I just beat Sonic 1 and 2 this week. Here is what I think.

Well I just finished Sonic 1 and 2 and I can see now why these games were so popular as a kid when I didn't understand design concepts. The difference between the first and second are significant, but the second makes innovations that the first one didn't have. That's what sequels are supposed to do. Anyways I'm going to discussing what I thought about the games on there own merit, as well as compare the difference between the two. Let's Go!

Sonic the Hedgehog

Well I must say that Sonic the Hedgehog was a great game. It was in a time where Mario dominated the platforming genre, and brought something new and unique to the Sega Genesis. A mascot who is kid friendly, a challenging game, and levels that made you feel like you are traversing through the challenges that it brings you. The enemy designs, even though generic at times, were pretty good, and compared to Mario, the boss battles were way more involved instead of jumping on a koopa three times to go to the next level.

The only real gripe I have with the game is that the platforming would slow down to a crawl sometimes, as I feel that some of the level design made you wait to get to certain spots that you can't get quickly through. Especially the water zones. I HATE THOSE ZONES! You pretty much slow down to a crawl and hope you don't mess up on platforming or you going to get hit by an enemy and fall back down to the bottom of the level. You better hope you have some air bubbles down at the bottom or you going to start that zone over again.

I give the game credit though. It makes you feel accomplished when you get past each level. That is what a game should do. It should make you feel like, "Hell Yea! I just passed the shit out of this level." Only to find out that you got the next level which is harder, which is a good thing. It makes you feel like you beat this level with your current skill, and here is a next level that will test that skill and make you acquire more skill in the process. When I beat Dr. Robtnik (Or was it Eggman in this game?), I felt satisfied that I got through the game. Sure the game was short once you really look at it, but back then not many kids could brag about beating Sonic. It was a tough game. I sure as hell didn't beat it when I had the game. I just enjoyed the fact that I had the game and was trying to beat it. Somewhere along the line I just gave up, snatched the game on the console, through it down on the ground and started to get my Office Space on.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Now Sonic 2 was a big incremental jump from the first one. Everything seemed more fluid, the pace was faster, the stages you had to run through were shorter, and you had more of them to complete. Also it seemed to make some cohesive sense as your not just passing through random stages. Your starting on the ground chasing Eggman (I'm just going to consider it's Eggman right now) and each level you are trying to stop him, until you reach the final stage which is in space. Talk about an epic journey.

Well as with Sonic 1, I do have some minor gripes, but none of them effected me from completing the game. For example, where the hell did Tails originate from? I for one, back as a kid, didn't know there was lore on Sonic. So when I saw this yellow fox accompanying me on missions, I'm like, "Why the hell are you here?" I believe they just added him to have a flying scene in sonic where you stand on the plane that he is flying, but after that scene you don't see your buddy again. You are on your own, and have to fight the final battle by yourself.

Well that's really my only gripe. Sonic 2 did everything right on improving the formula it had, and made you feel like the total speedy badass you are. You can pretty much run through the levels as quick as possible, and not have those slow crawl downs you did in Sonic 1. Also the boss battles were more detailed and varied from the first one. When I stared down the mechanical clone that was right in front of me, I knew I had made it to the final battle. If Eggman can't beat Sonic with his crazy creations, why not build a robot version of the damn blue hedgehog who has been destroying millions of dollars of research and development?

If all else fails, you could just blow up the space station and escape as he was battling Mecha Sonic. You know why Eggman didn't think of that? He had to much damn pride in his own creations. He couldn't see himself destroying his own creations. But when you keep getting beat by a blue hedgehog, you got to resort to desperate measures.

Well I just finished Sonic 1 and 2 and I can see now why these games were so popular as a kid when I didn't understand design concepts. The difference between the first and second are significant, but the second makes innovations that the first one didn't have. That's what sequels are supposed to do. Anyways I'm going to discussing what I thought about the games on there own merit, as well as compare the difference between the two. Let's Go!

Sonic the Hedgehog

Well I must say that Sonic the Hedgehog was a great game. It was in a time where Mario dominated the platforming genre, and brought something new and unique to the Sega Genesis. A mascot who is kid friendly, a challenging game, and levels that made you feel like you are traversing through the challenges that it brings you. The enemy designs, even though generic at times, were pretty good, and compared to Mario, the boss battles were way more involved instead of jumping on a koopa three times to go to the next level.

