yeah yeah Sonic 1 is definitely flawed I can admit that, but I kinda still love it anyway?
that said my go-to Sonic 1 is the Taxman version with the Spin Dash, widescreen, save function and a bunch of other bonus stuff so maybe I'm giving this game a little too much credit, but I still think there's some good fun to be had here. for example I really enjoy the physics that the mainline Classic games have, it helps give the series its own identity with stuff like going over loop-de-loops, spinning down slopes, bouncing on enemies and a bunch of other stuff, though they don't go all the way with it here. the building blocks are definitely there still! if that's not enough then you can also make it to the end of an Act with 50 rings to get sent to the Special Stages. they're....not the greatest ones Sonic has to offer, but they're still a bit of fun to go through (except the third Special Stage that one's kinda lame). you don't really get any bonus stuff outside of a very slightly different ending so if that doesn't interest you then you can skip that.
I'm also a fan of how the game looks and sounds. Green Hill Zone is without a doubt beautiful, especially with it's crazy 80's CGI trees so cool. every other zone ain't no slouch either, Marble Zone with those weird structures at the beginning and end, Spring Yard Zone having the word "COPE" in the sky, Labyrinth Zone with the Indiana Jones ruins vibe, Star Light Zone with the starry and dreamlike background, and the mechanical factory vibes that the first two acts of Scrap Brain Zone has. the music's pretty cool too. Green Hill, Star Light, and Scrap Brain are my personal favorites, though everything else is just okay, the later games definitely has more consistently great tracks, it is one of the things Sonic is well known for. anyway I'll try to briefly discuss my opinions on the game's Zones.
Green Hill: it's Green Hill, nothing much needs to be said. the best visually, the best functionally, probably not the best musically but it's up there.
Marble Zone: sloooooooooooowwww. at least when you're underground when you push blocks and wait for platforms to drop down. the music's pretty slow too, I'd probably be less bored if the music was more frantic or something. maintaining your 50 rings is also pretty annoying here, but hey at least there's a free 1UP here if you can manage of find it.
Spring Yard: an improvement over Marble but not quite as good as Green Hill, has more good then bad though. that said the part where you're waiting for those slow blocks to move when you're going vertically is lame and uncool. everything else is fine though.
Labyrinth: poo poo stinky! in my opinion though, Act 1 and Act 2 aren't TOO bad, though they can certainly pose some problems for newcomers. can't defend Act 3 though, that one stings, especially during the second when you have to ride on one of the three sponges and then chase Eggman later at the end. oh yeah I didn't discuss the Eggman fights. they're unremarkable, except for this one and not in a good way, probably the most frustrating moment of the game.
Star Light: why did the game suddenly get easy? I breezed through Act 1 in like 40 seconds. actually nevermind I earned this after Labyrinth Act 3, I'll enjoy it while it lasts. all the Acts here are pretty fun, even if they're moments with Bombs plastered together like a sorted by recent Mario Maker level. okay not all the Eggman battles are lame, you have two methods of defeating him here, launching yourself up to hit him, or timing and launching a spike ball towards him, I love that this is a neat boss. great Zone overall, has some higher highs than Green Hill at points.
Scrap Brain: kinda bull, though it is the final Zone so I can KINDA give it some slack. Act 1 is annoying at first, but you learn to get better with it over time, same thing with Act 2 though it's a bit more annoying with the obstacles. okay not going to give slack for Act 3 though, it's literally Labyrinth Zone Act 4, right down to the visuals. if that shortcut that lets you skip almost all of the Act wasn't there, then this would be the lowest point of the game, this Act SUUUUCKS. I've only completed this Act the normal way ONCE, just to say that I did it, do not clear it the normal way. not cool, not radical, not groovy. also the final boss is easy and boring. probably my favorite music track in the game though at least.
