Sonic The Hedgehog Pocket Adventure | Sega / SNK 1999

The release of Sonic The Hedgehog Pocket Adventure came as somewhat of a surprise to the gaming masses and Sonic fans alike; there was to be a Sonic the Hedgehog game on a non-Sega platform and was the first 2D Sonic game since Chaotix on the 32X.

This was to be another product of the short partner ship enjoyed by Sega and SNK through the Dreamcast years with another product being the link between the Neo Geo Pocket Color and the Dreamcast.

Sonic Pocket Adventure enters with a slight distinction of being the first Sonic game to arrive on a non-Sega console. Something we're used to by now.

It's easier to describe Pocket Adventure as a collection of elements from previous Sonic games. The graphical style is very close to Sonic 2 on the Mega Drive with music and some story elements pulled from Sonic 3 and Knuckles.

Basically the game looks much better than a Sonic game on the Game Gear and runs as if it was on a Mega Drive.

STORY

The story revolves around our resident bad guy Dr Robotnik. Out for the Chaos Emeralds to power all sorts of contraptions for megalomania - Sonic must prevent him from getting his fat sweaty hands on them.

GAMEPLAY

The gameplay to Sonic Pocket Adventure is traditional Sonic. Running left to right, collecting rings, killing enemy robots etc.

You have the regular cast of items to collect in each act and 1 new item; Puzzle Pieces.

Rings Monitor - Gives you 10 rings
Shield - Protects you from one hit.
Speed Boots - Boost in speed
Invincibility - Makes Sonic invincible and trails stars
Extra Life - Earns you an extra life.
Puzzle Pieces - These are collected for use in the Puzzle Room. See under Options for more.

Populated throughout each act are enemies and various hazards.

You can perform Sonic's Spin Dash move by holding down on the D-pad and revving with the jump buttons.

When you complete an act and have 50 rings or more you can enter the special stage by jumping through the giant ring. This is only possible on act 1.

Each zone consists of 2 acts with a boss appearing at the end of act 2. There are 7 zones in total in the game with 2 other stages being Robotnik encounters with one of those – Chaotic Space – being available only when you have all the Chaos Emeralds.

SCREENSHOTS

The game different endings depending on whether you have completed Chaotic Space.

In single player your progress is automatically saved by the system. By selecting continue on the title screen you can select any act of any zone you have played up to. When the game has been completed once you unlock Sound Test in the games options screen.

SPECIAL STAGE

There are only 6 Chaos Emeralds to collect in this game (Robotnik is in possession of another) but being only able to enter the special stage a limited no of times makes their collection are little more tricky as you have no second chances.

The special stage plays exactly the same as in Sonic 2 but the object placement is different and slightly more difficult. You run down a half pipe collecting a specified amount of rings within a certain distance avoiding mines as hitting them will make you loose your rings.

Somewhere in a special stage will be a flashing flower. Collecting this will earn you a continue credit.

OPTIONS

The options screen has several tweaks you can make to the gameplay and access those extra parts of the game. They are accessed under the Go To Room option on the title screen.

Under Trial Room you have the choice of 2 Time Attack modes; Time Trial which is your standard race against the clock and Advanced Time Trial where you must also have 50 rings when you get to the end to have your time recognised.

Your completion times are given an award of bronze, silver or gold. Your time trial times can be exchanged with others through the use of the Neo Pocket Link Cable if you are in the spirit of competition.

The Dual Room pits you against another player via a link-up. Your opponent must also have a copy of the game. Player one will control Sonic and player 2 will control Tails. There are 2 modes available for dueling; 'Sonic Rush' and 'Get The Rings'. For 'Sonic Rush' - the first player to the end of the act. For 'Get The Rings' - the first player to collect a randomly specified amount of rings.

The final mode; Puzzle Room is a unique feature for a Sonic game. Scattered throughout the game are 96 pieces of a puzzle. As you collect them they are placed into a pool in the puzzle room. Using the pieces you have managed to collect you must reconstruct 6 character images. Once done Special Stages are unlocked on the options menu where you can play all 6 special stages in succession. Puzzles can be started at any time and the pieces get returned back into the game after your attempt.

For game options your choices are:

Difficulty - easy or normal. Easy mode reduces the amount of obstacles in the game.
Time Out - On or Off. Toggle the 10 minute limit for completing an act.
Player - 1, 3 or 5. How many lives you wish to start the game with.
Auto Power Off - Turns off your Neo Pocket after a period of inactivity.

CHEATS AND SECRETS

There are no specific cheats for this game that can be done without an emulator. Read on.

Debug Mode

The Debug mode in Pocket Adventure can be activated by Neo Pocket Color Emulators R.A.P.E (Rather a Pokemon Emulator) and NeoPocott and pressing the Options button when the Sega logo is displayed.

When opened you can select from several options; level select, sound test and the debug tool similar to those from the other Sonic games. Debug mode also has a few other options.

You can also play as Tails by activating the debug cheat and pressing B during the game. Do this again to change back to Sonic. In this game, however, Tails can not fly.

At the moment there is no way to access this mode in the form of a cheat.

EMULATOR COMPATIBILITY

Works perfectly in NeoPop

Works perfectly in Koyote except for sound issues as the emu has incomplete sound emulation.

Works perfectly in NeoPocott except for no sound emulation.

Get all of your emulators at VG-Network.com

LINKS

Review to the game at Gamespot.com

MISC INFO

• The packaging for Sonic Pocket Adventure came in 2 versions; one white thin card board box for the Japanese release and the highly robust black plastic case for the European release.
• Sonic Pocket Adventure was later bundled with a Neo Pocket Colour Console (platinum and blue versions) for about £80.
• This is one of the few games that is not compatible with the original Neo Geo Pocket (mono).
• A prototype/demo version of the game was later discovered. This was 1 zone and a special stage but it had a different intro sequence.