The only real gripe I have with the game is that the platforming would slow down to a crawl sometimes, as I feel that some of the level design made you wait to get to certain spots that you can't get quickly through. Especially the water zones. I HATE THOSE ZONES! You pretty much slow down to a crawl and hope you don't mess up on platforming or you going to get hit by an enemy and fall back down to the bottom of the level. You better hope you have some air bubbles down at the bottom or you going to start that zone over again.

I give the game credit though. It makes you feel accomplished when you get past each level. That is what a game should do. It should make you feel like, "Hell Yea! I just passed the shit out of this level." Only to find out that you got the next level which is harder, which is a good thing. It makes you feel like you beat this level with your current skill, and here is a next level that will test that skill and make you acquire more skill in the process. When I beat Dr. Robtnik (Or was it Eggman in this game?), I felt satisfied that I got through the game. Sure the game was short once you really look at it, but back then not many kids could brag about beating Sonic. It was a tough game. I sure as hell didn't beat it when I had the game. I just enjoyed the fact that I had the game and was trying to beat it. Somewhere along the line I just gave up, snatched the game on the console, through it down on the ground and started to get my Office Space on.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Now Sonic 2 was a big incremental jump from the first one. Everything seemed more fluid, the pace was faster, the stages you had to run through were shorter, and you had more of them to complete. Also it seemed to make some cohesive sense as your not just passing through random stages. Your starting on the ground chasing Eggman (I'm just going to consider it's Eggman right now) and each level you are trying to stop him, until you reach the final stage which is in space. Talk about an epic journey.

Well as with Sonic 1, I do have some minor gripes, but none of them effected me from completing the game. For example, where the hell did Tails originate from? I for one, back as a kid, didn't know there was lore on Sonic. So when I saw this yellow fox accompanying me on missions, I'm like, "Why the hell are you here?" I believe they just added him to have a flying scene in sonic where you stand on the plane that he is flying, but after that scene you don't see your buddy again. You are on your own, and have to fight the final battle by yourself.

Well that's really my only gripe. Sonic 2 did everything right on improving the formula it had, and made you feel like the total speedy badass you are. You can pretty much run through the levels as quick as possible, and not have those slow crawl downs you did in Sonic 1. Also the boss battles were more detailed and varied from the first one. When I stared down the mechanical clone that was right in front of me, I knew I had made it to the final battle. If Eggman can't beat Sonic with his crazy creations, why not build a robot version of the damn blue hedgehog who has been destroying millions of dollars of research and development?

If all else fails, you could just blow up the space station and escape as he was battling Mecha Sonic. You know why Eggman didn't think of that? He had to much damn pride in his own creations. He couldn't see himself destroying his own creations. But when you keep getting beat by a blue hedgehog, you got to resort to desperate measures.

Nice write ups, takes me back to being a kid playing Sonic 2 with my cousin. Was so satisfying finishing that game, especially as a child when I wasn't finishing all that many of them.

Are you planning on playing 3? If you are, I recommend you play it combined with Sonic and Knuckles. 3 stands up ok by itself, but they feel like a whole game when combined together. Plus playing as Knuckles and Tails drastically alters the games (Sonic 2 as Knuckles is also quite brilliantly different).

Sonic 3 & Knuckles is the best Sonic game.

I recently started Sonic 4: Episode 1 and I had to stop playing because of how deadful it was. I picked up Generations and it's pretty fun. I still don't fully understand the appeal of Sonic games, but I guess they are OK.

Edit: Allow me to rephrase this post. I've been playing some more Generations and I never feel I'm in control of the game. All I ever do if flashily move forward, hoping some enemy won't completely halt my pace. And when I am in control, the controls feel sluggish and constrained. So, yeah. I don't like Sonic.

I loved Sonic back in the day. When I got the games on XBL to play they just didn't hold up enough to keep playing.

I've always hated Sonic games.

Because of this I just listened to the Sonic 1 and 2 soundtracks. Sonic 2 has to be one of my favourite games ever!

pretty fun games back in the day. i enjoyed playing them at friends house and what not.

I used to play Sonic 2 with my brother all the time. I would play as Tails, and during all the bosses he would just sit back while I killed them, because when Tails dies he just floats back without using up a life. We never beat it though; the farthest we ever got was the level where you are on Eggman's ship fighting chicken robots.

I hated the way sonic jumped. Because I had played Mario 3 by then, and there's been about four games released since then that have made platforming feel as good. Sonic was not one of them.

@ajamafalous said:

Sonic 3 & Knuckles is the best Sonic game.

