INFO BURST

Format: Sega Mega Drive game
Initial Release Date: 23 June 1991
Feature characters: Sonic the Hedgehog
Villain: Doctor Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik
Other Characters: Animal Friends (Flicky, Pocky, Ricky, Rocky, Cucky, Picky, Pecky), Badniks (Moto Bug, Buzz Bomber, Chopper, Crabmeat, Newtron, Caterkiller, Batbrain, Spikes, Roller, Jaws, Burrobot, Orbinaut, Bomb, Ball Hog)
Boss Fights: Egg Mobile (Egg Wrecker, Egg Scorcher, Egg Stinger, Egg Mobile, Egg Spiker), Egg Crusher
Locations: South Island (Green Hill Zone, Marble Zone, Spring Yard Zone, Labyrinth Zone, Star Light Zone, Scrap Brain Zone, Final Zone), Special Stage
Items: Ring, Item Box (Super Ring, Shield, Power Sneakers, Invincible, One-Up), Starpost, Sign Post, Prison Egg Capsule, Giant Ring, Chaos Emerald
Continuity: Video Games
Synopsis: In search of the Chaos Emeralds and the ultimate power they wield, Doctor Eggman attacks South Island and captures Sonic the Hedgehog’s friends. Eggman intends to convert the captured animals into power sources for his robots, the Badniks, to aid his hunt for the Emeralds. Sonic must rush into action to rescue his friends, save South Island, collect the Chaos Emeralds to use their power for good and stop Doctor Eggman.
Notes: The first entry in the entire Sonic pantheon

CREDITS

Game Plan: Hirokazu Yasuhara
Programmer: Yuji Naka
Character Design: Naoto Ohshima
Designers: Jina Ishiwatari, Rieko Kodama
Sound Producer: Masato Nakamura
Sound Programmers: Hiroshi Kubota, Yukifumi Makino
Special Thanks: Fujio Minegishi, Papa

Review

There’s a question about game design and mechanics that has followed video game enthusiasts for decades. Specifically, “What would the perfect game look like?” In truth, there may be no single perfect game. There are simply too many variables and differing genres mean it would be an impossible task for standards to be consistent enough to allow everyone to agree. Perhaps instead the question should be, “What elements would a perfect game have?” Some answers to this question are much more simple. Easily readable graphics, no matter the level of hardware. A soundtrack with appropriately catchy and/or atmospheric tunes. Fair design that means the player can feel challenged in that perfect sweet spot between frustration and boredom at the opposite ends of the spectrum.

But then there are more nebulous elements to consider as well. What should the barrier of entry be for a new player? How does one keep a game accessible for those newcomers but also remain entertaining for those who have been playing it for a long time? How complex should a game’s mechanics be and do they need multiple layers to be enjoyed on different levels of skill? And will there be reason enough for a player to keep returning to the game upon completion?

I’m not about to argue that Sonic the Hedgehog is a perfect game, flawless in every way. But if we look at “Perfect Game” as a kind of subcategory of video game with a checklist not too different from the criteria outlined above, you can easily make a compelling case for Sonic 1 (as it’s generally known) in much the same way it would be simple enough to make similar arguments in favour of Pac-Man, Tetris and Super Mario Bros., the latter being a key inspiration on the original Sonic outing.

The story has been oft-repeated about how Sonic 1 came from Sega’s desire to have a character and a game that would stand toe-to-toe with the adventures of Nintendo’s mushroom-chomping protagonist. What Sonic Team ended up creating was the perfect response to Mario and it comes as no surprise that Sega enthusiasts were instantly enamoured with the blue hedgehog. With the SNES representing the hottest new technology in the gaming world back in late 1990’s Japan, it was pretty clear Sega’s Mega Drive- two years old at this point and already developing a reputation for being the hardware that almost but not quite managed to recreate Sega’s arcade efforts- would have to pull something pretty special out of the bag in order to maintain any kind of market share in the face of Nintendo’s technological marvel, capable of advanced sprite scaling and rotating techniques that the Mega Drive simply could not dream of. Sega would have to take the fight to Nintendo to prove they still belonged- and in doing so, created one of their most iconic games.

Sonic the Hedgehog on the Mega Drive is the perfect answer to many of the complaints levelled at the Super Mario series in the 1980s. Players who had grown accustomed to Mario’s adventures would often lament having to press through the earlier stages to be rewarded with the more challenging levels later on. Recognising this, Sonic Team created a set of initial stages which would provide a gentle welcome for newcomers, but which seasoned (and particularly skilled) players could easily blast through in thirty seconds or less. Those who had grown weary of the small selection of level themes on offer in a Mario game would be able to enjoy six entirely different stages, each with maps to either explore or race through largely at their leisure, each with their own distinct level themes. The level bosses in Mario games, too, often fell subject to scrutiny, with many being repetitive or easy. In response, Sonic’s end of level bosses are each a greater challenge, requiring more hits to defeat, and each come in a different flavour as opposed to the likes of the over-familiar Bowser or Birdo fights from Mario’s earliest adventures.

