SONIC THE HEDGEHOG (1991): Changing the Game | GEEK CRITIQUE 

This is part of TGC's coverage of Sonic the Hedgehog games! Don't miss them: ru-vid.com/group/PLYoabN6QznuIl47fs9wFK10HBJNqv_5P3 (Oh, and this particular video has a lot of parallels with my DKC episode!)

Wow man, it's hard to imagine this came out when you only had 750 subs. I keep coming back to this series every once and a while, and now you're at 125k. Good on you.

Wait, your least favorite zone is Marble Zone? That's a breath of fresh air from everyone complaining about Labyrinth Zone

Never noticed the gentle learning curve in Green Hill, I guess it's a very good level design then!

I swear, just as the Sonic games are replayable, your videos about the games are very re-watchable. I love coming back to this series as the effort you put into it really shows!

"We have about 750 subs at this point so join in before we sell out." proceeds to not sell out but grow his subscriber base like crazy. Good job.

This is the best video about Sonic 1 ever made. It explains how Sonic has always been at its best when it defied Mario's straightline conventions. The rolling-ball-physics has yet to be fully realised in 3D (and when it does, that's when you'll see the 9/10 reviews that are the only thing that will shut up the religiously fervent haters.

"750 subs as of this video" My, how far we've come

I found myself almost in disbelief at the umpteenth underground part of Marble Hill and saying "this doesn't feel like Sonic". Glad I'm not alone there. As an adult born in the 90's, I just finished my first replay of Sonic 1-3 and I'm watching these videos now, because I loved your Metroid videos. Fantastic content, sir

Ducktales was always the only real game-changer in the history of the industry. I bet you put those Ducktales bits in there just for me.

To me, Sonic 1 has one of the greatest starts to any game ever just because of Green Hill Zone. After that? For me it takes a bit of a nosedive. The other zones bar Starlight Zone are tedious! But we all got to start somewhere I suppose.

Ever since watching these videos, I learned the jump in the loop technique to gain speed. So now every time I play Green Hill Act One I die at the end of that loop like you show at 7:25. I think it's a symbol of skill!

Another top-notch video! Like I've said in the streams; I'm not a huge Sonic fan but these videos just make me think about Sonic in another way. I'm slowly starting to understand what's so great about Sonic. I can't wait for the next part!

I mean this in the highest compliment, but this was one of your earlier videos and the quality is just as good as your later videos. Most RU-vidrs you can tell a massive difference between their early videos and their videos now. I don't see that here. You started out with high quality and just continued.

How does this channel not have 100,000 subscribers - easily some of the best retrogaming videos I've ever seen! Sharing this on my website and reddit and facebook immediately!

Great video. You did an excellent job breaking down Sonic's game design. Consider me subbed.

Just discovered your videos - I really enjoy your in-depth commentary on some of my favorite games from my childhood: It’s entertaining AND informative. Subscribed 😁

It's more noticeable in the dreaded the horrible.... labyrinth zone! Because the water slows you down the enemies jump out of the ground without much telling! It's a horrible zone.

Greetings from France ! I absolutely love your final sentence, Sonic wasn't maybe as good as Mario in every department, but by simply being anything but it, it kicked Nintendo real hard

Hyle from DK Vine says: Being a Nintendo loyalist all my life, I first played Sonic the Hedgehog (and a Sega Genesis) at my parents' friends house. They had a son who was about five years older than me and had a Genesis. I have to say how mind-blowing it was for me. I felt guilty for playing it, because of the console war and Sega's mean-spirited anti-Nintendo commercials, but it was everything I thought it would be. Loud, brash, and FAST. It showed me, for the first time in my life, that there was something lacking in Mario. From that point on (and to this day), Mario seemed a little quaint. Of course, Sonic the Hedgehog wasn't really for me. It wasn't until 1994 that the platformer with people like me in mind was released, but I'll always owe the original Sonic a debt of gratitude.

Man, I know I'm old now because I can still remember when "I'm playing Nintendo" or "let's play Nintendo" was a ubiquitous phrase. Crazy how far we've come.

Sonic was just a simple platformer that rewards replaying levels. It's good.

Even today, Sonic The Hedgehog is still an amazing game. There were a lot of improvements, but this is still a great game

i will never forget the day my brother gave me his sega genesis and all his games. i was 6 and had just got home from school, he was setting it up and popped in the 6pak for me. completely solidified my love for sonic and shinobi that day.

Possibly part of the reason Marble was such a shocking difference was because it was originally the 4th zone, not the second. Labyrinth was supposed to come second, but its difficulty abd overall design had it traded with Marble instead.

3:58 Actually, the concept of a variable jump was literally one of SMB1's greatest innovations.

Sonic 1 was my first Sonic game. Didn't have a spin dash to miss back then. Just had trouble getting past the Labyrinth Zone boss. To this day I still vividly remember the day I first beat that boss.

