I'm sure this game needs no introduction. Nintendo seemingly had the entire video game industry in the bag with nobody really challenging them. The Sega Master System was awesome, but thanks to Nintendo licensing most game developers to only make games for the NES, the doomed Master System had no chance. Things weren't looking great for Sega.
That all changed in 1988, as the 16 bit Sega Genesis really showcased how much more powerful it was compared to the 8 bit NES, and the potential for it was immense. Come 1991, and we are greeted to one of the biggest shifts in 2D platforming history, and one that is still a big part of the gaming culture today. Of course, it's this game, and while most people probably think of either Sonic 2 or Sonic 3 and Knuckles when discussing classic Sonic games, that's not to say this one isn't one, because it certainly is.
The visuals are colorful, detailed, and lively, the design of Sonic himself is iconic, the gameplay is some of the most satisfying to play, the level design is consistently chock full of depth and creativity, the music is bumpin' and awesome, the boss battles are fun and memorable and the overall structure is excellent.
While that's all definitely well and good, this still shows the blue blur in some obvious growing pains. When you think of a Sonic game, you expect it to be fast, right? Well, with the exception of Green Hill Zone and (kind of) Star Light Zone, this game is anything but. Because of this, going from any of the sequels back to this game makes this game feel surprisingly slow.
Though, I feel the attention to excellent level design, here, sort of makes up for it, because even though this game isn't that fast, the levels are all excellent-the least best being Labyrinth Zone, where most of the hatred over any and all water levels came from, but the level is still well designed, despite it being tedious. But, because of how much slower this game goes, it's understandable why some may not like it, because it fails to capture the balance between great levels and fast and fun gameplay Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 and Knuckles would perfect. Some of the levels here feel like they could work in any old 2D platformer, which isn't a bad thing, considering this is the first in the series. It's just something worth noting when comparing it to later games.
The special stages are meh. Not the worst in a Sonic game (I prefer these over the frustrating half-pipe special stages in Sonic 2), but it's a bit too hard to control, and a bit all or nothing. Though, I like the aesthetic and premise behind it, so to say they're bad wouldn't be fair. They, for as odd and somewhat annoying as they are, are at least pretty fun, even if nothing more than just that. Overall, I'd consider them perfectly average.
In summary, this game rocks, though not for the same reasons future games would. Instead of fast and fun gameplay mixed with great level design, you get mostly just the latter, which may be a bit disappointing for some fans, but I feel it was a bit more important. While it's not my favorite of the series, I still love it for what it is. A fun and well designed 2D platformer that would lay down the groundwork for better future games.
That all changed in 1988, as the 16 bit Sega Genesis really showcased how much more powerful it was compared to the 8 bit NES, and the potential for it was immense. Come 1991, and we are greeted to one of the biggest shifts in 2D platforming history, and one that is still a big part of the gaming culture today. Of course, it's this game, and while most people probably think of either Sonic 2 or Sonic 3 and Knuckles when discussing classic Sonic games, that's not to say this one isn't one, because it certainly is.
The visuals are colorful, detailed, and lively, the design of Sonic himself is iconic, the gameplay is some of the most satisfying to play, the level design is consistently chock full of depth and creativity, the music is bumpin' and awesome, the boss battles are fun and memorable and the overall structure is excellent.
While that's all definitely well and good, this still shows the blue blur in some obvious growing pains. When you think of a Sonic game, you expect it to be fast, right? Well, with the exception of Green Hill Zone and (kind of) Star Light Zone, this game is anything but. Because of this, going from any of the sequels back to this game makes this game feel surprisingly slow.
Though, I feel the attention to excellent level design, here, sort of makes up for it, because even though this game isn't that fast, the levels are all excellent-the least best being Labyrinth Zone, where most of the hatred over any and all water levels came from, but the level is still well designed, despite it being tedious. But, because of how much slower this game goes, it's understandable why some may not like it, because it fails to capture the balance between great levels and fast and fun gameplay Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 and Knuckles would perfect. Some of the levels here feel like they could work in any old 2D platformer, which isn't a bad thing, considering this is the first in the series. It's just something worth noting when comparing it to later games.
The special stages are meh. Not the worst in a Sonic game (I prefer these over the frustrating half-pipe special stages in Sonic 2), but it's a bit too hard to control, and a bit all or nothing. Though, I like the aesthetic and premise behind it, so to say they're bad wouldn't be fair. They, for as odd and somewhat annoying as they are, are at least pretty fun, even if nothing more than just that. Overall, I'd consider them perfectly average.
In summary, this game rocks, though not for the same reasons future games would. Instead of fast and fun gameplay mixed with great level design, you get mostly just the latter, which may be a bit disappointing for some fans, but I feel it was a bit more important. While it's not my favorite of the series, I still love it for what it is. A fun and well designed 2D platformer that would lay down the groundwork for better future games.