History VideoGame / Sonic3DFlickiesIsland

An isometric {{platformer}} known in North America as ''[[MarketBasedTitle Sonic 3D Blast]]'', starring Creator/{{Sega}}'s [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog three-foot speed demon]], developed by Creator/TravellersTales. The game was released for the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis and the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn[[note]]to compensate for the cancellation of the game that was supposed to be the Saturn's KillerApp, ''Sonic X-treme''[[/note]] in 1996, as well as for the UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows in 1997. It was initially passed up for release in Japan until 1999, where the Saturn version's release coincided with ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure [[UpdatedRerelease International]]''. The Genesis version was the last brand new ''Sonic'' release for that system and second-last overall in North America, after the 1997 compilation ''Sonic Classics 3-in-1'', which was previously released in Europe in 1995.

Remember that little blue bird that Sonic freed out of robot shells in the [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog original]] [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2 16-bit]] [[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles trilogy]], the Flicky? It turns out they reside on Flicky Island, where they can travel through dimensions via giant rings. Learning about this, [[BigBad Dr. Robotnik]], [[IHaveManyNames a.k.a. Dr. Eggman]], has decided to invade the island and trap its inhabitants inside his robot army, so that he can seize the seven Chaos Emeralds and TakeOverTheWorld.

* WordSaladTitle: Panic Puppet Zone. [[FlatWhat what?]]
** Makes sense because the 2nd act of Panic Puppet is a giant robotnik statue, thus making it a 'puppet'. It could also be an allusion to the final boss of the stage, which is like a puppet in a few ways.

* MoodWhiplash: The Genesis version goes straight from the winter wonderland of the Diamond Dust Zone (which has very upbeat music) to the volcanic wasteland of Volcano Valley (which has either intense music for act 1 or sad music for act 2). Bonus points for the whole "climate whiplash" as well in going straight from the SlippySlideyIceworld to the LethalLavaLand.
** Another one involving sudden musical change: In the Genesis version act one of Panic Puppet zone uses the same theme as the intro (which is very upbeat) whereas act 2 has a much more sad and dramatic tune.

* PaletteSwap: Panic Puppet zone uses the same tileset as Gene Gadget zone, only it's beige instead of grey.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To the ''VideoGame/{{Flicky}}'' arcade game, which also revolved around guiding small bird creatures to a goal while avoiding enemies.

* TrueFinalBoss: The Final Fight, the [[FinalBoss Final]] BossBattle, is available by beating the game with all the Chaos Emeralds. Beating this boss is needed to get the GoodEnding.

* WordSaladTitle: Panic Puppet zone. [[FlatWhat what?]]

* ConvectionSchmonvection: On the worldmap anyway. The Diamond Dust zone and Volcano Valley zone are shown right next to eachother (and are [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration right next to each other in the zone order]].) Why the Diamond Dust zone doesn't melt into a a fog shrouded land is a mystery.

* SoundtrackDissonance: As many have noted, the Final Fight theme in the Genesis version sounds oddly relaxing for a FinalBoss [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8sZxAgZvGU listen to it here]]

* ConvectionSchmonvection: On the worldmap anyway. The Diamond Dust zone and Volcano Valley zone are shown right next to eachother (and are [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration right next to each other in the zone order]]. Why the Diamond Dust zone doesn't melt into a a fog shrouded land is a mystery.

* MoodWhiplash: The Genesis version goes straight from the winter wonderland of the Diamond Dust Zone (which has very upbeat music) to the volcanic wasteland of Volcano Valley (which has either intense music for act 1 or sad music for act 2). Bonus points for the whole "climate whiplash" as well in going straight from the SlippySlideyIceworld to the LeathalLavaLand.

* TornadoMove: Sonic can perform this move in [[RuinsForRuinsSake Rusty Ruin Zone]] when he steps on the spinning fans. This attack allows him to break through pillars as well as destroy badniks, but if he gets hit or jumps, he returns back to his normal state.

