Cool details and secrets in Sonic 1 

There's three guarantees in life, death, taxes and not having more than 10 rings in Scrap Brain Zone.

In defense of Sonic 2's enviromental storytelling, it was revealed in a developer interview that it originally had a time travel narrative not unlike Sonic CD which was scrapped very late in development due to deadlines. So what was already finished was simply reorganised into a hastily assembled assortment of levels which was nothing like the original concept. This was why the game had such a seemingly random mixture of level themes but could clearly be sorted into two groups - natural and urban/industrial. The time travelling element was originally going to have you return to previously natural environments that were now covered in Robotnik's factories and megacities. This is why you often have this back and forth pattern of a nature level followed by an industrial/urban level as the devs seemed to try and maintain something of the original idea. It would therefore suggest that Chemical Plant was meant to be the altered history Emerald Hill.

"This *33-year-old* game” Oof, I felt that one.

I remember finding a secret in Sonic 2 completely by accident. In Chemical Plant Act 2, there's a hidden pathway on the upper route just before the rising water section that rewards you with a ton of rings and loop-de-loops that skips the entire rest of the act and places you just before the boss!

Sonic 1 has issues, but I still think the Scrap Brain Act 3 Skip is one of the best secrets in any game. It’s a huge secret reward granted just by going fast right at the end of the game. Peak design for a Sonic game tbh. I love how possible it is to stumble on it by total accident. I found it on my first play through and didn’t even know I actually took a huge shortcut until waaay later. I beat Sonic 1 like 4 or 5 times and I’ve always taken that shortcut. It feels like the canon way to beat the level lol.

7:18 The One-up and ring monitors are actually possible to get, but not from that secret path. If you want them, you need to take the normal path, and platforms will appear beside the wall that you can climb up (the same kinda platforms that appear at some pits in the stage to help you escape). Unfortunately, before you get to the way up, there's a 1-way door. So you can't get to the thing with less than 50 and go back and take the secret path after since the door will be locked.

I like when things and video games have things that make them feel personal. my favourite detail in video games is probably the joke language settings in the older versions of Minecraft, barely anyone cared about being about to play with pirate slang or Aussie slang but It was still really cool none the less

Something I learned recently is that in the original Genesis Sonic 1 and only in that game you can push the blocks in Marble Zone by rolling into them, idk if this is common knowledge but since this feature never made a return I thought it was worth mentioning

Back in pre-internet days when we used to buy dedicated gaming magazines to learn about new games, many of them would contain pictures of entire level maps as one image, showing locations of all hidden areas and power ups. I used to love those as they gave you a sense of how huge the levels really were outside of the edges of your state-of-the-art 24 inch screen.

When I was a kid, proudly boasting to others in class that you not only made it through Labyrinth Zone Acts 1 to 3 AND beat Eggman (Dr. Robotnik for our generation) as the zone boss made you the man among your contemporaries. I also used to get mad anxiety when that music began when Sonic was short of air. Didn't we all?!

I'm surprised no one mentioned this but i really like that you're playing the fan remakes (Sonic 1 Forever and Sonic 2 Absolute) for footage instead of origins

6:55 - If you jump carefully enough to partially clip through the corner there next to the rotating platforms, above the ring box, you can break a hidden box that produces a glitchy tulip-looking graphic. My friend discovered this when he was like 8 and it blew his mind, and he was so happy to show it to me. Doing more research on it now, it's apparently a "static" power-up which is probably an exception handler that prevents the game from crashing when a power-up box with no associated power-up is broken.

It is possible to get those 4 ring boxes and life in SB2. There is a platform underneath there that takes a long ass time to spawn, but that's how you'd get up there.

Him: "why do we keep coming back to the original Sonic the Hedgehog?" Me: "because it's FREAKING AWESOME!!!"

I always took that falling block path in Labyrinth Act 3 because I thought it was the normal path.

Nice video! Didn't know about a few of these secrets.

What a fascinating list :) I definitely enjoy secrets that make it seem like you’re somewhere you’re not supposed to be. And I miss the era where these things could be hidden and spread through rumours, and you never quite knew what was true and what wasn’t, instead of just going on to the internet and having them all there!

I love Sonic 1. I know people think Sonic has always been "all about speed", but Marble Zone alone always debunked that. I love the cautious exploration levels.

