My Sonic the Hedgehog Marathon

[ThePrinceOfSaiyans]

For those who have been following my status updates recently, you know I have been playing every major console release for the Sonic the Hedgehog up to Sonic Generations, excluding the Story Book titles, as I do not own Black Knight. I recently finished this marathon, and I thought I’d share my thoughts on the experience as a whole. I decided to do this about a week ago, as I managed to actually beat Sonic the Hedgehog(1991). In commemoration of beating the very first Sonic the Hedgehog game, I thought it would be fun to do a Sonic marathon. I’ll try to keep my thoughts on each game as brief as I can, as going into depth about 12 Sonic games would be a nightmare X(.

 

Sonic the Hedgehog(1991): While this game hasn’t aged the best, I had a great time playing this title, Labyrinth Zone aside of course XD. One thing I noticed about this title is that it thrives on momentum. You gotta be good at this game, as you don’t have a spin dash for a crutch. Putting that aside, this game was hard! I honestly didn’t expect the first Sonic game in the series to be as hard as it was. Scrap Brain Zone was freakin’ brutal! Anyway, there isn’t much else to say about this title, it was just a pleasure to be able to beat the very first game in this series!

 

Sonic the Hedgehog 2: This game definitely had a greater focus on speed in comparison to Sonic 1, and the game was made much more enjoyable because of it. That being said, this game was no cakewalk either, especially when Metropolis Zone reared it’s head. I can see why SomecallmeJohnny has a grudge against Slicers now XD. Also, Wing Fortress zone was just confusing… Then of course there’s Silver Sonic and the Death Egg Robot… Hot damn, I still stand by the notion that he’s the hardest boss in the series. So much stress! Regardless, I managed to best him, which was incredibly satisfying. This game was definitely a step up from the first!

 

Sonic the Hedgehog CD: This one was sorta a mixed bag. I’m one of those Sonic fans who loves blazing through the stage as fast as possible. With Sonic CD, it’s sorta hard to do that, especially in stages like Wacky Workbench, seriously, fuck dat place. That being said, it was fun, and it sure has one wacky soundtrack XD. I’m honestly unsure which I prefer, but I think I’ll have to give the edge to the American soundtrack because of Sonic Boom.

 

Sonic 3 and Knuckles: Oh boy… I know it’s cliche, but this was definitely the most fun part of the marathon. In fact it was so fun, I went the extra mile and collected all the Super Emeralds with Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. Seriously, I could probably gush about this title all day, but I’ll try to condense my praise. I absolutely adore the level design. Like many have pointed out, it condenses speed, platforming, and exploration into one cohesive explosion of awesome! Of course, like with any game, there are problems, Sonic 3 and Knuckles’s problem is glitches, I managed to clip the wall and get stuck on a few occasions, which definitely put a damper on my experience.

 

Sonic Adventure: Ok, let me start by saying Sonic Adventure was the first video game I ever beat, so I definitely have a nostalgic fondness which clouds my judgement regarding this title. With that out of the way, I had a great time with this one. I still think Sonic’s portion of the game is the best 3D Sonic has to offer, despite the game’s shoddy programming, which I somehow managed to bypass in most cases. Unfortunately the rest of the game doesn’t hold up to standard set by Sonic’s awesome gameplay. That being said, I did enjoy my time with Tails, Knuckles, and even E-102 Gamma. As per usual, Amy and Big were a chore, but that’s nothing new. And whew boy how about that soundtrack? It’s easily one of my favorites in the franchise.

 

Sonic Adventure 2: The best part of this game was it’s story and characters. Despite the conflicting nature of this game, I greatly enjoyed the darker tone. As for the gameplay, Sonic and Shadow were, of course, the best part of the game. However, I should give attention to the mech stages, which I believe are unfairly criticized for “not being very Sonic”. Regardless of that fact, they’re still fun, which is what matters. As for the treasure hunting stages… some were fun, but ugh! Mad Space…!

 

Sonic Heroes: You know, I remember liking this title, but in my recent playthrough, I realized I must have been a very patient child. This game gave me so much shit! If it wasn’t the slippery physics that sent me flying off a cliff, it was the shoddy programming that sent me flying off scripting sequences into the abyss. Beyond that, some of the levels went on for waaaaay too long, and that was only accentuated by unfair death. Yeah, I enjoyed the art direction, the music and the team mechanic, but those things cannot save this pile.

 

Shadow the Hedgehog: You know, for as much shit as this game gets… I still think it deserves most of it, but It wasn’t as bad as I remember it being. The gameplay really wasn’t all that bad, but that was unfortunately hampered by the tedious mission structure, awful story, and terrible voice acting. As for the soundtrack, I don’t find it particularly memorable, but I found it enjoyable in the moment.

 

Sonic the Hedgehog(2006): Umm, there’s not much to say about this one, other than it’s bad. The best thing I can say about it, other than the fact it has a magnificent soundtrack, is that I didn’t run into a lot of glitches. Hell, funny story, I encountered more game breaking glitches in my playthrough of Sonic Heroes…

 

Sonic Unleashed(PS3/360): I’m not gonna lie, I actually managed to have fun with the Werehog. It certainly wasn’t the best part of the game, but man, I think this is just another case of “it’s not very Sonic-like so it’s bad”. I could be wrong, but that’s just what it feels like. Anyway, moving on. The Day-time stages were a blast! Jungle Joyride was a bit of a pain though XD. As far as Eggman Land goes, it was definitely difficult, but not as difficult as I remember. The first time I beat it, I think I clocked in at around an hour, but this time it was around 30 minutes. As for the story, it’s just as good as I remember!