The editing of your videos is insanely good...

It must've been mentioned among the sea of 5 years-worth of comments, but I thought of something else about that opening to Green Hill: the way the box is positioned above you almost prods you to jump from below into it, as you know from Mario and his ? blocks, which is when you will bonk from below and will learn that not every rule is the same. You learned from the badnik that you can jump on him, just like Mario, but that doesn't mean that everything will be like Mario. Great series btw, I've since played all of the classic games, and about 5 playthroughs of Mania.

From 750 to 27k subs! You deserve each one, great job!

If I may, its because of watching your retrospective on Sonic that made me want to get into the franchise. What finally sold me was listening to the soundtrack "Undefeatable" from the Sonic Frontiers game. Over the years I did play my fair share of Sonic video games but they were only Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog which, at the time, I had no issues with probably because I was still a teenager when those were released. So.... as a 33 year old writing this comment I officially started playing the first Sonic title for the first time and........ im gonna need time to get used to it loll

You can tell it's a Sonic 1 review when half the video is dedicated to Green Hill Zone

Just when I started to find myself not interested with most of youtube... I come across your channel. I can't get enough. Watched through DKC series, and SSB, excited to start this one!

Your clips and narration and details and critiques are SPOT ON. @thegeekcritique

Where it all began. A blue hedgehog that ran fast. Sonic 1 wasn't my first Sonic game, but I can appreciate that it was the one change how platform games can be played.

4 years in the making, the sonic marathon!

I 100% agree with this perspective. Green Hill Zone just might be the best 2D Sonic level of them all, and I just can't wrap my head around how they ruined that perfect formula throughout the rest of the game. 6:55 "It goes against the way the engine was designed" Absolutely. I'm watching the rest of your series now, great work.

I have a LOT of gripes about Sonic: The games' controls and physics are optimized for speed, and that clunkifies the precision platforming that the games try to do. Marble Zone is the epitome of this. And because half the games consist of BANG ZOOM FAST and the other half is waiting for platforms to move around and jumping slowly into bosses, the pace is all over the place and it's jarring. Mastery of slow-paced jump timing is not what this game is about, so the bosses teach you nothing. The "labyrinthine platformer" genre can work by tapping into a sense of exploration, which works best at a more leisurely pace. But that entirely conflicts with the pace that the game encourages. And that pace is TOO fast. The sheer speed devolves the game into a random, trial-and-error mess. With games like Mario and DK, you see exactly what needs to be done on the first run-through, and the challenge lies in executing it. With Sonic, you're constantly running into things unless you've memorized a level's layout. Granted, there are instances where a level's flow and design guide your speed pretty well, but most of the game is just pinballing everywhere and losing rings. Referring to something you said in the last entry, if you judge all other games' merits compared to the early Sonics, then you must really love video games, lol. But nonetheless, even though we have polar opposite opinions on this, your stuff is still great and thoughtful.

The original Sonic games are all absolute classics in my eyes! I have a lot of nostalgia towards each of them. Yes, even the very first one. I will agree that between Marble Zone (Which I agree is a Mario level), Labyrinth Zone and Scrap Brain Zone, the speedy action is brought to a halt for half of the game's runtime. It's interesting to analyze the foundation upon which Sonic was built on. And as much as I can appreciate the slower, more methodical platforming, I do feel it was a wise decision to ditch it in favor of speed in the subsequent titles. Sonic The Hedgehog is also notable for introducing the momentum based gameplay, as you mentioned. It may not be the most accessible of the classic entries to new players, but it is a landmark title as the birth of the series.

Where green hill was your favorite teacher who set you on the right track, marble is that strict teacher that made that track even straighter

say it wasn't competing they were winning and now they're completely and utterly losing damn things change so quick just like Sonic

I watched this once three years ago. And was looking for it up until this moment!

Thanks to this video, I noticed how similar Sonic Adventure's physics are to Sonic 1's Physics.

Loving all the classic song remixes.

1991: I liked Marble Zone but I played it on release back in the day. I think we were a whole lot more forgiving seeing the new graphics at the time. Platforms where if you stand on them too long they catch on fire. The columns have that glass reflection on them. Sonic is often doing his ledge stand animation. And the lava is just plain pretty to look at.

LOL Having played modern sonic before the classics when i picked up sonic 1 DUCK and JUMP is exactly the first thing i did when i got to green hill zone! You nailed it Geek

Rewatching this series to get to the ones I have not seen yet. I love this channel. Love hearing your opinions... but also I love that you kinda sound like Wreck-It-Ralph and i just imagine him talking about games.

Watching this series again while having Sonic CD infinite fun screen playing great series by the way

Hey it's me Nexusmax from the forums. I'm just here to say good job on the video. I really enjoyed it. Fun Fact: Pac Land (1984) is the first 2D sidescroller to exist. And Super Mario Bros (1985) took inspiration from it. If you don't believe this pointless fact of mine then feel free to look it up.

