Sonic the Hedgehog Review - An Honest Take
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- čas přidán 8. 09. 2024
- A lot of folks ask me to do Sonic videos. But what do I think of Sonic, exactly? Let's take a look.
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Opening 3D Logo By:
Jan Neves
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Opening 2D Animation By:
Kevin Bhall
Facebook - / kevin.bhall.14
Episode Notes:
1. Game captured via the Mega SG(Japan version).
2. Press Up, Down, Left, Right at the title screen. Wait for the "ding" and then press A and Start for a level select.
3. I did like Sonic 2 and 3 more in terms of level design and enemies.
4. My favorite 16-bit Sonic was Sonic CD. By a mile. The stage design rewarded exploration and I rarely felt trapped or slowed down to the point of tedium.
5. The Japanese version actually came out a bit later than the US and European versions. It has additional effects like extra parallax scrolling and water ripple effects.
I love how experimental Sonic 1 was, it is a surreal experience.
I was never aware of the hype as a kid. Instead my parents surprised me with a Sega Genesis on Christmas that came with Sonic and Aladdin. I took the game as a basic platformer with some speed to mix it up, so the slower sections never bothered me. Instead, over the next year, I became obsessed with beating the game. I would come home from school and end up making just a little more progress in Sonic each day until I eventually beat it. When that happened, it was one of the most satisfying experiences I've ever had at the time. So this game has always held a special place in my heart and I will always consider it a true classic.
@Old Age You don't have to believe anything, but I'm no liar. I knew more about that Aladdin game I got before I knew anything about Sonic. The hype just flew under my radar. Hell, it's not like I even asked for a Genesis. My parents surprised me with it.
Old Age Don't be pissy that some people didn't follow the herd like you do.
I had to go through a game pro magazine to see were all the chaos emeralds were then get really far go to sleep leave the game on but the TV off and pray to God when I got home from school everything was still OK
The noise when you hit and destroyed Dr. Robotnic was so satisfying.
Particularly in sonic 1. Sonic 2 is my favorite but they changed the sound a little.
Sonic’s sound effects are iconic and nostalgic.
It's hard to overstate how amazing this game looked to kids who were coming from the NES. I was blown away like I've never been at any other point about a video game. The bonus stage with the birds turning into fish? What is this, the future? And you can have something like this at home? It's a good looking game even now, but it was gorgeous coming from "regular" Nintendo (as we called it after Super Nintendo was released).
Seeing this game back then, with its big, colourful sprites, wonderful music and strangely Japanese (for the time) design blew all our minds when this first came out.
It's not just the game that was special, but the event it created.
He had mario on the Blackfoot here.
I laughed at regular Nintendo. Your so right on that. I wonder how that became the staple way to reference nes at that point
I was that lone kid that had a SNES instead of a Genesis. I would hang out at friends' houses to play "Sonic the Hedgehog," and they would hang out with me to play "Super Mario World." Truly memorable times!
If we didn't have both a Snes AND a Genesis we have to ask ourselves... did our parents really love us enough?
@@tcaudiobooks737 If your mother works like 8 hours for 1 game, then she does.
Everyone talks about Sonic's speed. It was certainly marketed that way, but it was much more about monentum.
It's more like an award for learning the levels and getting better. The better you get the faster you can go till you can just basically speedrun everything. Same with the shortcuts in the zones.
Especially the 1st sonic.
With the spin dash introduced in Sonic 2, momentum became less meaningful, instant speed.
In 1 it's all about keeping momentum to keep the flow, or youl be getting slowed down alot.
But to have momentum, you have to have flowing levels without undodgeable hallway blocking stuff that gets in your way, so that you at least are able to reach a speed where your momentum can be utilized. The problem with marble, labyrinth, and scrap brain of Sonic 1 is that they have more flat design and fewer slopes and they make you stop and start waiting for things, so momentum cannot be utilized.
Sonic 2 does a much better job because momentum based gameplay is much more evident in the zones up to oil ocean. It's evident from the start in that you can use the momentum from going up a slope with the speedshoes in Emerald Hill Act 1 to bounce onto an invincibility box and progressively from there fly through the stage. Sonic 3 and Knuckles as great as it is overall is a step backwards in this respect as you have a lot more enclosed areas and areas where you must stop and wait for level gimmicks to happen.
@Glizzy God Totally agreed, don't understand everyone thinking that it's all about the speed, but I think it's the marketing telling people that Sonic was something it's really not. In my country the original Sonic the Hedgehog wasn't marketed like that, so we had an unadulterated interpretation of the game.
It was about exploring. Sonic games aren't just about going left to right.
The free copy of Sonic 1 with a mail away for 2 cinched it for me when I was deciding between the Genesis and Super Nintendo
*It was fantastic and people in Asia and Europe had to pay money for it*
Sonic 1 is a classic, but there’s no denying that 2, 3, S&K, and CD all surpassed it in pretty much every way.
I never could get into sonic CD
Patrick Rutherford That’s fair. I actually was the same way when I first played it. I warmed up to it over time though, and now it’s my second favorite after 2.
SilverAxe13 I don’t fully understand the past present and future concept. I never grasp exactly what I’m supposed to be doing other than grabbing rings and finishing the stage
Patrick Rutherford Me neither.
I agree will all but CD. I personally couldn't enjoy that game. The levels were just too out there and nonsensical.
Green Hill Zone was what really sold the game.
And spring hard zone and star light zone because that are also speed kinda
You can move faster in the later levels but it requires a lot of skill and understanding of how the levels work. Look up some speed runs and you'll see what I mean
Seen em. Pretty crazy. But you need to love a game to play it that much.
@@SegaLordX True, but it's that the designers intended. It makes the game harder so repeat playthroughs pay off
@@jeremygregorio7472 Indeed. I still see Sonic 1 carrying Sega's arcade game philosophies with learning the game to get better with each playthrough that the later games dropped for a much more streamlined console game experience.