Agreed. Although I think the way I played it, I kind of missed out on the sense of speed that's integral to Sonic games. I would just play as Tails and fly through all the levels.

Tails should have been playable in the final stages since it's a snuff to the 2nd player once you both get up to that point.

The final boss in S2 is cheap and should have had rings in it like it does in the Sonic Jam version.

There should probably be a speed cap in S2 (maybe not S1 since it probably doesn't need it) and spindash was probably not a good idea not to mention it possibly defeats the point of the gameplay.

Lately I was thinking how these titles could be improved, and that maybe homing attack would have been a good option. I even wondered if maybe Sonic shouldn't take damage from simply touching enemies, only their attacks/spikes/projectiles should hurt you. Also if you jump or spin through an enemy, maybe the game should pause for a split second to add a sense of feedback. (currently it's as though the enemy isn't even there) And/or maybe Sonic should slow down as a result or maybe even be bounced back. (same as hitting a boss)

Maybe an arrow to indicate enemies/hazards off screen. (if they are near the edge of the screen)

Speed shoes seem redundant. Invincibility shouldn't change the music and possibly speed shoes shouldn't either.

Obviously there should be a level select, ideally with S ranks and maybe even separate scoring for 2-player where you lose points each time Tails respawns. The rubber band thing from chaotix/crackers could possibly be added. (well why not aside from it technically not having been introduced yet, lol) The scoring could also be redone and Sonic loses only a fixed amount of rings when hit. While I'm at it maybe more zones should be in versus mode. (or all of them)

Widescreen support. (I think the recent Sonic CD port does this?)

@supermike6 said:

I used to play Sonic 2 with my brother all the time. I would play as Tails, and during all the bosses he would just sit back while I killed them, because when Tails dies he just floats back without using up a life. We never beat it though; the farthest we ever got was the level where you are on Eggman's ship fighting chicken robots.

That stage was a pain to get through because of that boss battle you had to do at the end of the stage. You had three moving platforms with spikes at the bottom of them, and you trying to jump on them and hit the laser up above before it shoots, then avoid the laser and those platforms while trying not to die. I can see why it would be hard to get through it. lol

@Tim_the_Corsair said:

Nice write ups, takes me back to being a kid playing Sonic 2 with my cousin. Was so satisfying finishing that game, especially as a child when I wasn't finishing all that many of them. Are you planning on playing 3? If you are, I recommend you play it combined with Sonic and Knuckles. 3 stands up ok by itself, but they feel like a whole game when combined together. Plus playing as Knuckles and Tails drastically alters the games (Sonic 2 as Knuckles is also quite brilliantly different).

Yea I'm going to play and finish Sonic 3. I don't believe they have Sonic and Knuckles on amazon, but if they don't I might just need to check out roms and see if they got it.

Edit: The game I got from Amazon is Sonic 3 and Knuckles. So I'll be able to play it in its full entirety. =D

@fuzzybunny566 said:

Sonic 1 and 2 have the kind of soundtrack that always makes me smile and reminisce whenever i hear the music....especially Casino Night Zone, so damn catchy

The soundtracks to those games were awesome. I need to remember next time I do a blog on a game I mention the soundtrack

@sionweeks said:

Because of this I just listened to the Sonic 1 and 2 soundtracks. Sonic 2 has to be one of my favourite games ever!

I'm glad I was able to bring back some good memories for you.

@egg said:

Tails should have been playable in the final stages since it's a snuff to the 2nd player once you both get up to that point.

The final boss in S2 is cheap and should have had rings in it like it does in the Sonic Jam version.

There should probably be a speed cap in S2 (maybe not S1 since it probably doesn't need it) and spindash was probably not a good idea not to mention it possibly defeats the point of the gameplay.

Lately I was thinking how these titles could be improved, and that maybe homing attack would have been a good option. I even wondered if maybe Sonic shouldn't take damage from simply touching enemies, only their attacks/spikes/projectiles should hurt you. Also if you jump or spin through an enemy, maybe the game should pause for a split second to add a sense of feedback. (currently it's as though the enemy isn't even there) And/or maybe Sonic should slow down as a result or maybe even be bounced back. (same as hitting a boss)

Maybe an arrow to indicate enemies/hazards off screen. (if they are near the edge of the screen)

Speed shoes seem redundant. Invincibility shouldn't change the music and possibly speed shoes shouldn't either.

