Sonic The Hedgehog 1 Sega Mega Drive
Livia Dossantos
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Sonic the Hedgehog (ソニックザヘッジホッグ, Sonikku za Hejjihoggu?) is a 2D platformer video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Mega Drive/Genesis. It is the launch title for the long running Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, marking the official debut of Sega's then-new mascot: Sonic the Hedgehog, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who can run at supersonic speeds and attack enemies with his signature Spin Attack maneuver. The game follows the titular hero on his mission to rescue the Animal Friends of South Island from an evil scientist named Dr. Ivo Robotnik (nicknamed "Eggman"), who is turning the Animals into Badniks in his search for powerful relics known as the Chaos Emeralds. It is up to Sonic to rescue the Animals and collect the Chaos Emeralds before Eggman can use them to conquer the world. The game is the first part of the grand Death Egg saga.
The game was originally released in North America and Europe on 23 June 1991,[2][3] with a Japanese release following a month later on 26 July.[1] Advertising its fast gameplay based on Sonic's extraordinary speed, the concept of a high-speed platform game was unique for its time and solidified the style of gameplay the series would be best known for. Due to the Mega Drive's 7.67MHz Motorola 68000 processor, the power of the console would allow for faster gameplay (dubbed by some as "Blast Processing") and impressive 16-bit graphics, making it much more powerful than Sega's preceding console, the Sega Master System.
Sonic the Hedgehog was well praised by critics and was a massive commercial success, which gave the Mega Drive, and by extent Sega itself, a huge boost in popularity, enough so that Sega could directly compete with Nintendo (specifically the Super Mario series), who soon followed up with the release of their Super Nintendo Entertainment System in the same year. This would result in what would be the first counterattack in a long, heated company rivalry that lasted throughout the 1990s, especially in the United States. In recent years, the game has been ported numerous times on many other consoles, with some ports adding newer features to the original game.
The story is set on South Island, an island known for being a treasure trove of ruins and gems. Amongst these treasures are the Chaos Emeralds, six gemstones with enough power to bring energy to all living beings, or power nuclear and laser weapons through science and technology. However, nobody really knows how to obtain these gems. This is because South Island is a moving island, with the Emeralds existing within natural distortions on the island.[7]
The story begins with a young heroic speedy anthropomorphic blue hedgehog named Sonic the Hedgehog, who can run at the amazing super speeds that allows him to travel supersonic speeds, and can curl himself into a powerful spinball attack, has spent whole his life, running and traveling through Green Hill Zone. One day while running, Sonic learns about the danger arising, that has come upon the South Island. He soon learns that the infamous Dr. Ivo Robotnik, an evil human scientist later known as "Dr. Eggman", and Sonic's arch-enemy, has landed on the island with his minions. Having returned to cause more trouble, Dr. Eggman concocts a new, nasty plan to crush Sonic with the power of science.[7] Soon after his arrival, he captures Sonic's Animal friends and turns them into his mindless Badnik servants and builds the Scrap Brain, a huge fortress on one corner of the island where the mad doctor develops his plans, and also begins hunting the Chaos Emeralds in order to use their incredible power, declaring that he will find them even if he has to dig up the entire island.[8]
Upon learning of Dr. Eggman's ambitions through rumors, Sonic rushes to South Island to stop him and save his Animal friends. Sonic travels through the various Zones on South Island, freeing his Animal friends by destroying every single Badniks, and defeating Dr. Eggman and his various contraptions along the way while hunting for the Chaos Emeralds.
