Sonic the Hedgehog (GEN)

One of the best gaming classics in the history of the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, is Sonic the Hedgehog, the first installment in the Sonic series, and one of the great “nostalgia” games to play. Sega had a good time developing it for the Genesis, it even became the game to be packed in with the Sega Genesis instead of Altered Beast. It is how the Sega Genesis gained fame and was bought by many people, and a reason why Sega is still developing more Sonic games.

Dr. Ivo Robotnik (or Eggman as in later games), is capturing animals and transforming them into evil robots to help him on his plan of conquering the world. Only one, the fastest thing alive in the world, Sonic the Hedgehog could stop him, take the Chaos emeralds, and bring back peace to the animals.

The music is great, it’s one of the main aspects how Sega got Sonic successful. The first zone’s (Green Hill) music is awesome, so is the title screen and the level clear chime is something well done. The sounds too are good, like Sonic’s jump, the destruction of a badnik, etc.

The graphics are good enough and one of the best for the Genesis. Sonic is detailed, the badniks are not that bad looking either, and the game is so colorful in graphics. Even Sonic’s look in that game, was re-used later for the Sega CD title, Sonic CD. The graphics are worth a mention in this game.

GAMEPLAY

This is the #1 reason how Sonic the Hedgehog is a successful game! The fact that you control the fastest thing alive in the world makes this game fun, in terms of speedy zones and acts, and dangerous yet addictive zones.

To make yourself protected from dangers, you must pick rings, and they’re everywhere! Unlike mushrooms in the Mario games, you will never find a place where nearly no ring exist (except the Final Zone), and the rings get dropped for you to pick up again, which makes the game easier to beat and fun to play. The badniks are plenty and some of them are even exclusive to some zones. They are more than the enemies found in the Mario games, and they all have their own attributes, including weak spots, what do they do, etc. The zones are all colorful and worthwhile to beat, and they are placed pretty well. There are special stages for Sonic to go to save the 6 Chaos Emeralds from Robotnik to achieve a true ending, all in a spinning room with Sonic being a ball. There are also some secret rooms in the game to see, all holding their set of rings, monitors, and badniks, and shortcuts like in Marble Zone. The game is challenging and all speedy that you have to make it to the next act in less than ten minutes or you’ll get a time over and lose a 1-up, which brings your attention and makes it alive, or it’s over! I suggest you get this if you want fast-paced gameplay, as I rate 9/10

CONCLUSION

Good story, great music, nice graphics, and the greatest part in Sonic the Hedgehog, the gameplay, is how this game made Sega successful later in the Sonic series, thanks to Sonic Team for developing that great game that made the Sega Genesis one of the successful 16-bit consoles.

RATING: 9/10 - Perfecto!

Super Mario Bros, gaming's best NES classic

If you ever bought a complete NES package, you might notice that this game might come as a standalone game, or as the Duck Hunt compilation, if I recall correctly. If it ever comes with a NES, then it's the main reason why to play Super Mario Bros, one of the classic gaming legends. It's one of the most successful games, and is one of the best selling games of all times, it sold 40 million copies, and made the NES successful.

The Mushroom Kingdom fell victim to the evil Koopas, a turtle tribe specialized in black magic, and transformed the inhabitants to bricks and plants. The princess of the kingdom is the only one to restore this kingdom to normal. However, she is also kidnapped and you need to rescue her from the the Koopas and their king, Bowser, as Mario and Luigi, two superhuman plumbers.

Super Mario Bros has one of the best soundtrack in the whole NES library (SMB ground music), and also the sound effects are in good quality. All of the music are good. The ground music is the best of them and suits the game, and it's also one of the best soundtrack in gaming history to this day. With the best soundtrack, the replay value for this game is so great.

The graphics are good to say or mention. It looks pretty well, and nothing is blurred out or not visually bad. Mario looks good, the enemies are polished visually, and the title screen is so colorful to mention. Its one of the games with good graphics overall on the NES!

