Poll of the Day > Why was Sonic the Hedgehog such a beloved game?

(+) Yeah! (+)

The game doesn't hold up as well today compared to other classic games on both Sega and Nintendo, what was the appeal back then? What was so cool then that they're still capable of milking today?

Nostalgia and a decent mascot design.

DrunkCaveman posted...

what was the appeal back then?

Speedrunning and memorizing video game maps was starting to become a thing so they designed something meant to be played quickly. However, it's a kinda shit design if you're playing it straight rather than repeatedly replaying it.
---

I feel like the colors and music were miles ahead of most things on any other consoles.

Sure, the Super Mario Bros games had classic music, but the SEGA Genesis music was something brand new that SNES didnt have at the time. It was fresh and smooth

The games were also much more flashy than anything on Nintendo, and I think thats what they ran with. But the thing that stands the test of time is clearly just nostalgia and the bright colors. Something like Sonic 3 & Knuckles clearly shines brighter and looks smoother than anything from the SNES at that time
---

I agree so far with whats been said. Also, the Sega Genesis has Blast Processing.
---

Sonic was just the right character for kids in the 90s

He very well could have been designed by mountain dew
---

It was flashy and fast, it looked good and sounded great. The gameplay was simple and easy to learn, but the stages were complex and tested players in many areas like memorization, reaction, route planning. It brought a level of polish and speed that was like a little glimpse of the future.

I'm not the biggest fan of the original Sonic games, but in my opinion they hold up extremely well. Even after all these years, playing one just doesn't feel like playing an "old" game.

Well, keep in mind that when Sonic the Hedgehog first hit the market it wasn't competing against the SNES - it was competing against the NES. A game that could move that quickly and look that good was the 1991 equivalent of Skyrim.

Also Sonic was basically pure 90s cool concentrated into mascot form.
---

Because sega does what nintendont