@@SegaLordX 1:04: Ahem, two animated series released in 1993, and they are both good. Also, I would totally agree with the whole Mob Mentality thing, since Alex Kidd doesn't deserve to be deserted as a Mascot. I MEAN COME ON, NINTENDO HAS DOZENS OF THEM!
Nobody was speedrunning 30 years ago, you were just trying to beat the damn game. You beat it, then on to the next game or you rode your bike.
You have an interesting take on the game, for me it was the game that got me into gaming as I was a young 6 year old when it came out. It's interesting to hear your perspective on the level design being poor in later stages and the slow down, however for me I still found it to be a solid game and I never felt the level design was poor and enjoyed finding the secret passages and hidden areas as for the fact that the game play had slowed down in other areas it offered a different challenge with each level in spite of the reduction of enemies, the final boss battle was tough for me when I was younger as I had to be in control as I had no rings and it was one hit kill, it's a balanced game for someone younger, now that I am older I can concede that it's not hard but still fun to play. It is a game which I love to this day. Sonic gave Sega the power to take on Nintendo and it's really quite a charming title as far as I'll ever be concerned.
I agree with yours and his take.
It's good on its own merits and did its job as a platforming mascot to take on the likes of Mario... But where the series was taken directly after was nothing sheer of perfection... "Sonic" really meant SONIC... If you catch my drift.. And created a whole genre on it's own out of it, practically! I myself like to boot it up from time to time to think about what Sonic could of been if they had tried to keep this style going...
He's my favorite character of all time and I must say I am still happy that the series took the shape it did from 2 onward. But it is interesting to see how different it all could have been, and was at the time.
I love it for being a traditional platformer that's also starring my favorite blue hedgehog. 🙂 So I get you. Everything you said is spot on imo.
Although for someone like me I find myself replaying it with my head back like "aughhhh....." most of the time, so... I only play it in a really long time, sadly. Just a chore to push through if you're not in the right mood + mindset.. which is why I agree with both takes. Haha
I never realized how bad the water levels were till later in life. It just slowed it down too much for me. I agree with SL on this one!
Things that stood out about Sonic 1 at the time - the curved and sloped floors. Most platformers, including Mario, just relied on square tiles. The momentum of Sonic - running up a hill would slow you down, and running down it would speed you up. That made it really feel like you were part of the environment. The verticality of the levels - made possible through Sonic's speed and momentum. A lot of platformers of the time were at best a couple of screens high. And of course the game was (still is) gorgeous, with a distinct and colourful art direction.
the music is really, really good
@@ynotwalk7391 yeah, good call. They got a known Japanese band to do the music. That wasn't really a thing at the time.
The level design literally "stood out" 😉
Sonic was my first game ever and both the grafics and the music will always be special to me. No title of that era comes close. Some other Genesis titles may do, but no snes title at all.
The 16-bit era is the one era above all others where I couldn’t imagine not owning both a Genesis & SNES. Both were such phenomenal consoles. 🤘🏻
MARIO VS SONIC was an epic FIGHT in the 90s
@Dean Satan im a sega fan boy but but donkey kong country helped nintendo big time
@@That_Guy- yea the 3 DKC games are really great. i just can't get into Sonic, it controls weird, and they seem too hard. i'd take SMW, yoshi's island, and dkc 1 2 and 3 any day over Sonic. i do love some of the graphics in Sonic games though, top notch, and the music. just not that fun to play for me anyway
Glad to see a Sonic 1 review without ranting against the later games, and instead focused on the impact of it at the time. Great vid, liked and subbed!
Blame your country, lol. I'm one of the odd few whose favourite Sonic game is the original. Unlike America, Sonic wasn't hyped up as a kewl game about speed here in England. Sure, the marketing soon changed to present Sonic that way after the original, but the Sonic the Hedgehog we were told about was just seen as a fun platformer. The American marketing deviated from Japan's and set people up for disappointment as it wasn't just a game about speed. We also got the Japanese box art.
I'm fine with Sonic being slow-paced a lot of the time. And that's coming from someone who grew up with the slower 50Hz PAL version. I also really like Alex Kidd. Those games can often be slow-paced.
While it's obvious that from the get-go Sonic was made with speed (and how it demonstrated the Mega Driver's capabilities) as a core mechanic, I honestly think that the much heavier emphasis on speed that came from the franchise's immense success in the USA was eventually the franchise's downfall.
I fired this up on my Megadrive last weekend, first time in ages, to let my 5yo play it. On a CRT with RGB Scart at 60hz this game still looks amazing. I’m not a huge Sonic fan, but the first game is brilliant in its simplicity.
I was a very, very young bean when the Sonic craze was at it's peak. I already had a SNES, Mario was my favorite thing, but after playing Sonic on a friend's Genesis, I begged my mom to get me the console. And she agreed... with conditions that I use my allowance money to pay for the bulk of the console.
So, with all the self-restraint a grade schooler could muster, I spent months holding off on getting any toys, new SNES games, even extra candy or treats for myself. When I finally saved up more than half, mom let me use that money to put a Genesis model 2 packed with Sonic 2 on layaway (Walmarts had layaway year-round in the 90s) and she paid off the rest in her next few paychecks.
So yes, I was the kid who bought the Genesis for Sonic, and I still love the franchise to this day, warts and all.
However, it was several years before I owned Sonic 1, I even had 3 and Knuckles before getting that first game on sale with allowance money, and while I do like the game, I always did consider the "least" of the trilogy.