Never owned a Genesis as a kid, my 1st exposure to gaming from what I remember was a NES in kindergarten from my now passed Uncle. I also got a SNES in the 3rd grade with funds me and my bro saved up even. My 1st game with Sonic was when I was a kid though and that was Sonic 2. I only got to play Sonic at friends or other family members homes and I played Sonic 1 later and yeah his point stands on it. Never was taking a side in Nintendo vs Sega wars though. I liked Sonic too much to do that. I even made a costume of Sonic out of paper when I was younger. When SA2B was on Gamecube it was awesome to me cause I could enjoy the best of both worlds easier. Granted I'm pretty sure that meant different things for others. Was never bugged by Sonic's new design either.

The Geek Critique: "And while no other zone was nearly as bad as Marble Zone..." Labyrinth Zone: "Hold my beer".

0:53 Move over plumber, the Hedgehog is in town.

youre awesome geek. i didnt have a genesis as a kid but this is gReat. good times more recently

Not gonna lie, this is the my fifth go at watching this retrospective. Can't wait for the Smash Bros one.

Yet Marble Zone is my favorite stage in Sonic 1. Great review to watch.

Oh god, I never knew that you could get that one extra life the way you did. Blew my mind! :)

Hey man i watched this on my ps4 where you can't comment so i signed in on my phone just to say this which i don't normally do tbh but i really enjoyed your take on this, particularly the way you broke down the first level. It was the best i think ive ever seen off of the top of my head and i would love to see you make a part 2 and go more in depth about the rest of the game.

God DAMMIT! Every time i watch this series i get an uncontrollable urge to setup the Mega Drive (or Saturn) and play some Sonic games...... and now i have to do it again I hope you are pleased with yourself :P

My biggest complaint I had while playing sonic was that it's a game where speed it key, right? Gotta go fast! But the game punished you for going fast because as you were gaining speed and made a jump you would land on spikes or get hit by an enemy and it didn't feel fair. I have no problem with games being difficult. But if your difficulty is based on putting in unfair enemies then it no longer is fun. It just seemed odd that a game that wants to showcase speed and wants speed to be the biggest selling point would punish you for using these mechanics.

Nice video! Your thoughts on Sonic 1 are compelling, and notes about stuff as simple as "the terrain isn't even" are valuable. If you can, though, I think it'd be beneficial to look at each act on its own. The game may seem "rough around the edges" for not pushing everything that Green Hill Zone does, but it's consistent about it. You'll find blocky, slow-paced platforming in both the Marble and Labyrinth Zones--it does a call and response between fast zones and slow zones. I could go on, but I probably shouldn't. Point is, Sonic 1 is more modest than the later Genesis entries and is more consistent for it. The latter ones do some incredible things, but they don't hit that same rock-solid structure and pacing that Sonic 1 does. Isn't it crazy that Green Hill Zone and Marble Zone are the only zones in the game with that uneven grassy terrain?

Watches 3 mins of this and love it! Physics!

9:05 you could say +The Geek Critique , that it was a Leafyishere effect where people were tired of Leafyishere and started to want competition to get rid of him. People were a little tired of Mario, Sonic had a brand new style of gameplay, and kids started buying Sonic 1 over Mario world

Oh my god the pun in the end. Oh my god. I literally died of that.

Marble Zone: Hey, let's drop Sonic & the badniks in Altered Beast.

7:05 Well, Mario is not just designed to be slow, I mean, there is never something really blocking you like the moving pillars (or whatever these are). Marble Zone is also very horizontal, so I don't think it is anything like a Mario level.

This is a video game. This is the video game industry, and the gaming industry, is Nintendo. That’s how it was at the dawn of the fourth generation. What’s this? A Nintendo. What are you doing? Oh we’re playing Nintendo. It doesn’t even actually have to be made by Nintendo, and people are still going to call it a Nintendo. And why wouldn’t they? After all, it was Nintendo that saved the North American industry from being a mere fad. Their name- their brand had become synonymous with video games. And who was at the center of it all? Mario Mario! Mario Mario! Way more than a genre definer. Mario radically changed the rules when it came to the very core of game design. Mario (and the Nintendo you played him on) had become household words. So how could anyone compete with the undisputed innovator of the most popular genre in gaming? By once again, changing the game.

TGC: sega wasn't just competing they were winning... Nintendo:HA HA HA HA I think we all know what happened

Mario was definitely the better game, but when I was a kid, this game blew me away. The colors, the speed, the momentum was amazing. For me, at 9 years old when this game came out, I thought Mario was done for. That's how it impacted me as a child. Just answering your question. ;)

Yeah i hear a lot "sonic was never good" or 'sonic was the best game ever' but this video puts that, and it's mechanics, into historical perspective. i had actually never considered the game changing first timers in sonic

Can't wait to see what you think of Sonic Mania!

