Reminiscing about Sonic and the Genesis

[Gabriel]

Last night I grabbed my 6 in 1 game cart and fired up the old Genesis. For the first time in quite a while, I decided to play some Sonic.

 

I got my original Genesis in August of 1992. I had just managed to somewhat emotionally recover from my great grandmother's death in early June and had managed to land a job which put me somewhat on my feet. My state of mind at the time was that of extreme fun deprivation. My last new console had been my Atari 5200 (which I had got in the early Summer of 1983).

 

I had been attracted to the Genesis because of the commercials running at the time. At that point they were running the ones with the guy dressed up like an old biddy. He/she would complain during the commercial how evil the Genesis was and present more wholesome alternatives like "macaroni art." The commercials were funny, and the games shown looked sharp.

 

So, that August day had me in Toys R Us for whatever reason (I honestly don't remember why). I was with a friend and we started looking at the video games. The Genesis started looking VERY appealing to me at this point. I can't remember them all (and my tastes have changed a bit in the interrim) but there were dozens of games I felt I would enjoy on the Genny.

 

Initially, I was going to buy the system pack without a game. I wasn't sure I'd enjoy Sonic. Even though I hadn't owned a NES, I was sick of runny/jumpy games. I planned to buy a separate game, and that one was going to be Star Control, which I picked up for its resemblance to the old vector Space War arcade game. I wanted Romance of the Three Kingdoms II, but it was $75, so I decided to wait on that title. My friend wasn't content to let me just get Star Control, though. He kept on trying to convince me to get the system pack with Sonic in it.

 

Eventually, I broke down and got the Sonic pack. The system pack had been $130 and the Star Control game was another $30. That little purchase made me broke until next paycheck. Truthfully, it was probably one of my best purchases ever. As the years wore on, I would play the Genesis near continuously.

 

To get moving toward the point of the story, I got the goodies home, hooked the system up, and played Sonic. It's hard to describe my first impressions of the game. The graphics and detail utterly amazed me. Plus, I really enjoyed the little touches of humor in the game like Sonic's animations when he got hurt or killed and the infamous idle and edge standing animations. In short, I loved it. It was a mainstay of my Genesis library far into the life of the system.

 

Eventually my Sonic love faded. The roller coaster of my life went on. I eventually got the 6 Pak game cart and sold my original Sonic cart. Most of the time when I would revisit Sonic it would be to play a couple of quick levels on my Nomad. Since I got my GBA, the Nomad was retired and I basically forgot about Sonic.

 

And now we're finally getting to the point of this overly long story.

 

I played Sonic again, and the first game ages surprisingly well for a game from the 16bit wars. The detail and art deco design is nowhere near as amazing as it was back then, but it still gives the game a firm character. As I played the game, I was a bit stunned how easy it was. I whizzed through the game all the way to Starlight Zone (the penultimate stage, I think) before I screwed up enough to die off. I got to Scrap Brain Zone (the last zone?) on one of my several continues, but quit after that. I even had 4 Chaos Emeralds. I honestly don't remember the game being this easy. Maybe my play ability has improved over the years.

 

The game also made me sad. For one thing, it reminded me of a time where, if I had done things a little differently, I could have possibly avoided the utter shit my life became in the late 90s. It also reminded me of friends I don't see anymore and don't even know how to contact.

 

On the lighter side, it also illustrated to me how far Sega has fallen as a publisher. The Sonic Adventure games can't hold a candle to the brilliance of Sonic 1. Somewhere along the line, Sonic became more about being a merchandising item than a videogame. Somewhere along the line, Sonic became bland and lifeless instead of being the vibrant and fun thing it was back in those early 16 bit days.

[+FujiSkunk]

I too am a Sonic fan. I think the pinnacle of the series was when Sonic the Hedgehog 3 followed by Sonic + Knuckles came out. Never before or since has a platform game been so ambitious and so successful in fulfilling its ambitions.

 

One thing I have to nitpick, though:

 

On the lighter side, it also illustrated to me how far Sega has fallen as a publisher.  The Sonic Adventure games can't hold a candle to the brilliance of Sonic 1.

 

Sonic Adventure is phenomenal in my opinion, a near-perfect addition to the Sonic library, and the best in the series since the original trilogy. I say near-perfect because it really could have done without Big and his cheesy fishing games, and the voice acting could have used a little more direction. Still, I love this game, and still play it now and again. One day I'll finally get all the emblems...