But on the bright side, that means it's a series that really did keep growing and improving it's formula, so I give them full credit for that
One thing to consider though, is you were always chasing Robotnik as Sonic; thus, it would be clever of him (mad scientist/evil genius) to lure you into territories that either eliminated or at least crippled your speed. This strategy or tactic, if you will, would explain the level progression and design in later areas of the game. If your fighting someone fast give them plenty of obstacles and things that will cause them to slow down, thus enabling you to exploit any weakness - Sung Tsu art of war against speedy anthropomorphic creatures. 😂
It’s fun to see the pre sonic crowd give their takes when it comes to him and Sega. You and Joe from Gamesack but don’t seem to like Sonic. Sonic was my gateway drug so I’ll never not love it, even if it is flawed for many of the fair points you bring up. It still has the best soundtrack of any sonic game though
I am of the pre Sonic crowd(Had a Japanese Megadrive imported with Shinobi and Toki etc), but I absolutely love Sonic. I was blown away from the moment I first seen it in Toys R us. I think these guys are a few years older than me though. I was about 8 when Sonic 1 came out, the perfect age group for the game.
It irritates me immensely when true blue Sega fans resent Sonic. It just feels wrong to resent Sega's greatest cultural achievement.
Isn't Gamesack a bunch of nintendo freaks?
@@ccdmn1557 the gimmick was one is a big Sega guy and the other is a big nintendo guy but they both have huge collections of both
I think Dave from Gamesack didn’t like Sonic. And Dave no longer makes videos, just Joe.
If it was just 6 levels of high speed platforming it would get boring and repetitive. The levels are all different enough to keep the pacing interesting and give some contrast to the gameplay.
Exactly. It was platformer 1st, momentum platformer 2nd , and speed however u can get it either on your own, or with assistance such as spring's. Yuji naka confirmed it
Wait only 6levels ima just get cd then
While it is true that repetitive level design gets old fast, the same Rings true for plain old BORING level design. A lot of Sonic 1 just isn’t engaging enough, nor offers any of the speedy goodness that gives the SONIC franchise its VERY NAME.
Its sequel, Sonic 2, is much better at this than its predecessor is.
I agree those water stages are not designed with fun in mind. Unless your a masochist it's baaaad
yeah just look at advance 2
On a slightly different note, I've always preferred the Japanese look of Sonic himself. The American version makes him too aggressive, "edgy" even. One would think if the wind changed, he'd stay like that. Botox Sonic, even.
On point, first Sonic was really stunning visually when it first hit, but after I beat it twice I found I would just play the first 3 levels and quit every time I booted it up.
Enjoyed hearing your honest thoughts on this one! It would be interesting to hear your take on the sequels, I think Sonic 3 is where they really perfected the gameplay!
@Glizzy God Completely agree!
'Sonic was never good' - Sega Lord X 2020
I admit, I was a pretty big Nintendo kid growing up, but Sonic was THE game that made me get a Genesis. Pretty much exclusively. I liked Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 so much, that they were almost the only games I owned for my Genesis. Heck, I’d take my entire Genesis with me on trips just to keep playing it in other places. But it had nothing to do with hype. I vividly remember taking a big family vacation from the Midwest to the west coast in 1991. On that trip, I was in a store with a Genesis demo unit with Sonic on it. First I was blown away by the look it. For the time and compared to other games then, it was like you were playing an actual cartoon. But it also was so different, and had an edgy, almost more adult feel to it to me as a 12 year old kid. I instantly hit home, got a cardboard box, covered it with Sega and Sonic clippings from magazine ads, and made a scale on it similar to a United Way fundraiser. I cut a slot in the top, would slowly add money to it, and fill in the scale with red until I had saved enough money for a Genesis. I still have old camcorder video of myself talking about my goal. I did own just a couple of other Genesis games, and my interest from Sonic also caused me to get a Game Gear and Sega CD in the next few years. But with the exception of Sonic, Sega’s games just didn’t have much appeal to me. Their stories didn’t seem as good, they felt hollow and lacking depth, and the graphics and sound just didn’t seem nearly as good as my SNES. But as the gameplay in Sonic goes, sheesh, you can’t expect every stage of every game to just be “frosting” so to speak. The harder stages that force you to slow down make getting through them and completing the game that much more meaningful, and teach you to use your character in other ways. Not everything has to be going at a million miles an hour. But with Sonic 3, Sega lost me. The graphics and sound were a hot confusing mess compare to the previous two, the sound not as good, and even the title screen was cringe-worthy early 90’s pseudo-3D, while the rest of the game wasn’t. But oh those first two Sonic games, and Sonic CD. Man do I love them. I still have versions of them, the Sonic CD one HD enhanced, on my old PS3 that I keep around, and I still play them from time to time.
I was with you until you started shitting on Sonic 3 💀
Sonic 2 was definitely the game it was made out to be though.
Too bad the endgame falls flat on its face
far superior especially stage 2 where you can OUTRUN the SCREEN!! one of my videos shows that
Video Games Are Fun that’s bad game design.... cuz your just holding foward it’s why I prefer sonic 1 sonic is NOT just about speed it’s also about momentum... but no it’s just FAST FAST FAST for people
I really liked Marble Zone and Labyrinth Zone. I've never understood the disdain. Maybe it is just that I don't mind slower stages or dealing with water mechanics, but I felt like they were two of the most creative levels. Got Sonic back in 1991 and Green Hill Zone was ok. Marble Zone sold me on the game, though.
I can't say I agree, though it's far from my favorite Sonic game I still think it's pretty great and I always enjoy playing it all the way through (yes even the dreaded Labyrinth Zone), it's a more conventional platformer than it's sequels but one of the things I really like about it is that you have to WORK for your speed, there's no instant gratification of the spin dash, I don't think the emphasis Sega's marketing placed on speed did the game any favors because I don't think that was what Yuji Naka had in mind, it's not about going super fast at the press of a button it's all about momentum and even the slower levels go by quicker the better you get at gaining and keeping that momentum, it makes speed runs more challenging but also a lot more satisfying.
The sequels are better, absolutely, Sonic 3 & Knuckles being my favorite, but I don't think they made the original obsolete like some people say, I appreciate how it stands out from the rest of the series.
