Knuckles’ Chaotix

This is a game I had never played before, and I almost wish I had kept it that way. The concept is different for Sonic and one I feel hasn’t ever really been done well. A simultaneous co-op platformer seems like a good idea that very few games try. New Super Mario Bros. Wii does it all right as long as you stick to only two players and don’t mind killing each other by accident on the many tiny platforms you have to navigate in the later levels. Little Big Planet doesn’t really have a problem in the co-op portion, it’s just a terrible platformer. Aside from those two games though, there really aren’t any major games that try this. (Please prove me wrong in the comments if you can, I would love to play a good co-op platformer.)

Knuckles’ Chaotix solves the common problem of keeping both characters on the screen at once by physically attaching them. This is done by using a ring with a long chain made of magic rubber that can be used in a variety of ways. One character can stand still while the other stretches it out in order to launch themselves with it. That’s basically the only useful trick outside of yanking characters up through platforms. What it boils down to is you both run right a lot, stopping to launch yourselves when you slow down too much. This isn’t the gameplay’s fault so much as the level design.

The level design in Chaotix is absolutely atrocious. You are either going straight or going through the same boring loops. Nothing interesting ever happens in Chaotix, and I couldn’t make it all the way through the game. It was so dull I put off writing this entry for months. I just couldn’t bring myself to finish it. After playing the game, I no longer mind that it wasn’t included in Sonic Gems Collection. I wouldn’t even recommend trying out the game to see what it’s like.

Sonic Spinball

I really don’t have much to say about Spinball, it was an interesting idea, but it’s not a very good game. Basically, someone looked at the pinball sections of the real Sonic games and thought, “That could be a full game.” Sadly, being a full game does not help it any. It’s not bad, but it’s not good either.

Doctor Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine

It’s Puyo Puyo Pop with Sonic Characters. It’s a good competitive match 4 puzzle game with a very hard single player mode. It also includes characters from the Sonic cartoon. It’s a fun game, just not remotely original.

Sonic Drift

It’s Pole Position, but with a few power-ups. Also Sonic. Also somehow even more boring.

Tails’ Sky Patrol

A really boring and slowly moving shmup starring Tails. Never play this game.

Tails’ Adventure

This one is actually kind of fun. It’s a light Metroidvania with one rather annoying mechanic. The game is split into 12 levels and you can only bring 4 of your items into each level. This can get very irritating when you have to memorize what items are needed to get past a specific portion of one path in the level. Despite this, it is a fun little game. Probably the best spin-off for the Game Gear. It’s worth a play sometime.

Sonic Labyrinth

Terrible does not begin to describe Sonic Labyrinth. It’s an isometric puzzle/platformer/pinball thing that is incredibly dull and frustrating. I do not know how anyone thought this was a good game.

Sonic Drift 2

Remember what I said about Sonic Drift? This is exactly that, but with different characters.

That’s Knuckles’ Chaotix and a bunch of spin-off games. Most are depressingly bad, but Mean Bean Machine is at least fun and Tails’ Adventure is pretty good. The only other one I would ever recommend playing is Sonic Spinball, but that isn’t even that great. Tune in next time as I begin talking about Sonic‘s early forays into 3D.

Whenever a new Pokemon game arrives, it once again becomes a hot topic all across the internet and the fans are vocal enough be noticeably present in real life situations, especially college where the fans get excited for Pokemon all over again. Then there are the former fans- people who claim to not care about the new Pokemon. They will say that only the original 151 matter and the evolution of the series led to their current disinterest. Nothing is more obnoxious than having a conversation about a current Pokemon game with someone, only to have someone else butt in and mention how only the original Pokemon matter.

I don’t buy this Pokemon elitism for one minute. Nostalgia for the originals is very sensible and expected, but should not keep a person from appreciating the obvious advancement of the games. Most of these additions that have appeared over time are very natural extensions of the original concept; the kinds of things that kids would think to themselves “Sure would be swell if I could do that”. The new Pokemon themselves are often less aesthetically desirable than the the simplistic charm of the first set (nosepass… really?), but there are excellent and likeable additions that flesh out the gameplay that should not be overlooked.

I am completely convinced that these people almost always became disinterested in Pokemon on their own. Many fans in their early years treated Pokemon more seriously than just a passing childhood fad, and are still devoted players to this day. They look back fondly at Pokemon’s past, while also anticipating the future and still enjoying the games. However, plenty others got over Pokemon. As they grew older, they became less and less involved with Pokemon and moved onto new interests. Not wanting to completely reject something they loved so much as children, they hold on to the nostalgia and claim that its the modern Pokemon that keep them from enjoying the new games. Pokemon becomes like Barney and Power Rangers for them- relics of their childhood. There is nothing wrong with changing interests, but do not blame Marril and Togepi, when it is your own losing interest at fault. Unless you are actively playing the Red, Blue, and Yellow that you cherish, don’t look down upon my Diamond, Pearl, SoulSilver, and HeartGold.

Sonic Triple Trouble (Japanese title: Sonic & Tails 2) is a direct sequel to Sonic Chaos (Japanese title: Sonic & Tails). Once again, I have to wonder why they changed the name, because Triple Trouble doesn’t make much sense as a title. Again, only Sonic & Tails are playable and while there are three antagonists, you don’t see them very often so I have no idea why they settled on that name.

Unlike the other Game Gear games up to this point, Sonic Triple Trouble has no Master System version. However, it still is a full-sized Sonic game and feels more like a main-series entry than a portable spin-off. Like its prequel, you Sonic has his Super Peel-Out and this is the second to last game it appears in. Tails can fly, but it again uses the awkward hold up and press jump while standing system instead of the much simpler jump mashing the main series utilizes.

Triple Trouble has a lot of alternative methods of transportation for Sonic, such as spring boots, rocket skateboards, and mine carts. None of which are incredible, but they don’t detract from the experience or anything. Tails gets his own vehicle in the water stage, which makes it easier for him because he cannot drown. Playing the game as Tails is essentially playing the game on easy mode as there are some other slight changes that make it easier to play overall, such as more lives. Also, despite this being Knuckles’ first Game Gear appearance, he is not playable. Instead he is once again an antagonist, along with the obligatory new character, Fang the Sniper. Who is a wolf. Except he doesn’t show up except for the title screen and when you try to get a Chaos Emerald. Also I’m not entirely sure he’s a villain.

