Game Review: Sonic The Hedgehog

Game: Sonic The Hedgehog
Console: Sega Mega Drive
Developer: Sega
Release Date: 23rd June 1991

I've been waiting a while to review Sonic The Hedgehog; partly because it's a much loved video game and I wanted to give it the proper care and attention, but also because it can be pretty frustrating to reach the end of, and the 3DS re-release by M2 has a stage select option to overcome any silly mistakes. Having played both the original Mega Drive and 3DS versions, there's really not a lot of changes in the updated version except for a 3D effect (which looks great, but doesn't add anything in terms of gameplay). There's some options to enhance the game, such as including the spin dash, and changing the region, but I kept these off for the purposes of this review. There is a level select option on the original cart also, but the portability of the 3DS really helped me stay motivated to review this classic.

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Sonic the Hedgehog is speed. 3D games in the franchise have relentlessly reminded us of Sonic's speed, and Green Hill Zone; the first stage in this game would have you think that the rest of the game will be a speed-fest, but later levels have some real puzzle platforming to them, and require players to slow down and think about what they're doing to progress. Some later stages even seem to require a little memorisation to complete, with traps and enemies becoming ever more devious.

There are 6 levels in total in the game, each with three acts. At the end of the third act, there's a boss battle with Dr. Robotnik which once beaten leads to the next level. There are some interesting themes for the levels in the game; it begins on a bright and sunny beach in Green Hill Zone, passing through lava filled underground acts in Marble Zone, a casino theme in Spring Yard Zone, the ruins of ancient civilizations and water in Labyrinth Zone before finishing up with some metallic and industrial levels in Star Light and Scrap Brain Zones. There's a good amount of variety, with new enemies and plaforming challenges introduced in every level.

Bosses too are well varied, with many different strategies required to beat Dr. Robotnik on each level. Every now and then there'll be a part of a level which has been specifically designed to catch players out, and these can be frustrating but the level design on the whole is great. The controls too are very responsive, and any deaths can only be attributed to player incompetence. If players manage to collect 50 rings on any given act, they can reach a bonus stage where a chaos emerald can be collected.

There's no real explanation of the game's plot, as simple as it is and so the chaos emeralds can easily be missed, and the true ending missed out on. With 7 chaos emeralds collected, the game can truly be completed and the final ending seen. The game's overall difficulty is somewhere in the middle for the era; it's not terribly hard at any stage, but certainly won't be completed in a single sitting without some serious study of the later levels. This provides some old school replayability and can be fun for a challenge, but will mean that players end up knowing Green Hill Zone like the back of their hand.

The items dotted about levels in the game are useful and include invincibility, speed shoes, extra rings, and a shield. While this isn't a huge amount of items, there's something to be said for keeping it simple. Items are sometimes well hidden, and in this way exploration within the game is rewarded, with some hidden passages containing goodies. For a game where the only real controls are moving and jumping, there's a lot of nuance to the gameplay.

Graphically the game has many different colour palettes and themes across its stages, but always manages to look impressive and intriguing. The mechanical stages reminded me of  Donkey Kong Country a little, and I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo's franchise was even slightly influenced by them. The soundtrack is great and almost every zone has a memorable and enjoyable theme which adds to the ambience and tension of the level.

Overall Sonic The Hedgehog is a brilliant platform classic which launched Sega's incredibly competitive period with Nintendo. With its 6 zones it takes players on a journey, chasing the ever elusive boss, Dr. Robotnik, with platforming puzzles that require different ways of thinking and speeds to solve. While it can be frustrating to get through in places, and was clearly designed to be that way, there's an undeniable charm to the first game in the Sonic franchise. As much as I'd like to give the game an A grade, it lacks any story elements and would benefit from a slightly greater collection of levels.

Rating: 87/100
Grade: B