| Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble | |
|---|---|
 European box art | |
| Developer | Aspect |
| Publisher | Sega |
| Director | Katsuhiro Hasegawa |
| Producer | Motoshige Hokoyama |
| Composer | Yayoi Fujimori |
| Series | Sonic the Hedgehog |
| Platform | Game Gear |
| Release | |
| Genre | Platform |
| Mode | Single-player |
Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble[a] is a 1994platform game developed by Aspect and published bySega for theGame Gear. It is the sequel toSonic Chaos (1993) and features classicside-scrollingSonic gameplay. The player controls eitherSonic the Hedgehog orMiles "Tails" Prower as they venture to protect the powerfulChaos Emeralds fromDoctor Robotnik,Knuckles the Echidna and series newcomerFang the Sniper. Sonic and Tails' unique abilities, as well as variouspower-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 previousSonic games. Reception was more positive in retrospect. Critics have considered it one of the bestSonic games on the8-bit Game Gear, coming closer than the others to matching the quality of its16-bit counterparts.Triple Trouble has been rereleased through variousSonic game compilations, theColeco Sonic handheld system, and theNintendo 3DS.[1]
Triple Trouble is aside-scrollingplatformer similar to that of previousSonic games.[2] The story followsSonic the Hedgehog andTails in their efforts to stop the powerfulChaos Emeralds from being acquired byDoctor Robotnik, who has trickedKnuckles the Echidna into aiding him. Treasure hunterFang the Sniper (Nack the Weasel in international releases) is also in search of the Emeralds.[3]
Players can choose to control either Sonic or Tails through six differently themed areas referred to as zones.[3] Each zone consists of threelevels, with the third containing aboss fight.[4] Both characters play similarly and can execute a spin dash to accelerate forward in a rolling formation.[5] Sonic can also perform a peel-out move, previously introduced inSonic CD, whereas Tails can fly for a short amount of time.[5] Variouspower-ups can be obtained throughout the game.[6] However, many are exclusive to one character, such as Sonic's jet board and Tails' sea fox items.[7] The differences between Sonic and Tails' power-ups may result in the player's traversal of levels to slightly diverge between the two.[5]
The player can collectrings as they explore the levels. 30 rings are lost when hit by an enemy and 50 when colliding with a spike obstacle.[5] Collecting 100 rings will reward the player with anextra life.[6] If the player destroys a box with aChaos Emerald icon and has at least 50 rings, Sonic will be transported to a specialbonus stage 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.[5]
Triple Trouble was developed by Aspect[5] and is the sequel toSonic Chaos (1993).[8] The game introduced a new character in theSonic series, Fang the Sniper, who was originally called Jet during development; he was renamed Nack the Weasel in international releases.[9][7] Fang was shown with a gun in early promotional screenshots, but this was removed in the final game.[10] The game was originally titledSonic Chaos 2 in the West,[9] with releases planned on both of Sega's8-bit systems, theGame Gear handheld console andMaster System home console.[9][11] The game was ultimately only released for the Game Gear, making it the firstSonic platformer released exclusively for the system.[10] It was released in Western territories in November 1994[3][12] and in Japan on November 11 specifically, in which it was titledSonic & Tails 2.[4]
Since its initial release the game has been rereleased multiple times. It was included with otherSonic Game Gear games inSonic Adventure DX (2003),Sonic Gems Collection (2005) andSonic Origins Plus (2023).[5] The game was also included in theColeco Sonic handheld console released in 2006.[13]Triple Trouble was later released on theNintendo 3DS via theeShop in March 2012, alongside other Game Gear titles.[14][15] This release was developed byM2.[16]
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Computer and Video Games | 68%[17] |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 7/10, 7/10, 6/10, 7/10[18] |
| Famitsu | 6/10, 5/10, 6/10, 4/10[19][20] |
| Mean Machines Sega | 85%[12] |
| Sega Magazine | 71%[21] |
| Sega Pro | 71%[6] |
| Publication | Award |
|---|---|
| VideoGames (1994) | Best Game Gear Game (runner-up)[22] |
Critics feltTriple Trouble was fun but too similar to previousSonic games, and thought the series was beginning to stagnate. Other than the addition of vehicles, many criticized the game for lacking in originality.[12][18][21][6] Steve Merrett ofMean Machines Sega wrote that it lacked "surprises and gameplay innovation," and remarked that the Game GearSonic titles were "going through the samemid-life crisis here thatSonic and Knuckles represents on theMega Drive".[12] However, he found the game to be a good 8-bit counterpart toSonic 3,[12] as did Richard Leadbetter ofSega Magazine, who noted similar level themes shared between the games.[21] Leadbetter and Sushi-X ofElectronic Gaming Monthly appreciated the levels for their large size and found that they invited exploration.[18][21]
The graphics received universal praise.[3][17][18] Paul Bufton ofMean 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 GearSonic games.[12] Additionally,Sega Magazine andSega Pro thought the visuals approached the16-bit quality seen on the Mega DriveSonic games.[21][6]Sega Magazine also noted that other Game GearSonic games werecropped versions of the Master System versions and thus suffered gameplay-wise, and felt this was not a problem withTriple Trouble.[21]
One of the most common complaints was a lack of challenge.[17][21][6] Many critics felt the game's levels were sparsely populated with enemies, making it too short and easy to complete.[3][12][21][6]Computer and Video Games andMean Machines Sega believed this lack of challenge harmed its long term value to players.[12][17]Sega Magazine suspected that the lack of enemies was to maintain the game's performance.[21] Consequently,GamePro noticedframe rate dips when the screen was busy.[3]
In retrospective reviews,Triple Trouble is considered one of the betterSonic games on the Game Gear. NGC ofGamesRadar+ thought it was "reasonably competent" but no less tedious than otherSonic Game Gear games.[23] Ryan Davis ofGameSpot believed it did a better job capturing classicSonic gameplay than other games on the system, due to it being a later release and thus more technically competent.[2] Corbie Dillard ofNintendo Life agreed, writing that Sega had made a strong attempt to capture classic Mega DriveSonic gameplay on the Game Gear, and believedTriple Trouble was "probably the closest thing gamers could get to the overall style of play of the 16-bit titles on a handheld".[8] Sean Madson ofDiehard GameFan appreciated the 3DS release for adding different resolutions, button configurations, andsave state support.[5]
In August 2022, an unofficial fanremake titledSonic Triple Trouble 16-Bit, byindie developer Noah Copeland, was released for Windows viaGame Jolt,[24] withAndroid andmacOS ports later following.[25] It is built on theGameMaker Studio engine with a style reminiscent of the 16-bitSonic games. Copeland was inspired to remakeTriple Trouble after playing it and thinking it was a "good classicSonic game buried under 8-bit limitations".[26] The remake received overwhelmingly positive reception from critics - Stuart Gipp ofTechRadar called it a "world-classfangame" that vastly improved on the original, praising its "joyous set pieces" and "masterful compositions".[27] Alex Donaldson ofVG247 described it as one of his favoriteSonic fangames, saying that it constantly added new mechanics and had an excellent soundtrack, and summing it up as a "worthy successor toSonic Mania that would have been "dangerously close to a 5-star [...] review", were it official.[28]
Fang was later included in someSonic comics series[29][30][31] and the gamesSonic Drift 2 (1995),[32]Sonic the Fighters (1996),[32]Sonic Mania (2017),[33][32] andSonic Superstars (2023).[34]
