08:21 GOTTA GO FAST Jokes aside, the Saturn version is kind of nostalgic to me, many years ago when i knew of it's existence, i always wanted to try it in some way or another(i was very young to know about the emulation lol), it is a very nice collection, and was also the game that introduced me to the Saturn library.
This is the game that made me buy the Megadrive! In a local store they showed Super Mario world and Sonic 1 side by side and i was sold. I remember firing up my Megadrive on my parents tv and i was blown away. I've been a Sega fan ever since!
Similar story, but preference reversed for me. I would go shopping with my Ma every week at a store called Ames (no longer around), SMW and Sonic setup pretty much side by side in the electronics department. I'd play for around 45-60 mins each time while my Ma shopped. Since I went every week with her it didn't take me long to realize that SMW offered so much more in terms of depth and length... don't get me wrong, Sonic 1 is my favorite Sonic game, and a true gem for the ages, but it's no SMW... my 2¢ anyway. Needless to say, I asked for the SNES that Christmas.
@@AFFL1CTED1 I'm also a big Nintendo fan and think that The legend of Zelda is the best series ever! Back then i thought that Sonic (1) looked miles better then SMW (sorry but i was very young and i based my decision on only a minute of looking at the demo rolling on the screen). Of course i still wanted to play SMW so i rented a SNES a while later and had a blast with it. A friend of mine was always the Nintendo fanboy and i was at the side of Sega but that didn't mean that we disliked the games on each others system. In fact, this way we had acces to pretty much the entire library of Nintendo and Sega. Now i'm really a fanboy of the 16-bit generation in general, but the Megadrive was my first true console so it will always be special for me ;-)
Wow how is it I never realized Nakamura composes the music. I loved the Sonic 1 and 2 music, but it’s like rediscovering them all over again now. All these catchy Dreams Come True style melodies have been right under my nose this whole time!
I use to play this on Sega Genesis when i was a kid. This never left me thanks to the emulated version found on compilation games for other consoles including Sega Genesis Mini, Nintendo 3DS as part of Sega 3D Fukkoku Archives 2/Sega 3D Classics Collection and Nintendo Switch.
Mark, let me keep it straight. One of my favorite BOTP episodes that you ever done. It was so extensive, especially at the beginning of the video. I didn't know a lot about the development of the original game before today. The Android version was the best version. That smooth scrolling in the special stage and widescreen. I gotta play it. Question: what was that music at the end of the episode? It was awesome
The Famicom version actually includes the Special Stages. They are the ones from the Master System version. Also, the hack shown in the video uses the Genesis Special Stage music while Somari uses the Master System music.
Good to hear. The Famicom version is a mess when it comes to level design. It's practically impossible to get through a stage without being hit. Still great for an unofficial game though.
8:24 what is with sonic in the screen moving his arm so fast in the java port? he looked like he had drank 15 cans of red bull, and is waiting impatiently for the player to start the game.
Awesome video regarding my personal favorite games ... 🥰.. Sonic 😄 Edit - 17:50 howly crap 😆 that are a lot of sonic games ..awesome soundtrack on the background 😎
First time I actually fully beat Sonic was on the old iPod version that was played with a click wheel! Worked surprisingly well, much better than it had any right to...
I loathe them now that Sega have removed the option to restore your purchase, meaning you now have no choice but to see the adverts even if you paid for the games.
What a lot of ports didn't know that exists! The crap factor goes to Tiger Electronics, and my beloved memories factor goes to Bridge theme in Sega 8 bit ports. Thanks!!
@@RetroCore Didn't it have the infamous spike glitch though which was removed in international versions? In fact I don't know if that was removed in all of the subsequent ports. I know you have the option to turn it on or off with the M2 versions on 3DS and Switch. I believe it's not in the craptastic GBA game (so... that is one minor positive point for that?), the Christain Whitehead version or the version found in Sonic Jam.
(before video) I love this game series, but it is notorious for the ramping up in difficulty between games. Spinball and Mean Bean Machine are a couple examples of really difficult Sonic games... (not counting the reboot for Xbox360 because I haven't played it and it would retread what has already been said by the likes of several including one particularly angry individual that likes Rolling Rock) 4:54 The MegaDrive has issues with lag like the SNES does and for similar reasons, though in Sonic 1 it's very unlikely to be noticeable. It can happen when lots of sprites appear on screen all at once and occasionally does happen briefly in the special stages. 5:42 The only Sonic games I knew of for the GBA were the Sonic Advance games... 12:16 I used to call these 'spinny sandwiches', lolz I love the SMS port; it plays much more like an adventuring platformer. That and getting the emeralds requires one to execute very specific moves to get them rather than completing special stages. Only issue is that there's only one emerald per area and if skipped, ya missed it. It's both good and bad. I believe PISSTEAM used the Game Gear port for their craptastic PSX SEGA compilation.