Obviously there should be a level select, ideally with S ranks and maybe even separate scoring for 2-player where you lose points each time Tails respawns. The rubber band thing from chaotix/crackers could possibly be added. (well why not aside from it technically not having been introduced yet, lol) The scoring could also be redone and Sonic loses only a fixed amount of rings when hit. While I'm at it maybe more zones should be in versus mode. (or all of them)

Widescreen support. (I think the recent Sonic CD port does this?)

Some of your suggestions for updating the game are good, but I believe the final boss wasn't that cheap. It was learning what the patterns were and executing your attacks right. And invincibility usually changed the music in a lot games back in the sega/snes days. I believe it was to give you that auditory feedback to boost your confidence and to let you know that your invincible.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is easily the hardest game in the series, and I was so proud of myself when I finally beat it. I think I was 11 or so. All the Genesis Sonic games with the exception of 3D Blast are exceptional.

@egg said:

Lately I was thinking how these titles could be improved, and that maybe homing attack would have been a good option. I even wondered if maybe Sonic shouldn't take damage from simply touching enemies, only their attacks/spikes/projectiles should hurt you. Also if you jump or spin through an enemy, maybe the game should pause for a split second to add a sense of feedback. (currently it's as though the enemy isn't even there) And/or maybe Sonic should slow down as a result or maybe even be bounced back. (same as hitting a boss)

Maybe an arrow to indicate enemies/hazards off screen. (if they are near the edge of the screen)

Speed shoes seem redundant. Invincibility shouldn't change the music and possibly speed shoes shouldn't either.

Obviously there should be a level select, ideally with S ranks and maybe even separate scoring for 2-player where you lose points each time Tails respawns. The rubber band thing from chaotix/crackers could possibly be added. (well why not aside from it technically not having been introduced yet, lol) The scoring could also be redone and Sonic loses only a fixed amount of rings when hit. While I'm at it maybe more zones should be in versus mode. (or all of them)

Widescreen support. (I think the recent Sonic CD port does this?)

Surely you must be joking. Some of these things you've mentioned is what made Sonic 4 episode 1 so bad.

There is only one thing I truly hate about those games, the fucking drowning music... my goodness. You think Dead Space and Fatal Frame can make men into children? That drowning noise as child made me into a damn fetus! That is how frightening it was back then!

@Jay444111 said:

There is only one thing I truly hate about those games, the fucking drowning music... my goodness. You think Dead Space and Fatal Frame can make men into children? That drowning noise as child made me into a damn fetus! That is how frightening it was back then!

Lol. You sir are so freakin right.

@Rebel_Scum said:

@egg said:

Lately I was thinking how these titles could be improved, and that maybe homing attack would have been a good option. I even wondered if maybe Sonic shouldn't take damage from simply touching enemies, only their attacks/spikes/projectiles should hurt you. Also if you jump or spin through an enemy, maybe the game should pause for a split second to add a sense of feedback. (currently it's as though the enemy isn't even there) And/or maybe Sonic should slow down as a result or maybe even be bounced back. (same as hitting a boss)

Maybe an arrow to indicate enemies/hazards off screen. (if they are near the edge of the screen)

Speed shoes seem redundant. Invincibility shouldn't change the music and possibly speed shoes shouldn't either.

Obviously there should be a level select, ideally with S ranks and maybe even separate scoring for 2-player where you lose points each time Tails respawns. The rubber band thing from chaotix/crackers could possibly be added. (well why not aside from it technically not having been introduced yet, lol) The scoring could also be redone and Sonic loses only a fixed amount of rings when hit. While I'm at it maybe more zones should be in versus mode. (or all of them)

Widescreen support. (I think the recent Sonic CD port does this?)

Surely you must be joking. Some of these things you've mentioned is what made Sonic 4 episode 1 so bad.

What from my post is in Sonic 4 Ep 1 besides homing attack?

I really appreciated the fact that only the tips of spikes can hurt you in Sonic games. Other than that, I don't have any particular love or animosity for the series.

@TinoXtreme said:

Some of your suggestions for updating the game are good, but I believe the final boss wasn't that cheap. It was learning what the patterns were and executing your attacks right. And invincibility usually changed the music in a lot games back in the sega/snes days. I believe it was to give you that auditory feedback to boost your confidence and to let you know that your invincible.

It's cheap because killing it just involved standing in one place and jumping straight up. Being off by one pixel means you die. It's just hack boss design and not very Sonic-like either.

There not being any rings in the entire stage is the other reason. I was told once that a player should be allowed to make mistakes.