Sonic the Hedgehog
The danger with any capitalist system is a true monopoly: if a single party has the monopoly in finances, then they are going to maintain said monopoly and what they says goes. The video game industry also flies like this: should a single company have the vast majority of the finances, support and resources, then they could do essentially whatever they want. Nintendo had a majority, technically, during the late 80's and early 90's, but they did have a major competitor on the console market: Sega. Sega had significant resources and some good games, but they just were not able to appeal to the masses with a central character, like Nintendo was doing with Mario.

Then came Sonic.

For the first time, Sega managed to give Nintendo a real punch in the gut, and Sonic the Hedgehog rocketed into the mainstream. The game that was meant to try and rival Mario put up a bitter fight until Sony finally knocked Sega's console market onto it's knees. Nonetheless, Sonic still appears in games to this very day which is testament to his legacy and the fight he put up against Mario and Zelda. Yet, about twenty years later, do the original Sonic the hedgehog game he debuted in hold up?

A first impression makes a huge difference in preparing a flagship character and franchise, so this starts with how the game looks. Visually, the game is still very colorful to this day. A very bright character for a generally bright game. The visuals are 16 bit so they generally are superior to Mario's 8 bit counterpart (Though Sega also had a sonic game on the Master System). Even for 16 bit, they are fairly well done and it is clear that Sega put a lot of effort into making this an appealing game to look at. The areas are divided into a few possibly zones, and each major zone got a different theme to it. For an arcade game, the visuals are very good, with fairly fluid animation even for the console's standards. As well, the images were perfect for both children and adults, with a colorful style for children but not so much as to turn parents away either. Overall it is excellent. The sound department isn't as good though, but it still works. The key thing with the audio is that, like many games following similar tones, is that it is bright. Just like all video games with generally bright sound tracks, it follows the same advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is mainly that it gets the player into an almost adventurous mood, but the disadvantage is tolerance. This is applied to both the music and sound effects. 

The story...is virtually non-existent in the video game. The basic premise is that Dr. Robotnic is threatening the zones with his robotic creations and Sonic has to stop his industrial movement. While this would be expanded in later games and other media (Like most of the cartoons and ) What must still be considered is that this is an Arcade game, and the story don't matter nearly as much as the game play does. As well, it's direct competition still stuck to it's save the princess formula despite already having several games to develop it further, so for the time it can't be criticized. 

The game play is side scrolling at high velocities to reach the end of the level. To quote the Nostalgia Critic, he "Has weapons of mass acceleration." the levels are a lot larger proportionately than some of it's contemporaries, and it set the bar for future games following a similar style. The basic idea is to race towards the end of the stage before the timer hits 10 minutes. Every few stages, there would be a boss battle with Dr. Robotnic. The player runs across the stages collecting rings, and these rings acts as a shield of sorts. Should the player get hit by an enemy or hit some spikes without any rings, they lose a life and go back to the last checkpoint (a lamp post). If they have any rings, then the attack blasts all the rings out of the player, saving them from death. Since the rings flashes on screen for a brief moment, it is technically possible take a lot of abuse provided the player collects at least one ring before they fade away. Sonic will also be able to break mechanical blocks where inside a shield is waiting where sonic is immune to any an all damage. This is useful for the more hazardous areas and is recommended in grabbing whenever it can safely be done. As well, these blocks may also hold 10 rings which helps the player out a lot. Why? Sega took influence from games like Mario and designed Sonic so that this blue hedgehog will gain an extra life with every hundred rings. As well, building up rings enables the player to perform a bonus stage at the end of some "acts" or levels to try and get a Chaos emerald. This is an extra incentive to play the game well, and actually try to collect the rings.

