Sonic the Hedgehog

The Good
"Wow, so why can't the Super NES do this?" Those were my exact words back in September of 1991. The new school year had started, and one of my friends had gotten a Sega Genesis over the summer. He invited me over to check it out, and he said that he had gotten this game that was so fast that you almost couldn't keep up. With that, he plunked a cartridge into the system and flicked it on. The next thing I know, this blue hedgehog appears on the screen, and he hits Start, and tosses me the controller.

He was damn well right about the speed part. I uttered those words above to him, and he says, "Because Nintendo doesn't know anything about the word 'fast'."

Yep, that's what Sonic is all about: speed. He's a blue hedgehog with a cool attitude, a pair of wicked red sneakers, and enough speed to make even a Nascar driver blush. But that's not all he was. He was also a real showcase for Sega, as both a technical achievement (no other system can run a game this fast!) as well as establishing just what Sega needed...a mascot with the same cool attitude and demeanor that the company had back in the days of Genesis. And he's also one of my favorite mascots ever. Period. Sonic is just plain COOL, dammit! You do not question Sonic! ^_^

Anyway, onto my review.

It seems that this evil scientist named Dr. Eggman (speaking of which, I hate his American name, Dr. Robotnik) is capturing all these cute little forest animals and using them to control his army of robots. So Sonic's gotta go save the day and kick Eggman's fat egg butt outta town. And he's got it all: super speed, a wicked Spin Roll (complete with spines extended), and a cool, cocky grin on his face. Controlling Sonic is dead easy: D-pad to move and all of the buttons make Sonic jump. That's it. Sonic can jump onto certain enemies and destroy them, freeing the animal inside. But he'll need a little extra help, and he gets them in the form of Power-Ups. Grab a pair of Sonic Sneakers to make Sonic run twice as fast, or grab a Star Barrier for a burst of invincibility. But there's also one other thing that Sonic can grab...scattered all over every stage are Rings, which will protect Sonic from dying when he is hit by an enemy. Every hit that an enemy gives him makes all of his rings scatter, so you've gotta grab some back to keep yourself protected. Don't worry though. As long as Sonic is carrying at least one ring, he's safe. Grab 100 rings, and you'll gain an extra life. Grab at least 50 and make it to the end of the stage with them, and Sonic can play a bonus round, where he must find and collect the six Chaos Emeralds...sources of unbelievable power that Eggman is also after!

So how are the graphics, sounds, and music? The graphics are excellent for the Genesis, despite it having less colors on screen than the Super NES (64 on the Genny compared to 256 on a Super NES), and really showcase what the system is capable of, with large sprites and plenty of bright colors. Sonic looks really damn cool, and his animations are really well thought out! He even starts to get impatient if you don't move him for a while, tapping his foot and looking at you as if to say "Did you fall asleep out there? HELLOOOOO???" The sounds are for the most part rather good, but there's only so many times you can really hear the same "Boing!" sound every time Sonic jumps. But don't mute that TV yet, because you'll miss out on some wonderfully composed music from the Japanese rock group Dreams Come True. All of the music is wonderful, from the peaceful sounding Labyrinth Zone to the Green Hill Zone, all the way up to the Final Battle.

The Bad
The bonus rounds were a pain to play. Also, the Labyrinth Zone got to be rather confusing in some parts.

The Bottom Line
Sonic the Hedgehog is a true Genesis classic. If you own a Genesis, this is one game that should definitely be in your collection!