1) Sonic R

Alright, if you’ve ever heard of Sonic R, there are mixed opinions on it. When I first received it, people smiled and laughed...and then told me that it was the worst game ever made. Unfettered, I carried on, learning the game’s abstract and touchy controls, putting up with the crappy background music ("When you’re 'Super Sonic Racing', there’s no time to look around" ... what the f**k is that?), and that should really have been my first clue.

The fact that I would spend time trying to get to know the game, and putting up with what so many others refused to, should have let me know that its actually an enjoyable game. Many people feel burned or scorned by their experience playing on the Saturn, and it’s likely I would too, had I purchased one at launch. But since I only acquired after it became a defunct console, I was under no pressure to make my console perform, or justify spending loads of money on it.

Now, although I'm showing the Saturn version of this game, I mainly play the Sonic Gems Collection release, and playing this with a GameCube controller is definitely a plus in my book. Also, did you know that this was Sonic's first 3D game?! Yeah!!! I mean, if you don't count the Special Stages from the Saturn version of Sonic 3D Blast and the hub world in Sonic Jam (more on that later), but still this is it.

At first, Sonic R reminded me somewhat of playing Sonic Adventure 2 on my GameCube - my #1 favorite Sonic game of all time. Except now you don’t have to do those the treasure-hunting levels with Knuckles / Rouge, or stomp around in a mech. However, there’s only 5 stages to race around in Sonic R, so although you JUST run like sonic does in Adventure 2, it's not like you get to do it more often than you did.

One thing I don't like about Sonic R is the character designs. When I was little, I thought Sonic's design was awesome! Nowadays, it still looks cool, but when the first Sonic Adventure came out Sega had a subtly, but a better change for Sonic and made him even more awesome. Sure, he had longer legs, a more stretched out body, green eyes, etc, but I really love the new version of Sonic.

And yes, I said 5 stages, one of which you have to unlock. There’s a number of characters to choose from as well, each with their own unique advantages. Sonic can double jump, Tails can fly, Knuckles can glide, etc. There’s also a bunch of characters to unlock, and doing so isn't impossible. Still, you needn’t bother unlocking them, since you the main trio (Knuckles has white shoes for some reason by the way), and Amy with her crappy car. Dr. Robotnik is one of the unlockable characters, which I kind of have mixed feelings over, since he’s one of the characters whom you race against.

As usual, you can collect rings, and power-ups, and find Sonic Tokens (to unlock extras racers [after coming in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place] like Metal Sonic, a creepy Tails doll, Metal Knuckles [in his one and only appearance in the franchise], etc.), and hidden Chaos Emeralds (to unlock that wacky Super Sonic, or as I like to call him...the destroyer of souls because he's that broken).

Multiplayer is...questionable, and good luck finding someone else who is willing to play it. There are also time trials, where I learned all my skills to actually be able to play this game, and there are two more modes when you run around the track alone trying to find 5 hidden balloons or trying to tag your opponents. Also, if the terrible background music bothers you, and it probably will, you can turn off the vocals in the options menu... I never knew that until recently.

So there you have it. Sonic R is secretly a fun game, but if you bother to pick it up, be warned. You’ll have to dedicate some time to it, and maybe even get laughed at by your friends, but in the end, you’ll have the last laugh, so long as you can trick them into picking up the second controller.

Rating: 3 / 5

2) Sonic Jam

Sonic Jam is an interesting collection of Sonic games, since it marks the spot between the classic and successful Sega of the past and the troubled franchise it is today. This collection contains Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic 3, and Sonic & Knuckles. It is also a notable collection, since it is one of the very few Sonic collections that offers support for the 'lock-on' function of Sonic & Knuckles. So it's possible to play as Knuckles in Sonic 2 and to enjoy the excellent Sonic 3 & Knuckles combination.

Besides the classic games, this collection offers Sonic World. This 'World' is unique for the Saturn -- the only Sega platform without a proper Sonic platform game -- and is just one zone with springs to bounce on, platforms to go to, Tails (who you use to fly a few feet off the ground), and buildings with history on Sonic (artwork, commercials, and so on). It also offers a few challenges, like collecting an amount of rings as fast as you can.

It is said that Sonic World is the predecessor of Sonic Adventure and it shows -- it is very much like a 3D Hub World in the actual Dreamcast title. After this point, Sega thought for the next 20 years that followed after Sonic World they should focus more on the 3D Sonic instead of the classic 2D Sonic. I mean, this was around the time when Mario, Crash Bandicoot, and other gaming icons were making the jump into the third dimension. Sonic had a hard time doing so, but in 1998 it finally happened (but more on that next time).

Overall, this collection reminds us once more why the original Sonic games were so beloved and why they'll forever be valuable treasures of our childhoods.

Rating: 4.5 / 5