 

However, I'm inclined to agree with you regarding Sonic Adventure 2. It's not nearly as grand as the first SA, and seems rushed in places. Getting to play as the bad guys is a nice touch, but not being able to follow a single character through his/her entire storyline is sorely missed.

 

Despite that set-back, I think the Sonic Team is doing its best to keep the Sonic series fun, and Sonic Heroes looks promising (haven't started playing it yet). Sonic is Sega's cash cow to be sure, but so far I haven't found reason to abandon the series.

[Famicoman]

Well it sounds like you have found your love for the genny again, or was it for Sonic. That was a great story. Congratts!

[Radio F Software]

I love the Sonic games. Ive been a SoaH member (www.soahcity.com) for 2 years, and I was staff on their affiliate site. Infact, here is a nice factoid about my name, Radio F. Radio F would have NEVER been founded in 1995 if it werent for Sonic. Thats how I met the future co-founder of it.

[spacecadet]

Sonic Adventure is phenomenal in my opinion, a near-perfect addition to the Sonic library, and the best in the series since the original trilogy.  

 

Amen to that. I bought a Dreamcast specifically for the first SA (after its release in Japan - I didn't wait for the US launch), and I was not at all disappointed. I thought it really captured the spirit of the earlier Sonic games - I consider it just as much a "real" Sonic game as the earlier 2D games.

 

I say near-perfect because it really could have done without Big and his cheesy fishing games, and the voice acting could have used a little more direction.

 

One great thing about SA is you could play it in Japanese with English subs (even the US version allowed this). The Japanese voice acting was much, much better.

 

However, I'm inclined to agree with you regarding Sonic Adventure 2.  It's not nearly as grand as the first SA, and seems rushed in places.

 

I don't think it's quite as good as the first SA but I think it's an underrated game. The problem is the three main characters are so different in their play styles; some people had difficulty going from Sonic's action stages to the slower Knuckles climbing stages. After a few rounds, though, I was able to enjoy all the stages for what they were.

 

SA2 looks amazing even today. It is easily one of the best looking Dreamcast games.

 

As for the original Sonic games, I remember back in those days you were either a Genesis guy or you were a Super Nintendo guy, and it really mostly depended on whether you were more into Sonic or Mario. Me, I was a Sonic guy too - I loved the speed, the music, the graphics. Also, I was in college at the time and we used to have nightly NHL tournaments on the Genesis - the SNES versions of the NHL series were never nearly as good as the Genesis ones. (The SNES could display more colors at once and had better sound than the Genesis, but the Genesis had a faster processor and so was better for things like sports games.)

 

I do agree with the original poster that Sega has really fallen apart over the years; they're a shell of their former selves. I think that they've just lost direction without a home base; their own console to make games for. There's no coherent "house style" anymore, no real identity to the company. In retrospect, all of their systems were great systems with great games; it's a shame that they didn't do better in the marketplace.

[MegaManFan]

The first console I could ever claim to even own a part of was a Sega Genesis, as a roommate and I each forked out $25 at a pawn shop to get one for our dorm room. We couldn't afford a lot of games, but we did have Sonic and an NHL title. He spent most of the time playing NHL, but for me it was all about Sonic Sonic Sonic. Even after he left school and bought out my half of the Genesis, I never lost that Sonic love. Huzzah for the spunky Hedgehog!

[Mr_8bit_16bit]

I liked Sonic a lot better before he could talk, because then we weren't burdened with ultra-cheesy dialog and ho-hum acting.. and I liked Sonic better before he got himself a possey of cheese talkin comrades. Robotnic was better before he was egg-man too. I also dont really like the control scheme on the new one.... here's the game: press the run forward button and the B button. you see a bad guy, press the B Button again in mid-air, then again to get the next guy, all in one jump. It just seems to me that with the 3D sonics, they've somehow managed to actually make the gameplay even more one dimensional than with the 2D Sonics while going to 3D should acheive the exact opposite effect. If 3D ruins a game, it's usually cause it overly complicates a previously blissfully simple design. Well, 3D ruins sonic by making something simple downright dull. Sonic's only saving grace is the simply AWESOME graphics... even today, 5 years later, they just rock. They are X-Box quality in my opinion. Some of the music is good too. I have Sonic Adventure, and I don't regret getting it by any means, it's just it gets pretty dusty, ya know?

