Sonic Retrospective Part II - Sonic the Hedgehog(8-bit)

Welcome to part two of my Sonic retrospective, eventually I will cover every Sonic game. If you want to catch up, click here to see part I.

Sonic the Hedgehog for Master System/Game Gear was released a mere four months after the Genesis game. Made by Ancient, it was not only the last Sonic game Ancient would make, but it was the last game released for the Master System in North America. Unfortunately, there's little background information on this game (For some reason people like to ask other questions when interviewing people from SEGA and Sonic Team), but it's still an interesting game. Despite sharing a title and many level names with the Genesis game, Sonic the Hedgehog for the Master System is a completely different game.Jungle Zone

The first noticeable difference in the Master System game (besides the graphics) is the speed. This game is significantly slower than the original. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as its speed is more consistant than the Genesis game and the game is structured well around the pace it moves at. It also adds a few sections where you get more of the classic Sonic speed through special ramps that will shoot Sonic quickly across part of a level, to give it more of a Sonic feel.

The levels do share some similarity with the Genesis levels at times, such as the beginning of Green Hill Zone, but they are otherwise completely different. The new zones for Sonic Master System are Bridge and Jungle, and they each add something you don't see in Sonic games very often. Bridge Zone features an autoscrolling level, a new and rather unwelcome addition. It slows down the game a lot, and doesn't really work very well in Sonic, even if Sonic 2 managed to pull it off. Jungle Zone has a vertical stage that will kill you if you fall back down at all. This death mechanic is removed in the Game Gear version, wherein you simply fall down to a lower level. The Master System version of this stage is just annoying for this reason.

An example of the Game Gear versions warning signsOther differences between the two versions include warning signs for certain jumps, due to the lower resolution of the Game Gear; modified bosses, also to account for the resolution; and a few differences in level design on some of the stages.

The Robotnik battles in Sonic the Hedgehog add an extra challenge by being their own levels and giving you no rings. You have to beat each Robotnik battle without being hit once. Most of the Robotnik battles aren't that hard, but since you cannot get hurt without dying, the battles move much more slowly as risk-taking is more dangerous.

The rings are another difference between the 8-bit game and the 16-bit game. The master system can't handle rings shooting out everywhere from Sonic's body, so instead you lose all of your rings with no way to get them back. This leads to frustrating moments, especially in Labyrinth zone where there are narrow corridors filled with spikes and it is entirely possible to lose your rings and die withint a few seconds before you can even touch the ground again.

Getting the Chaos Emeralds works in a very interesting way in this game as well. Rather than going to a special stage and doing some sort of minigame, the Chaos Emeralds are hidden in the stages and they are not easy to find. A not quite as cleverly hidden chaos emerald.One or two of them are right along the path you would normally go through to beat the game, but most require careful searching. It's a good idea and a different take on them, and I'm surprised only two other games in the series ever used this gimmick.

The level design, like in the original game, ranges from frustrating to fun. Thankfully there is more good platforming than bad, but odd design choices such as adding a section where you are stuck in a loop of doors leading to the same room until you find the correct one are just awful. However, the vareity of the zones keeps the game interesting, each one has a different feel to it and a different set of obstacles to match the environment. 

The 8-bit Sonic game may not be as fast or pretty as its older brother, but it is a good game. There are issues, some of which can be infuriating, but the good makes up for it, for the most part. It's not incredible, and hardly goes down as one of the greates Sonic games of all time, but it's worth playing if you get the chance. It's included in Sonic Adventure DX and Sonic Mega Collection Plus, so if you have either of those you already have it. Otherwise it is on the Virtual Console if you want to give it a shot. 

Next time - Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Master System.