Retronomicon 01.06.10: Sonic the Hedgehog

Posted by Lee Price on 01.06.2010

The Retronomicon is once again back into 16 Bit territory, only this time its wearing a bright red pair of sneakers and can break the sound barrier. Check out the Retronomicon as this week Lee Price examines the biggest rival to Mario's crown, Sonic the Hedgehog.

Hello to everyone out there in the real world, this is the Retronomicon and I am your host Lee Price, talking at you through a computer. Isn't the future great? Not as great as the past though if this column is anything to go by. I had an awesome New Year's Eve, much drunkeness, bad dancing and injuring my shoulder were had. I hope everybody had similar experiences, though perhaps without the injuries. As for my gaming, I picked up a copy of Tekken 6 and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. Well up to a point anyway. That point being the cheap ass final boss. I thought Namco would cut out this SNK Boss idea after Jinpachi but nope. Tekken have decided to follow Street Fighter and the various SNK games in creating a final boss that is so cheap that it saps away any will I have to properly play the game. So I'm just going to practice and play against my friends instead. I am also going to be looking into picking up Bayonetta soon so I've got that to look forward to. But enough about me because its time for the...





Comments

Just a couple of comments again this week. I'd have thought one of the most popular games of all time would be a little more... popular. Anyway first up is The One and Only Thunderthief;

Man, I love this game. So much fun punching away at the arcade version.

Cheers for underground classics that the majority of children these days will never care about.

BTW, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!!!

Cheers for the Christmas and New Year's wishes. Hope you had a good one too. And highlighting underground classics is a service I look to provide with this column. Happily now the column is a little more established on the site, I'll eventually be looking into rarer and lesser known titles. Crusader of Centy/Soleil will be first on my list when I do.

Next up is shaydee;

Space Invaders was great. I think the first time I played it, or a version of it, was in Wiz n Liz., good times.

Wiz n' Liz! What a game. That's a future Retronomicon entry right there. I don't recall there being a version of Space Invaders in the game but there were so many spells you could cast that its is entirely possible. Psygnosis was one of the better 16 Bit UK developers.

And finally we have kk;

lol at inspired by crabs or typewriters and bullets from their arse. (u British?)
And I never thought it was meant to be a tank, I have always thought of it as "our" spaceship. :)

All those years ago, I remember walking home with mom from shopping when I was attracted by this glimpse of this florescent dream-like world complete with beeps and whistles in one of the shops in the market. What on earth was that? I HAD to find out. Next day, I skipped going to the park and went to the shop. That arcade had 3-4 machines, shape invaders was one of them and I was just entranced watching people play. The idea that *I* would surrender my pocket money and do that, never crossed my mind for a couple of years. :)

I am indeed British, or English to be more precise. Apparently American women will melt at my accent, but I have yet to experience this. Strangely I've never thought the tank resembled any sort of spaceship, but it is prehistoric graphics so it is entirely possible it was.

I think everybody from a certain era in gaming has a memory of their first major arcade gaming moment. For me it was playing Street Fighter 2 for the first time at a holiday park. I couldn't get enough of it and the game was so far superior to what consoles could offer at the time. Consoles becoming more powerful than arcade cabinets has all but killed off the possibility of future generations having similar moments.

Right then, enough talking because its time to strap on those rose-tinted specs as this week the Retronomicon looks at Sonic the Hedgehog.



The Background

It was 1990 and SEGA were experiencing relative success with their new Genesis console. The Master System before it had made a few waves but hadn't dented the NES's popularity as much as SEGA would have liked, especially in the Japanese and American markets. SEGA put this partially down to the console lacking a mascot. Nintendo had Mario whereas the closest the Master System had was Alex Kidd and Wonder Boy. So SEGA took it upon themselves to hold an in-house competition to design the new company mascot.

The first idea hit upon was that of a rabbit. This was quickly brushed to one side however in favor of a hedgehog. This may have been contrary to many people's belief that a hedgehog is a slow creature. Let me tell you from personal experience that those little buggers can move when they have to. They just prefer to stay still and spike you to death. Amongst the other early character designs were also the first illustrations of the man who would become the arch villain of the series, Dr Eggman/Dr Robotnik.

The main man behind the game would be Yuji Naka, an up and coming games developer who would work alongside a few other reputable names at SEGA to create the brand upon which the company has been built ever since, Sonic the Hedgehog.



The Game

Sonic the Hedgehog was such a success because it provided something that no other platformer had offered gamers. It had a main character with enough attitude to appeal to the youth of the day. Break neck speed that games like Mario just couldn't match and a potential for merchandising that was extremely rare in the early days of gaming.

The story is as basic as you would expect from a 16 Bit platformer. Sonic enjoys chilling around his home planet of Mobius, hanging out with his animal friends and generally running around inexplicably fast. All that peaceful living is shattered by one Dr Robotnik, the smartest man on Mobius with a rumored IQ of 300, who has decided that he wants to take over the entire planet.

