Finally! A place to vent my opinionated rantings of randomness! Look out, world, here I come! (Woot!...
Finally! A place to vent my opinionated rantings of randomness! Look out, world, here I come! (Woot! Blue! Thanks, all!)
Member since:01.11.2006
Reviews:21
Members who trust:9
*Prelude*
Welcome to the second installment of my Wii 'em And Weep review series! This selection of reviews will focus on the selection of classic games that will be available, for a small price, to download for the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console, giving players an idea of if it's worth downloading them once they are released. This time it's the turn of everyone's favourite super-sonic blue hedgehog on his debut Megadrive outing, Sonic The Hedgehog.
*Review*
SEGA's spiky mascot appeared on the Megadrive in 1991 as a direct answer to Nintendo's established Mario series. Focusing on speed rather than pixel-perfect jumping, Sonic had wowed audiences with it's velocity as they controlled our prickly pal through a series of levels that bore more than a passing resemblance to rollercoasters. Loop-the-loops, cork-screws and huge half-pipes were the order of the day here, and it gave platform gaming a fresh, new style. The emergence of Sonic The Hedgehog also sparked the great console war between SEGA and Nintendo, which would continue until nearly ten years later when, after poor sales, the Dreamcast ended SEGA's console-making days and they switched to game developing and publishing.
With the emphasis on speed the game remains, to this day, fairly unique. Most platformers allow gamers to take it slowly giving time
to line up jumps and collect every item within a given level. Sonic was the exact opposite. As you sped from left to right you would inevitably miss out on perhaps the vast majarity of collectable rings due to both the multi-route level design and the ten-minute per act time limit. Bonus points were awarded for finishing a level quickly, and in order to experience everything in a game it was necessary to play through on multiple occasions. This added to the game's lasting appeal, and also ensured that two different players might play through certain levels very differently, personalising their gaming experience.
As with most games of this genre, the story was not much to write home about. Dr Robotnik, an evil scientist, has improsoned the world's animal inhabitants inside diabolical robots, and it is up to our hero (and his trademark red trainers that give him sonic speed) to save the day by releasing said animals and defeating the demented doctor. The story doesn't really matter though, as a player could quite happily play through the entire game and not know the story at all and it would not in any way detract from the overall experience since, like many games of the era, the brief story was only printed inside the games manual.
Power ups were a lot different to, say, Super Mario Bros 3. Whilst Mario offered a wealth of different alternate forms, Sonic kept things fairly simple. Instead of coins, you collected rings which would protect you should you be hit by an enemy. You would however, drop all of your rings upon collision. If you were hit with no rings, you lost a life. Other power ups could be collected by smashing open monitors which would give you either extra rings, temporary invincibility, a shield allowing you to take a hit without losing rings, or a temporary speed boost. Whilst limited, these power ups were all you needed, and I believe that crowding too many power ups in there would actually over-complicate matters for what is essentially a "get from left to right and finish the level/beat the boss as quickly as possible" sort of game. Also on offer were the Chaos Emeralds which, whilst now an important part of the Sonic series since collecting all seven allowed the player to transform into the invincible Super Sonic, in this first instalment the only difference collecting all six (Yeah, there were only six for some reason) made was an ever so slightly different ending sequence.
Graphics were one of the games strong points. Sonic, his enemies and the vast majority of the levels were well drawn, superbly animated and easily distinguishable. I do feel, however, that some more variety could have gone into some of the backdrops within each level as, for the most part, each act within a level looks far too similar with the same backdrops being repeated on a far too regular basis. However, seeing as this was a first generation Megadrive title, and there was of course limited memory to cram the graphics onto, I'm happy to overlook this minor issue.
Another real plus were the selection of various music and sound effects on offer. The vast majority of these sounds (collecting a ring, using a springboard etc) are still an essential part of Sonic games today, and anyone who claims that do not know the Green Hill Zone theme will probably recongize it when they hear it again. It stands the test of time as being one of the most recognizable gaming themes in history. It's not the only good one though and, bar one or two misses, the game's music was truly awesome.
Going back to this game recently I was unsurprised that, despite the games great graphics for the time, it certainly looks and feels dated. One thing I wasn't expecting, though, is just how sluggish the game feels today, even compared to it's immediate sequel Sonic The Hedgehog Two which was only released one year later in 1992. It also lacks a lot of gameplay features that we now expect in a Sonic game, including the spin-dash ability, Tails and, of course, Super Sonic. Whilst still fun in it's own way, it just doesn't stack up to it's sequels any more.
In a lot of ways comparing Sonic The Hedgehog to Super Mario Bros. is unfair. The game was different enough to be considered in a unique genre of gaming with no real substitutes. However, if I were asked which game I would prefer to play today between Sonic The Hedgehog and Super Mario Bros. 3 (released in Japan as early as 1988) I would always say Mario due to the games sheer length, sublimely designed levels and deeper gameplay. Don't get me wrong, Sonic is without question a classic game, but I can't help feeling that it has been completely overshadowed by it's far superior sequels. By all means download it if you want a happy trip down memory lane or you want to experience the original in all it's simplified glory. It just won't wow you in the same way it wowed gamers in the early 1990's. I would recommend looking into Sonic 3 & Knuckles instead as that, without question, is one of the finest retro games available.
Advantages: It is fast, fun, addictive, and challenging. Beautiful levels and innovative bosses, too! Disadvantages: No save facility, some levels a bit too hard for younger gamers. Last boss is too easy.
Advantages: Colourful and bright graphics, smooth framerate, and unique sounds/music Disadvantages: No mode to save game, nothing is randomised, and easy bosses
Nov 30th, 2006
exceptional by (13%):
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