This, and how good is the soundtrack, is how Super Mario Bros gained fame in the NES world it sold 40 million copies. This is a side scroller game in which you have to jump, run, and take your way to defeat Bowser and save the princess, by jumping on your enemies all the way to Bowser, as either Mario alone (1 Player game) or as Mario and Luigi together (2 Player game). Not only is jumping fun, but you can eat mushrooms along the way and make Mario bigger! You could also get a fire flower after getting the mushroom to shoot fireballs at your enemies. But that's not just it... Let's not forget the pipes that takes you to secret rooms with coins, and sometimes, mushrooms. Let's not forget the bricks that releases a vine out of it to take you to the skies. Let's not forget the other enemies that make you forced to run otherwise you'll die. And the timer, is the best reason why to keep your eye at the game. You must beat each world before the timer goes to 0 or you'll die. There are even two castles that needs you to make your mind really work. It's an addictive game, and by the time you play it, you should know why it's really fun and sold 40 million copies. There are more gameplay stuff, beyond the scope of this review. Keep your feet running! The more you go through the game, the more it's challenging, so always be on your foot! I rate the game play 8/10!

CONCLUSION

Good sound effects and great soundtrack, great graphics for the NES, and a killer gameplay, this great game, Super Mario Bros, gonna get you busy, and the replay value is so high you'll still play it even after beating the game. I recommend you to get this game, 8/10!

Is Princess Peach really corrupt?

Kids who play Mario and his games won't be able to notice this fact. Did you know she's corrupt? Did you know that the repetitive "I've been kidnapped" story, is something planned by the kidnapped princess?? Well... I can only say, despite how Bowser (her capturer, and the head of the blog) looks like he did kidnap her, he didn't need to sneak to her castle either to kidnap her!

Since SMB, Mario didn't get any real gift out of it for saving her. All what he got is a kiss, and later on, cakes. Meanwhile, Zelda gave her hero, Link, an awesome ocarina that can do lots of stuff including changing time, slowing down time, etc... Well, that was for the helpfulness part.

Peach herself can beat up some though guys, especially in Super Mario Bros 2 (NES), both later Super Smash Bros titles, and Super Princess Peach (NDS). So how is she getting kidnapped when she’s powerful already? I also forgot to mention that she could be one of Mario’s party in Super Mario RPG.

But what if all the kidnaps were a plan by her?

Well, in SMB3, notice you get letters from her when you help the toads restore their kings to their normal states, right? And you know there are two whistles in world 1 to take you straight to world 8. If you use them from world 1 and make your way to Bowser (if you manage to), Peach should be there. Thing is, taking that route, you will never get a letter. In my opinion, the messages the toads give you were given before she starts the "I'm kidnapped!" thing. But she was actually kidnapped since world 1 (rendering the messages outdated). Bowser states that he has kidnapped her when you beat world 7, which may be not true! The toad said it's a message from the princess, though…

Second time I can prove this is in Super Mario 64. If you go to the room where three of Peach’s portraits are found, we can read a sign that there is a secret room Bowser didn’t know of (the slide room). And there is another sign by her before fighting Bowser for the first time, explaining how to beat him. The thing is, she can’t write these signs while she’s kidnapped! She must have written these signs before she goes kidnapped. Which should clearly state that the “I’m kidnapped! Help me!” process is a plan by her, and she ordered Bowser to pretend that he kidnapped her. Why does she want to do that? Does she want to get rid of Mario? Or she just wants him running like crazy for months rescuing her, for a cake? We don’t know! That’s another unsolved mystery guys. Oh poor Mario... You should read this soon…

She more than often goes playing any game than actually spending money on making the Mushroom Kingdom better. We often see her going go-karting, playing tennis, golfing, or playing the “Mario Party”, and finally, playing the Mario & Sonic Olympics, than actually improving her kingdom in terms of defense, life and work. She also spends serious more money on decorating her castle, than anything else!

And where did these Koopalings came from? Some would say they were delivered by storks… But in Super Mario Sunshine, notice Bowser Jr. kidnapping her and saying that she is “his mother”. She responded if he was one of Bowser’s sons. Kinda like she knows him, and she didn’t even mention if she “wasn’t his mother”.

We’ve almost got to the point now! She is rich, sporty, and corrupt. So in conclusion, I hope that the Mushroom Kingdom, in the later days, overthrow her out of her corrupt throne, and let a good king control the kingdom instead, and deal with Bowser if any threat from him arises. But that of course will either make Mario move back to dealing with Donkey Kong, and nothing called Super Mario Bros will appear unless the damsel in distress was another princess, not as corrupt as Peach sounds like.