Sonic the Hedgehog. A platformer released in 1991 on the Genesis, it soon became one of the most popular games on the system. Sonic was also a core element in how Sega briefly began to outdo Nintendo in the markets (but that wouldn't last very long, now would it? ) Anyway, let's get into some features of the game.

There really is no story to speak of, unless you read the manual of course. Dr. Ivo Robotnik has begun kidnapping animals and turning them into robots for his evil plans to rule the world, and it's up to you, Sonic the Hedgehog, a blue hedgehog with spiky hair, epic shoes, and attitude, to rescue all of the animals. Now that that's out of the way, on to what Sonic can do and what he can get.

Sonic can do what pretty much everyone platform character can do, walk/run and jump. But you see, Sonic is all about speed as well. HE can run pretty fast, mainly when running down slopes. TO defeat enemies , you can simply jump on them (except for spike enemies, of course) or you can roll into them by hitting the down button as you run towards them (too bad the Spin Dash isn't here). If you use this rolling technique on a downward slope, you can achieve some massive speed and possibly make it to a few new areas. You can also reach certain platforms and bounce pretty high by using yellow springs, which launch you a good distance, red springs that launch you a great distance, and bouncing on multiple enemies, which earn you points. That doesn't really matter, since the score serves no real use at all in this game.

Along his travels, Sonic will run into some television set-like boxes that contain items in them. First is the Ring Box, which gives you 10 Rings. Rings are essentially your health in this game, because if you run into enemies without rings, you die, so you'll want to hold onto at least one ring. Thankfully, if you're hit while holding rings, you still have a shot at getting them back before they vanish. However, even if you have rings, falling into a bottomless pit or being crushed will lead to death, so watch out for that. You can also get an extra life if you collect every 100 rings you hold on to. Another item are the Speed Shoes. As the music speeds up, Sonic is able to run pretty darn fast. It's pretty awesome, but beware of running into objects at full speed because you didn't see them in time. There's also Invincibility, where you can plow through anything without taking damage. Again, bottomless pits and being crushed are still a threat. Lastly, there's the 1-up box, which gives you an extra life.

To get the "real" ending of this game, you need to get the six chaos emeralds, the ultimate sources of power. To access the special stages, you need to get to the end of the stage with at least 50 rings in hand and jump into the giant ring there. Sonic curls up into a ball, and you'll have to guide him through a "maze" with an incredibly trippy background of morphing shapes and colors. In the special stages are Up panels, which speed up the rotation of the stage, the down panels that slow down the rotation, bumpers, and goal panels. Do not touch the goal panels, or you'll be kicked out of the special stage empty handed. Guide Sonic to the end and you'll see the Emerald surround by a bunch of multi-colored blocks. Rub up against them and they'll eventually disappear one by one, and you'll be able to grab the Emerald. Just remember, you have 10 chances to get the 6 emeralds. You can potentially enter a special stage in every zone except the last zone, so hold on to those rings. Now, lettuce move onto the actual game!

Welcome to Green Hill Zone, a.k.a one of the most iconic Sonic levels ever, probably the most iconic. This level is home to green plains and plants with a nice waterfall usually in the background. Here you will encounter your first enemies; hornets, ladybugs, some weird chameleon like things, and fish that constantly hop out of water. This zone is essentially the tutorial zone of the game, as Act 1 and 2 aren't very hard. Act 1 is just basic enemy killing, platforming, and speed sections among infamous loops. Act 2 is more of the same things with a few more spike hazards throw  into the fray. Act 3 is pretty much the boss level of the zone. After breezing through the bit of level Act 3 has, you meet the fat man himself, Robotnik. Riding in his little Eggmobile, he attempts to demolish you with a wrecking ball that slowly swings back and forth near two platforms. This fight is pretty easy. All you gotta do is hit him about 8 times and he'll explode multiple times, magically heal himself, then fly away. After that, you break the capsule full of animals by hitting the switch on top, and all of them are free. Huzzah! Now, onwards to the second zone. Marble Zone.

Marble zone is essentially the buzzkill of this game. After the awesome speed and platforming of Green Hill Zone, you're reduced to not much speed and a lot of platforming and "puzzle" solving and slow movement. IT's not that bad, but I know many people who put the game down because of this zone. Act 1 starts off outside where you have to jump from platform to platform over lava that spews out fireballs. then you go down into the depths of Marble Zone, where you have to wait for slow-moving obstacles to move away, push blocks onto switches, and ride slow moving blocks across lava. Act 2 is pretty much the same, with more spikes that pop out of the floor and some walls. Act 3 is where we confront Robotnik again. This time he floats back and forth between the two platforms, dropping fireballs that cover all of it. He's really easy, just hit him whenever you can and he goes down in no time.

