Sonic CD Good Ending Strategy Guide

Well, we’re in the home stretch, and it’s not about to get any easier. This level gives Sonic a taste of his own medicine by surrounding him with lots and lots and lots of sharp spikey things that are anxious to steal your rings away from you. This level has an abundance of extraordinarily testy jumps, and will happily force you to walk into time travel posts you weren’t in the market for. The good news is there are no more hologram projectors to take out now that Metal Sonic’s been destroyed, but the bad news is that the robot generators are now that much harder to get to. Gird your loins, because the final sprint is going to be a doozy.

Sonic CD Good Ending Strategy Guide

With the dance floor from hell behind us, we continue on toward our good ending into a level that’s almost as unpredictable horizontally as the previous level was vertically. The “speedway” portion of this level’s name is very appropriate, as it has a habit of propelling you forward whether you were planning on it or not. This level is somewhat easier than Wacky Workbench, but by no means does that mean that it’s easy. It’s a fun level to blaze through if you’re not worried about endings, but with our specific goals in mind, I recommend taking your time and being very careful about your footwork.

Sonic CD Good Ending Strategy Guide

If you were ever under the impression that level designers love you and want to show you a good time, prepare to have that illusion shattered. Even the best level designers snap every now and then, and considering that there are four versions of every first and second act in this game (as well as two versions of every third), it was only a matter of time before Sonic CD’s designers decided to blow off steam by making an evil level.

The primary gimmick of this level is the fact that the ground floor is extremely bouncy, and if Sonic touches it even for a second, he gets shot up to the ceiling. This wouldn’t be such a problem if not for the fact that there are electric coils near the ceiling in most areas. Interestingly enough, they still managed to make Wacky Workbench’s insidious level mechanics enjoyable (who doesn’t like kooky sound effects and flying through the air?), but just because it’s fun does not, by any means, mean that it’s easy. Put on your big kid pants, because the difficulty is going up.

Sonic CD Good Ending Strategy Guide

This level introduces an interesting new spin on an old gimmick. Conveyor belts have been used in lots of other Sonic games, but Quartz Quadrant is unique in the fact that you, the player, are allowed to decide the direction of the belts. This will make a difference more than once as we progress, so keep a careful eye on the directions. (Also, if you’re the type of person that likes to stand still on moving sidewalks, you might want to keep in mind that there’s a 10 minute time limit per level!)

Sonic CD Good Ending Strategy Guide

As we continue our quest for a good ending, we come upon the most loathed category in all of video games: The water level. Whether it’s the fact that movement is more difficult, certain weapons become unusable, or the character’s health is in danger, no gamer on the face of the planet has ever looked at a water level and said, “That looks like a good time!” Sonic CD at least cuts its audience a break by omitting the nightmare-inducing drowning countdown when Sonic’s running low on air.

Sonic CD Good Ending Strategy Guide

Just as every Sonic game has its paradise level, many of them also have a casino/pinball zone, and this is it for Sonic CD. While it does lack most of the casino aspects, it makes up for it with its sheer volume of bumpers and springs. This area can be tricky to navigate, whether you know the game well or not, and it’s designed to be difficult to backtrack. Let’s be sure we don’t give ourselves a need to do so.

Sonic CD Good Ending Strategy Guide

If there’s one thing that most Sonic games have in common, it’s that they start out in an idyllic, paradise-like setting. The colors are bright and vibrant, and there are beautiful waterfalls and mountains. We get this first impression of beauty and happiness in order to appreciate just how dark and ugly the later levels become. Sonic’s games are often criticized for cloning Green Hill Zone over and over again, but I must say that I give this level some credit for coming up with some new gimmicks and not including the word “hill” in its name.

Sonic CD Good Ending Strategy Guide

 

Sonic CD Good Ending Strategy Guide

Ever since his debut in 1991, Sonic the Hedgehog has been a powerful character in the gaming world, with masses of fans clamoring to play his games. Sonic CD is often regarded as a rare gem among his collection, as it was a great game but difficult to get a hold of, since not many people owned a Sega CD system. The game has since been re-released several times on more accessible platforms.

However, one thing Sonic CD always lacked was a strategy guide, despite the fact that they’re available for almost all of the other retro Sonic games. This is especially noteworthy because, unlike the other games of its generation, Sonic CD’s goal was not to simply run from start to finish as quickly as possible. The introduction of time travel to the series brought a new set of goals along with it – namely, getting to the past and creating a good future. Despite the fact that the levels are short, I myself had great difficulty managing this when I was a child, as did fellow fans I would later discuss this with in adulthood.

The purpose of this guide is to help players seeking the good ending of the game without having to collect all of the Time Stones. Unlike other Sonic games, Sonic CD does not require the player to collect all of its magic gems in order to get the good ending; instead, players can create the same effect by completing the time travel objectives in each level. Considering how brutal some of the special stages are in this game, I myself prefer to just do the extra legwork in the levels. Now, with this guide, other players can do the same!

Original Game: Shape’Scape

Project Length: 20 Weeks (10/16/12 – 3/12/13)
Team: Rotten Ideas (5 Members)
My Roles: Concept art, Story, Level Design, Character Development, Set Pieces, NPCs, Easter Eggs
End Product: Game Demo

In the winter of 2012/13, I was part of a game design team called Rotten Ideas. Over the course of 20 weeks, we developed Shape’Scape, a multi-character puzzle-platformer. I was responsible for the story, character designs, facial expressions, NPCs, set piece assets, and about 30-40% of the level design. I also participated in the overall concepting of the game, but that was a shared process amongst the entire team.