I have the Mega Drive/Genesis original of course. The first port that I bought was for the Master System. I believe that it was the last official release for the SMS here in the States. Pretty good considering the lack of Blast processing. :)
I don't like having the spin dash in the first Sonic game. Not only does this break the intended gameplay mechanics but I also always loved the idea of Sonic having learned this technique between the 1st and 2nd games in the series :) As for the 8-bit Sonic game on Master System/Game Gear, it's a more conventional platformer but an excellent one nonetheless. The Mega Drive game is a truer and more complex Sonic experience but the 8-bit counterpart has an incredible charm to it. And no idea how the development process went for that GBA port but it's an abomination anyway with some hilariously bad music renditions! :D
@Peck Man I never played the sonic advance games despite being quite a GBA fan. of course I plan on to try them at some points, just dunno when (I have other GBA games that are higher in my wantlist)
That's like releasing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate which has a Smash Attack button, then rereleasing Smash 64 with an included Smash Attack button. The original never had it, so leave it alone!!
@7MGTESupraTurboA the NES and SNES had much higher sales than the master system and mega drive in japan but not the PC engine. here are the actual sales figures (not the fake ones that were spreaded some times ago probably by some PC engine fanboys): - PC engine: 3.92 million units sold - PC engine CD-rom² + PC engine duo: 1.92 million units sold (of which around 1 million are duo consoles) - mega drive: 3.58 million units sold - mega-CD: 850,000 units sold no idea though about how many mega drive hardware variants have been sold in japan (wondermega, teradrive, mega jet, etc.) so overall, it's quite close and nintendo wiped the floor with both there with about 17 million SNES sold in north america though, the PC engine only sold 2.6 million units (all hardwares combined) whereas the SNES sold 20 million units and the mega drive sold almost 28 million units (all hardwares combined) and in europe, the PC engine was almost non-existant (despite being officially sold in france, luxembourg and even in UK at some point) whereas the SNES sold 5 million units and the mega drive sold 10 million units (all hardwares combined) BTW one *very* important factor that many people still don't take into consideration is the software sales figures and the mega drive apparently sold a whopping 576,161,130 softwares whereas the SNES sold 379,060,000 softwares (no idea about the PC engine nor about other hardwares at the time (ST, amiga, etc.)) so not only was the mega drive extremely successful overall, it also has a very high software-to-hardware attach ratio (16 games sold per console) which is apparently the highest ever recorded for a console so far
I had fond memories of Sonic the Hedgehog when I was still in grade school. The games on the Sega Genesis were so much fun and I even remember the Saturday morning cartoons. I'm glad I didn't wind up with the Tiger handheld version, and started playing the Genesis version. When my mom bought me a model 2 Genesis, one of my first games was the third Sonic game. I became a huge fan from there. Though I had a bit of a love hate relationship with the franchise, it's mostly love. Though I like the sequels a bit more, I always find myself playing the first game every now and then. I especially play the 3DS version from M2, which is my personal favorite version of Sonic. Thanks for the upload, Mark. It's always cool to see multiple versions of the game and hearing your thoughts on them. Looking forward to seeing more from you.
@@RetroCore yeah and as a fan, it makes me happy that the franchise and character is back on track. Let's hope it stays that way. And I loved the Sonic movie, btw. It's an excellent adaptation and I had fun watching it from beginning to end, and Jim Carrey, one of my favorite actors, did an excellent portrayal of Robotnik (Eggman). Here's hoping we see a sequel VERY soon. I'd hate to see it end on a cliffhanger.
One interesting thing about the Saturn version of Sonic (1,2,3 and knuckles) is that the BGM (including SFX) is actually generated by the Saturn’s sound hardware (SCSP), which means the music is not streamed from the CD. Interesting...
