Sonic the Hedgehog CD/YMMV


 * And the Fandom Rejoiced: This game is confirmed to be ported for several current gen systems!
 * Said port will have the option to let Sonic use the Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 & Knuckles version of his spindash instead of the game's own version.
 * The Japanese soundtrack will finally get an official release in the United States, and can be switched between it and the US soundtrack at the player's choice.
 * And now it's been confirmed that Tails will be an unlockable playable character in the re-release.
 * The fact that the 2011 remake is only $5.
 * Anticlimax Boss: The final boss is just Eggman in his normal vehicle with four panels that flip around and whatnot, and it's a case of dodging predictable attacks and waiting for a chance to hit him, or just taking the hit and then damaging him using invincibility frames. It's not overly hard or very exciting, especially compared to the final bosses of Sonic 2 or 3&K. On top of that, in the American version, the boss music is barely different to the normal one; at least the Japanese/European versions had a proper final boss theme.
 * Awesome Music: Depending on the region, gamers were treated to one of two different soundtracks, each kick-ass in its own way (as expected from this series). The Japanese/European soundtrack, composed by Naofumi Hataya and Masafumi Ogata, has that familiar Sonic sound with a dash of J-pop complete with bits and pieces of sampling (Notably, Xavier's "Work That Sucker To Death" is used for the boss music), while the American soundtrack, composed by Spencer Nilsen, is more atmospheric and... "mature", for lack of a better term. The past tracks in the US release were unchanged though, which can be jarring.
 * Also, for whatever reason, the US release lacks a proper final boss theme. It does differ slightly from the standard boss tune, with a couple of the sounds (like the child crying noise) at different points in the track - but you have to REALLY listen out for them.
 * The soundtrack varies per version and region. The US has never got the Hataya soundtrack prior to the digital re-release, the Japanese release got it for the Mega CD and Gems Collection releases, and Europe only got it for the Mega CD version. The PC version has Nilsen's soundtrack in all regions. The XBLA/PSN/iOS/Android/Windows Phone 7 ports ultimately fix these woes by having both soundtracks selectable in all regions.
 * Best Boss Ever: The race against Metal Sonic. Sega knows, and it's in both versions of Sonic Generations.
 * Best Level Ever: Stardust Speedway, which allows for speedy movement in contrast to the other stages, which are mazelike and slow-paced. It also contains the race against Metal Sonic.
 * Breather Level: Stardust Speedway.
 * Broken Base: Over which soundtrack is the "superior" one. Flame Wars are not uncommon.
 * Ear Worm: The boss music from the Japanese and European versions of the original as well as the Japanese soundtrack option in the 2011 version, which is available in the 2011 version in all regions. "Come on! Work that sucker to death!" This is especially in contrast to the nightmarish boss music from the American version.
 * Even Better Sequel
 * Funny Moments: The end to the Stardust Speedway race between Sonic and Metal Sonic. The former just barely makes it under a wall as it closes, leaving the doppleganger to... run headfirst into it and mimic Sonic's death animation.
 * Game Breaker: Tails in the 2011 re-release. Not unlike his Sonic 3 and Knuckles appearance, Tails' flying ability allows him to simply fly over portions of some levels entirely. Because of this, the game prevents players from attaining Achievements/Trophies when playing as Tails.
 * Goddamned Boss: Collision Chaos' boss. All you have to do to beat it is to reach the top of the pinball table, but you might take a lot of time trying to do that, as the flipper's controls are very poor. Robotnik will also throw a lot of bombs that act like bumpers, to keep Sonic from reaching him.
 * Good Bad Bugs: The Debug Mode doesn't work in Time Attack mode. Though it seems to prevent the player from cheating, there is a bug that will give the player a "00:00:00" time record after the level is completed. This way, the player can easily unlock the game's extra content.
 * As shown in this video, it's possible to warp from the beginning of Collision Chaos 1 to the end if Sonic has the power sneakers.
 * In the 2011 version, at least in the Windows Steam version, sometimes Sonic will go through the ceiling. Unlike the Genesis games, though, a restart is not necessary; jumping enough times will get you on top of the level, where running right a certain amount will trigger the goal even though it can't be seen from there.