Never will there be a game like this, you had to be there and lived through it. The hype, the graphics, the speed. Ohhh sega, you can be amazing, and the next day so so bad. Miss u sega .
perhaps it has not aged well. but at the time, i do think it was revolutionary in some ways. Sega put all their chips down on Sonic and it paid off.
It hasn't aged a day actually. It still holds up perfectly.
I disagree but respect your opinion. Sonic 1 was personally one of my favorite childhood games (albeit through later ports as opposed to the Genesis) version and I still really like going back to it.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with Sonic 1. I enjoy the slower pace in the first one and also enjoy the faster pace in Sonic 2. Neither is wrong.
100% spot on with this review it was the look and sound that carried this game but they got it right with Sonic 2 and Sonic CD
Sonic CD is the weirdest one to me. The levels are so tall and maze like that you basically never see the ground and the game is short and it's so easy i always finish it on the first try. 1, 2, 3 and knuckles were all perfect games in my opinion.
The level design and gameplay is perfect too.
This is kinda funny that you made this video. My friends and I always say that Sonic was a game about going fast that punished you for going fast.
I feel exactly the same way. I was enchanted by Green Hill Zone so much and wanted gameplay like that for the entire game, but never found it. Going back to it now, I still only appreciate it for Green Hill Zone and the bonus levels (the software rotation amazed me back then). I only liked the music for Green Hill Zone and Star Light Zone. The main thing that makes it hard for me to go back to it is the lack of the spin dash.
*The SATURN and XBOX copies had and fixed this*
Ahh... the game that finally convinced me it was worth buying a games console. And remained a Sega fan from then until the end. Sonic will always, *always* have a place in my heart.I couldn't believe how good this game felt to play. With 30-ish years hindsight, though, I fear your criticisms have too much truth in them.
@Mike OB1 Well at the time I pretty much was- I used to get about £5 a week (The console was £130, and games £40). There was a bigger factor in play, though. At the time, I (and my friends) had home computers, not consoles. In my case, the BBC B. I only knew of one guy who had a console at the time, and whilst I could see that the Sega 8-Bit was better than the 8-bit computers, it wasn't sufficiently better to warrant the investment (and hugely expensive games thereafter. I used to pay £2.99 for games on my computer. Sonic changed that- it was so clearly better than anything that computers could do at the time, even the Commodore Amiga), My young self watched Sonic in awe in the electrical shops (Comet/Tandy) and wanted it for myself. Even if I had to save up for half a year to buy one.
@Mike OB1 :) Thanks. When Comet installed playable Mega Drives for a brief period, I certainly did "know where to come"! It was still a year or two away at this point from my home town getting a Future Zone, which became Electronics Boutique, which became Game. By the time Future Zone opened I was fully into the consoles, and computers were relegated to a time gone by. This little blue hedgehog brought me there.
@Old Age Sorry, my mistake. I didn't realise we were playing Sega Top Trumps.
yeah this was an awesome review. the entire game after level 1 is shit. slowed down sonic platforming garbage.
@Old Age What a load of bollox lol!
Well I loved Sonic! Especially 2 and CD! Yes, some levels were not as fast as others, but geez who wants the same thing over and over? I welcome variety in any game.
I think thats one of the reasons why Sonic 2 and Sonic 3K are such great games ,they took from what made the first game great and just improved on it by a lot
I'm glad to hear this review. I, too, was bored with this game quickly as a kid. The first levels were super fast fun (although, you needed to memorize the stage, or you just die) and the other stages were slow and boring.
Sonic Team could learn a lot by stepping back and looking at the wonderful design of stages like the 3 acts of Marble Zone. They've forgotten that Sonic, at its best, was not about auto-instant speed triggers and homing jumps and camera taking over for cinematics, it was about momentum-based platforming. The player must understand how far they can jump at different speeds and memorize how to keep their momentum around hard stops, and are rewarded greatly for it. I'm surprised a guy named "Sega Lord" wouldn't understand something so fundamental about the little blue blur.
Someone made a video about your gripes a while ago. And it makes total sense. The opening stage is his home. Hence the openness and freedom. There are so many enemies because Robotnik has kidnapped a bunch of animals and placed them in robots.
As Sonic discovers this, he makes his journey through the wilderness to investigate. Which is why the second level is designed that way. You're now leaving the wide open green hill area and travelling toward more of a city, metropolis area. Now the place looks more and more metallic. Scrap Brain zone is the center of all the activity, hence why the background looks like a pollution filled city.
There are less and less enemies because while you're travelling, and Robotnik is still in the process of making more animals into robots, you free animals after each stage. That's giving Robotnik less and less animals to roboticize, or whatever. I hope that made sense
My first experience with this game was completely unbiased. I was about 7 when I walked into the living room one day and my older cousin was playing it. I had never played a video game or even heard of the character before. My cousin let me try it and it just blew me away. Being so young, it took me many, many game overs to make any progress, but it felt so rewarding to get that little bit further each time to see what the next level looked like. To me, getting to Labyrinth Zone wasn't an inconvenience, it was a triumph. These days, I can easily plough through the game under half an hour in my sleep, but back then, it felt like such a huge adventure.
My point is, if I'd been a bit older and a hardcore gamer back then, maybe I would feel differently about this game today. I think the circumstances under which you get introduced to something in life really affects how you end up viewing it.
Yes, it is. And it's still a good game. At the time, it completely stole my attention away from Super Mario World, and for good reason. The only games better than it, are the games that came after (2, 3 and Knuckles. Throw in Mania as well). And that's how it should be: surpassing what came before.
I'm thankful Sonic 2 was my first experience with Sonic and not Sonic 1. I eventually had Sonic 1 and enjoyed it, but not as much as 2 and 3&K. I couldn't put words to why I didn't, but this video nails it. In Sonic 2 you get that speed and freedom in almost every zone.
I loved nearly everything from this title, even the slow levels make it feel more like a traditional platformer and to me, Sonic has also solid controls for the slower parts of the game.