I'm not sure it could be considered a port but Zippy the Porcupine is a homebrew attempt on the Atari 2600, quite the heroic demake. There is also an upcoming homebrew for Amstrad CPC 128+ and GX4000 which looks more akin to the MS/GG games. And If you ever wonder how Sonic would run on the Amiga, take a look at the unfinished homebrew Blaze, which looks like a Sonic reskin.
blaze is mighty impressive for the amiga OCS and once again shows how surprising this hardware can be but it's still not up there with sonic 1 (let alone sonic 2 or sonic 3 & knuckle...). the foreground graphics are very nice, the game is fast and it does have 360° loopings but: -the game resolution seems rather low (although some screenshots do indicate 320x256 but it doesn't feel that way when looking at gameplay footage) -it's not fullscreen -the frame rate seems to have been halved (25 FPS) but I might be wrong (but it's clearly not 50 FPS) -the background is very simplistic and sadly it has no sound although obviously you won't get the crisp and stereo sound of the mega drive then there's another sonic clone attempt on amiga called kid chaos which is an official and finished game and which is also impressive for the hardware but, again, it's not up there with sonic 1 (there's a black border all around the screen, there's no 360° loopings, the sound is not in stereo...) still crazy how european coders managed to push the amiga! the demoscene often came in handy though (it would have been cool if the mega drive also got a demoscene back then, it only seems to have started circa 2005 although the company called zyrinx was made of ex-amiga demosceners and it defo showed in their 2 mega drive games that are sub-terrania and red zone)
@@vasileios6301 ok checked. the background is too busy making the lack of dual plane scrolling way too obvious. the SMS/GG version got it right in that regard with simpler backgrounds. but it's impressive how smooth the multidirectional scrolling is for a MSX2 game
@@ryzmaker11 of course Blaze is not up there with Sonic and I think was never going to be, but it shows that some sort of Sonic game was doable on the Amiga, granted its limitations.
No one can stop me now~ No nothing can break my wil-il~ No one can slow me down~ It's all here in these green hills~ Ah...ground pound falcon did a GREAT cover...
"Great, a Battle of the Ports of Sonic the Hedgehog, fantastic, one of my favorite games ever!" I thought, as I clicked on the video link, then my mood instantly darkened, "He going to show Sonic Genesis in this list isn't he, eeehhhh!" 😫 At least you showed the Taxman/Stealth port, pretty much the definitive version of Sonic 1. Which I can't wait for it's console release along side Sonic 2, CD and (a hopefully new Retro port of) Sonic 3&K in the Sonic Origins Collection out later this year.
You could call me a fanboy, but in '91 I had the Game Gear AND Tiger versions, and when I got an Amstrad Mega PC in '93 you can guess what my first game was! ... Alien 3, probably. But Sonic was like the 3rd game.
Still prefer to play it on Genesis/MD. Always loved Sonic, even as a kid when I was a die hard Nintendo fanboy. Sonic was always a lot more fun to draw than Mario. ;)
So how cool is this game? I have it as part of the Sega Megadrive Collection on PS3, my son plays the Android version on my mobile, and one of my best mates has it as a nickname! Also this rewrote the rulebook in terms of how fast a platform game can be
Yep, it had quite the few. Then there's all the unofficial fan made versions on the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad GX and Commodore 64 as well as others. But that's a whole different world to official ports and the infamous Famicom game shown on this video.
Be glad the GBA version was exclusive to the US and Canada... Also fun fact on the Android and iOS port, this was actually offered as an update for free to the original emulated version that was put out, and is now free-to-play (along with many other of Sega's emulated MD classics on mobile). Glad both offer controller support.
You have got to admit vehemently that if i could do as well at anything with limited knowledge as this guy did with the Sonic soundtrack id be extremely rich lol
Fun fact: There was originally going to be an educational game based on Sonic for the master system. It was cancelled, probably because Sega realized that this cancelled game was made by the makers of crap TireTex. Damn, Sega dodged a bullet there. There was also going to be an Amiga port made by U.S. Gold. This is all starting to sound like Retro Core’s worst nightmare.
I play the Christian Whitehead version via my Apple TV (which has a native version available still on the App Store), with an Xbox One controller hooked up it's easily my favourite way to play the game. Such a shame it never got a console or native PC port unlike Sonic CD which did.
Some extra unofficial ports: - Sonyc for MSX2+ ruclips.net/video/AcgM2mJBc8w/видео.html - Sonic for SNES (a hack of Speedy Gonzalez) ruclips.net/video/dnyRwXpQLvI/видео.html
It's notable that most re-releases of Sonic 1 and 2 (16-bit) nowdays have a JASRAC license number in Japan. This is why music from these two games are not often featured in newer Sonic albums.
He did put a disclaimer at the beginning not everything would be covered. There was also that infamous (at the time) iPod version out there in the wild. The control schemes offered on that one would have been cumbersome, to say the least.
Hmmm, would you count the Sega Mega Play arcade version from 1993 as its own? Even though the Mega Play is an arcade-based MD PCB, the game features some small differences, such as the stingy stage timer, removed levels, and the disabled special stages.
