Sega CD #1: Sonic CD

At long last Sonic CD! I've been wanting to play this game for almost twenty years now. I don't think I'm alone in that either. I think this is the game that the most people wanted to play who never got to. The Sega CD was a modest success, but it never really got to smaller places like Arkansas. We all had to read about it in magazines where it was almost always called the best Sonic game ever made. I thought everyone would finally get the chance when all those Sonic collections started getting released, but it was left off most of them. By the time they finally got around releasing it everybody already had one of the earlier collections. I will always remember 2011 as the year I finally got to play this mythical game.

All these years I was expecting a nicer looking version of Sonic 2, but this game is unlike any other ones in the series. At first it seems like any other Sonic game. The fist level is certainly familiar looking. Then you start to notice some strange things. There are some very strange design elements such as rings that are stuck in the middle of walls and areas that just don't look like they can be reached. Of course you will ask yourself the most obvious question. "Does this have anything to do with those whispering signs." That's a silly question. Of course it does.

Sonic CD allows you to travel through time. In fact, you are trying to go back in time to destroy Dr. Robotnik's evil plans before the world is destroyed. This means hunting down an evil machine somewhere in the level and destroying it in the past. What this all means is that this particular game is focused on exploration instead of speed. That seems like a small thing, but in a game like Sonic it makes a huge difference. Some of the levels are quite small and can be finished in only a couple of minutes if they are ran through in the traditional fashion. However, if you take your time and explore this game it becomes a much richer experience.

I was a little bit skeptical about this game at first, but the more I played it the more I enjoyed it. It's similar to Castlevania IV in that it has many graphical tricks and game elements that are revealed slowly throughout the game. The more you get into it the more you will see. I always wanted to go on to the next level just so I could see the sights. It also has interesting boss fights. It's not the usual dodge Robotnik and then hit him eight times routine. Some of those bosses I sill don't understand, but I defeated them all so that's what really counts.

My one main complaint about this game is the very easy difficulty level. Now I know that I'm 27 years old and have been playing games like these for about 23 of those years, but I think I could've gotten through this game when I was in kindergarten. The slower pace makes it easier to walk around safely, and none of the regular enemies are that much trouble. The game autosaves, so even if you get a game over you can start back at the world you were just in. It doesn't even make you start over like all those other Sonic games. I will say, though, that I prefer this to the invisible spike after every just system of Sonic 3, but it does diminish the experience somewhat. Now I will admit that I didn't destroy all the evil machines or beat all the bonus stages, but I only see these as making the game longer. It doesn't add to the challenge that much.

So I guess it's time for the verdict. After all the hype this could've been a complete letdown, but I really enjoyed this one. It almost felt like capturing a lost piece of my childhood. It is much different than the other games, but it still fits in with the rest of the series. I think the graphics are really nice, and it is interesting that instead of animals the robots turn into plants. Just be warned, if you do play it than you are going to get that cheesy song stuck in your head. It's even got the lyrics printed inside so you can sing along during the credits. But hey, just be thankful that this isn't Sonic Adventure. At least this one doesn't rap.

Sega Genesis #3: Sonic the Hedgehog

Even though Sega had already been in the home console game for around ten years, this is where Sega began for most people. It's so synonymous with the company that it's hard to even think about Sega games existing before this, and yet they had been in the game a long time. They started out as a 3rd party publisher releasing games on Atari and Colecovision, and in 1986 they released the Master System which competed with the NES. Heck, Sonic's wasn't even their original mascot. That honor goes to Alex Kidd. He had a strong start on the Master System, but his subsequent games ruined the character. Hey, that sounds a little familiar.

Sonic the Hedgehog was released about two years into the life of the Genesis, and it caused millions of kids to suddenly want one. I'll never forget those old commercials. Sonic seemed so fast and exciting. We all doubted that Nintendo could do a game like that. They also had Larry Cedar dressed up like and old lady with tongue-in-cheek references to Mario. Back then Mario was the king of video games, and I had never heard him mentioned negatively anywhere. It was like I was suddenly in an alternate universe where there were other machines to play video games on. I was actually pretty excited.

By the time I realized that I wanted a Genesis in 1991 "Santa" had already gotten me a SNES. Luckily that thing was awesome, and I was able to put Sonic out of my mind until next Christmas. There are some things I will always remember, and one of those is the first time I played Sonic. First of all, when you turned on a Genesis game it would talk to you. That was almost cool enough right there to justify getting the new system. Of course it also had all those good games. That was definitely a plus.

Sonic blew me away when I first played it. The style of game was familiar, but everything about it was different. It was super fast, had those giant levels with branching paths and plenty of hidden treasures, that cool rotating bonus level, and of course the unique ring system. Ever since Super Mario Brothers came out games had you collecting 100 of something. Occasionally it was only 50, but the end result was usually just a 1-up. Sonic changed everything by making the rings he collected act as his life bar. Sure you could get an extra life at 100, but that was only part of it. It was contorting to know that you would be safe as long as you had 1 ring left.

I played the heck out of this game as a kid. I loved pausing the game at certain times to reveal funny graphical moments. Times like when Dr. Robotnik's giants glowing wrecking ball would be solid brown, or when two swinging platforms in Marble Zone would swing towards each other and actually fuse together for a moment. This is something I still do when I play the game, and it shows how obsessive about this game I was.

This game was also quite hard, and it was years before I ever actually beat it. I always got hung up on Labyrinth Zone. All those hidden spikes and drowning possibilities got to me. I've still only been to Starlight and Scrap Brain Zone a few times. What I had to do to beat this game was walk away for a while and try again when I was older. When I played it again in high school I suddenly found out that I was awesome at Sonic. When I beat the game I had over 20 lives and every emerald and continue that was available. I actually felt a little silly having so much trouble with it, but that's the game. I was only so good because I knew all those earlier levels well and could snatch up all the rings and lives.

I thought that it might be difficult again playing it now after so long, but I didn't have too much trouble. I don't think I died until Labyrinth Zone, but after that I died plenty. I still got all the emeralds, and I had forgotten how disappointing the ending was. Well that's Sega for you. I did have a great time playing it though. It took a little under an hour, and it was a nice way to spend a Friday evening.

So that's Sonic the Hedgehog. It's the game that started arguments all over the country among kids who weren't that into sports. Mario vs Sonic debates are still heated today. This also marks the beginning of what was probably the greatest era in gaming. All of a sudden Nintendo had competition and that caused them to make better games. There would be countless classics from both companies, and a few stray ones on other systems, for the next 6 years or so before Sega started to implode and Sony became the new king in town. Still, I doubt any of our childhoods would have been nearly as fun without Sega's glory days.

Oh, and on a side note my girlfriend also beat Sonic for the first time soon after I got done with it. It took her a lot more lives, but she stuck with it and was able to take down Robotnik with no trouble. I think she deserves a round of applause, so clap for her when you read this. She won't be able to hear you, but I think she'll still appreciate it.