The Sonic 100% Quest

The ultimate quest to 100% every Sonic game in existence (SEGA crossovers excluded). Yes, that includes the Boom games.

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Run by TolaceWorks

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Hey, long time no see! Welcome to my side-blog. Here, I am going to document my progess to 100% every Sonic game, as well as a few tidbits about my personal experience with the game.

Note: There are some exceptions to what games I will be playing! The games have to be specifically ABOUT Sonic, so that means I won't be playing games like Sega Superstars Tennis or Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing. ALSO! I will only play the definitive versions of some of these games if it is available, e.g. Sonic Colours Ultimate rather than Sonic Colours, or Sonic x Shadow Generations rather than Sonic Generations. The alternative versions, such as with Lost World and Generations, will still be played. I will play the original Sonic 06.

WARNING! THIS BLOG CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR EVERY SONIC GAME, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

CURRENTLY PLAYING - Sonic 3D Blast NEXT GAME TO PLAY - Sonic R

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Second episode!

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I made my first gameplay video! Hiatus is now over.

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Currently going on a brief hiatus, where I will be restarting my progress. This is because I've decided I want to stream the games! So I will begin again, keep the original blog posts up, post video updates when they are finished, and so on.

You'll be able to see my progress here:

TolaceWorks

Artist, writer and anarchist :3 I make videos of me playing Sonic here, and sometimes other stuff maybe. No promises

Stay tuned :3

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Sonic Blast - 1996 - Game Gear

The very last Sonic game for the Game Gear, Sonic Blast was an attempt at replicating the success of Donkey Kong Country with 3D graphics on a 2D system. For better and for worse.

Eggman builds the Silver Castle, his 'definitive' Death Egg, and destroys one of the Chaos Emeralds. Sonic picks up the pieces of it, repairs it, and destroys the new base. Knuckles is here too if you want.

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So. Let's talk about the graphics real quick. Sonic Blast is often regarded as the ugliest Sonic game, and for good reason. Donkey Kong Country has never been a wonderfully pretty game, but it was at least charming. Sonic Blast tried to force that on an 8-bit console with very little colour choices and screen space. The results are off-putting, dull, and poorly animated....

But then we get to the gameplay. Classic Sonic has never really let you go exceptionally fast, I can admit that, especially on the Game Gear, but this game let me see Sonics' full run animation ONCE. Once. And that was for about 2 seconds. The gameplay is slow, tedious, gimmicky, and unclear in part thanks to the poor graphics.

Just... Don't bother playing. It was nice to see Knuckles here I guess.

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Sonic the Fighters - 1996 - Arcade

The first ever 3D Sonic game. We've come so far... Built off of the Fighting Vipers engine, this game pitted Sonic, Tails, and a lot of their friends and enemies (including newcomers Bean and Bark, who work for Fang) in a simple, cartoonish fighting game.

The 100% requirement for this game is; Beat every round as any character, go Super against Metal, and escape the Death Egg II.

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The plot was simple. Eggman had started work on his next big weapon; the Death Egg II. Tails and Sonic go to collect the Chaos Emeralds, but run into Knuckles. He insists he should go up to the new Death Egg due to being the strongest, and Tails organises a fair way for people to decide who can go by a tournament.

Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Espio (and newcomer Honey depending on the version) are the good guys who participate. Fang, Bean, and Bark join too interested in stealing the Chaos Emeralds for themselves. Ultimately, Sonic wins the tournament, collects 8 Chaos Emeralds (don't overthink it), and heads up the Death Egg II.

There, he fights it out with Metal Sonic and goes Super, before Eggman attempts to make the Death Egg self-destruct. Sonic manages to beat up Eggman and escape beforehand, however, returning home with Eggman's schemes foiled. Eggman and Metal both manage to survive the explosion, heading back to Earth disgraced.

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This is not an amazing game, especially not by fighter standards, but it as an amazing novelty. The gameplay is a modification of Fighting Vipers, as said before, but it plays a lot like Virtua Fighter 2. The player can punch, kick, or block, and can perform a series of combos based on the button order they press.

Unfortunately, the gameplay loop becomes pretty stale by the time you reach Fang's fight. Fang is the only character in the game to have a proper ranged attack, and the AI in this game is very busted. The game only begins to get harder from there, and by the time you reach Metal, it'd be nearly impossible to have made it without putting in a few more dollars to the machine.