Sometimes I think I'm the only one on the planet who enjoys Marble Zone and Labyrinth Zone :(
Also the music brings the presentation to another level, Green Hill, Marble and Star Light Zone have songs catchy as hell!
NO!!! You're not alone! I absolutely love Marble Zone and Labyrinth Zone too! I find it weird that water levels are hated, because I always love them.
I love both marble and labyrinth. I think they are fun. Starlight is literally my favorite zone though b/c of the music.
Yes i was playing scrap brain zone music rite before my brother pass in front of me
Completely agree. I enjoyed all the levels. The presentation from start to end was top notch and really did blow away everything that came before it.
Labyrinth, kinda, Marble, I don’t like it.
Ill never forget june 1991 when i first popped in the cartridge and began playing green hill zone. The graphics, colors and speed and memories. I still have my orginal game.
Lucky!!! I wish I still had my original copy
I actually enjoyed the game very much (well... all 4 of them). I can understand your frustration and boredom on some levels. Finding all the secrets, enjoying the great graphics and music... Good times!
I first played Sonic 1 once, then Sonic 2 about 3 times, then when i came back to the first one i really fell in love with Sonic games more than i could imagine. The slower pace made me focus more and i enjoyed all the levels. In sonic 2 you can run through most of the levels without thinking much. After that i enjoyed all Sonic games more. 1, 2, 3, knuckles and Mania are all just as great and i feel bad for anyone who is too depressed to enjoy them :)
I do sympathize with your take because the Green Hill Zone is not only my favorite level in Sonic but quite possibly all of platforming based games for all the reasons you describe... But if all the levels were like that then I think it would just become to one dimensional.... I think the rest of the game is a perfect blend of the crazy speed and puzzle based and gore to control your speed.... Ironically we just started getting into the Sonics again after my 11 year just got done watching both movies... I think the first Sonic deserved the praise it got . And to build of of that in Sonic 2 was amazing...
90% of the budget and passion was put into Green Hill zone.
So great to get an honest opinion from a Sega fan. I was a Sega fanboy back in the days and I have the same problem when I play Sonic 1 nowadays.
It´s funny how Sega marketed Sonic as fast and Nintendo as slow. But when I´m playing/speedrunning the "slow" games like SMB1 or Castlevania1 they feel nothing but slow and Sonic1 feels like waiting for the bus.
I have to strongly disagree with your opinion about the game, to me it seems that simply you don't like Sonic, wich is fine, but it doesn't make it a bad game, it simply makes it not as good and fast as you expected. This is the important point, expectations, if you are playing thinking about speed it will disappoint you, but as a plattform game it was amazing at the time, and still is; as you point out, all the levels are different from the first one, but not only this, they are different from each other, something I think is very good for the game, in fact, Sonic games are usually worse when they only focus on the speed, I've always enjoyed the fact that even when you could be that fast you could also explore the levels (as in Green Hill Zone) or have to slow down to avoid danger or find secret areas; it was something unseen at the time, and it's exactly the thing that made it so great.
This is the perfect comment right here.
I love the ecstasy of the first world--with the music, the graphics, and the freedom, not to mention my personal memories playing with my uncle and cousin, it's the feeling of being alive. I do also enjoy the castle/fire world because some of the moving structures really fascinated me as a kid, but that's where the fun ends for me. I think there's nothing wrong with opening the box just to run through those first three levels...and then putting it away so you can play Sonic 3 & Knuckles or Sonic CD.
I never cought my attention the first Sonic. But when I saw Sonic 3 I felt in love instantly.
I think you must have been older than I was, I think in 1991 when Sonic was released I was 8 years old. All the other games you love and talk about (like Shinobi etc) were far to difficult for an 8 year old, they were more for teenagers. Sonic was definitely aimed towards the younger audience, it was something the platform direly needed. Seeing Sonic for the first time absolutely blew my mind, it was a FUN game to play and the graphics/sound were inspiring and addictive. The follow-up Sonic releases grew with the kids and became more interesting and challenging with each release, but never losing the Sonic magic.
Not necessarily, I was around 8 years old when I beat Kid Chameleon. I'd found all the special teleport shortcuts, beat Hills of The Warrior (one of the hardest things I'd ever done), and beat the final boss with all of his heads.
Age isn't the main factor, it's about your skill level.
Ironically, I struggle with Labyrinth Zone more now than I ever did(nt) as a kid, mostly act 3 because the boss isn't hard, just kinda tedious.
SLX: " Is Sonic even a good game, and did it deserve all of it's praise? "
All of us: " You're kidding, right? " 😜
One thing I think about looking back at this game, maybe as some one who was hyped up about it before it's release this won't 100% apply. But Sonic 1 was released at a time when there were really no other games like it, and it was constructed mostly as a more traditional platformer, so that marketed Sonic = Speed, kinda slants alot of people perception of the game expecting more of it, rather than taking it simply a platformer action game. Don't get me wrong I can completely understand alot of the complaints about the game, and are mostly valid. Sonic 2 and Sonic 3K did have alot more open level design than the first game, so at least more or less Sonic team learned what was worked and what was fun from the first game, focused more on that in the sequels.
Yesssss you finally review a Sonic game!!!!
I'd love to see him take on Sonic 2 and 3 (& Knuckles), which imo were huge improvements.
Nice. Supersonicfan14 R u 14? I'm 11.
ShadowEl you are sooo right
He sort of reviewed Sonic CD when he talked about the Sega CD he said it was his favorite Sega CD game.
People sometimes forget that the original Sonic game was not necessarily all about speed, but just as much about exploration, with a lot of verticality in the levels. At best you could say it was faster on average than a Mario game at the time. I think part of the problem Sonic had over the last 20 years was that Sega forgot that too.
Personally I like Sonic 1 , though Sonic CD and Sonic 3 & Knuckles remain my absolute favourite Sonic games.
