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Kirby's Dreamland Publisher: Nintendo Developer: HAL Labs System: Game Boy Year: 1992 Kirby's Dreamland represents a number of firsts: it's the first Kirby game, but it's also the first game directed by Masahiro Sakurai, who would later be known for Super Smash Bros. and Kid Icarus Uprising among others. His games tend to feature VERY unique gameplay, and Kirby's Dreamland is no different. However, you can tell it was his first game. Kirby's defining element, the Copy Abilities, are nowhere to be found, as they hadn't been thought of yet. It's also a much shorter game than most of Sakurai's portfolio, seeing as it was made for kids. Despite this, Kirby's Dreamland is still distinctly Kirby. You can walk left and right and jump like in other platformers, but Kirby's ability to inhale enemies like a vacuum cleaner is what sets him apart. Holding B will inhale, and most enemies will be sucked inside his mouth. You can inhale multiple enemies at the same time too, but they have to be right next to each other. Kirby will be full and weighted down regardless of how many enemies are in his mouth. Pressing B again will fire them out as a star, his primary means of attack. The Star grows more powerful depending on how many enemies you ate. If Kirby doesn't have anything in his mouth, he can also hold Up to inhale some air and float around, for an unlimited time. Pressing B or landing will release the air as a puff that is actually a weak attack, and it comes in handy more than you'd think, at the cost of falling down. Exclusive to this game are traditional powerups. One of them is the Mike, which Kirby can grab and scream into, killing every enemy on screen. This would later become a rare Copy Ability throughout the rest of the series. The other one is the Super Spicy Curry, which lets you shoot fireballs like crazy. There is also one boss fight against Kabula the blimp where you fly after it in the air shooting it with Super Spicy Curry much like a traditional shmup. It would never again appear in the series, but it is in Super Smash Bros. now. You would think a Kirby platformer with no Copy Abilities would be basic and yeah, it is. It's also a very short game, with only five levels. Regardless, they're designed perfectly around what Kirby can do. Enemies and bosses are also a bit more of a threat here, seeing as you can't just grab an ability and tear them to pieces like you can in the later games. Many of them are made to resist your suction, like the Mumbies, or the demonic Scarfy, both of which start appearing more towards the end. While Whispy Woods is still extremely easy, the bosses are the hardest part of the game, which for Kirby is nothing new. You can't be too aggressive with them, and later ones move fast and hit hard. King Dedede is a bit of a difficulty spike, but it's a doable fight. Of course, this is a Sakurai game, and there's bound to be some crazy twist. After the ending, you're given a simple code for an Extra Mode. This is where the kid gloves come off. The level design is the same, but all of the enemies and bosses are now extremely aggressive, and some of the enemies are actually replaced with new ones. It's still perfectly beatable, but it's rare to see a Kirby game stop pulling punches outside of the later games' Arena modes. Beating this mode gives you another code, this time for an Options Screen. This has a Sound Test, and the ability to play the game again with limits on your health and lives. Playing Extra Mode with 1HP and one life with no way to get any more of either is a quick way to earn yourself entry into the Salty Spittoon. Kirby's Dreamland appears to be the most simple game in the series, but it's actually by far the most hardcore. It really says a lot about Sakurai's skills that it can be so deceptively deep despite (or perhaps because of) a lack of features.

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Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong-Quest Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Rare System: Super Nintendo Year: 1995

Donkey Kong Country 1 was possibly the most hyped game in history at the time thanks to it’s amazing CGI graphics, so a sequel was obvious. Naturally with sequels comes the pressure to live up to the first one, which is a lot harder than it sounds, and many games have failed at this. In most cases, you can’t change what worked, and you can’t just make exactly the same game again. There has to be a sweet spot of old and new.

And so, Donkey Kong himself was given the boot. Wait, what?! Yes, the main character of the franchise is not playable in his own sequel, as he was kidnapped by the Kremlings (who are now pirates). His sidekick Diddy Kong is the main protagonist now, and he’s on a quest to not only save DK, but to prove himself worthy as a hero to Cranky Kong. Joining him is his girlfriend Dixie Kong, who is a memorable character in her own right.

Now that the Kremlings are pirates, Rare has made this sequel pirate themed, which is an interesting touch. Instead of traveling around DK Island, the Kongs go to Crocodile Isle, the Kremling’s pirate island. Here there are a variety of settings not found in the first game: pirate ships, volcanoes, amusement parks, castles, beehives, etc, all of which look fantastic. The environments tend to be a little darker than before, which makes sense considering you’re on an evil pirate island. Also going along with the scurvier theming, the Kremlings themselves are dressed up like pirates, and they have more distinct personalities. With a few exceptions they feel less threatening and a lot goofier, which makes them a lot more likable. The pre-rendered CGI graphics have also been improved and feel a lot less plastic than DKC1, and it complements the setting well. DKC1 still looks fantastic, but there’s almost nothing dated about 2’s presentation, and it’s a lot more imaginative.

The soundtrack is, like DKC1’s, a Top 10 contender. David Wise is the sole composer this time around, and it’s easily his best soundtrack. Just like DKC1, it perfectly mixes strong melodies, fitting atmosphere, and occasional environmental noises into music that perfectly fits the game and sounds great on its own. Several tracks would be right at home in a swashbuckling pirate movie, like the bombastic title screen theme K. Rool Returns. The most popular track is Stickerbrush Symphony, the soothing and uplifting theme that plays during the ironically very difficult bramble stages. Other standouts include the Swamp theme that blatantly samples Phil Collins’ In The Air Tonight, the tribal Primal Rave in the jungle levels, and the electronic Disco Train that plays during the roller coaster levels. It’s a rare perfect soundtrack where every single song is extremely memorable.

