Star Light Zone

It feels good to get back to something a bit more enjoyable after yesterdays horror show.

As a young un, the only way I ever got this far was by use of the level select screen. Being fascinated with space from an early age, the words "Star Light Zone" stood out to me amongst all the others. I never finished this stage but I enjoyed it a great deal. So you can kind of see how this post is going to go.

Theming
This zone takes place on an abandoned highway near a city, it carries a decent retro-futuristic vibe with the unique street lights and the glimmering stars in the background give the zone its name as well as providing a nice contrast to what we are going to see in the next zone. Despite being simple, it is one of the best looking zones in the game.

Difficulty
Playing through this now, I never had any trouble. The main hazard here is falling to your death, but with patience and good fundamental skills you can get through it no problem.
What I like most about this stage is the return of speed. There are plenty of areas to build up a good solid pace and you can reach the fastest speeds in the game with good planning.
This zone introduces fans, which will blow Sonic back or prevent him from running, but these are never in dangerous areas. They exist more to annoy the player and test your timing than to actively kill you. Also, catapults are introduced, which have the classic slapstick effect of causing you to fly into the air when a spiked ball lands onto the other end. There are a few times where effective use of the catapults is needed to progress, and they feature heavily in Act 3 as well as the boss battle.

Music
Here it is. It is magnificent, it fits in well with the stage theme. I love it. The electronic main melody is strangely tranquil and calming, while the chorus adds a bit of impetus and livens the track up. Hands down my favourite track in this game.

Enemies Introduced
Only one enemy technically makes a debut in this zone, the bomb. I couldn't find any decent pictures online, but just imagine a grey and black bomb with legs and you won't be far off. I'm not sure whether the bombs are actually "Badniks" as they don't have a critter inside them and you can't harm them. They move about and explode into 4 laser balls when you get close enough, pretty dull stuff. The orbinaut gets a palette swap here and is now green. Not much else to say about enemies here, the main hazards are the bottomless pits that permeate the zone, otherwise you can go fast!

Orbinaut - Now comes in green!

Zone Boss

This is a pretty fun boss battle, there are two ways you can harm Robotnik. You can either use the catapults to attack him with the spiked bombs he drops on you, or you can use the spiked bombs to fire yourself up in the air to hit him.

Both methods take the standard 8 hits to wipe him out, he flees once more and retreats back to his base.

Final Rating

I love this zone, the speed, the style and the music all make this one of the best (if not the best) zone in the game. With a bit more enemy variation this would be perfect. 9/10

See you after the weekend for Scrap Brain and the Final Zone!

Labyrinth Zone

For the love of god, please don't make me do this one.



Really? I have to?


Fine. Here we go.

Theming

This zone takes place in a sunken underwater city. Again there is a bit of an ancient Greek style going on with the stonework, could this zone be the legendary lost city of Atlantis? There are a lot of crystals around the place and plenty of spears and tridents to cause pain.

Difficulty

This zone is notorious for its difficulty, even amongst the wide range of difficult water stages available in games of this era. The first problem is that Sonic cannot swim. He is clearly inhibited by the water and in addition to this, his tiny hedgehog lungs can't store enough oxygen to keep him from drowning within 30 seconds or so. Not just any old drowning either. Sega decided on this piece to let you know that Sonic is about to die horribly. That piece of music still makes me soil myself to this day.

To prevent Sonic from drowning, you need to wait by air bubbles and swallow them down once a big enough bubble forms, this can take some time to happen, so patience is necessary.

Aside from the very high chance of drowning, there are a lot of cheap deaths to be had in this zone. The Atlanteans clearly had a thing for spiked ceilings as they are here in abundance, complete with pieces of the floor which suddenly move up and crush you on the spikes.

To add to the frustration, there are very few checkpoint posts scattered throughout the three acts, so when you die, it is likely that you will lose a lot of progress and end up getting seriously annoyed. Perhaps the most annoying part comes in act 3, where the water suddenly decides to rise and you have a choice of 3 corks to ride, all but one of these will crush you on the ceiling, naturally.

Overall I was glad to get this one out of the way. The difficulty makes this stage a chore, not enjoyable at all.

Music

Not a bad effort here, they have gone for something a bit more tranquil to try and go along with the water stage theme in the Mario games I think. But the music makes me think of the terrible struggles I have had with this zone throughout my time and it makes me feel fed up more than anything else.

Enemies Introduced

No enemies make a return from the first 3 zones, we are left with only these guys. But that is more than enough once we factor in the environmental hazards in this zone.

Burrobot (Molebot) - Hides underground then jumps up at you.

Jaws (Robofish) - Swims side to side, gnashing his teeth.

Orbinaut (Spike thrower) - Throws his spiky balls at you, then is left helpless.

 Zone Boss
This incarnation of Robotnik is a marked departure from the rest, you don't actually have to hit him 8 times to win.

