Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble (3DS Virtual Console)
Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble was part of a yesteryear set of games recently made available on the 3DS’ Virtual Console. Released on GameGear 18 years ago in 1994 to such heavy praise as GamesRadar’s “reasonably competent, but no less tedious” and IGN’s statement that it was not “particularly stellar,” the classic game has been ported to the 3DS with perfect fidelity—for better or for worse.
Triple Trouble opens with the legendary Sega vocal chime (“Say-gah!”), complete with low-fi chip tune effects. The in-game music has not held up well, crackling and repeating what start off as fun themes throughout each level.
But the game plays the same as it did when it was first released on GameGear: You take control of Sonic or Tails as they chase down the chaos emeralds stolen by Dr. Robotnik and his weasel accomplice, Nack, though the game seems more concerned with earning you rings than actually finding the emeralds (Knuckles is also in on it). This results in a stop-and-start style of gameplay that constantly interrupts the fast pace of the series.
But then there’s the train level. Acting more like a mini-boss stage, the Sunset Park act flows effortless from the act before with no loading screen between. Sonic runs passed the end-of-act signpost and pauses for a moment before continuing on, running atop a moving train as the music changes to a much darker chip tune. The beauty of this level (seen in the video above around the 2:30 mark) is that it’s an example of a developer thinking of ways to use clever level design and presentation to overcome weak technology. There’s a shallowness to Triple Trouble due to the way the GameGear’s hardware was utilized, but for me this level redeems any technological shortcomings because it’s clever, and it breaks the game’s (and series’) expected level structure.
With six three-part stages (and a few special stages), the game’s certainly not long, and the Virtual Console’s restore point system makes it easy to break your gaming up (otherwise you’d have to beat it in one sitting). It’s fun for nostalgia’s sake.