Funny story: for a time, my oldest son understood Sonic to be the very definition of speed.
"Let's run together like two Sonics!" Or, "Daddy, our car is moving like Sonic!" Or, "Now it's time to use my Sonic speed!" This was mostly from watching me play Sonic Generations.
As for Sonic 1, I agree it has aged well, even if the level design is uneven. You can actually play it in Sonic Generations, and I've even beaten it in that format. Green Hill Zone's music is the best track on Genesis IMO.
I don't think there's another top-tier side-scrolling platformer with a move set as simple as Sonic 1. The power-ups don't add any moves to his arsenal (unlike Mario's Fire Flower, for example). No spin-dash or any other moves besides running and jumping. Only a single button is used. This can be an awkward adjustment at times, but it also lends the game a unique charm.
Though I think the water levels are a downside of this simplicity. It's unfortunate that Sonic's water sections started bad and never really got that much better, as I guess the later games felt locked into that original decision. This is one of the reasons that, while Sonic is great, Mario has always been king. In retrospect, the decision to give Mario an entirely different mode of movement in the water levels, to give them such a different and intense feel (despite that peaceful music), was a pretty amazing leap in a game that was already inventing a beloved genre.
Haha, that's awesome! Love how kids view reality sometimes. And Sonic Generations rules, I'm glad they're bringing it out for modern consoles.
Good point on Sonic's simple move set, I'd never thought about that before. I guess his super power is his speed or something? At least at first before they added spin dashes and blast processing and fire shields?
I understand the complaint about Sonic's water levels, but I'll be honest, water levels are always the lesser levels in most platformers for me. Whether Sonic, Mario, DK, whatever, water levels just always bring the game to a halt.
Honest truth I think Sonic 3 and Knuckles was the Pinnacle of the Series. Hyper Sonic was worth the Grind and very fun to Play with. Sonic 2 was also great, the introduction of Tails and the Spin Dash were nice touches, as well as the intro for Super Sonic. The OST on all of these games make grown men cry
All of the mainline Genesis games are great for different reasons, for sure. The first one has a purity, though. Six zones, all killer no filler (unless you hate Labyrinth Zone).
Funny story: for a time, my oldest son understood Sonic to be the very definition of speed.
"Let's run together like two Sonics!" Or, "Daddy, our car is moving like Sonic!" Or, "Now it's time to use my Sonic speed!" This was mostly from watching me play Sonic Generations.
As for Sonic 1, I agree it has aged well, even if the level design is uneven. You can actually play it in Sonic Generations, and I've even beaten it in that format. Green Hill Zone's music is the best track on Genesis IMO.
I don't think there's another top-tier side-scrolling platformer with a move set as simple as Sonic 1. The power-ups don't add any moves to his arsenal (unlike Mario's Fire Flower, for example). No spin-dash or any other moves besides running and jumping. Only a single button is used. This can be an awkward adjustment at times, but it also lends the game a unique charm.
Though I think the water levels are a downside of this simplicity. It's unfortunate that Sonic's water sections started bad and never really got that much better, as I guess the later games felt locked into that original decision. This is one of the reasons that, while Sonic is great, Mario has always been king. In retrospect, the decision to give Mario an entirely different mode of movement in the water levels, to give them such a different and intense feel (despite that peaceful music), was a pretty amazing leap in a game that was already inventing a beloved genre.
Haha, that's awesome! Love how kids view reality sometimes. And Sonic Generations rules, I'm glad they're bringing it out for modern consoles.
Good point on Sonic's simple move set, I'd never thought about that before. I guess his super power is his speed or something? At least at first before they added spin dashes and blast processing and fire shields?
I understand the complaint about Sonic's water levels, but I'll be honest, water levels are always the lesser levels in most platformers for me. Whether Sonic, Mario, DK, whatever, water levels just always bring the game to a halt.
Honest truth I think Sonic 3 and Knuckles was the Pinnacle of the Series. Hyper Sonic was worth the Grind and very fun to Play with. Sonic 2 was also great, the introduction of Tails and the Spin Dash were nice touches, as well as the intro for Super Sonic. The OST on all of these games make grown men cry
All of the mainline Genesis games are great for different reasons, for sure. The first one has a purity, though. Six zones, all killer no filler (unless you hate Labyrinth Zone).