Sonic Triple Trouble is one of the good Game Gear games, much like its prequel. The levels manage to mix speed and platforming pretty well and aren’t too difficult, allowing a speedy playthrough if you so desire. Unfortunately, its final level falls victim to the same annoying design problems many Sonic games fall prey to. Most of the final zones in Sonic involve doing things absolutely perfectly or you have to repeat a section over and over again. Whether it be falling down to a lower section or being stuck in a loop, this gets annoying quite fast and is not even remotely fun. Sonic games insist on doing this and Sonic Triple Trouble’s is one of the worse ones, requiring you to guess between different paths, going in loops until you finally find the right tube to jump in.

Despite the poor ending, Sonic Triple Trouble is a good game that is worth a play. Next up in the retrospective is Knuckles’ Chaotix, a game I have never played before, so that one should be interesting. After that I’m going to do a large post about all of the spinoffs up to Sonic R (which obviously deserves its own post).

For more entries in the Sonic Retrospective, click here.

That’s right, I’m not going to give up on my insane idea of playing/writing about every single Sonic the Hedgehog game after all. Sonic’s 19th birthday is here and I felt like doing something to commemorate it, like talk about Sonic again. Appropriately, the game I was on in my Sonic Retrospective happened to be my favorite Sonic game, so I don’t have to write about how bad Sonic 2006 is again.

I am writing about Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles together simply because they were originally going to be one game. Due to budget reasons, the game was split into two and the lock-on features were added to Sonic and Knuckles. When locked together, you got the full game of Sonic 3 & Knuckles. This greatly improved both games as you could not save in vanilla Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic 3‘s levels are not as good as Sonic & Knuckles‘.

What makes Sonic 3 & Knuckles so good is the amazing level design. Sonic 3‘s is less impressive than Sonic and Knuckles‘, but both are good. Sonic 3 has good levels up until the Carnival Night Zone, which I mostly hate due to horrible childhood memories.

Yes, the barrel. In Carnival Night Zone there are these barrels that move around, some of which you can control. You control them by pressing up and down to make them move. The problem is the game never tells you this. So when I got to a room that locks behind you, the only way out underneath that barrel, I never could figure it out. I spent hours as a kid trying to beat that level. I did it accidentally by jumping a lot, but I could never replicate it. This meant I would always play the game with Knuckles because he bypassed that part of the level.

Aside from that, Carnival Night Zone is fun and Ice Cap zone is really good. The only problem is the conclusion: Launch Base Zone. This zone isn’t bad, but it certainly isn’t good. The music is bad, the design is annoying, forcing you to go through the same sections over and over again, and it just isn’t any fun. Still, running around Hydrocity and Marble Garden is fun enough to make up for this. Sonic & Knuckles is good until the end though, with Flying Battery Zone being especially memorable for me.

This level is not very good.

What made the Sonic 3 & Knuckles levels so good was the sheer size of most of the levels. Many of the zones were enormous and allowed so many different pathways. You could spend Hyrdrocity mostly in the water or barely even see the water depending on how you went about the level. It also had a good mix of the fast set-pieces–like the loops and tunnels–and actual platforming. Add in that the bosses were fairly different from each other and the game just comes together really well.

Also the addition of Knuckles was a good one. He is the last Sonic character to actually add a new element to the gameplay to justify his presence. The gliding and climbing worked differently enough from Tails’ flying to make him worthwhile. Also his paths through the game were different from Sonic and Tails’, making playing as him worth it for more than just differences in technique.

The last aspect of the game I want to talk about is the music: it’s very, very good. Here are some quick samples:

Hydrocity Zone Act 2:

Ice Cap Zone Act 1:

Flying Battery Zone Act 2:

Most of the tracks are very catchy and match the zones very well, the aforementioned Launch Base zone is the only zone whose music I dislike.

Sonic 3 & Knuckles is my favorite Sonic game, I have a lot of fond childhood memories of it and I can still enjoy it to this day. It’s the pinnacle of the Sonic series, and at the rate they’re going at, I doubt any game will surpass it.

Welcome, boys and girls, to another exciting episode of Worst Column Ever.
This week we have exciting videos and an article I wrote at 5 AM.
Dancing with Dragons

The title may confuse, but about half way you will understand the dragon part. I don’t know why either.

Pokewalkers + Phonographs

The problem with the Pokewalker is how it encourages you to be outside of the home and walking around. Having to manually tend to your Pokewalkers can disrupt a packed schedule of breeding and battles. Having to phonograph do the work for you just makes sense.

NEWSFLASH: “Little Red Riding Hood’s Zombie Barbeque” is a real game that I just learned about. Its only four dollars from some places. [Amazon]

Never Make Fun of Magikarp Again.

8-Bit Doctor Horrible

NES port of the arcade classic.

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Also here is something I wrote around 5 am a few weeks ago. I haven’t spell checked it or even read it since then. I have no idea if it makes any sense.

Game Boys are Cool.

I’ve been playing a lot of Game Boy games lately on my first piece of handheld hardware- a blue and yellow Game Boy Colour with Pikachu, Togepi, and Jigglypuff around the sides. It is my pride and joy and sits displayed proudly on my shelf when not in use. I still go to bed using an ancient Worm Light to see the screen for a few last Pokemon battles before bed. Playing through Mario Land and Link’s Awakening made me realize how much “quirkier” these two first party games are than the other entries in their respective franchises. In this article, I’ll be taking a quick look at some of the interesting aspects of these two games.

Super Mario Land

The Mario series is known for being a whimsical series. The very premise is about an italian plumber who eats muschroom ro get more powerful and traverses the Mushroom Kingdom, stopping on or shooting any turtles, fish, or goombas that get in his way. It is fantasy, for sure, but Mario Land is different. Super Mario Land goes in a much stranger diraction than any Mario games before or since. Super Mario Bros 2 is often mentioned as being a bit more odd and “dreamlike”, but Mario Land deserves that title not only becuase its legitimatly a Mario game. Super Mario Land consists of four kingdoms in the world of Sarasaland*- Birabuto, Muda, Easton, and Chai. What you really get though is Egypt, China, Easter Island, the Ocean, and a sky full of projectile chickens. In Egypt, Mario navigates through an ancient pyramid and defeats a fireball spewing Sphinx. Easter Island has enemy Maoi statues, and kung fu warriors descend upon you in China. The enemies are beyond weird, with your standard koopas turning into bombs when stepped on. A lot of the foes have a dramatic death where their carcass jumps off the screen. The game includes two non-optional scrolling shooter levels. Love platformers, but hate shmups? Too bad, because even the final battle is between Mario in a plane and a giant ship boss.

