Ugh…
Where do I even begin?
The first thing you see in Sonic the Hedgehog on the Master System and Game Gear is the extremely downgraded art. I know this is an 8-bit game, but everything just looks lifeless. Then, there’s the music. The OST for this game is just chiptune and while it is decent, but it does feel a bit empty. Now, I think it’s about time I talk about the gameplay.
Sonic’s movements feel extremely slippery and he jumps way too high. The former point will become very important later. Also, when you get damaged, all of your rings come out as just one single ring. To make matters worse, you can’t even recollect that ring. I guess the game just really wants you to die. One more thing to note is that the game is extremely laggy. Jumping will make the game lag, moving will make the game lag, doing nearly anything will make the game lag and I hate it. Now, it’s time to talk about Green Hill Zone.
The Master System and Game Gear Green Hill Zone is largely the same as its Genesis counterpart up until Act 2. In Act 2, we are introduced to the most hated thing in the Sonic franchise, which is water. As if the Genesis games’ water didn’t slow down the gameplay enough, the Master System and Game Gear games’ water slows it down even more. It feels like trying to swim through mud or quicksand. I’m not joking. It really is that bad. Luckily, the water section doesn’t last that long. However, the worst is yet to come.
I need to make an entire section for Green Hill Zone Act 3 just because of how bad it is. To start the act off, you have some extremely boring platforming to do. Due to Sonic’s movements being very slippery, this is not as easy as it should be. Then, you have the boss. Holy fucking shit. It’s so easy that it makes the Genesis Green Hill Zone boss look like it’s from a Dark Souls game. I hate it so much. However, the worst is still yet to come.
Bridge Zone might actually be the most painful part of a video game I have ever played. Act 1 introduces us to the Hell of Sonic games and it’s not a good first impression. First of all, there are these stupid platforming segments that you can easily fail due to Sonic’s slippery movements. Second of all, there is this part where you have to jump onto small moving platforms off of a curved wooden bridge that is extremely hard because there’s a high chance that going on the curved wooden bridge will make Sonic roll off of them and into the void. Third of all, when on the aforementioned curved wooden bridge, it is extremely hard to jump onto the aforementioned small moving platforms due to it being extremely hard to go up the slope that is on the end of the bridge, which is the specific area you need to jump onto the platforms from. By the way, you have to do the exact same thing again but with something that will launch you quite high instead of the small moving platforms. Fourth and last of all, at the end of these stupidly hard segments, you can easily be pushed into the void by a spring, making you restart the entire act. Unfortunately, this is only Act 1.
Bridge Zone Act 2 is an autoscroller. That should immediately be a red flag, but if it isn’t, the rest of the act will be. Once again, there’s stupid platforming segments and parts where you have to jump onto something from the slope on the end of a curved wooden bridge. Also, there are points in this act where the lag really gets dialed up. Sadly, we still have one act left to go.
Bridge Zone Act 3 is just another garbage and easy boss battle. It’s very repetitive and trying to land on the edges of the platforms just makes you fall into the void. I don’t want to talk about it any longer because there’s really nothing to talk about other than those two points. Now, it’s time to talk about Jungle Zone.
Jungle Zone Act 1 isn’t that bad. However, there are some weak points. For example, there is a part where you must slide down what appears to be a plant and get onto a platform. However, unless you already know that it’s going to happen via watching playthroughs of the game, you will 100% hit a row of spikes that is placed quite close to where the plant ends. Other than that and some weird segments involving water, though, Jungle Zone Act 1 is fine.
Jungle Zone Act 2 is slightly worse than Act 1, but it’s still miles better than the acts of the previous two zones. There is a lot of platforming in this act and it’s not terrible. However, there is one major flaw. When you fall off of a platform, instead of just falling until you land on a lower platform, you die the second you touch the bottom of your screen. That’s no good. Other than that, however, Jungle Zone Act 2 is also fine. However, Act 3 definitely isn’t, so let’s talk about it now.
