Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)
A Review by Chaos Theory T. Echidna.
©January 12, 2000
Welll....here we are, then. The very first game that our dear true blue hero ever zoomed his way through. Despite the fact that it looks rather primitive by today's standards, it is still a fun game. I'll review the individual levels in more detail later, but first, a general overview of the game.
Much as most Sonicfans don't like to admit it, Sonic does owe a LOT to his predecessor, Mario. The Super Mario Brothers games on the original 8-bit NES system (and I personally own one that still works) were the very first "platformer" games ever, breaking the way for a whole new genre of games that has turned out to be one of THE most popular and successful type of video games today. Now, I am not a programming whiz or a video gaming expert, so frankly, I don't know WHY the games are called "platformer"; I typically refer to them as "action/adventure" if I have to use any label at all. But the fact remains--the very FIRST games to have a character walking, running, and jumping through a strange, wacky landscape, and getting temporary powers along the way, WITHOUT it being a total shoot-em-up at all times, and without the storyline complexity of a role-playing game, were Super Mario.
3D "platformer"s? I'm pretty sure the award for the very first one of those would probably have to go to Crash Bandicoot. (Boo, hiss, I can hear you guys saying in the background. Oh, hush. You know it's true.)
So, what exactly did Sega bring to the genre? What makes Sonic's platformer games different?
In one word:
SPEED!
Well, there's a lot more to it than that, actually--for one thing, the Sonic games' puzzles, traps, and enemies tend to be much fancier and more clever than the Super Mario ones. (Of course, I've only ever played Super Mario 1 and 2 and I briefly played 3, which I don't own--NONE of the Game Boy, Super Nintendo, or N64 ones--so I'm not an expert. And don't ask me anything at all about Crash, I'm TOTALLY clueless there.) The music in Sonic games, even from the beginning, tends to sound more like pop music than typical video game fare, (in terms of the tunes), and more. But in general, what set Sonic apart from the crowd was the fact that the very first time anybody saw him moving through HIS wacky platformer levels, he was ZOOMING through them!
Well, as you might imagine, this got peoples' attention, and let Sonic the Hedgehog (1) become quite popular, even though the platformer genre had already been going for at least 7 years. Basically, even though both series of games are for "all ages"; Sonic offered a cooler, mouthier, more "extreme"; TEENAGE alternative to Mario's more traditional little-kiddie cuteness.
As the games progressed, the graphics got more detailed and pretty, the music more realistic, the storyline more complex, and the cast of characters larger. But in the beginning, it was nobody but Sonic and Robotnik in a race to the bitter end. And millions of Genesis sales shows that that couldn't have been wrong.
So what is the game itself like? Well, it is, as I said, rather primitive by today's standards. It's very flat and cartoony-looking, and only had a few enemies, really. And Sonic does not have his spin-dash--a very unnerving thing for someone who STARTED playing the LATER games, as I did--I keep trying to do something I can't and keep getting killed. And NO TAILS! Tails has been an integral part of the Sonic universe for so long, it's almost impossible to imagine a Sonic game without him--even in a guest-starring role (like he had in 3-D Blast or Sonic Chaos). It's also rather more difficult than most of the other games--the programmers don't seem to have quite figured out the correct balance of traps to bonuses yet, and the laws of physics are more deadly in this game. Spikes kill you MUCH faster, and so does crushing, for example.
Yet even at this early stage, Sonic was still...SONIC! By which I mean, he still had his attitude and personality. Even in the most primitive of his games, he still gets bored when he stands still for too long, tired when he pushes a block, scared when he falls...he's still an actual CHARACTER and not just a plastic pawn made out of pixels. (This is a general Sega trait, actually--I own a Genesis, a 32-X, a Saturn, and a Dreamcast, and at least one game for each, and I can tell you that in almost EVERY GAME, the main character gets "bored" after a while. I have yet to see a Nintendo game that does that. Much as I LIKE Nintendo...) This probably doesn't make much difference to the casual gamer, just people like ME who watch games a little too closely. All they knew was that Sonic has an "attitude" and that made him "cool".
Yet for all his originality, Sonic himself has a lot of traditions and clichés within his own games' universe, and boy, are they ever strong! Let's take a look at some of them, shall we?
1. Sonic is ALWAYS the main hero and Robotnik is ALWAYS the main villian. Only three games do not reflect this, that I'm aware of: Tails' SkyPatrol and Tails' Adventure for the Game Gear, and Knuckles' Chaotix for the 32-X. And it could be argued that in Sonic Adventure, the main villian is Chaos, not Robotnik. Still...
