although i had an nes & have vague memories of playing mario & duck hunt for the first time, my parents bringing home a genesis & sonic the hedgehog is my first extremely clear video game memory. it was love at first sight for me. more than anything else, the sonic the hedgehog series is responsible for me being the gamer i am today.

and i didn't just stop at the games. i devoured the cartoons (tails gets tied up SO MUCH in adventures of sonic the hedgehog y'all, highkey formative for me tbh), the comic books, everything i could get my hands on.

i don't know how many times i beat this game, but i know plenty of those times were of the up/down/left/right /a+start variety, heh.

though this was surprassed pretty convincingly by its sequels, it still reminds me of when i fell in love with video games for the first time, and it still plays great. i love that dumb little blue speedster so much.