Super Mario Bros [NES] v. Sonic the Hedgehog [‘91]

[Gprofessor]

curl-6 said:

rapsuperstar31 said:

I never understood the appeal of Sonic and I have tried to play the first game probably a dozen times over the last 30 years. I run forward until I hit something and lose all my rings. Rinse and repeat. In the dozens of times I've tried to force myself to like the game, I've maybe gotten to the third level on my furthest attempt before getting mad that the game stinks.

archbrix said:

Sonic still looks pretty, even today, but once you're past the first world where you stop just running through hoops and actually have to platform, the game falls apart. It's not even close for me.

CourageTCD said:

Same for me. In fact, I think that Sonic's gotta-go-fast nature is counter intuitive for the genre of the game. Platformers are all about jump precision between plataforms but Sonic basically asks you to keep your shoes on the ground, running as fast as possible. And then the game's level put obsticles and cliffs that harm you if you run like Sonic is supposed to do, so you have not run and lose momentum that is required for him to run in specific parts of the levels. To me, Sonic is a mess

Yeah, much of this rings true for me as well, it always felt like the super speed gimmick clashed with the basic requirements of a platformer.

Sonic was a pop culture hit due to the spectacle and style, as a game it's kind of poor.

Calling the Sonic games poor is something that is very far removed from the truth. They may not be your kind of game, but they offer something unique, and do it in a mechanically deep way, while being presented with exquisite graphics and music. 

As far the 16 but era is concerned the level design in the Sonic games is vastly different from other platformers, with gigantic, labyrinthine levels that are very difficult to map and most of the time block your way back, forcing you to constantly choose paths. This forces you to play the game slow,  explore and find the best paths among the multiple choices. 

After you become familiar with the stages and the games physics, which are more complex and crucial to the gameplay than, say, Mario's, you now start getting your reward, which is going fast and doing extremely cool stuff!

I get that these kind of games are not for everyone, it is not as accessible as Mario, but it is also more deep and engaging, if you are of the mindset to play again and again and perfect your runs. You don't have to speedrun the games, but just being good at them makes you enjoy them so much more. 

And, of course, the graphics, settings, environmental storytelling and MUSIC are some of the best in any game that has ever come out, making the 16bit Sonic contestants for best games of all time in a lot of peoples minds, including mine.