Like many popular AAA games nowadays, the gameplay itself was the weakest part of Donkey Kong Country 1. However, it still played well, and all of the defining series elements were there–they just needed a restructuring. Donkey Kong Country 2 does just that. For one, Diddy and Dixie both feel equally balanced this time around, unlike the DK/Diddy duo from before. Diddy is completely unchanged from before, and he is still the quick and agile character. Dixie, unlike Donkey, is small like Diddy and has the unique and extremely useful ability of hovering with her banana shaped helicopter hair. Both characters are perfectly balanced and compliment each other as a duo. You can also perform a new “Team Throw” move when you have both Kongs. By pressing A, you will lift the other Kong on your back, and you can slowly move around and jump with them. Pressing A again and aiming lets you toss the Kong. Tossing them upwards is a useful way to get to some higher platforms, as the Kong will go very high and is very floaty in the air. Where they land, you’ll automatically warp to.

The level design in general is greatly improved from before. DKC1’s sense of flow is kept, but with a much better difficulty curve. It’s actually a much more difficult game, but it ramps up at just the right pace. Each world feels more difficult than the last, but it eases you into everything early on so every challenge feels surmountable. Many of the levels have their own idea, but nothing too gimmicky. The escalating challenge and great variety go hand in hand in the same way that Super Mario World does it.

Animal Buddies are mostly unchanged, though Winky and Espresso were replaced with the bouncy Rattly the Snake, and the web platform shooting Squitter the Spider. Squawks the Parrot was promoted and is now rideable, and he can fly by flapping his wings as well as shoot eggs. All of them are very useful, though Rattly is a bit weird at first. The level design is a lot better designed around them, and there are also several levels where you will turn into an Animal Buddy for the entire level. They’re a fun change of pace, and never pop up too frequently.

Coins were added too, and this ties into the Kong NPC’s, another returning concept. Banana Coins are found semi-frequently and can be used to barter with the other Kongs. Cranky and Funky return to give you hints (which are actually useful now) and access to other worlds again. Cranky’s wife Wrinkly Kong, a schoolteacher, can save your game and teach you various game mechanics. Swanky Kong will quiz you on trivia concerning the game and reward you with a bunch of extra lives. A second type of coin is the rare DK Coin, and there’s only one of these hidden in each level. They serve no purpose other than 102% completion, but if you get them all, Cranky will rank you higher than Mario, Link, and Yoshi and actually admit that Diddy is as good a hero as he is. He also has thrown Sonic and Earthworm Jim in the trash. 1995 was a different time.

Kremkoins are the reward for completing a Bonus Stage, which were completely rethought in this game. There’s 1-3 in each level, and all of them are now timed challenges that often relate to the level you’re currently in. They’re a lot more fairly hidden this time around, and their new rules make them the best part of the game. It’s really fun to find a Bonus Barrel, and be met with a unique challenge inside to complete. The Kremkoins you earn also serve a valuable purpose. 15 Kremkoins can be used to pay off Klubba in five of the worlds, granting you access to one of five levels in the “Lost World.” Most of these levels are extremely difficult, but completing all of them nets you the REAL final showdown with Kaptain K. Rool and the true ending. It’s easily worth the trouble, in a “the journey is the destination” way. To complete Donkey Kong Country 2 102% is no mere game, it’s a rite of passage.

At the time, Donkey Kong Country 1 was a tough act to follow, but Donkey Kong Country 2 is arguably the greatest game of all time. It’s at least in the same pantheon as Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Yoshi’s Island and Super Mario World. It’s rare to see a sequel improve on what came before it as well as DKC2 has. Everything that felt tacked on in 1 is now completely essential to the gameplay, and in a totally natural way to boot. The perfect difficulty curve, mix of exploration and quick pacing, and amazing atmosphere is almost unparalleled to this day. It all fits together into what is indisputably the Citizen Kane of rapping monkey entertainment.

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Sonic CD Publisher: Sega Developer: Sega System: Sega Genesis (Sega CD) Year: 1993

For a brief period during the 16-bit generation, CD based systems were all the rage. CD storage had loading times, but the tradeoff was that they could fit more stuff in the game, and they had MP3 quality Redbook audio and FMV video sequences. Nintendo tried and failed to produce a SNES-CD addon with Sony, which later became the Sony PlayStation, but that’s another story. NEC made the Turbo Duo system which eventually replaced the Turbografx-16 entirely. The Sega Genesis had the Sega CD, the only one to have any sort of mainstream success, and even then it was short lived. That’s not to say it didn’t have any noteworthy software. The infamous Night Trap helped lead to the creation of the ESRB, and Hideo Kojima’s Snatcher became a cult classic.

Sonic CD is indisputably the Sega CD’s killer app, as well as one of the more interesting games in the series. Sonic CD started life as a failed CD port of Sonic 2. Sonic 2 was to feature time travel, but it was scrapped very early on. However, Sonic CD wound up becoming its own game designed completely around the time travel mechanic.

This might explain why it feels like a half-step between Sonic 1 and 2. Almost none of Sonic 2’s new additions are found here, other than some hidden Tails cameos and a much wonkier Spin Dash that you now have to charge by ducking and holding the jump button for several seconds until the camera pans forward. On a surface level, it looks and plays like a trippier Sonic 1. Sonic does have new moves, like the previously mentioned janky Spin Dash, and the awesome looking Super Peel Out. This move is performed by holding up and then holding the jump button, and releasing it after a few frames. Sonic blasts off at incredible speeds with his legs moving in a figure eight motion. The trade off is that he’s vulnerable to attack. The game’s camera also pans ahead of Sonic when he runs fast enough for long enough, giving you more room to see. This is the only mainline Genesis game that does this.