Description alone cannot do justice to how different this game feels from a normal Mario title, despite the gameplay mechanics being near identical. The graphics, level design, enemies all seem a bit off from the Mario norm. Super Mario Land 1, 3 and 3 were not produced by Morimoto, but Gunpei Yokoi- creator of the Game Boy, Metroid series, Game & Watch, Fire Emblem, Kid Icarus, and other. The man is a genious game designer and was able to use the Mario series in a way that was both familiar and very different.

Super Mario Land 2 continues to diverge from the gameplay of Super Mario Bros. The game introduces a bucketload of new elements in practically every level. However, it is so different that it doesn’t feel “weird” like Super Mario Land 1. The first game was odd because it felt like an alternate Mario Bros where everything is just a little bit different. The second game is just a very different game. Both are fantastic games though; if you haven’t played them then get on it.

I was discussing this topic not long ago with Darkmirror_Link and we agreed that modern Mario games are too stuck in established lore. Darkmirror_Link described New Super Mario Bros as feeling too “sterile”. It seems that the Mario universe is content to sit back and provide fanservice than inject the games with new creativity. Yokoi took the foundations of the Mario series, but then made the games his own. Instead of having a New Super Mario Bros be a complete rehash of the earliest game, I would like to see something different. Some of my favourite Mario paltformers strongly deviate from Mario expectations, including Super Mario Sunshine and Yoshi’s Island.

Links Awakening

One of the things I find most memorable in the fourth Legend of Zelda title, Link’s Awakening, is the humour of the game. The Mario RPGS and plenty of other titles have silly dialogue as a key element. Link’s Awakening is an early example of funny dialogue significantly impacting the feel of a game. I’ll mention a few of the better moments.

During the game’s large trade quest, you receive a letter from a goat to deliver to Mr. Wright (get it?). When you deliver the message, Wright is excited that this letter comes with a photo of the sender. However, the photo is of Princess Peach, not the goat who sent it.

Part of the game has you taking Marin to the animal village. As with all new items, like proudly holds her over his head with the narration “You got Marin! Could this be your big chance?”. Hit a chicken while she is following you to have her say “HAHAHAHA DO IT AGAIN DO IIIIIIIT!!!!. Oh I’m sorry I don’t know what’s gotten into me.”

“Hi there, big guy! I’m Crazy Tracy! I’ve a got a little secret for sale that’ll pump you up!” “Will you give me 28 rupees for my secret?” “All right, come here and I’ll rub it on you! …There… I’ve applied my own secret medicine!” The dialogue in this game is defined by such weird wording.

“You got the magic rod! Burn things! Burn, baby burn!”

The humour goes beyond just the wording. There are plenty of visual treats. The most noticeable aspect that most have surprised young gamers everywhere was the inclusion of Mario enemies throughout the game. Right way you see a woman in the village who has a pet chain chomp in the yard. In the Zelda 1-style sidescrolling dungeon segments, there are now cheep cheeps, bloopers, goombas, and thwomps. A yoshi doll can be obtained from the crane game.

There is a delightful feeling of whimsy throughout the entire adventure that was not present in the three preceding Zeldas. It has been utilized in future Zelda games, some more than others. Link’s Awakening is not a game that I played in my early gaming years, but one that I only recently played through. I would say that it and Majora’s Mask share a very similar vibe. Both have plenty of personality and quirk, but not at the expense of having some of the more impacting stories in the franchise. Interesting how two of the ones that takes place outside of Hyrule have the more interesting stories and characters.

Sonic Chaos is another Game Gear/Master System Sonic game that many overlook when talking about Sonic’s history. It’s interesting to go back and play these 8-bit releases since I never owned a Master System or Game Gear. The quality varies from game to game, but some of these 8-bit titles had some good ideas.

I was very pleasantly surprised by Sonic Chaos, it had solid level design, and was the first game that made Tails play differently from Sonic. This is the very first game that you can control a flying Tails. The game is built around the ability to play the game as Sonic or Tails and the differences in how they play. Because of this, the Japanese title, Sonic & Tails, is a much better name.

Sonic plays much like he always does, but with the addition of the Super Peel-out(as explained here in my article on Sonic CD). This is the only game besides CD and Triple Trouble to implement this feature. The more interesting thing is how he collects Chaos Emeralds. Instead of finding them like in the other 8-bit games, you now have to collect 100 rings and then beat a special stage. This makes playing as Sonic much harder, but the more interesting thing is how this affects the level design. The levels are built with the necessity of 100 ring in mind, which is interesting, but it makes the game a lot easier. You can generally beat the game in about half an hour, quite easily.

When playing as Tails there is obviously the ability to fly, but there are some other differences. Tails cannot do the super-peel-out because his flying is tied to up+jump which is much clumsier than future iterations of his flight. He also has more lives and continues at the beginning as compared to Sonic. Also, you do not need to acquire the Chaos Emeralds for the good ending with Tails.

Sonic Chaos is an okay game, the levels are fine, but only a few are more than just good. There are a few weird new items, such as a rocket skateboard, but they ultimately don’t have that big of an effect on the game. It’s fun, but not great. If you like Sonic games, give it a shot, but I wouldn’t recommend going out of your way to play it.

Sonic CD is a bit of an oddball as far as the early main-series Sonic titles go. It had a lot of different ideas that were not really explored again and Yuji Naka had very little involvement with the game at all. With a much greater emphasis on exploration as opposed to speed, it doesn’t quite fit in with the other games in the series, yet it is definitely Sonic.

The soundtrack of this game is well-known because they changed it for the US release. Both soundtracks have their merits, but I prefer the US one. They also introduced vocals to the Sonic music scene for the title screen. So yes, this game is to blame for creating the trend that led to All Hail Shadow. “Sonic Boom” is the better song, but the Japanese soundtrack’s “You Can Do Anything” is kind of amazing in a certain way.

One interesting thing that Sonic CD added is the super peel-out, an ability similar to the spin dash. The super peel-out is activated exactly like the spin dash, except you have to hold the up button. It is faster than the spin-dash, but you will take damage from enemies while running along. This ability is only ever used again in a few game gear games, and is pretty much forgotten at this point. It has its uses in this game, but it is not anything amazing.

Time Travel is in Sonic CD as well. That’s right, a platformer with time travel before Jonathan Blow was even thinking about strange metaphors for the atomic bomb. There are three time periods: Past, Present, and Future. The basic layout of the levels remains mostly the same, but there are different paths and other differences depending on when you are. There are also some interesting things to note between the time periods, such as the increase in corruption from Robotnik in the future and present as compared to the past. The past is the only time period of any importance as in it you can find and destroy two objects to make the future happier.