I know the Dreamcast and DS versions were emulation, but I always thought they were so bad/different in it, they deserved to be in this video. Oh well, I'll feel free to describe the issues with them here: Dreamcast: The entirety of the audio is just converted to PSG square waves, ALL OF IT. DS: Some graphical glitches, screen crunch, low quality fuzzy audio, slowdown(?), etc And...yeah.
If I did cover them I'd be expected to cover the billion other emulated versions. No way I was going to do that 😋 It's funny how poor the emulated audio is on the Dreamcast when the Saturn sounds perfect because it's rebuilt.
Awesome video Mark, call me delusional but I'll always go with the Sonic Jam port for the Saturn, the added spin dash & playing this game with the Saturn controller is gaming bliss!
Just a small correction: It’s worth noting that the Famicom version DOES have a bonus stage, you just have to make it to the end of an act with 50 or more Rings,
Original Genesis Sonic, Android and the Switch version is the best and those are the versions i play today. The master system Sonic is great too but does get a little boring over time since there isn't much going on screen at any given time. I played the GBA port through emulation years ago and didn't like the experience. The 3DS version looks and sounds pretty good. M2 does some good work on making retro games available on modern systems they are the best in the biz in my opinion. They care about what they are doing and turn out a quality polished product.
9:40 hello mark you can download screen recorder on your phone to record game footage from android app and add android port to the battle of the ports video
The DS version found in Sonic Classics Collection isn’t in this video, That uses the jEnesisDS emulator for the game to run on that handheld. Otherwise, good list.
I was wondering why the DS version wasn't here but if it's an emulation instead of a port, I guess it makes sense. The DS version was fine, I didn't notice anything wrong with it.
I sure did. Actually, come to think of it, my phone is easily powerful enough to capture the screen and play the game. But then there's the whole transferring data to deal with. Not sure it captures at 60fps either.
Technically, Tiger’s LCD version is the worst, but the worst only goes to the official GBA version because it didn’t really go well for them there and there wasn’t any excuse for that to be bad.
You missed the iPod Classic port. 😉 The Taxman/Stealth port to iOS (and Android) is my favourite version as it saves your progress and you can retry the bonus levels if you mess up and fall into an exit.
Sonic Pocket Adventure ? Yeah, good game. I literally bought the console for this game only. By the way, trivia : SPA is the only game in the series IGN give a 10/10.
This has been a long time coming. I'm so excited!! That GBA version though. I feel kind of terrible, because it was the first version I played. I don't own a Genesis anymore so I couldn't tell the difference.
Oh bliss me the purists are comming for me... Widescreen, Spindash, Tails and Knuckles, extra level design, better phisics and colision detection, with a good ass save feature, but playing the Original on a dead System that probably doesn't work anymore is the best way for sure, pleasse STFU
US Gold confirmed it had secured the rights to convert Sonic to the home micros, in June 1991 and the conversions would be out at end of 1992,but at same time, they admitted they had yet to decide on any teams to handle the conversions
I wonder if that was true. More like they talked to some rep at Sega Europe who said, "yeah, maybe something could be worked out." but of course it never was. Sonic was to be the company mascot, he always had been. I doubt they'd let him appear on another system.
The Master System/Game Gear versions are more or less a different game from the Mega Drive because of the different stages. Not to mention that you will never collect a single ring before the Robotnik boss fights.
The Tiger LCD version does have a bonus stage, in case you couldn't tell.
I sure couldn't.
It's does?
this in my opinion is one of the best games of all time, totally rocked the gaming world on launch and helped sell loads of megadrives
Sonic the hedgehog for SMS - my childhood. Thanks for uploading these videos.
You're welcome. 👍
08:21 GOTTA GO FAST
Jokes aside, the Saturn version is kind of nostalgic to me, many years ago when i knew of it's existence, i always wanted to try it in some way or another(i was very young to know about the emulation lol), it is a very nice collection, and was also the game that introduced me to the Saturn library.
Next year this game will become 30 years!
Time flys!
@@RetroCore Time 'flys'?
Will 'become 30 years'?
Happy fun and adventure time!
This is the game that made me buy the Megadrive! In a local store they showed Super Mario world and Sonic 1 side by side and i was sold.
I remember firing up my Megadrive on my parents tv and i was blown away. I've been a Sega fan ever since!
