Console: Mega Drive / Genesis
Cost: 800 Wii Points
The year is 1991, and despite being the market leader in Europe, Sega is getting beaten by Nintendo badly. One advantage Nintendo had was having iconic characters like Mario, Link and Samus, whereas Sega had... Alex Kidd, star of a bunch of mostly average platformers for the Master System. With the company needing a more marketable mascot, and a new console out needing a killer app, Sega ingeniously came up with Sonic, a blue hedgehog with "attitude" who's gimmick is that he's fast, allowing them to show off the Mega Drive's "blast processing" abilities.
The controls couldn't be simpler, so any newcomer should be able to pick and play without much difficulty. The game uses only a d-pad and three buttons which all do the same thing (jump). There's also the ability to roll into a ball if you press down while running, and you can look up and down, but that's it. Of course, because Sonic is meant to be a fast character, the levels are usually have a wide-open design to emphasise this. Unfortunately the PAL version of the game runs slower. Also, there are the requisite water levels. Being underwater slows Sonic to a crawl, as if he were moving through treacle, and requires you to seek out and wait for air bubbles. Coupled with the fact that Sonic can't swim, these levels are not much fun at all.
There are seven 'zones' in total, each split into three 'acts' except the last (which is just the final boss). Sonic squares off against Dr. Robotnik at the end of each third act. This game was not built with saving in mind, so naturally it's not very long, but at least it's sufficiently challenging. It's practically mandatory for platformers to have collectibles, and in this case it's rings. Sonic can survive any damage except being crushed or falling into a bottomless pit as long as he has at least one ring (he should do anyway, there's a glitch in the game that stops temporary invincibility when you fall onto a bed of spikes). Acquiring 100 rings nets you an extra life, and if you finish an act with 50 you can warp to the Special Stage- a weird, revolving maze with a Chaos Emerald at the end. Getting all six Chaos Emeralds gets you the good ending.
The songs here rank alongside those of the Mario series as some of the recognisable tunes in video gaming (such as the legendary Green Hill Zone music). The music tracks are short but catchy, and the sound effects are pretty good too (although the jumping sound can get old after hearing all the time...). Meanwhile, the graphics are pretty good for a game of its age, and while not really showing the system's true potential, it was one of the better looking games from the early Mega Drive days. If Sonic the Hedgehog had anything over its rival Super Mario World, it was the graphics. The backgrounds are nice and detailed, though lacking somewhat when it comes to the variety of colours (the Star Light Zone is possibly the worst example, with the level consisting almost entirely of green, grey, and black). There's also some neat little animations (such as Sonic tapping is foot if you leave the controller idle for a while), and the game mostly handles the speed well, but unfortunately there's the occasional bit of slowdown every now and then to let things down.
Sonic the Hedgehog may lack the depth of the Mario series, but it's just as fun to play. Later games in the series would improve on this game (before the switch to 3D ruined the series), but the original still holds up well. It's not that long, but is challenging enough for the average gamer, and there's multiple routes through many of the levels. It's no surprise that this is the second biggest selling game for the Mega Drive (surpassed only by its sequel), as it is easily one of the best games released for the console.
Graphics: 8/10
Sound: 8/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Lifespan: 5/10
Rating: 8/10
