Graphics: For the time STH was released, the graphics were good, if not great, but they weren't the best. Mostly the game was about speed and little else. The animation of Sonic was excellent for the time period (the beginning of the 16-bit era), but the backgrounds of the game were somewhat lacking. Even though they used the Genesis' paralax scrolling hardware, they were nothing to write home about. Some would disagree. The most important part of the graphics package, however, was the attitude. Sonic reaked of it, which was a good thing that would carry his popularity through at least 3 more titles.

Sound: The one area where I feel STH excelled was in the music and sound category. The tunes were catchy and the sound effects were of a higher quality than most games. The "ching" of the rings lost when Sonic took a hit, the "woomp" of the invincibility shield power up, etc. It's little audio treats like that, coupled with a great soundtrack, that make STH a delight to play.. which brings us to my next point.

Gameplay: The area I feel STH suffers the most is gameplay. Not only is the game extremely challenging (something that will turn most casual gamers off), but there is no real plot or goal in mind except to collect rings and free Sonic's animal pals. It's not like saving a princess is any fresher an idea, but come on! This isn't Disneyland. At least the play mechanics are simple; each button on the Genesis' three button joystick does the same thing, they make Sonic jump.. quite clumsily, but it's still a jump.

One other thing that cheeses me off to no end is how the programmers of the game seemed to have speed in mind over gameplay. Mario may be slow, but you get a better sense of adventure out of his games because you can actually stop to look at things without flying by them at 100mph! Speed should never replace good gameplay but in STH, that's what's going on. I find it hard to believe, however, that Sonic 2 (a much better sequel) got a lower rating on epinions. Gah!

Overall, Sonic the Hedgehog is not a bad game, it's just over-hyped. Given a lot of work, you may actually beat the game someday, but it's not likely. You'll become bored out of your skull long before that happens.

Recommended:
No