I didn't know about that teleporter either! It's one of those things you eventually get by accident and then wonder why you can't trigger it again for the entirety of your life. Sonic and Knuckles has this! Both the 2 giant rings hidden below movable spikes (of which I thought there were none) and, amidst others, the section hidden up top in the last pump elevator of Mushroom Hill. I *think* you ought to pull whilst passing through each "window" but I still don't know for sure. Ah, there's also a part near the start of Casino Night 1 where, if you use the right flipper to propel yourself upward, bounce on the shield crab, and go left, you fall through five sets of slots that grant you a 1000 points each. Great video!

My favorite Sonic franchise 'secret' that I can't even do anymore but I was able to when I was younger: Be Hyper Sonic before Flying Battery Zone in Sonic 3 & Knuckles. This cannot be done in Sonic & Knuckles because the first ring isn't accessible... but there are exactly 7 rings in Mushroom Hill Zone, and you can get all of the Chaos Emeralds if you execute perfectly on a really slow path... then its possible to be Hyper Sonic before Flying Battery Zone. Being Hyper Sonic in Flying Battery Zone feels unreal on a natural play-through, like you earned a reward. In 1998 I was able to do this, just because I obsessively replayed Sonic 3 & Knuckles until "I got good." No guides, just figured it out on my own. Now I can't even remember all of the ring locations in Mushroom Hill Zone.

I've been playing Sonic for 30 years. The first time I played Scrap Brain Act 3, I naturally did the shortcut without thinking. To this day I've never played through the 'actual' Scrap Brain Zone 3.

To me, Classic Sonic games are forever coupled with the Debug mode, as this is how I first seen Sonic. Being able to explore the world, I wonder why was all this here, made these games beyond replayable.

Being a Cybershell fan I had already learned all of this, except that the bubbles in act 3 of labyrinth are actually on a different timer. That was a new one!

Magical... It's important not to lose that feeling

“Real living world we were peeking into instead of games meant to be beaten” wow that’s exactly it

Among the reasons the skip in Labyrinth Zone wasn’t know about is because the official Sonic 1 & 2 Guide *lied* about it. It said-complete with a bogus visual-that you had to jump on the jaws and bounce across the top of the water (which cannot be done).

I didn't know any of these secret paths except the one in case you fall in Marble Zone. These are honestly really cool. I have a hard time imagining the Sonic franchise without secrets, they are practically synonymous with the brand especially after the sound test secret in Sonic CD.

Sonic 3 shields + Super Sonic in Sonic 1 is absolute overkill... the level design was not intended for those "helpers" , making the too easy to pass.

it's amazing how the not-necessarily-linear nature of Sonic levels, with branches that branch and unbranch at will, has kept me from knowing about the majority of the secrets over the course of 30 years playing.

I found that double wrap back in the early 90s. I thought that was the natural course. I thought everyone knew it

I will say that I definitely DO consider Sonic 1 my favorite classic Sonic game

Those were good times. I loved playing Sonic 2 and 3 with Sonic and Knuckles as Knuckles.

it’s even cool how the offical sonic channel told us the secret passageway to the end of the level in Labyrinth Zone.

Sonic 1 is such and excellent first title for the franchise, a real classic and still beautiful! Great vid bro

Love to see that some is also this enthusiast in sonic games! In Sonic 2 in the Metropolis Zone there is this bug, if you move to the right while the teleport, while being supersonic, you glitch out of the teleporter and fall beneath it.

I loved the Sonic Unleashed secrets when I was five when I played Unleashed and till this day I still love them! It feels so rewarding to look other places whereas in a normal playthrough you wouldn’t be able to see it. That’s why I love the werehog stages because of the exploration and secrets. Every time I get that medal or that disc (or book) I feel like I have achieved something 🤑👍 Sorry if I wrote a lot. It’s just the way how I do things

What makes it special is its hidden well and rakes work to find. In todays age, people need everything handed to them robbing them of potentially meaningful experiences

I love it when games have obscure secrets that you'd never find by playing normally.

WOW! I never knew about the Labyrinth Zone skip, nor the Scrap Brain Act 2 one! Nor did I even realize the Green Hill one, but I knew about some of those Marble Zone ones. As much as I've played this game, and still, many of those evaded me entirely. I've gotta try it out on my Genesis next time I play!

7:17 It is possible to reach it. On the middle path, there are some temporary platforms that are hard to find and also hard to use that lead there. Watch a Ring Attack of this stage and you'll see it for yourself (in general Ring Attacks are real gold mines for secrets in Sonic games, even though they also don't lead to everything)

I have been playing these games for almost 30 years and wasn’t even aware of some of these, now I can’t wait to go back and try them for myself!

I think I still remember some of those. And I haven't had access to the game this entire millennium. Somehow those levels are just burned into my memory.

