Sonic the Hedgehog (also known as Sonic ) was released on June 23, 1991 in America and Europe , and on June 26 in Japan. It is the first Sonic the Hedgehog game starring Sega's mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog. It is the first game developed by Sonic Team. It made the Sega Genesis become popular to the world. It helped Sega be recognized by the whole world. The game even became the pack in game for the rest of the year. As 2007 it has sold 4 million copies while its sequel Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has sold 6 million copies. Sonic 1 is said to be one of the greatest video games of all time. It has now been released on the Wii's virtual console buy it or we will come to your house and punch you

Contents 1 Story 2 Gameplay 3 Items and Power Ups 4 Zones 5 Behind the Scenes

StoryEdit

Sonic the Hedgehog, a fast, blue, spiky hedgehog had been on South Island for a while. While walking he encounters a flying robot. He destroys the robot and finds a small animal inside the robot. The animal had been put inside the robot to act as an organic battery. Eventually Sonic finds out what is causing trouble on the island. The evil scientist Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Dr. Eggman) is searching for the six legendary Chaos Emeralds to help in his plot to take over the world. Sonic must stop the mad scientist and his robot army.

GameplayEdit

The player controls Sonic to play the game. The unique element of the game is speed where Sonic can run fast and get speed boosts from objects like loops, springboards, and other devices. Sonic can collect the rings in the stages. His life meter depends on how many rings he has. If he has at least one ring on him and he gets hurt he loses the rings. If Sonic were to get hurt without any rings, he will lose a life. If Sonic were to collect 100 rings he will gain another life. hi mom

walk -- Push left or right on the D-pad to initiate Sonic's movement in either direction. As you hold the button down, Sonic gains speed.

run -- Begin walking and hold down the button to make Sonic gain speed. After a few seconds, he'll break into a run.

screech -- While running, quickly press and hold the opposite direction on the D-pad to make Sonic screech to a halt. He'll skid for a short distance, based on how fast he was moving.

look up -- While standing still, press up on the D-pad to make Sonic gaze to the sky. As you hold up, the camera pans upward, giving you a view of Sonic's overhead surroundings.

crouch -- While standing still, press down on the D-pad to make Sonic duck down. As you hold down, the camera pans downward, giving you a view of the stage beneath where Sonic stands.

spin -- While moving, press down on the D-pad to make Sonic curl into a rolling attack. He'll remain in this position until you jump or slow down. The speed of Sonic's movement while in spin mode is based on how fast you're moving when you launch it, and also on the terrain Sonic rolls along.

spin jump -- Press any button at any time to make Sonic leap into the air with a spin attack. The height of the jump is proportional to how long you hold the button down.

push -- Certain blocks can be pushed by running up against them. Continue holding the D-pad against the offending cube to have Sonic push it along the ground.

Items and Power UpsEdit

Ring (リング) -- As long as Sonic has some of these, he won't lose a life if he takes damage. Sustain a hit and all your collected Rings will scatter, giving you a brief opportunity to grab a few back before they disappear. (Note that Rings will not protect Sonic from getting smashed or falling off the screen, both of which result in instant death.) A 1up is awarded for every 100 Rings collected and each Ring is worth 100 points at the end-of-Act score tally.

Item Box -- In each stage, you'll find a number of these power-up bearing monitors. Pop them open with a spin to procure one of five power-ups: Big 10 Ring - Worth 10 Rings

1. Barrier (バリア) - Absorbs one hit
2. High Speed - Temporary speed increase
3. Muteki - Temporary invincibility
4. 1up - Gives Sonic an extra chance

Sai Start Marker -- These hold your place in a stage: should you lose a life, you'll start back at the last Start Marker you crossed.

Bobbin -- Round bumpers found only in Spring Yard Zone and the Special Stages. Bounce off one for 10 points, up to 10 times for a total of 100 points. (They stop dispensing points after the tenth hit.)

spring -- Leap onto the broad side to catapult Sonic into the air. The yellow ones send him flying a short distance and the more powerful red ones send him farther.

spikes -- Don't touch the pointy side, stupid. They're usually found in sets of three, but that's not a steadfast rule. Sometimes they're just lying out in the open, and sometimes they pop in and out of the ground (or the ceiling, or the walls).

switch -- Jump on the button to cause a change in the nearby scenery, usually necessary to proceed.

air bubbles -- Large, oxygen-filled bubbles periodically rise from these clusters: tag one to fill Sonic's lungs with air and prolong the time you can spend underwater.

bonus points -- As you approach the bonus plate at the end of an Act, leap into the air to find invisible bonus points that are added to your score. They can be worth 100, 1000, or a sweet 10,000.

bonus plate -- These signs can be found at the end of each first and second Act. Cross them to end the stage.

