Sonic Blast (1996)

The alphabetical first Sonic game to hit Sega's beleaguered handheld is comfortably one of the worst, though I wouldn't personally say it's my least favourite Game Gear Sonic title. We'll get to that, though, but first I've got to push through Sonic Blast like that guy pushing his face through the knife chair in Saw IV. Yeah, so this sucks, it's a limp effort that seems to be something of an attempt to pull a Donkey Kong Land with pre-rendered looking visuals. This would be okay if the level design wasn't so weak, and after four platform games on one handheld the whole thing just feels tired. That said - THAT. SAID. - Sonic Blast still isn't as bad as it's often made out to be (forgive my knife chair hyperbole). While it does suck, it's often treated as something so much worse than it is, which is a pretty boring platformer. It controls fine, and Sonic's double jump and slightly heavier movement actually gives it probably the best feel of the lot, it's just a shame the level design isn't there. You can play as Knuckles, too, but why would you want to? This garish effort is worth a look out of curiosity, but not much else. Be sure to quit before playing the dull-as-ditchwater Special Stage. *

Sonic Chaos (1993)

As a follow-up to Sonic the Hedgehog 2, playable Tails outing Sonic Chaos sees some improvement; for one thing, the stages feel designed around the Game Gear's screen space shortcomings, rather than awkwardly crammed into a space they don't really belong. It looks great, too, with bold colours and a decent sense of atmosphere to some of the stages. Unfortunately the good stuff sort of ends there, for me. You can spin dash and peel out but there's no real reason to, and Sonic's handling is really weird, like the game's slowing down every time he jumps. It's also absurdly, ludicrously easy to complete; getting chaos emeralds now requires you to get 100 rings in an act to warp to the Special Stage - this isn't very challenging when you'll frequently find forty rings just sitting there in the form of four adjacent Super Ring boxes, and reaching/clearing a Special Stage also skips the level you were on when you got there... quality of life? I don't know. It just makes it all feel way too breezy. There's almost no challenge until the very final stage and even that's pretty mild. But is it fun? I guess it's okay. The levels are much less linear here which feels more like Mega Drive Sonic but doesn't really play to the strengths of the previous, much more straightforward games. There was a clear effort to capture some of the feel of Sonic's 16-bit outings here, but just because they could doesn't mean they should have. **

Sonic Drift 2 (1995)

Colour me shocked. I was absolutely taken aback by how much I enjoyed this. I'd sampled Sonic Drift 2 before as part of one of the ten trillion Sonic compilations on Gamecube, but I'd always dismissed it compared to the likes of Tails Adventure. And I was wrong to do so, because Sonic Drift 2 is actually a bit of a banger. And I don't mean in the sense of a crap car, I mean it's very good indeed. The visuals are absolutely outstanding; bright, colourful and clear despite being miniscule even on the Game Gear screen. While the top half of the view is taken up with an overview of your current track, it doesn't feel intrusive because you absolutely need to use it to plan your corners. And the cornering feels great, with a high skill ceiling and a superior sense of speed. It's bloody hard, too - even the earliest races will have you sweating. There's a Super Mario Kart vibe to it all as you chuck weapons at one another with a tap on Up, and the variety of settings and modes will keep you entertained. I never, ever expected to give this one full marks, but having gained the context of the Game Gear's actual library, I don't see how I could not. *****

Sonic Labyrinth (1995)

This is an infamous one, given its story reason for Sonic now moving very slowly indeed; yes, this is a departure for the series and somewhat absurd on the face of it, but in service of a course-based ball game it pretty much works. Ignore the fact that it's the little blue bastard and you'll find a reasonably accomplished game here, a little like Marble Madness if it was played a little more like golf. Yes, this is the secret ten thousandth Game Gear golf game. Okay, no, it's not, you're moving Sonic around a maze collecting keys in order to exit, and the way you move him is by spin dashing. You hold a button to make your "shot" power go up, then release to "fire", and it's all in real time. Time being the operative word; you're up against the clock here, sometimes rather harshly. Finding keys or power-ups increases your remaining time, as does destroying the respawning enemies, so it's never unfair. And it's fine. You know? It's alright. I had fun with it. The worst part are probably the boss battles, which absolutely do not fit this gameplay style, not to mention the controls. But they're pretty brief and not exceptionally frustrating. Examining Sonic Labyrinth without exhibiting bizarre, prejudicial dismissal reveals a perfectly enjoyable game. It doesn't set the world on fire, but who would want that anyway? It would be terribly dangeous. ***

Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)

Yeah, it's good. You already know it's good. Everyone has played this. The Master System game has been pared down nicely, redrawn in places to fit the screen better. Okay, Sonic looks stupid - where's his nose?! - but it doesn't matter when the game plays this well. The level design is strong (excepting maybe the auto-scrolling Bridge Zone Act 2) and the locations varied. The soundtrack slaps, the bonus stages are fun and the mood of the whole thing is just great. Fresh takes on Mega Drive Zones like Green Hill and Labyrinth are mixed with fresh ones such as the Jungle and Sky Base Zones. It's all just solid as hell, with - dare I say it - a better challenge than the Mega Drive game, due to your being unable to recollect dropped rings. Almost every Game Gear owner has this and it's popular for a reason - it's ruddy great. No notes. *****

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992)

Sophomore effort Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is infamously difficult thanks to its lack of suitability to the Game Gear screen, which becomes a severe problem in the second zone and never goes away. Later stage Scrambled Egg Zone is borderline impossible here, without extensive memorisation. It's bloody tough on the Master System, even, and in that version you can actually see what you're doing. This, then, is on something of a hiding to nothing. It's a shame, because the Master System take is hugely enjoyable. The zones are distinct in feel, and the game hides secrets absolutely everywhere to the point that it's honestly kind of absurd. I suppose that helps the Game Gear version since you can collect so many extra lives, but it's such an ordeal to play that I can't recommend it with any sincerity. Play the Master System cart. It really is worlds apart. **

Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball (1994)

I'm rather keen on the Mega Drive version of Sonic Spinball, but this handheld take on the concept is a very weak substitute. The handling is awful, with the actual pinball motion seeming to be completely under-prioritised compared to your manual movement of Sonic in the air. It's hard to explain, but it means it doesn't feel like pinball. The levels all look the same, everywhere, and there's a distinct lack of targets to hit. I got the first emerald by complete accident by missing some flippers and basically didn't have the drive to continue. It's very poor and I don't have a huge amount to say about it. I suppose it's a little bit beyond the Game Gear to handle an engine like this, perhaps? It made me smile to hear a familiar sound effect from Sonic the Hedgehog at one point, and that really was the high mark of the whole experience for me. Leave it on the shelf. *

Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble (1994)

Easily the most acclaimed of the Game Gear titles, I find myself oddly nonplussed by it. Don't get me wrong - it's pretty far from bad, and it's a proper, bespoke Game Gear game rather than a Master System port. Despite this, the game still feels cramped to me. Both Sonic and Tails are again playable, though Tails' flight is only so helpful with these level designs. I wasn't keen on the Special Stages either, which seem designed around wasting your time and thereby annoying the living piss out of you. Still, there is fun to be had here, and a very strong soundtrack. It all just feels like going through the motions a bit, you know? There's a fan-made remake, Sonic Triple Trouble 16-Bit, which is so good that it may as well be official. Play that instead, perhaps. ***

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