Sonic the Hedgehog is an icon of gaming and the mascot of Sega. The character starred in classic Genesis/Mega Drive games that are well remembered and fans lament how far the current games have fallen from those days. But were those games really aas amazing as we think? Or has nostalgia blinded us to the faults of those 16 bit installments.
Replaying the Sonic games recently, I enjoyed parts of them but also noticed a lot of issues that stood out. Sonic was all about speed and while that was a great gimmick to emphasize the power of Sega’s 16 bit system, it ended up being a bit of a double edged sword. The game ended up not only difficult to control at times, but the level design in general felt like it didn’t fit the gameplay style. It seemed like there was more to discover but the game just wanted to hurry me along.
Sonic 2 was a big improvement over the original game in this regard, but even with new additions to the gameplay, the main issue I had was still there. The world itself felt contradictory, as it had a lot to offer but just rushed me to the end point. I suppose its because I do not have the same nostalgia for these games, but I genuinely see the games as being all flash and nothing more. I then compare this to other classics of that era, and the differences just stand out more.
When Sonic 2 came out, many compared it to Super Mario World and considered it the better game at the time. It was faster, flashier and seemed more intense. It was pushing gaming forward while Super Mario World was just another Mario game. Looking at both now however, Sonic 2 stands out as style over substance, while Super Mario World has aged like a fine wine. Super Mario World has in fact aged better than any classic 2D Mario game, with only Super Mario Bros 3 coming close. Both of those games had a lot of secrets and encouraged exploration. As such, more hidden details were found in the games for years to come, whereas Sonic and Sonic 2 were a case of what you see is what you get.
Most of all is that for a platforming series, Sonic just seemed to fail at platforming itself. If you are all about speed, then precision is not possible and this is a flaw of the games. Even Sonic 3 has issues to it despite improvements. Overall, that game is far superior, and the world feels more lived in with more actual platforming, but there issues are there. Just like with Sonic 1 and Sonic 2, the platforming feels awkward, as if the game must force itself to act against its own nature. If you are playing as Knuckles, this is much less of an issue since his gameplay style fits the world much better, but the fact remains that the base game and Sonic portions just feel off.
Sonic was a symbol of the Nineties and not in the best way. The games were all about speed and allure, but at the cost of gameplay. When someone without nostalgia for those games plays them, the flaws become much more apparent and we see how the games may have in fact aged poorly.
Disclaimer: The above was the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of ROG or its staff
In addition, I would like to add that there is an active Sega retrogaming Facebook community group you can join at https://www.facebook.com/groups/segaretrogamers/
For more, visit Retro Gamers Hub (www.retrogamershub.com) for their extensive collection of retrogaming interest groups to choose from.