SEGA AGES Sonic The Hedgehog

- Reviewed on Switch -

SEGA AGES Sonic The Hedgehog released on September 20th, 2018. 

With the original Sonic The Hedgehog releasing all the way back in 1991, developers M2 brought this family friendly title, back in 2018, to the Nintendo Switch, as a part of SEGA AGES.

I, personally, was a Nintendo kid, who mainly played Mario titles, but after purchasing this very convenient version of Sonic The Hedgehog, on one of my favorite consoles (as of writing this blog post), being able to experience this game that many others grew up on, instead of the red plumber, was a true joy, and a lot more fun than I even expected!

This review WILL have Major Spoilers so keep that in mind before continuing...

This re-release of Sonic The Hedgehog, in my opinion, is the best way to introduce players to the original platformer. 

The story for Sonic The Hedgehog, for those who don't know, is about the famous, extremely fast, hedgehog, saving innocent animals from the main antagonist, Doctor Robotnik, aka, Dr. Eggman.

Not only that, but one of the main plots also includes Sonic collecting the Chaos Emeralds too.

Though you don't have to do this in SEGA AGES Sonic The Hedgehog, to finish the story (like I did), collecting the Chaos Emeralds is, indeed, a fun side feature to trey and accomplish.

To actually collect Chaos Emeralds, you have to finish a level with 50 or more rings, then jump through the enormous ring, at the end of the level, to enter a special stage.

I was not a fan of these special stages due to their annoying, flashing graphics, and for people new to Sonic, the rarity of these popping up (for new players), just makes these stages confusing. 

Onto the actual gameplay, SEGA AGES Sonic The Hedgehog is all about quickness, but also strategic platforming.

You will play through seven stages (not including the special stages), though in this game their called Zones, and each zone has a total of three sublevels, aka, Acts. 

The seven zones in SEGA AGES Sonic The Hedgehog, are...

    - Green Hill Zone

    - Marble Zone

    - Spring Yard Zone

    - Labyrinth Zone

    - Star Light Zone

    - Scrap Brain Zone

    - Final Zone

As you traverse these zones, your main way of surviving, is by collecting rings.

The way you actually lose a life, in SEGA AGES Sonic The Hedgehog, is when / if you get hit by an enemy, when you have no rings, or by falling and / or drowning.

To keep with the theme of Dr. Eggman, and his robotic plans for the animals, majority of the enemies you face, are indeed robots!

I liked the design of these enemies, like a robotic caterpillar for example, but I found it frustrating when the actual way of defeating them isn't exactly trustworthy.

Sometimes jumping on them works, but other times, I'd just lose a lot of rings instead. 

Same with building up speed, as a ball, then speeding towards them. Sometimes this works, and other times, it doesn't. 

My absolute favorite thing about SEGA AGES Sonic The Hedgehog, is undoubtedly the music!

Composed by Masato Nakamura, SEGA AGES Sonic The Hedgehog's soundtrack is one for the ages (no pun intended), and is still amazing to this day, many game eras later.

Each zone in this title has its own theme, and really boosted by enjoyment as I played these acts one by one.

There's an option to do Stage Select in SEGA AGES Sonic The Hedgehog, but no matter how / what you choose, each zone has its main criteria of design.

What I loved about SEGA AGES Sonic The Hedgehog's level design, was the plethora of ways players can finish each and every zone. 

Each zone has its secret and alternate routes, resulting in levels that aren't truly linear by nature (design).

I found that the upper portions of the levels were purposely designed a little tougher, though resulted in bigger rewards.

I wasn't all that interested in the High Scores and such, but for players who are serious about this, they can definitely have a field day with this level design.

There are item boxes placed all around the levels in which you can acquire coins, invincibility, shields, etc.

Earlier I mentioned you can drown in SEGA AGES Sonic The Hedgehog, and in the later levels, underwater portions, start to become common.

Not only does the controls get wacky underwater, but also, unlike Mario, Sonic needs to breathe!

You'll find bubbles of air on the underwater surfaces that, overtime, release big air pocket6s for you to interact with and refresh your air supply.

However, you know when you get close to drowning, due to Sonic's scary theme that plays when losing air. 

This adds a lot of stress to the player and also makes the air pockets very crucial to finishing the game.

Speaking of finishing the game, the many boss battles that you do in SEGA AGES Sonic The Hedgehog, are quite simple.

They all occur at the end of Act Three in each Zone, and they all involve Dr. Eggman, in his egg like saucer.

All you have to do during these boss battles, is collide with Eggman, whilst avoiding his obstacles. 

This can be swinging, wrecking balls, or even pieces of the floor disappearing, for example.

The final boss battle with Eggman is the same concept, but Dr. Eggman isn't in a saucer anymore.

I found the end battle with Eggman very underwhelming, compared to even his previous boss battles in earlier levels. 

In the end, SEGA AGES Sonic The Hedgehog for the Switch was a blast to experience!

The save states definitely helped me with finishing the game, and being able to enjoy the level design, music, and gameplay overall, portably, made this an amazing purchase!

If you never experienced the first Sonic, and want to give it a try, then SEGA AGES Sonic The Hedgehog, is a definite, must have!

Pros: 

    - Simple, Yet Effective Story

    - Incredible, Memorable Music

    - Clever Level Design

    - Plethora of Ways to Play

    - Longevity

    - Various Enemies

Cons:

    - Major Frame Rate Drops in Underwater Portions (at least on Switch)

    - Special Stages weren't all that Great 

    - Underwhelming Final Boss Battle

My Rating for SEGA AGES Sonic The Hedgehog (on Switch):

4 / 5

-----

Disclaimer

All Reviews, Ratings, Pros, Cons, and Opinions Shared on this Blog (Press A Reviews) are my (Connor Butler) own Thoughts and Feelings.