 

Sonic Colors: Man, this game was just as good as I remember. It was sheer fun all the way through, and hot diggity damn, I forgot how good the soundtrack was, especially Planet Wisp’s music! As far as the story goes, it’s just as corny as I remember XD. On a side note, I decided to load up my completed profile to mess around with Super Sonic, and he’s incorporated quite well into the game. I think Wisps are neat, but I do like that Super Sonic supersedes their use, and keeps things moving.

 

Sonic Generations: This game was certainly an appropriate way to end this marathon, seeing all the modernized renditions of levels I played throughout this marathon just brought a smile to my face. Anyway, I’ve played this title so many times, I’m sorta at a loss at what to say about it… I guess I can talk about my favorite parts. My favorite level is most certainly Modern Sky Sanctuary as it’s simply gorgeous. Couple that with level design that branches in so many different directions, and it just leaves me in awe every time I play it. As for my favorite boss, Perfect Chaos is just exhilarating. blazing through a destroyed city, trying to avoid it’s attacks while also giving a boop to the head is just great fun! My only real gripe with the game is the Time Eater, as it’s just not very fun to fight…

 

This marathon was certainly an experience, one that reminded me why I’m a Sonic fan. Yeah, this marathon was most certainly full of ups and downs and all arounds, but even its lowest points couldn’t bring down its highest. I love this franchise, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the 25th anniversary! Oh, and if any of you have any questions regarding certain parts of any game, I'll be glad to discuss my experience with that part of the game!

[KingIgort]

Will probably be doing the same thing next year for the big 25th Anniversary. Though I personally consider the Story Book titles as spin-offs so I'll probably give them a miss. 

 

Just one question though: how come you didn't play through Sonic Lost World? It's the only main line Sonic game you seem to have missed! 

[ThePrinceOfSaiyans]

I simply skipped out on it because I felt Generations was an appropriate send off, considering it's a culmination of many of the past games. I also kinda wanted to end this marathon on a high note, as Lost World is sorta a mixed bag with it's lack of focus. 

[Super Sonic Speed]

Congrats. You've done better than me.

 

I've been trying this myself for over a month now with very mixed results and I'm practically failing at it.lol

 

I started with sonic the hedgehog games on the megadrive then somehow went completely out of order jumping to the 3ds generations, Sonic Boom ROL, Sonic riders, sonic heroes, sonic colors ds and then sonic rush. I have heaps of sonic games to go that I haven't even listed and for some reason only finished 4 games out of the ones I listed above.XD

 

I'm all over the place. It's kind of like I play the game and then just go to whatever I feel like playing. It was originally going to be in order then I kind of got bored.

 

Instead of playing in order it's practically

"hey this looks fun." Completes it. 

"Now this looks fun.=D"

"Oh crud this game is getting frustrating (sonic heroes)." Puts game down.

"Yay my Gamecube copy of sonic heroes is here. This is so much better than the PS2 copy"

Gets stuck in later level...........

"I wonder if this will be more fun." (sonic riders).

"I can't get past that stupid race course. Too hard!!!D=" Slowly puts game down............

"Hey Sonic Rush. It brought me back into sonic years ago. I think I'll play that again.=3"

"Sonic Runners. Yay!"

Forgets every game I was playing in the marathon to play a endless runner.

 

Yeah. I'm never going to get this done..................

 

I can't seem to settle on one game.

 

At least I'm doing better with this than my Pokemon marathon. My Pokemon marathon is literally play Pokemon green, get to 2nd gym. I don't like what I'm training. Let's start the game again and try a different way. 5 resets later. I think I'll play sonic.=/

Pokemon marathon can't seem to get past Pokemon green.XD

 

I'm terrible with marathons.

 

So again congrats on completing your marathon. You've achieved something that I'll probably never achieve.

[ThePrinceOfSaiyans]

I've decided I'm gonna do Lost World after all. I haven't played it since I completed it, and I kinda want to see how my opinion has change on it, if it has at all.

[Failinhearts]

You're doing Lost World now?

I wish you good luck if you're doing Boom then.... But hey, you went this far.

[ThePrinceOfSaiyans]

Just beat Lost World. It's a lot shorter than I remember it being. Anyway, it was a pretty mediocre title. The level design and aesthetics felt more akin to Mario than it did Sonic, and I'm not the biggest Mario fan. It also had a few gimmicky stages I didn't care for, like the Snowball stage, and the flight stage. As for the gameplay, it felt off.. The homing attack was very finicky, and it got me killed quite a few times. As far as the story goes, meh, I wasn't a big fan. Tails getting upset at Sonic for trusting Eggman to deactivate a machine he himself built felt a little forced. It also made Tails look like an arrogant prick. Beyond that, the Deadly Six were awfully 1-dimensional characters, who left no impression on me. I don't even remember their names aside from Zavok and Zazz. I also didn't find the music all that memorable either. I remember Windy Hill act 1, Sky Road act 1 and 2, and the rail grinding levels theme, BTW fuck the last rail grinding stage, but other than that, I don't remember any of the tracks. I'd say this game is better than Heroes, but only slightly... 

Edited August 19, 2015 by ThePrinceOfSaiyajins