The game play works fairly well overall, but the big issue is due to being the genesis of the series. Some issues that transpire from being the first primarily has to do with building up speed. In later games, the easiest way to go faster is stay stationary and charge up a charge of sorts to make more difficult jumps. However, this first game didn't have that and the player would be required to go back a distance to build up momentum. While this is realistic, it is incredibly annoying, particularly in later stages when the player may be pressed for time. As well, while sonic is incredibly fast, he absolutely can not go fats all the time or otherwise will die due to unforeseen traps. In all fairness, this is true with most games that are 2D in design, so it isn't so much of a flaw as a minor irritation to impatient humans. Nonetheless, the game play is largely solid and works well for both kids and adults as the controls are straightforward, and the game play is simple on the whole.

This does not mean the game is too easy. The difficulty is classic late 80's early 90's video game difficulty, but it is still not outrageous. It follows the formula of "start easy, grow more difficult as one progresses"  instead of doing what "The Legend of Zelda II" did with having sporadic difficulty. This helps immensely to get players in and keep them in to overcome the challenges. This also helps replay value, as players can try to compete faster with higher scores and not be completely bored in the later stages.

To conclude, how does this game hold up? It has its flaws associated with being the genesis of a series, yet it is still playable. It is generally recommended to stick to its sequels 2 and 3, or find one of the PC compilation packs that has several games in one, but it wouldn't do any psychological damage to revisit this title, or visit it for the first time to see how the series may have started. The 3D games may be questionable in quality, but this 2D title is not. 
  Graphics 10   Sound 7   Addictive 9   Depth 7   Difficulty 6

Overall 9.2    Graphics 8.4    Sound 8.9    Addictive 8.2    Story 6.7    Depth 7.1    Difficulty 6.4

It all starts with this!   Itachi9695
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Sonic 2 Month! This month I'll be reviewing all of the console main...
  Graphics 9   Sound 10   Addictive 9   Story 7   Depth 8   Difficulty 7
      Review Rating: 5/5     Submitted: 11-03-12     Review Replies: 0

the beginning of greatness   winjorlose
   Hey guys this is codythekid1993 here with Nostalgia 2.0 and 2guysandtheirgame...
  Graphics 9   Sound 10   Addictive 10   Story 8   Depth 8   Difficulty 6
      Review Rating: 4.7/5     Submitted: 03-11-13     Review Replies: 4

Sonic the Hedgehog   vizwiz123
Sonic the Hedgehog. A platformer released in 1991 on the Genesis, it soon became one of the most pop...
  Graphics 9   Sound 9   Addictive 8   Story 5   Depth 6   Difficulty 4
      Review Rating: 4.6/5     Submitted: 01-09-12     Review Replies: 3

“The game that gave Nintendo some tough competition”   sonicthehedgeho..
(Mario) - *Jumps and gets a mushroom* Wha-hoo.  (Mario) *Looks behind himself & see’s...
  Graphics 8   Sound 10   Addictive 8   Story 10   Depth 8   Difficulty 8
      Review Rating: 4.6/5     Submitted: 05-15-13     Updated: 06-17-13     Review Replies: 4

The Beginning of a Sonicboom   Semagorter
Sonic the Hedgehog 1 practically changed gaming forever, even if the game itself isn't all that revo...
  Graphics 9   Sound 10   Addictive 5   Story 6   Depth 5   Difficulty 7
      Review Rating: 4.5/5     Submitted: 10-08-13     Review Replies: 3

Very great game for the Sega Genesis   IgorBird122
This game, Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis became a very great game for the system and reall...
      Review Rating: 4.4/5     Submitted: 07-02-13     Updated: 07-15-14     Review Replies: 5

A start of a legend   theironhide
Hey guys, Theironhide here and I'm going to review the original Sonic the hedgehog for the Sega Gene...
  Graphics 8   Sound 8   Addictive 8   Story 4   Depth 6   Difficulty 7
      Review Rating: 4.3/5     Submitted: 05-20-14     Review Replies: 1

Sonic The Hedgehog Review   XxEzraxX
Sonic the Hedgehog was my very first plat former game, and I must say I was not disappointed. I love...
  Graphics 9   Sound 9   Addictive 10   Story 4   Depth 7   Difficulty 5
      Review Rating: 4.3/5     Submitted: 12-20-12     Review Replies: 4

