One of the most revered and yet least played titles in the Sonic the Hedgehog series is about to make its way to millions of potential players.
Sega has announced that Sonic CD will be ported to Android first, followed by “mobile phones and consoles everywhere” later in the year.
Sonic CD is regarded as one of the best designed games in the blue hedgehog’s storied history. It is often seen as the last “true” 2D platformer for the series. It came after Sonic 3 on the Genesis, and before the franchise went 3D on the Dreamcast.
However, the platform it was originally released on, Sega CD, was a huge commercial flop.
As a result, the game ended up being somewhat buried and copies of the actual game disc became few and far between. For years, players were only able to hear stories about the game without getting to experience it, unless they were able to track down a rare Sega CD unit and a rare copy of the Sonic CD game.
Sega first re-released the game in a Gamecube and PS2 compilation called Sonic Gems Collection, however that title also came out after the Gamecube and PS2 had already peaked, and was part of a compilation that included largely lackluster companion titles. As a result, it almost suffered the same fate as Sonic CD in the first place, only garnering a modicum of sales and interest.
Now, though, with millions of Android owners actively downloading more games every day, and the ability to just purchase Sonic CD as opposed to a larger compilation, it will finally be able to reach critical mass.
“We’ve made sure the re-mastered edition has everything that Sonic fans want to see with all of the original colorful classic zones,” said Sega in a statement.