I think the points you listed is why most people prefer Sonic 1 on the Master system to that of the Mega Drive, the SMS game was just a solid platformer with elements of speed, where as the MD game had the promise of speed but was 20% speed and 80% platformer which rubbed people the wrong way. I can see why Sonic 2 is a lot people's favourite as it was what the first game promised but failed to deliver.
You're right. I prefer Master System Sonic to the Mega Drive one. it's a perfect 8-bit platformer. I've beaten it probably hundred times back in the day. When I got around to play 16-bit Sonic on the Mega Drive, I was impressed with graphics and overall presentation but the game as a whole left me a bit disappointed.
FWIW, I agree with every criticism SLX makes here. The difference is that at the time I didn't even notice the change in pacing or level design. I loved Labyrinth Zone and in fact all of the zones. I never minded the slow bits waiting for platforms because (and this is gonna sound really dumb) I just immersed myself in the world. I wondered what the city Springyard Zone was set in would be like. I was curious what civilisation made what would be the ruins in the background of Marble Zone. What was the purpose of the aqueducts in Labyrinth Zone? I especially liked the smoke stacks of Scrap Brain Zone; it just showed me that this wasn't just a series of levels Sonic had to run through, this was a living world. Kind of embarrassed to admit that I wasn't even a young child at the time. When something grabs me, as the aesthetic of Sonic the Hedgehog did, I willingly just hand myself over to be taken somewhere else.
With that said, I can well understand that not everyone's gonna worship this game. It was important, no question. And a real stand out. A couple of games tried to do the 'fast platforming' thing and sprawling levels; we ended up with big but sparse environs made up of simple looking tiles and controls that offered fast movement, sure, but didn't *feel* the way Sonic felt like to control. However, whatever it's merits when compared to it's contemporaries, I just 'unlearn' three decades of game design progress.
I played Sonic the Hedgehog again last year and, well, some of the gameplay just doesn't hold up. I still loved spending time in the slightly surreal environments but I'm old enough to recognise when my nostalgia gland is taking a hit from the memory lane pipe.
While Sonic the hedgehog is a VERY good game, I recognize the later games are better. Gunstar heroes blows it out of the water on every level, but it was the first game so it's understandable.
Sonic 2 is better on the surface but in the end is just fast-food tho. Gunstar Heroes is pure blast (and) processing
While Gunstar Heroes is more technically impressive, I don't like it as much and greatly prefer 2D platformers to run and guns in general.
Ah yes, Gunstar Heroes - the best Sonic game of the lot...
@Old Age sorry, I missed out the satire tags...
I'd still argue Sonic 1 is a good game despite its rough edges, especially when a few modern releases of it help in smoothing out its flaws (I just wish the Christian Whitehead version would be released on other platforms, seriously c'mon Sega).
I won't defend Marble and Labyrinth Zone given they definitely are pace breakers, but I can also understand why they exist, given a concept of a momentum based platformer like Sonic was brand new then. If I remember the details correctly, Sonic Team spent either four or six months developing the design of Green Hill just on its own, which I would take as an indication of just how difficult it is to design levels for this series and developers going through the growing pains associated with developing a new game from scratch.
Overall Sonic 1 really does suffer from a problem I tend to see in a lot of first entries in a game franchise, where the framework is there it just doesn't fully live up to its potential until a sequel is able to better iterate on it. Other platformers like Super Mario Bros. 1, Crash 1, Spyro 1, DKC 1 were all like this imo. Time and hindsight doesn't do them any favors.
Marble Zone and Labyrinth Zone are 2 of my favourites.
Hey @Sega Lord X I found your review of the original Sonic the Hedgehog to be honestly quite refreshing. I appreciate how when you did have elements to criticise you did so in an objective way and elaborated as to exactly why. I'm greatly looking forward to hearing your take on the other various mainline Sonic titles!! Keep up the great work!
A very honest review by someone who clearly loves Sega but is not blind to the flaws of its games despite the nostalgia surrounding them. Consider me subscribed. A Nintendo kid of the 90s.
I love Sonic 1 soundtrack pretty awesome
I enjoyed it as well. It’s pretty epic.
Sonic the Hedgehog is an amazing game that deserved all the attention it got. The game revolutionized the industry and that fact doesn’t change regardless of how much its sequels improved and refined the series.
How much as we love sonic it’s nice to see a realistic honest review of the game. Please review sonic 2
Yeah, I never could enjoy this game like I felt like I was supposed to. I always felt like Mario's games were far more tightly designed to this point, and, while it's not a popular opinion, I don't think Sonic delivered on the promise of its premise until Sonic Adventure on Dreamcast. Loved the music and graphics, but it just wasn't fun to play.
I think, at least for me, that much like you, it wasn't just a Nintendo thing... the existing Genesis library at the time was also just way better than Sonic, and more geared toward my adolescent tastes back then. Forgotten Worlds, Strider, Mystic Defender, Streets of Rage, Golden Axe, Ghouls n Ghosts... Sega was knee-deep in awesome arcade ports and moody games that had defined the tone of the Genesis to me, and Sonic just felt like he was there to compete with Mario, and just wasn't even really all that similar to begin with. My jam came from those earlier games, and then other monsters like Burning Force, Phelios, Granada, Truxton, Mercs, and the like. Sonic just didn't really jive with what the console was to me.
Now do 2 and 3&K.
Did you play them they're way better.
Of course Mania is the best.
I just beat sonic 1 a couple days ago with all chaos emeralds. I still think the original is a contender for the best sonic game of all time
Sonic 2 remains my favorite of the series, with Mania at a close second. But that's purely nostalgia - I played Sonic 2 on launch day, and 11-year-old me was blown away by it. On a technical level, I see Mania as easily the best.
I just wish they'd port it Mac - my PC Steam version keeps crashing.
@@patrickrutherford5553 you're bananas to think that. sonic 2 blows it out of the water.
