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It's 1991, and SEGA is having a terrible time. Nintendo leads the console market, and SEGA has still not made an impact. Nintendo has made such a big impact that whenever anybody thinks of a console he/she automatically thinks of Nintendo and whenever anybody thinks of a mascot he/she thinks of Mario the plumber. Sega wants to change all that, but can they? It all depends on two things: whether they can come up with a suitable mascot and whether they can come up with a gem of a game. And they will. Back to 2003. Sega had two ideas for a mascot: a bunny which killed enemies by picking up and throwing objects or a creature who killed enemies by spinning through them. I think they were really keen on the first idea, but the whole process of picking up and throwing objects made the games run too slowly. So they decided to use the second idea. The creature had to be a spiny one. Eventually, SEGA decided to use a hedgehog. The person who designed this hedgehog showed it to his friends. They said, "Wow! He runs at super sonic speed!" The designer remembered this and decided to name the hedgehog 'Sonic'. The gem of a game was the first Sonic game released for the SEGA MegaDrive, Sonic The Hedgehog 1. The main reason why this game became so popular was because of Sonic's attitude. Mario was slow and sluggish. Sonic was the exact opposite. This game was easy to play, had lots of levels, really nice music and 16-bit graphics. It became very popular very quickly and SEGA was finally posing a challenge to Nintendo. Sonic was the main reason why SEGA became so popular, and although Nintendo emerged as a victor in the 'console war', SEGA was definitely the better console. Enough of this introduction! Let's get on to the game itself!
Contents
Meet Sonic The Hedgehog as he strives to free the planet of Mobius from the tyrannical reign of Doctor Ivo Robotnik! As Dr. Robotnik makes his first move against planet Mobius, unleashing his technology on innocent animals and turning them into evil robots a new hero steps up into the spotlight - a blue super quick hedgehog named Sonic. And a legend is born! Only this super-cool hedgehog can save his friends and Mobius, then show Robotnik who's boss. Spin through space, loop until you're dizzy, and save the animals to become the super hero!
The controls for this game are very basic. This is what all those buttons do:
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This
is the first zone and the easiest. The only real dangers are spikes, buzzbombers
and a few other small badniks. If you keep going fast, you will avoid
more enemies and find more power ups. The act 3 boss is Robotnik in his
Egg-O-Matic with a checker wrecker ball attached underneath. There are
two platforms on the side. Just duck under the platforms when the ball
swings towards you, and it won't hit you. When the ball is swinging the
other way, hit him. Eight such hits will send him back to the drawing
board. |
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This
zone isn't as easy as Green Hill Zone. The lava makes this zone considerably
hard. Spikes pop out from everywhere, so be careful when you are running
at full speed. At the end of act 3, Robotnik comes and tries to suck up
the lava and drop it on you. Watch out for it and jump at him. 8 such
hits will put him where he belongs. |
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This
level is a killer. This is the level which started that pinball tradition.
The springs and bumpers start to get on your head after a while especially
because they have a tendency of bouncing you right on to badniks. Watch
out for that rolling ball badnik: Roller. He gets annoying after a while
as well and tends to show up in the least expected places. The Act 3 boss
is Robotnik with a spike on his Egg-O-Matic. He'll try to drop down on
you with the needle. Dodge him and hit him as he does this. He'll come
up with a block of the platform you're standing on, so get rid of him
quick or you'll have no platform left at all! 8 hits will send him running.
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This
is the first water stage in this game. You have to be careful, since Sonic
cannot breathe in water and can hold his breath for only 30 seconds. You
hear a ding warning after 5, 10 and 15 seconds. After 18 seconds, the
countdown begins. After 30 seconds, you drown. If you want to prevent
yourself from drowning, you have to get air bubbles. Other than that,
the zone isn't extremely hard. The water slows you down, so be careful.
Robotnik is pretty easy in Act 3. All you have to do is get to the top
of all his traps. When you do, he'll run away, leaving you to finish the
zone. |
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This
zone is basically a construction area in a large cityscape. The only real
dangers here are the bombs. They are nearly everywhere. Whenever Sonic
goes near them, they start flashing and then, after a few seconds, they
explode. Other than those bombs, it's a pretty straightforward zone. Watch
where you're going in hilly areas, especially since the bottom of the
level is filled with pits. To beat the Star Light zone boss, get on one
end of the spring that Robotnik doesn't drop the spike ball on. When he
drops the ball, it will bounce you up. Bounce up and over him and hit
him from the top. Eight hits puts him out. |
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This
zone is pretty straightforward. There are lots of pits, but if you avoid
them, you should not have a hard time. There is no boss at the end of
act 3, just springs which send you to the Final Zone. Act 3 is an underwater
area, because Robotnik sends you into an underwater area at the end of
Act 2. Just remember to keep getting enough air bubbles to survive. |
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Here
you must fight Robotnik for the final time. Stay in the far left or far
right corners and attack Robotnik when he appears. Be careful, or the
4 pistons he's hiding in will smash you. After the pistons try to turn
you into a Sonic pancake, the red light will produce 4 white fireballs.
Dodge them. The cycle repeats itself. As always, after 8 hits the pistons
will be destroyed. As Robotnik flies off in his Egg-O-Matic, hit the ship
to damage it and send Robotnik crashing to the ground. Now sit back and
watch the ending. |
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To
get to the Chaos Emerald special stage, have at least 50 rings when you
pass the Goal. A large ring will be there. Jump into it to go to the special
stage. It's a 360 rotating maze. Jump through it and search for the Chaos
Emerald. It will be encased in blocks that disappear when you touch them.
Get rid of the blocks and grab the Emerald to win! You also can exit the
stage by touching the Goal balls, so be careful where you look! When you
get all 6 Emeralds, you get to see the good ending. |
Level Select and Sound Test:
At the title screen, press: Up, Down, Left, Right. You should hear a ring chime if you've done it correctly. Now hold A and press Start.
Debug Mode:
At the title screen, press: Up, C, Down, C, Left, C, Right. You should hear a ring chime if you've done it correctly. Press Start, pause the game and then press A. Input the level select code. Hold down A and choose your Zone. Continue to hold A until Sonic appears on-screen. The following buttons have the following effects:
After using this code, the special controls are also enabled. Pause the game, and press A to reset the system, B to advance several frames ahead in time (repeatedly for slow-motion), and C for frame-by-frame movement.
Nighttime play:
Enter the Level Select code, then hold C and press Start to choose your starting level.
The easy way to get chaos emeralds:
Activate the debug mode. Play a special stage. Turn into a ring and move around until you find the emerald. Place yourself on it and press B. You'll get the emerald. Green Hill Zone will start. Pause the game, press A and repeat the process. Keep on doing this until you have all the chaos emeralds.
The Marble Zone shortcut:
In Marble Zone act 3 you will find three chandeliers with spikes in them. Go to the far wall (on the right) and jump to the right to find some goodies. Now jump through the wall on the right again, but be careful of the other chandelier.
The Scrap Brain teleport:
On the last level (Scrap Brain), find the ledges that move right then left. Go to the left side of the wall and wait for the platform to move. As soon as it starts to move left, duck. You'll go through the wall. While here, press Left to teleport right and Right to teleport to the left to save needed time on the zone.
The Special Stage secret:
While using the debug mode, enter any special stage. Turn into any object and travel outside the special stage area. There you should fall into a secret special stage filled with one-ups and chaos emeralds.
