Like his buddies (arch enemies?) on Nintendo, Sonic was bound to make the jump to his respective 16-bits console. He did it in Sonic the Hedgehog 1, a mighty fine game for its time. I admit that my review will be a little biaised since I played the game AFTER Sonic 2, which was technically superior.

Graphic: 8/10

Everything in this game is nice and colorful. The creators made a lot of effort to make sure that Sonic himself looked good. His design is a significant improvement from the Sega Master System - a more dramatic change than Mario from Super Mario Bros. 3 to Super Mario World. His color is finer, his measurements have improved and his movements are more fluid. Thanks to the improved processor on the Sega Genesis, he is able to go fast... sometimes too fast in the Star Light Zone loops or the Green Hill tunnels.

All the zones are nicely detailed and very appropriate for the name. Green Hill Zone is very green with many trees and even some waterfalls around. Marble Zone has marble columns in the background that seems to resist the intense heat from the lava. Spring Yard, while not having more springs than other zones, has a nice carnival-like background with shiny colors - you can even stand on neon-like structures or bounce on starry spheres. Labyrinth Zone, while underwater, does have a few complicated turns (and underwater, Sonic moves realistically slower) and has some nice rocky backgrounds with some carving. Star Light Zone had the least interesting design with a very dark and monochromatic black background, although where Sonic stands was well-done. Finally, Scrap Brain Zone had a very industrial ambiance with its plants in the background and the machinery Sonic has to go around.

Enemies are also well-drawn and far more numerous than in previous games (and even future games on the Game Gear). Many are in plain sight and are easy to destroy, while some have spikes and can only be destroyed by rolling on them. In Labyrinth Zone in particular some will even jump out of nowhere and surprise you - and unlike the wrench throwers in Mario 3 you can't really see them coming. Their movement is impressively fluid for the time, notably the mechanical pirhanas jumping up and down in Green Hill and the bats flying in Marble Zone.

Robotnik comes with more elaborate designs too. Be it with a ball and chain, by setting ablaze the ground, by throwing mines at you or by getting in a piston to squash you, he will make sure you don't free your imprisoned friends that easily (those are also very nicely-drawn, although they are a little small).

Finally, unlike previous games you will have to get your emeralds in a Special Stage, accessible only if you have at least 50 rings at the end of a non-boss zone (zones 1 and 2, except from Scrap Brain Zone 2) and jump inside the giant gold ring waiting for you. You will need to find your way in increasingly difficult mazes that spin around (you can hit disks that increase/decrease speed or reverse the sense of the rotation). You can get a continue (a chance to keep your game at the present zone if you die) if you get at least 50 rings. The stage stops if you get the emerald or if you hit a "stop" disk.

Music: 8/10

Music in Sonic 1 was also very good. It mostly felt appropriate for the situation.

Green Hill (the same as the Master System!) feels magical and peaceful while Marble Zone feels more intriguing with its ancient marble temples. Spring Yard feels more festive, Labyrinth's synth is a little too heavy but still enjoyable, Star Light is magical and "light" and Scrap Brain sounds dramatic and very industrial. Robotnik's theme sounds better in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, but his form in Final Zone sounds dramatic and epic.

Caveat: The end "mix" with all the zone tracks together didn't sound so good. It didn't flow properly like the following two games and the musicians had to add too much drum to stick it together.

Sound effects were well-done too. His leap sounds better than on the 8-bits machines, the rings have a better "money sound" than the Mario games - as does the sound when he loses them - and the springs sound really "bouncy". And since he's a real mammal, Sonic can drown; when he does you can hear his last breath of life coming out of him. The countdown effect sounds terribly dramatic, and it can be alleviated by inspiring air bubble generators that are fortunately easy to find.

Other caveat: the invincibility theme could have used more work (it was improved in Sonic 2). It's inspired from the intro theme but the intro drum cuts it much too dryly to be enjoyable. But the Special Stage's dreamy music was a good match for its psychedelic background.

Addictiveness: 7/10

Because I played Sonic 1 AFTER Sonic 2 I thought the game wasn't as good.

