Sonic the Hedgehog (Master System, 1991)
Posted: March 11th, 2017, 10:44 pm
I think a lot of people don't realize this, but the Genesis was not the earliest Sega system to feature Sonic the Hedgehog. Instead, the Master System featured two Sonic platformers of its own, called "Sonic the Hedgehog" and "Sonic the Hedgehog 2". Despite sharing the same name, they are not ports of the Genesis games developed by Sonic Team..instead, they are original games developed by the company Ancient (Sonic 1) and Aspect (Sonic 2). They are, however, based on the same basic gameplay concepts and mechanics as the Genesis games. Sonic 1 for the Master System was released just a few months after Sonic 1 for the Genesis...both were first released in 1991. The Master System games were also ported to the Game Gear.
I didn't even know that the Master System had Sonic games on it until like 5-10 years ago. Once I found out, I had to own one, so I bought Sonic 1 on ebay.. I think for around $20-$30 at the time, for cart only. My Master System was in storage at the time, so I've held on to the game for years and just finally got to boot it up for the first time last night. Here's some of my thoughts: First, as a Master System platformer, I think this is a very good game. Nonetheless, it's no classic and doesn't hold a candle to the Genesis version. Obviously, the graphics and music--while surprisingly faithful--are a noticeable downgrade from the Genesis. The level design is also much better on the Genesis. The game also has none of the sense of speed that made Sonic famous on the Genesis; instead, it's more of a standard "jump and kill enemies" type platform game, with few chances to get any acceleration..and even at full speed, Sonic is not that fast. While the gameplay mechanics have a lot of similarities, one annoying difference in the MS version is that you can't recover rings when you get hit. So if you have 50 rings and get hit, you lose all 50 rings and can't recover any of them...so hopefully there are more rings to collect in the immediate vicinity. And you have no rings during boss fights, so one hit and you die. There are also no continues, so you'll be playing through a lot to get a little further each time.
Sonic 1 on the MS is a good game by MS standards (I'd give it a B+ rating), one of the better platformers on the system, with great graphics and sound for an 8-bit game. But the Genesis version crushes it, and that's why it's been long since forgotten (not to mention the fact that no one was playing MS anymore in 1991, so it flew totally under the radar). Still, for Sonic fans, the "curiosity" factor of seeing Sonic on an 8-bit Sega system could be appealing enough to make it worth the purchase. If you want to see a video, check out this short side-by-side comparison video of the Genesis and MS versions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYpoRrXztf0 .
I don't own Sonic 2 for the Master System, but my understanding based on reviews is that it is a superior game over Sonic 1. I watched a Youtube video of it and it does look better. Sonic 2 for the Master System actually debuted before the Genesis game of the same name, and Sonic 2 for the Master System was the first game to feature Tails.
Anyone else played or have thoughts on either of these Sonic games on the MS?
I didn't even know that the Master System had Sonic games on it until like 5-10 years ago. Once I found out, I had to own one, so I bought Sonic 1 on ebay.. I think for around $20-$30 at the time, for cart only. My Master System was in storage at the time, so I've held on to the game for years and just finally got to boot it up for the first time last night. Here's some of my thoughts: First, as a Master System platformer, I think this is a very good game. Nonetheless, it's no classic and doesn't hold a candle to the Genesis version. Obviously, the graphics and music--while surprisingly faithful--are a noticeable downgrade from the Genesis. The level design is also much better on the Genesis. The game also has none of the sense of speed that made Sonic famous on the Genesis; instead, it's more of a standard "jump and kill enemies" type platform game, with few chances to get any acceleration..and even at full speed, Sonic is not that fast. While the gameplay mechanics have a lot of similarities, one annoying difference in the MS version is that you can't recover rings when you get hit. So if you have 50 rings and get hit, you lose all 50 rings and can't recover any of them...so hopefully there are more rings to collect in the immediate vicinity. And you have no rings during boss fights, so one hit and you die. There are also no continues, so you'll be playing through a lot to get a little further each time.
Sonic 1 on the MS is a good game by MS standards (I'd give it a B+ rating), one of the better platformers on the system, with great graphics and sound for an 8-bit game. But the Genesis version crushes it, and that's why it's been long since forgotten (not to mention the fact that no one was playing MS anymore in 1991, so it flew totally under the radar). Still, for Sonic fans, the "curiosity" factor of seeing Sonic on an 8-bit Sega system could be appealing enough to make it worth the purchase. If you want to see a video, check out this short side-by-side comparison video of the Genesis and MS versions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYpoRrXztf0 .
I don't own Sonic 2 for the Master System, but my understanding based on reviews is that it is a superior game over Sonic 1. I watched a Youtube video of it and it does look better. Sonic 2 for the Master System actually debuted before the Genesis game of the same name, and Sonic 2 for the Master System was the first game to feature Tails.
Anyone else played or have thoughts on either of these Sonic games on the MS?