CD sets itself apart in a number of ways, the main one being the Time Travel. In each level there are various signs that say “Past” and “Future” on them. If you run by one of these signs and can maintain your speed for long enough, you’ll warp to that time period after a three second warp sequence (this actually isn’t annoying) and appear in the same spot as you were when you warped. Each time period has slightly different level design and a different look to it. The Past levels are more upbeat and natural looking, and mechanical levels are usually under construction or free of machinery. On the other hand, the Future has been ruined by Eggman and is a mechanized, toxic dump. This is a “Bad Future.” Luckily, you can change it to a “Good Future,” by finding a Badnik Machine in the Past and destroying it. The Good Futures have no enemies and look like utopian mixtures of nature and technology. By getting a Good Future in every level, you can get the Good Ending. Zone 3 in a world (different terminology in this game) is always a short level with a boss and always takes place in the future. If you got a Good Future in Zones 1 and 2, Zone 3 will be a Good Future too. The boss won’t be any more or less difficult (though most of them are much easier and more gimmicky in this game anyways), but it does feel pretty nice.

The Time Travel admittedly feels like a little more could have been done with it. This does sound weird, since every time period has its own music and visuals, so clearly a lot of effort was put into the whole idea. While the Past serves a valuable purpose, there is no reason to go to the Future at all other than for bragging rights. Honestly though, whatever. It adds a lot to the game’s atmosphere and it wouldn’t be Sonic CD without it.

Special Stages are back and are accessed the same way as in Sonic 1. This time around, the Special Stages are Mode 7 style racetracks that fit perfectly in a big square. Sonic runs forward automatically and you can turn him to the left/right and jump. The goal is to destroy various UFO’s floating around, which is a lot harder than it sounds thanks to their weird hitboxes and unpredictable movements. Not only that, but the stages are timed, and stepping into water speeds up the clock. At least Blue UFO’s appear in the center when you only have 30 seconds left, and smashing them gives you more time. Upon completion, you get one of the seven Time Stones, which are basically the same thing as the Chaos Emeralds. Super Sonic isn’t in this game, but getting all of them actually turns all Bad Futures into Good Futures, a much faster way to get the Good Ending. Thank God for the other option though, because these Special Stages can get pretty frustrating if you don’t know them like the back of your hand.

The level design is…divisive. Sonic CD seems to have lost it’s sacred status ever since the 2011 Taxman Remaster made it widely available for the first time, and nowadays the level design has become extremely love/hate. I don’t hate it, but I definitely don’t love it. A few worlds still feel pretty fun to play, but some of them feel, quite literally, thrown together. Not like they were quickly made, but more that they have completely random and messy layouts. They take advantage of Sonic’s physics even more than the other games do, but they’re a lot less fun. Regardless of your opinion of the other levels, you’ll hate Wacky Workbench.

Sonic CD is still beloved today for the insanely cool atmosphere it has. It can best be described as Sonic 1 on acid. Many of the levels are similar to those in Sonic 1, but made a whole lot trippier. The only exception is Marble Zone, which almost got a CD equivalent, but it was removed and what was left of it was incorporated into Tidal Tempest (a much better Labyrinth Zone). Quartz Quadrant and Wacky Workbench are totally new. The fan favorite Zone is Stardust Speedway, which has a race between Sonic and his new robot doppelgänger: Metal Sonic. Metal Sonic is the secondary villain and one of the series’ best characters. He has a sleek, menacing appearance and does not fuck around one bit. Amy Rose was also introduced in this game, and unlike her later appearances, she is simply a lovestruck fan and not an outright stalker. She appears a few times to hug Sonic and annoy him, which is one of those little details that gives the game so much character. Another neat detail is the anime opening and endings. These look AWESOME. Sonic has never looked cooler, and this is the same series where he kills multiple Gods in Super Sonic showdowns with awesome rock music.

The standout feature is the soundtrack. Actually, soundtracks. Sonic CD takes full advantage of the Sega CD’s CD audio, but the real cool thing is that there are two soundtracks depending on what region you live in. The Japan/Europe soundtrack blends sampling and dance music into an extremely unique and upbeat soundtrack. The US soundtrack is much darker and has a lot of electric guitars and some female vocals. Both soundtracks fit the game very well, and while the Japanese soundtrack is the better of the two by a landslide, the US soundtrack has several standouts such as the fan favorite main theme Sonic Boom.

Sonic CD is, as a game, a mixed bag, but it’s almost like an art piece. If you were to remove even the tiniest detail from the game then it would no longer be Sonic CD. For that reason alone it’s worth experiencing.

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Sonic Chaos (JP: Sonic & Tails) Publisher: Sega Developer: Aspect System: Sega Master System/Game Gear Year: 1993

The third 8-bit Sonic platformer is an interesting one. Sonic 2 8-bit had almost nothing to do with its Genesis counterpart, so Sonic Chaos dropped any pretenses from the get-go. Sonic Chaos is Aspect’s second rodeo with the Sonic series, and after a disappointing entrance with the overly difficult Sonic 2 8-bit, they learned a few lessons. On top of that, Sonic Chaos has a few interesting ideas of its own.

Sonic and Tails are fully playable, and unlike in even the Genesis version of Sonic 2, they have their own different abilities. Sonic has his Sonic 2 Spin Dash, his Super Peel-Out from CD (now called the Strike Dash and with a two second burst of invincibility frames). On top of that, when playing as him there are exclusive Rocket Shoes monitors that let him fly incredibly fast through the air for a few seconds. Naturally this is extremely broken so you don’t see it too much. Tails can fly by holding up and pressing the jump button. This is actually the first game where the player can control Tails’ flight! It feels a bit stiff but it’s naturally very useful.