Ive played Sonic 1 so many times, and I didnt even know about that secret top route in SBZ Act 2 until now thanks to this video! This game is just full of surprises! :)

Didn't know the spring yard jump off the ramp (always forget to try it when I go through it) and the Labyrinth one on the floaty platform is very cool. Wasn't aware of the scrap brain teleporter either. I was aware of all the rest (maybe the green hill jump over the spikes...can't remember if I ever found that) Some cool stuff. It's always been a great game ever since it came out!

I just realized you're that guy that made the "you should become a content creator now" video. _That freakin' explains why I liked this video so much._ The video is only 9 minutes long, but the discussions that come from it _(even when sharing the video to others)_ is mesmerizing, in a way. It felt slow enough to feel natural, while still keeping me entertained. *Huh.* Strange, _isn't it?_ I think I'll keep a close notification bell on you now.

that 1up and 4 ring monitors that you pointed out are possible to get its just you have to wait below it and these disappearing blocks will appear to climb up there but they appear very slowly

In my humble opinion this is the best game of the series

I knew that teleporter in Scrap Brain sometimes took you to one level, and sometimes took you to another, but never figured out why. Mind blown.

I love this game. It's so mysterious in a way. I love all the secrets, and little expressive sprites.

Seeing little secrets and easter eggs in games and videos is amazing. I love TerminalMontage's animations cause he'll literally have a character or a whole 5 paragraphs of text appear for one frame before moving on, and if you blink you'd miss it. It's so cool

Brilliant video. I've been playing Sonic since 91 and there's stuff in here I never knew. Awesome work!

Awesome video! I go back to sonic 1 constantly, great breakdown on it

This sorta stuff is why I love arg games like shipwrecked 64, there's whole layers of secrets beneath the surface that take you just messing around to figure out

As a kid I played Sonic 1,2,3 and K religiously, my mind was blown when I played Sonic Jam and found out all the secrets and lore!

Good video about a Great Game! Thank you for another enjoyable youtube session

7:18 Not sure if these were present in the original game but if you continue along the regular path without entering the secret area, there are platforms which only briefly appear and then disappear for 15-20 seconds which allow you to get up to those monitors.

This is literally such a badass and swag RU-vid channel, great job man!

There is something about stumbling upon things in old games that is just magical, even back then when finding them. Like the one you found in this video with the teleporter, there were no hints or advertisement/guide regarding it, yet there it is. Now a days achievement notifications are needed to keep the kid's attention. "Achievement Unlock! Beat Tutorial!" or even if it is something a bit more hidden or cryptic it doesn't feel that was as again there is some achievement tied to it, a pat on that back and advertise it everywhere.

Sonic was my first game ever and that Labyrinth zone shortcut and the double teleporter blew my mind.

7:14: there is a platform that requires you to wait for a loooong time, before it instantly disappears

i’m a big fan of sonic 1, and i love learning more about its secrets and design. great video!

There is also secret path in marble zone for Tails, it was created for mobile game science we can't play as Tails in Sonic the Hedgehog 1

You forgot to mention on Green Hill act 1 the power ups below bridge - you can sort of "glitch" thru the map. If you walk on one of these edges in the bottom you fall down and there's a platform. You can even 'dunk' it with precise jump and 'hover' over the gap by killing 2 of these flying enemies.

The original level order makes alot of since now that i have sonic origins and the sonic 1 island has green hill near labyrinth and marble zone was much more further so i was confused but now that i see this it makes alot of sense

Thanks for making this video. Never knew about any of these secrets

While not a cool detail or secret, I’ve been looking at the sonic 1 special stage maps and they look very interesting. The arrangement of blocks are just pretty to me.

Came for the Labyrinth skip. Stayed for the Sonic 1 love.

I love Sonic The Hedgehog trilogy, Sonic Mania and many more games

Quite proud to say I knew about all these except for the Labyrinth Act 1 shortcut :D

Prehistorik 2 has great opportunities for skipping levels. There is a video of less than 10 minutes full walkthrough. And on this video icy level was not skipped properly. There is a faster route for level 7, recorded separately. On another hand, this game has interesting findings for the ones who dig hard. The ultimate double axe weapon can be found quite early in the game, in level 4.

