After 22 years, the original Sonic the Hedgehog is still as good as it was back then.
Lows: Too short, Sonic can't do the spin dash, stage design is a little too complex, even though it's great.
Verdict: The game that started it all is still going strong after all these years.
With the Master System losing badly to the NES and without the proper mascot to compete with Nintendo's Mario, Sega needed the mascot that could make the Genesis/Mega Drive into a force to be reckoned with. They did just that, and they brought us Sonic the Hedgehog, released for the Genesis/Mega Drive in 1991. Even though Sonic couldn't surpass Mario in popularity, and even though the Genesis lost the war, Sega, with their new mascot put up one helluva fight because they weren't going to let Nintendo win the 16-bit console wars without a fight. Anyway, in Sonic the Hedgehog, you play as Sonic, as he is on a mission to stop the evil Dr. Eggman from using his arsenal of robots from taking over the world. Playing Sonic is fast and fun, as the levels are designed to look like a roller-coaster ride, and they are challenging, and very well designed. The graphics are very colorful, as it looks better than what the NES was putting out at the time. The music is excellent, as each stage has a rockin tune that almost sounds like the real thing you get on a CD. The bonus stages are very rewarding as you get a chaos emerald if you manage to conquer it. Also, there aren't any gimmicks like Sonic being a knight in one game and, well, it isn't like the other Sonic games that are out today. In the original game, it's just Sonic being Sonic, and that's how it should be. However, Sonic the Hedgehog is not without problems. The game is pretty short, as there are only 6-7 zones to visit, Sonic can't do his famous spin-dash like in the other games - it wasn't introduced until Sonic 2, and the stage design - even though it's great, it feels a bit too big and complex, so it's easy to get lost. Overall, the original Sonic the Hedgehog is a great game. Copies of the original game should be cheap and easy to find on Ebay and Amazon, this game should be in everyone's Genesis/Mega Drive game catalogue by default! Or, you can just pick up the Sonic Mega Collection for GameCube in order to experience this classic, not to mention this game's avaliability on Wii Virtual Console. Play it whenever you can. It's worth it.