There's a reward for not losing a single round, however! You can go Super in the second round against Metal, making it significantly easier. However, that implies you can play so perfectly against the significantly busted AI that you could see it, and it isn't immensely worth it unfortunately.

Regardless, it was fun for the bit of time it took. Shout out to Honey the Cat, I wanna see you appear in a game again one day. And Rocket Metal too, I guess, it's too bad you only got to appear in the opening and got scrapped.

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Sonic Labyrinth - 1995 - Game Gear

While Sonic Labyrinth was initially released to lukewarm reviews, this pile of shit has since been seen as one of the worst games in the entire franchise. Being one of the last games to be released on the Game Gear, this was the end of the mass-production of Sonic spin-offs for years to come.

Eggman replaces Sonics' shoes with the Slow Down Boots, and Sonic finds himself unable to run. He goes to collect the six Chaos Emeralds from Eggmans' Super Labyrinth by rolling through, so he can remove the shoes and go fast again.

The 100% requirement for this game is; Get 5 stars at the end of the game with all 6 Chaos Emeralds.

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No wonder people hate this game. This might be the least fun I've had with a Sonic game in history. Sonic 06 looks like fine art in comparison; I got Free Riders to work more than this mess. The game is isometric, and the gameplay involves spindashing Sonic across the room to pick up keys so he can move on to the next level.

I can't say much else than that. The bosses suck, the gameplay sucks, its not pretty, its just. Bad, with a capital B. It is the ONLY Sonic game I can wholeheartedly say you can skip without missing anything at all. I just wanna cry...

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Tails' Adventure - 1995 - Game Gear

Tails' last spin-off so far, and unlike the previous games, this one is a slow Metroidvania, for better and for worse.

An army of fascist birds known as the Battle Kukku Empire invade Cocoa Island, where Tails' recently built a workshop. He goes on a quest to eradicate every single member of the empire from the island with bombs and guns.

The 100% requirement for this game is; Collect all items and beat the game.

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This is so much better than Skypatrol, and the best the Sonic franchise can go while running slow. Going back and forth through a bunch of levels, you have to collect new weapons to progress further until you reach the Kukku Empire's base.

The type of tools you can get range from useful to silly. You can get the infamous Napalm Bomb, which you need to burn down some obstacles, or you can get a radio that lets you change the music. Knuckles, Sonic and Fang also appear in the game as optional collectibles, giving you new abilities (e.g. punch or spindash).

The big issue of the game is the fact that it's an early metroidvania. It falls into the same pitfalls as very early Metroid or Castlevania, with the way forward sometimes seeming impossible, insanely hard bosses, and an admittedly repetitive appearance. And while I could normally excuse this, it's jarring to come to from Sonic games.

I think this game could do with a sequel, though! Something more fast-paced while keeping the same kind of challenge and versatility. Plus, Tails is so cute in this game!

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Tails' Skypatrol - 1995 - Game Gear

The first of two spin-offs that Tails got, and one of the shortest games in the series. A side-scrolling shmup where you can't use bullets, you have to stay in the air as long as possible and use your 'boomering' to defeat the enemies and bosses.

Tails goes on a journey by himself, and finds an island covered in rails and robots ruled by Witchcart (who is a witch in a minecart, shock and awe). Tails hits her and her minions in the back of the head, and saves the island.

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It isn't a good game, I will admit, but it certainly was fun! The gameplay loop has you go much slower than I expected for a Sonic game (especially after Knuckles' Chaotix), but I guess it isn't really Sonic! You can switch between going slow and going fast by holding the attack button, but that sacrifices your ability to actually use the ring.

Interesting to note is how difficult the game is. Getting hurt by enemies doesn't matter in practice here; you simply fall for a bit until you catch yourself. But the moment you hit a wall, the floor, or any solid object, you lose. And unfortunately, the enemies spam you with as many bullets as there are pixels on your Game Gear, meaning you'll be falling a lot.

Also, Tails has a serious mint candy issue. This was mentioned in the Sonic 2 manual and the Twitter Takeovers, but this is the only time it has a gameplay purpose, being the only way to refill your energy.

Still, I had fun for the 15 minutes it takes to beat the game :p

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Knuckles' Chaotix - 1995 - 32X

One of the last 16-bit games before Sonic Adventure in 1999, Knuckles' Chaotix stands as one of the few games in the entire franchise to not feature Sonic as a prominent character. Instead, we can play as Knuckles, Mighty from SegaSonic the Hedgehog, the Chaotix, and the Metallix. It was intended to be a showcase of the SEGA 32X, but was the only Sonic game released on the platform.

