Sonic Arcade... DAMN YOU TRACKBALL!!!
Can Mighty outrun Eggmans capture machine? Will Sonic Team ever say 'Amy? She's a bit crap isn't she'? No to both questions!

Reviewer: mecha_chao
Arcade gaming has always been superior to console gaming in every way. Sonic's transition from console to arcade was a great one. Sonic was introduced into arcade gaming with pals Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Squirrel. The world he was thrown into was isometric 3D, with a trackball as a controller... read on for more information!

Yep... nothing like a million volts to get you up in the morning...

Ok... lets get this started. As shown in the screenshots, Sonic Arcade is 3D lushness. The sprites are not 3D rendered like the ones in Sonic 3D Blast, but move as fast as the 2D predecessors.
Sonic's 3D environment is far from being true 3D. It's about as free as the levels of Crash Bandicoot... but scrolls very smoothly, which is a sort of bonus.
Other graphical touches were added to this that could not have made it to cartridge very well. The game has a nice smooth introduction sequence, and nice cut sequences between levels! Nice job!

I usually comment on the sounds/samples here... but I had a slight problem... playing Sonic Arcade in an actual arcade tends to get noisy, so the sound can't REALLY be heard. The emulator to play Sonic Arcade was really shitty... and won't play sounds at all (Hell... it barely even played the game!!!). So no score here because I suck... sorry! UPDATE!!! Having downloaded all the MP3's from Sonic Arcade, one thing can be said about the sound... KICK ASS! The sound quality is insane... :) Worth playing the game JUST to have a listen!

The coolest thing about Sonic Arcade is that 3 people can all play at the same time! Yes... you and 2 other idiots can try and figure out the weird control system all together!
I say the control system is weird... and it is. I, like most console gamers, am used to a joystick/joypad/analogue device. What do Sega give us? A trackball... yes... one of the "revolutionary" devices of the late 80's/early 90's. It takes a while to get used to spinning a ball instead of pushing on a pad... but eventually it works!

How did Sonic Arcade play? The arcade version was very good! Some of the small puzzle bits are far too simple (ie, run or spindash to complete them), but the speed parts are refreshing! The fact that Sonic, Ray, and Mighty have life meters instead of rings makes the game a bit odd, but for some reason... Sonic and co. lose their rings when they get hit. As of yet, the rings have an unknown purpose, because I had to play this on an emulator, I didn't take note... again, I suck!
Proof that mecha_chao can count... 3 players!

So like... is it worth playing? In one word... yes... but I could think of many other words to say. IF you see an arcade machine of Sonic Arcade... DO NOT PASS IT UP!!! Finding a random machine is one thing... but doing what I have to do (as a reviewer) and actually LOOKING for the machine is quite mad, as you'll be disappointed by what you find. It lacks the pick up and play that other Sonic games had. Oh... heres an important health warning... avoid the emulated version at ALL cost... unless theres a specific emulator for this game, that runs it at the correct speed, and is 3 player compatible, and has trackball capi... ah screw it... just avoid the emulated version... its shit. Also avoid fatty foods, as you'll have problems getting dates afterwards. And when girls ask the question, "Does this make me look fat?"... don't say what you're thinking, "It's not your stupid clothes that make you look fat... it's your fat ass!". Oh... and brush 3 times a day, and... (I'm rambling now... better finish the review).

Sonic... on an arcade machine... in an arcade... let's call it Sonic Console!

Graphics: 8 - Very nice isometric environments and very well drawn sprites.
Features: 9 - Trackball??? Those crazy japanese!
Sound: 10 - Kick ass sound! Well worth playing the game for the sound!

Originality: 9 - Sonic on Arcade... and it was quite different from previous outings of the 'hog. 3 player mode affects this too!
Lastability: 0/6/9 - 0 if you're playing the emulated version, 6 if you are playing alone, and 9 if you can afford to have 2 friends helping you!

Final Percentage (for arcade version): 80% - Sonic virgins will be put off by the difficulty of the game... Sonic Veterans would take time getting used to the control system... no pick up and play value like its console brothers.

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