 * Again in the 2011 version, getting all the Time Stones makes all levels after obtaining them automatically have a Good Future, except for Stardust Speedway Zone 3... sort of. The game counts it as a Good Future, but it's obviously the Bad Future, with dark clouds and lightning in the background. It makes the race seem more intense, as it's a race not only for Sonic's/Tails's life, but also Amy's, and it still says "(Sonic/Tails) made a good future in Zone 3" due to the Time Stones.
 * Hilarious in Hindsight: Some have noted that the lyrics of "Sonic Boom" from the US version fit Rainbow Dash better than Sonic.
 * Also, one line of Sonic - You Can Do Anything is "Excalibar - It's not that far". In Sonic and the Black Knight, Sonic gets Excalibur.
 * Moment of Awesome:
 * The Metal Sonic race. And Sega knows.
 * Nightmare Fuel: The North American Game Over music. Have a listen.
 * Polished Port: The XBLA/PSN/iOS/Windows Phone 7 ports, as they were built from the ground up from a fan-made engine, it's closely based on the original Mega/SEGA CD version (rather than being based on the PC port), has HD support, true widescreen support, Tails is an unlockable playable character, and it even has the option to use the traditional spin dash from Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 & Knuckles onwards instead of the standard one. There's also an option to switch between the Japanese and American soundtracks. The only gripe is that (due to licensing issues) the JP/EU opening and ending themes will be replaced with instrumental covers.
 * A month later, the Steam version was released... But it wasn't quite as polished as it could've been (graphical problems, no control customization, external video settings), as it a port of the XBLA version.
 * That One Achievement: The Savior of Time. Getting the Time Stones makes getting the achievement/trophy impossible unless you get the last Time Stone in Mellatic Madness Zone 2. Also qualifies as a Guide Dang It for most people.
 * Luckily, your progress is saved upon entering a Special Stage, so if you exit the game before failing to get the Time Stone and boot up your save file, you can restart at the beginning of the Special Stage and attempt to nab the Time Stone once more.
 * That One Boss: Metal Sonic for some.
 * That One Level: Wacky Workbench, thanks to the bouncy bottom floor. When it comes to getting a good future in zone 1, it's even harder because of how complicated the path to it is, though at least it's easier to do in zone 2.
 * Also contains That One Boss, thanks to the Platform Hell. It is given an unwanted Shout Out in Sonic Advance Trilogy.
 * The Special Stages. Especially the 7th one.
 * For players trying to finish Time Attack mode in under 25 minutes, Metallic Madness acts two and three are easily more irritating than the other levels. Act two takes much practice to complete in under three minutes, as opposed to the previous non-boss levels, which can be beaten in under one minute (and in exceptional cases, 30-45 seconds). Act three has a Platform Hell section at the start, and three extremely tricky enemies to defeat before reaching the boss. You'll be lucky to finish it within two minutes, like the other boss levels.
 * They Changed It Now It Sucks: The American soundtrack got a lot of unnecessary flak just for replacing the Japanese one. This mentality even extended to game critics [such as GameFan Magazine, which rated the American version 30 points less than the Japanese version (which got 100%) just for this].
 * SEGA themselves tried to avert this, in the game media. Review copies were beta 920, which is identical to the US release save for having the original music in an attempt to hide the change. It didn't work. Upon hearing that the music was changed behind their backs, a good number of magazines retracted their perfect scores. Despite your view on the music, most would agree that lying to the press to get a better score isn't exactly excusable.
 * The common accepted theory/excuse for Sega changing the music because they had just built a new music studio for their American branch to use, and the flagship game was used to justify its existence. They probably also didn't want to pay the singers of the Japanese version's vocal tracks, nor for the Sampling used in the boss track. Since the beta had the Japanese soundtrack, it's a possibility that Sega's main American division wanted to show off an American studio's compositions, but as pointed out on this game's trivia page, when the 2011 remake was being developed it turned out that the soundtrack with rights issues was the American one. Fortunately, those were worked out, but had they not been, all regions would have had the Japanese soundtrack (which is the default option in the final version).