Gotta go fast!

After Sonic Adventure has served as my personal gateway into the series and Sonic Adventure 2 gave me an even better experience, I can proudly call myself a fan of the series now. A fan who only played 3D Sonic. That being said, Sonic Origins opened up a whole new dimension to me: 2D Sonic!

Here's a quick rundown of the zones: Green Hill was surprisingly the least engaging zone for me, but I can appreciate it for how iconic it is and being a good introduction with a timeless theme. I didn't have an issue with Marble Zone's methodical approach for the most part, although some of the random pop-up spikes felt a little cheap. Spring Yard is fine, but gets repetitive after a while. Now, Labyrinth Zone seems to be pretty universally hated, but I didn't find myself having much of an issue with it and thought it was rather refreshing after going through Spring Yard, the underwater sections were cool. Star Light Zone had cool catapults and Scrap Brain was... rather hard compared to the rest of the game - but that makes sense, it's the last level for a reason! The final fight itself though was a bit underwhelming and the ending was cheap.

But in the end, I enjoyed my time with the Blue Blur's debut game, even if most of the level design goes against the whole "gotta go fast" motif, which apparently is a dealbreaker for many. And while 2D Sonic is fun, I'd be lying if I told you I didn't miss the homing attack from Adventure at first.

It's wild that the icon of speed was tied to the posterchild for poor 50Hz optimisation, and yet, in 1991, Europe still loved him. Wherever you bought your copy of Sonic 1, the ROM was the same, and European Mega Drives were not built to play that shit. Regardless, PAL Sonic 1 has a daydreamy quality that I remain attached to. It makes the surrealness stand out more. The weird geometry and scrolling Special Stage birds that turn to fish. The slower pace means there's more opportunity for your attention towards drift to the backgrounds, and why are there prison bars all over Marble Zone's underground? The technical showcase aspect of it all was lost on me as a 5 year-old, but paired with all the old hippies who were animating sequences on the episodes of Sesame Street I'd watch daily, I was skipping past taking interest in the wonders of the world around me, and jumping headfirst into a fascination with the psychedelic. Don't cry for us, America. To you, it was just a bit of fun, but for us, Mobius was a dream. No wonder so much of the world's poetry comes from Europe. It's a real bummer that when Sonic transitioned to 3D, Sega's big question was "what if he lived in a city with people and a public transit system?"

Sonic 1 is a gorgeous game, and Naoto Oshima has a real skill for character design. Games had attempted to be this vibrant and dense with colour before, but when they were, they were likely the most rancid Amiga games ever made. Before Sonic, the Mega Drive was selling itself on the cutting-edge visuals of Castle of Illusion, which looks about a generation behind this. Everything was defined by the dimensions of the sprite tiles. Sonic's world is full of slopes, twisting tunnels and crumbling rock, and it all had a direct effect on your movement. Sure, Mario 3 let you slide on your arse, but in Sonic, every angle of geometry had an impact. It had taken a couple of years to convince weary customers that the jump to 16-bit actually meant anything, but after Sonic, there was no doubt.

I think a big factor that puts off older players who didn't grow up with Sonic is that it's neither strict enough to demand skilful play, nor easy enough to not constantly bump into dead ends and enemies. That ring system is a double-edged sword. Unlike the more respected Shinobis and Dynamite Headdys, you can get through it, but first-timers are just going to have a really sloppy run. For young players, who could never complete a game before, it was a godsend. We learned every curve of land and every terrible spikepit off by heart, and when we play it now, we're all incredible at the game. We're not confounded by springs that send you shooting into traps, or the giant Scrap Brain sawblades. When we play, it's with that intended sense of attitude. I think my later affinity for skateboarding games can be traced back to Sonic, with its momentum-based movement and giant halfpipes. There wasn't really anything that played like that in the early 3D days until THPS came along.

Sonic 1 instantly became the boring one when it started to get sequels, but I think it retains the strongest sense of atmosphere. It's the artsiest game in the series, with its far-out influences and only the sparsest interest in worldbuilding. It really doesn't hold much resemblance to the hideous multimedia juggernaut that the franchise has become. Sonic's a breezy little game that you can get through in around an hour, and it remains a lovely experience. Just make sure to leave yourself 12.5% longer if you're playing on a European machine.

I feel like an outlier when I say I really love this game. Compared to all of the other classic games, I find myself revisiting this one the most and enjoying each playthrough I have of it. I never grew up with this game, and I only beat it during my time in middle school. I still love replaying and beating this game in one sitting to this day. There's not a lot to this game, but there's a lot to love. It's a stellar and unique art direction, paired with the amazing music from Masato Nakamura. It all adds to the unique style Sonic was exuding back in the 90s. I have the Special Stage music from this game as my ringtone because I love it that much.

