What do you get when you take Sonic, the blazing fast Sega mascot, and move him from his 16-bit heritage down to an 8-bit portable?  A whole lot of compromise.  This Game Gear interpretation of the classic Sonic formula will be very familiar to anyone who's played one of the Genesis classics. However, questionable hit detection and inconsistent frame rate make the game feel distinctly out-of-place on the Game Gear platform.  And while the graphics are bright and colorful, they're also very much in line with the 16-bit games and therefore don't feel particularly special.

The game allows you to play as Sonic or Tails right out of the gate, each with a special ability and character specific items. (It's strange that a game called Triple Trouble only has two playable characters.) By pressing the Up and A buttons, Sonic can gain a standing burst of speed, while Tails will instead take flight and launch into the air for a short period of time. Other than that, the two characters play much the same.

Sonic Triple Trouble is a passable Sonic game, and the only one currently available via download on the 3DS eShop.  If you're jonesing for a Sonic fix, this might get the job done, but for most others this will be too much of a step backwards from the norm to satisfy.