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Post by Arch on Jul 27, 2011 8:57:11 GMT
Sooo, we've now seen and largely ignored the 20th birthday of Sonic the Hedgehog, so I thought I'd take the chance to play through my entire Sonic collection (pfft, like I need an excuse), partly out of torturous needs to satisfy myself, but also to see which games are better. And there's not much else goin' on. (Despite it being done to death) It's time for lots of reviews! but you can do your own, too, k?Sonic the Hedgehog, 1991 - Mega Drive The original, but by no means the best. “Sonic 1” kick-started the Sonic phenomenon and ensured that kids and adults alike would be splashing out on the hedgehog (ew, bad image) for years to come. And why not? It's a revolutionary game, but one that doesn't always stand the test of time when set next to the other 'classics' of the series. 'Sonic the Hedgehog' is as simple as you can get; one playable character faces off against one obvious villain in an attempt to save his inexplicably fluffy little friends. Race through nineteen levels, give the villain one more kick up the jacksie and watch as Sonic grows some flowers. Simples. It's a lot more fun than it sounds, though, as almost all of you surely know. The thrill of building up speed and tearing through varied levels, whilst also getting the chance to uncover new secrets and explore zones was a real treat. Sonic 1 really did the exploration well and I'm always taking new routes (or combining old ones) and surprising myself that I still don't know my way around some levels (Labyrinth Zone, for instance). That might not entirely be a good thing – 20 years on and I still haven't got to grips with it – but it's real a positive compared to some of “Sonic 2's” linear paths. The zones themselves are a good introduction to some of the themes you're going to have get to get used to in this series – green area? Check. Lethal Lava Land? Oh yes. Even the customary pinball world is supposed to be introduced here, but I'm not really a fan of Spring Yard Zone in the slightest and no awkwardly-placed bumpers are going to convince me otherwise. The variety seems to run dry towards the end and colours just get unremarkably duller, venturing from the fairly bright underground Labyrinth into the night time of Star Light and further through the gloomy Scrap Brain. Although the levels are actually fun and distract you from the limited range of ideas, there's no getting away from the fact that the next two or three Mega Drive games in the series were much more balanced. Sonic One more often than not is just an extreme case of tedium and you usually have to question why you're playing this over one of its superior offspring. Sure, it's a starting point on a playthrough of the series and you can have a blast at times, but just hurry on through it and let's get to the good parts.
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Post by patches on Jul 27, 2011 9:14:26 GMT
I've never really played Sonic One... the first Sonic game we ever got was Sonic 2, and I don't think it ever occured to us to go backwards in a series! I never got to play Sonic 3 properly on the megadrive though, which I kind of regret in a way- I think having been designed for the megadrive, the games don't play as well on other types of platform. This could just be me though...
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Post by Arch on Jul 27, 2011 9:22:04 GMT
Sonic 2 was my first game too, I don't think I played the first one 'til after S3&K, so it was kind of a big step back. Glad I had it though...meant I got to play Blue Sphere with lock-on...
Just realised, forgot to mention the special stages. FFFFFUUU- They're alright.
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Post by madhair60 on Jul 27, 2011 10:54:21 GMT
Everybody hates on Spring Yard Zone and loves Star Light Zone. It's like backwards world.
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Post by ShayMay on Jul 27, 2011 10:56:58 GMT
I like both, but Star Light is a bit short.
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Post by Beeth on Jul 27, 2011 11:00:07 GMT
I find Star Light to be a good level for speedrunning, as an alternative to Green Hill. I like gunning for sub-30 second times when playing it.
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Post by madhair60 on Jul 27, 2011 11:01:00 GMT
Star Light is the main reason I never finish Sonic 1 anymore, it's just so dull.
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Post by The Shad on Jul 27, 2011 11:06:52 GMT
The variety seems to run dry towards the end and colours just get unremarkably duller, venturing from the fairly bright underground Labyrinth into the night time of Star Light and further through the gloomy Scrap Brain. That's the point, as you progress, you're moving further from an ecological wonderland to a technological nightmare. Less natural, more pollution.
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Post by Juliett. Bravo. Alfa. on Jul 27, 2011 11:09:28 GMT
The music on Star Light is better.
And Spring Yard had some slightly awkward parts. (the pits where you have to spin attack to build momentum and escape.