2. The games always have a decidedly environmental/liberal/tree-hugging theme underneath them, when you really think about it. Robotnik is always trying to pollute the land and destroy its nature, while enslaving the woodland creatures. Sonic is out to save the animals and restore the beauty of the planet. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what places like the Chemical Plant and Oil Ocean, to name only a couple, are supposed to represent...
3. The levels have some definite traditions themselves:
A green trees/jungle level.
A toxic waste dump level.
Ruins of some kind.
Fire/lava.
Ice.
Water.
Air.
Cave/dungeon.
Metallic fortress.
Fun-time/carnival/casino etc.
Outer-space/"other".
The levels may look different from game to game due to the growing graphics technology, but compare, oh, say...Green Hill, Emerald Hill, Angel Island, Mushroom Hill, Palmtree Panic, Green Grove, Resort Island, and Emerald Coast, for just one example. Hmmm...
Now that we're done with the historical background, let's plunge on into the levels!
The Green Hill Zone.
Sonic Tradition #1: Green Pastoral/Tropical Level.
This is obviously the easiest one, being the first, but be warned: if you were introduced to Sonic on the EMERALD Hill Zone, the way I was, then treating this level the same way might tend to get you killed a few times. This level has WAY more spikes than the Emerald Hill Zone and, unlike that level, some really deep pits you can fall into that kill you instantly. And LOTS more enemies. The later Sonic games placed their badniks in a method that had them sitting more or less stationary, or patrolling a single area, and a limited number--Sonic 1 is still going with the old-school video game way of having enemies just KEEP coming, with no end, until you manage to get out of that area. I'm thinking about those dive-bombing hornets and those weird phasing-bugs here, specifically.
On a more positive note, the Green Hill Zone is also the Sonic games' very first example of how multi-path their levels always are--true to form, there is only one beginning and one ending, but more than one way through! And lots of bonuses and goodies to the person who discovers the way to the most hard-to-find routes. As usual, if you're straightforward you just get through; but if you're CLEVER, you get through with extra lives, a shield, more rings....the Sonic games are made to reward people for thinking creatively, and even here it shows.
The Marble Zone
Traditions: Fire/Lava, Ruins, AND Dungeon/Cave.
Now, THIS is a prime example of how the game designers hadn't yet quite gotten a grip on the difficulty factor yet. The Marble Zone is INSANELY hard for such an early level--if it had been the sixth level out of say, eight?--it would have been fine. As it is, you'll find yourself dying MANY times here. Tons of lava, tons of things to crush you, tons of spikes, tons of traps, clever but NASTY little puzzles to figure out, places that require perfect timing...or else...and those @#$#$ing bats everywhere. Oh, and make SURE you hit those annoying spiked caterpillars on their HEADS and not anywhere else, or you might find yourself doing a cannonball into the nearest lava-pit without any rings. This is a level where you really, really, REALLY need the spin-dash. You have no idea how many times I've tried to spin past one of those crushing glass tubes and got turned into a furry blue pancake for my efforts...(shakes head sadly).
The Spring Yard Zone
This is the first "fun-time" level ever, being the direct predecessor to things like the Casino Night Zone and Collision Chaos. In this rather UGLY level, you bounce and spring all over the place on all kinds of weird toys, and get flung through the air like a blue pinball. In fact, practically EVERY "fun-time" level in a Sonic game has a pinball element to it--even Casinopolis in Sonic Adventure! (The game designers even, at one point, went ALL the way with this theme, as seen in "Sonic Spinball" 2 years later, but I digress.) This level is likely to make you sick to your stomach from the hideous colours and the bouncing. Also, it's more dangerous and less "fun" than the Casino Night Zone, as there are LOTS of enemies, not just a few, and there are absolutely tons of things to crush you. Not everybody's favourite level, let's put it that way.
The Starlight Zone
Traditions: Um...uh...this would be "Outer-Space/Other", I believe...
The Starlight Zone is...well...DIFFERENT. Almost everybody loves it for its cool, sparkling beauty and its quiet lounge music (which I DON'T like...at least, not very much). The fourth level of Sonic the Hedgehog takes place entirely in outer space, it seems, and the whole Zone is basically one big bottomless pit with a few ledges scattered about here and there to land on IF you're lucky. There are also tons of bombs--WALKING bombs--to injure you and, perhaps, help you on your way INTO those bottomless pits. In short, don't let the calm, mellow music fool you--this level is quite deadly enough to hold its own against the others in this game. Especially if you're not a super-accurate jumper. I tend to fall into the wide open black sky over and over and over...
