What's Blue, Spikey & Fast?...Sonic The Hedgehog! (Sonic 1)

Member Name: loulou22

Product:	Sonic 1
Date:	13/02/06 (395 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fast fun and addictive!

Disadvantages: No Save option

Time for another game review! This time I have decided to review an old classic game known as Sonic the Hedgehog on the Mega Drive.


*** In The Beginning ***

The Sonic phenomenon started way back in the early '90's when Sega first released the Mega Drive and not long after that the hand-held Game Gear. To this day Sonic games are still being released and Sonic is now Sega's best known mascot. Since the first release many Sonic games have been made and released, some a bigger success than others, but all (in my opinion) great!

The review I am writing for you today is about the first ever Sonic game: Sonic the Hedgehog.


*** Who is Sonic? ***

If you don't already know who sonic is then read on, if you do then skip to the next bit! Sonic is a little blue hedgehog who has big superhero powers! He can jump mega heights, run faster then possible, smash through walls and save the world!

Sonics mission is to save the world after it is being threatened by the evil Dr Robotnik who has turned all the woodland creatures into mini robotic animals who are sent out to stop Sonic who has discovered Dr Robotniks plan and must now try to stop him and free all his friends.

There have been a number of Sonic games released, and they are sill being released to this day, he has also had his own TV series and is now available on DVD and Video too!


*** The Game ***

The Sonic the Hedgehog game was released on the Mega Drive. The game was in a box in between DVD and Video box size. The box contained an instruction book and a game cartridge.

The cartridge simply slots into the Mega Drive, then when the Mega Drive is switched on the game will come on straight away. The introduction shows Sonic bouncing across the screen to reveal the Sega logo accompanied by a vocal "Sega", then almost instantly the first screen with Sonic waving his finger to the cheesy but catchy music. The only option at this screen is to press start to instantly begin the game.

The first stage is Greenhill Act 1. The game starts with Sonic standing waiting for you to control him. Controlling him is easy, simply use the directional button to move him and to make him jump press buttons A, B or C. To pause the game press start.

The idea of the game is to work your way through the levels freeing your little woodland friends along your way. To free your friends you need to simply jump on the robot animals which will pop and release your friends. At the end of each zone (3 levels) you will be challenged to defeat Dr Robotnik, each time he will have had time to invent a new machine to kill and protect him from Sonic. To defeat these machines you must jump attack them usually around 8 times until they start exploding and Dr Robotnik moves off with the wreckage, you then proceed ahead to jump on a big metal container containing a load of your trapped animal friends, after doing this you will then proceed to the next Zone and continue to free your friends and save the world from Dr Robotnik.


There are 3 levels to each Zone and as I have never managed to complete the game I am unsure of how many zones there are!

The music in the game is pretty basic but also very catchy! The sound effects are also basic, but still good and add to the appeal of this game.


*** Recommended? ***

Yes! I would defiantly recommend this game. It is easy to play, not so easy to complete so you have a bit of a challenge on your hands! This game is extremely hard to put down, but this is probably partly due to the fact that you cannot save your game and return to it at a later date because back in the Mega Drive days there was no way of saving your game unless the game you were playing had a built in memory chip (not many did!) unfortunately this led to game addictions and hours of game play as you didn't want to have to do everything again!


*** Availability ***

Due to the age of this game you may find it hard to get hold of a copy for the Mega Drive unless you search somewhere like eBay. However if you are the owner of a Playstation 2 or an X Box then you should buy The Sonic Mega Collection as this game is on there!

The price of this game really will vary; I would think it would be anything from the usual eBay 0.99p to a few quid from a games collectors shop. The PS2 and X Box versions are usually £15 - £25.


*** Be Naughty! ***

Just a little naughty note to end on:

If you have the original Mega Drive game and would like access to all of the games levels then use this cheat:

On the start up screen (the one with the catchy music and sonic in the ring) press the following buttons in time with the music to be led to a stage selection screen:

Up, down, left, right, up, down, left, right, then press button 'A' and 'Start' together. If it has worked you will hear a little bell and get to choose your level, if not then keep trying as it does work!


Thanks for reading!

P.S. Dooyoo have this game listed as an Amiga game, but it was never released on the Amiga!

Summary: Great game, a true classic. Very addictive even now!