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Post by ShayMay on Jul 27, 2011 11:11:31 GMT
That's the point, as you progress, you're moving further from an ecological wonderland to a technological nightmare. Less natural, more pollution. Reflected in the fact that the original order was supposed to go Green Hill -> Labyrinth -> Marble -> Spring Yard -> Star Light -> Scrap Brain, which does pretty much go from natural -> mechanical. They decided Labyrinth was too hard to be the second Zone and so they changed it. I always get put off Sonic 1 by the Marble Zone. Green Hill is a good introduction, Spring Yard is great fun, Labyrinth is a more thoughtful level (I never found it insanely difficult), Star Light is a bit... short and unremarkable, but fun enough to race through (it really feels like it should be the second Zone or something), and Scrap Brain is a great final Zone. But Marble Zone is testicle-tinglingly tedious, imo. I'm all for a bit of platforming, but a lot of it just seems to be standing around waiting for things to happen. AND THOSE [censored]ING CATERKILLERS, MAN
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Post by Beeth on Jul 27, 2011 11:36:09 GMT
I can't be the only person who thinks of "Music To Watch Girls By" when they play through the Marble Zone? The very first time I played this game and got to this level, this is the tune its theme reminded me of, and it has done ever since.
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Post by Baron Canier on Jul 27, 2011 11:41:11 GMT
The second level of most older Sonic games seem to turn people away: people view Marble Zone as too fiddly or too slow, Chemical Plant Zone is too harsh, Flying Battery too confusing. Really the only one - at least in my experience - that doesn't cause people to just drop the [censored]ing game like a sack of bricks is Hydrocity. It's an odd pattern.
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Post by ShayMay on Jul 27, 2011 11:50:05 GMT
The second level of most older Sonic games seem to turn people away: people view Marble Zone as too fiddly or too slow, Chemical Plant Zone is too harsh, Flying Battery too confusing. Really the only one - at least in my experience - that doesn't cause people to just drop the [censored]ing game like a sack of bricks is Hydrocity. It's an odd pattern. For me, Chemical Plant is easily the best Zone in Sonic 2. It's fast, it's exciting, yet it never feels like you're just watching Sonic go through the motions for too long at a time. The music is brilliant and the aesthetic is bright and iconic, and doesn't seem garish for it. Those who moan about the platforming section near the end should stand in the corner and think about what they've done - it's a tense, fun, game-defining moment. Hydrocity is pretty much one continuous orgasm and I always thought Flying Battery was pretty popular. I love it, anyway.
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Post by Beeth on Jul 27, 2011 11:58:10 GMT
Chemical Plant Zone isn't all that bad, I found it manageable enough. I'd say that's probably the Pombar influence at work. Marble Zone is a rather slow zone which seemed to focus on platforming skill rather than speed, but it was a pretty memorable and fun level overall, I think it was in the right place to bring a balance of variety. And Flying Battery, to be fair, was meant to be the fifth or sixth zone in a larger game before it was split into two parts.
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Post by Alex on Jul 27, 2011 11:58:42 GMT
Flying Battery has kick ass music, the 'leccy shield and that awesome mini-boss. Anyone that hates on it needs to just stop playing video games. Like, 15 years ago.
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Post by Baron Canier on Jul 27, 2011 12:00:10 GMT
I've no real problem with any of them. Marble Zone can be a bit slow at times, but eeh. I was referring to what, in my experience, tends to turn away those who aren't all that familiar with the series: we can breeze through Chemical Plant with ease, but lots of folks I've spoken to got too distressed/frustrated by the platforming and the sea of murderous megamack to give it more than a couple of tries.
Edit: I also [censored]ing adore Flying Battery.
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Post by Arch on Jul 27, 2011 12:18:53 GMT
I can't be the only person who thinks of "Music To Watch Girls By" when they play through the Marble Zone? The very first time I played this game and got to this level, this is the tune its theme reminded me of, and it has done ever since. I will from now on! My gripe about Spring Yard is how slow and not challenging the vertical shafts filled with moving platforms are. The ones you have to wait a while before you can move up to the next step, since going too fast will get you crushed. An interesting idea, but I try my best to avoid them. Not a fan of Star Light that much either. Too many pits compared with other levels, too many indestructible Badniks. In fact, [censored] this game!
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Post by Tom J on Jul 27, 2011 12:21:05 GMT
If that's the song I think it is, then I'd thought that too. It's annoying.
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Post by Nam on Jul 27, 2011 13:59:22 GMT
More than it's other megas-drive sequals, Sonic 1 really shows it's age as you play it. I don't personally suffer too much from missing the Spin Dash, but you can see that this is a game where they designed the levels without overly thinking about how the game itself played. Marble Zone in particular really suffers from being really generic, and doesn't show off any individual characteristic that would show what makes Sonic stand out from any other character. Mario could easily play through marble zon, without any dificulty, bar maybe a couple of the pushing sections, something he couldn't feasably do in any other level without engine changes.
Spring Yard is probably the most tedious level. it's so bland, garish, and full of obnoxiously simple traps that slow the game to a crawl as you stop and wait for everything to come at you as you need it.
