8-Bit Sonic The Hedgehog Games

[Nz17]

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]

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]

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.

[Nz17]

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]

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

[Nz17]

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]

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]

I need to play some SMS Sonic, I've heard it's actually a better platformer than the original.

[FoxNtd]

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]

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.

[Gentlegamer]

So are we gonna have the Super Mario Bros. 2 fight in this thread?

[FoxNtd]

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]

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.

[SparTonberry]

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]

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]

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).

[Nz17]

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]

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.

[tom]

Is this one 8-bit?

[buzz_n64]

^ What is that? It's a bit blurry.