I've never actually completed this game. So when I heard it was free on the app store, I wanted to pick it up again. As nice as it was to have a spindash in Sonic 1, that's really the only advantage I see on the mobile version rather than the original or even any other console ports. The controls are awful. This maybe just the fact I have big ass fingers, and I never got used to touch controls, but even without that, I just don't think the classic Sonic games were made for this control scheme, especially 1, given the fact that it's level design was made for you to be a little slower, and the added spindash/crouchdash makes it more awkward. Another thing is the ads. Now I know without the ads, it wouldn't be free, but these things pop up fucking everywhere, even when I push "start game". As for the game itself, it has it's flaws: the level design is honestly terrible for the most part, the boss fights are really bad and forgettable, and some of the game's physics are flawed as well. But there were some stuff that outweighed the bad, such as the music and the overrall game play. So I liked it enough to go back to it someday, just not on the mobile version.

Great platformer. Unique from any other aside from its own franchise. Slope mechanics are very complex, interesting and nuanced. Many different thoughtful shortcuts and ways to beat levels faster, and just ways to interact with the levels in general. CONS: Camera is too close for a game that can move so fast, 1/3rd of the levels are painfully slow & neglect its slope mechanics, game signals the player to collect and keep many Rings through levels which leads to conservative, slow play, which is the worst way to approach the game.

It's a decent start to an embarrassing legacy. It's okay as a pick-up-and-play platformer, but the lack of a save feature and hit-and-miss continue system makes it hard to recommend in 2020. Super Mario All-Stars is a much easier sell - as are Sonic CD and Mania.

I guess you could play the mobile port? But that'd involve playing a mobile game.

And no, hacking the spin dash in doesn't really help this game.

I enjoyed Sonic quite a lot, but I'll be honest in saying that a large majority of that fun more than likely came from the fact I was playing the game through the Megadrive/Genesis Classics collection, which offers a ton of accessibility options such as a fast-forward/rewind feature. I honestly can't imagine playing Sonic on original hardware specifically because of the absurd difficulty spikes and general sluggishness in specific levels/zones in the game.

Certainly worth a try, but understandable if it's a major turn-off due to its abstract design choices and general sluggishness when the core philosophy behind the game was to "just go fast."