1991, Game of the Year

[The_Liquid_Laser]

Jaicee said:

Dreamcaster999 said:

Sonic the Hedgehog was obviously a phenomenon and a cultural zeitgeist which launched Sega and the Mega Drive to not just compete with, but for a time, even overtake Nintendo. However, I feel that it is a game with inconsistent quality. Green Hill and Starlight are fantastic zones but conversely Marble and Labyrinth are abysmal and fail to understand that the ability to gain and enjoy speed through clever and skillful use of momentum are what makes Sonic so good. Therefore, I can't give Sonic 1 the nod for GotY, but if Sonic 2 can build on the good and eliminate the bad next year...

Kind of agree with this. Fundamentally I liked the game and its premise right from the outset, but Marble Zone was definitely a turn-off compared to its predecessor for me and the Labyrinth Zone actually resulted in me giving up and quitting the game for months; it kinda ruined the whole thing for me initially. Until I learned about the level select code that allowed me the grace of just skipping it. Then I got to "Scrap Brain Zone Act 3" only to discover that the nightmare was not yet over, omg! Who's idea was that? Like making the Labyrinth Zone the only one with a de facto fourth act? I hope they got fired because that surprise was just evil. It took me years of cultivation before I developed enough skill to actually beat the game straight through.

I actually have the Sonic 1 zones listed in order of my preference on a Google document alongside the other zones from the Sonic classics. I have them ranked thus:

1. Star Light Zone
2. Green Hill Zone
3. Spring Yard Zone
4. Marble Zone
5. Final Zone
6. Scrap Brain Zone <-- Ranks this bad for "Act 3".
27. Labyrinth Zone

My favorite Sonic game is actually this first one.  Once I beat it, it all clicked in my head how amazing the game is to play from beginning to end.  I even like Marble Zone, because I think a change up in the type of zones is good and enhances the overall experience.  However, the game does seriously lose points for Labyrinth Zone.  I put it in my list of top 50 games every year now, even ahead of Link to the Past.  However, it would have made top 20 if Labyrinth Zone wasn't in there.

There are very few games which do water stages well.  Super Mario Bros comes to mind immediately, but most other water stages are just aweful.