Perhaps the biggest challenge to the Mario series was in the design of the protagonist. Mario is designed to be an “everyman” character, so players can easily put themselves in his shoes. Until Super Mario 64 and later entries greatly expanded his personality through improved animation and voice acting, Mario himself was a fairly bland protagonist, often unfairly written off as nothing more than a “fat, Italian plumber.” Sonic, then, was presented in marketing material and even through his in-game animations as anything but bland. His sleek design instantly allowed him to stand out from any other protagonist out there, with his aesthetic lying somewhere between classic cartoon characters Mickey Mouse and Felix the Cat with a dash of Japanese design sensibilities thrown in too. But here was a protagonist who was truly animated in a way Mario simply wasn’t. When left idle, Sonic will glance out of the screen at the player, urging them onwards. When hit, Sonic recoils in a cartoonish fashion. Similarly, if he comes to the very edge of a platform, Sonic will wobble and flail in an attempt not to overbalance and fall. The very first thing the player sees of Sonic upon starting the game is a cheeky smirk and wave of his index finger, a now signature gesture for the character which let us know he was no regular protagonist but full of the cool attitude we now know him for. Similarly, Sonic’s enemy, Doctor Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik, waiting for the hero at the end of each stage, is loaded with personality. When he thinks he’s winning he’s all smiles, but when you land a hit on him he looks panicked, becomes red-faced when handed a defeat and runs away like a cartoonish coward when pursued. There’s little wonder these two characters instantly became iconic to video game players the world over.

Of course, all of this would be for nothing if the game itself was no good. Fortunately, Sonic Team managed to knock the ball out of the proverbial park on their first try. The true beauty of Sonic 1’s gameplay lies in its sheer simplicity. The standard Mega Drive controller comes with a directional pad, a Start button and three face buttons (A, B and C). In Sonic 1, you only need make use of one of those face buttons as all three do the exact same thing. There’s no fat on Sonic’s control scheme whatsoever. As Sonic, players can walk and run with the left and right inputs, crouch and roll with the down input and jump with any of the face buttons. A more intuitive control scheme has possibly never existed in video gaming and it’s thanks in part to the fact the game has no choice but to be intuitive- there’s no way it can confuse a player if every button does the same thing. Later games, starting with this one’s direct sequel the following year, would begin to expand Sonic’s repertoire by giving him additional moves- and that’s fine if the games are developed around those concepts. But Sonic 1 has no need for anything of the sort, so it’s never missed. Sadly, that’s something a lot of later re-releases don’t quite grasp. True, it may be fun to burst through levels in mere seconds through use of the Spin Dash or Drop Dash abilities that are often implemented in those re-releases, but Sonic 1 isn’t designed around those abilities and they trivialise many of the game’s challenges.

Instead, players are tasked with earning speed by building up momentum via smart platforming. It’s a satisfying gameplay microloop: build speed, successfully navigate a platforming section, earn more speedy gameplay as a result. Tying it all together and keeping things flowing like a parkour expert is the real challenge for expert players who never want to come to a total stop but, instead, want to earn every bit of speed and momentum for themselves. Finding the perfect spot to jump on angled terrain and being rewarded with an instant increase in speed has surely got to be more rewarding than simply bringing Sonic up to top speed with a single button press.

The levels of Sonic 1 are where this is all put into action. None of the six Zones of the game feel samey, with a distinct visual and gameplay style which slides the ratio of speed and platforming accordingly. The Green Hill Zone is a perfect introduction to the game, with lots of simple platforming and a taste of the speed you can earn, but with lots of verticality for Sonic to explore, including hidden paths through the stages. Marble Zone is a slower level with a greater focus on platforming and more punishment for missing or mistiming a jump. Spring Yard Zone then picks up the pace once more by dropping Sonic into stages designed like giant pinball or pachinko tables, asking the player to navigate carefully but ensuring they’ll have fun while being thrown all around. Labyrinth Zone, arguably the least favourite of any Sonic 1 player, requires the player to unlearn everything they’ve gotten used to so far and take a slower, methodical approach to gameplay in order to ensure Sonic doesn’t drown in the vast underwater catacombs- do you play cautiously and take an extra gulp of oxygen or do you push on sooner and try to get to dry land? Star Light Zone is the perfect reward for clearing through this, with its huge focus on speed and short set pieces for Sonic to navigate. And this all comes together for the final hurdle- the Scrap Brain Zone, a challenging level absolutely loaded with traps that Sonic must navigate with precision lest he get zapped, burned, sliced or dropped into a bottomless hole. This variation in gameplay balance allows the simple mechanics to remain fresh and interesting throughout every stage.