Green Hill = Star Light > Spring Yard > Scrap Brain > Marble > Labyrinth >>>>>>>>>>>> Scrap Brain Act 3
okay there's a lot to dislike about the Zones, but to be honest I've played Sonic 1 so many times that I've kinda grown an immunity to the low points in some way. I used to hate going through Marble and Labyrinth but I can get through them pretty easily nowadays. I don't know why, but there's always something making me coming back to this game every once in a while, and I'm almost always having a good time, not a SPECTACULAR, but a good time is still good. I don't know, I still love this very flawed game, and I look forward to the next chance I get to play it again.
as long as it's the Taxman version lol
that said my go-to Sonic 1 is the Taxman version with the Spin Dash, widescreen, save function and a bunch of other bonus stuff so maybe I'm giving this game a little too much credit, but I still think there's some good fun to be had here. for example I really enjoy the physics that the mainline Classic games have, it helps give the series its own identity with stuff like going over loop-de-loops, spinning down slopes, bouncing on enemies and a bunch of other stuff, though they don't go all the way with it here. the building blocks are definitely there still! if that's not enough then you can also make it to the end of an Act with 50 rings to get sent to the Special Stages. they're....not the greatest ones Sonic has to offer, but they're still a bit of fun to go through (except the third Special Stage that one's kinda lame). you don't really get any bonus stuff outside of a very slightly different ending so if that doesn't interest you then you can skip that.
I'm also a fan of how the game looks and sounds. Green Hill Zone is without a doubt beautiful, especially with it's crazy 80's CGI trees so cool. every other zone ain't no slouch either, Marble Zone with those weird structures at the beginning and end, Spring Yard Zone having the word "COPE" in the sky, Labyrinth Zone with the Indiana Jones ruins vibe, Star Light Zone with the starry and dreamlike background, and the mechanical factory vibes that the first two acts of Scrap Brain Zone has. the music's pretty cool too. Green Hill, Star Light, and Scrap Brain are my personal favorites, though everything else is just okay, the later games definitely has more consistently great tracks, it is one of the things Sonic is well known for. anyway I'll try to briefly discuss my opinions on the game's Zones.
Green Hill: it's Green Hill, nothing much needs to be said. the best visually, the best functionally, probably not the best musically but it's up there.
Marble Zone: sloooooooooooowwww. at least when you're underground when you push blocks and wait for platforms to drop down. the music's pretty slow too, I'd probably be less bored if the music was more frantic or something. maintaining your 50 rings is also pretty annoying here, but hey at least there's a free 1UP here if you can manage of find it.
Spring Yard: an improvement over Marble but not quite as good as Green Hill, has more good then bad though. that said the part where you're waiting for those slow blocks to move when you're going vertically is lame and uncool. everything else is fine though.
Labyrinth: poo poo stinky! in my opinion though, Act 1 and Act 2 aren't TOO bad, though they can certainly pose some problems for newcomers. can't defend Act 3 though, that one stings, especially during the second when you have to ride on one of the three sponges and then chase Eggman later at the end. oh yeah I didn't discuss the Eggman fights. they're unremarkable, except for this one and not in a good way, probably the most frustrating moment of the game.
Star Light: why did the game suddenly get easy? I breezed through Act 1 in like 40 seconds. actually nevermind I earned this after Labyrinth Act 3, I'll enjoy it while it lasts. all the Acts here are pretty fun, even if they're moments with Bombs plastered together like a sorted by recent Mario Maker level. okay not all the Eggman battles are lame, you have two methods of defeating him here, launching yourself up to hit him, or timing and launching a spike ball towards him, I love that this is a neat boss. great Zone overall, has some higher highs than Green Hill at points.
Scrap Brain: kinda bull, though it is the final Zone so I can KINDA give it some slack. Act 1 is annoying at first, but you learn to get better with it over time, same thing with Act 2 though it's a bit more annoying with the obstacles. okay not going to give slack for Act 3 though, it's literally Labyrinth Zone Act 4, right down to the visuals. if that shortcut that lets you skip almost all of the Act wasn't there, then this would be the lowest point of the game, this Act SUUUUCKS. I've only completed this Act the normal way ONCE, just to say that I did it, do not clear it the normal way. not cool, not radical, not groovy. also the final boss is easy and boring. probably my favorite music track in the game though at least.
Green Hill = Star Light > Spring Yard > Scrap Brain > Marble > Labyrinth >>>>>>>>>>>> Scrap Brain Act 3
okay there's a lot to dislike about the Zones, but to be honest I've played Sonic 1 so many times that I've kinda grown an immunity to the low points in some way. I used to hate going through Marble and Labyrinth but I can get through them pretty easily nowadays. I don't know why, but there's always something making me coming back to this game every once in a while, and I'm almost always having a good time, not a SPECTACULAR, but a good time is still good. I don't know, I still love this very flawed game, and I look forward to the next chance I get to play it again.
as long as it's the Taxman version lol