Jungle Zone Act 3 might be my least favourite boss battle so far. Just like the previous act, you still die the second you touch the bottom of your screen. Both that and the fact that hitstun is basically nonexistent make this absolutely terrible to play. It took me around 10 tries to beat this stupid fucking boss. Now, it’s Labyrinth Zone time.
The Genesis Labyrinth Zone is already one of the most hated zones in all of Sonic and it deserves that title due to its unavoidable/unforeseeable enemies, extremely slowed down gameplay due to the water and and more. Now, what if I told you that the Master System and Game Gear Labyrinth Zone is even worse? Well, that’s exactly what’s about to happen. Labyrinth Zone Act 1 reintroduces us to water, which slows down the gameplay even more than the Genesis games’ water. After doing some boring platforming, you arrive at one of, if not the most badly placed enemy in all of Sonic. Basically, you have to get over an Unidasu, but on the ceiling, there are spikes. You have to wait for the Unidasu to throw all of its spiked balls at you before killing it, which takes an unimaginably long time to do. A big problem with this zone is that you have no idea when you’re going to start drowning due to there being no sound effect to tell you so. This issue can easily kill you. Anyway, after a not so difficult platforming segment, the act finishes.
Labyrinth Zone Act 2 is just Act 1 but slightly better. Most of the points I made about the previous act apply to this one as well. I don’t have anything else to say about it. Now, it’s time for a boss battle.
Labyrinth Zone Act 3 is probably my favourite boss battle. It’s not too hard, but not too easy as well. It’s not great, but it’s not bad like the last few boss battles. Time for Scrap Brain Zone.
Scrap Brain Zone Act 1 is honestly my favourite act in this entire game. Nothing about it is actually bad. Other than the gameplay getting a bit boring and repetitive, this act is pretty good. However, I cannot say the same for Act 2.
Scrap Brain Zone Act 2 contains a stupid maze that is only hard because every route looks the exact same and you don’t know where you’re going. However, that’s not even the worst part of this act.
Now, I’m going to be perfectly honest with you all. I nearly couldn’t finish Sonic the Hedgehog on the Master System and Game Gear. Do you wanna know why? Because of one stupid fucking segment in Scrap Brain Zone Act 2. Basically, you have two doors. The first door leads to a room with conveyor belts while the second door leads to the first door. You also have a button. This button will open one door and close the other. Your objective is to get into the conveyor belt room. However, this segment is virtually impossible. No matter how quick you are, you will always end up stuck behind one of the two doors. I was about to give up until I watched a playthrough of this game and saw that you have to do a lot of backtracking after pressing the button to make the first door open and the second door close, and when I say that you have to do a lot of backtracking, I mean it. You must go all the way back to the bad maze I talked about earlier and go down a different route than the one that led you to the two doors and the button. Eventually, you will be teleported in front of the conveyor belt room with the closed second door behind you. After some boring platforming, the act finally finishes.
Scrap Brain Zone Act 3 doesn’t have a boss battle, but another maze. That’s basically it. Sky Base Zone time.
Sky Base Zone is probably my favourite zone in this entire game. Its main flaw is that it’s kinda boring. I do like the boss battle, but it is a bit too easy.
Before I end this review, I would like to touch on a few minor details. First of all, instead of collecting the Chaos Emeralds by completing the Special Stages, you can find them throughout the zones. I hate that one of the Chaos Emeralds is hidden inside of a spike in Labyrinth Zone. You basically have to kill yourself to get it. Second of all, the ending might be the most underwhelming and anticlimactic ending I have ever seen in my entire life. Third and last of all, I would just like to talk about the music for a second. While it is just chiptune, the OST is enjoyable. I recommend that you listen to it if you like chiptune music.
Well, that’s my review of Sonic the Hedgehog on the Master System and Game Gear. It’s definitely not a good game in the slightest. It deserves nothing more than 1.5 stars. Thank you for reading this review and I’ll see you when I review Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on the Master System and Game Gear.
