Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure

Review

by Christian Huey

The double standard in videogaming used to be evident when comparing arcade games to console games. That's changed now, as the hardware technology used in home systems is no longer the comparative joke it once was. Today, the same issue lies between console games and handheld games. Portable systems have been advancing at a tortoise crawl since the late '80s, so that it's actually a compliment to have a "pocket" game compare favorably to a console title from nearly a decade ago.

Take Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure, which essentially a slightly dumbed down port of 1992's Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Genesis. The fact that it apes an old 16-bit title so believably is the game's strongest suit. Meanwhile, we have Sonic Adventure, released a few months before Sonic Pocket on the 128-bit Dreamcast, whose speed, graphical clarity, and 3D engine are simply mind-boggling.

Yes, pocket gaming has long been the more humble younger brother to console gaming, but that can be quite refreshing. And as such, it's refreshing to find this old school platformer faithfully carrying on the tradition of the Sonic games of yore. Simultaneously, why it may not be the Neo Geo Pocket Color's "killer app," it showcases the little monster's processing prowess quite nicely. And just as Sega stuck a thorn in Nintendo's side in the early '90s by releasing a game that would've been impossible on the Super Nintendo, in 1999 SNK has, with generous help from Sega, repeated history. It's true: Sonic Pocket Adventure plays really really fast; about as fast as the old Genesis titles, and sacrifices little in the way of graphics. It's got to make Nintendo squirm; they who made such a fuss over their pixel-perfect Gameboy Color port of a fourteen year old title, Super Mario Bros.

Execpt for Sonic's little buddy Tails, who served mostly as a distracting tagalong in Sonic 2's one player mode, Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure features impressive renditions of nearly every element found in Sonic 2, although the levels reveal some subtle tweaking here and there. Also, the background music seems to have been grafted on from Sonic the Hedgehog 3, not 2, and it all sounds like it's been sent through an 8-bit filter.

There's little to complain about when discussing Sonic Pocket Adventure's graphical presentation. It's clearly 16-bit, unlike Sonic's earlier portable excursions on the Sega Game Gear, and makes excellent use of the Neo Geo Pocket's impressive color palette. Likewise, the animation is about as smooth as a pina colada, and unless they're the kind that like migraines, players will be pleased to find absolutely no screen blur. The only complaint I have in the graphics department is the lack of parallax scrolling, which the Neo Geo Pocket Color has proved more than capable of. I'm guessing that all of that processing power went toward maintaining the game's speed, which was definitely the right choice.

Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure does have some cool tricks up its sleeve that add more replay value to an already extremely playable game. First of all, the automatic save feature allows you to resume play at any level you've previously completed. The upside to this is that the game is playable in short bursts. The downside is that there's apparently no way to reset the game's data, which eliminates all challenge should you feel like working your way through the game later on after completing it.

There's also a couple of modes devoted to getting a time record for completing each level. Finishing each level with a time limit and other restrictions in order to receive a reward of bronze, silver, or gold, can be quite tough.

Then there's the puzzle mode, which allows you to assemble portraits of Sonic characters from hidden pieces, stuck here and there among the levels like Easter eggs. Finish the puzzles, and you earn the Sonic sound test.

It should be said that no Sonic veteran will need more than a few hours to tackle this title. It's clearly the easiest Sonic the Hedgehog installment in recent memory. Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure, however, ultimately succeeds in providing those old-school 2D thrills as only a little blue hedgehog can. Here's hoping for an original sequel on the Neo Geo Pocket.