Graphics

You can have an excellent 3D platform game, but you can never beat the original 2D versions. Sonic N is just that, with a little bit more to add.

The graphics on Sonic N are all you could ever want from our little blue friend. Each level has had a great amount of ideas and time put into it, and the animation is absolutely fantastic. The backgrounds have been very well animated, as so have the characters. The best animation presented in the game is the Sonic 'Underwater' level. This is an original idea and is very well brought out. Bubbles rise from the characters' nose and the screen waves around, simulating an underwater experience very well indeed.

The introduction movie is nicely animated as so are the menus. Saying this though, the menus are very basic and slightly bland.

Sound

The sound effects on Sonic N are also excellent. Annoying little tunes, the 'ding' when you collect a ring, and of course the fantastic jump sound. The music and sound affects are definitely as good as the original, even if they are played through a tiny speaker.

Gameplay

Now here is where Sonic N slips up. The gameplay can be very frustrating. This is because of the game being a port of the GBA game. The N-Gage screen is vertical, but the GBA screen is horizontal. This problem is solved by the letterbox format, but makes everything very small indeed. This problem (yet another) is solved by pressing the '#' button on the N-Gage keypad.

I have heard a lot of people complaining about the horizontal N-Gage screen and its effects on Sonic N particularly. I do not see this as a problem, although going at speed (as Sonic does) can be quite hard to see where the in-game characters are heading.

Story

The evil Dr Eggman had stolen the 'Chaos Emerald', which is, well, an Emerald. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy must stop him before he unleashes his evil plan. Not what I would call the best plot in the world, but has Sonic ever had an award winning script? The story is shown to us in a nice little movie at the start, which also briefly introduces the characters.

Summary

Sonic N can be completed within around two days, but the time trials and the ability to play as another character makes the game last a lot longer. Personally, I would say this game is great and does justice to the original version. DI