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

[firebush03]

Leynos said:

The 16-Bit Sonics are not "fast"; that's the modern series ever since Dreamcast, where it just became a straight line and holy shit speeeed!

The original 3 games have branching paths in most levels. The goal was to maintain momentum. Avoid obstacles and stomp enemies in stride, and do it long enough rewarded with speed.

I feel like Sega really missed the mark when they chose to advertise the game as (literally) “Gotta go fast!” The game is so much more than speed: the amount of ways you can interact with such a small handful of levels is kinda unbelievable. Sonic 1 less so than Sonic 2, which I find to legitimately be overwhelming in how much is left to explore.