why sonic 1 is my least favorite sonic game...

[iambitter21]

(let me make this clear, this is my least favorite SONIC game, it's not my least favorite game in general)

I'm gonna come clean and say it: see this game?

yeah, I don't like it that much, I could almost go so far and say it kinda sucks. now, I have some MAD respect for this game, and I mean MAD respect. One) for spawning some of my favorite games, and Two) being the setting ground to what sonic could be. but, respect doesn't take away my problems with this game. let's start with the first zone, one of the only...3? levels I quite like:

Green Hill Zone: Honestly, this is one of, if not the BEST 2d levels of all of time, even today (maybe apart from all of sonic 3). it silently tells the player how to play the game, it gives a decently low skill floor, with a skill ceiling that is limitless. this, THIS is the type of level design sonic was meant to be about, which is what the next stage got wrong.

Marble Zone: meh, it's pretty boring. It's linear, it slow-paced, filled with obstacles that instead of encouraging player improvement, encourages slowing down. It's not the worst thing ever though, miles better than the fourth stage on the list. but instead of that, let's talk about the third.

Spring Yard Zone: Well they ain't lying. the level design is a bit of a mess, literally, bumpers in sections, skatepark-like ramps, semi-linear level design, and more bumpers, definitely a better stage than marble zone, not really saying that much, but it's MILES better than the underwater snooze fest that is...

Labyrinth Zone: this stage is as boring as all hell. it completely slows down sonic (it's worse when you realize you can't spin dash, at least not in the remaster. more on that later) it's slow, everything is slow, THE ONLY ARGUEMENT ABOUT THIS STAGE, other than you're on water for more than half of the zone, IS THAT IT'S THE SLOWEST OF ALL OF THE STAGES. it's even slower than Marble Zone... MARBLE ZONE! when you are slower than fricking Marble Zone, you KNOW you F*&ked up, HARD. but thankfully, one of the best stages of this game brings it back up.

Starlight Zone: It's calm, It's peaceful, it's a little frustrating but still pretty good. the bomb enemies were... passable, annoying sure, but passable. the gimmicks are okay, the level design is WAY more open then most of the levels. and the boss fight was a good idea, the execution was just as good. now for the final level.

Scrap Brain Zone: wanna know what I think of this level? yeeeah, I don't really like it. don't get me wrong, it's a pretty neat difficulty curve. but it's just a bit, to put it in the nicest way possible: trial and error. like, when I was younger I think I remember dying a lot sometimes. the third act is a better labyrinth zone, again not saying much, but the final boss was pretty memorable. beating it was quite difficult, but it was worth to see the ending.

overall, this game is pretty naff, there are some really high points sure, but the downsides take it down a lot. I'd give sonic 1... a 5/10, not good, but it ain't really that bad, just a little mediocre. anyways, sonic 1 will always remain one of my least favorite sonic games, in fact, I think I'd rather play a game that doesn't try at all, one with a story that falls flat in almost every way it was supposed to succeed. I'd rather play a game that holds your hand for FAR too long, than play 2 more minutes of labyrinth zone. I'd rather play...

THERE I SAID IT, go cry in your corners classic purists! anyways, that's all for now, bye!

oh yeah and the Taxman Remaster is pretty good... 6/10 pretty good remaster, highly recommend...still rather play adventure 1 (I'll make a forum on that one day.)

[batson]

I think Sonic 1 is the best game in the franchise after Sonic 2, 3&K, and Mania.

[iambitter21]

well good for you, I can understand why people would love the game. but I simply don't that much.

[Fish964]

This one is not too controversial in my experience. A lot of my friends who grew up with Sonic actually agree that Sonic 1 is best left as a monument to the whole franchise, rather than a gameplay experience worth much revisiting.

And like, I get it. This game is like a best-of montage mixed with a worst-of list. The experience is not consistent. You bound around GreenHill like a freak then HALT. You are in Marble Arch crawling like a snail. And Labyrinth Zone just makes me want to cry. This zone is soooo dry (kinda ironically given the aesthetic) and just isn't fun to play. Then you zip to Starlight which is actually a super sweet zone with cute music and a decent boss... So its picky in how enjoyable it is, making the game less and less desirable to pick up again.

Obviously this game started it all but as an experience in its own right... Its actually kinda hard to recommend to people, which I think is a shame. I always just say to skip it and go straight to Sonic 2. And thats another issue. The game is severely dated not so much because of its age, but because in almost every way, it is eclipsed by its successors (again, Sonic 2 as the definitive example).

So what are we left with? A charmingly realised platformer with vibrant animation and catchy music, but a choppilly put together game that nowadays fails to stand amongst the crowd. I don't hate this game at all, I can derive some enjoyment from it for sure. But I by no means love it

[batson]

I agree that Sonic 1 is vastly inferior to Sonic 2 and 3&K, and also Mania. I do however think it's still superior to all other games in the franchise. That's just the power of the core classic gameplay, which I feel is something that the other types of gameplay that this series has to offer just cant compete with.

[iambitter21]

quick update: i now think sonic 1 is a perfectly average game than a mediocre one, it's on par with sonic forces for me. they both have a lot of replay value even if the other stages are boring. and speaking of boring, i now think that marble zone isn't AS boring, but still pretty boring.

[Rabid-Coot]

I guess it depends on what it is being compared to, it looks average by the standards set by its sequels but it is amazing next to the bulk of the platformers that were releasing around the same time.

[dbzfan7]

Yeah I don't really care for Sonic 1 much at all. I'd still play it anyday of Forces bleh, but it gave us so much more in the future so I can't really hate it. Salute the first game but leave it at that.

[Natie]

Sonic 1 is def the weakest and least focused of the classic trilogy but sometimes people interpret that as it being totally unplayable and i dont really get that. It's still a fun platformer imo.

[batson]

I think that even today, if you were to get a person with no experience with the Sonic series to sit down and play Sonic 1, there is an excellent chance that he/she would have a great time with it. Like others have said, it's really only when you compare it with it's sequels that it seems lacking.

[Monkey Destruction Switch]

I know this is a really niche opinion, but Sonic 1 is my favorite Sonic game. A lot of people seem to think most of the levels aren't fun, but I guess I just feel differently. Labyrinth Zone and to a lesser extent Starlight Zone are the only ones I have a problem with, Labyrinth because it's pretty slow and frustrating, Starlight because of all the bombs and bottomless pits, but overall they're both still pretty good. I overall like it more than Sonic 2 or Sonic 3&K because I actually feel like those games are less consistently fun in terms of their levels than Sonic 1 is. Maybe I'm just weird, idk. I will say that out of the Genesis classic games, Sonic 1 has the worst visuals and music, but considering how good the visuals and music of the other games are, that's really not saying much.