code, resembling the Super Peel Out ability seen in Sonic Chaos and Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble. All that remains of this move is the animation, which is stored with a vastly different amount of object palettes than the one used in the final game.
• This is the first handheld Sonic game to give Sonic a Double Jump without the usage of the Thunder Shield.

References[]

External links[]

• G Sonic at Sega's official website (Japanese)
• G Sonic at Nintendo's official website. (Japanese)