Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) Review

So, just so you know, these aren't gonna be professional reviews. I want to simply give my thoughts out on these games and why I like/dislike them. With that in mind, welcome to my first Sonic Review, for Sonic the Hedgehog from 1991!

Some Background Info

Sonic the Hedgehog is a 2D platformer game released for the Sega Genesis on June 23rd, 1991. At the time, Nintendo had an iron grip over the entire industry, and Sega was the first of many to break that with this game. Sonic was created with the intent of giving a cool hip mascot for all the 90s kids to rival Mario. And I would say Sonic and his wonderful character design achieve that greatly. But the way you look at this blue bundle of joy might be different depending on where you live.

Sonic's Design in America

Sonic's Design in Japan/Europe

Sonic was tweaked to be more appealing for American audiences by Greg Martin at Sega of America. But as an American myself, I'm not big on this design. American Sonic looks weirdly shiny, over-exaggerated limbs and expressions, and that stupid mohawk look. Overall it's your preference but most prefer the Japanese look as well as Sega themselves these days. (Also, the JP box art was cool as fuck)

But that wasn't the only localization change Sega made. The game's villain, Dr. Eggman, was called Dr. Robotnik in America becuase that sounds more menacing.

But enough of all this.

How do I play Sonic 1?

While the original Genesis version is great, I recommend Sonic Forever by Team Forever. It's in widescreen, with plenty of adjustments and improvements from the later games, so I played that for this review.

The Story

Sonic 1, like many platformers of the era, has a pretty bare bones story. The evil Dr. Robotnik (or Eggman) has been snatching animals and putting them inside robots, to turn the whole world into a dystopian metallic machine! Our hip and cool hero, Sonic the Hedgehog, with his super speed must blaze through the zones of his world and defeat Robotnik! I'll be referring to Eggman in the classic games as Robotnik but modern Eggman as Eggman.

The Game - Green Hill Zone

The first zone in Sonic is the iconic Green Hill Zone, one of the most iconic first levels in any game.

This is the best zone in the game. Good amounts of speed, good amounts of platforming and it is just perfect in my opinion. It's here where we see all of Sonic's moves. He can roll into a ball and jump, and you can only defeat enemies in your ball form. The game also has rings, which you can collect and as long as you have at least 1 ring you can survive any hit from enemies but when you do get hit, all your rings go flying out of you. If you get 100 rings, that's an extra life! And if you drown or get crushed you'll die no matter how many rings you have (which is kind of bullshit in my opinion). Each zone has 3 acts, and on the third act you fight a boss. 3 acts is a little too long, especially for some of the other zones you'll be seeing here.

The game also has shields, which you can get hit once without losing any rings. All the badniks (robot enemies that animals come out of when killed) are usually your basic game goons but can get more advanced later on.

The game is gorgeous. All the colors pop and the soundtrack is just incredible for all the zones. I don't think any of this game is difficult per se but it has its intense moments (you'll see)

Green Hill Zone is perfect and it shows you everything Sonic is about. Each zone also has a boss with Robotnik at the end, all of which besides 3 are pretty pathetic in my opinion. Especially GHZ's boss is just a ball and chain.

At the end of a zone if you have 50 rings there will be a giant ring at the end signpost and if you jump in it you'll get access to the special stage for your chance to nab a Chaos Emerald.

The Game - Special Stages

The special stages in Sonic 1 are OK. They're better than Sonic 2's for sure. Sonic rolls into a ball and you have to navigate this acid trip maze thing while trying not to fall into the goal balls and slowly getting to the Chaos Emeralds. Getting all Emeralds gets you more flowers during the ending. Yippee. 

I don't hate this part of the game but compared to the reward you get in Sonic 2 (which I won't spoil here, but you probably already know it) it's definitely lacking.

The Game - Marble Zone

After Green Hill Zone we get Marble Zone, which is much slower and more about platforming than speed.

Now I still think this zone is a lot of fun, sure it's slower but I still think it's engaging. It has a lot of cool gimmicks like the lava explosion and spike chandeliers. Not really a lot to say here.

The boss is pathetic once again. He sprays down fire on 2 platforms and you have to jump to the other one. It's just stupid.

The Game - Spring Yard Zone

The action ramps up again with Spring Yard Zone, which is the first of many Pinball-related Sonic gimmicks, which are plentiful throughout the series. You can bounce around on all the bumpers, which sounds fun but they're usually placed to get in your way. However, the zone is super fast, and there are a lot of alternate open paths you can take, which as a fan of non-linear level design I like a lot. The boss is actually pretty difficult as he slowly destroys the ground for you. Good zone overall and better than Marble Zone.

The Game - Labyrinth Zone

Oh god. You knew it was coming. I knew it was coming. The only zone I actually despise in this game. Labyrinth Zone. This zone mostly takes place underwater and Sonic can't breathe so you have to pick up air bubbles on your journey or you'll drown. Not to mention how slow and long this zone is, it's just awful. However, the boss is... interesting to say the least. Rather than trying to destroy Robotnik you chase after him up this obstacle-filled mess of a corridor and if the water catches up to you, which slows down your physics and jumps, you can kiss your sorry hedgehog ass goodbye.

The Game - Starlight Zone

After that mess, Starlight Zone, the second best zone in the game, almost feels like a reward. While it's very dark, I love this zone. It's super fast (which is what the whole GAME should have been) and lots of interesting badniks. The boss is my favorite in the whole game. He drops bombs on these teeter-totters and you have to launch them back in the air at him which is really fun.

The Game - Scrap Brain Zone

We finally made it to the end. Scrap Brain Zone is the last zone in the game and you know what? I love it. It's difficult, but uses some of the most fun and interesting gimmicks in the game as well as a great aesthetic. The boss... well... let's talk about it. Act 3 of the zone is not like the others. It's instead a super hard version of Labyrinth Zone. YES. YOU HEARD THAT RIGHT. The worst zone in the game repurposed super-hard for the final act. Now this is a nightmare, but there's an easy shortcut you can do  by running off the platform at the start of the act which leads you to an underground route that is significantly quicker and faster.

The Game - Final Zone

Final Zone is a 1 act zone and features a very pathetic final boss. You have no rings, but it's very easy to not get hit. Robotnik will come from one of these pillars in the stage and you have to hit the one with him in it. After that, these purple power balls come down to kill you but there's always a noticable gap between them you can avoid. A very easy boss.

The Game - Ending + My Final Thoughts

At the end we see Sonic running across Green Hill Zone with animals (and flowers if you got all the Chaos Emeralds) everywhere and him jumping into the screen as shown above.

Now, I love this game. It has problems but it's still one of my favorite sonic games and is endlessly replayable due to its quick length, more than its sequel, actually! The game is gorgeous and even at the worst times with Labyrinth Zone I still loved the soundtrack and it kept me going. This is game is wonderful, so please ignore all the shitty Nintendo fans on youtube saying this game "hasn't aged well" and that "it becomes bad after Green Hill Zone" Those people have no game taste and don't know it like I do. 

Thanks for reading, and have a good night!

Posted in: Sonic Reviews