Sonic 3D Blast

Sonic 3D Blast also came out on the Sega Saturn in 1996, and although it is essentially the same isometric bird-collecting game about the Flicky birds as on the Mega Drive, the Saturn version differs from it noticeably, though not fundamentally, in several respects. The most obvious difference is the audio – the Saturn could play music directly from CD, so this version offers a higher-quality, fuller soundtrack than the compressed Mega Drive version, and the game also opens with a short animated intro sequence that the older 16-bit console simply couldn't display or play back at all on its limited sound chip.

The graphics engine was adapted for the Saturn to make full use of its different approach to handling pre-rendered backgrounds and sprites, so despite the same isometric perspective and essentially identical level layouts, the resulting image looks smoother, sharper, and more colorful than on the Mega Drive. Traveller's Tales therefore didn't just create a simple port of the same code onto different hardware, but a version that tries to make full use of the Saturn's multimedia capabilities, which in the mid-nineties were seen as a clear competitive edge over Sega's older, slowly fading generation.

Because both versions came out in the same year and targeted somewhat different audiences – the fading Mega Drive and the still-emerging Saturn – Sonic 3D Blast on the Saturn today also serves as an eloquent example of the transitional period between console generations, when Sega still couldn't afford to build a new entry for just one single new platform and had to supply both consoles with new content at the same time, until the Saturn had fully established itself on the market.

Why play it: The Saturn version is the choice for players who want the same game with a richer CD soundtrack, an animated intro, and softer, more colorful graphics – the difference is more about presentation than content, but it's noticeable in the audiovisual side and welcome for fans of the series.