View Full Version : 8-Bit Sonic The Hedgehog Games
Who here is a fan of the Game Gear and/or SEGA Master System Sonic games? What are your favorite 8-bit Sonic The Hedgehog games?
My personal favorite is Sonic 1 on the Game Gear. It's a short and easy game, and that's part of what makes it so good! It can be enjoyed by "core gamers" and casual players alike. I like how in 8-bit Sonic The Hedgehog that the Chaos Emeralds are actually hidden within the normal stages, making you explore the stages instead of just zooming through if you want to get the "true ending." Plus, in this game he has no "hanger-ons" like in later Sonic games which feature Tails et al.
Nebagram
04-04-2016, 05:19 PM
I had a Master System at around the time Sonic was really getting big and loved both Sonic 1 and Sonic 2. It's hard to pick between the two games, as whilst Sonic 2 was technically better, it was also bastard hard, to the extent that you needed perfect timing to get some of the chaos emeralds- and I never did manage to get all six in a single playthrough.
FoxNtd
04-04-2016, 07:08 PM
This makes me miss Game Gear. Used to have one long ago when I was a kid, and half my games were from the Sonic series. Even the spinoffs like Labyrinth and Drift 2 were great games. Really wish there was a Sega analog to the Super GB (2) to officially play GG carts with a TV as the display.
I know what you guys mean. I miss the 8-bit SEGA systems. I had and still have a nicely sized library of Game Gear games from the 1990's, though my Master System collection is small due to only having been able to find a few games "in the wild" later on, post-2000 when I first picked up a Master System. I suppose if nothing else today's gamer has the option of download a selection of Game Gear games through the Nintendo 3DS to play on the technically superior hardware of the thing, but it isn't the same as a Game Gear. Then again, you can also download Master System games on a Wii via Nintendo's Wii Shop Channel and play them on a TV that way. Then again again, you can mod your Wii to run home-brew and then play all of the Game Gear and Master System games you want on the Wii. And hey, you can also soft-mod the Wii mode on a Wii U using the same techniques to run GG and MS games on a Wii U, giving you even more output options from there.
buzz_n64
04-05-2016, 11:33 PM
Here's a list of the officially released 8-bit Sonic games.
Sega Master System
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Sonic Chaos
Sonic Spinball
Sonic Blast
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
Sega Game Gear
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble
Sonic Chaos
Sonic Spinball
Sonic Labyrinth
Sonic Blast
Sonic Drift
Sonic Drift 2
Tails' Adventure
Tails' Sky Patrol
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
Game.com
Sonic Jam
Wait, the Neo-Geo Pocket Color is 16-bit and the LeapFrog Leapster is 32-bit.
Why did you exclude Tails' Adventure and Tails' Sky Patrol and Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine - is it due to them not starring Sonic?
buzz_n64
04-06-2016, 12:54 PM
Wait, the Neo-Geo Pocket Color is 16-bit and the LeapFrog Leapster is 32-bit.
Why did you exclude Tails' Adventure and Tails' Sky Patrol and Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine - is it due to them not starring Sonic?
Alright, you're technically right, those systems are 16-bit and 32-bit but sure as hell look 8-bit, that's how I consider them at least. I'll edit them out.
The Intellivision is also 16-bit in case we get into a 16-bit conversation, and the Gameboy Advance is 32-bit.
As for the Tails games and Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, they are spinoffs of the franchise and don't have Sonic as a playable character.
Gentlegamer
04-06-2016, 01:01 PM
I need to play some SMS Sonic, I've heard it's actually a better platformer than the original.
FoxNtd
04-06-2016, 01:04 PM
The Tails games should count. It shouldn't matter if Sonic himself makes an appearance. That's like saying the Luigi game for Wii U isn't a Mario game because you can't choose Mario. I guess Knuckles Chaotix is eliminated too due to the lack of Sonic? >_>
Mean Bean Machine never counts. That's like saying Mario USA is a Mario game. Sorry but hacking a different game's ROM to force a different franchise's sprites into it doesn't make a new entry for said franchise. It's just Puyopuyo/ぷよぷよ :P
buzz_n64
04-06-2016, 01:19 PM
The Tails games should count. It shouldn't matter if Sonic himself makes an appearance. That's like saying the Luigi game for Wii U isn't a Mario game because you can't choose Mario. I guess Knuckles Chaotix is eliminated too due to the lack of Sonic? >_>
Mean Bean Machine never counts. That's like saying Mario USA is a Mario game. Sorry but hacking a different game's ROM to force a different franchise's sprites into it doesn't make a new entry for said franchise. It's just Puyopuyo/ぷよぷよ :P
Good points, I'll put those games on the list, even Mean Bean.
Don't get me started with Super Mario USA. :angry::angry::angry::angry:
Gentlegamer
04-06-2016, 02:05 PM
So are we gonna have the Super Mario Bros. 2 fight in this thread?
FoxNtd
04-06-2016, 02:13 PM
Hahaha it's just the easiest example to pull out of a hat. I could've chosen Yo Noid or something less famous, and still deliver the point.
buzz_n64
04-06-2016, 03:17 PM
Hahaha it's just the easiest example to pull out of a hat. I could've chosen Yo Noid or something less famous, and still deliver the point.