Also Scrap Brain doesn't stand up well either. Act three is a rehash of Labyrinth, which is just lazy, and there's one too many bottomless pits in it to be really fun. Nice level idea, certainly befitting of a final stage, but one too many cheap obstacles and whatnot.
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Post by L. T. Dangerous on Jul 27, 2011 15:00:08 GMT
Sonic 1 is a great game and, if we're honest, one of the best on the Mega Drive. It's just not the best Sonic game on the Mega Drive and of the three main MD adventures it's the weakest. In terms of laying the foundation for the rest of the series, Sonic 1 did a sterling job, there wasn't a lot there (if anything) in terms of the engine that needed changing. The physics are great, Sonic is responsive and momentum being a key to the level design is great. Green Hill Zone is a pretty great start to the game, it's obviously the most iconic Zone in the series. Good music, a highly memorable boss, some solid level design. Fun. Marble Zone slows the pace to a ball-aching crawl, though. Marble is one of the least enjoyable Zone in the game and it's a shame it's level two. Also, it's ocassionally brutal, particularly with enemy placement, and punishes you often. Boss is quite pants. Music is good. Spring Yard Zone is vibrant and quite colourful, though it has some annoying sections that restrict your movement (why are those moving boxes even there? They kill the game's pace stone dead). Bumpers are annoying too. Music is ace. Boss is quite cool though it's a familiar style of boss battle by now. Labyrinth is the Zone that keeps me from coming back for more. Sonic 2 and 3 had much, much better water levels than this, so it's not even the water gimmick that upsets me. It's just so slow and dull. Boss is, of course, non-existant. It's possible to beat Robotnik, sure, but why risk rebounding down the pit and dying? Star Light is fast and fun to play, but so boring to look at. The music is great but, since it's almost a lullaby, while it fits the level it doesn't exactly hype you up. The boss, however, is incredibly fun. Scrap Brain is hard, punishing, sometimes completely [censored]ing unfair and just horrible. Also horrible to look at. Act 3 is lazy level design beyond belief. No boss. Music is pretty okay, Sega seem to think so anyway. Final Zone is hard as teeth...... the first time you play it. Once you've figured it out, it's just a long, long boss fight. And the Special Stages range from cool to arse, mostly due to the lack of control one has over Sonic, making most losses unfair. While I've slagged off the aesthetics of the game, it is worth pointing out that it's still a brilliant game. It's just one that the sequels did better. Also Sonic 1 on Game Gear is better. Come the EFF at me, bro.
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Post by Samface on Jul 27, 2011 15:17:56 GMT
Marble and Labyrinth can naff off, but the other zones range from good to...well, maybe not great, but very good. /isaiditsoit'safact
Also, people like Hydrocity? The hell? [censored] that noise.
Chemical Plant and Flying Battery are both great (although it took me a fair old while to crack the latter).
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Post by Alex on Jul 27, 2011 15:34:24 GMT
Also Sonic 1 on Game Gear is better. You're wrong, but only because the GameGear port sucks. The original Master System game, however, is brilliant, and definitely hits more high notes than its Mega Drive counterpart. Jungle Zone = <3.
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Post by Nam on Jul 27, 2011 16:19:35 GMT
Also, people like Hydrocity? The hell? [censored] that noise. Hydrocity has, amongst other things going for it, great music, fantastic aesthetics, brilliant enemy placement (there are parts where it looks like you will get killed if you stop for how many enemies are coming at you, yet none of them are actually in any position to stop you - shallow cutsceneness maybe, but it adds to that overall Sonic feel), genuinely good bosses that are just right for there place in the game (neither can outright kill you unless you really suck, but they're no walk in the park to defeat either), and the water is actually not annoying, some of it being skippable if you go fast enough, and with good air placement. Even without a bubble shield, I don't think I have ever once drowned in Hydrocity like I have in many other water zones.
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Post by Samface on Jul 27, 2011 16:25:24 GMT
I'll give you most of the other stuff, even if I don't agree with it, 'cos I can see where you're coming from (and it has to be said I do like the bosses, especially act 2's), but "fantastic aesthetics"? It's one of the dullest, most visually uninspired zones I've ever come across!
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Post by Nam on Jul 27, 2011 16:34:40 GMT
but it's so pretty. it's like a more colourful version of Labyrinth Zone, with lots of twisty aquaducts, beutifully drawn backgrounds, and loads of little details that are absent from other levels, simply because there either plant life, ice crystals, or a generic Robotnik place. The sheer mass of contrasting purple against the more dulled orangey-biege is only highlighted by the randomly placed coloured bricks. It's pleasing to look at, admirable should you stop, but also not distracting if you don't. Sure, it's a little cliched, flooded ruins had been done three times before, and yes, it's probably not the prettiest level in Sonic 3 alone, I find it's understated, yet eye catching approach quite good.
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