Where do I even begin?
The first thing you see in Sonic the Hedgehog on the Master System and Game Gear is the extremely downgraded art. I know this is an 8-bit game, but everything just looks lifeless. Then, there’s the music. The OST for this game is just chiptune and while it is decent, but it does feel a bit empty. Now, I think it’s about time I talk about the gameplay.
Sonic’s movements feel extremely slippery and he jumps way too high. The former point will become very important later. Also, when you get damaged, all of your rings come out as just one single ring. To make matters worse, you can’t even recollect that ring. I guess the game just really wants you to die. One more thing to note is that the game is extremely laggy. Jumping will make the game lag, moving will make the game lag, doing nearly anything will make the game lag and I hate it. Now, it’s time to talk about Green Hill Zone.
The Master System and Game Gear Green Hill Zone is largely the same as its Genesis counterpart up until Act 2. In Act 2, we are introduced to the most hated thing in the Sonic franchise, which is water. As if the Genesis games’ water didn’t slow down the gameplay enough, the Master System and Game Gear games’ water slows it down even more. It feels like trying to swim through mud or quicksand. I’m not joking. It really is that bad. Luckily, the water section doesn’t last that long. However, the worst is yet to come.
I need to make an entire section for Green Hill Zone Act 3 just because of how bad it is. To start the act off, you have some extremely boring platforming to do. Due to Sonic’s movements being very slippery, this is not as easy as it should be. Then, you have the boss. Holy fucking shit. It’s so easy that it makes the Genesis Green Hill Zone boss look like it’s from a Dark Souls game. I hate it so much. However, the worst is still yet to come.
Bridge Zone might actually be the most painful part of a video game I have ever played. Act 1 introduces us to the Hell of Sonic games and it’s not a good first impression. First of all, there are these stupid platforming segments that you can easily fail due to Sonic’s slippery movements. Second of all, there is this part where you have to jump onto small moving platforms off of a curved wooden bridge that is extremely hard because there’s a high chance that going on the curved wooden bridge will make Sonic roll off of them and into the void. Third of all, when on the aforementioned curved wooden bridge, it is extremely hard to jump onto the aforementioned small moving platforms due to it being extremely hard to go up the slope that is on the end of the bridge, which is the specific area you need to jump onto the platforms from. By the way, you have to do the exact same thing again but with something that will launch you quite high instead of the small moving platforms. Fourth and last of all, at the end of these stupidly hard segments, you can easily be pushed into the void by a spring, making you restart the entire act. Unfortunately, this is only Act 1.
Bridge Zone Act 2 is an autoscroller. That should immediately be a red flag, but if it isn’t, the rest of the act will be. Once again, there’s stupid platforming segments and parts where you have to jump onto something from the slope on the end of a curved wooden bridge. Also, there are points in this act where the lag really gets dialed up. Sadly, we still have one act left to go.
Bridge Zone Act 3 is just another garbage and easy boss battle. It’s very repetitive and trying to land on the edges of the platforms just makes you fall into the void. I don’t want to talk about it any longer because there’s really nothing to talk about other than those two points. Now, it’s time to talk about Jungle Zone.
Jungle Zone Act 1 isn’t that bad. However, there are some weak points. For example, there is a part where you must slide down what appears to be a plant and get onto a platform. However, unless you already know that it’s going to happen via watching playthroughs of the game, you will 100% hit a row of spikes that is placed quite close to where the plant ends. Other than that and some weird segments involving water, though, Jungle Zone Act 1 is fine.
Jungle Zone Act 2 is slightly worse than Act 1, but it’s still miles better than the acts of the previous two zones. There is a lot of platforming in this act and it’s not terrible. However, there is one major flaw. When you fall off of a platform, instead of just falling until you land on a lower platform, you die the second you touch the bottom of your screen. That’s no good. Other than that, however, Jungle Zone Act 2 is also fine. However, Act 3 definitely isn’t, so let’s talk about it now.
