Sonic Triple Trouble
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''Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble'' is a 1994
platform game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...
developed by
Aspect Aspect or Aspects may refer to: Entertainment * ''Aspect magazine'', a biannual DVD magazine showcasing new media art * Aspect Co., a Japanese video game company * Aspects (band), a hip hop group from Bristol, England * ''Aspects'' (Benny Carter ...
and published by Sega for the
Game Gear The is an 8-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990, in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and during 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear pri ...
. It is the sequel to '' Sonic Chaos'' (1993) and features classic side-scrolling ''Sonic'' gameplay. The player controls either Sonic the Hedgehog or
Miles "Tails" Prower , better known by his nickname , is a fictional character in Sega's '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' series. Tails also appears in his own spin-off series, comic books, cartoons, and films. He is the second character to consistently appear by Sonic's sid ...
as they venture to protect the powerful
Chaos Emeralds is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedg ...
from
Doctor Robotnik Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik is the main antagonist of Sega's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise. Eggman was created and designed by Naoto Ohshima as part of many design choices for Sega's new mascot. After the creation of Sonic the Hedgehog, Ohshi ...
,
Knuckles the Echidna is a fictional character in Sega's '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' series. He is a red anthropomorphic short-beaked echidna who is Sonic's best friend and former rival. Determined and serious, but sometimes gullible, he has the ability to punch enem ...
, and series newcomer
Nack the Weasel The ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game franchise began in 1991 with the game ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' for the Sega Genesis, which pitted a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog named Sonic against a rotund male human villain named Doctor Eggman (or Doctor ...
. Sonic and Tails' unique abilities, as well as various power-ups, can assist the player in gameplay. Critics found the game to be enjoyable and praised its graphics, but thought that it lacked in challenge and originality to help it stand out from previous ''Sonic'' games. Reception was more positive in retrospect. Critics have considered it one of the best ''Sonic'' games on the 8-bit Game Gear, coming closer than the others to matching the quality of its
16-bit 16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors. A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two mo ...
counterparts. ''Triple Trouble'' has been rereleased through various ''Sonic'' game compilations, the Coleco Sonic handheld system, and the Nintendo 3DS.


Gameplay

''Triple Trouble'' is a side-scrolling
platformer A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action game, action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform game ...
similar to that of previous '' Sonic'' games. The story follows Sonic the Hedgehog and Tails in their efforts to stop the powerful
Chaos Emeralds is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedg ...
from being acquired by
Doctor Robotnik Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik is the main antagonist of Sega's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise. Eggman was created and designed by Naoto Ohshima as part of many design choices for Sega's new mascot. After the creation of Sonic the Hedgehog, Ohshi ...
, who has tricked
Knuckles the Echidna is a fictional character in Sega's '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' series. He is a red anthropomorphic short-beaked echidna who is Sonic's best friend and former rival. Determined and serious, but sometimes gullible, he has the ability to punch enem ...
into aiding him. Treasure hunter
Nack the Weasel The ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game franchise began in 1991 with the game ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' for the Sega Genesis, which pitted a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog named Sonic against a rotund male human villain named Doctor Eggman (or Doctor ...
is also in search of the Emeralds. Players can choose to control either Sonic or Tails through six differently themed areas referred to as zones. Each zone consists of three levels, with the third containing a boss fight. Both characters play similarly and can execute a spin dash to accelerate forward in a rolling formation. Sonic can also perform a peel-out move, previously introduced in ''
Sonic CD is a 1993 platform game for the Sega CD developed and published by Sega. The story follows Sonic the Hedgehog as he attempts to save an extraterrestrial body, Little Planet, from Doctor Robotnik. Like other '' Sonic'' games, Sonic runs and ...
'', whereas Tails can fly for a short amount of time. Various power-ups can be obtained throughout the game. However, many are exclusive to one character, such as Sonic's jet board and Tails' sea fox items. The differences between Sonic and Tails' power-ups may result in the player's traversal of levels to slightly diverge between the two. The player can collect
rings Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
as they explore the levels. 30 rings are lost when hit by an enemy and 50 when colliding with a spike obstacle. Collecting 100 rings will reward the player with an
extra life In video games, a life is a play-turn that a player character has, defined as the period between start and end of play. Lives refer to a finite number of tries before the game ends with a game over. It is sometimes called a chance, a try, rest ...
. If the player destroys a box with a
Chaos Emerald is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedg ...
icon and has at least 50 rings, Sonic will be transported to a special
bonus stage A bonus stage (also known as a bonus level, bonus round, or special stage) is a special level within a video game designed to reward the player or players, and typically allows the player to collect extra points or power-ups. Bonus stage eithe ...
for an opportunity to obtain one of five collectable Emeralds. Some of these stages are labyrinth-like platforming levels while others have the player piloting a plane to collect rings.