All you need to do is keep ahead of the water and chase him up the steps, dodging numerous hazards whilst doing so. This is quite a tough little area with plenty of precision required, its actually quite a nice challenge, compared to some of the bosses in the game which are either far too easy or ridiculously tough.

Final Rating

Playing this zone is painful. It is relentlessly difficult and has a rather bland design overall. It will be no surprise to anyone to see this get a low score. 1/10 

Spring Yard Zone

Hey, look who it is! I've lapsed a bit on this but gonna get back in the swing of things here.

Hopefully.

So here we are, with not a bad little zone to get me going.

Theming

This one is a bit easier for me to describe than Marble Zone. It clearly takes place in an industrial complex, with neon signs scattered about the place showing such phrases as "COPE" (I don't get it either). This zone also introduces some "casino style" elements, with a casino themed zone featuring regularly in later Sonic games.

Difficulty

This zone takes cues nicely from the first two, mixing some precise platforming with a couple of sections where you can build up a good amount of speed. There are some sections which frustrate me intensely though. See the image below..

See those barrels there? They move up and down, making you wait for the positioning to be right before you move. If you go too late, you're dead. The risk of death by crushing in this stage is very real, even in a few of the shortcuts you can be killed cheaply.

There's a few tough sections in the later acts featuring flying spiked balls and a certain enemy, who will be detailed in a later part of the post but overall this isn't too tough a zone, provided you have a decent stockpile of lives to make up for those you will lose to cheap crush deaths.

Music

No Smooth McGroove for this one, so I will just link the original here. It's a pretty decent little tune, a bit funky, bit of an industrial rough edge to it also. Far from the worst but nothing really special here (for me at least).

Enemies Introduced

So once again those dastardly Buzz Bombers return, along with the Crabmeat guys from Green Hill. We have two new and quite rare enemies making their debuts here, complete with hugely imaginative names. Of the two, Spikes causes the greatest threat, what with only one (not hugely reliable) way to kill it by running then rolling into it face first. In Sonic 2, there is a nice move introduced which would make these guys simple, but I don't think there are any enemies like Spikes in Sonic 2. 

Roller - Rolls behind you on downhill sections then stops and opens to shoot lasers.

Spikes - Rolls side to side, can only attack from head on by rolling.

 Zone Boss
This time, Robotnik is clearly very wound up by Sonic and takes a few cheap shots. First of all, there are normally rings to collect in between the final checkpoint and the boss battle, to prevent you from getting caught in a loop of deaths. Not this zone though. You have to travel back if you want to get any rings and that is only the beginning of the cheap shots used by this machine.

See that spike on the bottom of his machine? He uses that to pick those blocks off the bottom and smashes them right in front of you, meaning you have to go quickly to destroy him before he makes it impossible for you. Due to the removal of blocks, he can make it impossible for you to finish the zone or you could just accidentally fall and die after beating the boss, which isn't annoying whatsoever.

Final Rating

A decent enough level, it has some fun parts especially with the casino/pinball bits. But there are some cheap deaths starting to emerge and let that be a lesson to us ahead of the next zone... 6/10

Marble Zone

Hi again, I missed posting this yesterday due to a severe case of world cup fever. Not a great sign of things to come I know.

So Marble Zone is our second stop and heres what we are greeted with.

Theming

Describing this zone is proving tough for me, as it seems to be 2 distinct ideas fused into a single zone. You have the above ground sections, which look vaguely Greek in origin, with the marble pillars etc. You have the underground sections which appear to take place in an abandoned underground palace and then for some reason there is lava. Its the lava that confuses me, I'm not sure why it exists besides to add difficulty to the zone. I like the core concept of the underground palace, but the random lava ruins it for me.

Difficulty

This zone represents a marked change from Green Hill. Where GH was primarily about speed and showcasing the technology, this zone is more focused on precision platforming and it can get pretty nasty at times. As usual, there is a difficulty curve within the zone, with Act 1 being the simplest and Act 2 making things tougher by introducing some nasty instant-death areas. Act 3 tests your patience to the limit with a precision jumping section right before the end boss which will set you back a couple of minutes if you miss a platform. 

Some very mild puzzles are introduced in the form of pushing blocks around and there are a lot of secret areas to discover within the zone. However, the single greatest annoyance in this zone are the caterpillar enemies which will be discussed further in the next section. As a result of all of this, I could never regularly beat this zone in my youth and had to resort to the level select if I wanted to see past this zone.

These days it's still tough, but manageable.

Music

For me, the music in this zone is what elevates it from bad to above average. I love the multiple layers within the music. To me, its every bit as memorable and iconic as the Green Hill music.

Enemies Introduced

The Buzz Bombers from Green Hill return in Marble in the above ground sections, but pose less of a threat here, largely due to the the presence of the caterpillar enemies. These guys are a serious pain, if you don't hit them directly on the head then they explode into spiked balls which damage Sonic.

