System: SEGA Genesis
Year of Release: 1991
It's hard to believe, but it's been nearly twenty years since SEGA first introduced the world to a speedy blue hedgehog with an attitude in the iconic Sonic the Hedgehog, launching a franchise that dominated the Video Game world of the mid-'90's and retains a large and passionate fanbase. So what better Game to start our Reviews section off with than the very one that started it all? As we look back at this Classic, will it stand up to the test of time? Or does it just wind up looking like an old relic?
Story
The plot here is simplicity itself: the evil Dr. Robotnik, for reasons never really specified beyond this being the sort of thing evil scientists do with their free time, has kidnapped every innocent woodland creature he can get his villainous hands on and turned them into his robot servants. It is thus up to super-fast Sonic the Hedgehog to hop and bop his way across six different Zones to a heroic rescue. It is a premise that proves most effective, and it's no surprise that both the following Sonic games on the Genesis and our own SatAM cartoon would revisit it for their own stories. Particularly of note is how the game doesn't actually need much in the way of cut-scenes or in-game text to tell its story: all you need to see is Sonic bopping a robot and freeing an animal, and you already have a solid grasp of what's going on. Admittedly, the Chaos Emeralds, despite being introduced here, wind up playing pretty much no role in the Game proper other than being the cheese at the end of the Special Zone maze, with the only notable effect of collecting all six (the number would not get to seven 'til Sonic 2) being a slightly different ending cinematic. Their presence thus winds up distracting from the stronger story at the game's center. Where the story really shines, though, is in its characterization. Sonic introduced an idea that is now standard for most Games, and one that does a great job of telling us something about the personality of the character: when left idle by the player long enough, Sonic will turn his head to the screen and start tapping his foot impatiently. It's a great little trick which, combined with all the other great bits of character animation Sonic has throughout the Game, work together to give us an unmistakable idea of who Sonic is and what he's like, a degree of characterization unprecedented at the time for a Platformer hero.
Score:
out of 
Design:
The important thing to remember about Sonic The Hedgehog is that, as the first game of the series, it did not have any prior games to look to in terms of what to do and what not to do. As a result, some aspects of the design definitely show their age worse than others. For one thing, in this game, Sonic has no auto-Spin Dash; instead, the player must achieve the dash manually by building up momentum and pushing down on the D-pad, which can make certain situations where the Dash is necessary or else very helpful quite frustrating. This problem is compounded by things like Green Hill Zone's breakable walls, which show up without warning or consistency and can often throw a player off trying to look for them. Despite these flaws, however, Sonic still retains a strong overall design. With seven zones total, each (with the exception of Final Zone) divided into three "Acts", the game provides a healthy helping of Blast Processed action, with the three-act structure allowing players to really feel like they are exploring the full length of these stages. That's a good thing, too, because Sonic features some pretty solid stage designs. One area where the original actually outdoes its successors, in fact, is in the complexity of their structure. There are far more puzzles and traps to deal with in the original than its sequels, and they require a good deal of thought and precision to overcome, giving the game an overall level of challenge that hits the right spot just about every time. The Special Zones are a bit on the trippy side, and their turbulent backgrounds can prove annoyingly distracting, but these do utilize clever labyrinthian design to push the player to their limits. It has its dents, but the design in Sonic is still strong as steel.
Score:
out of 
Gameplay:
There is a reason SEGA built the advertising campaign for this game around its speedy platforming capabilities, and why the remainder of the Genesis games would emulate it more or less perfectly: it works like a charm. You'll be able to speed along through hills, turbines, spinning wheels, and the like with ease, and the highly responsive controls make hopping over and on to your enemies easy, no matter what speed you're going at. It even manages to ease the use of the manual Spin Dash by making the process responsive and easy to actually perform. The controls keep exploration fresh and exciting at all times, with all manner of little tricks you can pull off to find ways around enemies and obstacles throughout. You'll need to, as well, because the Badniks of this Sonic, particularly Caterkiller, are of a trickier sort than those that would show up in the sequels. It's a double-edged sword: on the one hand, it causes you to rethink how you approach the game with each new enemy, but on the other, it can sometimes blindside you and frustrate you if you're not careful. Likewise, the Boss Battles this time, while far from terrible, are of a lesser caliber than those that would show up later on in the series. Most of them are too straightforward for their own good, while others, like Starlight City, are laboriously slow-paced and can wind up proving quite difficult to get the full handle on. Overall, though, the gameplay is swift, sharp, and effective, and it absolutely provides an enjoyable gameplay experience that anyone can pick up and play without problem.
Score:[b/]
out of 
[b]Presentation:
Sonic the Hedgehog's graphics are sharp and effective for a game of the 16-bit era, with great use of colors and well-rendered sprites throughout. The real highlight, though, is the Music, which begins a proud tradition of stellar songs to punctuate each stage. Listen to, say, the theme of Marble Hill Zone for even a little, and you will quickly find yourself humming along. The grimier water effects do prove a bit of an eye strain at points, but never too much so, and the eerie appearance of things like the Labyrinth Zone ruins provide a truly strong sense of otherworldliness.
Score:
out of 
[b]Overall:
It really is easy to see, even today, how this game got such a big franchise started. For all its minor flaws, it's a great deal of fun, and Sonic is clearly and strongly put forward as a successfully appealing character. Sonic the Hedgehog passes the test of time, and if you've never played it before, you should give it a look. If you have played it before, revisit it, and remember why you fell in love in the first place.
Score:
out of 
