I actually think the first sonic game kinda…well sucks, like a lot. After zone 1 the game is just a chore every step of the way. The levels are terrible slow speed death trap mazes of endless frustration.
Sonic 2 is a huge improvement on nearly every level.
Actually, this is helpful. I got the Sega bundle for the Fire Stick, and I had never played Sonic 2 before. Knowing it is better then Sonic 1 makes me more inclined to play it.
I only got the set for Golden Axe, but I find that I must get myself a blue tooth controller.
I recently tried to turn my kids on to Sonic, and this was the exact experience. For a game about going fast, you run into a lot of fucking walls and annoying, obtuse platforming sequences.
Contrast to Mario games, any of them, which my son can pick up and play intuitively. It pains me to say as a former Sega fanboy, but Mario is just better. The Sonic games are bad.
This came up a bit around when Sonic Mania came out. The “proper” experience of a Sonic game is actually really hard to find. You need to sort of memorize all the possible paths through a level, and then the fun comes from picking your path through that environment on-the-fly. It’s something that’s really hard to achieve without the 9-year-old-patience-only-game forced repetition.
Probably heretical, but I think that my personal favorite Sonic experiences are some of the better sequences in Sonic Adventure.
Neither of you are wrong!
From a game design perspective, most Sonic levels are disasters. Bleh! And for a supposedly agile hedgehog, he sure moves and pivots and turns like he’s about to besiege Midway Island.
Sonic Adventure had some isolated really good bits. I’ll totally die on that hill with you. Buried in a turd ocean, to be sure, but there were some legitimately really fun levels in both games.
Yeah the more I think about it, the more I realize my treasured Genesis games were just the Guaranteed Value versions of Nintendo games. Streets of Rage is no Final Fight. Eternal Champions was no Street Fighter 2 (although Genesis eventually got SF). Beyond Oasis was some attempt to copy Zelda and was… well, not good. Kid Chameleon… that game is basically a simulator for eternal damnation. Endless loops of suffering, add in teleporting to previous levels you cleared by sheer force of will… I don’t think it’s possible to beat it. Kid Chameleon beats you.
I do hope Kid Chameleon makes an appearance in the Sega Cinematic Universe, though. I don’t think he can carry a full movie.
Alex Kidd was okay, but certainly no Mario. Sega had a few really solid titles, though. Nothing compared to the wealth of hits that was the NES.
You forget, Genesis had Mortal Kombat, Shining Forces and D&D Warriors of the Eternal Sun. All of them made the Sega superior to the Nintendo or Super Nintendo.
SNES seemed to pull away as time went on - Phantasy Star 2 and (eek 3) were kind of the high points.
But was it Ghouls and Ghosts? Ghosts and Goblins? The SNES version side by side was obviously superior. And then the SNES got Sim City, Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Final Fantasy, and while it wasn’t a perfect sweep those games were obviously better than the Sega options.
I don’t know. I would hold up Shining Forces vs any SNES game and I think Shining Forces would come out on top.
Its just the best game that came out on that generation of consoles.
That’s… quite a take! The ability to see uncensored blood in the second-best fighting series of the era? And I don’t think I’ve seen anyone put Warriors of the Eternal Sun among the top 50 Genesis games before, let alone an unparalleled system seller. What was so great about it?
And no disrespect to Shining Force II at all (assuming that’s what you meant), as I think it’s a very good game, but I suspect you’d be in the extreme minority in ranking it above the likes of Super Metroid or Chrono Trigger. Even among tactical RPGs released in the US, I think I’d narrowly give the nod to Ogre Battle, though a good argument can be made either way.
That said, I have to disagree with @Wallapuctus and say that Streets of Rage 2 beats any given Final Fight (helped immeasurably by its amazing soundtrack). And I’ll also go to bat for the likes of Gunstar Heroes, Gain Ground, Castlevania Bloodlines, and a bunch of Genesis shmups and platformers as being enjoyable on their own merits; no need to try and find comparison points on the SNES.
What was this thread about again? Oh yeah, Sonic has always sucked. Cool visual design and music, but unpleasant to actually play.
Nope, the first Shining Force was the best of the series and has been reissued on the GBA and on iOS.
It’s a great series.
As for Warriors of the Eternal Sun, it’s not as good as most PC D&D games of the time, but I don’t know any other way to play classic D&D on Console up until that point.
Warriors of the Eternal Sun is excellent and it’s no surprise that people here wouldn’t know that much about it. Definitely a Genesis classic and because of the license, mostly lost to time for people today unless they’re looking for it specifically.
Also, Eye of the Beholder on Sega CD is fantastic and features a soundtrack from Yuzo Koshiro of Streets of Rage fame!
No love for Altered Beast? I thought that was SEGA’s crowning achievement that generation.
Cool, yeah, I finished the GBA version when it came out, and certainly enjoyed it, but the overall consensus seems to be to prefer the sequel. I respect your enthusiasm!
I remember trying out Warriors of the Eternal Sun for an hour or so back when emulation became a thing, but at that point it was competing with at least the whole SSI D&D catalog and probably the first couple Infinity engine games.
Dude. Altered Beast is crap. It’s just a meme.
It has its place, but it was never a good game.
Huh. To each his own I guess. I really enjoyed it as a kid. I didn’t play a lot of games around that time, though, I guess, lol.
It can’t compete with that, but for it’s time, I think it was a gem (with a lame ending). The combat outside of dungeons was turn based, and the party was nifty (and if you knew where to look, there’s where hidden items all over the place).
One neat thing about it was how OP clerics got at second level. You got the light and darkness spell, which blinded monsters. From the Hill Giant, to the giant swamp creatures. With that one spell, you could easier go to the more dangerous areas around the castle, and get some XP really fast.
Of course, you did run the risk of running into trouble when you needed to rest. And it was hard to hit blind dragons, so fights took a while, but it was still something you could do.
What about Ecco the Dolphin and Mickey Mouse and the Castle of Illusions?