First, while Sonic does go at high speeds, he only does so once he has enough momentum when he goes downhill on in a loop. I though he was just too slow, unless he gets a rare speed shoes box thank makes him go faster (and the music too!)

Nevertheless all zones have plenty to explore. Of course you will want to tread around carefully if you want to have your 50 rings and get a shot at acquiring the emerald. Thankfully you can get a shield that protects him from one hit of the enemy. And when he's without protection he simply loses his rings. That feature made the game more interesting since you wouldn't die right away as long as you have at least one ring. Unfortunately, that can sometimes be futile if the spiky area you hit is too large - his flashing recovery rate is rather short. 

If you can time your jumps appropriately (just like Mario) you will be able to reach higher areas that contain many rings, but maybe also an invincibility box, or even a life box (although these are extremely rare).

Finally with the classic menu selection code (up, down left, right, a+b+c+start) you can even choose which stage you can start from and hear the complete sound test. THAT is a big plus for video game music geeks like myself. And you will thank your exploring skills inside the Special Stage that gets you continues, which increases playability.

Oh, and you of course want as many points as possible; the more quickly you end a zone the larger your bonus.

Story: 3/10

Like many platform games, there isn't really a story. You just go through 3 zones for each level, fight a boss and free your animal friends. The emeralds you collect, unlike following games, are just for show to make Robotnik enraged at the end of the game.

Nevertheless, there was a clever link made between the end of Scrap Brain 2 and 3. You could have fought Robotnik's final form right there but he presses a switch that drops you to Scrap Brain 3. At the end of that zone, the springs at the end bring you back you should have been and into the Final Zone.

Depth: 8/10

The levels are much bigger and offer much more to explore than on the Master System. 

For starters the road isn't quite as linear. There are many occasion when you can go higher up (or lower down) and explore some more... or fall into a trap. Fortunately it's compensate by numerous lampposts throughout each zones; you will restart there should you die.

In fact the zones seem to get larger as the levels progress. Scrap Brain takes more time to complete than Green Hill or Marble Zone. They also become more difficult (see difficulty section) so be patient.

Finally, the fact that you need to keep your rings to access the special stages and get the emeralds will take a lot of brain power in order to avoid all the obstacles, including ball and chains (without the chain) moving up and down... on hills.

Difficulty: 7/10

While easier than the 8-bits games, Sonic 1 is still quite a challenge.

First, getting the right momentum without the spin dash can be very difficult at times and frustrating. You just can't get the right speed, blast it!

Second, as I said earlier the levels get increasingly difficult. Labyrinth Zone is mostly underwater and you can drown easily. When exploring you may forget that fact and forget to look for oxygen generators. And since your movements are slower you may find yourself hitting the enemy in the wrong spot and die.

Star Light Zone can be managed by there are many holes, and the bomb fragments can easily hit you, especially when they come in large groups. Finally Scrap Brain has many bottomless pits, lots of lava that is harder to avoid than in Marble Zone and you can get squeezed easily by the heavy machinery in Act 2. Oh and Act 3 happens underwater too.

But to compensate all of that, the final boss is ridiculously easy - the easiest on the 16 bits consoles. While yes, you can get squished, all you need to do is stand on the side that leaves you the most space and just wait for the appropriate piston to come down. Of course you also need to avoid those static electricity ball, but that's nothing you can't do. Just don't touch them as you can't get any rings.

In short I recommend Sonic 1 to all Sega and platform game lovers. The game is colorful with detailed graphics, the music is enjoyable, the sound effects are well-done and there is plenty to explore. Plus you will, in many occasions, need to use your brain in order to make your way through.

To be perfectly honest, I played Sonic 1 before Sonic 2 and I STILL thought Sonic 2 was way better than the original, so I don't think being biased is an issue here. As for the review itself, I think you did an excellent job with making the review as long as you did. When it comes to classic Sonic games, I don't think I've made a review that's made it past 1000 words yet, but this one you made far exceeds that, so good job there. I think you did a great job with this whole review. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with next.