Alex Farve Entezami I agree that 2 is the superior game. I just know that I can get into part 1 and stick with it and beat it and have fun along the way. When I pop in part 2 I just end up giving up and not finishing. Why my interest on part 2 wanes on the superior game....? I have no clue. All I know is that I can stick with 1 and usually not 2
Its Sega Lord X.... his favourite will probably be Sonic CD.
For me I come for Sonic, but I stayed for its sequels (it will always be 3 & Knuckles, never separate), Castlevania: Bloodlines, Contra: Hard Corps, the Shinobi games, Comix Zone, Kid Chameleon, World of Illusion, Alisia Dragoon, Streets of Rage games, Phantasy Star III & IV, Dune, King's Bounty, Shadowrun, Road Rash games, Gunstar Heroes, Alien Soldier, Ranger X, Out Run games, Strider, Splatterhouse games, X-Men and Spider-man games, Uncharted Water games, Pirates Gold, shmups in general, and Pac-Mania.
No wonder I always wanted to just play the first stage all over in this game back in the day.
Because you're a noob. The other stages are great when you're good at the game.
No offense mate.
@@SkemeKOS Actually I completed the game. Its just that the same kind of fun-factor from the first level wasn't there for me after. Don't get me wrong, it was great but not awesome. I just enjoyed how the first stage looked and played, that's it.
Sonic never quite gelled for me for all the reasons you state. I was surprised when Sonic Spinball came out, because to me the casino/pinball stages were among the most tedious in all of gaming (in hindsight, it was an early sign that Sega had no idea what made Sonic fun). And for a game intended to make Mario seem slow, Sonic makes you wait around and twiddle your thumbs a lot. In Mario, you can constantly move towards the goal; the game itself almost never artificially prevents you from progressing in all of the ways that became Sonic trademarks. (Sonic 2 was overall better designed but still has some low points; Sonic 3 was a step backwards again).
The upshot is that Mario felt like a game that had actually been designed as an game, and Sonic felt more like a tech demo. The graphics and sound were great, but they got the speed by cheating (Sonic doesn't check all of the collision hit boxes every frame) and that showed up as bugs and level skips when people started speedrunning it. It's a great speedrun game for that reason, but it's not as good as a regular playthrough.
Whenever I go back and play the first Sonic, it’s just for Green Hill zone and that’s about it. The rest of the game is just too irritating for me to continue playing. I absolutely love the game’s music and visual style though.
You Just Had To Start Your Video With The “Star Light Zone” Theme.
Did You Know That It Was The Star Light Zone Theme That Made Me Want To Have A Mega Drive With Sonic 1?
This Game Really Turned Me Into A Sonic Fan Before The Summer Of 1994. There Was Even One Time When I Drew Its Title Screen On The Palm Of My Hand (Lol). I Used To Also Collect/Cut Sonic Pictures From Magazines And Paste Them Into My Personal Sonic Scrap Book.
Those Were The Days…
imagine using caps LUL
For me, SONIC 1 still being the most beautifull IN THE ENTIRE FRANCHISE with SONIC MANIA.
3 & k? Mania?? UNLEASHED???
I still consider the original Sonic the Hedgehog on Genesis to be the best in the entire series, but I really didn't care for Sonic Mania.
@@kubev you're bananas!!!
@@entezami777 I really enjoyed the first zone in Mania, but I think too much of the rest of the game suffers from the sorts of level design issues that became too prevalent in Sonic 2 and later Sonic games.
@@kubev my original statement stands.
Have you ever tried Psycho Fox? It has a major control flaw (slow acceleration and high top speed) but it has very open, multi-level stages and, if you know what you're doing you can blaze through them at high speed.
The first Sonic game is still my favorite and the Greenhill zone theme takes me immediately back to my childhood...close second is Sonic CD and then Sonic 2.....in my opinion
There's a trick to get all emeralds before the first stage: put the level select trick and choose for special stage. When you get the emerald, reset the game and go back to the level select screen (after the first time you only have to press A + Start), then choose the Special Stage again, it goes right to the second Special Stage and and the emerald count is intact. When you get all the emeralds, resist the urge to reset the game again and just play normally.
The only thing that I enjoyed about the Sonic games was how great the music was, the gameplay and level design were just way too difficult for me to enjoy.
@Glizzy God Truth be told I'm not a fan of Mario either lol
I mainly play rpgs (especially turn based jrpgs) and Shantae is one of the few platformers that I enjoy.
For me Sonic deserved its success and was the reason why Sega was so successful, I actually played Sonic a year later and it came packed with my original Mega Drive but I do agree with your overall assessment of the Sonic The Hedgehog, while a very good game and it’s importance to the Mega Drive (Genesis) as a platform so I can’t be too critical or hard on the original game in series as it was my own gateway into the Sega brand. Anyway awesome review and honest review.
This is an amazing and solid game, and it's not about speed as commercials had most people believe. One aspect almost no one ever talks about is how serious Sonic, as a character is, by saving the world from the tyrant Robotnik, which represents human egotistical practices against nature, destroying everything that is good.
Back to the game, I see in the video you're not too familiar with its mechanics, I'm not a pro playing it, but, once you master it's physics and control, the game flows much better than a lot later 2D platforms for more powerful consoles.
The first time I ever saw the Sega Genesis (Megadrive in my country) was at a local video store on demo with sonic playing and I was instantly obsessed. This blew the only thing I ever knew (nes) away by miles. I didn't allow my parents one minute of rest until they got me one that came with sonic included...man those were the golden years of gaming for me.
I feel you. My story is similar except that a) I had to buy the Sonic bundle by myself (which makes it even more special in hindsight) and b) for me, Sonic and many other MD games even topped the SNES by far.
It was the perfect decision to choose SEGA in the first half of the 90s.
One of the most groundbreaking AND most timeless games of its era which, as a whole, is a tour de force. And the Mega Drive version remains the definitive one, *without* the spindash = truer to the original design and, as such, makes for a perfect complementarity with the subsequents episodes i.e. Sonic the Hedgehog 2, 3 & Knuckles! 👍
Sonic 1 was the best experiment I've ever seen because the sequel hit harder than Tyson in his prime!
