Retro Review: Sonic the Hedgehog (PSN)

The fastest thing alive! 

 Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the most recognizable faces in the gaming industry. His first game, Sonic the Hedgehog, was a smash hit on the Sega Genesis and more successful sequels followed. While he had some bumps along the way with his transition to 3D and dip in quality with games such as Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic '06, his early adventures are still adored to this day. This year marks Sonic's 25th anniversary and to celebrate this occasion, I'm going to cover his adventures on the Genesis, his early 3D games, and the modern ones. So expect this year to be full of Sonic-related content. Let's begin with the game the started it all, Sonic the Hedgehog!

STORY- We follow Sonic as he rescues his animal friends after the evil Dr. Eggman (also known as Dr. Robotnik) captured them to power his machines known as "badniks" in attempt to collect the six chaos emeralds, relics that houses a unique power. It's now up to Sonic to stop free his animal friends and stop Dr. Eggman. Straightforward and simple, the story's mainly there to get Sonic to the next level.  

Sonic battling it out with Eggman.

GAMEPLAY-  Sonic the Hedgehog is a 2D side-scrolling game. You control Sonic as he speeds his way through the game's 7 zones collecting rings and defeating badniks. Each zone consist of three acts and a boss towards the end of the third act. During a level, Sonic will come across gold rings which he can collect, which serve as protection. If an enemy or a hazard touch Sonic, he'll lose all of his rings and you'll have to recollect them before they disappear. Sonic can immediately die if an enemy touches him while not having any rings, resulting in a game over. Fortunately, if Sonic collects 100 rings he'll gain a life. 

Gotta go fast. 

 Additionally, you have 10 minutes to complete a level or it's game over. You'll also have to look out for Badniks and hazards that'll harm you. Thankfully, there various items scattered across the levels that give Sonic some neat abilities such as invincibility, shield, 10 rings, extra speed, and even an extra life. Upon collecting 50 rings, Sonic can enter a level called a "Special Stage" in which he navigates mazes that are on acid to earn himself a chaos emerald. Sonic won't make his Super Sonic appearance after collecting all chaos emeralds until the second game.

PRESENTATION- Sonic the Hedgehog packed some simplistic yet neat visuals on the Sega Genesis. The levels and character designs are filled with bright colors and look good by today's standards. Sonic the Hedgehog packs some catchy and great tracks to listen. My all-time favorite is the iconic Green Hill Zone theme of the first level.

I liked the game's vibrant
presentation.

OVERALL- Sonic the Hedgehog has come a long way ever since he's debut back in 1991. The first holds up surprisingly well. Though some stages can be annoying rather than hard due to certain enemy placements and hazards, I still enjoyed the game. While he certainly some tough bumps in his career with games ranging from excellent to bad. I still love the blue blur and his early adventures. If you're a fan of speedy platformers and haven't played Sonic The Hedgehog, what are you waiting for?

EXCELLENT