Plot

The story is very simple. Dr. Robotnik (or Eggman in Japan, before Sonic Adventure) trapped many animals of South Island into robots and most of them put them into metal capsules in attempt to steal all 6 Chaos Emeralds and harness their power. Sonic then found out that his friends (at that time) were kidnapped and his up to him to rescue, collect all Chaos Emeralds and defeat Robotnik. Nothing much, it was his first game, it did changed later on.

Gameplay

Do i need to say a lot of things about the gameplay? No. Why? Well it isn't that important to say if you a die-hard Sonic fan and if you played Classic Sonic games for years. The controls are just like every side-scrolling game. Press left to go left, right to go right, up to see something high or jump and down to crouch. If you hold left or right for long enough, Sonic will start running. Instead of pressing up to jump, you press A or B or even C to jump. You can also roll and go even faster if you press down while running. Of course you cannot forget about Rings, in which there are the one of items Sonic can be protected from enemies. If you destroy one of robots, you get points. There are also power-ups, hidden in "monitors" you can get during the game. There is the shield in which it can protect Sonic from enemies and when he gets hit, he doesn't lose rings at all. There is a monitor that gives you 10 rings and a invincibility that make Sonic completely unkillable from enemies except from being drowned, crushed or falling into a pit for at least 15-20 seconds. In this game, Sonic doesn't have that many abilities unlike in later games, so if you played a game other than Sonic 1, be ready to be disappointed because in this game you cannot do the Spin Dash as it wasn't a thing in the whole series yet.

Graphics

The graphics were really great at that time. There is not much to say about it, other than some sprites are also seen in later games, but where changed to probably more match with artworks that there were made at that time.

Music

Compared to other games released on Mega Drive, Sonic 1's soundtrack just fits perfectly with the Mega Drive's soundchip and it sounds so smoothly and near-perfect like with Mario games on the NES and SNES. It doesn't stop there in later games, so enjoy listening to the green paradise of Green Hill, a underground that hides a lava in Marble or even a nice nightly walk in Star Light.


Final Thoughts

Despite being a old, retro game, it still looks fresh after years. It may now be not that much fantastic compared to later Sonic games than before, but it still holds the enjoyment. Plus, unlike other Sonic games, this game doesn't have that much stages, so the time of completing the game will take probably just an hour or two if you want to get all the Chaos Emeralds and get a good ending. It could be a little longer but despite that, it's still fun!