Nintendo Boy: Game Reviewer: Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Genesis) - Video-Game-Info Forums

Super Smash Bros. Fan(M) · #1 06-24-2009, 09:27 PM

Sonic The Hedgehog

One of the most beloved video game mascots started with one of the greatest video game of all time.

Video Game Console: Sega Genesis, Virtual Console
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sonic Team
Release Date: June 23, 1991 (Sega Genesis), November 19, 2006 (Virtual Console)
Players: 1
Genre: Platforming

Let's face it. Sonic the Hedgehog is going through some terrible times. With the poorly done attempt with replacing the protagonist with Shadow the Hedgehog in Shadow The Hedgehog, putting the Sonic series in an hoverboard with Sonic Rider, and the notriously horrendous attempt to revive the series with Sonic the Hedgehog for the HD systems (Playstation 3 and Xbox 360). It makes us wonder when we'll ever see an decent Sonic game again, adside from handheld and on the Nintendo Wii. However, let's go back to Sonic glory days when he was the definition of cool. In fact, we're going back to the very beginning of his gaming history.

Story: Dr. Robotnik is attempting to collect the six (Later seven) Chaos Emeralds in order to rule South Island. In order to do so, he captures animals and turn them into robots. Sonic finds out and goes after Dr. Robotnik in order to save South Island and restore peace to it.

Graphic:

This game is an impressive looking 16-bit game for it's time. The enemies are very well detail and are unique from each other. Dr. Robotnik and Sonic are also very well detail. From the almost 3D-ish palm tree leaves in Green Hill Zone, to the impressive lava detail in Marble Zone, and beyone that, this game looks great all-around.

Sound Effects: It's very useful and it sounds great. There's a lot of variety when it comes to sound effects. One for collecting rings, one for Sonic curling up to an ball, one for killing an opponent, etc.

Music: Sonic Team did an excellent job in the music department. Every song has been done well and a few even sounds great, especailly Marble Zone and Star Light Zone. Green Hill Zone is great as well. Even the worst song in the game is still good.

Gameplay: Since we're reviewing the Virtual Console version, we're going to skip the controls and cut to the gameplay, the most important aspect of the game.

In the screen, on the top bottom corner is your number of lives. The top left corner are your overall score, time, and rings you have in possession. There are three "acts" in a "zone" and there are six "zones" in the game.

The character your playing as is Sonic the Hedgehog, a cerulean hedgehog who can run faster then the speed of sound. Your goal is to get to the end within 10 miniutes and without dying. The point is to run as fast as you can through the stage, although sometimes, you'll have to slow down to prevent getting hit. He's able to run through loops without slowing down if he's fast enough! You're able to collect rings to keep you alive when you get hit by an enemy or by lava. Without it, it would be an unfair one-hit death game. You can hit enemies by hitting the top of their heads or curling up in a ball while in motion and hitting them if they have spikes on their head. When you pass an checkpoint, the ball will change from blue to red, indicating that when you lose an life, you restart from their. There are five items box that I can recall in the game:

1. Force Field. It's an blue bubble like shape the defends Sonic until he gets hit, then he lose the force field.

2. Rings. When you break one of these boxes, you earn ten rings.

3. Invincibility. Makes you temporarily invincible. Your able to kill any opponents under this stage.

4. Sonic logo. Breaking one of these boxes will give you one life.

5. Speed Shoes. Makes Sonic go extermly fast. This is very rare, as I only used it in Green Hill Zone Act 3.

Sometime in Gree Hill Zone, hitting a tree will shake out an item you can use. Use it carefully. You can also earn a life by getting 100 rings without losing them all. When you get hit by an enemy, you lose rings (You have an limited recovery time.) and when you hit an enemy without any rings, you lose an life. Lose all of it and it's Game Over. This game has no save nor password to continue, unless you access a cheat (Look it up!). You have limited continues (Which I'll explain more of later) to use to continue and after continuing, you start from the beginning of the act. If you have no continues left, you have to restart the game all over.

At the end of each act, your score is tally up to your overall scores, depending on number of rings you have and how fast you cleared the stage. You can continue earning extra points by jumping around if you haven't left the stage already until you advance to the next level. However, if you have 50 rings left, a huge golden ring that you can pass through will warp you to the Special Stages, where you can collect the Chaos Emeralds.

At the Special Stages, Sonic is curled up in a ball the entire time as he progress through the stage. This where you will collect the Chaos Emeralds. You can collect rings here. If you hit the red buttons at a pitfall, you return to the stage. Get an Chaos Emerald and you also return to the stage. However, in both cases, the amount of rings you've collected tally up to the overall score. If you have 50 rings, you earn an continue.

At the end of Act 3, you face off in a battle between Sonic and Dr. Robotnik. You'll have to plan an stragedy to defeat him and is one of the few major things that breaks up the speed, adside from rings collecting. It takes eight hits to defeat him in each battle. Defeat him and you'll continue to the next zone.

Bad: It's almost perfect, but not quite. I have two minor complaints.

First, I didn't like that the spikes gave you no recovery, so once you hit a spike, you die. However, this doesn't appear very often, so you'll get through it.

I was also disappointed that when you did the cheat that you select the stage, you don't go back to the beginning of the game after choosing your selected stage. Sure, it makes the game easier, which is why the complain is minor, but it's also harder, if not impossible to collect all six Chaos Emeralds in some situation.

Good: As I said before, this game is amazing! There's so much to desire in this game. The immersive speed is responsible for giving it's addicting gameplay. The controls are well fit and respone perfectly like a good game should. It also takes full use of blast processing, what the Sega Genesis is known for and one of it's biggest advantage against the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. What also drove fans to Sonic was that he had a new personaility that wasn't common in most games. He was a carefree hedgehog who while unselfish can be cocky, doesn't that reminds us of some people? And as pratically said before, I have absolutely no major complaints against this game, an exterme rarity. It does almost everything right for an game and set an standard yet to be broken by any games I have played yet.

Conclusion: After eighteen years, this game has aged extermly well, almost like if it hasn't aged at all. I was formally reluctant to download this game because I already had Sonic the Hedgehog 2, but after getting my Sega Genesis this year, since this is the sole game that I have for the console, I litterally love this game. Now that I got on the Virtual Console, I had the oppertunity to share to you this legendary game that stands the test of time of one of best of the best video games ever created? Got a Wii or Sega Genesis, but don't have this game? This is an must buy for everyone with one of those systems!

Final Score: 99.2/100

Thank you for taking the time to read the review. Please put out your comment here on my review.