The level design is an apology for Sonic 2 8-bit. Somehow Aspect managed to fake curvy slopes in spots. They’re automated, as are the loops, but you wouldn’t notice, and it adds a lot more Sonic-y flavor. The levels are so much easier that…whoops, turns out Aspect overcorrected. Unlike Sonic 2 8-bit, Sonic Chaos is now way too easy. The levels are done and over with in less than a minute each. There’s also tons of rings, and ring monitors placed next to each other. The bosses also give you rings now, which is a blessing, since two or three of them are the only form of difficulty the game has…or so you think. Sonic Chaos has the 8-bit series’ first traditional Special Stages, and to get to them you need to be playing as Sonic, and you need to grab 100 rings. Suddenly the abundance of rings makes a lot of sense. It’s not hard to get 100 rings in a level, but finding big groups of them is where the actual stage difficulty comes in. It doesn’t become that much harder though.

Unlike the Genesis games, the Special Stages aren’t flashy mini-games, and are basically regular levels that are much shorter and designed around a specific challenge. The first Special Stage, for instance, is built around Sonic’s Rocket Shoes, and you get to fly to the Chaos Emerald while grabbing giant rings. There are five Special Stages, since there are only six Emeralds for some reason, and Eggman has taken the Red Chaos Emerald. The first three are very easy; the last two are such trial and error bullshit that one gets war flashbacks of Sonic 2 8-bit, before dotting their head with a towel and reminding oneself that they’re optional. You don’t even get any reward this time around other than the Good Ending, but there’s always good old bragging rights.

The graphics are a huge step up from before. The previous 8-bit games looked very nice, but Chaos is leagues above them. Everything seems to be shaded closer to the Genesis games, and the stages themselves are absolutely packed with detail. The zones are pretty imaginative too. You do have your standard Green Hill esque Turquoise Hill Zone and final Eggman base Electric Egg Zone, but then there’s the dazzling city Gigalopolis Zone, the…whatever the hell Sleeping Egg Zone is supposed to be, Mecha Green Hill Zone (an awesome concept that hasn’t been seen since), and the unique looking Aqua Planet Zone.

The music isn’t one of the series’ better soundtracks, but it’s perfectly serviceable. It has the same kind of sound quality as before, it’s just that the melodies aren’t as strong. There is one song that is leaps and bounds above the others, and that’s the awesome Mecha Green Hill Zone theme. It’s vaguely based on “You Can Do Anything” from Sonic CD. There’s also an unused theme which Triple Trouble would use as the cult classic Sunset Park Zone Act 3 theme.

Sonic Chaos is, in many ways, a step up from before. Aspect was able to better copy the strengths of Sonic Team’s own games while adding their own unique flavor; the same approach that the also cult classic Super Mario Land and Mega Man Game Boy subseries took. Unfortunately, their difficulty still isn’t well balanced, but at least it’s reasonable for a regular person.

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Donkey Kong Country Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Rare System: Super Nintendo Year: 1994

During the fierce “console wars,” Sega managed to climb over Nintendo thanks to Sonic the Hedgehog and “blast processing.” This didn’t last long thanks to Nintendo having a killer app of their own. Nintendo purchased stock in Rare after seeing their extremely fancy pre-rendered 3D graphics workstations, and with the aim of using said fancy graphics to win back market share, Donkey Kong Country was born. While armchair game designers will tell you that graphics didn’t matter back then, Donkey Kong Country quickly became the most hyped game of its time and released to universal acclaim because of them.

Let’s face it, DKC is a damn gorgeous game. The pre-rendered 3D models are astounding for their time, especially considering this was a year before Toy Story made CGI a household name. They do look a bit plastic nowadays, as most early CGI did, but the whole package has aged very well. This is mostly because of the well done character models and atmosphere. DKC’s art style is a good blend of cartoonish and realistic elements that never falls into the uncanny valley. The characters take a page from Sonic and have distinct visual personalities to them. The environments themselves are more of a mixed bag, but all of them have astounding detail, with the standouts being the jungle levels that often change weather and time of day during the level. One particular snow level, Snow Barrel Blast, starts out peaceful before becoming engulfed in an intense snowstorm as the player ventures through it.

The funny thing is that the graphics actually aren’t even the best part of the game. The soundtrack is one of the best of all time, and is at least Top 10. Like the graphics, it blends realism and more cartoonish elements. The songs are a rare combination of strong melodies and intense atmosphere, even going so far as to incorporate environmental sounds and use them as part of the music. The famous DK Island Swing now permanently associated with Donkey Kong has a slow buildup from a tribal beat into a fun, jazzy song, before switching to a more ominous jungle rhythm. Aquatic Ambience is soothing and perfectly captures the deep underwater feel of the water levels. Northern Hemispheres seems to be perfectly timed with the aforementioned Snow Barrel Blast level.

You would expect the game itself to not live up to its incredible atmosphere, and in a sense that is true, but it’s still a well playing game. DKC is from the Mario mold, meaning you run to the right and bounce on enemies and collect 100 bananas to get an extra life. Naturally it’s different enough. Like all DKC games, you can control two characters at once, one at a time while the other one follows you. You can switch between them by pressing select. In this game it’s Donkey Kong (of course) and Diddy Kong, who would go on to become a star himself. Both characters can run, roll (a deceptively awesome speedrunning move), and pick up barrels to toss and roll at enemies. Donkey is slower but stronger and can defeat every enemy, and he holds barrels above his head. Diddy bounces off of the bigger, tougher enemies harmlessly, but he is much more agile and holds barrels ahead of him. Diddy is the more useful character, but Donkey has his uses. When a character is hit, they run off screen and must be found again in a DK Barrel. If you get hit without a second character, then you die.

The series’ other hallmarks are here: Barrels that you can jump into to fire yourself out of like a cannon, other Kongs to visit, various Animal Buddies you can ride on, Mine Cart levels (these are damn fun), and Bonus Levels. This is where Donkey Kong Country falls short. Outside of the main platforming, many of the other elements are great ideas on paper and differentiate the series from other platformers, and Donkey Kong Country 2 would refine them to the point where it’s arguably the greatest game ever made. Here they aren’t so well thought out and feel casually slapped on.