Special Stage ring -- These giant Rings appear above bonus plates when you cross with at least 50 Rings on hand. Jump in to warp to the Special Stage. (Once you've collected all 6 Chaos Emeralds, the Special Stage rings no longer appear.

capsule -- These are found at the end of each third Act, after defeating the boss. Push the button on top to destroy the machine and free the helpless animals within.

ZonesEdit

Each zone has three acts and and a boss fight at the end of the third act.

Green Hill Zone -- Sonic's first steps into the tropics introduce the visual staples that remain trademarks of the series to this day: checkered hillsides, palmtrees, loop-de-loops, etc. Overhanging ledges crumble as you stand on them, so don't stick around unless you're looking for a quick trip down. Rotating logs are adorned with a spiral of spikes, so time your movement accordingly.

Behind the ScenesEdit

In April 1990, Sega challenged its employees to come up with a game that would demonstrate the power of their 16-bit Mega Drive console along with a character who could become the company's official mascot. An enthusiastic young staff in the AM8 R&D division began brainstorming ideas, and the final consensus was that the game should be fast and simple. The lead character needed a strong personality and a unique look, and toward this end designer Naoto Ohshima created a series of preliminary sketches ranging from bulldogs to bearded samurai. In the meanwhile, lead programmer Yuji Naka (who had previously worked with Ohshima on Phantasy Star II) constructed a high speed graphics engine with numerous layers of parallax scrolling: exactly the sort of visual tour de force Sega was looking for to separate the Mega Drive from other systems available at the time.

As the game began taking shape, it became evident that a full-time lead designer was needed to coordinate the project, but none of the staffers were free to take the responsibility. World politics, however, produced a quick fix: Hirokazu Yasuhara was scheduled to move to the US and join Sega of America product manager Mark Cerny in establishing a Western-based R&D group. However, the start of the Gulf War postponed Yasuhara's scheduled departure by three months. Naka, seeing that Yasuhara was free, asked him to fill in as a temporary director until a permanent replacement could be found. The delayed traveller agreed and became quite engrossed in the project, drawing out detailed level maps on paper. In the end, Yasuhara's departure was postponed a full year and he remained with the Sonic project all the way through.

Among the early concepts was that of a speedy rabbit character with the ability to pick up and throw objects using his long ears. This idea was ultimately rejected because the team felt that the extra mechanic slowed the game down. Eventually the idea of a rolling attack was formed and from this concept Ohshima narrowed the potential heroes down to an armadillo and a blue hedgehog. The hedgehog won out due to its "spiky" nature, but it wouldn't be until the very end of the project that a suitable name was chosen for Sega's edgy new star. (The runner-up armadillo, Mighty, was revived several years later for a starring role Sega Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic's coin-op debut. The long-eared rabbit reject, meanwhile, rose from the ashes as cult favorite Ristar the Shooting Star.)

With all the energy being put into perfecting the game's look and feel, the enthusiastic staff decided that professional talent from the music industry should be tapped to compose the accompanying soundtrack. Sega approached up-and-coming Japanese pop band Dreams Come True, and successfully wooed band leader Masato Nakamura. Dreams Come True was preparing a tour to promote their third album, Wonder 3, and Sega stepped in as a sponsor for the campaign. Sonic was painted on the sides of the tour trailer and pamphlets advertising the game were handed out to concert-goers, offering a glimpse of the game even before media coverage.

Despite strong enthusiasm for the project in the studio, it drew only scorn and concern from Sega's American marketing division. Sonic was conceived as a global mascot, and key players on the US side felt that the character lacked the appeal needed to achieve success in the Western market. In those days there was a large rift (almost a rivalry) between the home and overseas branches of the company, but the Japanese office had the final say, and Sonic was released without changes. Despite Sega of America's predictions, the game became an instant hit in the US, catapulting the company from an also-ran in Nintendo's shadow to the market leader. (Ironically, Sonic achieved only modest success in Japan, a trend which continues to this day.)