The 100% requirement for this game is; to collect all 6 Chaos Rings and beat the game as any character.

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After Sonic 3 & Knuckles, with the Master Emerald returned, Knuckles witnesses an island form out of the ocean. He decides to investigate and finds that, as quickly as it popped out of the sea, Eggman has taken it over and built a theme park, dubbed Newtrogic High Zone, using the power from the rings seen throughout the franchise.

Knuckles meets Vector, Espio and Charmy, members of the Chaotix Detective Agency, and Mighty, a lone wanderer and friend of Sonic. They agree to work together to work out the mysteries of the island, all while tearing down Eggmans' park and removing the Ring Energy he was using. Heavy and Bomb, two rogue badniks, also help as the Metallix.

After going through each segment of Newtrogic High, Knuckles fights Metal Sonic, who was fully repaired after CD and Triple Trouble, and fitted with new technology such as a laser cannon in his chest. He gains a super form with the power from one of the Dark Rings Eggman had been using, and transforms into Metal Sonic Kai, a giant red mecha, but is destroyed anyway.

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This game gets a lot of flack still, which is surprising! It is certainly buggy, but by Sonic standards it's as clean as can be. The chain gameplay, which has you and another character strapped together, at first seems to slow you down, but once you work out how to pull it off, you can go so fast the screen struggles to keep up!

An interesting feature of this game is that the order of progression is very asymmetric. Rather than going through 3 acts in each zone, there are 5 acts in each zone you are sent to in a random order. In addition, the game features a day-night cycle that changes bits of the level layout! It's very cool.

A quick point I'd like to make is that Sonic, Tails and Amy do feature in this game, just not as playable characters. Amy is in the sound test, and Sonic and Tails appear in the credits scene (although Sonic seems to have some weird tan legs here). Also, Metal Sonic Kai makes a partial reappearance in Mania! Just something cool I wanted to mention.

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Sonic Drift 2 - 1995 - Game Gear

You thought Sonic Drift was bad? Well... This is technically better. The last racing game until Sonic R, Drift 2 aimed to improve on its predecessor with better graphics, more interesting race tracks, and nearly twice as many playable characters.

The 100% requirement for this game is; beat all 3 Grand Prix as any character.

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While this is a better game than Drift 1, that doesn't exactly make it more enjoyable to 100%. The lack of thrills is still very much present, and now the game is so much harder. It drove me so mad, getting every bit, that I took a month-long hiatus from 100%ing the games. I only recently came back to it and finished it because I made this blog.

The original 4 from Drift 1 are still here (Sonic, Tails, Amy, Eggman), but now Knuckles, Metal Sonic, and Fang have joined the race too. There are 6 races across 3 GPs, meaning you have to play 18 courses for each character. Thankfully, you only really have to do it once (I picked Sonic), because there are no bonus end bits. I initially thought I'd have to play it 7 times for each character :c

You can play this one if you want; it is slightly better than Drift 1, I can admit that. Just don't put too much time into it if you want to come out in one piece. Please.

Fuck you Sonic Drift 2. I'm never touching you again.

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Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble - 1994 - Game Gear

The peak of Sonics' SEGA handheld console journey, Triple Trouble was a combination of everything that worked from the previous trials (e.g. new power ups from Sonic Chaos) into a very fun, very memorable final project. And to the surprise of everyone, me included! This game has a relatively established plot.

The 100% requirement for this game is; get all 5 Chaos Emeralds and beat the game.

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Eggman has obtained 6 of the 7 Chaos Emeralds (the first time all 7 are even mentioned in a handheld title), but he manages to lose 5 of them due to a machine malfunction. He manages to trick Knuckles into delaying Sonic while he works to collect them again. Meanwhile, Fang the Sniper, bounty hunter, eavesdrops on Eggman and Knuckles and works to find them before anyone else.

Sonic and Tails finds out about the Chaos Emeralds and beats up Fang to get them; he later fights Knuckles who was trying to delay him. Knuckles is taken away for failing and Sonic rushes to Eggmans' Atomic Destroyer, retrieving the 6th Chaos Emerald, beating up Metal Sonic again, and saving Knuckles. The two finally make peace and leave the destroyed base.