The two objects are a hologram of Metal Sonic that is somehow oppressing the local wildlife and a robot generator machine. When you destroy both the present and future become devoid of enemies and contain more flowers and happy dancing animals. Each act has a Metal Sonic hologram and a robot generator, and if you create a good future in the first two acts, the third act containing the boss will be much happier looking, and it even changes the appearance of Robotnik. Hunting down the hologram and generator adds a lot to the game and is a lot of fun, but it is not the only thing that the game has going for it.

Each level has a lot more alternate paths than the usual Sonic game, and all of the zones are very well designed. They’re larger than the usual Sonic zone, and, while you can run through them very quickly, the real fun comes from the exploration. You can find the previously mentioned two objects in every level, as well as a lot of alternate paths. Again, I’m going to talk about each zone in detail.

Palm Tree Panic

US Present:
JP Present:

Palmtree Panic is the usual sunshine and rainbows happy first zone with lots of speed to get you uses to the game. To travel through time, you must first find a signpost for the period you wish to go to and then you need to work up a certain speed and maintain it for a few seconds. Palmtree Panic provides you with enough loops and straight stretches for you to get acclimated to the time travel and is pretty well designed overall. The end of act 1 introduces Amy Rose as an adoring fan waiting right in front of the end-level sign in the Present. I don’t think they ever had dialog in mind when designing her character, so I can forgive the game for introducing her. Also I seriously doubt they expected this to ever happen.

US:
JP:
The thing about Sonic CD bosses is that they are different from the usual. In Sonic games, you generally have to hit Robotnik eight times before you win; in Sonic CD it’s usually quite less and is done much more interestingly. This first boss is quite easy and only takes three hits to finish off, so not much to say about this one.

Collision Chaos Zone

US Present:
JP Present:

This zone looks really, really weird; everything’s purple and there are weird yellow mountains in the background. It’s the pinball/casino level that every early Sonic game has, minus the casino part. It starts off with Amy being kidnapped by the much cooler Metal Sonic, and that’s the only plot you get until Stardust Speedway. The level is a lot of fun because of all the flippers, bumpers, and tunnels strewn throughout both acts. There are also some tricky parts, such as a section filled with springs that try to shoot you into a bunch of random directions.

This boss is basically Sonic Spinball. You start at the bottom and have to use flippers to reach the top. Once you’re up there, you just have to jump at Robotnik to win. It’s really interesting that the bosses in this game are so different from not only the regular Sonic games, but from eachother.

Tidal Tempest Zone

US Present:
JP Present:

Tidal Tempest takes place in a fancy temple-ish place and is filled with water. It seems easier to drown in these water segments than in other Sonic games, making this level a bit harder if you’re not paranoid enough to grab every air bubble. The difficulty is mostly due to the maze-like level design. The zone features a lot of twisty passages and switches that need to be pressed to open up a new area. Tidal Tempest is a good level, but it can be difficult in many places.

In Tidal Tempest, the boss battle is split between two parts. The first part consists of chasing Robotnik through a maze while trying to get some damage on him. After a few hits, a secret passage opens up and part two begins. Part two has Robotnik surrounded by a ring of bubbles, that you have to breathe your way through to reach Robotnik. He goes down in one hit after this, so it’s not too difficult.

Quartz Quadrant Zone

US Present:
JP Present:

Quartz Quadrant is the least interesting zone in the game, but it still has some cool ideas. The really good thing about Sonic CD is that every zone after Palmtree Panic has a unique gameplay feature. Quartz Quadrant has conveyor belts with buttons you can hit to switch the direction they move in. This has some interesting uses, such as tunnels filled with conveyor belts that can open up a new area if the belts are heading in the right direction. The level does not have much in the way of exploration, which is probably why I did not enjoy it as much.

You defeat Robotnik through the power of friction in this zone. The battle starts off with hitting Robotnik’s machine once, and then simply staying alive as friction erodes the bottom of it.

Wacky Workbench Zone

US Present:
JP Present:

Despite the incredibly silly name, Wacky Workbench is my favorite zone in the game. There are a lot of alternate paths to take, most of them accessible by bouncing off of the floor. In this level, the floor will electrify every few seconds, causing everything touching it to be launched very high in the air. Taking the low path in this zone is very difficult due to this, but its a lot of fun to try for it. It gets difficult in Act 2 when there are a lot of dangerous electrical fields all over the place.

This boss, like all of the Sonic CD bosses, makes heavy use of the environment. Robotnik drills his way up through several floors, and to reach him you have to stand on blocks that get shot up into the air from the electrical floor after a few seconds. Unlike the rest of the level, the electricity hurts you this time.

Stardust Speedway Zone

US Present:
JP Present:

Stardust Speedway is a very confusing, but fun zone. There are speed-boosts everywhere that shoot you down long, complicated loops and passageways. Its very easy to get in a loop of getting thrown between three or four springs/paths/speed boosts over and over again. Because you move so fast, it is very easy to accidentally travel through time, which can get annoying at some places. It’s a fun level, but the boss is the best part.

This is probably the coolest boss “fight” ever. There is no fighting, you just race Metal Sonic the end of the level. It’s actually quite hard, but it’s still more fun than most Sonic bosses. you have to dodge spikes and attacks from Metal Sonic as you go on. The real tough part is that Robotnik follows behind with an instant death laser shooting down, so if you stop moving for too long, you’re dead. Also you rescue Amy at the end, so hooray I guess.

Metallic Madness Zone

US Present:
JP Present:

This is the final, hardest, and longest zone in the game. There are spikes everywhere, a lot more difficult enemies, and some really weird machinery. The most memorable part of the stage is the area with a laser beam that shrinks you, causing you to play as some sort of chibi Sonic. It’s only for a small section of the level, but it’s pretty fun and is a nice break from confusing conveyor belts and falling platforms.

This is probably the only boss where I felt like I had to use the temporary invincibility from taking damage to win. I don’t know if it’s possible to do the first point of damage without taking some yourself, but once you get that first point of damage in, he goes down pretty fast.

Special Stage

US:
JP:
The special Stage in Sonic CD involves running around a pseudo-3D environment and killing UFOs. I’m not sure why you’re supposed to kill these aliens, they don’t do anything at all. They just float around and seem peaceful and not at all threatening. Sonic’s just xenophobic I guess. They are unlocked by finishing the level with 50 rings. They’re kinda fun, but not incredible. If you win, you get a Time Emerald. The Time Emeralds are one way to get the good ending, the other is to destroy the two objects in every single stage.

Sonic CD is one of my favorite games in the series, the great environments and open level design along with the creative bosses make it great. It’s definitely the most original in the series.