Jungle Zone Act 3 might be my least favourite boss battle so far. Just like the previous act, you still die the second you touch the bottom of your screen. Both that and the fact that hitstun is basically nonexistent make this absolutely terrible to play. It took me around 10 tries to beat this stupid fucking boss. Now, it’s Labyrinth Zone time.
The Genesis Labyrinth Zone is already one of the most hated zones in all of Sonic and it deserves that title due to its unavoidable/unforeseeable enemies, extremely slowed down gameplay due to the water and and more. Now, what if I told you that the Master System and Game Gear Labyrinth Zone is even worse? Well, that’s exactly what’s about to happen. Labyrinth Zone Act 1 reintroduces us to water, which slows down the gameplay even more than the Genesis games’ water. After doing some boring platforming, you arrive at one of, if not the most badly placed enemy in all of Sonic. Basically, you have to get over an Unidasu, but on the ceiling, there are spikes. You have to wait for the Unidasu to throw all of its spiked balls at you before killing it, which takes an unimaginably long time to do. A big problem with this zone is that you have no idea when you’re going to start drowning due to there being no sound effect to tell you so. This issue can easily kill you. Anyway, after a not so difficult platforming segment, the act finishes.
Labyrinth Zone Act 2 is just Act 1 but slightly better. Most of the points I made about the previous act apply to this one as well. I don’t have anything else to say about it. Now, it’s time for a boss battle.
Labyrinth Zone Act 3 is probably my favourite boss battle. It’s not too hard, but not too easy as well. It’s not great, but it’s not bad like the last few boss battles. Time for Scrap Brain Zone.
Scrap Brain Zone Act 1 is honestly my favourite act in this entire game. Nothing about it is actually bad. Other than the gameplay getting a bit boring and repetitive, this act is pretty good. However, I cannot say the same for Act 2.
Scrap Brain Zone Act 2 contains a stupid maze that is only hard because every route looks the exact same and you don’t know where you’re going. However, that’s not even the worst part of this act.
Now, I’m going to be perfectly honest with you all. I nearly couldn’t finish Sonic the Hedgehog on the Master System and Game Gear. Do you wanna know why? Because of one stupid fucking segment in Scrap Brain Zone Act 2. Basically, you have two doors. The first door leads to a room with conveyor belts while the second door leads to the first door. You also have a button. This button will open one door and close the other. Your objective is to get into the conveyor belt room. However, this segment is virtually impossible. No matter how quick you are, you will always end up stuck behind one of the two doors. I was about to give up until I watched a playthrough of this game and saw that you have to do a lot of backtracking after pressing the button to make the first door open and the second door close, and when I say that you have to do a lot of backtracking, I mean it. You must go all the way back to the bad maze I talked about earlier and go down a different route than the one that led you to the two doors and the button. Eventually, you will be teleported in front of the conveyor belt room with the closed second door behind you. After some boring platforming, the act finally finishes.
Scrap Brain Zone Act 3 doesn’t have a boss battle, but another maze. That’s basically it. Sky Base Zone time.
Sky Base Zone is probably my favourite zone in this entire game. Its main flaw is that it’s kinda boring. I do like the boss battle, but it is a bit too easy.
Before I end this review, I would like to touch on a few minor details. First of all, instead of collecting the Chaos Emeralds by completing the Special Stages, you can find them throughout the zones. I hate that one of the Chaos Emeralds is hidden inside of a spike in Labyrinth Zone. You basically have to kill yourself to get it. Second of all, the ending might be the most underwhelming and anticlimactic ending I have ever seen in my entire life. Third and last of all, I would just like to talk about the music for a second. While it is just chiptune, the OST is enjoyable. I recommend that you listen to it if you like chiptune music.
Well, that’s my review of Sonic the Hedgehog on the Master System and Game Gear. It’s definitely not a good game in the slightest. It deserves nothing more than 1.5 stars. Thank you for reading this review and I’ll see you when I review Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on the Master System and Game Gear.