Development and release

''Triple Trouble'' was developed by
Aspect Aspect or Aspects may refer to: Entertainment * ''Aspect magazine'', a biannual DVD magazine showcasing new media art * Aspect Co., a Japanese video game company * Aspects (band), a hip hop group from Bristol, England * ''Aspects'' (Benny Carter ...
and is the sequel to '' Sonic Chaos'' (1993). The game introduced a new character in the ''Sonic'' series, Nack the Weasel, who was originally called Jet during development. Nack was shown with a gun in early promotional screenshots, but this was removed in the final game. The game was originally titled ''Sonic Chaos 2'' in the West, with releases planned on both of Sega's 8-bit systems, the
Game Gear The is an 8-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990, in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and during 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear pri ...
handheld console and Master System home console. The game was ultimately only released for the Game Gear, making it the first ''Sonic'' platformer released exclusively for the system. It was released in Western territories in November 1994 and in Japan on November 11 specifically, in which it was titled ''Sonic & Tails 2''. Since its initial release the game has been rereleased multiple times. It was included with other ''Sonic'' Game Gear games in ''
Sonic Adventure DX is a 1998 platform game for Sega's Dreamcast and the first main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' game to feature 3D gameplay. It follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, Big the ...
'' (2003) and '' Sonic Gems Collection'' (2005). The game was also included in the Coleco Sonic handheld console released in 2006. ''Triple Trouble'' was later released on the Nintendo 3DS via the
eShop The Nintendo eShop is a digital distribution service powered by the Nintendo Network for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, and by a dedicated online infrastructure for the Nintendo Switch. Launched in June 2011 on the Nintendo 3DS, the eShop was ena ...
in March 2012, alongside other Game Gear titles. This release was developed by M2.


