Oh, Sonic. How far you've come. Once upon a time you were Sega's champion, vying to be the most popular flagship character in history. Now you're reliving your best days, running around nimby-bimbly, on the most popular smartphone OS around. Good for you, Blue Blur.
There's not much to say about this one, except that it rocks. The gameplay is the same frantic zooming, running, jumping, and boss battling classic Sonic games taught us to love, and Sonic CD certainly delivers.
The controls are pretty tight, giving you only a virtual d-pad and jump button to work with, and I'm pleased to report that the d-pad is large enough on a tablet you shouldn't find your thumb wandering off very often. The jump button also serves as your spin dash button (for when you're stationary and pressing down on the d-pad), and, to borrow a phrase, it just works.
Lots of comments on the video have been more than vocal about how disappointing it is that the original music has been changed, but once you get over it, the background music is still pretty groovin', especially for a video game hero who is pushing 21 years old. (Speaking of the soundtrack, on the main menu, you can switch between Japanese and American soundtracks for Sonic CD.)
If you worry about getting bored with the main game, Sonic CD also has a Time Attack game, accessible from the first time you open the app up. Well, it's accessible in the sense that you can open it up and see the levels, but the levels are locked until you've cleared them in the main game. Pretty tricky on Sega's part!
There's also a super special extras menu, but even yours truly is curious as to what secrets it holds. Everything is initially locked, but you can see two of them: D.A. Garden and Visual Mode. What could these extras be? It's hard to say for sure, but I do know you'll have to play to find out!
What more can be said? If you're part of the generation that grew up playing Sonic, this is nostalgia reinvented for the mobile generation, and boy, is it good. Sure, at $4.99, Sonic CD might be a bit pricey, but compare that to what those old cartridges used to cost and you're saving a ton!
If you want to save the world as your favorite chili dog-eating, azure-colored spiny mammal, we've got download links after the break.
