While the Sonic the Hedgehog trilogy (and Knuckles and even CD or Spinball if you’re CRAZY) is rightfully cherished by a generation of gamers, Sonic 3D Blast rarely receives the same treatment. There is clear precedent for this, but that doesn’t mean 3D Blast deserves to get swept under the rug. It’s not a bad game.
If you’ve ever played Flicky, you can think of Sonic 3D Blast as a super-glorified version of it. The main goal is still to collect a posse of little birdies and bring them to a gate unharmed. Sonic, in his new 2D isometric role (it’s not really 3D: a shocking disappointment), must explore a handful of zones, free the Flickies by defeating Robotnik’s constructed creatures and then bring them to a giant warp ring. Complete this cycle however many times per zone to fight good ol’ Dr. R, whose incarnations are a good deal more engaging than usual this time around. In addition to recurring clashes with Ivo the Terrible, many other Sonic conventions are present: jumping, spin dashing, springs, rings, spiky hazards, hidden tubes that send you places, bonus stages, chaos emeralds and televisions containing items all make an appearance. These staples transition well to the pseudo-3D gameplay act as they would in any other Sonic game.
Unfortunately, the game never leaves these parameters. Each level features a unique puzzle element (being spun super-fast allows you to break certain types of blocks, one level is filled with springs, etc.), but none of them add enough to the eventual monotony of Flicky hunting to make a difference. The controls are a little weak as well, suffering from the absence of analog movement. However, any impact the frustrating controls have on the difficulty is balanced out by how easy it is to get extra lives. One hundred rings grant the player an extra life and rings regenerate after exiting bonus levels, which are accessed by choice inside of the zones by giving rings to Tails or Knuckles and are also very easy. The bonus stages, in true Sonic fashion, consist of running forward on rails, avoiding obstacles and collecting rings. Straying from aforementioned fashion, they never seem to increase in difficulty. 3D Blast is significantly longer than its sidescrolling counterparts, but lacks a save function and must (and can comfortably, if you’re devoted) be finished in one sitting.
I don’t know if I’d call Sonic 3D Blast a diamond in the rough or even slightly underrated. What I would call it is forgotten, which is a shame. It has its fair share of flaws and limitations but it has reasons to be remembered. Its aesthetics and music can arguably compete with some of the bigger, more known Sonics and its boss battles are really quite cool in context. If you have the Sonic Mega Collection (Plus) and overlooked this title in the past, it deserves to be checked out.