| firebush03 said: Call it an unfair comparison — one game was a revolution in an industry of arcade domination, whereas the other had an entire generation to learn from — however, both games scratch a very similar itch: An arcade-style, platforming adventure which spans across a variety of side-scrolling worlds. The original goal in creating Sonic the Hedgehog was a response to the tedium felt upon receiving a “Game Over” in Super Mario Bros (NES). Instead of taking upwards of thirty minutes to possibly hours trying to get back the world you “Game Over”-ed on, Sonic was designed with far more consideration: If you are comfortable with the game and its earlier levels, then Sonic has the speed to get you right back to where you left off within mere minutes. It’s an evolution on a game which revolutionized the industry… to an extent, one could say Sonic the Hedgehog was the spiritual successor to Mario Bros NES. That said… what’s your pick? I actually just finished my first playthrough of Sonic 1 & 2 today— I absolutely love these two games now! They have aged like wine. (So, it should be clear what my pick is lol.) |
I have to keep reminding myself that you're only 22 years old! That like it's actually possible for someone alive today to have never played the original Sonic classics before. Wow.
Anyway, that's a great perspective on what the original Sonic the Hedgehog at least sought to accomplish! When it first came out, my preference was for Sonic the Hedgehog by a landslide. It was bright, colorful, faster-moving, had a way hipper soundtrack, and was just generally more stylish. All the things that said cooler and higher-end, which is what many of us who'd grown into our tweens on the NES were looking for. In 2025 though it does seem less truly novel to me. I don't know if I totally agree with the notion that Sonic 1 succeeded at that goal of speeding you along to your last Game Over point, considering the existence of like the Marble Zone, and the goddamn Labyrinth Zone that inexcusably gets a de fact fourth act in contrast to all the others, etc., but that is very much a byproduct of taking too many design cues from the Super Mario franchise. There are just too many things there to slow you down. Sonic 2 is where the hedgehog really found his footing, to me, and became truly his own thing. Not so much clutter yet plenty of challenge left over, plus streamlining the zones into (generally) two-act affairs gives the whole experience a much greater sense of momentum. Even its water zone (Aquatic Ruin) is vastly superior for offering skilled players a totally above-water route, with going underwater serving as a de facto punishment for screwing up and an incentive to master it.
Last edited by Jaicee - on 19 October 2025