What you just described is exactly why Kingdom Hearts 1 is still my favourite of that series (Chain of Memories is up there too, cause it's so easy to break that game and it's fun building broken decks XD). KH1 is the only game that has this sort of depth in its level design, cause it's also the only one that's more like a Metroidvania than the others. You get an ability like High Jump later, and come back to earlier areas to reach parts you couldn't before, for hidden chests and such. Or just the interactivity that isn't present in any of the later games in the worlds, like using the spells in Traverse Town, Deep Jungle and Hollow Bastion to trigger secrets and get chests. People were still discovering little details like that in KH1 decades later as well, like how the Clock Tower works in Neverland, giving multiple secret chests based on the system clock. To me, I'll always enjoy a game with this sort of depth in its level design far more than the extremely streamlined experience in something like KH2, where every area is basically just a hallway. I do think KH2 is still a fun game, but the poor level design stood out like a sore thumb to me after coming off the depth KH1 had in its worlds.

The looping thing is in tidal tempest

Honestly, I never saw Marble Zone as a ruined castle. Interesting to think about though.

I've played this game so many times and I only knew about like a third of these

I knew about the teleporter in SB2, but I'm pretty sure that was because an old game magazine reported it. But this was the first I saw the skip in Lab1.

Ok, I can safely say that I was here before this channel blowed up. Because it will in no time.

Recently replayed the original titles, on Origins, and I remembered there was a way to skip a Labyrinth zone act but couldn't find it and just figured I must have confused with the quick skip at the end of Scrap Brain Act 3. That and I swear Sonic 1 got up updates if you play it through with Knuckles, so there are new routes. But anyway, thank you for proving my memory isn't quite that bad.

Jeez.. I did not know any of these.. after all these years this game still really surprises me..

Had to subscribe cos I didn't know a lot of this about Sonic 1.

Sonic 1 is a good game to back to, quality of life improvements in Origins makes it better

Liked , for support you video :D also congratulations

Even though Sonic 1 is definitely not my favourite Classic Sonic game, it's hidden secrets definitely increased my respect for it. Part of my researching process of Sonic Heroes for my Sonic Heroes Iceberg Chart was messing around in the game itself to find hidden secrets, and let me tell you, there is A LOT. Some of the secrets are unintended, like using a series of glitches to find an unused object in Mystic Mansion that the developers forgot to remove, but there are still plenty of hidden secrets and items scattered throughout the game that are intentional, such as the VIP Table in Casino Park, the hidden ring stashes in Bingo Highway and Hang Castle, breaking down a door in Bullet Station, and the 1up during the Giant Alligator chase in Lost Jungle. I already considered Sonic Heroes my favourite game prior to making my Iceberg Chart, but uncovering the game's hidden secrets reinforced my love for the game twofold.

one thing I liked that the later games besides cd didn’t quite capture is the way that it rewards both skillful platforming and careful exploration. sure 2 and 3 have their fair share of secrets but usually their all on the main paths of the level

JFC you need to warn people before mentioning that this game is 33 years old!

There's a game that came out semi-recently called Void Stranger that is built almost entirely around this design ethos of hiding random stuff and just expecting you to figure it out.

Nappa: Aaaand... Subscribed.

I so glad i grew up with sega and sonic

Best Marble Madness game ever.

There are some gnarly secrets in Starlight Zone that I didn't know about until much, much later.

I genuinely hope one day before I die that at least even a bit of FOOTAGE of the TTS build gets found. That is one of my dreams.

Fave game cryptic secrets: NES Ducktales Gyro bonus stage NES Ducktales’ 3 Endings Super Mario Bros 2 warps/doors Super Mario Bros 3 Coin Ship NES Tiny Toon Adventures “Duck Vader” Bonus Boss Battle Sega Contra Hard Corps Gameshow ending

All these secrets I already know since I've played the classic sonic games what it feels like a million times I know these games like the back of my hand and can beat every classic entry beforehand the day ends

Some of the last skips I found after 20 years are ones in Spring Yard, you can basically skip almost all those slow moving blocks with the speed shoes it’s great wish. Sonic 1 is the goat

Another gangster video 👍 It was games like this that encouraged me to explore every nook and cranny of a game. I still do it today but the rewards are less substantial it seems...

These secret patsh are rreally good, thanks for the info

Having muffled Saturn 3D Blast Rusty Ruin Act 1 music in the background of much of this video would have gotten you a like even if the video was bad, but it wasn't bad at all. You've got yourself a new subscriber.

I thought everyone knew about the secret paths in Labyrinth 3 and 4. I found both of them after like my 2nd and 3rd game overs 😂

Great video. Where do you get the fire or lightning shield in Sonic 1? I only remember the basic shield (bubble shield?).

Hah, I just got to Final Zone yesterday... and I died.

Every secret in Kirby forgotten island is so hard to find I be stressed