Watching you play some bits, it seems like with practice you would learn how to keep your speed on the later levels. You are rewarded with speed through skilled playing.
There is no real chance at speed on the water level to counteract the poor design. Later levels can be quite speedy, but as I said, they are barren and with few enemies. I just didn’t like waiting for things to fall into place to move on.
I still love it. Almost perfect. Obviously it's all a matter of opinion. The differences in pace really mix things up. If every stage was more green hill zone you would get to the end thinking it was a one trick pony. I honestly think that developers were like "now the player is used to the speed let's slow things down" creates a different challenge.
My only real criticism was that I was eventually able to complete the game with all chaos emeralds in around 90 minutes. This did take weeks to accomplish though, this was before walk through and CZcams long play videos. If I had completed it like that on day one though I would ha e been disappointed.
Sonic 2 I just can't get into for some reason, the graphics seem a real downgrade and sonic 3 although much larger just seemed over engineered. You could almost just run to the right then lay down the controller and go make a cup of tea whilst sonic is batted and sprung around the level by himself.
Sonic 2 ,3 and S&K are vastly superior to the original game.
I still remember getting this game for Christmas, i already had a genesis for at least a year and loved the system undoubtedly. But that afternoon on Christmas day when i popped this cart into my genesis and started playing this.......holy shit lol!! I still remember like it was yesterday calling my mom into the living room to show her my first few times i crouched down as sonic, starting to hit the button to start sonic spinning in place and letting go to have him going around the giant loops and being so freaking excited lol. I was like saying "mom mom look how fast im going" lol. And even though im sure mom could care less lol i still remember her smiling at me....not about the game, but smiling because she seen how much fun i was having and how happy i was. Makes me miss her so much, and boggles my mind that it was over 30 years ago. Wish i could go back in time..
Thats such a sweet story thanks for sharing :)
Let's be real, though. Sonic 1 was basically a proof of concept. Sonic 2 was the first real sonic game.
thank you
Sonic 1 was a promise. Sonic 2 was that promise fulfilled.
@@Tybis this person speaks the truth.
the first sonic was da shit.
I used to play 2 p coop sonic 2 with my brother. We'd just have tails just beat the crap out of bosses because he was immortal. Super sonic was awesome. And the debug cheat code was heavenly.
The Green Hill Zone is up there with Level 1-1 and the Assault on the North Mako Reactor on the list of most iconic opening stages in video game history.
The rest of the game…eh.
Sanic 2 is my fav 🥰
you are the first person to say out loud what i always thought: "sonic 1 is boring"!
Sonic 1 is still an impressive game for 1991. In retrospect it feels a bit more like a proof of concept for its superior sequels. I was an Snes fanboy back in the day pretty much until I received a Megadrive from an old friend in 2008. I fell in love with it despite my misgivings about Sonic The Hedgehog from my childhood and have grown to love the classic trilogy at least as much as the Mario games.
It's weird to see how intensely divisive people are on this. I personally think the stages aren't necessarily poor design and are a nice change from just mindlessly running around. I do think Sonic got much better after it found its footing.
The Genesis Sonic games are a cult. Too many are unable to hear a dissenting view without their whole world view collapsing. I have never seen so many dislikes on a Sega Lord video in such a short space of time.
tfw there is a "cult" surrounding the most popular games on the console...
My cousin got sonic right when it came out. I used to go to his house all the time to play it. Some of my best childhood memories were playing this game.
the first stage is the whole game imo. I don't know what they were thinking with the rest of it. good thing they did better in sonic 2
I remember how freaking cool Sonic was back then and just the look and style of it carried so much. I never actually completed a Sonic game until Sonic Mania though, because of the mentioned tedium somewhere halfway in. Mania is hands down the best one. It's as if they took all the best parts of the games and made a Neo Geo version.
It's a good thing Sonic 2 was superior in every way to the original, otherwise the Genesis might have quickly fallen to the wayside. Sure, there were plenty of other great Genesis titles, but none of them sold like the Sonic games.
It's a bit strange that this is the viewpoint from someone who lived through the era and played the game in its chronological context. By the way, I agree with all of your criticisms. However, even with those criticisms, it was leaps and bounds above anything at least I had played before. Most entire games were not as fun as just the three acts of Green Hill Zone. I could spend hours there, jumping around and doing fun stuff...even if the acts themselves could be beatable in mere minutes or in some cases, seconds. But yes, there is no doubt that Green Hill Zone was the best zone of that game. Again, though, we must take into account context. For my 1991 self, it was mind-bendingly beautiful. There was no other game anywhere near its beauty, although Super Mario World would be close to its level, and I would witness it soon after Sonic. There was a magic to the polygonal palm trees and all manner of rocks and plants that looked geometrical and sometimes robotic. It was so colorful. The physics were new. Momentum hadn't really been much of a thing before. To me, in my life at that point, it had to take the crown from Super Mario 3 on the NES, and it did so easily. It was a good thing that Green Hill Zone was the first stage, as back in those days, there was no saving, and not even much in the way of passwords to save progress, so after a Game Over, you'd start at the best stage (unlike the handheld Sonic 2 for Game Gear, which had the horrible mine cart stage at the beginning). Marble Zone was a bit of a slog. But although his name was "Sonic" and he WAS fast, everything must be compared against prior games, not Sonic 2. Slower levels were normal. Not that that was great, but it was understandable. I think they went fast, slow, fast, slow, fast, medium. My favorite stages were the fast ones. In order of favorite to least favorite, they were probably Green Hill Zone, Starlight Zone, Spring Yard Zone, Marble Zone, Scrap Brain Zone, Labyrinth Zone. Although Sonic 2 is likely the better game (as it corrected many things and had many more speedy levels full of exploration), I still think that Green Hill Zone is my favorite zone of any Sonic game, and still one of the best stages of any game, ever.