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This game was delightfully fun, being a nice breather between Sonic Drift and its dreaded sequel, Sonic Drift 2. Unfortunately, it's also very quick, with 6 bite-sized stages.

The game starts in Great Turquoise, not much unlike Turquoise Hill in Sonic Chaos. After being sabotaged by Knuckles, you go through Sunset Park, half of which takes place on the back of a train, Mecha Junglira, which is just fine, and Robotnik Winter, which even brings back the snowboard from Sonic 3! You finish off the batch with Tidal Plant, a water level which you can traverse with a big submarine or jet boots, and eventually the Atomic Destroyer.

While the levels are fun and all, the stand-out here is the boss selection; You get to Knuckles, Metal Sonic, Fang, Eggman... The whole kaboodle of enemies introduced so far! This level of variety in bosses won't be seen again until Sonic Adventure, and that's... pushing it a bit when it comes to 'boss fights'.

Regardless, this is the best Game Gear game in the entire franchise. Check it out if you can!

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Sonic Drift - 1994 - Game Gear

CONGRATULATION! Released in 1994, The first non-platformer title in the Sonic franchise came out to... Less than stellar reviews. The racing genre was yet to be perfected in the Sonic series, but this is a major stepping point to some of the more beloved games such as Sonic R or Sonic Riders.

The 100% requirement for this game is; Beat all 3 Grand Prix as all 4 characters.

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The first big slump in my 100% quest, and it's just a handheld racing game. Sonic Drift is simple; You pick one of four racers (Sonic, Tails, Amy, or Eggman) and... Try and get to the finish line.

Here's the kicker, though; The game is ugly as shit, and you've gotta replay the entire thing 4 times with no variation whatsoever to 100% it. It'll drive you mad. You go through the Green, Yellow, and Red Chaos Prix to get a very short series of images at the end to show you beat it. That's it.

For your sake, skip to a better racing game. Even Free Riders is better (when it realises youre playing the game).

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Sonic 3 & Knuckles - 1994 - Mega Drive

Yes, yes, I know these are techinically two separate games and because of their sheer size, but they were intended to be enjoyed together, so!

The 100% requirement for this game is; Get all Super Emeralds and beat the game as Sonic & Tails, then get all Super Emeralds again and beat the game as Knuckles.

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Another larger game, like Sonic CD. The plot here follows directly after Sonic 2 (16-Bit), with Super Sonic and Tails flying away from the falling Death Egg. However, they witness it hit a flying island known as Angel Island, sending it plummeting into the sea. The two go to investigate, before Sonic is beaten out of his Super form by the guardian of the island, Knuckles the Echidna, who then steals the Chaos Emeralds.

Apparently, Knuckles was informed by Eggman that Sonic had come to steal the Master Emerald, a new gem that keeps Angel Island afloat. Sonic and Tails work through the island, picking them back up slowly and stopping Eggman from destroying the island all while dealing with Knuckles antagonising them. Once they reach Launch Base, they see that Eggman had been rebuilding the Death Egg and destroying the environment.

The two climb up to the Death Egg and stop its launch, sending it hurtling directly back to Angel Island. Sonic also finds the Master Emerald, and uses the Chaos Emeralds to power more emerald-shaped stones, the Super Emeralds, to go Hyper Sonic, a form we will never see again :c

Reaching the Hidden Palace, Sonic and Knuckles fight while Eggman secretly steals the Master Emerald to power the Death Egg again. Knuckles realises he had been tricked, and teams up with Sonic to take him down. Sonic fights ANOTHER robot clone, Mecha Sonic Mk. II, and reach the now in-orbit Death Egg. He completely explodes the Death Egg, and stops Eggman from escaping with the Master Emerald, returning it back to Angel Island. The island then goes back into the air once more.

Somehow, the story DOESN'T end there. Knuckles gets a bonus campaign, right after the events of the main game, where Mecha Sonic Mk. II, barely still functioning, charges another attack on the island. Knuckles goes back to Sky Sanctuary and fights the robot, who is now in a Super form thanks to the Master Emerald. Knuckles still wins, keeps the Master Emerald safe, and completely scraps Mk. II.

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Ok, massive plot summary over. So what do I think of the game? Other than the fact that it's the best classic game in the entire franchise, well. I can talk about the amazing music? Or how cool Knuckles is? Or how much I love the silly little extra bits like snowboarding in Ice Cap? Or how useful the Super Forms are?