Additionally, the game’s visuals help tell a story. Sonic 1 features no dialogue or animated sequences which explain its story, and the cast is minimal. Instead, the levels themselves tell the tale. It’s unfortunate, then, that Labyrinth Zone’s difficulty necessitated it being moved to later in the game during production, because its initial placement in the game order as the second level would have made this visual storytelling perfect. The player, as Sonic, is tasked with stopping the evil engineer Doctor Robotnik from conquering the world with his machines and enslaving the planet’s animals in his metal robots, the Badniks. Since the Badniks are all based on animals, that might be enough for any ordinary game’s theming of nature versus machinery. But if Labyrinth Zone were in the second stage position as intended, the story becomes even more clearly an examination of the harmful effects man can have on the world. The Green Hill Zone is a largely untouched idyllic paradise and Sonic’s home- these are the stakes. Man’s influence is then seen increasingly in the remaining stages. Labyrinth Zone depicts the impressive world of an ancient civilisation now lost to time. Marble Zone shows what happens when nature fights back, with ancient ruins destroyed by volcanic eruptions. Spring Yard Zone represents a modern settlement but with natural surrounding still visible. Star Light Zone is a bustling city that never sleeps and in which very little of the natural world can be seen, with tall skyscrapers stretching into the background and only the night sky itself remaining untouched. And in the Scrap Brain Zone, even the sky isn’t safe as Robotnik has turned the entire landscape into a hideous machine, with fire, smoke and smog belching into the orange skies. The storytelling is clear- if you don’t fight to protect the Green Hill Zone, it will end up like the Scrap Brain Zone.

Each of these locales is accompanied by a memorable tune composed by Masato Nakamura of Japanese group Dreams Come True, an indication of Sega’s commitment to Sonic. If Mario had some of the most iconic music in gaming, Sonic would therefore have to fight back with a soundtrack that came from the mind of contemporary pop musicians. This is all partnered with some of the most iconic sound design in gaming, with famous sound effects such as Sonic’s jump, the springs and the golden power rings all coming from this game.

Speaking of the rings, they’re the perfect mechanic for newcomer players. Sonic can only take one hit before losing a life. While he can find Shield items that grant him an extra hit and Invincibility items which grant temporary invulnerability from damage, the rings are the game’s smartest lifeline. As long as players have at least one ring on them, they will be able to survive a hit. Aside from getting crushed, falling off-screen or drowning, all intentional and designed hazards, there are no traps in Sonic 1 which will instantly kill the player. When hit, Sonic will drop his rings and the player has a brief window to pick up as many as they can- meaning they can then weather another hit. It’s a simple, easy to understand mechanic which means the flow of action isn’t broken by constant life losses and subsequent restarts. Players are also rewarded for being careful enough to hang onto their rings, with an extra life being granted for every 100 collected.

If the player should be able to make it to the end of the first two acts of a Zone (Scrap Brain Zone excluded) with 50 or more rings, they’ll be greeted with the sight of a giant ring. Naturally conditioned to collect rings by this point, any player who leaps for this giant ring will instead find themselves transported to a bonus stage. These psychedelic worlds take the form of giant floating, rotating mazes, where Sonic plays the part of a marble being rolled towards the goal. The true goal of these Special Stages, however, are the Chaos Emeralds. Managing to collect all six will see the player earn the good ending upon completing the game. It’s nothing much but it’s still rewarding to know you truly saved the day. In addition to the encouragement to finish the game as quickly as possible, the allure of a better ending is the incentive most players will have to replay the game.

In modern times it’s easy to lose sight of what made these Special Stages so impressive- and, indeed, the reason something as taken for granted as a 360-degree loop was considered a selling point of the game. The Mega Drive was, from a technical standpoint, not capable of sprite rotation or scaling like the SNES was. Sonic Team’s clever artists and programmers, then, managed to find a way to convincingly create scenarios in which it seemed Sonic was smoothly moving in 360-degree movement, or in the case of the Special Zone, the entire stage did. Of course, with modern understanding we know this isn’t truly the case, but the sprite tricks used showed developers the Mega Drive still had plenty of life left in it if they were willing to be creative. The game is full of tricks like this which are lost on modern audiences- for instance, the waterfall in Green Hill Zone looks more shimmering and reflective on a CRT television, whereas when played on modern hardware it simply looks like lines of pixels. It’s a shame to think the things which made players sit up and take notice in 1991 are forgotten or taken for granted these years later.

Sonic the Hedgehog laid the foundation for one of the most popular franchises in the world. Sega and Sonic Team knew the game had to be good if they were to be able to survive in the world of video gaming. That Sonic became an immediate hit and spawned thousands of further adventures across multimedia platforms is a testament to the success of their first try. Depending on who you ask, the game may not be the best in the series, but it certainly needs to be part of the conversation for not only among the best but certainly the most important in hedgehog history. Sonic 1 may not be a perfect game… but it’s definitely a Perfect Game.