Sonic Lost Word on the 3DS is a port of the console bigger brothers. Impressively, and as far as I noticed, Sonic Lost World 3DS offers the same cut scenes and similar level design as the console versions. Sadly, that is the most impressive thing about this game. Sonic Lost World 3DS is a big idea that falls short in a smaller execution.

One of the main selling points for Sonic Lost World is the mingling of 2D and 3D style games. The 3D gameplay works decently but at times seems too big for the 3DS. The 2D environment is where the game falls extremely short. The 2D environments are missing a crisp design that one would expect from a 3DS Sonic game. The 2D is also plagued by awkward camera jolts, as Sonic is supposed to move seamlessly up and around the world. These jolts can be credited to the game trying to squeeze a big idea into a smaller platform. The bonus Chaos Emerald levels try to use the 3DS gyroscope functionality but falls into that annoying category rather than fun.

For the first time Sonic Lost World gives the player a little more control over the speeding hedgehog. Moving the Circle Pad will only send Sonic into a light jog (or our run).  Holding down the right bumper button will send Sonic into his breakneck Sonic speed. This does give the player a unique ability to tame the speeding beast and allow for more control in where Sonic will go. But, much like other parts of the game, it worked well in the 3D environments but felt very out of place in the 2D portions.

Sonic Lost World also gives Sonic the ability to wall climb. By speedily heading to a wall, Sonic can both run up or on a wall, and then perform different wall jumps to reach areas. To repeat the theme of this review, this worked well in the 3D environment, but became a misstep into death in 2D.

Sonic Lost World 3DS was an ambitious idea that falls very short. It is nice to have a 3DS game similar to the Wii U one but SEGA may have done better making a new standalone Sonic Game. If you played the Wii U version, the story just becomes a skippable moment.  Sonic Lost World for the 3DS isn’t the worst Sonic handheld game…but that’s not saying much.