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Sonic the Hedgehog (16 bit)
-- Intro --
It all started here, sportsfans. Forget Pong, Donkey Kong, and
Pac-Man...for us Sonic freaks, the history of videogames began on June 23 of 1991. Ah,
you remember the first time, dontcha? Sure ya do. For me, it came in the form of a Genesis
kiosk at Toys-R-Us. I was eleven years old at the time, and it was better than my first
experience with sex (which hasn't actually occured yet, but I'm sure it won't be as good). I
became hopelessly entranced, and from the second I grabbed the shiny black controller, I was in
another world. The machine was set to start over at the end of Act 1, but I played that Act over
and over until my parents had to drag me away kicking and screaming (sometimes literally). I was
a changed man. I finally obtained the object of my desire a year and a half later, along with a
Genesis to play it on and Sonic 2 as a bonus. At that point my life gained new meaning,
and today I walk the path of the multi-console, socially retracted,
screw-the-date-I'm-playing-FFX-tonight hardcore gamer. Aw yeah!
-- Story --
South Island: a veritable treasure trove of ancient ruins and jewels.
Somewhere on the island sleep the six Chaos Emeralds, which hold legendary power. The Emeralds
distribute life energy to all things, enabling the advancement of technology. Unfortunately,
that technology has fallen into the wrong hands. Dr. Ivo Robotnik -- evil genius, freaky
egg-shaped dude, and all-round mean person -- is out to put an end to his long-time nemesis for
good. In order to do this, he plans to utilize the power of the Chaos Emeralds themselves...
But here's the catch: the Chaos Emeralds wander within an alternate dimension.
This dimension is a torsion caused by the circular movement of South Island, and has existed
since the beginning of the island itself. In order to help him achieve this goal, Robotnik has
set up a base on the island, and has used his bad-ass technology to transform all of its
inhabitants into robot slaves. All this just to get rid of his arch enemy: Sonic the Hedgehog!
-- Gameplay Info --
If you're a real Sonic fan, I don't have to explain this. If you're a newbie
who checked in more recently at Sonic Adventure or something: take the same general
concept and tear off all the flash. If you've absolutely never played a Sonic game in your life
and you're visiting this page to bone-up on hedgehog history (good for you, you've chosen the
right place!), or if you're just interested in seeing how I'll spell this out and still make it
remotely entertaining...here's a crash course in Sonic 101:
Okay, here's what you do: you get from the left side of the level to the
right in under ten minutes. (There are a couple of deviations from that rule later in the
series, but for now...) On the way, you collect Rings. As many as you can. If you take damage,
you'll lose your Rings and they'll go bouncing around the screen. Grab back as many as you can
as quickly as possible, 'cause if you get smacked without any Rings on-hand, you lose a life.
That's bad. Also, if you've got 50 Rings when you reach the exit, you'll be able to enter the
Special Stage. I shall elaborate on Special Stages shortly.
On your way, you'll encounter animal-esque robots of all manner. You should
destroy them by spinning, which can be achieved by itself simply by pressing down on the D-pad
while running, or accompanied with a jump by pressing one of the action buttons (A, B, or C) at
any time.
At the end of each third Act, you'll encounter Robotnik himself in one of his
crazy, hedgehog-harming contraptions. They all take 8 spins a piece. Other than that, they're
just like regular enemies ("Badniks") only harder. After defeating 'im, you run up to a robot
machine, then push the button on top to destroy it and free the animals inside. Yaay! (In
non-boss Acts, you just spin a Robotnik sign (Bonus Panel) by dashing past it, after which it
shows Sonic.)
The Special Stages open up if you have 50 Rings at the end of the first or
second Act in any Zone. A giant Ring appears right by the Bonus Panel...jump into it and you're
warped to the Special Stage: a dazzling, colorful, 360° rotating maze. Collect Rings & dodge
the "GOAL" spheres while aiming for the center: a Chaos Emerald. You can only view the full
ending by collecting all six Chaos Emeralds. Bump a sphere in the Special Stage for the
indicated effect:
- Bumper -- Bounce right off
- Reverse -- Reverses the rotation of the maze
- Jump Stand -- Jump off these
- Up -- Speeds the rotation of the maze
- Down -- Lowers the rotation of the maze
- Goal -- Takes you out of the Special Stage
There you go. Keep that in mind, as you'll need to know it to understand the
descriptions throughout the rest of the museum. Anyway, the original collection of Zones that
we all know by heart include:
- Green Hill -- Palmtrees, checkered hillsides, and a tropical theme: destined to become
synoptic with the Sonic schema. Home to Motobug (Motora), Crabmeat (Ganigani), Chopper
(Batabata) Buzz Bomber (Biiton), and Newtron (Mereon).