Bonus Levels in DKC1 serve only as a way to get extra lives and bananas. While all of them are required for 101%, you merely have to visit the stage for it to count, and there is no need to actually beat it. There are roughly one to five at the very most in each level, hidden in out of the way barrels, and walls that you need to smash open. Some of them are reasonable to find, but some are flat out stupid, with special mention going to Oil Drum Alley’s Bonus Level hidden in a Bonus Level. Overall they feel pretty tacked on. Exclusive to DKC1 are Animal Buddy Bonus Levels, and you get to go to one whenever you find three gold statues of an animal buddy. There are also just there for extra lives, but here you can rack up a TON of them.

Speaking of Animal Buddies, they are pretty fun to use. A few of them became series mainstays such as Rambi the Rhino (the only one to appear in Retro’s DKC games), Enguarde the Swordfish, and Squawks the Parrot, though in DKC1 he merely holds a flashlight in one cave level. Winky the Frog and Espresso the Ostrich were never seen again after this game, though admittedly Espresso is pretty overpowered. While the levels don’t feel that tightly designed around them, they’re enjoyable regardless.

On the world map, you can visit Cranky, Funky and Candy. Cranky, in his sort of debut appearance (in canon he is the Donkey Kong from the original arcade, just aged), steals the show with his bitter, fourth wall destroying comments about the video game industry. A few of his sayings are still relevant, considering how the industry turned itself into an AAA churning sweatshop. Not bad for a 1994 game! Cranky’s actual gameplay purpose is to give you hints…for the first world. After that he’s useless. Then there’s Funky Kong, with his totally radical music and a plane which lets you travel to any world you’ve made it to. Candy Kong hosts the save point. This is a big issue considering the Kongs only appear once in every world, meaning you’ll have to beat a few levels before you can save your game, and you can’t simply travel back to a previous world to save.

Donkey Kong Country was arguably a bit overhyped, considering several key aspects of its own gameplay feel undercooked. Luckily the core gameplay is still very enjoyable. DKC1 is one of those games that feels greater than the sum of its parts. As a game, it’s an above average platformer with some flaws and some ideas that go nowhere. Coupled with the stunning art and music, it’s elevated to a classic.

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Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (8-bit) Publisher: Sega Developer: Aspect System: Sega Master System/Game Gear Year: 1992

Sonic 2 was such a major event that Sega decided to let their 8-bit system owners in on the fun too. An 8-bit version of the game for the Master System and Game Gear released roughly a month before the flagship Genesis version. This time, Aspect was handed the wheel. They would develop almost all of the future 8-bit Sonic games.

Sonic 1’s 8-bit version took enough liberties to count as its own game, but it still had three of the zones from its Genesis version. Surprisingly enough, Sonic 2’s 8-bit version has absolutely nothing in common with its own Genesis version, and is a completely different game. The only similarities are that Tails is in the game (albeit not playable, as he was kidnapped by Eggman), and the penultimate boss is a robot Sonic.

Sonic 2 8-bit plays exactly the same as Sonic 1 8-bit did. You still have the roulette signpost (no Special Stages this time though), Chaos Emeralds hidden in each zone, blockier levels with more platforming, boss fights with no rings, etc. It does add some new elements, of course. The most prominent are vehicles that appear throughout the game. Minecarts are featured in the first zone, Underground Zone, though you can’t do anything in them but duck and jump out of them. Sky High Zone has hang gliders, which are cool enough to appear on the boxart. Unfortunately they are very difficult to control, though if you get the hang of them, flying with them lets you cruise forward easily. Aqua Lake Zone has giant bubbles that you can ride underwater, though you have to be careful not to pop them against anything. Lastly, there are Zoom Tubes throughout the game. They are tubes that you automatically move through, but you can change your path through them whenever they split. Zoom Tube mazes begin to appear frequently in Scrambled Egg Zone.

Sonic 2 (8-bit) is also the first game in the series to give the player access to an extra level after they collect the Chaos Emeralds. In most games you would get an Extra Zone that is just a Super Sonic battle, but in this game you get a full length zone, Crystal Egg Zone, which is…trippy. It is a pretty cool level though, and it’s a better reward than you usually got for grabbing all of the emeralds.

Underground Zone is a great opening level, and is fast and not too difficult. Even the Chaos Emerald is hidden in an area that isn’t cheap, yet requires skill to get. In Act 3, Eggman saves you from falling into lava (!!!) and drops you in front of his newest creation, a giant Antlion badnik waiting for you at the foot of a steep hill. To defeat him, you have to simply avoid the bouncing balls that bounce down the slope. Unfortunately the slope is very slippery and the balls bounce at varying heights (in the Game Gear version). As stated before, you have no rings for any boss fights. This boss is infamous for its difficulty, and it’s the first boss!

And there lies the biggest issue with Sonic 2 8-bit: there are several points where the difficulty skyrockets. For those who actually made it past that boss, there are worse things waiting for them afterwards. Without giving away the location of the Sky High Chaos Emerald, it is ridiculously hard to get and requires trial and error. Green Hills Zone has several instances where you have to make blind spring jumps across huge pits of spikes and hope like hell that you don’t land in them. For what it’s worth, at least the game throws extra lives at you constantly, but still, it’s ridiculous. The whole game isn’t that bad, but the level design feels pretty sloppy in general.

For those willing to suffer through the painful bits, you’ll at least be treated to graphics and sound that are among the best both systems had to offer. The zones in this game are extremely imaginative, even more so than in the other games. The graphics are about the same as the previous game so there isn’t really much to say about them, but the more surreal looking zones really bring out their best qualities. They also got loops working in this game, which weren’t present in 1’s 8-bit version. They’re merely an uncontrollable setpiece this time around, but they look really cool in action. The soundtrack is also by far the best one on either 8-bit system. Considering the composers also worked on Sonic CD, this is no surprise. In fact, Green Hills Zone’s theme is an instrumental version of CD’s Japanese theme, “You Can Do Anything.” All of the music avoids the chirpiness common to the Master System/Game Gear soundchips and stands tall as one of the series’ better soundtracks.