My point is, this game rules. It is an ESSENTIAL entry in the franchise, and a highlight of this experience so far. I love Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and you should too :3

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Sonic Spinball - 1993 - Mega Drive

Another game based off of a show, this time for Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM)! Taking a much darker tone to any of the previous games, even pulling out some genuinely horrifying monster designs, this is a platformer/pinball crossover that actually works REALLY well!

On Mobius, Robotnik has used the 16 Chaos Emeralds (yes, 16) to power his Veg-O-Fortress, where he mass produces badniks with his kidnapped animals. Sonic and Tails find the giant tower one day while on patrol in Tails' plane, and Sonic goes into the sewers to climb up to the top and beat up Eggman.

The 100% requirement for this game is; Get all 14 Chaos Emeralds and beat the game.

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While the gameplay gets very cruel later on, the pinball in this game is actually really fun! You have to do different challenges in the 4 different stages, obtaining 4 Chaos Emeralds in each stage. You start in the Toxic Caves, where you fight a giant scorpion with Robotniks' face grafted onto it... Scary. Then is the Lava Powerhouse, where you fight screaming Robotnik faces in a giant pool of lava... Notice a pattern? You save the animals eventually in The Machine, and eventually stop Robotnik in his ship during Showdown.

The Special Stages feature some cool cameos, with Sally Acorn and Bunnie Rabbot making brief appearances as targets you need to save. That's cool!

The game is hard, by the way. Very hard. Just a warning if you ever decide to play! Good thing this isn't an actual arcade game :p

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Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine - 1993 - Mega Drive

You thought SegaSonic was hard? Then clearly you've not heard of Sega's reskinned Puyo Puyo port, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. This game will kick your ARSE, and it'll laugh at you the entire time.

Set in the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog TV show continuity, Dr. Ro-butt-nik has kidnapped a bunch of sentient beans and wants to roboticise them. The heroic Has Bean, last survivor of Beanville, goes to defeat Robotnik and save his friends.

The 100% requirement for this game is; Beat all 13 stages on the highest difficulty.

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Let me be upfront. If it weren't for the fact that this game was hard as balls, this game might be one of my favourite puzzle games. However, I had to play it on the hardest difficulty and beat all 13 stages. I was very much ready to cry by the time I faced Grounder :p

Every enemy in this stage is from the Adventures show, a Looney Tunes-esque cartoon best known to some people as the source of those YouTube Poop memes (pingas). However, despite originally being one-note throwaway cartoon villains, some of these characters actually kind of fucking rule? Bring back Sir Ffuzzy-Logik, Sega!

Anyway, once you get through the first 12 fodder enemies, including Coconuts, Scratch and Grounder, you fight Robotnik and win, destroying his factory and saving the beans. The end! There's no bonus reward for playing on a higher difficulty, at least I don't think so?

Again, I can at least praise the sprite-work here. Just not the difficulty.

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Sonic Chaos - 1993 - Game Gear

Ouch. What a game to come to after CD. The first spin-off game for handheld titles, Sonic Chaos was produced out of Sega by Aspect, who made the 8-Bit version of Sonic 2. This game has you play as either Sonic or Tails through 6 bite-sized stages, beating mini challenges to get 6 Chaos Emeralds.

Dr. Eggman has gotten one of the 6 Chaos Emeralds on South Island, causing the island to sink (that's new!). Sonic and Tails head out to stop him.

The 100% requirement for this game is; Get all 5 Chaos Emeralds as Sonic and beat the game, then get all 5 Chaos Emeralds as Tails and beat the game again.

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So... This isn't a great game, I can admit. However, Tails is finally playable as a separate character on handheld titles! That's... A start. That might sound mean, but there were good sides! Interesting gameplay gimmicks were introduced here that would come back in later Aspect titles, such as ridable springs or jet boots.

You can only get 5 Chaos Emeralds in this game, and there's no going Super. The first zone is Turquoise Hill, which is over before it starts. Gigalopolis has lots of tunnels, Sleeping Egg can be partially destroyed, Mecha Green Hill has some weird sprite angles and is apparently not the actual Green Hill? Aqua Planet is a water level, and Electric Egg took me 9 lives to beat.

Unfortunately, the ending credits for Sonic Chaos is different for both characters, which meant I beat it twice. For some reason, Tails never showed up with a Chaos Emerald. Regardless, I did it. Cute sprites, at least!