Eventually, Sonic infiltrates the Scrap Brain. After being cornered inside, Dr. Eggman activates a trap that destroys the floor the hedgehog is standing on, dropping him into the ruins underneath the base. Making his way back into the stronghold, Sonic enters a trap-ridden room with his nemesis in it, and the two engage in a final fight. When the hero destroys the room, a defenseless Eggman tries to escape in his Egg Mobile. Before the villain can escape, however, Sonic defeats Dr. Eggman by landing a powerful final hit on the hovercraft, and causing him to slowly fall down.[9]
With Eggman's ambitions (and the Scrap Brain) crumbled, peace has returned to South Island, all Badniks have been destroyed, Sonic's Animal friends have been liberated from their Capsules, and the island's treasures and jewels are safe once again. Sonic then returns to Green Hill, where he finds his Animal friends joyfully jumping around, hailing Sonic a hero, and celebrating his victory.[9] After that, the game's ending will depend on the player's process:
Sonic the Hedgehog is a 2D side-scrolling platform video game. The only playable character here is Sonic the Hedgehog. The main goal of the game is to get through a series of Acts for different Zones in less than ten minutes. When passing through each Act, the player will be contending with different types of enemies called "Badniks" and various terrains that have different gimmicks and obstacles along them. The level designs all vary, each with different types of gimmicks and layouts that may differ between Zones. Along the way, the player can earn points by collecting items and defeating Badniks. In order to conclude the first two Acts of a Zone, the player has to pass a Goal Plate at the end of said Acts. To complete the third and final Act of most Zones on the other hand, the player typically has to open a Capsule at the end of the Act, after a boss fight. Also upon completing an Act, the player's overall score will be tallied, with bonus points being granted based on their performance, these being the number of Rings held after passing the Goal Plate and how fast the player finishes the Act.
Sonic's most basic ability is running, which can reach impressive speeds when momentum is build up, allowing him to run through loops or up ramps and launch himself high up into the air. For offensive maneuvers, Sonic has a full body rolling maneuver called Super Sonic Spin Attack and a spinning jump called the Super Sonic Spin Jump. These techniques allow him to destroy breakable objects and enemies.
In Sonic the Hedgehog, the gameplay operates on a life system, while Sonic takes damage when touching a Badnik or hazard or getting attacked by a boss or Badnik. Throughout the Acts however, Rings lie scattered about, which Sonic can pick up by simply touching them. Rings give an extra life after collecting 100 or 200 of them, grant points and protect the player from taking damage. If Sonic takes damage, he will drop all of his Rings, though some can be recollected before they disappear. Taking damage without any Rings will cost the player a life. Sonic will also lose a life, regardless of the Rings he holds, if he spends too long underwater without replenishing his air supply (air underwater lasts for thirty seconds), falls into a bottomless pit, gets smashed to the ground by a crusher, drowning or runs out of time. Star Posts act as checkpoints, and the player will respawn in the last one they touched after losing a life, or from the beginning of the Act if they have not passed any Star Post. If a player loses their last life, the game will end, but they can keep playing as long as they have obtained Continues. Also scattered throughout each Act are Item Boxes which contain various power-ups beneficial to Sonic's performance.
If the player has at least fifty Rings on hand at the end of the first or second Act of a Zone, they will be able to enter one of six Special Stages through a Giant Ring that appears above the Goal Plate. Once the player has cleared all six Special Stages, the Giant Rings will no longer appear. If Sonic does not jump in before the Goal Plate stops spinning, he will automatically run off of the screen, preventing the player from entering the Special Stage. At the end of each Act, the player can also jump through the air during the score tallying to find invisible Secret Bonuses that are added to the score.
Beside the game's main goal, the player can also collect the Chaos Emeralds, which are earned by completing the different Special Stages. Collecting all six Emeralds and completing the Final Zone will unlock the game's good cinematic ending.
Sonic the Hedgehog has seven Zones. The first six of these Zones contain three full-length Acts, with the third having just a battle against a boss. The final Zone only consists of the final boss fight.
Should Sonic finish the first or second Act of any of the first five Zones with at least fifty Rings, a Giant Ring will appear. If the player jumps into it, they will warp into a "Special Stage", which conceals one of the six Chaos Emeralds. In these stages, Sonic falls through a series of rotating mazes while constantly spinning himself.
The player's goal is to guide Sonic through the maze whilst avoiding the deceiving "Goal" obstacles that kick them out of the Special Stage empty-handed. Along the way, they will find different gimmicks that might either assist or hinder their process, such as Bumpers, Up and Down blocks that change the maze's rotating speed, or Reverse blocks that make the level revolve clockwise or counterclockwise. Color Blocks that change color and eventually disappear when touched enough times are common as well. At the end of the Special Stage, there is a Chaos Emerald encased in said Color Blocks. The stage will end in a success when Sonic touches the Emerald.
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