He intends to do this be capturing all of Sonic's little friends and changing them into robot slaves who will carry out his every whim in his attempts to take over the world. He is also on the look out for the 6 Chaos Emeralds, special gems that grant the wielder enough power to enslave entire planets. So they are pretty useful to Robotnik's cause. On top of that the fattest genius around has also developed some very dangerous machinery that he himself can pilot, should it come to Robotnik having to take things into his own hands.

And he will have to do just that because Sonic is none too pleased about Robotnik enslaving all of his friends so he decides to use his lightning speed and razor sharp spikes to foil his plan by saving all of the little critters, casually destroying all of Robotnik's machinery along the way.

And that sets the stage for the game. Simple but with enough contained therein to let you know exactly what the situation is. This is something that the newer Sonic games would do well to revert back too as complex stories and a massive cast of characters in the recent Sonic games only serve to dilute the concept altogether.

The game itself is the main focus here, as it always should be. Luckily Sonic delivers in bucket loads at the very first time of asking. Sure there are a few niggles. The level design is a little unfair at times. The Labyrinth Zone is a complete bitch of a level in that respect, offering far too much time trying to navigate through an underwater maze and far too little time running around really fast. The fact that you need to build up speed for some sections, such as the loop de loops, meant the action slowed down just a tad too much in some other sections. Luckily this was a problem that was fixed in the sequels with the addition of one extra move into Sonic's arsenal.

You can get past all this quite easily however because on your first run through of the legendary Green Hill Zone you realize very quickly just how well designed this game is for the most part, how gorgeous it looks for a game released 20 years ago but most importantly just how much fun you are going to have playing it.

Sonic is fast. There is no denying that, but the game doesn't allow you to just hold down the direction button and pelt it to the end of the level. There is a large cast of enemies that will attempt to hinder Sonic along his way towards the evil Robotnik, and all of them have to be avoided or destroyed via some form of Sonic's spin attacks. With these guys you get the added bonus of saving a little animal each time you destroy a robot. PETA must love Sonic the Hedgehog.

You also have a liberal sprinkling of traditional platforming action. The jumps are relatively tight, though they generally don't require the often perfect accuracy of other platformers to compensate for the higher pace that the game is played at. Both of these basic features serve to slow the action down though, the purpose being that the game doesn't just become a boring whirlwind through a couple of levels. You have to slow down and concentrate in some areas and this in turn makes it all the more satisfying when you get to let loose and really let Sonic bolt along. As you get better at the game you generally become more adept at playing it faster as well as memorizing enemy positions and different routes through the levels, so it all serves to up the replay value.

Sonic also has a variety of power-ups to aid him on his way. First and foremost are the rings. Sonic collects these for a number of reasons. They provide protection from enemies for one shot. As long as Sonic has a ring he can get hit by an enemy without dying. They can also grant extra lives if you reach the magic hundred mark. And perhaps most importantly they provide passage into the bonus stages, the completion of which is the only way to gain the 6 Chaos Emeralds that allow for full completion of the game. There is also a blue shield that can help Sonic absorb another hit, the invincibility shield that offers exactly what it says on the tin for a limited time and, mind bogglingly, a better set of sneakers that enable Sonic to move in double time, speeding up the entire level in the process and consequently making things a little more risky to go along with the increased speed.



The bonus levels were an important part of the 16 Bit Sonic games, with different ones being featured in each and most of them leading to Sonic attaining the Chaos Emeralds to enable full completion of the game. Sonic 1's offering is a constantly rotating level in which Sonic must use the barriers to move himself towards his target, all while constantly spinning and avoiding the dreaded GOAL areas that warp him back into the real world. In truth Sonic basically becomes a pinball, bouncing too and fro off various objects in an attempt to secure his precious cargo. The levels are a little disorientating at first but are also a lot of fun and a welcome break from the main game.

Each level is beautifully designed and unique to the one that came before it. From the lush greenery of Green Hill Zone, to the volcanic spew of Marble Zone or the beautiful underground water caves of Labyrinth Zone, special care has been taken in the design of each level, even if they do generally conform to many of the platforming norms set by previous games. An Ice Zone is conspicuous by its absence.

Each level is split into three acts, and there are 6 levels in all so the game is a decent size, though not as impressive as the Mario's of the world. Perhaps Naka and company could have designed another zone if they hadn't taken up 1/8 of their allotted 4MB in the cart with the infamous SEGA! Chant heard at the beginning of the game. Even so there are plenty of levels to be getting on with and the replay value is off the charts thanks to multiple routes, score attacks and speed runs all being possible thanks to the structure of the levels whereby Sonic must reach the goal at the end while taking on or avoiding all the obstacles put in his way, either by Robotnik or the level itself.

At the end of each zone Sonic will also take on Dr Robotnik in one of his many monstrous contraptions. The bosses are generally well thought out and inventive. Hell the Labyrinth Zone continues its streak of being most mentioned zone in the article by having a boss that must simply be kept up with rather than hit, a fact lost on many gamers on their first time through, leading to yet more hair tearing frustration from the aquatic wonderland. Why is it always the water based levels that offer the most frustration in games? It was possible to defeat the boss, but it took a lot of skill and some great timing.

