An overview of the Megadrive/Genesis Sonic the Hedgehog games

In all my years as a video gamer there is one series that has a special place for me, and that is the Sonic the Hedgehog games that were released on the Sega Meagadrive/Genesis. Over recent weekends I've been playing all of these classic games on my 'Sonic mega collection' for the Gamecube. I love the games because they remind me a lot of my childhood, and Sonic 2 was the first game that I really fell in love with, It was also when the Sonic series was both critically and to some extent commercially at its most successful. Sonic's transition from 2D to 3D has been very mixed, (you can read a review of Sonic Adventure in an earlier blog post that I wrote, and the second one will be up very soon), none of them have the replay value or the charm of the 2D games. The speed of the blue hedgehog has found it hard to transfer into a coherent 3D environment, I will go into the details on another occasion but it hasn't helped that in many of these games, too many characters have come and gone along the way.

Now I'll get on with brief review of five of the games, I have deliberately ignored Sonic Spinball and Dr Robotnik's Mean bean machine.

Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)



The first ever Sonic game and an instant classic, Sonic was an awesome character and a perfect mascot for Sega, it certainly shifted a lot consoles which otherwise wouldn't have been sold, and for a moment it helped the Megadrive match up against Nintendo's SNES. What's remarkable and often overlooked about the game is the fact that it relies less on speed with each passing level. Of all the games in this list I'd rank it second, but only narrowly to Sonic 2.

Pros:
* Green Hill Zone- the most iconic level in the entire franchise, past and present. And I'm not just talking about the music
* It''s challenging without ever being too hard, less focus on speed the more you progress into the game, and believe me the Labrynth Zone will leave you pulling your hair (I haven't got any so I'm lucky), and the boss fights require different strategies to defeat them
* Addictive soundtrack
* Great replay value- you can complete it in one sitting but it's so good you'll want to go back

Cons:
* The levels vary in quality, the middle section can be a bit bland, visually and in terms of structure
* There are three acts to each zone, I've always preferred two, as is the case in all of the other Sonic games

Overall score 9/10

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992)




My favourite game of all time and the essential Sonic game. It brings back happy memories of my childhood, I used to wake up every morning before school just to complete this game. In my opinion it does everything the first one does, but only better. The visuals are easier on the eye and the levels more imaginative and colourful. There is also the introduction of Tails (who is albeit a little useless in this game).

Pros:
* Visually immersive and pretty to look at, even to this day
* Many levels, ten in total and all of them are diverse in terms of themes, from a casino to a chemical plant to an underground cave
* The difficulty is reasonably even, the levels begin pretty straight forward but get a little more difficult towards the end
* The introduction of the spin dash move, which allows you to break through walls for short cuts and hidden places. Added an extra element to the gameplay mechanics
* Again the soundtrack is beautiful, especially the Sky Chase Zone

Cons:
* The boss battles at the end of each level are easy, until the final one, which is very hard
* Some of the early levels are too straightforward, on occasions it can feel as though you're speeding through them just by holding the run button

Overall score 10/10

Sonic the Hedgehog 3: (1994)



The levels in this game are certainly longer and there is far less focus on speed compared with the previous two. The graphics are also better than the previous two as the Megadrive was really pushed to the limit, the Sonic sprite has also changed (I prefer the older one), there is also a save feature for the first time. The game also sees the introduction of Knuckles the Echinda, making his first ever appearance, although he's the villain and not playable. There is also the possibility that Michael Jackson contributed to the soundtrack, none of it has ever been fully established but it's worth looking into. Although I still enjoy this game and while the gameplay doesn't deviate too much from the previous two, it lacks the charm.

Pros:
* The graphics are impressive
* The gameplay is essentially the same as ever
* There are far more new power ups in this game
* The game has the best special stages ever, collecting the blue spheres and avoiding the red ones is challenging but fun
* You can play as Super Sonic, but you'll have to collect the seven chaos emerald first (you do this by completing the special stages)
* Save feature- it's good because unlike the first game this one doesn't have the lasting endurance like the first two
* The Ice Cap Zone is a particular stand out level, and one of the best 2D Sonic levels ever

Cons:
* There's only six stages
* The design of Sonic has changed for the worst, more slick but less cartoony
* The inclusion of an unnecessary save feature, although more difficult compared with the previous two games, the game can still be completed in one sitting. The save feature can be used as an excuse for someone to stop playing because there are times when you will lose your patience with the game's difficulty
* The moments of speeding through levels are far less then the previous two games

Overall score 7.5/10

Sonic and Knuckles:



This is basically the second part to Sonic 3, the story follows on from the end of 3, they were originally intended to be the same game in one. Of all the 2D Sonic games this is the hardest one, the levels are a lot longer and the boss battles genuinely difficult and require real strategy. It is also the one I enjoy the least but feel the need to go back to every so often simply because of the challenge. The game does have two playable characters for the first time which adds a lot of replay value.

Pros:
* Two playable characters, both of which have clear differences from one another. Which also adds replay value
* Gorgeous graphics, the best on the Megadrive system
* The levels are unique, the likes of the Sandopolis and the Hidden Palace Zone look different to the usual Sonic levels from the previous three games
* Lock on technology- this would only count for the time that the game was released. The hatch on top of the game's cartridge opened so that you could attach the Sonic 2 and 3's cartridge, and pass over data from one game to the other. For example, you could play as Knuckles in Sonic 2.

Negatives:
* The most difficult of all the Sonic 2D games, aside from the first level, every single one will cause the gamer some problems. There really is no run through level like the first two.
* Bad level structure- Linked with my first point, some of the level structure is very contrived and too challenging, but in a very frustrating way. The best example of this is the against the clock dark and light sections of the Sandopolis Zone.
* Less enjoyment- linked with my second point. In the first two games, and to a lesser extent number three. The levels in those games were always enjoyable no matter how long and how difficult they were, but in this game, many of the levels just become chores the longer they last.

7.5/10

Sonic 3D: Flickie's Island



Unlike most hardcore Sonic fans, I have a soft spot for this game. It is by no means a good game and I fully understand why so many people hate it. But I actually enjoy a lot of it, sure the controls are awful and the graphics a bit clunky. But at least it's different, the game plays from an isometric viewpoint with 3D sprites, the objective is to collect seven flickies inside an assortment of robots within the levels. This game was also different because it was Travelers Tales who developed it, not Sonic Team.

Pros:
* Take away the bad controls, the isometric overhead worked well, the presentation of the levels was actually pretty decent, and the colour pallet is very nice to look at.
* Different gameplay- collecting the flickies through each of the levels is fun and a breakaway from the usual Sonic game which was being made at that time.
* The boss battles are very inventive and challenging, without ever being too difficult
* The special stages are fun, if a little easy

Negative:
* The controls are bad, this is a big problem when you have to kill an enemy, first you have to set yourself up and then time your attack with perfection. It also makes exploration a chore in each of the levels
* The Sonic sprite moves like a truck, very slow and clunky
* In my opinion the soundtrack is very unmemorable for a Sonic game, and very annoying in some levels
* Aside from collecting the flickies there's not much else to the gameplay

Overall score 5.5/10