Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog screenshots

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  reggie wrote:

  Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game developed in Japan by SEGA, and published for Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. Sonic is the first game in the series and was developed by Sonic Team. It was released in 1991 in North America and Japan.

Sonic is a blue hedgehog living on South Island with his friends. He has to encounter Doctor Ivo Robotnik, or Dr. Eggman in the Japanese version. The villain seeks to obtain Chaos Emeralds so that he can take over the world. Sonic pursues him and tries to stop him from his evil plans and after he manages, he returns on the island to his normal life.

The player has six levels to pass, and the game is split in three Acts. At the end of the game, Sonic has to encounter Dr. Robotnik in one of his vehicles. Sonic has lots of skills and the game focuses on his abilities, such as springing, sloping and others. Sonic must avoid different animals trapped inside mechanical bodies.

Sonic can also collect 100 rings throughout the game to get an extra life. The rings act as a layer of protection against hazards. Lamp posts act as checkpoints in the game. In the Japanese version, if a checkpoint is reached, the time will reset to 0:00 if the player lost a life as a result of running out of time.

Sonic can also reach a special stage, if he has 50 rings by the end of Act 1 and Act 2. The act is a 360° rotating maze. Sonic bounces off the bumpers and walls like a pinball, and needs to obtain Chaos Emeralds.

The development process of the game started in April 1990, when Sega ordered its AM-8 team. Their task was to develop a game featuring a mascot for the company. The small group, consisting of only five people, changed the name to Sonic Team after choosing the hedgehog as the mascot. The game was released for many platforms, including computer, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 3 and Xbox360.

Sonic the Hedgehog was a very popular game and was followed up by some other releases in the next years. However, the first release was not as good as the second and third, and was mostly criticized for its poor graphics and sound. The gameplay was not very interesting either, and was considered easy by critics and press.

Still, the game sold 15 millions of copies all over the world and helped SEGA gain 65% of the market share against Nintendo at that time. Though the critics were a bit tough on the game, many players all over the world loved the game and rated it with 5 out of 5 stars.

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