Beatboxer, lover, midnight snacker... I teach beatboxing at www.youtube.com/fattonybbx
Beatboxer, lover, midnight snacker... I teach beatboxing at www.youtube.com/fattonybbx
Member since:18.12.2004
Reviews:80
Members who trust:115
-NOTE- This is the second review to be revamped in a massive "tidy up" I am conducting on my account. Since it is one of my earlier reviews, it has sentimental value. As such I have tried to edit it as little as possible, but still changing it into my current writing style as smoothly as possible. Therefore, some sentences may seem a bit odd. If so, please let me know - I have proof read, but no doubt there's errors I haven't spotted. Enjoy!
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Sonic the hedgehog. He was a blue, spiky hedgehog that could travel faster than the speed of sound. This game was one of the earliest games on the Sega Mega Drive, and fast became Sega's mascot as well as probably the most famous computer game star of all time. Back when I was a wee lad (when I was 5, roughly 14 years ago) I was introduced to this. It was the first computer game I had ever played.
This game means something special to me. At the local family pub they had these games, and teenagers used to pay for me to play because I knew every single secret in the game. Admittedly, that probably explains my lack of any real life, but hey, I had fun.
The initial charm of the game comes directly from the graphics. I remember being amazed by these graphics, since the
only computer I'd ever seen before had horrid bright blocks of colour. Everything in all of the levels seems to be animated. The running of Sonic is fluid and smooth, the bad guys shooting and biting is smooth, even if sometimes blocky, and the backgrounds move and change as you run through the levels - think about how the landscape changes whilst staring out of a train window. The bonus levels at the end of the stages are incredible looking, with fish and birds in the backgrounds added to the strange colours of the level structure are amazing, and mystifying. The levels themselves are crafted perfectly, with multiple pathways and secret areas a plenty. Just to stop the levels looking repetitive decorative items like flowers and totem poles riddle the platforms. Just by going to the Spring Yard zone you can be amused for hours just by walking through the level and pointing out the flashing lights. The animals you have to rescue hop away, and if you are bored, you can follow them to see where they go.
The characters themselves are impressive. Sonic looks like a very cool good guy, with his bright royal blue spikes and vivid red sneakers. With cartoon-like eyes and white gloves and socks he is very cartoon-like in appearance. The baddies (Badniks) are awesome too, managing to appear menacing without ever appearing scary. There's a massive variety too, ranging from fireball-shooting bees to strange ball-hurling pigs. They are drawn quite well and animated nicely, considering they're robots.
The sounds are also very good. The music for each level is very fitting, and creates and instant atmosphere. The two best examples for these are Starlight Zone, and Scrap Brain Zone. The latter has very powerful and metallic sounding music, which is perfect for the mechanical appearance of the level. The first has very soothing music, which is nice because while going through the level the music blends in perfectly and creates a nice calm feeling. Most of the tunes are pretty catchy; indeed, I found myself whistling them to myself on many an occasion! The sound effects are good too; cheerful sounds when you pick up a ring or hit a spring all add to the appeal.
The game play is great. Aside from the huge amount of bad guys, and the very hard bosses, there are also massive levels to explore. Even the first few levels, although small, have oodles of secrets to find. There are rings to collect, which open up the bonus levels and grant extra lives. Also, there are walls to burrow through to find more boxes. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention them. The pick ups in the game are contained inside tiny little television sets, usually called boxes. When you hop on them, you get a pickup of some kind. You can get either ten rings, speed sneakers, invincibility, shield, or an extra life. In the bonus rounds, you can also gain continues, which effectively means another three lives.
Control wise, this stands up to Mario nicely. The controls are nice and responsive, and simple to learn. Sonic handles different whilst underwater as you would expect, even needing to take gasps of air from giant air bubbles.
Speaking of which, the levels are brilliant, and laid out in a really clever way. The first level is short and simple, so the player can adapt to the controls and the acceleration of the blue garden animal. The next levels are a tad bit more tricky, and from there they get progressively harder. I have completed the games so many times I have lost count, and I can still die on some of the later levels. The names of the levels, or Zones, are: Green Hill Zone, the training zone, Marble Zone, the lava zone, Spring Yard Zone, the ker-ay-zee zone, Labrynth Zone, a water nightmare, Starlight Zone, the nice chill out level, and Scrap brain Zone, easily the coolest level in the game. Something for everyone... And in each Zone there are three ''acts''. This means, including the final zone and the bonus levels, there are about 25 levels to play in. Wow.
Although the levels are huge, once you have completed the game a few times, the only reason most people would come back to play this game is to try and beat the time it takes to complete it. Also, once you have a couple of cheats for it, then it is cool to play through the levels in DEBUG mode, where you can create bad guys and find even more secrets in the level. The ending is, IMO, very good, but not many people seem to think so...
This game has got everything anybody could want in a game. The only thing it could have to improve it would be a way to save the high scores, or maybe a few more levels.
Interestingly, this game is now part of about a billion different "collections" available on the modern day consoles. Just a foot note for ya...
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Sonic is my second-favourite hedgehog of all time.
bananamanuk 28.08.2007 20:37
Great review of Sonic, it brought back memories for me too, I remember at school when there would be the debates over which was best, Sonic or Super Mario!
Advantages: Colourful and bright graphics, smooth framerate, and unique sounds/music Disadvantages: No mode to save game, nothing is randomised, and easy bosses
Dec 19th, 2004
(Dec 8th, 2006)
exceptional by (6%):
very helpful by (94%):