I had always been interested in the Sonic series though. I was excited when Sega gave up consoles to focus only on games. Finally I could play their games on a Nintendo console. My first experience with Sonic was on the day I bought a Game Boy Advance. The game I choose to buy with it was Sonic Advance. I turned the game on and took a few steps forward after choosing to play as Sonic. Suddenly, a bullet fell on me and I lost all my rings. I was very surprised. Why would I have suddenly been damaged by an enemy that isn’t on the screen? I rushed to retrieve the lost rings, but was still confused by this design choice. I shrugged it off, and continued onward. Something else weird happened; after being launched forward by one of the many speed-increasing ramp-things, I was sped straight into spikes. These spike go up and down making the trip across them a random encounter if you will be hit or not. Once again, I was really surprised by this. I found such “trap-like” level design to be nonsensical. It only got worse as it went on. The whole game felt like a couple of middle-schoolers sitting around, drawing level designs during Recess and saying “lol we will put more TRAPS here, they will never expect that!”.

This was different from other platformers I had played. Getting through a stage in Sonic Advance has much less to do with accurate platforming than it does just stage memorization. Mario isn’t like this. The Mario games have a steady, slower pace that introduces each challenge in a sensible way. It can be difficult to navigate the levels, but not because you can’t see what is there. When I jump on a block in Mario, I don’t worry about if could be one of five different functions that may or may not kill me. In Sonic, I’ll see multiple paths to choose and standing on the wrong thing could end up as hedgehog death. The Mega Man series also relies heavily on playing through stages again and again. However this is to learn the enemy patterns and timing for jumps. It feels more structured and reasonable than the guesswork in Sonic Advance. It is hard to say exactly why dying over and over in Mega Man in completely fine, while losing some rings in Sonic from an unknown enemy is so aggravating.

That is not to say that I didn’t enjoy the game though. Quite the contrary, I’ve played it through as each character -including Amy- and enjoyed several aspects including the music and spritework. What most attracted me to the game, though, was the open stage design that allows for many ways to progress through the zones. Each time I would play a stage, I would have fun trying to find alternate paths through it.

Sometime later, I was at my brothers house after he returned to the States from Korea. There he had bought a Dreamcast and a load of games. One of these was Sonic Adventure 2. As I mentioned, I did enjoy playing Sonic Advance. I was very interested in giving this game a try. I did not have any complains about the challenge feeling too randomized.. I had an issue with the lack of any challenge at all, along with several other problems.

What happened to the non-linear design that I loved so much in Advance? Now in 3D, the level design is more straightforward than I had expected. Sure, riding down the street and tearing up cars while rocking “Escape the City” is a lot of fun, but the focus seems to be more on streamlined speed than what I wanted. Also, with each of the three character types comes a totally different gameplay approach for their stages. The Tails/Eggman levels have each character (depending on light or dark story) piloting a mech. The pacing is slowed down from the Sonic stages, but are still very linear and you simply run and shoot your way to the end. There may be a few time you’ll need to find a switch or something, but its mostly just jumping and shooting from point A to point B. The auto-aim feature leaves you free to not really pay too much attention to what is going on. It seems reasonable to balance out the speed Sonic stages with Tail’s calmer robot action, but it doesn’t stop there. We also have the Knuckles/Rogue areas that are totally different from the rest of the game. In these levels, the player must explore quite expansive levels for the location of three randomly placed chaos emerald pieces. Using clues and a metal-detector like system, it can take quite a while to search through the levels for the treasure. Unless you are a lot faster than I am, the game ends up being more of this gameplay than the other two types. While I find the Knuckles stages fun, they can become quite dull and do feel relevant to the Sonic series at all. All these other playing styles overshadow the Sonic-y segments, which should be the meat of the game. One part goes from a Knuckles stage, to a Sonic boss fight, to a Tails stage and another Knuckles stage. Three non-Sonic stages in a row, except with a Sonic boss fight stuck in. Because, you know, people primarily play Sonic for the bosses.

One aspect of the Sonic series that is extremely apparent in Sonic Adventure 2 (and less so in the other games) is how campy it is. Sonic isn’t too bad, but certainly is an attempt at a “cool” game protagonist when compared to Mario and other characters. Just look how edgy Sonic is when I don’t press any buttons for a few seconds and he taps his foot and points forward in irritation. And Knuckles- how can anyone be as cool as Knuckles! Rap music plays during his stages and he has dreadlocks that make him cool. Wait did Sonic just go Super Sayain? I think he did. Tails was cute and cuddly before, but now he has a mech. Between the music, the epic plot, and the characterization, the Sonic series just feels like it is trying to hard. It ends up being hilariously cheesy, but in a fun way. When I was a kid, I hated the XTREME ATTITUDE of Sonic Adventure 2, but now I see it as hilariously awesome.

A few years ago, I was given the Mega Collection for Nintendo Gamecube. I played it for a while, but I was seeing some of my complaints with Sonic Advance appearing in it and was apprehensive. For a long time, I went without playing it and considered myself just not much of a Sonic kind of guy. With the Sonic the Hedgehog 4 announcement and everyone so excited, I decided to give the games another try. To a lesser degree, I was facing the same frustrations in these early titles as I had found in Sonic Advance. I wasn’t exactly struggling in the games. Actually I find them much easier than I expected. Making it through the first two games without getting a game over is tough for a complete Sonic newcomer, but I don’t find the games all that difficult. Even though I wasn’t dying a lot, losing rings over and over to failed guesswork was getting old. I wanted to love the games. I adored the open stage design here even more than Sonic Advance. The gameplay is excellent and overall I was having a good time.

As I kept playing the games, they became more and more enjoyable. As I started to learn the stage design and be able to avoid more obstacles I grew to appreciate the games more. Games like Mario, Mega Man, Kirby, and Castlevania are easily accessible and fun the first time. Sonic is more like a shmup- it doesn’t really make sense at first, but once you get into it it becomes awesome. I have been playing Sonic constantly for the past three weeks. Bitterly at first, but now completely addicted. I just wish I had discovered this sooner, because I love these games! My current favourite is Sonic and Knuckles. Some zones I love are Ice Cap (Sonic 3), Labyrinth Zone (Sonic 1), Casino Night (Sonic 2), and Lava Reef Zone (Sonic and Knuckles).

I am glad to have discovered how fun the Sonic series can be. Unfortunately I had been burned early on by some newer titles, but I can understand completely why the originals are considered classics.

I blame Kyle(lwelyk) for not shutting up about Sonic and making me interested.