GOTTA GO FAST GOTTA GO FAST oh wait hit athe side of a spring   ThanatosUnraveld
Its sanic the hoghedge and  its his very first game all the way back on the Sega Genesis, so we...
  Graphics 8   Sound 10   Addictive 6   Story 2   Depth 5   Difficulty 4
      Review Rating: 4.3/5     Submitted: 04-24-15     Review Replies: 13

Sonic the Hedgehog   Redrunelord
An official staff review...
  Graphics 10   Sound 7   Addictive 9   Depth 7   Difficulty 6
      Review Rating: 4.2/5     Submitted: 11-24-11     Updated: 11-24-11     Review Replies: 0

Sonic The Hedgehog on the Sega Genesis!   Stevie 764
Here is a review of the original classic Sonic The Hedgehog game for the Sega Genesis. How to pla...
      Review Rating: 4.1/5     Submitted: 05-31-12     Updated: 08-15-12     Review Replies: 8

Blue streak. Speeds by.   Azul Fria
OVERVIEW   The very first Sonic the Hedgehog game to bless the fans of the Sega Genesis and wit...
  Graphics 8   Sound 9   Addictive 10   Story 7   Depth 6   Difficulty 3
      Review Rating: 4/5     Submitted: 08-31-16     Review Replies: 0

Tyri Reviews Sonic 1   RavusRat
Hey there this is a review for Sonic The Hedgehog on the Genesis. I am actually a huge nerd and a h...
  Graphics 9   Sound 9   Addictive 5   Story 4   Depth 5   Difficulty 6
      Review Rating: 4/5     Submitted: 07-04-15     Review Replies: 2

Sonic the Hedgehog review   G@mehe@d
Sonic the Hedgehog, was released on June 23, 1991 for the Sega Genesis/ Mega Drive. The game ha...
      Review Rating: 3.9/5     Submitted: 06-15-12     Updated: 08-09-12     Review Replies: 2

Our quick blue hero's very first adventure, Now reviewed by yours truely, RedHotToddy.   RedHotToddy
In the world of video games, we have these guys called mascots, These are the guys who are the main ...
  Graphics 9   Sound 9   Addictive 9   Story 7   Depth 8   Difficulty 7
      Review Rating: 3.8/5     Submitted: 09-05-13     Review Replies: 4

A game that gave Mario a run for its money (literally)   NinjaX
Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the first games I've ever played (the very first on the classical Sega ...
      Review Rating: 3.8/5     Submitted: 05-15-13     Updated: 05-19-13     Review Replies: 0

Blast away at super sonic speed!   Dante0
SONIC BOOM! (No not that Sonic Boom that one sucks.)...
  Graphics 9   Sound 8   Addictive 6   Story 5   Depth 7   Difficulty 7
      Review Rating: 3.7/5     Submitted: 03-25-14     Updated: 05-13-15     Review Replies: 4

Sonic makes the leap in the 16-bits world   janus
Like his buddies (arch enemies?) on Nintendo, Sonic was bound to make the jump to his respective 16...
  Graphics 8   Sound 8   Addictive 7   Story 3   Depth 8   Difficulty 7
      Review Rating: 3.5/5     Submitted: 04-27-15     Review Replies: 1

This Put Sega On The Map   tyranit
Hey guys, Tyranit here with a review of the original Sonic the Hedgehog. This game was created to go...
  Graphics 7   Sound 9   Addictive 8   Story 3   Depth 5   Difficulty 6
      Review Rating: 3.3/5     Submitted: 12-29-15     Review Replies: 1

Sonic the Hedgehog   Crazylad
Sonic 1 is an awesome game, from speeding around Green Hill Zone to drowning in Labyrinth hell, it's...
  Graphics 8   Sound 7   Addictive 8   Story 7   Depth 7   Difficulty 5
      Review Rating: 3.3/5     Submitted: 10-24-14     Review Replies: 2

Sonic the hedgehog review by 98Gamingstar   98Gamingstar
This game is one of my favourite retro games of all time. I always seem to end up completing it even...
  Graphics 5   Sound 9   Addictive 10   Story 7   Depth 5   Difficulty 5
      Review Rating: 3.2/5     Submitted: 09-21-13     Review Replies: 2

