Sonic, to take away
Written: Feb 19 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: For it's time amazing,graphics,sound,control,fun
Cons: Not the best Sonic title by any means
The Bottom Line: Its maybe not as relevant as it was at release, for retro fans,Sonic for the GG is an excellent example of why the system isn't the failure its often called.
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| flash-hammer's Full Review: Sonic the Hedgehog for Game Gear |
When we were kids, both my sibling and I got a handheld gaming system. I got a Game Boy, complete with Tetris and Super Mario Land, and she got a Game Gear with Columns and Sonic The Hedgehog.
For those unaware, Sonic became Sega's mascot after his early 90s debut on the company's Megadrive/Genesis console, and quickly earned himself a sequel, as well as a port to Sega's less powerful Master System console. Because it was basically a portable Master System, the Game Gear recieved a port of this version, complete with it's most infamous fault, but an impressive feat for a handheld nonetheless.
This game follows the standard practice of Sonic games, where you control the speedy blue hedgehog, and aim to reach the right hand side of the screen, and the level's end, from your starting place at the far,far left. Sound simple? well you do have the ability to gather rings, 100 giving you an extra life, not to mention Speed-boost shoes and invincibility power ups. Piece of cake then? well, you also have to negotiate bottomless pits,various robotic enemies and traps set by your nemesis, the evil Dr.Robotnik.
This was made before Sonic 2, so Sonic is without his most famous attack, the Spin-Dash. This means that the only way to kill enemies is to roll into them while running or jumping on their heads.
The gameplay is the Sonic engine at it's most basic, absolutely no frills attached. However, for a portable game, especially at the time, the gameplay was absolutely fantastic. This may not have had as good graphics as the Megadrive games, but it certainly captured the atmosphere and the adrenaline rush of the Sonic series, and is a great little game for it's time.
The game has six zones, each comprising of 3 stages, two standard levels, and one boss fight. One thing that really got to be annoying was that the game didn't give you any rings for the boss fight, and as Im sure you know, in Sonic, rings allow him to take two hits instead of one. This aside, I felt the layout and number of stages was adequate for a game of this size, and the number of stages was spot on, because while it could be realistically completed on the Game Gear's legendarily short battery span, it could still provide the player with enough challenge to be enjoyable.
For those wondering what I meant by the infamous fault, Im referring to the fact that you can actually run so fast you go off-screen at times, occasionally leading to unintentional deaths. One fault I do have is with the design of a handful of the stages, which rely too much on slow-moving platforms, which really isn't Sonic's thing, and is more suited to a Mario game, but that aside, I felt the gameplay was a decent, if basic, interpretation of a Sonic title. One bizzare thing is that instead of winning the Chaos Emeralds in bonus games,as with in every other Sonic title, they are hidden about the levels. I've no idea how, if at all, they effect the ending, given that I've never found the Jungle Zone emerald.
Graphically, the game may not seem like much in comparison to current handheld games on the Gameboy Advance, but back then, it really was something special, and sit this next to Super Mario Land on the Game Boy for a powerful contrast in the power of the Game Gear compared to it's closest rival at the time. The colours are bright and clear, as in the home version, and the game is generally a graphical wonder for it's time and console. The sprites are well animated and detailed, and only really some of the backgrounds have skimped on detail.
The sound is a bit of a funny note for me, because the sound on the Game Gear is broken, so Im going from memory, and the sound in the version found on the Sonic Mega Collection Plus for the XBox. The music is clear, and features some classic Sonic-sounding tunes, which really cannot be faulted, especially given that this is a handheld. Admittedly most of the sound effects could have been better, but they did get the one important one correct, the sound of Sonic collecting a ring.
Controls are simple, both buttons jump. It really doesn't seem possible to fault the layout, and the response of them is superb, as it has to be in a game where speed is the name of it, and I have to say Sega got their controls spot on.
In general, Sonic The Hedgehog for the Game Gear is an enjoyable little platform game that for it's time really was a spectacle. But in this day and age, it's place really is questionable, given that the GG is far larger, and less likely to be used as a portable gaming device these days, so it kind of detracts from what made it so great at the time. If you are into retro videogames, and the Sonic series or GG titles especially, then I would recommend the game if it were going at a cheap price, but it really isn't worth putting effort into tracking down, and unless you fit that bill, there isn't much to recommend it on.
Im actually pretty unsure as to what to score this game, but I eventually settled on 4 stars. While time, and the death of it's system, has detracted from it's overall appeal, there is no denying that for the technology, and the time, this game was spectacular, and even in this day and age, if you have a Game Gear hooked up to a plug adapter at home for retro gaming sessions, Sonic is an excellent in terms of enjoyment little platform title.
Other Sonic Reviews
Sonic the Hedgehog for Sega Genesis
Sonic Adventure for Dreamcast
Sonic Heroes for XBox
Recommended:
Yes
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flash-hammer
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