- Marble -- Crumbling Greek-style ruins filled with lava, spike balls, and all that good
stuff. Home to Caterkiller (Naaru) and Basaran.
- Spring Yard -- The first pinball-esque arena, with the setting being an oddly tranquil city
within a mountain range (still one of the coolest Zones to date). Home to Crabmeat (Ganigani),
Roller (Aruma), Buzz Bomber (Biiton), and Yadrin.
- Labyrinth -- The original hydro level, set in an ancient underwater labyrinth. Stay for
too long underwater and you'll drown...take a breath from large air bubbles to replenish your
oxygen supply. Home to Burrobot (Ogurin), Jaws (Pukupuku), and Unidasu.
- Star Light -- The original futuristic city under the stars Zone, and still one of the best.
You can really let Sonic's speed rip in this level. Home to Uniuni and Bomb.
- Scrap Brain -- And, of course, the original factory Zone! It's quite a dangerous place,
although the biggest threats tend to be getting squished or falling off the screen. Home to
Caterkiller (Naaru), Crabmeat (Ganigani), and Ball Hog (Tonton).
- Final -- Not so much a full-fledged Zone, this is actually just the boss to Scrap Brain (and
the final boss of the game).
And ah yes, the classic assortment of items which can be obtained by busting
monitors:
- Super Ring -- Worth 10 Rings
- Shield -- Protects you from one hit
- Power Sneakers -- Temporarily raises your speed
- One-Up -- Gives you an extra chance
- Invincible -- Makes you invincible for a short time
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Information
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Review By:
Green Gibbon
Debut:
June 23, 1991 (US)
Players:
1
Publisher:
SEGA
Developer:
The Sonic Team |
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Codes & Cheats
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Bonus Points
For extra points, pass any zone in a certain amount of time. For the best bonus, enter the Debug Mode code. The clock will freeze and you'll always score a 50,000 bonus!
Time Points
0:30 50,000
0:45 10,000
1:00 5,000
1:30 4,000
2:00 3,000
3:00 2,000
4:00 1,000
5:00 500
Confused Demo
While the demo is playing, hold A + B + C. Sonic will get confused, lose his place, and possibly die.
Control Mode
At the title screen, press Up, C, Down, C, Left, C, Right. While playing, you can pause the game and use A to restart, B for slow motion, and C for frame advance.
Debug Mode
Enable Control Mode. After pressing Start to begin a game, hold A until you see Sonic. If you see a bunch of hex numbers on the top of the screen, you're in Debug Mode.
To start debugging, press B, then you can select any sprite in that level and put it on the screen. To select a different sprite, press A, and to place it on the screen, press C. Note that sprite selection is different from Zone to Zone. Also, instead of displaying the time elapsed, it displays the number of sprites currently on the screen. Control Mode functions work as well.
Note: This only works on the first production releases of Sonic.
Extra Lives
In Green Hill Zone - Act 3, there is a 1-Up at the very bottom of the level. Collect it along with enough rings to make 100 for a second life. Next, grab the 1-Up at the top of the loop-de-loop and die. Repeat until you have enough lives.
Get all Emeralds
This cheat allows you to start at the First Level with all the Emeralds, and with lots of Continues. Use the Level Select cheat (see above) to get to the Special Zone. When you get the Emerald, and have entered into the First Zone, press Reset.
Use the Level Select cheat to get to the Special Zone again. When you get the next Emerald, and have entered the First Zone, press Reset again.
When you have all the Emeralds, continue on with the first level. You get to keep the Emeralds and the Continues accumulated so far.
Level Select
At the title screen, hold A then press Up, Down, Left, Right. When you hear the chime, press Start.
If that doesn't work, try this: at the title screen, press Up, Down, Left, Right, hold A, and press Start. After doing this once, you only need to hold Start + A to enter the level select.
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.
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.
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Music |
Greenhill Zone
Marble Zone
Labyrinth Zone
Spring Yard Zone
Starlight Zone
Scrap Brain Zone
Special Stage
Boss
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Pictures
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