Caterkiller (caterpillar) - Crawl side to side, need to hit them on the head to destroy.

Batbrain (bat) - Hangs on the ceiling until you get close, then flutters about.

 Zone Boss
The end of zone boss is a letdown in terms of difficulty. I think the level designers wanted to balance the difficulty in Act 3 and this is how they did it.

All Robotnik does here is drops a fireball to set the two platforms on fire, one at a time. You can hit him twice before he drops his fireball, so it takes almost no time at all to send him packing to Spring Yard Zone.

Final Rating
Not the best effort here, the music is great and there are plenty of secret areas to hold interest but the lava doesn't make much sense to me and the boss is disappointing. I feel they could have toughened up the boss and made this zone appear later on in the game and it would improve its feel. As it is, I have to award it a 4/10.

Green Hill Zone

My first "real" post has arrived.

After the glorious SEGA opening logo, a quick press of the start button takes us here.

This image is just about burned into my retinas by now, the amount of times I have started this game.

So, on with the ratings.

Theming

The zone takes on the theme of a tropical island paradise, this will become a running theme throughout the Mega Drive Sonic games. The first zone is typically somewhere very colourful, full of life and relatively simple to get you in the mood for the adventure ahead. I love the detail in the background of this zone, the flowing waterfalls and lush forests make for a great opening to the series.

Difficulty

As referenced earlier, Green Hill Zone is a relatively straightforward affair. Act 1 can be blazed through in under a minute, with a few loops and s-bends to show off the blast processing power of the Mega Drive as well as a couple of secret areas if you take the high route through the stage. Act 2 adds a bit of complexity with a bit of platforming with spikes and pits, where Act 3 continues to build the difficulty with a few spiky log sections where you have to watch your speed and positioning.

Overall, a relatively simple zone, one in which you can easily get through while building a decent stockpile of extra lives.

Music

I love the music for this zone, it brings back such great memories, and really shows what the Mega Drive can do in terms of sound.

This is magnificent. The iconic Green Hill Zone music still makes me smile everytime I hear it, combine that with Smooth McGroove's awesome vocal talents and you have a recipe for success. Where available, I will post links to his work per zone.

Enemies Introduced

This being the very first zone, there are quite a few to get through here. I will post the official names for the "Badniks" (I have never heard that word used until I researched this part) along with what I called them as a young pup.

Buzz Bomber (Wasp) - Flies in a straight line, stopping to shoot lasers.

Motobug (Ladybird) - Moves from side to side

Newtron (Chameleon) - Appears on walls and shoots lasers

Crabmeat (Laser crab) - Walks side to side, shooting lasers in arcs.

Chopper (Piranha) - Jumps up and bites

 All the above images come from the original concept art and were sourced from here.

Zone Boss

Our first clash with Dr. Robotnik (never Eggman!) has him flying from left to right with a wrecking ball attached to his machine. I had real trouble with this as a child, but with practice it becomes simple to get a few hits in before he drops the ball and then to read his movement pattern.

8 hits later and he flies off to lick his wounds, leaving you with the satisfaction of opening the machine trapping all the critters, as well as leaving me free to play and research Marble Zone, hopefully I can keep this going daily.

Final Rating

A solid start to the series, showcasing some great colourful graphics and great music. A very respectable 9/10.

Sonic the Hedgehog

This is where it all began, back in 1991.

As the first game in the series, it does a great job in introducing Sonic as a typical 90s cool guy, with his attitude, love of speed and snazzy red trainers.

The game is split into 6 zones, each containing 3 acts, as well as a final boss zone and special stages. That gives me 8 posts for this game, a nice start to the blogging lifestyle.

My memories of this game are numerous, this was the first videogame I ever played and so it holds a special significance for me.
Some of my earliest memories feature this game, I can clearly remember watching my mum playing the special stages, screaming at the TV. When I was a bit older I remember having a TV in my room and staying up late to play, doing anything to try and beat the game before I went to sleep. I would get caught time and time again, eventually losing my right to my own TV.

I could reminisce all day, but I have to get working.

And by working I mean playing Green Hill Zone.

See you tomorrow for my thoughts.

Welcome

So here we are.

I've been meaning to start a blog of my own for a while now, but was struggling to fully flesh out the ideas in my mind.

Then late last night it came to me.

I should play through my collection of Sonic games, but not solely for fun. I should overanalyse and nitpick and I should take notes every step of the way. So this is what I am planning to do over the long summer ahead and hopefully even further.

I want to break down each Sonic game, zone by zone and judge them on a set of criteria in order to (almost) objectively assess the best of the best. I say almost because I have a pretty clear idea of which zone will win out in the end.

But these posts won't purely be reviews, I want to share some of my memories with these games as they have been a fundamental part of my life and I have many stories to tell.

I hope there are at least a few people out there reading this, but this is mostly for my own entertainment and to keep my sanity over the summer ahead.