Reception

Critics felt ''Triple Trouble'' was fun but too similar to previous ''Sonic'' games, and thought the series was beginning to stagnate. Other than the addition of vehicles, many criticized the game for lacking in originality. Steve Merrett of ''
Mean Machines Sega ''Mean Machines'' was a multi-format video game magazine published between 1990 and 1992 in the United Kingdom. Origins In the late 1980s ''Computer and Video Games'' (''CVG'') was largely covering the outgoing generation of 8-bit computers l ...
'' wrote that it lacked "surprises and gameplay innovation," and remarked that the Game Gear ''Sonic'' titles were "going through the same
mid-life crisis A midlife crisis is a transition of identity and self-confidence that can occur in middle-aged individuals, typically 40 to 60 years old. The phenomenon is described as a psychological crisis brought about by events that highlight a person's grow ...
here that '' Sonic and Knuckles'' represents on the
Mega Drive The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it in 1988 in Japan a ...
". However, he found the game to be a good 8-bit counterpart to '' Sonic 3'', as did Richard Leadbetter of ''
Sega Magazine ''Sega Saturn Magazine'' was a monthly UK magazine covering the Sega Saturn, a home video game console. It held the official Saturn magazine license for the UK, and some issues included a demo CD created by Sega, ''Sega Flash'', which included ...
'', who noted similar level themes shared between the games. Leadbetter and Sushi-X of ''
Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The m ...
'' appreciated the levels for their large size and found that they invited exploration. The graphics received universal praise. Paul Bufton of ''Mean Machines Sega'' wrote that the backgrounds and character sprites were "the best to grace the Game Gear" and believed them to be superior to those in previous Game Gear ''Sonic'' games. Additionally, ''Sega Magazine'' and ''
Sega Pro ''Sega Pro'' was the first publication from Paragon Publishing and catered for the Sega consoles: the Master System, Game Gear and the Mega Drive. Early editorial staff included Dominic Handy (editor), Les Ellis (games editor), Dave Perry (de ...
'' thought the visuals approached the
16-bit 16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors. A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two mo ...
quality seen on the Mega Drive ''Sonic'' games. ''Sega Magazine'' also noted that other Game Gear ''Sonic'' games were cropped versions of the Master System versions and thus suffered gameplay-wise, and felt this was not a problem with ''Triple Trouble''. One of the most common complaints was a lack of challenge. Many critics felt the game's levels were sparsely populated with enemies, making it too short and easy to complete. '' Computer and Video Games'' and ''Mean Machines Sega'' believed this lack of challenge harmed its long term value to players. ''Sega Magazine'' suspected that the lack of enemies was to maintain the game's performance. Consequently, '' GamePro'' noticed frame rate dips when the screen was busy. In retrospective reviews, ''Triple Trouble'' is considered one of the better ''Sonic'' games on the Game Gear. NGC of ''
GamesRadar+ ''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites '' Total Film'', '' SFX'', ''Edge'' and ''Computer ...
'' thought it was "reasonably competent" but no less tedious than other ''Sonic'' Game Gear games. Ryan Davis of ''
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' believed it did a better job capturing classic ''Sonic'' gameplay than other games on the system, due to it being a later release and thus more technically competent. Corbie Dillard of ''
Nintendo Life Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British mass media company based in Brighton. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and oth ...
'' agreed, writing that Sega had made a strong attempt to capture classic Mega Drive ''Sonic'' gameplay on the Game Gear, and believed ''Triple Trouble'' was "probably the closest thing gamers could get to the overall style of play of the 16-bit titles on a handheld". Sean Madson of ''
Diehard GameFan ''GameFan'' (originally known as ''Diehard GameFan'') was a publication started by Tim Lindquist, Greg Off, George Weising. and Dave Halverson in September 1992 that provided coverage of domestic and import video games. It was notable for its e ...
'' appreciated the 3DS release for adding different resolutions, button configurations, and
save state A saved game (also called a game save, savegame, savefile, save point, or simply save) is a piece of digitally stored information about the progress of a player in a video game. From the earliest games in the 1970s onward, game platform hardw ...
support.


Legacy

In August 2022, an unofficial fan remake titled ''Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble 16-bit'' by independent developer Noah Copeland was released for Windows via
Game Jolt Game Jolt is a social community platform for video games, gamers and content creators. It is available on iOS, Android, on the web and as a desktop app for Windows and Linux. Primarily for Gen Z, users share interactive content through a varie ...
, with an Android release planned at a later date. It is built on the
GameMaker Studio GameMaker (originally Animo, Game Maker ''(until 2011)'' and GameMaker Studio) is a series of cross-platform game engines created by Mark Overmars in 1999 and developed by YoYo Games since 2007. The latest iteration of ''GameMaker'' released ...
engine with a style reminiscent of the 16-bit ''Sonic'' games. Copeland was inspired to remake ''Triple Trouble'' after playing it and thinking it was a "good classic ''Sonic'' game buried under 8-bit limitations". Nack the Weasel was later included in some ''Sonic'' comics series and the games '' Sonic Drift 2'' (1995), ''
Sonic the Fighters also known as ''Sonic Championship'' on arcade versions outside Japan, is a fighting game developed by Sega AM2. First released in 1996 in arcades on Sega's Model 2 arcade system, ''Sonic the Fighters'' pits players in one-on-one battles w ...
'' (1996), and ''
Sonic Mania ''Sonic Mania'' is a 2017 platform game published by Sega for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows. Produced in commemoration of the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series' 25th anniversary, ''Sonic Mania'' pays homage to the original S ...
'' (2017).


Notes


References


External links

*
Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble
' on MobyGames {{Portal bar, Video games, 1990s 1994 video games Aspect Co. games Sega video games Game Gear games Game Gear-only games Side-scrolling video games Sonic the Hedgehog video games Virtual Console games Single-player video games Virtual Console games for Nintendo 3DS Video games developed in Japan