Video Game History Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Sonic the hedgehog 3

Developer: Sega Technical Institute, Sonic Team
Publisher: Sega
Series: Sonic the Hedgehog
Designer Takashi Thomas Yuda, Hirokazu Yasuhara, Yuji Naka
Genres: Platforming
Release date(s): 1994
Media Cartridge
Number of players 1-2 Players
Input methods Genesis Controller
Platforms Sega Genesis, Wii Virtual Console, Xbox Live Arcade

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a game developed and published by Sega and is exclusive to the Sega Genesis. Sonic 3 introduces a new character, Knuckles the Echidna, that becomes a primary character in the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series.

Plot[]

Knuckles, a gullible echidna and Guardian of the Master Emerald, is the last of his kind and is very protective of the Master Emerald and his home, Angel Island. When Knuckles is told by Dr. Eggman that Sonic and Tails want to steal his Master Emerald, Knuckles attacks the two when they come across his island and steals the former Super Sonic's Chaos Emeralds. Sonic goes on a journey to stop Dr. Eggman when he realizes what's going on and get his Chaos Emeralds back before Eggman can do any permanent damage, along with his faithful sidekick Tails, who can now lift the true blue hero places.

Gameplay[]

Sonic 3 is the side-scrolling sequel of Sonic 2. Most of the controls are the same, except for a few new moves: 


  • Tails can now swim: just jump up and hold any of the action buttons to begin swimming.
  • Sonic can now execute a 360° slash called an insta-shield: press the action button twice. 
  • Tails can now lift Sonic: jump up and, when Sonic's in mid-air, catch him and hold the action button.

There are also new power-ups: 


  • Fire Shield: Sonic or Tails is now fire-resistant and can even walk on lava. For Sonic, instead of the insta-shield, he forms a horizontal charge in mid-air.
  • Water Shield: Sonic or Tails is water-resistant and can breathe under water. For Sonic, instead of the insta-shield, he performs a bouncing move.
  • Electric Shield: Sonic or Tails is electricity-resistant and rings are also drawn to the player. For Sonic, instead of the insta-shield, he performs a double-jump.

Special Stages[]

There's also a new Special Stage. You have to get all of the blue spheres (turning them into red spheres) and if you walk into a red sphere, you lose and don't get the Chaos Emerald. If you get a big square of blue spheres, they turn into rings, which gives you more points. If you get all of the blue spheres, you get a Chaos Emerald, which means you're one step closer to becoming Super Sonic.

Versus Mode[]

In Versus mode, you go through different race tracks against an opponent. You can choose from Sonic, Knuckles, or Tails.

[]

Sonic 3 and Knuckles[]

If you lock-on Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles, you can get the game Sonic 3 and Knuckles. It's the exact same thing except now Knuckles is playable and the game's longer: instead of ending at the final boss of Sonic 3, you continue on to Mushroom Hill Zone (the first zone in Sonic and Knuckles) and go through Sonic and Knuckles. Also, if you get all of the Chaos Emeralds, you unlock the Death Egg Zone, where you become Super Sonic in space, where you need rings to survive. Your number of rings is slowly depleting, and if the number gets to zero, Sonic dies. If you complete the Death Egg Zone, you get the happy ending.

Trivia[]

  • In Versus Mode, the first letters of the race track names make up A, B, C, D, and E.
  • Sonic 3 contains unused music in the Sound Test that appear in the next game, Sonic and Knuckles.
  • All of the zones feature water except for Marble Garden Zone.
  • Sonic 3 was the second Sonic game to feature ice (the first was Sega Sonic the Hedgehog).
  • Some levels from Sonic and Knuckles appear via a cheat code. Some Say it's the hardest cheat code ever to execute in a video game.
  • Like other Sonic games on the Genesis, there's a bug where Sonic can occasionally get stuck in the scenery. The UK manual for Sonic 3 states that it's a "diabolical trap from which Sonic can not escape, and the player will have to reset the game."
  • In Sonic and Knuckles, Angel Island is floating in the sky, but in Sonic 3, it is not.
  • Knuckles was meant to have green socks, but, when playing as Sonic, he has yellow socks. From Sonic and Knuckles and on, this problem is fixed.
  • The Flying Battery Zone was originally meant to be in Sonic 3.
  • This is probably Tails's first big role in a video game accompanying Sonic: instead of just tagging along, he can carry Sonic places that the hedgehog couldn't go before.
  • In Sonic 3 and Knuckles, instead of Tails leaving Sonic (when playing with Sonic and Tails) at the final boss of Sonic 3, Tails stays and can help Sonic defeat the boss.
Advertisement