Sonic the Hedgehog   mike345
Sonic the Hedgehog was one of the first games I played it is a really good game and I'd recommend it...
  Graphics 10   Sound 10   Addictive 7   Story 9   Depth 9   Difficulty 7
      Review Rating: 3.1/5     Submitted: 08-21-11     Review Replies: 4

love sonic   laghidantonios
" This game is impossible to finish" it was what i used to say when i was young! I played it every d...
  Graphics 9   Sound 9   Addictive 10   Story 5   Depth 9   Difficulty 7
      Review Rating: 3.1/5     Submitted: 12-24-14     Review Replies: 1

This is what it started it all...2!   benmario69
HI! I'm here again with Sonic the Hedgehog! Here are the ratings: Graphics:10/10:The Sega Genesis a...
  Graphics 10   Sound 10   Addictive 7   Story 9   Depth 8   Difficulty 8
      Review Rating: 3/5     Submitted: 04-06-12     Review Replies: 6

Sonic the Hedgehog Review   dazzsheil
Back in 1991, Mario was all the rage. Until one fateful day in the fall of that year. SEGA's Mega Dr...
  Graphics 10   Sound 10   Addictive 6   Story 4   Depth 8   Difficulty 6
      Review Rating: 3/5     Submitted: 04-06-12     Review Replies: 9

Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis   luigi25
Sonic the Hedgehog was released for the Sega Genesis in the summer of 1991. I never grew up with th...
  Graphics 10   Sound 10   Addictive 10   Story 6   Depth 7   Difficulty 6
      Review Rating: 3/5     Submitted: 11-06-15     Updated: 12-02-18     Review Replies: 1

Belated Sonic Week Finale StH Review   Nincompoco
Yesterday was the end of Sonic Week... who cares I never made a finale :P and the week will end off ...
  Graphics 8   Sound 8   Addictive 9   Story 6   Depth 8   Difficulty 7
      Review Rating: 3/5     Submitted: 11-11-13     Review Replies: 5

Sonic The Hedgehog Review!   deathding
Oh boy, I've wanted to tackle this game for a while! So Sonic The Hedgehog is one of the most famous...
  Graphics 10   Sound 10   Addictive 9   Story 8   Depth 9   Difficulty 8
      Review Rating: 3/5     Submitted: 08-03-14     Updated: 08-05-14     Review Replies: 4

Oh my god.... oh my god...   the protoman
Llllllllllll..... Oh wait, it's not time yet. Only a few more minutes. Okay. Ladies and gentleman, b...
  Graphics 8   Sound 8   Addictive 7   Story 7   Depth 9   Difficulty 10
      Review Rating: 3/5     Submitted: 07-29-14     Review Replies: 5

Sonic   Harley3651
   Not much can be said about Sega's first Sonic game that hasn't already been said both ...
  Graphics 9   Sound 10   Addictive 5   Story 6   Depth 4   Difficulty 5
      Review Rating: 3/5     Submitted: 08-15-18     Review Replies: 1

Gotta go fast! Sonic x or something   becerra95
Sonic the hedgehog for the Sega genesis. ...
  Graphics 9   Sound 8   Addictive 8   Story 8   Depth 7   Difficulty 7
      Review Rating: 3/5     Submitted: 07-04-23     Review Replies: 1

Sonic the Hedgehog   ross4587
This is, without question, one of the most popular Sonic the Hedgehog games on Vizzed, and maybe one...
  Graphics 9   Sound 9   Addictive 8   Story 9   Depth 9   Difficulty 8
      Review Rating: 2.8/5     Submitted: 03-10-13     Review Replies: 1

Reasons why I love this game   EricCartmen
1. Amazing controls They feel awesome no matter what version of this game your playing on that does...
  Graphics 10   Sound 10   Addictive 10   Story 10   Depth 10   Difficulty 10
      Review Rating: 2.8/5     Submitted: 07-15-14     Review Replies: 3

