The controls in the 1st sonic game can seem a little clumsy if you keep running into things. With practice you can fly through the levels, which is where its at. The controls in the 2nd Sonic game are even better with the introduction of the spin dash. These are games where you have to explore the levels to a certain extent so you learn the routes, then you just aim to finish the levels as fast as possible. The rings dont really matter, with practice and a little memorization only the last few stages pose any real challenge. I think the sonic games on genesis have tons of replay value. Sonic is a way better mascot then Alex Kidd, imo. And Super Mario Bros is also way better than alex kidd, no contest there.
With the first sonic you kinda do have to get a running start. The spin dash is actually super easy to master.
Yeah, absolutely. The GC version of Mega Man is complete garbage because of the controls. You cant even reassign the button input.