Sonic the Hedgehog CD

Sonic the Hedgehog CD
European instruction manual cover
Developer(s)	Sonic Team
Publisher(s)	Sega
Distributor(s)	SoftKey (PC retail)
Director(s)	Naoto Ohshima
Producer(s)	Minoru Kanari Makoto Oshitani
Designer(s)	Hiroaki Chino Kenichi Ono Yuichiro Yokoyama Takao Miyoshi Akira Nishino
Artist(s)	Kazuyuki Hoshino Takumi Miyake
Composer(s)	Japanese/European version: Naofumi Hataya Masafumi Ogata North American version: Spencer Nilsen David Young Mark Crew
Series	Sonic the Hedgehog
Platform(s)	Sega CD, Microsoft Windows, Android, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, iOS, Windows Phone
Release	Sega CD JP: September 23, 1993 EU: October 18, 1993 NA: November 19, 1993 Microsoft Windows JP: August 9, 1996 NA: September 26, 1996 EU: October 3, 1996 Android, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 WW: December 14, 2011 iOS WW: December 15, 2011 Windows Phone WW: November 14, 2012
Genre(s)	Platformer
Mode(s)	Single-player

Sonic the Hedgehog CD, more commonly known as Sonic CD, is a platform video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega originally for the Sega CD in 1993. It is the third main installment in the Sonic the Hedgehog series (following Sonic the Hedgehog 2), and the first game in the series to make use of the CD-ROM format, featuring high-quality audio and full motion video. Development began in Japan in 1991, and was originally developed alongside Sonic the Hedgehog 2 as the same project, but was split into different games shortly after production began.

The story of Sonic CD follows Sonic the Hedgehog as he uses time travel to save Amy Rose and Little Planet from Doctor Robotnik and Metal Sonic. The game features the debut appearances of Amy Rose and Metal Sonic, both of whom have gone on to become recurring characters in the Sonic series. Time travel is a key aspect to both the story and gameplay, with nearly every stage containing four different variations (one for each time period) featuring alternate stage layouts, music, and graphics.

Sonic CD received critical acclaim, being considered both one of the best platform and Sega CD games of all-time. It was ported to Microsoft Windows as part of the Sega PC brand in 1996, and to both the PlayStation 2 and GameCube as part of Sonic Gems Collection in 2005. An enhanced port of the game was also released for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, iOS, Android, Microsoft Windows, Windows Phone, Ouya, and Apple TV.