Anchel Labena - Videogames Producer

Old classics never die. Although great, successful game series can.

So it has happened to poor old Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega’s incredibly popular response to the always cheerful Super Mario.

The poor guy has starred in a handful of horrible games in the last 5 years, with it’s Xbox 360 and PS3 next-generation Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) reboot being the most noteworthy. Hey, even I still had faith in the blue blur until I recently tried myself that awful game. I wasn’t even able to complete the very first level!

But it hasn’t always been like that. No sir! Sonic has definitely seen better days, and in this post I would like to mention what to me is still the pinnacle of the series: Sonic 3 & Knuckles.

Let’s make something clear here though. This game was never sold originally as a full one, but instead was split into two cartridges for the old Sega Mega Drive (Sega Genesis in the US). The first one being Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and then the “expansion” Sonic & Knuckles. While both games could be played separately and each contained their own set of levels, owning both of them allowed the player to “lock-on”, that is, to fit the Sonic 3 cartridge inside the S&K one. This would convert both games into a single, complete game with a cohesive storyline and the added extra of playing the entire game as the ever cool Knuckles the Echidna.

What I’m reviewing here though is the recent re-release of this game on Steam (which is, by the way, top-notch and much more compelling than most of the re-releases that have been out there, with extra saving features and some neat graphic enhancements). Luckily this game already has both parts combined, and so it includes every single feature from the original.

That includes the original soundtrack in which Michael Jackson was involved. Yes, ladies and gentleman. Although not credited as such in the game, many of the game’s tunes (which are incredibly catchy, by the way) were originally conceived by deceased star Michael Jackson.

But enough about history lessons. What exactly makes Sonic 3 & Knuckles so compelling?

Simply put: the level design.

This game has some of the most amazing 2D platformers level design out there. The levels are huge, with multiple branching paths and several areas where you can run as much as you want to make Sonic blaze through the environment. Tricks and traps of all kinds hide in every corner, as well as the interesting power-ups that this game offered like the water shield, with its underwater breathing properties and bouncy nature, or the fire shield, with protected you from fire and allowed Sonic to dash in the air in a flame.

Not to mention the great feeling of discovery whenever you came across one of the giant-sized rings that transported you to the special zones, with the (back in its day) impressive 3D visuals and the blue sphere collection. These were used to collect the 7 chaos emeralds (and later on in the game the 7 super emeralds) which would in turn allow Sonic to transform into the yellow-haired Super Sonic (an cool wink to the Dragon Ball series).

The game was made even more complete with the 2-player modes, both in the main story (with the second player controlling the two-tailed flying fox Tails) and in the competitive races. Heck, one of those competitive races levels had such a catchy tune that I couldn’t stop myself from posting a remix from jmr and the entire remix album at OCRemix.org!

Sega has kept trying again and again to bring back the old glory days from its Sonic franchise. And while some of their attempts have been really good, especially on handhelds (the Sonic Advance and Sonic Rush series come to mind), the rest have all been awful attempts. Even the much hyped return of Sonic with Sonic the Hedgehog 4 with its return to classic sidescroller hasn’t managed to retain the feeling of this masterpiece.

For all of you out there who enjoyed the Sonic games of yore, I highly recommend giving this one a try (get it on Steam, or on the Xbox Live Arcade!), and if you were never really interested into these games, I still insist that you give this one a try. Grab a friend if you can and play co-operatively!

Give Sonic a reason to stay alive.

Note: I know that Super Meat Boy is not “new” anymore, but I just felt like posting about it today.

Ever played a videogame so difficult that you die several times in the same place and decide to give up forever?

Well, I’m sure even that game was very easy compared to Super Meat Boy.

This is a game of utter frustration, maniacal level design and a complete disregard for how stressed you may get even if you slam your controller against the wall.

It’s a 2D platformer game in which you will inevitably die. A lot. Like thousands of times.

But you know what? The game doesn’t penalize you for dying. Nope. As soon as you die you respawn at the beginning of the level, no lives lost, no points taken, nothing. And taking into account that most levels can be finished in less than a minute (some in a matter of seconds if you are good enough) then the prospect of dying doesn’t seem so aggravating (mind you, it still IS frustrating).

So what makes this game so special so as to win great review scores and several awards and nominations?

First of all, as hard as the game gets, the gameplay is pure, unadulterated fun! Meat Boy, the main character, controls great, with extreme precision, and he is FAST! Run, jump, wall-jump… only three moves available, but executed with such expertise that when you die you only have yourself to blame, not the game. This is what keeps the player trying again and again at the same level. Never does the game make you feel cheated with cheap deaths, so the incentive of honing your reaction skills prevails.

The level design is amazingly simplistic, yet they pack traps everywhere you go. Fire, chainsaws, salt (yes, it kills you), needles, homing missile launchers, lasers… It will happen many times that you are struggling to get past a specific obstacle and when you finally make it you get killed by an enemy (but cute-looking) cloud that was lying at the other end.

Amusingly, once you finally beat the level, you get to see a mash-up of all the replays of Meat Boy attempting to beat that level. That means you will see dozens of Meat Boys getting killed across the screen while only one single survivor reaches the girl.

Because the girl, named Bandage Girl, is also part of what makes this game so great. You see, Super Meat Boy would be much less without its slick presentation.

It all starts with its humorous story: Meat Boy and Bandage Girl love each other. But Dr. Fetus (yes, you read right) hates Meat Boy and kidnaps Bandage Girl.

Sounds a lot like Mario, Princess Peach and Bowser, doesn’t it? Well, the game is called Super Meat Boy for a reason!

The game offers a full-blown throwback to the old-school games of the 90s. The intro screen for World 1 for example (pictured above), is a parody of the intro screen in Street Fighter II, Insert Coin letters included. And then you hear the “Dramatic Chipmunk” tune displaying the world’s name. Yes, this game is full of references. From Megaman to Super Mario. Even the hidden levels adopt an 8-bit style reminiscent of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) era.

As if that wasn’t enough the game also pays homage to a big bunch of indie (and not-so-indie) games by including their respective main characters as playable options. There’s the Headcrab from Half-Life (in the PC version only), Tim from Braid, the Wrench from Flywrench… Heck, even The Kid from “I wanna be the guy” (a freeware abusively difficult game) is a playable character! Each one with their own abilities usually taken straight from their own games. These are all introduced with hilarious cutscenes of their own.

And then there’s the music. Extremely catchy, appropiate and upbeat enough to prevent you from giving up on the game too early. You might even walk away from the game and still have a tune or two stuck in your head.

Finally, the game is all full of extras. Have you beat all the levels? Well, if you beat one with an A+ grade (given based on speed), you will have access to a “dark” version of it much harder than the original. There’s also the collectible bandages used to unlock some of the characters. And the developers at Team Meat have even added an extra world called “Teh Internets” which gets updated with free maps created by both the designers and other players.

Still not convinced? Then I suggest you watch the following trailer. If you liked the platform games of yore, then you certainly won’t be disappointed by Super Meat Boy!