But what hinders you can also help--the bombs are often used as the counterweights on the see-saws, propelling you higher up and closer to the end of the level (you hope). Just don't stand there with them for TOO long...
The Labyrinth Zone
Tradition: WATER LEVEL! Duh...
And here Sonic comes snout-to-uhm....wave?--with his SECOND worst enemy of all time--WATER! Sonic HATES water and with good reason, as he cannot swim an inch. One of the easiest ways to die in a Sonic game is by drowning--and it doesn't help that the game designers had to make it so darn ominous, either. After you've been under for a bit, this really suspenseful countdown music starts, and it gets faster, and faster, and FASTER...thus making you progressively more nervous and more likely to make a mistake while heading for the nearest air, until...
...glub...
(At this point, I would like to direct your attention to the fact of just WHAT Chaos from Sonic Adventure is made out of...eh? ;))
Anyway, the Labyrinth Zone is just what it sounds like--an almost endless maze--only it's nearly entirely underwater. Again, the designers hadn't quite worked out the difficulty factor again, as the air-bubbles in this level are WAY too far apart! Typically you can only breathe by the time the music has gotten up to almost its full speed. Phew....! It makes YOU practically take a gulp of air in relief every time you make it...and wanna strangle someone with the joystick cord when you don't...(or is that just me?)
And there are TONS of enemies, but, mainly, traps, in this level. With my "favourite" being those "charming" statues that somehow spit FIREballs at you underWATER. Ah, well, if Mario could get away with that in his first game...
(At least by Sonic 3, they had the fire-shields going out upon contact with water...)
The Scrap Brain Zone.
Tradition: Metallic Fortress.
And just WHAT would a Sonic game be without an evil Mechanical Fortress of Doom level, eh? It would be a lot EASIER, that's what! The Scrap Brain Zone is SO directly a predecessor to the Metropolis Zone that in fanfiction terms, I'm tempted to say they ARE the same place, on the map. (Metropolis would be built out of the Scrap Brain ruins; it would be "Scrap Brain Version 2.0", if you will.) But whatever you call it, this is one NASTY level. Electricity, traps, spikes, gears, pits, rather mean enemies--only this time, the difficulty actually makes SENSE 'cos it IS the very last level, after all. (Not counting the Final Zone, which isn't really a Zone, but we'll get to that in a moment.)
Anyway, this Zone is two Acts of metallic, zapping, smashing torment--and then, strangely enough...a WATER level? Yes, for some reason, at the end, Robotnik decides to be a coward and run out, flooding part of his base as he goes, and let the water do his dirty work for him.
Of course, he should KNOW that it takes more than that to keep Sonic T. Hedgehog down, and before you can say "Buzzbomber", Sonic is right there at his heels for the:
Final Fight.
Of course, this is actually called "The Final ZONE", but I thought the 3-D Blast version of the name made more sense. Because that's what it IS--not a Zone at all, just a fight. In one room. It does look like it's probably a room somewhere in the Scrap Brain base, but other than that, it's not connected to anything...
Anyway, here in a small metal room, Sonic has to beat Robotnik's main machine--with absolutely NO RINGS! Fortunately, there's a trick to it, and once you figure that out, it's fairly easy to beat the Doc, as long as you don't get too nervous. Which leads us to the endings:
Chaos Emeralds and the Special Zone
Yes, like all Sonic games--well, NEARLY all--Sonic the Hedgehog has Chaos Emeralds, a Special Zone, and multiple endings. With one catch this time--there are only SIX Emeralds, and they DON'T give you any powers when you collect them all. (Maybe because you're still missing the seventh?) What a gyp. All that happens is that you get to see the "good" version of the ending--with all the woodland creatures dancing around Sonic in the Green Hill Zone--instead of just Sonic doing his typical "ending pose" at the camera, like in the other ending.
And that's it.
Well, aside from a few rough spots, Sonic the Hedgehog really isn't THAT bad for a first draft. It's true that pretty much all the other games are better--more fun, more variety, and better graphics--but still, ya gotta give credit to the game that started it all. If it wasn't for Sonic 1, we wouldn't have had any of the other games, ever.
And THAT would be a real shame.
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tourists have been stupid enough to attempt to wade through Chaos Theory's long-winded review of Sonic 1 since January 12, 2000. Of course, they all fell unconscious and drowned in the Labyrinth Zone, but hey...