Hello, I am back again with the next Lost Gems feature, discussing forgotten classics that are sadly unavailable in an official capacity. In this instalment, I will be covering an unusual collaboration between SEGA and SNK, with a handheld game for the Neo Geo Pocket Color system. So it is time to take a good look at Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure, developed by SNK under supervision from Sonic Team.
Disclaimer: while the game discussed here is no longer officially on sale, there are ways to obtain the game. This can either be through the second hand market, or through unofficial digital roms/rips. I do not condone or promote piracy, so there won’t be any links to roms or rips of the games being covered.
So with the introductions out of the way, let’s get started. I will be starting with the general game experience, then giving my personal thoughts on the title.
About the game
Released all the way back in 1999, Sonic Pocket Adventure is a rather unique standalone platform adventure, based upon the classic trilogy of games. This title uses colourful 16-Bit sprites, created in such a way to fit the Neo Pocket style, which gives it a distinct unique feel. The game is mostly based on Sonic 2 for the Mega Drive/Genesis, taking stages styles, graphics and enemies. This is contrasted with music that comes from a few different games.
The game itself is made up of 7 zones, alongside a special secret zone 8. All of the zones aside from the final and secret zone are made up of two acts, with the second having a boss battle. The core objective for each of the main zones is to get from the start to the goal, collecting rings and avoiding the hazards of the stage. There are many dangers in the stages, with spikes, deadly pitfalls and numerous robotic Badniks that will try to kill sonic.
During the stages, if Sonic takes damage while holding rings, he will drop all of them, being invincible for a limited time to escape danger. But if Sonic takes a hit with no rings, he will die. In order to survive the different zones, sonic has a few tools that can be used. The main one is the Spin Jump, which is his regular jump skill. Then there is the Spin Attack, by pressing down while moving and the Spin Dash, which can be charged for a powerful burst of speed.
As Sonic makes their way through the stages, there will be Star Posts at different points. These checkpoints make death less painful, especially before the boss battles, which can be pretty challenging. There are many gimmicks for the bosses, which can further push the difficulty up. These include Robotnik bouncing around like a pinball, a battle against knuckles and an appearance of the first Sonic robot, Silver Sonic.
If Sonic runs out of lives, the player will get a game over and they must either use a continue (detailed further down), or go back to the title screen and use the continue option there. This system lets players quickly get back into the action, returning to the point that they were at when they lost their last life. The inclusion of this system makes failure less painful, giving players a good chance to clear the game without needing to start from the beginning.
Then there are the item monitors, containing additional rings, shields, extra lives and the super speed shoes. These are scattered around the stages, increasing the replay value through exploration on repeat play. If the player manages to reach the end of the first act with 50 rings, a special ring will appear for sonic to jump into. If the player chooses to enter this special ring, they will be transported to the special stage before going to the next act.
The special stages are taken directly from Sonic 2, with Sonic running through a half-pipe, needing to collect rings to match targets, while avoiding bombs. During the special stages, there will be three targets to match, increasing in number as each one is passed. If the target is missed, the stage will end, but if all three are passed, Sonic will get a chaos emerald, with 6 of them to collect in special stages. Players can also collect continues in bonus stages.
If the player is able to collect all 6 chaos emeralds before reaching the final zone, they will collect the 7th final emerald. This will unlock the secret zone and the true ending, but if emeralds are missed, the regular ending will play out. The main single player isn’t the only thing to do with this game, as there are additional bonus modes to take on. These are found in the Room menu from the title screen, below the start game option.
There is a time trial mode, where players are able to replay cleared stages to get the best possible time. The stages will be added to this mode as they are cleared, giving the player a chance to put their skills to the test. There is a ranking system for the time trial, making it a solid challenge mode. Then there is the Puzzle Room, where players can arrange puzzle pieces that are collected during play, with the completion of puzzles unlocking special features.
Last are the Options and Multiplayer options. In the options, the player can set the number of lives that sonic will have, as well as difficulty and the ability to time out. Turning the Time Out option off prevents Sonic from dying if the time limit is reached. Multiplayer occurs in the Duel Room, where two systems are linked together, letting players battle it out as sonic and tails. There are two challenges to play, a race and ring collection objective.
Personal Thoughts
This was a game I played here and there during the time it was available officially, as well as in the years after. I have a soft spot for this game, as it is one of those unusual things that we never thought would happen, like Sonic going to a Nintendo System. But at the time, this was something very special as it was a collaboration between two hardware Juggernauts. If only we knew they would both cease console development in the years after.
When playing Sonic Pocket Adventure, there is this familiarity to it with the classic gameplay style and adaptations of stages from Sonic 2. It feels comfortable and natural to play, with a good sense of momentum and it doesn’t suffer from the dreaded screen crunch. The sprites have been scaled in such a way that most elements can be seen well, which was vastly different from the other Sonic handheld games in the past.
Sonic Pocket Adventure is still a very odd experience, especially for those who know the classic series well. This is due to the unusual mash up of stage elements and music, as the environments are almost entirely from Sonic 2 (aside from scrap brain in the final full zone) and music mostly from Sonic 3. There is this absurd feeling that happens, due to hearing the Angel Island music over an Emerald Hill style stage, but it works really well.
I have a deep love for this game, as it reminds me of a time where collaboration between developers was a rarity, making it feel more special. This was long before the Mario and Sonic games, having guest characters in fighting games and all the licensed characters in Fortnite. There was the Game.Com version of Sonic Jam, but many ignore this as it is an abomination of a game, that barely runs in a playable manner.
This game has not been acknowledged by either SEGA or SNK, becoming a memory to most over the years due to the failure of the Neo Geo Pocket Color. However, there was a new revival of Neo Geo in recent times, with the MVS Mini systems and the ACA series of digital releases. There has also been several releases of Neo Pocket games, with two collections available, giving me some hope that Sonic Pocket Adventure may get a re-release in the future.
With that being said, I do not have high hopes that the game will be available any time soon. There hasn’t been a new Neo Geo Pocket digital release in a long time, so it appears that the only way to buy it is through the second hand market. This is pretty unfortunate, as the prices for the game are very expensive, with the cartridge alone being very pricey through resellers. So maybe, just maybe, we will get a re-release in the future.
If you have enjoyed this feature, please take a look at the other content that is available on the site. There are more entries in this feature, Gaming Oddities and the Retro Revivals, with reviews of new games and a special Co-op feature on its way. So stay tuned for more, take a look around and see what catches your eye.
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