PlanetDreamcast | Features | The Games of Sonic (1991 - 1994)

Sonic Week: Day 1 - The Games of Sonic (1991 - 1994) Sonic the Hedgehog - The early years. - by Reojojo - Page 2/2 Sonic the Hedgehog has been a Sega icon since his introduction in 1991. He's appeared in tons of games over several different consoles. He's touched our lives like no other hedgehog ever has. So we've decided that it was time to show him exactly how much he means to us. We've pit together a week full of Sonic stuff for you all to enjoy! Today, we'll be taking a look back at the early years of Sonic the Hedgehog. In the first few years of Sonic, the hog with 'tude hit a number of systems with varying results. Here is a list of games that featured our favorite hog. Sonic the Hedgehog - Arcade It's unfortuante that this game didn't see larger distribution. Definitely one of the cooler games that nobody's ever played. As a change from the original formula, Sonic the Hedgehog Arcade was a break from the pattern of the previous Sonic games. Control as achieved via a trackball, which you rolled in the direction you wanted Sonic to go. "Mighty the Armadillo" and "Ray the Squirrel" became our beloved Hedgehogs new sidekicks, but they were easily forgettable, especially next to "Tails". This game was the first in the Sonic franchise to flop, mostly due to terrible distribution as those who played it were quite impressed, especially back in 1993. Other: Released: 1993 Sonic CD - Sega CD Sonic in his first CD adventure. Sega has an unspoken policy that says if they make games on any platform, one of them will be a Sonic game. Though the Sega CD was an out-and-out failure it had several noteworthy games; Sonic CD was definitely one of them. The entire premise of the game was time travel, which opened some neat gameplay like running fast enough to jump to different timezones. As in most CD games it features a great soundtrack, and the extra space made for lots of extra animations. Bonus stages were upgraded thanks to the extra RAM, and many people consider this the best Sonic game ever created. Other: Released: 1993 Sonic Chaos - Sega Game Gear Finally! Tails playable on the go! Released in Japan as Sonic and Tails, Sonic Chaos was everything Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Game Gear should have been. In this title Tails was finally playable, the graphics were high-res, the speed was consistent and the gameplay finally lived up to the Genesis franchise. Other: Released: 1993 Sonic Spinball - Sega Genesis Sonic pinball action! Instructions to make Sonic Spinball: 1. Take a generic pinball game. 2. Replace ordinary ball with Sonic. 3. Create strange, but similar levels. 4. Don't enjoy! The first really bad Sonic game, Sonic Spinball didn't live up to the legacy of the Sonic series in any way. There was some excuse for a plot attached, and the sound was okay but overall this was just an average game. Other: Released: 1993 Sonic Spinball - Sega Game Gear Spiky pinball for the road. A re-work of the Genesis game, there was the obvious downgrade in visuals and sound and it included simpler special stages. Also, the camera showed the whole table just like in the Genesis version, so it was an uncoordinated mess. Other: Released: 1993 Sonic Drift - Sega Game Gear Sonic meets Super Mario Kart. A cheap Super Mario Kart knock-off, Sonic Drift was only released in Japan; luckily we didn't miss much. You raced as Sonic, Tails, Amy, or Robotnik around some pretty cheap tracks. There were no hills, nor was there a sensation of speed. Overall, the entire game was easily forgettable. Other: Released: 1994 Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - Sega Genesis Sonic and Knuckles meet in what may be the best 16-bit Sonic game ever created! The first big change in the series, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 slowed the pace down a bit by inserting puzzle elements into the game. Knuckles made his first appearance here, however he was placed in the role of Sonic's enemy. Hence, he basically goes around setting traps and such in attempt to slow down our blue friend. The levels were huge and this was the best looking of the Genesis Sonic games. The music was really nice and added much more ambience to the game than did the scores of the last two games. The game also featured a built-in battery with six save slots, a first for the series on the Genesis. Many would probably consider this one of the best Sonic games of all time. Other: Released: 1994 Sonic and Knuckles - Sega Genesis Get crazy with lock-on technology! The first game to feature Sega's "Lock-On" system, this was one hell of a game. Though very similar to Sonic the Hedgehog 3, both Knuckles and Sonic were playable characters in Sonic and Knuckles. As an added bonus, one could plug in either Sonic the Hedgehog 2 or Sonic the Hedgehog 3 into the Sonic And Knuckles cartridge to make Knuckles a playable character. Extra stages were opened, and collecting all the Super Chaos Emeralds transformed the usual cast into Hyper-Sonic, Hyper-Knuckles, and Super-Tails. As for Knuckles, his gameplay was quite different than Sonic's. He moved much slower, but could glide and climb walls. Sonic And Knuckles also featured the bonus levels from Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Other: Released: 1994 Sonic Triple Trouble - Sega Game Gear The best Game Gear Sonic. A sequel of sorts to Sonic the Hedgehog 3, this was the best of the Game Gear Sonic games. The graphics were silky-smooth and detailed, and the bonus zones involved Sonic and Tails displaying their piloting skills as they took to the sky in a pseudo-3D, airplane stage. Other: Released: 1994 Tomorrow we'll look at some more recent Sonic the Hedgehog titles. Come back for more at PlanetDreamcast! Choose a day of Sonic Week coverage: Day 2 - The Games of Sonic (1995 - Present/Unreleased) Day 3 - Sonic Merchandise Day 4 - The Creators of Sonic Day 5 - The Future of Sonic Special thanks goes too our hosted site, Shadow of a Hedgehog, for most of the media and some great info.