Sonic the Hedgehog
1991 Ancient/Sega Sega Master System Sonic the Hedgehog is the first instalment in the Sonic the Hedgehog series and was released in 1991. The 8bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog differs from the 16bit version by featuring shorter different levels. The first instalment of the Sonic series, differs quite significantly from the 8bit games in the Sonic series that followed this game. Sonic the Hedgehog introduces the series’ antagonist; Dr. Robotnik who sets out his perennial quest to harness the power of the Chaos Emeralds to bend it to his evil whim and to turn the animals of South Island into his mechanical slaves, called Badniks. Sonic the Hedgehog is a great 8bit game and should not be compared to the 16bit version bearing the same name. Sonic the Hedgehog runs very smoothly with very few frame rate issues and although certain elements of the later Sonic games are missing such as the Spin Dash and the ability to re-collect rings after taking damage, Sonic the Hedgehog stands up exceptionally well today. The 8bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog has a very bright colour palette, much brighter than possibly any other Sonic the Hedgehog game. The tones are very bright and relatively blocky, but it works exceptionally well with the background music for each level being bouncy and extremely memorable, in particular the music for Jungle Zone and Scrap Brain Zone are very catchy. Sonic the Hedgehog is not an overly long game and can easily be finished within the hour. In true Sonic style, each Zone is split into 3 levels, 2 standard levels and a 3rd boss level where Sonic encounters Dr. Robotnik. Sonic the Hedgehog isn’t massively challenging either, but by the same token, it is very fun. Bridge Zone, Jungle Zone and Sky Base Zone are all excellent additions to the 8bit version and it is a wonder why Sega didn’t place these in the 16bit version. In fact, both levels of Sky Base Zone are very interesting with their lightning rods and huge cannons. Sonic the Hedgehog is a very inspiring first edition for the series. The classic Badniks that were introduced with the original Sonic the Hedgehog such as the Moto Bug, Crab Meat, Orbinaut and Catakiller are still popular today and as a series, Sonic never topped this. Also, the most memorable zones of Green Hill Zone and Labyrinth Zone made their first appearance here and you can’t help wondering whether at times did Sega basically rehash the first game over and over again. Sonic the Hedgehog has aged very, very well, it is an absolute pleasure to play over and over again and has an amazing replayability. Sonic the Hedgehog was definitely the best release out of any of the 8bit games from the Sonic series and is possibly only trumped by the 16bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. 9/10 Adam
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