Hey there this is a review for Sonic The Hedgehog on the Genesis.

I am actually a huge nerd and a huge fan when it comes to the classic Sonic the Hedgehog games. Mainly because the first console I owned myself was a Sega Mega Drive, which is known as the Genesis in America.. Since then I have pretty much spent the last 20 years enjoying Sonic Games.. Though let's be honest recently they've been a bit lacking in maintaining quality.. Anyway enough about me, let's focus on the game

Graphics
The graphics in Sonic The Hedgehog are actually pretty decent considering it was one of the first games out for the Genesis. The sprites all look amazing and there's not really any huge graphical issues or glitches.. Sonic as the main character always stands out which is vital in a 2D platformer. Also the backgrounds of the levels whilst very basic at times do not distract from the action in the foreground., It just adds more atmosphere to each zone whilst not being overly busy. They also do some neat effects such as slowly morphing birds into fish in the special zones. Which believe it or not was pretty advanced at the time. Overall there's nothing inherently wrong with the graphics at all and everything is clean and easy to spot as well. 

Sound
The sound for Sonic the Hedgehog is also rather good in my opinion, With many of the tracks being memorable. The music fits well with the stage and also due to the nature of the Genesis sound chip (aka the Genesis Twang) It makes some of the levels music sound amazing such as Scrap Brain Zone. The music I would say is usually at a lower tempo than the more recent Sonic Games however.. With the later sonic games there more about fast beats and guitars. Whilst Sonic 1's Soundtrack is relatively relaxing. Overall the Music is great.. But as it's a Sonic game that really shouldn't be that surprising

Addictiveness
Honestly speaking I don't really find Sonic the hedgehog 1 that addictive or replayable. I mean you do have the Chaos Emeralds to collect but as their are only 6 to collect the ability to become Super Sonic does not exist in this version of the game. Also I would say that Sonic the Hedgehog is slightly harder than the next 2 games. Mainly due to the game being based more about solid platforming rather than the speed that later Sonic Games have. Another problem is that there is no multiplayer at all. It's solely a one player game. So after completing the game there's really not much more to offer especially if you complete it and get the chaos emeralds.. Overall Sonic is not really a game that I believe many people will come back to a lot. I think the later 2 games are far better suited for that. 

Story
Honestly Speaking there isn't really much in terms of story.. You simply progress through zones whilst freeing woodland creatures from becoming Badniks. Collecting all the chaos emeralds does give you a different ending but the changes in it are minimal. Essentially just making the Chaos Emeralds over glorified fertilizer. One aspect I do however give credit to Sonic the Hedgehog for is that after defeating the final boss you have the decision of either letting Robotnik Escape, or you can get some slight revenge for animal kind and your woodland friends by jumping on him and slowly watching him crash off screen. It's a relatively small thing.. But it's still a nice little touch to how you want to end the game. Overall as a platformer it has about as much story as you expect. Especially if you compare it to other platformers of it's time. 

Depth
There really isn't much depth to Sonic the Hedgehog at all sadly. Granted it was the first game of many to come. But besides the Chaos Emeralds the game doesn't really have much depth at all. The game itself only has 6 different stages and a final boss.  So it really doesn't take long to complete at all. I will state that it will be more difficult than the later 2 games to complete however. Mainly due to hazards being more prominent and the levels seem to last longer as well. Besides getting a slightly different ending when collecting the chaos emerald.. There's really no "bonus" features either.. It's just a basic solid game.

Difficulty
I would say that Sonic The Hedgehog one is actually pretty hard compared to it's later Genesis counterparts. Especially when you consider that it has potentially one of the most disliked/hardest zones out of the 3 games. Labyrinth Zone. Beside this though most of the stages are pretty simple and easy. Though it does get pretty challenging towards the final stages of the game. Another thing that might throw people off if they are used to playing the later games is that Sonic the Hedgehog 1 is certainly more based around obstacles and traps. The game is more about precision platforming and less about speed than the later 2 releases.. It also has something known as the "spike glitch" Where if you land on spikes.. You don't get a invincibility frames so if you land on them again you will usually lose a life. This was fixed in later versions.. But it can still prove annoying if you accidentally land on spikes... Also the chaos Emeralds are harder to collect as there isn't as many opportunities to get them as the later games. Though the special stages themselves I would say are easier than Sonic 2's but harder than Sonic 3's. Overall it's a pretty moderate game in terms of difficulty.

Overall
This was a solid starting point for the Sonic Franchise. It may not be as entertaining as the later games. But it is still very solid and will still provide entertainment to those who are looking for a bit of nostalgia or to see where Sonic actually started from.. I think the fact that the game is very short and has no multiplayer hinders the game a bit in terms of longevity and replayability, But besides that there is really nothing inherently wrong with the game. It does what it does well. So I would happily suggest this game to people looking for a classic platformer to play..

Finally for the love of god DO NOT PLAY THE GAMEBOY ADVANCE PORT.. IT IS THE WORST VERSION OF A SONIC GAME EVER!

I don't agree with what you have said (Sonic 2 was harder for me, even with the spin dash), but you have said it beautifully. You did keep in mind that it was an early Genesis game and made a few comparisons with other Sonic games, although THESE could have been a little more detail, like mentioning the spin dash - your mention of solo Sonic was good.

Overall a very a solid review.



You gave the needed amount of detali to every category, and unlike some reviews kept in mind the console it was actually on when rating various categories in particular, the graphics and sound. And I like how you compared it to the later games but at the same did it without making it so someone completely new to the series wouldn be confused.



Personally I definietly agree with your point about it being more platforming and less actual speed sections, that's one of the reasons I didn't enjoy it as much as the later games. Not that it's inherently wrong but generally when playing Sonic I like having more speed Still a nice game though.