Sonic 2 8-bit has all of the makings of a classic, but falls short because of the janky and occasionally awful level design. Unfortunately I would consider it to be one of the worse 2D Sonic games despite everything it has going for it. It’s too bad too, because it’s this close to being a hidden gem

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Sonic The Hedgehog 2 Publisher: Sega Developer: Sonic Team/Sega Technical Institute System: Sega Genesis Year: 1992

After the runaway (pun intended) success of Sonic 1, it was only natural that Sega immediately commission a sequel. While Sonic has had several periods of very high popularity over 25 years, this was easily the peak of his fame. Sonic 2 was one of the most hyped games in history, and the first ever to release worldwide on the same day, known as Sonic 2sday. Despite a troubled development with American and Japanese staff who had trouble working together, and the removal of several zones to make the date on time, Sonic 2 fully lived up to its colossal hype and is, to this day, still the most popular Sonic game of all time. While Sonic 1 continues to age well and is also considered a genre defining classic, Sonic 2 set the series standard that many of the following games try to build on or outright copy.

Sonic 2 managed to keep the gameplay from Sonic 1 simple without adding much to it. However, the additions Sonic 2 made became permanent series staples. The first is Miles “Tails” Prower, Sonic’s two-tailed fox sidekick. Tails is the Luigi to Sonic’s Mario: he’s orange instead of blue, adorable instead of cool, and he is the player two character. Tails is AI controlled and will follow Sonic around, collecting rings and attacking any enemies in his sight. When he gets left offscreen (which will happen a lot), he’ll use his two tails to fly back on screen. He might not seem that useful at first, but he can help you quick-kill bosses. He is a very fun addition to the game and without a doubt the most essential character in the series other than Sonic and Eggman. The best part is that a second player can pick up a controller and play with him to help you out! You can, of course, choose to play with Sonic alone, or with Tails alone, but unfortunately playable Tails cannot fly.

The second huge addition is one so important that new players frequently struggle in Sonic 1 without it: the Spin Dash. By ducking and mashing the jump button, Sonic will curl into a ball, but will stay in the same position and visibly build up speed. Letting go of the D-Pad will rocket Sonic forward in ball form. It’s a great way to gain speed quickly on any solid ground, and as a result, you don’t have to search for steep curves to roll down to gain speed quickly. This has the effect of kicking the game’s pace up several notches.

The third is a 7th Chaos Emerald. Other than the Game Gear games, the number would stay at seven for the rest of the series. Special Stages were almost completely reworked, and while you still need 50 Rings, you just need to bring them to a Star Post (checkpoint) now, which opens a ring of stars that take you to the Special Stage. Sonic 1’s Rotating Mazes were ditched in favor of a fake 3D halfpipe minigame, in which the player faces away from the screen and runs continuously. Each Special Stage has three sections to it, and in each section you have to collect a specific amount of rings that come towards the screen, while dodging bombs that will make you lose rings. If you reach the end of a section without enough rings, you’re booted out of the Special Stage. Otherwise, you’ll keep going, and at the end of the whole stage is a Chaos Emerald waiting for you. These are a lot more fun than the spinning mazes, and you get a lot more chances to beat them. However, they start to get difficult very quickly, and Tails’ AI is notoriously terrible here and will smash into bombs frequently. By tying Special Stages to checkpoints, you also start seeing a lot less of them by the fourth zone, though thankfully the main acts are short enough where you won’t lose that much progress if you die.

Now there is an actual reward for collecting all seven emeralds. By collecting 50 rings and jumping, Sonic will become Super Sonic, who is for all intents and purposes a fun nod to Dragonball Z. Super Sonic is invincible and much faster, and he has his own theme. However, you have to keep maintaining your ring count, because Super Sonic slowly drains your rings. If it drops to 0, you return to regular Sonic. He was clearly added in last minute as he is a bit glitchy, but he is extremely fun to play around with.

There is also a fun two player split screen mode. Sonic and Tails can compete to race to the end of Emerald Hill Zone, Casino Night Zone and Mystic Cave Zone. They all have different music tracks (originally meant for zones that were removed), and the bosses are removed, but they otherwise are the same. There is also an extra monitor type that switches both players. On top of that, there is also a competitive Special Stage; here both players share the same screen and have to get more rings than each other. Hardware limitations prevent this mode from being truly fantastic, but it still manages to be pretty fun.

The above additions make Sonic 2 a lot more engaging than Sonic 1, but a subtle change that goes a long way is that the game structure was redone for faster pacing. Zones are no longer made of three acts (other than Metropolis Zone), but just two, and there are a lot more zones this time around. There are also no more slow paced and blocky levels like Marble and Labyrinth Zone this time around. Now every zone has many opportunities to roll around at the speed of sound. Despite having (purple) water, Chemical Plant is widely considered to be one of the best levels in the series thanks to its intense speed and dozens of multiple pathways. Casino Night is the definitive casino zone and the first to add slot machines and pinball flippers, both a perfect fit for Sonic’s ball form.

Unfortunately, the level design still isn’t perfect. The first six zones are an absolute blast, but once you reach Oil Ocean, the game hits a slump that it never recovers from. The zones from this point on start to throw tons of cheap shots at you (especially the infamous Metropolis Zone) and generally drag on. The exception is Sky Chase Zone, a short and relaxing one act zone in which you wing walk on Sonic’s Tornado biplane. The entirety of the final level, Death Egg Zone, is two bosses in a row without any rings. If you’re very good at pattern recognition you’ll probably take them both out quickly, but if you’re not, God help you.