"Nothing about Sonic is static." Marble Hill Zone.

I'm from Brazil and Sega had a bigger market here, than Nintendo, I remember the first time that I see the Green Hill zone as a kid, all that flashy colors and how fast Sonic was, that blew my mind! There wasn't nothing like that in the time and sadly the emulators don't reproduce 100% the same experience than the console.

I can't believe that Mario is the carriage and Sonic is the car because all other following games aren't Sonic, the way the following games 'were' Mario (as you showed) -- the car took over.

Finished DKC. Time to do Sonic!

1:06 Did Sonic predict the future? He FRICKIN DABBED

I'm a Nintendo fan, a Mario fan, but i gotta be honest, I much prefer classic sonic to classic Mario.

750 subs then. Look at you now!

Our video game rooms growing up were always called "The Nintendo Room" for years. Even though we had other companies products. Intro reminded me of that.

damn right. Blast processing!

Wonderful analysis.

Great video, as usual. Watching it for the second time while I wait for the Prime/Retro series to arrive. But I can't help but think "Sonic won" is quite a bold statement, given that basically all post-sonic 2d platformers follow what you perceive as a sort of "Mario school of platforming": VVVVVV, Super Meat Boy, Metroids (virtually all metroidvanias, in fact), Braid, Ori. In fact, I can't really think of many non-sonic games that followed Sega's formula.

aaah blast process!

I couldn't appreciate this game when I got to experience sonic gems and sonic mega collection. I was a nufan who only played the 3D sonic games.

Despite my initial criticism of the "Original the Character - Please don't steal" from Sonic Forces, I'm one of the few that really enjoyed that game. It was easy and beautiful and it was cheap too. But even if I still love boost sonic despite our lord and savior Sonic Mania, fans of the "boost to win sonic" shouldn't criticize the "hold right to win sonic". I always found the two to have different charm.

3:47 - Technically, not the birth of platforming physics. If you play Level 3-4 on Super Mario Bros. 3 and slide down a slope, you can gain a lot of jumping momentum afterwards, enough to clear a wide water bed.

If people think THIS game is difficult in the modern age, wait until they find Naoto Oshima's OTHER console character, Blinx the Cat, and play his first game on the original Xbox!

When you notise how much was used from this for the DKC script

Considering the fact that original 2 zone was going to be labanrth zone

It’s kind of funny that the iOS releases of Sonic 1 actually includes the spin dash so I didn’t have that issue.

I liked marble zone! But i played it when it came out, so I wasnt thinking about does it fit the design..cause it was the first sonic game.

nice vid

Never finished Sonic because the next map wasn't as fun or addictive like the first one. The game was nice but... Man, buying a genesis just for the first lvl in Sonic was too much.

"Nintendo is an adjective, not a noun" Ouch, my brain!

Guess it’s sonic history time😎🥳 17.9.22

Wait so you played the 16-bit Sonics in the order 2, 3, 1, S&K? So did I!

Sonic CD is next eh? I look forward to a 10 minute video about how the game has no flow whatsoever, and that cramming 3 stage designs into one is always a bad idea.

6:10 labryinth zone use too be the second zone sonic explores

Ok can I just say, people talk about games teaching through gameplay. But really, how many of us read through the manual which told us everything

I can relate to older games being harder to play after a sequel. I try to play games in order of release for that reason. You smartly played Metroid by that order. For another example, Kirby Amazing mirror is the superior game to Kirby Squeak Squad as far as level design, amount of content and boss battles, but it is hard for to play Amazing Mirror after Squeak Squad, especially right after playing Squeak Squad, because Kirby himself can do so much more in Squeak Squad. And Squeak Squad Kirby still can't do as much as Super Star Kirby. You see, Kirby Super Star built on it's predecessor, Kirby's Adventure, but every Kirby game either went back and built on Adventure, and always built less, or was an almost unrelated experiment. Imagine being a fan who liked Kirby Super Star and having Kirby's Dreamland 3, Kirby 64, Kirby Amazing Mirror and Kirby Squeak Squad in a seemingly never ending stream. These weren't even bad games, just less than an aging Super Nintendo title. Stuff like Canvas Curse and Epic Yarn, what by rights should have been spinoffs, had basically became the face of the series, all that was fresh. And when Kirby Super Star got it's Ultra Remake it honestly felt like a new fresh game. Kirby's Return To Dreamland may have lacked Sakurai's touch, but knowing the platform games were finally moving on from the NES model was such a relief! ...I still haven't bought The Genesis Sonic games. I'll get around to it.

sonic 3 changed my life!!!! IT ITS THE BEST GAME EVER!!!