[oesii]

Great Genny story. I got mine a little late, in '94 because college and grad school got in the way for a few years. Not the studying but the girls and stuff

 

I played Sonic for awhile after I got my system but the main games that kept me coming back were the great football and hockey games on the system. That's where all the multiplayer action was back in the days before the internet.

[spacecadet]

Robotnic was better before he was egg-man too.

 

Robotnik was always Eggman. He was only called Robotnik in the US releases. "Eggman" was an intentional insult - he was never supposed to be this big, bad, evil dude - he was always supposed to just be this fat ugly guy who thought he had more control than he did.

 

For Sonic Adventure, Sega decided to finally unify his name in every territory and just call him by his original name Eggman.

[Mr_8bit_16bit]

Well, I didn't know the "Egg-Man" bit, but I did catch the humor in his psuedo-bumbling. Even still, I liked him better in the 16 bit ones.

[NE146]

Nice story. My memory of sonic is a lot more standard.

 

I bought the Genesis at launch (this was during college). I read some hype about Sonic coming out, then I read a review about it in EGM.

 

That convinced me so I went to the store and bought it. Great game

[Brad2600]

I remember seeing the Genesis when it first came out. I think I first noticed it in 1991 and eventually got one for X-mas 1992.

 

I loved the hell out of the Sonic games I had. I have my original Sonic 1 cart on which the label is badly faded because I spent hours upon hours playing it. I also enjoyed Sonic 2 and Sonic 3. I don't remember if I've played Sonic and Knuckles but if I could find a working Genny at a pawn shop, I'd give it a shot.

 

The Sonic games were awesome back then though. If they bring the Sonic Mega Collection to the PS2 (I'm not sure if they did) then I will pick it up. Easier than trying to get my Genny to work.

[Agent X]

If they bring the Sonic Mega Collection to the PS2 (I'm not sure if they did) then I will pick it up.

 

It was released on PlayStation 2 about two months ago.

[charitycasegreg]

God I love Sonic, I use to a lot more though. I started off getting the 2nd game for Genesis... waht a great Christmas. Thats when I knew, Iloved Sonic. I then got the first one from my neighbor, which I still have. I then started to collect the comic books. I collected everything, this was all back in 4th-6th grade. I now have almost all the comics up to issue 73, which is when I started hating sonic. He changed. With the long hair, and everthing just changed after Sonic Adventure came out. Still a great game but just not the great old original. When I first played Sonic 3 and sonic and knuckles, it was just a glorious day. Sonic was jsut classic. The awesome music, the great gameplay... the best thing that happend to the Genesis. I also have about 6 of the vhs sonic movies, great they aer.

 

I love sonic!!

[spacecadet]

God I love Sonic, I use to a lot more though.  I started off getting the 2nd game for Genesis... waht a great Christmas.  Thats when I knew, Iloved Sonic.  I then got the first one from my neighbor, which I still have.  I then started to collect the comic books.  I collected everything, this was all back in 4th-6th grade.  I now have almost all the comics up to issue 73, which is when I started hating sonic.  He changed.  With the long hair, and everthing just changed after Sonic Adventure came out.  

 

This is weird. I think what you actually got attached to was the American adaptation of Sonic, which is also what the Archie comic book and the TV series, etc. was based on. But that's never the way he was in Japan (where he was created, after all). All of the marketing, the artwork, etc. was all created differently for both territories in the Genesis days - in fact in Japan there has always been a different comic book than the one you know. Sonic was "cuter" in America, and all of the characters were chubbier and generally more "kid-friendly".

 

It started shortly after Sonic 2. For the original Sonic and through most of Sonic 2's promotion, there wasn't a lot of American-specific marketing and artwork out there. But that changed once things got so big that Sega of Japan just couldn't handle everything, and they decided Sega of America would best be able to exploit Sonic in this country anyway. So while you might not have really known the "real" Sonic prior to Sonic 2, the Sonic you got to know from 2 on was the American Sonic.

 

For SA, Sega of America "restored" Sonic to the way he always was in Japan. It was the same with the names, like Eggman, which was also mentioned in this thread.