Next is Spring Yard Zone, a somewhat colorful zone full of bumpers and half-pipes. The only new enemies here are these weird hermit crab things that have spikes on top of them, and these mechanical Sonic wannabes that try to run you down when you run down certain slopes. There are plenty of platforming sections and springs to launch you all over the place as well. Act 1 consists of all of that, plus a few spike ball chain parts. Act 2 is that plus more half pipes that include spike balls circling around them. Act 3 marks Eggman's "dramatic" return. Now he hovers around and tries to impale you with a spike whenever you're directly below him. When going back up with the spike, he'll take a part of the floor with him, so finish him quickly whenever he comes down.

Labyrinth Zone is my least favorite zone in the game. Not only is there water, taking away all of your speed, but there are also drill enemies that pop out of the ground to try and get a cheap hit, enemies with spikes rotating around them, annoying platforming sections involving spikes and spike balls, and the risk of drowning. Don't worry, coming to the surface for air or grabbing a bubble underwater will save you from that. Act 1 is pretty basic and relatively short for the most part, but Act 2 is hard because the platforming sections become a little more annoying. Act 3 has a very different Robotnik fight. He's running from you the entire time, and you have to follow up to the top of this vertical tunnel while avoiding spikes and statues that shoot fire at you. OH, and the water is slowly rising. So good luck with that. Definitely the hardest of all the Robotnik fights. After reaching the top, he simply runs away, and you get to free the animals.

Off to Star Light Zone, a great breather from the previous zone. This zone has plenty of speed in it, with a good amount of loops and slopes. Introduced here are the invincible bombs that detonate whenever you get near them. And there are also turrets that shoot fire and fan that only exist to throw your speed out of whack. Act 1 is pretty much speed and a little platforming, not too hard at all. Act 2 introduces some seesaw platforms where you have to bounce the object on one side up in the air, walk to the side it was just on, and launch yourself.
Act 3 brings us Robotnik once again, this time dropping timed bombs onto three seesaw platforms. To beat him, you can either launch the bombs into him or yourself. Either way, he's no problem at all. Onward to the final three act zone of the game.

Scrap Brain Zone, Robotnik's base, and definitely the hardest zone because of all the tricky platforming and the hazards, such as electric rods, flamethrowers, buzzsaws, pig things that throw bombs at you, conveyor belt things that have platforms that spin, and trap doors. That's pretty much Act 1 in a sentence. Act 2 has these gears you can jump and roll on so you can launch yourself into higher places. Oh, and there are random buzzsaws that can completely suprise you. At the end of this act, we meet with Robotnik....who is blocked off by some shield. HE hits a switch and drops us into Act 3, a.k.a Labyrinth Zone Act 4. Trust me, this zone has the most annoying platforming ever. At the end of this act, there is no boss fight, just a bunch of red springs that will launch you up to.....

The Final Zone. It's just a straight hallway into the final fight with Robotnik. There are four piston things on the floor and ceiling, and two will come down to try and crush you, one with Robotnik in it. Then he'll launch four sparks that home in on you. This final fight isn't hard at all, mainly because those two attacks are slow and easy to see coming. When Eggman appears inside one of the pistons, hit him enough times and the whole contraption will explode as Eggman tries to escape in his Eggmobile. Hit him again and he explodes as he slowly floats down to the bottom of the screen. That's it! The game is over! As for the ending......collect the Chaos Emeralds and find out for yourself.

Onto my official scores now.

Graphics - 9
Everything looks pretty colorful. Definitely one of the best looking games on the Genesis. Labyrinth zone could have used some more color, than other than that, no complaints here.

Sound - 8.5
The soundtrack is fan-tastic. My three favorite themes are Green Hill, Spring Yard, and Star Light Zone. Not the best soundtrack out there in terms of Sonic games, but still good.

Addictive - 7.5
If you can make it through Marble Zone, then you'll probably be hooked for the rest of the game. Although the level designs can get a bit frustrated, you'll find yourself playing this a lot, especially if you have yet to get all of the Chaos Emeralds.

Story - 5
The story isn't much different from other games. It's the same old bad-guy-is-doing-things-and-it's-up-to-you-to-stop-him type of thing.

Depth - 5
There really isn't anything at all outside of the main game. All you can really do is look for better routes on stages.

Difficulty - 5
This game really isn't that hard. Sure, some of the levels can be a pain, but all of the bosses excluding the Labyrinth Zone boss are pathetically easy.

Overall - 8.5
This game is lacking in some areas, and can be a bit frustrating for newcomers, but it's a title I would definitely recommend picking up.
Thanks for reading my review =3 Have an awesome Monday, heh.  

Nice review vizwiz. I can easily see why the game was so popular. I sometimes find myself playing it on my 360 (about 7 years ago I got Sonic Mega Collection plus for me Xbox system and I kept it ever since).

That's a pretty good review vizwiz. Sonic is a great classic back in the early 90's and started the era of SEGA Genesis pretty much. I loved the game, and still do.

This is a really nice review Vizwiz Sonic has a good reputation in the video game community.
I'm glad you liked the game.