Click here to read other entries in the Sonic Retrospective.

Being an arcade game released in small quantities only in Japan and Europe(maybe a few in the US, I was unable to find out for sure), SEGASonic the Hedgehog isn’t terribly well known. Originally planned to be in Sonic Gems Collection for the Gamecube, it was left out due to the trackball control the game implemented. It works in the emulator MAME if you feel like getting a ROM for it, but it isn’t really worth the trouble. It isn’t any fun outside its natural arcade with track-ball environment.

SEGASonic is the first game in the series to add pointless new characters for absolutely no reason. Five games in and you can already have a hint of what the Sonic series would become. This game added two new characters: Ray the Flying Squirrel and Mighty the Armadillo. Mighty went on to appear in exactly one other game, while Ray got to hang from a mirror in a racing game as a little cameo. The game isn’t all Flying Squirrels and Armadillos though, it also has our favorite hedgehog, Sonic. All three characters play the exact same though, so it doesn’t really matter.

Stephenie shows us her take on Mighty and Ray, I thankfully didn't run across RayxMighty hentai.

The game works like this: you run away from things. It’s that easy, there is stuff coming after you so you jump over things and collect rings while running for your life. I could see this being fun if you had a trackball to roll around, but I doubt anyone out there has one that they can just plug into their computer and get working with this game. There is nothing more to the game than running away and jumping over holes, so it really isn’t worth your time.

It’s really pretty dull for the most part, and is only worth it if you somehow find an arcade machine Or if you’re one of the many, many people who appear to be in love with Ray the Flying Squirrel. Despite his one actual game appearance, Ray is a regular in the Archie comic universe, which is likely filled with even more useless characters than the main game series.

In the Archie comics, Ray is a member of Team Chaotix, which is where they seem to stick all of the useless characters in every Sonic universe. Also he may or may not have a twin brother named Roy the Flying Squirrel, only one fansite mentioned him so it could be a joke, like the mere existance of Ray. Shortly after his introduction, he got trapped in a time warp or something and was assumed dead, but as every good comic book character he randomly comes back later. Also when he came back he brought Nic the Weasel(Older sister of Nack the Weasel[Better known as Fang the Sniper]) and Fiona Fox. Yes, he came back with even more new characters.

Ray’s abilities include the standard Sonic fare: spin jump, spin attack, agility, tail grab, and as one fan site said probably gliding. As a character, he is slightly cowardly, but can get the job done. Also he and Mighty are the best friends ever. Also, when researching this, I discovered that Vector the Crocodile comes from a country called “Downunda.” Yes, you read that correctly.

There are literally pages written about Ray, but explaining that would be a lot less interesting than all of this fanart.

In case you forgot what this was actually about, it was SEGASonic the Hedgehog. A game with an interesting concept, but it isn’t worth the trouble of emulating it. I’d say go get that Sonic 1 hack starring Ray over this. Also, I’ll likely combine several smaller games like this one into one post next time I get to them.

Click here to read other entries in the Sonic Retrospective.

At first, the Sonic series wasn’t anything special. It was a pretty good series with a couple of decent games, but nothing mind-blowing. Then Sonic 2 came out and showed us what the series could really do. The levels are much better designed, let you run fast while still allowing for good platforming, and cut away with the unnecessary difficulty. The game also introduced Tails as a playable character; unfortunately, he plays exactly like Sonic and cannot fly yet.

Another important addition to the series was the spin-dash. No longer did you have to awkwardly get a slight running start if you wanted to break through a wall. It’s hard to imagine Sonic without this feature at this point, a testament to how good of an idea it was. The spindash is very useful in the many many levels Sonic 2 has. There are now eleven zones instead of the eight in Sonic 1; however, these zones have two acts instead of three. The zones, while shorter, are much better than Sonic 1‘s and because I’m a nerd, I’m going to talk about every one of them in detail.

Emerald Hill Zone

The first Zone of the game is the mandatory happy, green land filled with loops and grass. There are lots of the pictured cork-screw areas as well. Like all of the “green” zones, Emerald Hill Zone does a really good job of letting you get used to going fast. The spaces are wide, the loops are frequent, and you don’t have that much to worry about. It also gives you a lot of rings, and since the special zones are now accessed by having 50 rings when you hit a check point it is incredibly easy to get some Chaos Emeralds in Emerald Hill Zone. If you’re good, you can get almost every single one of them.

Chemical Plant Zone

Unlike Sonic 1, Sonic 2 does not make you move incredibly slowly in a poorly-designed second zone. Chemical Plant Zone is really well designed and probably one of the fastest zones in the series. Lots of moving fast along pathways, jumping off of ramps, and branching paths. Chemical Plant Zone is just a lot of fun to play, although Act 2 can get a little annoying if you fall into the water in the latter half.

The Robotnik fight for this zone features platforms that dump you into a bottomless pit if you stray from the middle area, but if you are careful of where you step and properly dodge the attacks it isn’t too hard.

Aquatic Ruin Zone

Aquatic Ruin Zone is interesting in that the levels kind of have two really different paths. You can take the quick and easy route up high, or take the slower route through the water. Assuming you don’t fall down, you don’t ever have to come into much contact with the water at all. Either way the level is not too difficult.

The boss is a bit more interesting on this level, with giant totem poles that shoot arrows at you. You have to use these arrows once they hit the other side to reach up to where Robotnik is.

Casino Night Zone

Casino Night Zone is a lot of fun. It gives you different paths to take, it’s really pretty, and there are almost no enemies. It’s really hard to lose at Casino Night Zone, and that is not a bad thing. It’s just fun to run around and jump into slot machines for tons of rings. The biggest problem would be getting knocked off course by bumpers, but even that’s fairly easy to avoid. In addition to the slot machines and bumpers you have a lot of flippers and moving platforms to mess around with. It’s not the most challenging or even fastest level, but it still is quite good.

This is the first boss I’d actually call difficult. Using the flippers to reach Robotnik generally ends in failure, but if you spindash up the side and then jump at him it becomes a lot easier.

Hill Top Zone

Hill Top Zone is essentially Marble Zone from Sonic 1, but actually good. There are grassy sections on top and a lot of underground sections with lava, just like Marble Zone, but this time it works. You can move fairly quickly, it’s fun to play, and best of all there is absolutely no waiting around for a tiny platform to move incredibly slowly across some lava.f If I hadn’t just played Marble Zone so recently, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed Hill Top as much, but it is still a good level.

This boss is actually fairly difficult, and has Robotnik setting fire to various platforms as you try to attack him. He also shoots a flamethrower at you, so there are many many ways to die horribly in a fire during this boss fight.