Sonic 1 review   Jynx
Oh boy, it's the first Sonic game! Man this game is awesome. How can you not love this game. OK, I c...
  Graphics 8   Sound 9   Addictive 8   Depth 7   Difficulty 5
      Review Rating: 2.8/5     Submitted: 07-10-13     Review Replies: 6

sonic the hegehog review   ray12345
Sega wanted to make a game that would sell like Mario so they made sonic the hedgehog.  Graphic...
  Graphics 7   Sound 8   Addictive 9   Story 10   Depth 9   Difficulty 7
      Review Rating: 2.6/5     Submitted: 12-31-13     Review Replies: 5

Sonic the Hedgehog is Amazing!!!   SutibunKoria
Sonic the Hedgehog is a classic. You running around as the Blue Blur was always an amazing experienc...
  Graphics 9   Sound 10   Addictive 10   Story 9   Depth 7   Difficulty 8
      Review Rating: 2.3/5     Submitted: 07-07-13     Review Replies: 5

sonic the hedgehog   kanta
Well sonic team did a good job on their first game. The graphics great around.ItSe sound i...
  Graphics 8   Sound 9   Addictive 9   Story 7   Depth 6   Difficulty 4
      Review Rating: 2.3/5     Submitted: 03-04-13     Review Replies: 3

Sonic the hedgehog(16-bit(Genesis)) review   supersonicracin..
The game that started the Series of that blue speedy,Careless hedgehog,Sonic the hedgehog for the Se...
  Graphics 8   Sound 8   Addictive 10   Story 5   Depth 7   Difficulty 9
      Review Rating: 2/5     Submitted: 06-18-12     Review Replies: 2

Sonic's 1st steps into the video game world.   Dr_fronkensteen
Ah Sonic the hedgehog. A classic, the 1st 16 bit masterpiece. If you haven't played this game, play ...
  Graphics 2   Sound 8   Addictive 10   Story 6   Depth 5   Difficulty 3
      Review Rating: 2/5     Submitted: 07-27-13     Updated: 07-28-13     Review Replies: 7

And thus Sega became legit   classgame
Sonic the Hedgehog for Genesis review...
  Graphics 10   Sound 10   Addictive 7   Story 8   Depth 10   Difficulty 6
      Review Rating: 2/5     Submitted: 01-08-22     Review Replies: 0

Sonic The Hedgehog Reveiw   hackerman
this is an incredible game it was hard for me to stop although the bosses were a bit to easy and at ...
  Graphics 9   Sound 8   Addictive 10   Story 7   Depth 7   Difficulty 7
      Review Rating: 1.8/5     Submitted: 11-28-10     Updated: 04-21-11     Review Replies: 0

sonic 1   grantmah
If your just getting into the sonic series I would recommend this one for you to try first you get u...
  Graphics 7   Sound 10   Addictive 8   Story 5   Depth 4   Difficulty 7
      Review Rating: 1.6/5     Submitted: 06-26-12     Review Replies: 2

Config Mode

There is a code called control mode, which is required before activating this code.

To activate control mode, press UP, C, DOWN, C, LEFT, C, RIGHT, C at the title screen, but before pressing start to begin the game, press and hold A as you hit start. Now, rather than just being in control mode, you can enable config mode by pressing button B.

Sonic will morph into a ring, and the arrows can move him anywhere, even in the air, or through obstacles such as walls, floors, or even ceilings {GREAT FOR TELEPORTING!}.

You can change the item Sonic appears as by hitting A while in config mode. Button B makes Sonic normal again, and button C will place the sprite that you have selected for Sonic to appear as. For example, you press B, and Sonic becomes a ring, press C to make a ring appear exactly where the ring icon is.

WARNING!: This will distort several different things, such as the score, time, and other various icons throughout the game such as the finish sign at the end of the first two acts of each zone that spins when Sonic shoots past them, and the small score icons that appear whenever Sonic jumps high enough after finishing a level. That is all I have noticed in my time playing the game, but there could be more out there yet. The game is still quite playable this way, so it should not hurt you.

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