Thankfully, the relatively lame final stretch is the only real negative. Everything else is near perfection. The graphics and art style are the same as in Sonic 1, but with a ton of extra background detail and more bold colors, which makes the game as a whole much more eyepopping. The Special Stages are especially striking; while they are a bit choppy, it does nothing to make the fake 3D effect look any worse. The halfpipe tube even twists and turns with many frames of animation. It’s seriously impressive! The music is also more of the same from Sonic 1, and is still composed by Masato Nakamura. This is not a bad thing, and it lives up to the high standards of Sonic 1’s outstanding soundtrack. Just as Sonic 2 is a lot faster paced than Sonic 1, the soundtrack was also given a kick in the pants, and almost every song in the game feels more up-tempo.

I don’t consider Sonic 2 to be the best game in the series but regardless, it’s pretty damn close, and if someone else were to rate it #1, I would understand fully. It’s a great experience from start to finish and truly defined the Sonic series as we know it.

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Sonic The Hedgehog (8-bit) Publisher: Sega Developer: Ancient System: Sega Master System/Game Gear Year: 1991

A few months after Sega’s flagship title Sonic The Hedgehog released on the Sega Genesis, they decided that Genesis owners shouldn’t have all the fun and released a downscaled version on their 8-bit systems: the Master System, and the portable Game Gear. Ancient was given the task of reinterpreting the game for these systems.

On a surface level, things look immediately like you’d expect. After a two second world map sequence (one that plays before each level and adds nothing, but is pretty cool to look at), you’re immediately plopped into a simplified Green Hill Zone. Unfortunately, the Master System/Game Gear weren’t up to the task of replicating the Genesis original’s fancy 360 terrain and physics engine, but there are still slopes and ramps to roll around and all of the other familiar elements.

The gameplay is exactly the same as well. Use the D-Pad to move, down to roll down slopes and gain speed, and a single button jumps, curling you into a ball to easily attack badniks. Rings still protect you from death (other than crushing/falling/drowning) as long as you carry at least one. Smashing a Monitor open will still grant you more rings, shields for an extra hit, speed shoes, invincibility, and 1-ups.

Then you reach the signpost that marks the end of the level, and it’s pretty different: spinning it will now show one of four images, each with their own effect. Dr. Eggman’s face does nothing, a Ring gives you 10 extra rings, Sonic’s face grants you a 1-up, and an exclamation point (guaranteed to show up if you have 50+ rings) takes you to a Special Stage. These Special Stages are completely different and vaguely resemble your typical Sonic casino zone, just trippier. What’s more, there are no Chaos Emeralds. These Special Stages are just ways to earn lives and continues.

Things get weirder in Green Hill Zone Act 2. Unlike the Genesis version’s GHZ Act 2, this level takes place almost entirely in a cave with waterfalls. The weirdest thing by far is that hidden in this level, sitting out in the open, is a Chaos Emerald. There are, once again, six that you need to collect for the Good Ending (which is basically just bragging rights again). However, there is one Emerald hidden in each zone. Some of them are in plain sight, and some of them are very tucked out of the way. It’s certainly different.

Act 3 presents you with another divergence: instead of a full level, it is merely a short obstacle course (with one hidden 1-up) and a battle against Eggman…with no rings, so you can’t mess up once. Luckily the first boss is probably the easiest in Sonic history, but they get harder quickly.

The craziest change of them all is what awaits you after Green Hill Zone. Marble Zone, the second zone of the Genesis version, is nowhere to be found. Instead, you go to the mountainous Bridge Zone. In fact, half of the game has been replaced with completely new zones. Gone are Marble, Spring Yard and Starlight. In their places are Bridge Zone, Jungle Zone, and a new final zone after Scrap Brain: Sky Base Zone.

At this point, you’ll probably have realized that this isn’t a simple scaled down version of Sonic 1. This is essentially a brand new game. And what a fun game it is! While it never reaches the high-speed thrills of the Genesis version, it’s smart enough to realize that it can’t and shouldn’t bother. What we have here is a totally solid platformer that is great on its own merits. The level design and difficulty is a lot better balanced than the Genesis original as well, and while there are some annoying parts late in the game, nothing ever reaches the level of frustration that the Genesis version occasionally had. Even Labyrinth Zone feels a lot less punishing.

The graphics naturally take a hit, but still manage to look great. The new zones especially are a highlight and a great way to show off the systems’ capabilities, especially since they have no equivalents in the Genesis version. Jungle Zone in particular is full of life in a way that the NES could never match no matter what. Sonic, the badniks, and Eggman also have the same visual personalities they had in the Genesis version. The aforementioned new World Map sequences actually grant you pretty nice looking views of South Island, the island that both versions of Sonic 1 take place on. The credits sequence even has a nice close-up of Sonic singing on a microphone, a cool callback to the scrapped band that Sonic was meant to be the frontman for.

The Master System and Game Gear are not exactly praised for their audio, but this version of the game manages to make full use of their soundchips. Ancient was actually formed by the famed Streets of Rage composer Yuzo Koshiro, and so he composed this version of the game. Surprisingly, the soundtrack is almost entirely different other than the Title theme, the End of Act theme and Green Hill Zone’s theme. Labyrinth Zone and Scrap Brain Zone received new tracks that are arguably better than their more famous Genesis tracks and fit the zones perfectly. The new zones have music that fits right in with the poppy Genesis soundtrack as well.

Sonic 1 on the Master System/Game Gear almost tricks you into believing that it’s merely an inferior version of the Genesis game, but quickly turns into a very nice surprise. Even if it’s much slower paced, it has its own strengths and unique ideas that are worth playing it for.

