Retro|Spective 061R: Sonic the Hedgehog

[Neon Ignition]

We're going to go all with two revisits that are going to be long roads but with much to digest and discuss. The first of these is...


Sonic the Hedgehog
"Get a load of this!"


Game 01 - Sonic the Hedgehog
The first game out wasn't the very first videogame appearance by Sonic, who had been seen dangling from the rear view mirror in Rad Mobile, but the Mega Drive game was Sega's major strike back against the popularity of Mario and part of the push to make their brand appear cooler and edgier. Sonic's key selling point was his speed despite how many of the games levels required you to slow down and platform. The bonus stages also made use of rotational effects that were striking back at the time of the games release and the games impact was obvious, creating a major brand and a mascot for the company moving forward.








What did you make of Sonic on its release and does it still hold up?

[Asura]

It's weird, because I have strong memories of Sonic from pre-Sonic 2, but don't remember when I first found out about it. I didn't own it, I remember that much. I was quite young, so that whole era of the character is a blur of games, comics and cartoons.

But I remember loving it. Also that the drowning music still scares the crap out of me.

[Atticus]

Sonic is an odd one for me. Just looking at that pic I feel nostalgic (the music does the same). But I never got a lot out of the gameplay.

[wakka]

Sonic on the Master System was the first videogame I ever played. My sister had bought a Master System for her boyfriend at the time and when we visited we all took turns playing it. I was probably about 3. It set a lifelong interest and hobby in motion!

[Neon Ignition]

Time to blow minds - Sonic, well, any 2D Sonic... is at best a deeply average game.

Specifically the original but applicable to others, the opening level is iconic and the next zone is memorable then it's a progressively downward slope through the rest of the game from there.

[phillv85]

Sonic 1 was my first ever video game, so I have a hell of a lot of time for it. I think it’s incredible, for me the 2nd best Sonic game after Sonic 2. Green Hill Zone is an absolute masterpiece in stage design, you can blitz through it or take your time and find all the secret areas. I’ve found few games as enchanting in my 30 years of gaming, it’s one I still go back to now.

[wakka]

Yeah, I agree, I really like the Megadrive Sonic games and regularly play them to this day. If I compare them to something like Mario 64, I don't think they are quite on the same level. That game has a special genius to its mechanics and a purity to it which I think Sonic even at its best lacks.

But that doesn't stop the best Sonic games from being tremendously playable and fun. The art design is great, the music rocks, and there is sheer joy in just blasting through the levels. Compared to the vast majority of platformers from that era they are streets ahead, and I love that they deliberately took a different approach from Mario rather than attempting to clone what Nintendo had achieved.

I love them. Might fire up Sonic 1 tonight.

[Baseley09]

I agree with one of the comments above about the OG game going down hill after Marble Zone but by god are those first 2 levels etched on my mind, the layout and the music especially unrivalled.

Shout out to the Starlight zone music though.

Love Sonic 1 & 2. Never gave a rats about 3 seemed like an American game.

[dataDave]

I like the disparity between the first two games and the last two.

Sonic 1 was, and still is, a great alternative to Mario.

[Hirst]

I love Sonic 1, I think something that is lost in the later games is just how abstract the art style is - Spring Yard Zone in particular just looks mental with glowing signs everywhere that aren't held up by anything. COPE just floating in the sky, to remind you to cope. Most of the game looks like the artwork you'd get on some 1980s document wallet. I think this was lost a little bit in later entries, where the game started taking on a more realistic look as it went on.

I will also say that it is a game that is rough around the edges, but I find that part of the charm. It feels as though each level was designed by a completely different person wanting to experiment with different gameplay mechanics. Green Hill is high speed and full of alternative routes, Marble Zone is low speed and almost completely linear and you have to patiently ride a velamint across some lava, Spring Yard is basically a giant pinball machine, etc. And the rotation effects on the special stage, they were quite something too.

The music is just excellent, I know loads of Sonic music is great but I think the entire soundtrack to Sonic 1 is brilliant (even the parpy game over tune). Might as well mention it here that people mention all the time about various tracks of Sonic music being based on something else, but nobody ever seems to mention the Scrap Brain music being the end credits of Blade Runner. It's really obvious! It's got the kettle drums and everything.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 02 - Sonic the Hedgehog
Releasing four months later than the original game, the 8-bit incarnation of the franchise was a rare example of a franchise heading backwards in generation. Not only that but it wasn't the same game either. This game has a slower, exploration paced style of gameplay with some theming borrowed from the original game but plenty, including its levels, that are original. It was well received and has its own circle of fans.








Which did you prefer?

[Asura]

Game 02 - Sonic the Hedgehog

Honestly don't understand the people who say they prefer this game to the MD one, with the exception of it being what you grew up with (so nostalgia carries it).

Most interesting is that people often say "it felt more like going on a journey", which I think is literally just because it displays a map between the levels.

[Neon Ignition]

[Dogg Thang]

I love Sonic the Hedgehog on the Mega Drive. And on the Game Gear. That's my in-depth view on these games. Smash that like button.

[Hirst]

The SMS/GG version is a great little game, Ancient did a good job of playing to the strengths of the system rather than just do a bad port. It was well worth owning both games (which I did).