Graphically the game is beautiful, amongst the best of the early crop of Genesis games and the definitive article for a time when SEGA were attempting to prove their console's technical superiority over the aging NES. Sonic is brilliantly characterized, with just the right amount of attitude and a look that would help him spawn a merchandising empire than spanned clothing, TV shows, lunchboxes and even bed linen (as I can personally attest to). Robotnik provides the perfect foil to Sonic, looking every bit the mad genius he is purported to be and having little flashes of angry or frustrated animation when Sonic bests him that suggested that the hedgehog would be a thorn in his side for long to come. Sonic also has a couple of standing still animations, as became common in this period, all of which generally show him becoming bored and ticked off at the very act of not moving fast.

The levels are generally very nice too. They are a tad blocky at times, thanks to a still early knowledge of the capabilities of the Genesis in the graphics department at the time. The sequels would show what the console was capable of in due course, and in turn would not help with the aging process for the very first game. Having said that, everything flows together nicely and the water effects in the Labyrinth Zone are beautiful for the era.

The sound was a special stand out too. As well as the aforementioned SEGA! chant at the beginning of the game, the company also commissioned Masato Nakamura, a member of J-Pop band Dreams Come True, to compose the music for the game. Nakamura worked wonders with the limited capabilities of the Genesis sound chip, creating dynamic and perfectly atmospheric music for the entire game. I'm sure everybody knows the dreaded sound of a soon to be drowned hedgehog as it is one of the most iconic and pulse raising events in the Sonic games.

So from a little competition to find a mascot, SEGA gave birth to one of the most legendary computer game characters of all time. They couldn't have asked for a better fit for the company during a time when it was trying to market itself as cooler than the kid friendly Nintendo. This is the sort of game that the teens would want to buy. Luckily SEGA also knew that a top quality game would be required to make sure the character stood the test of time and Sonic stands out as a very early platforming triumph on the Genesis as well as being the birth of an icon.



The Aftermath

Well the sales figures should probably be the first to be dealt with, as always. Sonic sold approximately 4 million copies worldwide, heralding a breakthrough for SEGA as the game became on of the first really big console sellers that it had ever had. Praise for the game was pretty much universal and for a long time the title was packaged with Genesis consoles. It would not be inaccurate to claim that Sonic helped sell more than a few Genesis consoles.

The game also spawned a a slew of sequels and other games. Sonic 2 was released a couple of years later and improved upon every aspect of the game, becoming one of the greatest games of all time in the process. There were also other 16 Bit Sonic titles, namely Spinball, Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles. Additionally you had a few Master System and Game Gear titles that had their own individual charms if not quite living up to their big brother.

Sonic made the move into 3D with the poorly accepted Sonic 3D Blast before Sonic Xtreme on the Saturn was canceled, leaving the console without the character that had become the standard bearer for SEGA. Sonic made his return in Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast, one of very few 3D ventures that have lived up to the Sonic name. After this he's had 3D outings galore, as well as generally superior 2D outings on Nintendo's handheld systems (who would have seen that coming in 1990?). He cameos just about everywhere he can and unfortunately has been watered down to the point where many think it is time for Sonic to hang up his sneakers as he may never see the glory days of the Genesis era games again.

As for the development team, Yuji Naka became the main man when it came to Sonic, heading Sonic Team for many years and developing the classic NiGHTS as well as a few other generally very well received games. Naka left the company in 2006 to create his own games studio but nothing of note has surfaced as of yet.

Nakamura actually took the songs he composed for the Sonic games on tour with his band, to a generally pretty decent reception. He returned for Sonic 2, thus giving himself an even deeper back catalog to dive into.

Naoto Oshima, the man who created the characters of Sonic and Robotnik, is generally overshadowed by Yuji Naka due to his association with the series and status as head guy. Still Oshima continued to work for Sonic Team, being credited with the creation of a number of the characters to emerge from the studio, before creating his own software developer, Artoon. His most notable work with the company was the creation of Blinx: The Time Sweeper and its sequel.

We all know the story of SEGA so I won't drive it into the ground here. All that needs to be said is that Sonic proved to be exactly what the company had ordered and they continue to make money from the franchise to this very day.

The Final Word

Few games spark a gaming phenomenon quite like Sonic the Hedgehog did. The game will go down as one of the most important of the 16 Bit era, as well as providing the figurehead for SEGA in their bitter 16 Bit war with Nintendo. Sonic the Hedgehog is, put simply, a great game.

The Price is Right

There have been a few versions of Sonic released. I'm generally going to avoid compilations in this article from now on and focus on straight conversions and ports. There are so many compilations that feature Sonic 1 that I'm sure they aren't hard to find.

UK

Megadrive - £2 – 5.
iPod - £3.99.
iPhone - £3.49.
Virtual Console - 800 Points.
GBA - Don't pay more than £20.
XBLA - 400 Points.

US

Genesis - Approx $5.
iPod - $5.
iPhone - $5.99.
Virtual Console - 800 Points.
GBA - $10 – 15.
XBLA - 400 Points.

The Guy Who Can do it Better Than You

Ok this week we have a clip from the classic UK show, Gamesmaster.



I loved Gamesmaster. Patrick Moore as the Gamesmaster had no idea what he was doing and yet he was still awesome. Enjoy and I'll catch you all next week.