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Sonic The Hedgehog Publisher: Sega Developer: Sonic Team System: Sega Genesis Year: 1991

Everyone knows the story of Sonic 1 by now. Sega needed a mascot to take on Mario, wound up designing a blue hedgehog known for going fast. By appealing to the West and using radical attitude type advertising, Sonic was a roaring success and printed a lot of money for Sega. Despite what armchair game designers like to tell you nowadays, Sonic was all the rage and the best platformer at the time without the Official Seal of Nintendo Quality stamped on it.

Ironically, the game’s programmer Yuji Naka has stated a few times that Sonic 1 was modeled after his experiences in speedrunning Super Mario Bros. 1. With this knowledge you can begin to compare the two introductory mascot games. Both are 2D platformers in which you have a limited time to complete the current level by running non-stop to the right, shaving off time by cutting corners in the level design as much as possible.

Sonic 1 differs from Mario, and most other platformers, with its very advanced physics engine for the time. While most platformers back then were lucky to have any terrain other than block tiles, Sonic 1 features all sorts of sloped ground previously thought impossible to achieve. You can even run up walls and around giant shuttle loops. There is also no run button whatsoever; the controls are brilliantly streamlined so that the player needs only the D-Pad and a single button to jump. Sonic also curls up into a ball whenever he jumps, which means you can attack Dr. Eggman or his badniks at all angles unless they’re covered in spikes. No more having to aim for an enemy’s head!

What’s more, it is very difficult to actually kill Sonic. Gold Rings can be found floating everywhere in this game. You can grab an infinite amount of them, and when Sonic is hit by an enemy, he will merely be knocked backwards and lose all of his rings as long as he carries at least one. Sonic only dies if he is hit without any rings, if he is crushed, or if he drowns underwater. Sonic can also smash computer monitors open to gain powerups inside. These include more rings, a Shield to take an extra hit, a barrier of stars that grants invincibility, and temporary Speed Shoes that boost your acceleration.

However, without Speed Shoes, Sonic accelerates a lot more slowly than most other game characters and has to work harder to gain momentum. That fancy sloped terrain I mentioned earlier isn’t just a crazy setpiece, it’s (usually) your biggest obstacle. How do you get fast enough to run around it without falling off? Well, one way is to build up enough speed to run around everything easily. What you’re actually meant to do is hold down on the D-Pad to roll into a ball. When rolling, you gain incredible speed down slopes, enough to blast through levels easily. In true fancy physics action, you can launch yourself off ramps, or even jump at the right time to fling yourself at just the right angle to reach a high platform. This is what makes Sonic 1 and the following games (the ones that actually built on it) so special.

Unfortunately, while Sonic 1 is very fun, its biggest downfall is that it doesn’t capitalize enough on the fun blend of speed and rolling physics. Of the six zones (with three acts each), only half of them make good use of the sloped terrain. Every odd-numbered zone seems to be one of the good ones. The iconic Green Hill Zone is the perfect introductory zone, easy for new players to run through, but full of tricks for expert players to pull off. Spring Yard Zone (the series’ first pinball zone) and Starlight Zone are more difficult, but build on what Green Hill introduced in some clever ways. On the other hand, Marble Zone, Labyrinth Zone, and Scrap Brain Zone are blocky and full of difficult traps. Labyrinth in particular is the first and most despised of the series’ infamous water levels where Sonic is forced to gulp air bubbles underwater, lest he drown after a countdown timer ticks to 0. Your enjoyment of Sonic 1 will depend entirely on how you fare with the even-numbered zones, but luckily they don’t drag the game down that badly.

There is also a type of stage known as a Special Stage, accessed by having 50 rings by the signpost that marks the end of each level. A Giant Ring will appear and the player can jump into it for a chance to grab one of the six Chaos Emeralds. Special Stages play differently than the main game; Sonic is trapped in a large, rotating maze and continuously rolls as the maze spins around. You can edge yourself to the left/right and jump, be it off the floor or off the side of peppermint candy looking blocks. While there are round blocks that say GOAL on them, you do not want to hit them, or you will leave the Special Stage. Your real goal is to find the Chaos Emerald and collect it. These Special Stages can be difficult, and you’ll need to practice them a few times so you can learn their layouts and eventually collect all of the Chaos Emeralds. Doing all of this is optional, but you get the slightly different Good Ending (basically bragging rights) as a reward.

Other than its sound gameplay, Sonic 1 also has sound…sound. The soundtrack, which was composed by Masato Nakamura of the jpop band Dreams Come True, is one of the all time best video game soundtracks. Every single theme in the game has gone down in history, especially the famous title screen theme and Green Hill Zone. The funny thing is that Masato Nakamura actually owns the music and not Sega, so they have to pay him whenever they want to use the themes again. Clearly this is not a big issue as the Green Hill Zone theme among others have been remixed endlessly throughout the 25+ year long franchise, a testament to the soundtrack’s quality.

The graphics are another key part of the game. Sonic 1 is brimming with both personality and technological achievement to the point where it hasn’t aged a bit after all these years. Sonic himself is a well animated character with a simple design. When you don’t press any buttons for a while, he gets impatient and angrily taps his foot. He also makes cocky poses in which he wags his finger and jumps at the screen. Dr. Eggman and his badniks are just as expressive, but in a different way: they are extremely goofy and in some cases adorable. Eggman is a jolly fellow who makes a variety of amusing faces, and he even laughs at you when he hits you during a battle. The environments really steal the show, with a distinct style that blends bright colors, lots of detail, backgrounds with depth to them, and a vague early CGI look (confirmed to be intentional).

While Sonic 1 often doesn’t take advantage of its own unique gameplay, it has aged well regardless thanks to the strength of its high points. Furthermore, it will remain an important piece of history for the concepts it introduced and the biggest lesson it sought to teach us: you don’t need to be Nintendo to make a truly special game.

Sources:

http://info.sonicretro.org/Game_Development:Sonic_the_Hedgehog_(16-bit)