In the decades of the 80s and 90s, it seemed like a gamble if a mascot could be successful depending on critic scores and sales of their games. Will they have enough demand to warrant more games, or will they fade away into obscurity? Hot off the heels of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in 1992, it was one of the most highest selling Sega Genesis games of the year, however we wouldn't be seeing the third mainline entry for another two years. By 1993 it seemed like the speedy blue rodent would be on hiatus from any games for a while, that is until a magazine ad was shown in the middle of the year with three new games being announced to hold players over, all on the same date.

Sonic was about to make quite a wave in the fall season with three games on the way, all with a promotion with Life Savers to get a game discount!

To encourage more Sega Genesis owners to get a Sega CD and Sega Game Gear, the blue blur had two exclusive games coming soon for them, with one spinoff game on the Sega Genesis.

Sonic CD

Sonic's very first game on a disc proved that you can take an existing concept for a game and add even more to it to make it increase its fun factor. In Sonic CD, the nasty plotting Dr. Robotnik notices a new kind of planet not far off from being visible, and finding out about the powerful Time Stones there, he chains the planet down so it never disappears again, planning to take the Stones for his own while Sonic takes action, climbing the chains to get the Stones before he does.

Making use of Sonic's speed, Sonic will travel to past, future and present in two acts of a zone to fix the damage that Robotnik in turning each area into his own robotic dystopia. Sonic has either the choice to go after a generator to destroy in two acts of each zone, or simply just go after all the Time Stones in a special stage, after collecting 50 rings at the end of an act. The look of the future will vary depending on your progress. Looking bleak and dark if you didn't save the future, or bright and colorful if you did, and music accompanying the changes as well.

The game got pretty high scores around several gaming magazines like GamePro, only enticing Genesis owners to go out and buy it. Maybe I'll give a closer look at this game in the future. Heh, get it? future? time travel? eh, I'll see myself out....

Sonic Spinball

One of the highlights of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was its pinball-like section of the Casino Night Zone, and the Sega of America development staff known as Sega Technical Institute tried their hand at making their own Sonic spinoff game known simply as Sonic Spinball, and featuring its own theme of pinball tables with Robotnik's robots acting as both deathtraps and bumpers.

The game begins as Sonic and Tails fly their way over to Robotnik's fortress, but after the plane is shot down, Sonic finds himself in Robotnik's "Pinball Defense System" where many hazardous stages await, while Chaos Emeralds are tucked away in branching paths. Once Sonic obtains them all, a boss awaits where he knocks them out in his ball form. The game also received a Sega Game Gear version, though not as successful for its slow performance.

Did you know? Both versions of Sonic Spinball had slight differences to the look of Sonic and Dr. Robotnik on the box art. Sonic sports his more American looking design on the Sega Genesis box, while on the Game Gear his spines are more accurate to how he looked in Japanese box art, and using the Saturday morning cartoon version of Robotnik next to him.

Sonic Chaos

A major Sega Game Gear exclusive, Sonic Chaos sees Tails playable for the first time in a Game Gear Sonic platformer, and joining Sonic with new abilities such as the Rocket Shoes, propelling Sonic in the air at fast speeds, and the Spring Shoes, giving Sonic an extra boost in the air. Rather than finding a checkpoint post or a giant ring to get into a Special Stage, Sonic or Tails must obtain more than 99 rings, then maneuver around labyrinths to find a Chaos Emerald.

Eight zones await the speedy hedgehog and two-tailed fox as they put an end to Dr. Robotnik's Chaos Emerald snatching scheme, Sonic retains his "super peel out" run from Sonic CD while Tails can fly for a brief period of time to get around the many different environments in each game. Albeit feeling a bit on the short side, it was still worth it to get enough mileage when traveling somewhere.

What are your memories of playing Sonic's three major titles of 1993? Leave a comment and as always, see you next article!