Mystic Cave Zone

This is the first really hard zone in the game; until this stage getting a game over isn’t very likely. It has lots of spikes and things that try to crush you as well as a few giant pits that are really hard to avoid. One pit in particular is rather infamous for being unfairly placed. You will fall into it the first time you play the level and you will fall into it more than once.

Screw you pit of death, screw you.

In this zone, Robotnik pilots a giant drill with which he pierces the heavens rocks. This causes lots of pointy stalactites to fall on you, so the main part of the boss is dodging those. After he’s done drilling, he reappears for a few seconds so you can get a few hits on him. Not too hard of a boss, but a fun one.

Oil Ocean Zone

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The seventh zone in Captain Planet and the Planeteers: Captain Pollution Strikes Back Sonic the Hedgehog 2 features an ocean polluted by Sly Sludge Robotnik. This ocean is so polluted with oil that you only slowly sink into the water rather than fall to the bottom. This means the only way to die in the water in this zone is to sit there and do nothing as Sonic submerges. I like the aesthetics of this zone, and the zone itself is pretty fun, but there are a few issues. The badniks are pretty annoying in this one and there are a few points where you can end up going in circles.

I wonder if creepy fanart exists.

The Robotnik machine in this level is a submarine that will shoot lasers and tentacles at you while submerged and just sit there waiting to be dealt damage when it emerges. Pretty easy fight overall since you can just sit in the oil where no attacks can reach you.

Metropolis Zone

Metropolis Zone is the longest zone in the game featuring three acts instead of the usual two. It takes advantage of this extra act to make you try to play through three levels of extreme difficulty. The badniks in this zone are incredibly annoying, and will hurt you from a distance several times before you can ever get a shot at them. The environment constantly kills you as well, crushing you with pistons, stabbing you with arrows, and throwing you at spikes. Once you fight your way through it all, it gets better as the Robotnik fight is incredibly easy, as he has practically no offense or defense.

Sky Chase Zone

This zone is really short and really easy. One act that autoscrolls and almost no way to die. It’s a nice way to relax between two incredibly difficult levels while listening to peaceful music.

Wing Fortress Zone

This is the last actual zone of the game and also the hardest. You’re on a flying fortress so every pit is a bottomless one, and the precision jumps make falling a lot more common than you’d like. You will die constantly and likely get game over on this zone, and there’s very little you can do about it. If you have all of the chaos emeralds, get hurt the second you get close to fifty rings. If you turn into Super Sonic on this level you will fall straight to your death.

The boss is pretty tricky as well. To reach the laser thing at the top to damage it, you have to try to use the spiky platforms which is rather tricky to do. Once you get the hang of it though, it isn’t too hard.

Death Egg Zone

This is one of the hardest final zones in the entire Sonic series; you have to fight two bosses with absolutely no rings. The first boss, Silver Sonic(AKA Mecha Sonic, also he is not Metal Sonic) is fairly easy. just jump on the non-spikey part of him up front. You can get two to three hits in at a time and when he turns into a ball, just dodge. Fun boss, not to difficult once you know what you’re doing.

The giant robot Robotnik is a lot harder. You don’t get many opportunities to hit him, and when you do it takes more hits than usual. He will step toward you, and if you have excellent timing there is about a one-second window when both of his spikey hands are out of your way that you can take advantage of. It’s much safer to wait for him to jump into the air and land, as that gives you enough time to safely get off a hit or two. If you die during this fight you will start the entire level over again, meaning you get to fight Silver Sonic again. If you keep at it and are patient, you can hopefully win before you run out of lives.

Special Stage

You acquire the Chaos Emeralds in this game by playing a minigame that involves collecting rings and avoiding bombs. Each level has three parts, requiring you to get more and more rings. It is one of the most frustrating mini-games in the series, especially if you are playing as Sonic & Tails as Tails will frequently steal some rings and jump into a bomb like an idiot.

And that was every zone of Sonic 2 in excruciating detail and with their awesome music. Overall, Sonic 2 is a wonderful game that doesn’t get too difficult until the end. It holds up well to this day, so go buy Sonic Mega Collection or Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection or SEGA PC MegaPack or Sonic Mega Collection Plus or a copy of the Genesis cartridge or Sonic Genesis Collection or the upcoming DS Sonic compilation and relive some good memories.

Fun fact that you may or may not know about Sonic the Hedgehog 2: the Genesis game came out after the GameGear and Master System games. So, the 8-bit release is actually the first game with Tails in it, even though he isn’t playable. Despite the lack of a playable Tails, he appears on the title screen and all of the images for the various zones. I suppose they were trying to trick children into thinking that this it was exactly like the 16-bit release.

Sonic 2 8-bit(hereafter referred to as Sonic GG) is a lot like Sonic GG in that it has almost no connections with its 16-bit counterpart. Sonic 2 GG did not add too many new gameplay elements though, and unlike the console version there is no spindash. Although now multiple rings come out of Sonic when hit as opposed to the one that you couldn’t even collect in Sonic GG. Only four or five appear at once, but it’s a nice change over the first title Also, like Sonic GG, the Chaos Emeralds are allegedly hidden in the second act of every zone. I say allegedly because I never found one. This is due to the brutal difficulty of the game.

I feel incredibly sorry for any children who got this game as a birthday/Christmas present. Platforming that requires you to be incredibly precise, sections in the last zone that partly rely on random guessing, and infuriating bosses are only made worse in the Game Gear version due to the lower screen resolution. Many times I had to just guess that maybe there might be ground on the other side when I jumped, and on the first boss I couldn’t see everything and could barely dodge attacks. I would not recommend playing this game without savestates, because it is nigh impossible otherwise. I can just picture the sad tears of children as Sonic once again fell into spikes too far off of the screen to see.

Still, some levels are fun, just incredibly frustrating. Interestingly, the game does not begin with a green level with lots of loops and ramps. It instead begins with an underground level filled with mine carts to ride. In other vehicle news, Sky High Zone includes hang gliders that are difficult to control until you get the hang of it.[Editors Note: Insert-Disc does not condone such puns and Mr. LaCroix's opunions are strictly his own and not representative of Insert-Disc as a whole.] It is an interesting idea, but not that amazing.

The interesting thing about the zones in Sonic 2 GG is that they don’t fit into the standard Sonic level formula for the most part. This is a good thing as by the time the 2D games were done with you could accurately guess what types of levels would show up and in what order. One more thing: because I couldn’t find any of the chaos emeralds, I got the bad ending. The bad ending seems to be implying that Tails is dead, which seemed rather odd for a Sonic the Hedgehog game.

