Run, Jump, collect rings, hit the springs, nail the loops, grab the boxes, bounce on enemies, bash robotnic, grab the giant ring, fly through frustrating mazes in weird special stages to collect Chaos emeralds and then free the animals.
I love sonic, but let’s be honest, there’s nothing more I can really say that hasn’t already been said, and I have no interest in trying to crowbar in alternative names for sonic such as the “blue blur”.
We’ve all played Sonic countless times, over multiple systems but there’s a reason we keep going back. I think I’ve owned a version of the first game on almost all of my consoles, not to mention emulating it periodically. To put it simply, Sonic on the mega drive is just a great platformer that feels as good now as it did 30 years ago. Many Saturday mornings sat crossed legged on the floor, the soundtrack slowly etching into my brain, with the iconic green hill zone theme, to the strangely ethereal and haunting chaos emerald special stages.
Nothing quite beats the simplicity of a game like Sonic. It may be a little reductive, but essentially, you run to the end of the level… and that’s it. Every so often, you’ll throw yourself at the boss, Robotnik – but even then, 3 hits and onwards we run.
I doubt that I’ll ever feel quite as content with a game as I did in the mid 90’s. The games were more simple, straight to the point and concise with their intentions. There was less choice – partly because there were fewer games, but also because I grew up with very little money and games weren’t necessary but when a new one came along, I’d milk it for all it’s worth.