I'll just leave this here.
https://youtu.be/L5mHKM9Kwak
SparTonberry
04-06-2016, 05:18 PM
That was not such a great example.
Mean Bean Machine is much more clearly a rebranding of a previous game, especially with the existence of Puzzlow Kids.
(if you don't know, sometime it was discovered that, apparently, the Japanese Game Gear Puyo Puyo uses a dual-region ROM containing a localized version of Puyo Puyo that was never released proper, when played on a non-Japanese GG. As the GG really only has two regions: Japanese and Everywhere Else (or "Domestic" and "Export" as the SMS Power crowd calls them.)
Between Mario 2 and Doki Doki Panic however, far more debatable which actually designed first (we know which was RELEASED first, that's not the question), due to containing some distinctly Mario elements, like invincibility stars and shells.
SuperCool
04-07-2016, 08:59 AM
Wow, I had no idea there were Sonic games on the Master System. I thought it was only on Genesis and Game Gear, etc.
I used to have a SMS (purchased years after it was discontinued, via eBay), kind of wish I still had it now.
SparTonberry
04-07-2016, 11:18 AM
The first Sonic was released in very limited quantity in NA (was it mail-order only?), and 2, Chaos, Spinball and Mean Bean Machine were released in PAL regions only.
Some say Sonic 1 is a $1,000 sticker (as a sticker on the back of the box is really the only difference between a rare "US" copy and the common PAL-region copies).
The first Sonic was released in very limited quantity in NA (was it mail-order only?), and 2, Chaos, Spinball and Mean Bean Machine were released in PAL regions only.
But we love them all.
FoxNtd
04-07-2016, 09:32 PM
I read somewhere that the GG emulation in Sonic Gems for GC/PS2 is poor. Anyone know for sure? I was thinking about getting Sonic Gems but if it isn't even a solid port then I wouldn't bother.
Is this one 8-bit?
http://www.videogamecollectors.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=388294&g2_serialNumber=3
buzz_n64
04-08-2016, 02:58 PM
^ What is that? It's a bit blurry.
^ That was a compilation of 16-bit SEGA Genesis game ports for Palm Pilots such as the Palm Tungsten C (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Tungsten_C). Considering the device was released in 2003, it is pretty doubtful that it was 8-bit. If nothing else, it had a 16-bit display/screen and WiFi capabilities.
RP2A03
04-09-2016, 08:38 PM
The PalmPilot used a 32-bit CPU.
The PalmPilot used a 32-bit CPU.
There ya go.
Leo_A
04-10-2016, 04:44 PM
I read somewhere that the GG emulation in Sonic Gems for GC/PS2 is poor. Anyone know for sure? I was thinking about getting Sonic Gems but if it isn't even a solid port then I wouldn't bother.
For what it's worth, I played through all the 8 bit platformers in Sonic Mega Collection Plus (PS2 edition) and Sonic Gems Collection (GCN) and enjoyed myself and didn't see anything that struck me as obviously wrong with their Game Gear emulator.
Sonic 1 and Sonic Chaos on the PS2 and Sonic 2 and Triple Trouble on the GameCube all seemed just fine to me, although someone with more familiarity with the source material perhaps might notice issues.
It was actually my first time playing them and the experience definitely wasn't awful like if someone inexperienced with Sonic 2 for the Genesis had tried to play it on Sega Smash Pack for the Dreamcast with its awful audio emulation.
That was so bad that I don't think you would've had to have ever played Sonic 2 to know that it wasn't correctly represented on that compilation...
It was actually my first time playing them and the experience definitely wasn't awful like if someone inexperienced with Sonic 2 for the Genesis had tried to play it on Sega Smash Pack for the Dreamcast with its awful audio emulation.
Smash Pack (PC) had Sonic Spinball
Smash Pack (DC) had Sonic 1
Smash Pack 2 (PC) had Sonic 2
But other than that little niggle, your post is right on the money.
Leo_A
04-10-2016, 07:02 PM
Yeah, thanks for catching that.
I actually checked it quickly on Wikipedia to confirm that I was remembering it correctly, but still managed to mess it up and left it as Sonic 2. Either way the audio emulation was horrendous there with the Genesis titles and was perhaps the worst I've ever experienced for any system anywhere.
On the other hand, the Game Gear emulation in their later compilations is at worst fully serviceable. Opinions may vary a bit depending on one's familiarity with the source material, but I was completely satisfied as a newcomer to those SMS/GG classics.
I read somewhere that the GG emulation in Sonic Gems for GC/PS2 is poor. Anyone know for sure? I was thinking about getting Sonic Gems but if it isn't even a solid port then I wouldn't bother.
If you didn't already think of this, there's probably good quality footage of Sonic Gems Collection up on YouTube that you could check out.
Short of judging input lag which I didn't notice any of on my CRT, you'll be able to get a good idea at how well it reproduces the source material like the accuracy of the audio.
SparTonberry
04-10-2016, 11:10 PM
Smash Pack (PC) had Sonic Spinball
Smash Pack (DC) had Sonic 1
Smash Pack 2 (PC) had Sonic 2
But other than that little niggle, your post is right on the money.
Not sure how I managed to once crack the case on one of the PC Smash Packs (pulling it out of my drawer) without cracking the disc. :)