The rabbit was designed to be able to pick things up with his ears. This would later be utilised in SEGA's 1995 Ristar game where the protagonist could stretch his arms to grab enemies and swing from poles. A third idea put forward (and I know I've talked about him before) was a Theodore Roosevelt look-alike in pyjamas. (Why pyjamas? It was the late 80s. Looking back, that was probably the least questionable fashion choice of the time) They wanted to include an "egg-shaped" character and so combined those two ideas to create the games main antagonist Dr Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik. Yuji Naka had also been working on a programme that involved a sphere following a set path at high speed, this leads them on to creatures that curl into balls. Despite armadillos having this defensive tactic, Naka and Oshima went for a hedgehog as this could double as an offence. Colouring him blue (SEGAs signature colour) and giving him that early 90s "I'm here, deal with it" attitude we all remember fondly, the world was introduced to "Mr Needlemouse". Eh... "Sonic the Hedgehog".
Debut: Sonic the Hedgehog was first released for the SEGA Mega Drive (or SEGA Genesis if you're American) on June 23rd, 1991. The game mainly consisted of you dashing right continuously, going through loops, picking up rings and popping little animals out of robots. (Or Badniks as they're called) It was simple and elegant. It had a certain dynamic to it Mario lacked. It was everything SEGA had hoped for. Levels were set up as "Zones". Each having their own theme and obstacles. These were further split into "Stages", two levels and a boss fight. Each boss fight consisted of Dr Robotnik flying in with a device designed to kill Sonic once and for all. The original Sonic game was so successful that it was ported to the Master System (SEGAs previous system) and the Game Gear (SEGAs handheld) later that same year by developers Ancient. Both of these had to be scaled back from 16-bit to 8-bit and levels changed but the results were still just as popular. (And might I say glorious)
The Master System II model even started coming with Sonic the Hedgehog built into it, just like Alex Kidd in previous years. The premise was simple: Stop Dr Robotnik from taking over the world. That's all that was needed to get people from start to finish and enjoy the experience. The Chaos Emeralds (long standing series MacGuffins and collectables before it was cool) were introduced this early on, scattered throughout certain levels to find, unlocking an extended ending to whoever found them all. Music was provided by Masato Nakamura and his J-Pop band Dreams Come True, providing some of the most iconic and recognisable music in games today. (Psst... Up, Down, Left, Right on the title screen to hear a ding, then hold A and press Start for Level Select. Not that I would condone such tactics...)
Sequels and Innovations: On November 21, 1992, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was released for SEGA Mega Drive. With this sequel comes a tonne of new features. Corkscrew paths and speed boosting pads are added to levels, adding a new layer of excitement to the fast-paced action. Not only was a second playable character introduced, Miles "Tails" Prower, but a second person could pick up a pad and play as Tails as well. Sonic had a new move as well, the spin dash. Holding down and pressing the B button allowed you to spin on the spot until you let go and shot off at full speed, knocking through enemies and certain walls. "Special Stages" were also presented in 3D, involving Sonic and Tails to run through a half-pipe, collecting rings and avoiding bombs until they collected enough to receive a Chaos Emerald.
Possibly the most iconic change to the series was what happened when you collected all the Chaos Emeralds. In any level, once the Emeralds were yours, once you collected 50 rings you could become Super Sonic. Gold in colour and completely invincible (except for being crushed or bottomless pits) you could essentially fly through the level, destroying every enemy you touched. (Even the camera had a hard time keeping up with you)
Again, Sonic 2 was ported to the Master System and Game Gear but without the two-player function or Sonic's "Spin Dash" attack. (Sonic does get his own paraglider though, so there's that)
Sonic 3 was released on February 2nd, 1994. Sonic and Tails were back and this time players controlling Tails could use his twin tails for limited flight. He even had the ability to swim, unlike Sonic. (Fun Fact: Yuji Naka believed that hedgehogs couldn't swim resulting in Sonic sinking like a stone in any body of water) Each "Zone" this time was split into two "Stages" each. At the end of stage 1 the player would fight a mini-boss and at the end of stage 2, they would fight Dr Robotnik in one of his machines. Each level felt more connected and story driven than in the previous games. Stage and Zone transition screens would correspond with one another to create a set path of events rather than a random series of levels stuck together. (i.e. Green Hill Zone; Labyrinth Zone; Marble Zone) Elemental shields were introduced to provide various protections to the player. There was a bubble that allowed water breathing, a fire shield that let you withstand lava and let you shoot like a fireball and an electric shield that attracted rings to you. The game also introduced another long-standing cast member, Knuckles theEnchiladas Echidna.