A lot of people tend to have this misconception that Sonic has and always will have the gameplay mentality of "going fast" and critique this game based on that misconception. I think that Sonic, from a design standpoint, has always encouraged players to properly learn the level design throughout the game and earn the satisfaction of beating a level quickly through skill and memorization. I feel like people give too much hate to Marble Zone and Labyrinth Zone because they refuse to engage with the level design and just want to hold right the whole time, like they can do in Green Hill. People forget that Sonic has always had level design that rewards exploration, and there are routes and gameplay tricks you can use to skip entire sections of levels. Scrap Brain Zone Act 3 has a shortcut that cuts the time from 2 minutes to 20 seconds. I don't think there's anything wrong with slowly but surely making your way through a level. At maximum, levels can take about 2 and a half minutes to complete with plenty of mistakes, and people overblow how long these levels actually are. I'm not going to act like the game is perfect; some of the enemy placement and level design in Labyrinth Zone and Starlight Zone are pretty annoying, and Scrap Brain can get tiring. It's got first-game syndrome, sure, but it isn't terrible. It can be pretty frustrating on first playthroughs, but I feel like that's everyone's first experience playing a Sonic game. It's a rite of passage at this point. 

In retrospect, this game can seem pretty terrible, but I have my own fun with it. I wish people shared the same sentiment. Special stages are bad, though I won't deny it; I've just gotten used to them over time.

Whenever reading reviews about this game, i always see shade get thrown on labyrinth zone, and honestly, i think its undeserved. Yeah, i can see how someone could find it boring, but for me, its thrilling. Trying to get the air bubbles in time, trying to dodge attacks, etc. Honestly, instead of labyrinth zone, we should all have one common enemy, Marble Zone.

I would rather stable my balls to a wall and hang 10 ft from the ground than play that piece of shit. If i were to lose my sight, hearing and touch, and stay like that for the rest of my life, it would still be more fun than marble zone. FUCK MARBLE ZONE.
Rest of the game is pretty ok ig

My thoughts on Sonic 1 constantly go back and forth. On the one hand, it’s a revolutionary part of gaming history and features some of the greatest physics in the industry. On the other… Labyrinth Zone.

No, I’m not kidding. Labyrinth Zone is dreadful. It’s a monstrous set of levels filled with unpredictable hazards, and where Sonic moves like he’s stuck in wet concrete. It’s truly awful and a blight on this game’s legacy… until you beat it. Then you feel like an absolute champion, a true master of this game’s level design, and you’re rewarded with the beautiful Star Light Zone.

The thing about Sonic 1 is that for every bad thing about it, the game throws something awesome at you that completely drowns out the negatives. Marble Zone was too slow? Here’s Spring Yard, have fun with the bumpers! Labyrinth Zone sucks? Here’s Star Light! Scrap Brain Zone Act 3 is one of the cruelest pranks known to man? Use the shortcut at the beginning to skip damn near the entire level! The final boss is anticlimactic? Use the final few seconds to destroy Eggman’s hovercraft and utterly humiliate him!

I love Sonic 1. I hate Sonic 1. But when it works, it’s a blast, and the short runtime ensures that the game doesn’t overstay its welcome. Overall, I love Sonic 1 more than I hate it, so that’s good.

The first Sonic is a classic that I had an absolute blast playing back in the day until I got stuck at Labrynth Zone and never saw past that point upon each replay. Today as an adult replaying the game, I was able to see the whole game through without much trouble. Sonic 1 is one of those games you can replay again and again for years and not get sick of it. Although while Sega found it's stride here, there were still a lot of shortcomings like the spindash not being yet discovered, and the absolutely infuriating level design at some points. Both points would be addressed in it's Sequel. Still, Sonic 1 is always fun to just pick up and play, and nothing is more iconic than zooming through Green Hill Zone over and over again.

For full transparency, this alongside any review I post for Gameboy or NES/SNES/Genesis games will be games I likely played on my Analogue Pocket. The game runs like a dream on the Pocket but this will be a review of just Sonic the Hedgehog and not a technical breakdown or anything.

Coming back to this game every year or so is like riding a bike. There are worse ways to spend an hour but I’m really glad it’s over when I’m done.

Sonic the Hedgehog is a formality. A quick warmup for the inevitable Sonic the Hedgehog binge that I – and many others – partake in, typically in annual or biannual installments. An underwhelming first track on the blue blur’s cult classic LP.

I played this game today for fun. Can you believe it?

I got all six emeralds before I even finished Labyrinth Zone. Labyrinth Zone is not as bad as I remember, I think… the boss isn’t good at all, though.

