The third
Sonic the Hedgehog game for the
Sega Game Gear and the
Sega Master System. It was released in 1993 and was the first time
Tails was playable on a system other than the
Sega Genesis. In fact, it's known as
Sonic and Tails in
Japan. The graphics are a step up from the previous
Sonic games on the 8-bit consoles.
This is a typical Sonic the Hedgehog game. After all, why mess with a successful formula? Dr. Robotnik has stolen a Chaos Emerald and it's up to Sonic and Tails to recover the others and stop the evil Eggman.
Each zone consists of three stages; the third stage ends with a boss battle. The game zones include:
New features added to the Sonic the Hedgehog world in this title include the rocket shoes and the pogo spring. The rocket shoes allow Sonic and Tails to fly in a horizontal direction for several seconds, while the pogo spring sticks to Sonic and Tails' feet and allows them, essentially, to do a double spring jump. Collecting 100 rings warps your chosen character to a bonus round where, with the aid of the rocket shoes, Sonic/Tails can zoom through the sky to collect rings and, in the end, a Chaos Emerald.
The SMS version of this game is hard to come by as it was only released in Brazil and Europe, but the Game Gear version should be easily found at used game shops and online auctions. The easiest way to play the game is to get ahold of Sonic Adventure DX for the Nintendo GameCube which includes this game as a bonus. The plot of this game semi-continues in Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble (known as Sonic and Tails 2 in Japan).