[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Sonic_3D_start_001_6481.png]]

* PointOfNoReturn: The final non-boss act of the game, Panic Puppet Zone Act 2, is a straight Sonic stage with no Flickies, and several points exist in the stage to prevent Sonic backtracking, but the most notable one is at the end of the stage, where you cross several plates that fall below you. After the second one, you're left with no choice but to enter the pipe in Robotnik's nose, which ends the stage and takes you to Panic Puppet Zone Act 3, a three-phase boss fight against three separate big-armed machines. If you have all the Chaos Emeralds, The Final Fight, which is in its own stage, follows Panic Puppet Zone Act 3.

* PointOfNoReturn: The final non-boss act of the game, Panic Puppet Zone Act 2, is a straight Sonic stage with no Flickies, and several points exist in the stage to prevent Sonic backtracking, but the most notable one is at the end of the stage, where you cross several plates that fall below you. After the second one, you're left with no choice but to enter the pipe in Robotnik's nose, which ends the stage and takes you to Panic Puppet Zone Act 3, a three-phase boss fight against three separate big-armed machines. If you have all the Chaos Emeralds, The Final Fight, which is in its own stage, follows Panic Puppet Zone Act 3.

* AlliterativeName: All of the zone names.[[note]]This includes "The Final Fight" in the Mega Drive version, though this is instead known as "The Final Boss" in the Saturn and PC versions, which was actually the zone's WorkingTitle.[[/note]]

Jon Burton, founder of Travelers Tales, announced in 2017 a ''Director's Cut'' fan remake of the game. The beta version was released as a patch file during the [[http://sonichacking.org/entry/57 Sonic Hacking Contest]], featuring several quality of life improvements and features such as a level select screen, Super Sonic and a DebugMode. The final patch was released on Steam Workshop as a downloadable ROM patch on December 23, 2017.

Jon Burton, founder of Travelers Tales, announced in 2017 that a ''Director's Cut'' fan remake of the game. The beta version was released as a patch file during the [[http://sonichacking.org/entry/57 Sonic Hacking Contest]], featuring several quality of life improvements and features such as a level select screen, Super Sonic and a DebugMode. The final patch was released on Steam Workshop as a downloadable ROM patch on December 23, 2017.

An isometric {{platformer}} known in North America as ''[[MarketBasedTitle Sonic 3D Blast]]'', starring Creator/{{Sega}}'s [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog three-foot speed demon]], developed by Creator/TravellersTales. The game was released for the [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Sega Mega Drive/Genesis]] and the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn (to compensate for the cancellation of the game that was supposed to be the Saturn's KillerApp, ''Sonic X-treme'') in 1996, as well as for the UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows in 1997. It was initially passed up for release in Japan until 1999, where the Saturn version's release coincided with ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure [[UpdatedRerelease International]]''. The Mega Drive version was the last brand new Sonic release for that system and second-last overall in North America, after the 1997 compilation ''Sonic Classics 3-in-1'' (which was previously released in Europe in 1995).

Remember that little blue bird that Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog freed out of robot shells in the [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog original]] [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2 16-bit]] [[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles trilogy]], the Flicky? It turns out they reside on Flicky Island, where they can travel through dimensions via giant rings. Learning about this, [[BigBad Dr. Robotnik]] ([[IHaveManyNames aka Dr. Eggman]]) has decided to invade the island and trap its inhabitants inside his robot army, so that he can seize the seven Chaos Emeralds and {{take over the world}}.

As noted above, ''Sonic 3D'' is an [[IsometricProjection isometric]] platformer (with nifty pre-rendered 3D sprites), but that's not the only difference in gameplay. Beating an act is not done by reaching the goal as soon as you can; instead, you have to collect a set of five Flickies and bring them to a giant Dimension Ring; there are usually two or three Dimension Rings in an act, and once you successfully deposit each set, you beat the act. The only acts exempt from Flicky collect-a-thons are boss acts and an act near the end of the game which plays like a classic ''Sonic'' stage.