Also, you can actually beat the bosses in like 30 seconds or less. There’s actually two ways to damage Eggman in Star Light Zone. Pretty neat.

Scrap Brain Zone is probably the only time I’ve felt like the Sonic 1 devs genuinely hated players. Just countless BS death traps, bottomless pits, the entire bottom route in Act 2, and all of Act 3 just being Labyrinth Zone Act 4 as one last middle finger.

The overwhelming feeling I get while playing now is that none of this was meant to be for Sonic. There’s almost zero situations where thoughtlessly pushing forward will reward players. It feels like a drag. Basically every level rewards exploration more than quick reflexes, and even then, there’s hardly any room onscreen to predict or react to what’s immediately ahead.

Your best strategy is to take it slow more often than not, which feels super counterintuitive. All this has been said before. I think it bears repeating though, because this is something that even Sonic Superstars gets wrong (I will elaborate on this another time).

Even the rings system – a staple since this game, the very first one! – feels counterintuitive. Why charge forward and be risky if it means getting hit and losing all your rings? I’ve always felt like there needed to be a different approach to this. Some of the later games changed this, but I still feel like we should’ve moved past this all-or-nothing approach to Sonic games a long time ago.

Absolutely none of the game or its conceits takes advantage of Sonic’s speed, except for some light platforming and set pieces. And it’s even worse in some later games!

Some Sonic games feel rewarding on repeat playthroughs. Being able to memorize stage layout and progression can be fun. There’s a lot of value in multiple reruns. I just don’t think this game is interesting or enjoyable enough to warrant that kind of commitment.

I don’t think you should skip Sonic the Hedgehog. It’s worth at least a playthrough or two, but it’s certainly not the best this series has to offer.

Sonic the hedgehog is a game that was truly ahead of its time. The music in sonic 1 is so iconic, whenever you hear it you know what game it's from. The same can be said for the sound effects, whether it's collecting rings, finishing a level, or almost drowning. Each sound is truly iconic and special in its own way.

Another thing about sonic 1 that's amazing is the level design. The levels are full of spaces to explore and different routes to take. It really does baffle me how on Sega's first try they managed to get everything so right.

SOnic. Sonic the hedgehog., Sonic goes really fast, except when he doesn't. Why not? They didn't want him to. Sometimes. *drowns*

Sonic is in hell for most of the game. The story tells exactly how Sonic the Hdeghog went deeper and deeper into purgatory. He never gets out, but he manages to kill(?) demons.

If I was tasked as a 7 year old to beat this game I would kill Sonic the Hedgehog myself.

Literalmente o primeiro videogame que joguei na vida. Tudo até Labyrinth Zone é extremamente familiar, como se eu conseguisse lembrar o que eu pensava e sentia quando tinha meus 4 anos (não eram coisas que faziam sentido).

É curioso como eu ainda tenho a impressão que de Starlight Zone até o final é o lado "secreto" do jogo, como se fosse coisas das versões novas e que não tinha no meu Mega Drive.

Se Sonic não foi meu primeiro amigo certamente foi o segundo e ditou toda minha vida

A great looking game, good songs, even fun movement, but the levels and enemy placements seem to be purposefully designed to punch you in the nuts every time you're about to have fun. I just finished 100%ing Super Mario World, first replay since I was a kid, and the best of those levels are designed so you can bounce Mario off koopas right through the entire thing—here, every time you jump the developers have cheekily placed a rake for you to land on. Your rings will explode everywhere, and then you'll see above Sonic in huge letters the only word that appears in the game world—"COPE." Sonic is looking into the camera and he is laughing at you.

In the best cases, the levels require slow, thoughtful exploration, and precise platforming, but Sonic doesn't want to do that. He wants to run fast and bounce off bad guys. But half the bad guys have itty bitty hit boxes and will kill you for landing on them if you're a pixel off their head. Why are half the levels underwater, where you move even slower than usual and have to get air constantly? The game clocks in at around two hours if you're not dying constantly, which you will be, and all of these choices feel like they're designed to pad the game out. The game feels at odds with itself.

Sonic as a character, and his animations, are cool and well done. It's easy to see why he caught on; he's a likeable environmentally concerned hero. In general the worlds look good, though the background tiles themselves are unvaried, which makes the slow exploring sometimes confusing.

I don't see myself returning to it—it's just not a fun platformer, and it's not a fun slow action game either. In the platforming space, the closest comparison I can think of is Bonk's Adventure, which is far more accomplished and fun. Where Bonk's Adventure levels are a bit too sparse and easy, Sonic the Hedgehog is too difficult and rarely fun to move through.