 

For me, I was so happy that they finally put to death the American "interpretation" of Sonic with SA, and made Sonic Sonic again. I can understand people not liking his voice (either the Japanese or the English, but the Japanese was better, and in fact he's had the same voice in Japan since Sonic 1), but the general attitude and look of everything was much more in line with the "real" Sonic that Naoto Oshima created. I actually used to have a whole bunch of the past marketing materials that Sega created for both Japan and the US on a disc somewhere, but I may have actually auctioned it off... (it was an official Sega thing, given to VIP's as part of the 10th anniversary promotion, so worth a little something on Ebay.)

 

Anyway, I guess it's just whatever you grew up with that you get attached to. But even I could see the change in Sonic and the watering down of his character here before I knew anything about the way he was presented in Japan.

 

Of course, the games themselves are pretty much the same between territories (there are some minor differences), but in the 2D games it's kinda hard to tell what he's really supposed to look and act like as a character. So I'm sure you and others here probably based their idea of him on the American marketing.

[Shannon]

My first exposure to Sonic was on the gamegear with Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (Is that the right name)? There was a demo in a store and I actually thought it was pretty cool. Sad to say most gamegear games sucked.

 

But that did not stop me from picking up a Sega Genesis and all the sonic titles on that.

 

After Sonic Adventure though I have had enough. Annoying music (too loud and no volume control), annoying voices, etc.

[shep]

God I love Sonic, I use to a lot more though.  I started off getting the 2nd game for Genesis... waht a great Christmas.  Thats when I knew, Iloved Sonic.  I then got the first one from my neighbor, which I still have.  I then started to collect the comic books.  I collected everything, this was all back in 4th-6th grade.  I now have almost all the comics up to issue 73, which is when I started hating sonic.  He changed.  With the long hair, and everthing just changed after Sonic Adventure came out.  

 

This is weird. I think what you actually got attached to was the American adaptation of Sonic, which is also what the Archie comic book and the TV series, etc. was based on. But that's never the way he was in Japan (where he was created, after all). All of the marketing, the artwork, etc. was all created differently for both territories in the Genesis days - in fact in Japan there has always been a different comic book than the one you know. Sonic was "cuter" in America, and all of the characters were chubbier and generally more "kid-friendly".

 

It started shortly after Sonic 2. For the original Sonic and through most of Sonic 2's promotion, there wasn't a lot of American-specific marketing and artwork out there. But that changed once things got so big that Sega of Japan just couldn't handle everything, and they decided Sega of America would best be able to exploit Sonic in this country anyway. So while you might not have really known the "real" Sonic prior to Sonic 2, the Sonic you got to know from 2 on was the American Sonic.

 

For SA, Sega of America "restored" Sonic to the way he always was in Japan. It was the same with the names, like Eggman, which was also mentioned in this thread.

 

For me, I was so happy that they finally put to death the American "interpretation" of Sonic with SA, and made Sonic Sonic again. I can understand people not liking his voice (either the Japanese or the English, but the Japanese was better, and in fact he's had the same voice in Japan since Sonic 1), but the general attitude and look of everything was much more in line with the "real" Sonic that Naoto Oshima created. I actually used to have a whole bunch of the past marketing materials that Sega created for both Japan and the US on a disc somewhere, but I may have actually auctioned it off... (it was an official Sega thing, given to VIP's as part of the 10th anniversary promotion, so worth a little something on Ebay.)

 

Anyway, I guess it's just whatever you grew up with that you get attached to. But even I could see the change in Sonic and the watering down of his character here before I knew anything about the way he was presented in Japan.

 

Of course, the games themselves are pretty much the same between territories (there are some minor differences), but in the 2D games it's kinda hard to tell what he's really supposed to look and act like as a character. So I'm sure you and others here probably based their idea of him on the American marketing.

 

I for one loved the US change back to his Japan self, even small changes like keeping the Eggman name...come on, Dr. Robotnik is so lame, and the art in the American cartoons was horrible.

[+FujiSkunk]

I for one loved the US change back to his Japan self, even small changes like keeping the Eggman name...come on, Dr. Robotnik is so lame, and the art in the American cartoons was horrible.

 

The art in the syndicated American cartoon was horrible. The art in the ABC (Saturday morning) cartoon was decent. Big difference there.

 

Personally, I like the name "Robotnik," but that's me.

[Atariboy2600]

If you guys like Sonic then go check out this link of my art work I did of him and other that I just posted today, http://www.atariage.com/forums/viewtopic.p...p=775046#775046