Sonic the Hedgehog
Due to the success of "Sonic" games on the Sega Genesis, the series was introduced to the Master System and the Game Gear. Sega began by releasing "Sonic the Hedgehog", a 2D platform game, in 1991. The game featured Sonic's ability to run and to jump at high speeds like its Mega Drive/Genesis counterpart but with notably different level design and music. Sega later released "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" another 2D platform game, in 1992. The game differed from its Genesis counterpart with different levels and music and by not including a "spin dash" maneuver. It also featured a different storyline in which Doctor Robotnik kidnaps Tails, who is non-playable in the Master System/Game Gear version. "Sonic Chaos"/"Sonic and Tails" (Japan), released in 1993, was similar to the earlier two Sega Master System/Game Gear "Sonic" games, but featured Tails as a playable character. A sequel, "Sonic Triple Trouble"/"Sonic and Tails 2" (Japan), a 2D platform game, was released in 1994 for the Game Gear and introduced a new character, Nack the Weasel, who, along with Knuckles and Doctor Robotnik, raced to collect the Chaos Emeralds. One of the last games for the Sega Game Gear, "Sonic Blast", was released in 1996 and featured prerendered sprites.
Sonic Blast
"Sonic Blast" was released worldwide in November 1996, and in Japan as part of the Kid's Gear brand on December 13, 1996, retitled "G Sonic". Worldwide, it was the last Sega-published Game Gear game; it was the system's final game outright in Japan. Though it has a similar title and was released around the same time, "Sonic Blast" and "Sonic 3D Blast" have little in common. The game is fairly common in North America, but "G Sonic" is extremely rare, costing almost 350. A port of the game was released for the Master System exclusively in Brazil in December 1997, distributed by Tectoy. The game had to be simplified to run on the Master System because of its lower graphical quality. Like "G Sonic", the Master System version of "Sonic Blast" is rare.