(Apparently, it's like a hedgehog with a long nose, who knew?) Knuckles has been tricked by Dr Robotnik into helping him stop Sonic and retrieve the Chaos Emeralds. Basically, a smug chump who doesn't realise he's a dupe until the very end. (See; Anti-Villain, The Brute, Ditzy Genius, Fatal Flaws, Genius Bruiser, Giggling Villain, Horrible Judge of Character and so much more. That's just him in Sonic 3. If you wondered why it took me a while to write this, blame TV Tropes) I had the weirdest fascination with Knuckles when I was wee. He had spikes on his fists and metal plates on his shoes, he was cool. If only you got to play as him...
Que Sonic and Knuckles, released October 18th, 1994. Originally Sonic 3 and S&K were meant to be one game, but due to limited space on the cartridge and steep costs, this proved to be impossible. (34MB cartridges cost a mint in the early 90s. Yup, 34MB. Never complaining about the cost of a 1TB hard drive again...) As it was essentially the second half of Sonic 3, S&K picks up directly where S3 finished, having crashed Dr Robotnik's space station into the sea. Sonic, Tails and Knuckles were playable characters this time around. Sonic and Knuckles even had two separate stories to play through. The game cartridge itself incorporated a "lock-on" adapter that allowed you to plug another cartridge on top of it. Two games benefited from this greatly: Sonic 2 and 3. It allowed you to play as Knuckles in both of these games, making the gameplay slightly different. Knuckles couldn't jump as high (which arguably made some of the boss fights harder) but could glide and climb walls, opening up new areas that Sonic or Tails couldn't reach. Many reviewers at the time stated that the "lock on" feature made the previous Sonic games worth playing through again just for the experience of the new character. Other games could be plugged into the S&K game but generally, a message saying "No Way" would appear and the player would be transported to an infinite loop of "Special Stage".
Right you lovely people. I feel I've talked your ear off (or your eyes... you know what I mean) and that's a brief taste of something I would like to do with other game series I hold close to my heart. Now I know I stopped this story at the end of 1994 but past that are troubling times. I don't want to besmirch the good memories with the less good ones. More on those another time. (If you enjoyed this enough to want another time that is) In the meantime let me leave you with a couple of pictures that help signify my love for the early Sonic years. Kisses.
Again, Sonic 2 was ported to the Master System and Game Gear but without the two-player function or Sonic's "Spin Dash" attack. (Sonic does get his own paraglider though, so there's that)
Sonic 3 was released on February 2nd, 1994. Sonic and Tails were back and this time players controlling Tails could use his twin tails for limited flight. He even had the ability to swim, unlike Sonic. (Fun Fact: Yuji Naka believed that hedgehogs couldn't swim resulting in Sonic sinking like a stone in any body of water) Each "Zone" this time was split into two "Stages" each. At the end of stage 1 the player would fight a mini-boss and at the end of stage 2, they would fight Dr Robotnik in one of his machines. Each level felt more connected and story driven than in the previous games. Stage and Zone transition screens would correspond with one another to create a set path of events rather than a random series of levels stuck together. (i.e. Green Hill Zone; Labyrinth Zone; Marble Zone) Elemental shields were introduced to provide various protections to the player. There was a bubble that allowed water breathing, a fire shield that let you withstand lava and let you shoot like a fireball and an electric shield that attracted rings to you. The game also introduced another long-standing cast member, Knuckles the
Que Sonic and Knuckles, released October 18th, 1994. Originally Sonic 3 and S&K were meant to be one game, but due to limited space on the cartridge and steep costs, this proved to be impossible. (34MB cartridges cost a mint in the early 90s. Yup, 34MB. Never complaining about the cost of a 1TB hard drive again...) As it was essentially the second half of Sonic 3, S&K picks up directly where S3 finished, having crashed Dr Robotnik's space station into the sea. Sonic, Tails and Knuckles were playable characters this time around. Sonic and Knuckles even had two separate stories to play through. The game cartridge itself incorporated a "lock-on" adapter that allowed you to plug another cartridge on top of it. Two games benefited from this greatly: Sonic 2 and 3. It allowed you to play as Knuckles in both of these games, making the gameplay slightly different. Knuckles couldn't jump as high (which arguably made some of the boss fights harder) but could glide and climb walls, opening up new areas that Sonic or Tails couldn't reach. Many reviewers at the time stated that the "lock on" feature made the previous Sonic games worth playing through again just for the experience of the new character. Other games could be plugged into the S&K game but generally, a message saying "No Way" would appear and the player would be transported to an infinite loop of "Special Stage".
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| Me, October 31st, 1993 |
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| 24 years later, the head survives |
As a fan (and sometime gamer) this is interesting and fun...makes me want to play all over again! Still hate Tails tho', an annoying wee fud...! (As a teacher, check your spelling and grammar...)
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