The Saturn version somewhat rectifies the control issues by offering the analog pad as an alternative to the D-Pad, as well as included a CD-quality soundtrack composed by Richard Jacques, additional graphical environmental effects such as fog and rain, and a polygonal Special Stage; but it lacks a save game feature (despite the Saturn featuring both internal and memory card-based saving) and has [[LoadsandLoadsofLoading unusually long loading times]]. The PC port includes Jacques' soundtrack and a save game feature, but lacks some of the Saturn version's more noteworthy features such as the polygonal Special Stage and weather enhancements.

Jon Burton, founder of Travelers Tales, announced in 2017 that he's currently working on a "Directors Cut" fan-remake of the game. The beta version was released as a patch file during the [[http://sonichacking.org/entry/57 Sonic Hacking Contest]], featuring several quality of life improvements and features such as a level select screen, Super Sonic and a DebugMode. The final patch was released on Steam Workshop and as a downloadable ROM patch on December 23, 2017

Not to be confused with ''VideoGame/SonicBlast'' for the UsefulNotes/GameGear, though the games were marketed together in commercials. Also unrelated to ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog3''.

* HundredPercentCompletion: To achieve 100% in the Director's Cut version, you have to beat Time Trial mode in every act, collect every Sonic icon and get an absurdly high total score on top of earning all Chaos Emeralds.

** With the exception of Gene Gadget Zone, which uses two different "G" sounds (/dʒ/ and /ɡ/).
* AntiFrustrationFeatures: The 2017 update by the original developer makes the flickies easier to catch, tightens the feel of the controls and improves camera behaviour when moving fast or fighting Dr. Eggman.
* ArtEvolution: [[http://www.sonic.wikia.com/wiki/Sonic_3D_Blast/Gallery#2D_Artwork Check out the artwork made exclusively for the Sega Saturn release in Japan]] -- the style looks like a lot like the missing link between the "classic" and "modern" character designs. This is no coincidence, as the art was done by none other than Yuji Uekawa, who would go on to redesign Sonic for ''SonicAdventure'' and is known for [[AuthorAppeal his love for over-the-top and impossibly kinetic poses]].
* BonusFeatureFailure: Super Sonic is available in the semi-official update, but forget about earning him as soon as you can, because you can only collect one Chaos Emerald per zone.
* BrutalBonusLevel: In the Mega Drive version, Knuckles' Special Stages are quite easy. Tails' Special Stages, in contrast, are much more difficult due to the sheer abundance of spiked balls combined with the fast pacing and frequent twists and turns. In the Saturn and PC versions, both characters share identical Special Stages, and only one gives you an Emerald per act (a OneUp will be rewarded in the other character's stage on the same act).

* DemotedToExtra: Tails and Knuckles make cameos throughout the levels and let you access the Special Stage, but they have no role in the plot (such as it is) and you don't get to play as them.

* DummiedOut: A split screen mode was utilised in very early builds but ultimately discarded. At least one unused badnik (a Crabmeat-esque red crab enemy) also didn't make the final game, though was revived as a Rusty Ruin enemy in the 2017 "Director's Cut" build.

** ''Sonic 3D: No Flickies'' is a [=ROM=] hack of the game that, true to its name, redesigns the game so that you don't have to collect Flickies and can just blaze through the levels like in the original sidescroller games, with the Dimension Rings just serving as Checkpoints. Obviously, it makes the game a lot quicker and easier. A later mod even gives Sonic the ability to turn into [[SuperMode Super Sonic]] if all of the Chaos Emeralds are obtained.

* InCaseOfBossFightBreakGlass: All of the end of level battles with Robotnik until Panic Puppet Zone Act 3, where flashing lights become the new target due to not being able to hit his cockpit directly (you hit the torso of the TrueFinalBoss if you can reach his level).

* LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading: The loading times for the Sega Saturn version can run for as long as 30 seconds. This was slightly shortened in the Japanese release, and substantially improved in the PC port.

* PointOfNoReturn: The final non-boss act of the game, Panic Puppet Zone Act 2, is a straight Sonic stage with no Flickies, and several points exist in the stage to prevent Sonic backtracking, but the most notable one is at the end of the stage, where you cross several plates that fall below you. After the second one, you're left with no choice but to enter the pipe in Robotnik's nose, which ends the stage and takes you to Panic Puppet Zone Act 3, a three-phase boss fight against three separate big-armed machines (if you have all the Chaos Emeralds, The Final Fight, which is in its own stage, follows Panic Puppet Zone Act 3).

* SingleUseShield: There are basic Blue Shield and Red Shield power-ups, the latter of which protects against fire and lava but doesn't enable the Fireball Spin Dash like the original Flame Shield from ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles'', while the former protects against electricity but doesn't provide a DoubleJump and attract nearby rings like the original Electric Shield. Instead, a midair homing ability called the Blast Attack was instead redistributed into the new Gold Shield, which is a predecessor to the Homing Attack seen in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure''.

* TacticalSuicideBoss: The TrueFinalBoss (see below). The only time you can damage the final weapon is by hitting it when it briefly enters the platform Sonic is standing on. It will do this on every phase (you have to hit it to advance to the next phase and you have to go through each phase twice). Particularly egregious on the third phase (where you must dodge its spiked hands), as the ship isn't visible at the platform like it is on the other phases. The only time you see the boss on this phase is when it shows up for the sole purpose of being smacked and advancing the battle.

* ComicBookAdaptation: Franchise/ArchieComics published a 48-page special featuring a story based on the game's plot, while Fleetway's ''Comicbook/SonicTheComic'' did a very loose adaptation in issues 104-106.

* SingleUseShield: There are basic Blue Shield and Red Shield power-ups, the latter of which protects against fire and lava but doesn't enable the Fireball Spin Dash like the original Flame Shield from ''Sonic3AndKnuckles'', while the former protects against electricity but doesn't provide a DoubleJump and attract nearby rings like the original Electric Shield. Instead, a midair homing ability called the Blast Attack was instead redistributed into the new Gold Shield, which is a predecessor to the Homing Attack seen in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure''.

** The original designer of the game is making ''Sonic 3D Blast: Director's Cut'', which adds a better camera, smoother controls, a user-friendly interface, easier enemies, Super Sonic and tons more.

Jon Burton, founder of Travelers Tales, announced in 2017 that he's currently working on a "Directors Cut" fan-remake of the game. The beta version was released as a patch file during the [[http://sonichacking.org/entry/57 Sonic Hacking Contest]], featuring several quality of life improvements and features such as a level select screen, Super Sonic and a DebugMode.

* GameMod: ''Sonic 3D: No Flickies'' is a [=ROM=] hack of the game that, true to its name, redesigns the game so that you don't have to collect Flickies and can just blaze through the levels like in the original sidescroller games, with the Dimension Rings just serving as Checkpoints. Obviously, it makes the game a lot quicker and easier. A later mod even gives Sonic the ability to turn into [[SuperMode Super Sonic]] if all of the Chaos Emeralds are obtained.

Jon Burton, founder of Travelers Tales, announced in 2017 that he's currently working on a "Directors Cut" fan-remake of the game.

* ArtEvolution: [[http://www.sonic.wikia.com/wiki/Sonic_3D_Blast/Gallery#2D_Artwork Check out the artwork made exclusively for the Sega Saturn release in Japan]] -- the style looks like a lot like the missing link between the "classic" and "modern" character designs. This is no coincidence, as the art was done by none other than Yuji Uekawa, who would go on to redesign Sonic for ''SonicAdventure'' and is known for [[AuthorAppeal his love for over-the-top and impossibly kinetic poses]].