I really can’t say that you should play Sonic 2 GG. It is overly difficult and just plain frustrating at times. There are some fun parts, but unless you’re playing it emulated and can savestate, stay away and play the Genesis game, it’s a lot more fun.

Most people forget that the Sonic games for the Sega Master System and Game Gear even exist. Having the same name as the Genesis games and being on the Master System and Game Gear are probably why. While both of those systems did fine, they were hardly the top of their markets. Also, the titling gives the impression that the games are merely lazy ports to inferior systems, which makes it easier to just assume they’re bad without giving them a chance. However, if you actually give the games a shot, they might surprise you.

I actually prefer the Master System version of Sonic the Hedgehog. It may not go as fast, and it may not look or sound as good, but the level design is a lot better. It’s worth noting that I played the Game Gear version prior to writing this article. The Game Gear version has a much smaller resolution than its console counterpart, but it still works just fine for the most part. A few jumps are trickier, but the game works perfectly fine.

While there are some shared level names between Sonic Game Gear/Master System(Hereafter referred to as Sonic GG) and Sonic Genesis(Hereafter referred to as Sonic GEN), the levels don’t actually share much of anything else. There are some loose similarities between Sonic GG‘s Green Hill Zone Act 1 and Sonic GEN‘s, but that quickly vanishes in Act 2 which features completely different areas. Scrap Brain and Labyrinth zones are also shared by this game, but, again, they don’t share any real similarities in level design.

Since the game is on a system much less powerful than the Genesis, there are some changes to the gameplay. When you are hurt, only one ring comes out and you cannot collect it, making things a bit more difficult at times. The checkpoints are monitors with down arrows on them, and if you die and respawn, you have to hit the monitor again. If you fail to do so, the game will start you over at the very beginning of the level next time you die. Sonic GG also seems to run slightly slower than his Sonic GEN counterpart, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Overall, Sonic GG is a lot less frustrating than Sonic GEN; there is no evil Marble Zone to spoil my fun. The level design is a lot better, and lets you keep moving most of the time. Oddly enough, Bridge Zone Act 2 is a scrolling stage, which feels a little off for a Sonic game. No other stages scroll, but it’s an interesting addition to the game. The chaos emeralds are implemented differently as well. Rather than doing a special stage to get a Chaos Emerald, you find it in Act 2 of a zone, hiding in the stage. I think this is a bit more interesting than Sonic GEN‘s special stages, and it is surprising that they never used that idea again.

Another major difference is in the Robotnik levels. Act 3 of every zone is a fairly short path to the boss, a short path containing no rings. Every boss battle must be done without any rings to help you. While none of the boss battles are too difficult, you have to be a lot more careful with them in Sonic GG.

While Sonic GG is not nearly as pretty as its Genesis counterpart, it excels in the areas that matter. The game feels well-made and the level design is very good, and it’s just plain fun. It’s a shame that Sonic GG gets overlooked so often; because if you stop to try it out, you’ll find a good game and a solid entry in the Sonic franchise.

After saying a few unflattering things about Sonic 06, I decided that it might be a good idea to take a look at Sonic’s more impressive past. Despite what the Sonic 06 articles may make you think, I can be positive. Rather than simply going over the Sonic games on the Genesis like a normal person would, I decided to do something different: play every single Sonic game I own in release order.

This is no small amount, as I have every major release except Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic Unleashed and the Wii games. Some of the smaller spin-offs I likely won’t play in full (No one cares about Tails’ Sky Patrol), but most of the spin-offs such as Sonic 3D Blast, I will complete.

This does not, of course, include Sonic 06, I’ve written enough about it already and I have the case crazy glued closed.

The very first Sonic the Hedgehog game was released almost nineteen years ago in 1991, and instantly SEGA’s mascot became less hideous. Sorry Alex Kidd, but you look like a horrible half-monkey, half-man abomination. Sonic soon became an incredibly popular character by virtue of being the definition of 90s. Full of attitude and X-TREME!, Sonic as a character is definitely a product of his time. Sequels and toys and spin-offs and cartoons and comic books later, Sonic is one of the most recognizable video game characters of all time. The true fans–adults on the internet who grew up with Sonic games–are not too fond of the direction he’s taken lately, but he still is popular enough to be a good cash cow for SEGA.

Sadly, Sonic the Hedgehog as a game does not hold up nearly as well as many of its sequels. If you go back to it now, you are unlikely to have any fun at all without powerful retro goggles. The game possesses many of the features we know and love today, but it is obvious they were still trying to figure some of them out. Running fast, despite being the game’s main selling point, is only really possible in Green Hill Zone. The other zones move at infuriatingly slow paces, especially Marble Zone. You could say the game jumped the shark after the first zone.

Green Hill Zone was the perfect showcase of Sonic gameplay. It’s open and clear enough to be run through quickly, while having enough loops, platforming, and enemies to keep you interested. Speaking of the enemies, one thing I always found especially creative about Sonic was its approach to taking damage. Rather than shrinking or losing a heart, your rings go flying everywhere. While this was frustrating when trying to get to the special zones, it was a good system that kept things from getting too difficult.

Bane of my existance.

After the fun of running through Green Hill Zone, you are thrust into Marble Zone. Marble Zone is filled with nothing but waiting for platforms to move, waiting for lava to stop falling, dying in arbitrary ways, and waiting for the fun to come back. Marble Zone Act 3 is my least favorite level in platforming history. The rest of the zones are a mixed bag, often culminating in an overly-frustrating Act 3.

It’s interesting how much the later games in the series follow the basic level archetypes set forth in the original. Both in the visual theme–happy green level, underground level, industrial level, temple with water, city, factory, robotnik’s base–and in general content of the levels–enemies, puzzle types, and objects. While these level types become cliche in later games, it still works and each of the zones has a little something different that affects the gameplay.

That Giant ball was Robotnik's greatest invention.

The Robotnik battles, unlike the zones, get better as it goes on. The first three are fairly simple, but different enough to keep you interested. After that, it does get more interesting with an obstacle course race rather than an ordinary boss battle and a more complicated battle involving bouncing explosives off of see-saws. One of Sonic Team’s better ideas was to not simply use the same boss, but to make variations upon Robotnik with various technological upgrades.

Unfortunately, Sonic the Hedgehog isn’t a good game, more of a good idea. It set up a very good foundation that the sequels would build upon later to make great games.(Well not all of them). Still, the original Sonic did have some fun bits and the music was fairly good. But, overall, I would not recommend going back to relive these particular childhood memories.