Similar story, but preference reversed for me. I would go shopping with my Ma every week at a store called Ames (no longer around), SMW and Sonic setup pretty much side by side in the electronics department. I'd play for around 45-60 mins each time while my Ma shopped. Since I went every week with her it didn't take me long to realize that SMW offered so much more in terms of depth and length... don't get me wrong, Sonic 1 is my favorite Sonic game, and a true gem for the ages, but it's no SMW... my 2¢ anyway. Needless to say, I asked for the SNES that Christmas.
@@AFFL1CTED1
I'm also a big Nintendo fan and think that The legend of Zelda is the best series ever!
Back then i thought that Sonic (1) looked miles better then SMW (sorry but i was very young and i based my decision on only a minute of looking at the demo rolling on the screen). Of course i still wanted to play SMW so i rented a SNES a while later and had a blast with it.
A friend of mine was always the Nintendo fanboy and i was at the side of Sega but that didn't mean that we disliked the games on each others system.
In fact, this way we had acces to pretty much the entire library of Nintendo and Sega.
Now i'm really a fanboy of the 16-bit generation in general, but the Megadrive was my first true console so it will always be special for me ;-)
Wow how is it I never realized Nakamura composes the music. I loved the Sonic 1 and 2 music, but it’s like rediscovering them all over again now. All these catchy Dreams Come True style melodies have been right under my nose this whole time!
Yep. If you listen to the Dreams Come True album I mention in this video you will notice similar styles, especially the end credits music of Sonic 2!
Saturn’s sonic jam is in my opinion the best sonic compilation out there
the CD version had some flaws
The sprite used in the Famicom sonic is dow right adorable. He looks very cuddly
The soundtrack on that java port sounds amazing. Plus I really like how the master system and gamegear versions sound
The powers of midi. It is rather good.
I use to play this on Sega Genesis when i was a kid. This never left me thanks to the emulated version found on compilation games for other consoles including Sega Genesis Mini, Nintendo 3DS as part of Sega 3D Fukkoku Archives 2/Sega 3D Classics Collection and Nintendo Switch.
Great job with those partitions on the timeline! This shows attention to detail and it's really appreciated!
Thanks, Paolo. Nice to know the effort is appreciated.
Mark, let me keep it straight. One of my favorite BOTP episodes that you ever done. It was so extensive, especially at the beginning of the video. I didn't know a lot about the development of the original game before today. The Android version was the best version. That smooth scrolling in the special stage and widescreen. I gotta play it. Question: what was that music at the end of the episode? It was awesome
The Famicom version actually includes the Special Stages. They are the ones from the Master System version. Also, the hack shown in the video uses the Genesis Special Stage music while Somari uses the Master System music.
Good to hear. The Famicom version is a mess when it comes to level design. It's practically impossible to get through a stage without being hit. Still great for an unofficial game though.
Ah...brings back memories...love the 16-bit era
One of my favorite Mega Drive Game
8:24 what is with sonic in the screen moving his arm so fast in the java port? he looked like he had drank 15 cans of red bull, and is waiting impatiently for the player to start the game.
Enjoyed seeing the bootlegs in this video, didn't expect them.
Always good work man, thanks.
Glad you enjoyed!
This was a nice surprise considering Sonic's 29 anniversary in a couple of days. Indeed a classic, give me Sonic 2 for the Genesis any day.
Such a great game but man looking back did we suffer with the 50hz version in the UK.
That's why in 1988 I gave PAL the middle finger and have been Japanese NTSC ever since. Better box art, games came out quicker and full speed.
Awesome video regarding my personal favorite games ... 🥰.. Sonic 😄
Edit - 17:50 howly crap 😆 that are a lot of sonic games ..awesome soundtrack on the background 😎
And I missed out most of the unofficial ports.
First time I actually fully beat Sonic was on the old iPod version that was played with a click wheel! Worked surprisingly well, much better than it had any right to...
Android version is great, I do have it in my game tablet. Even accepts joysticks. Christian Whitehead really did a marvelous job.
He did the Sonic CD android port also, love that version. It has the original Japanese soundtrack
This is why Sega is so forgiving of fan projects. Sega themselves can no longer be bothered to curate their own classics.
I loathe them now that Sega have removed the option to restore your purchase, meaning you now have no choice but to see the adverts even if you paid for the games.
What a lot of ports didn't know that exists! The crap factor goes to Tiger Electronics, and my beloved memories factor goes to Bridge theme in Sega 8 bit ports.
Thanks!!
did try the saturn port sonic jam last week and sonic 1 had some issues on sound effects
and some slowdown mainly on sonic 2
Nice. I want to try the Saturn, unofficial GBA and Android versions now.
Sonic Jam is quite amazing, especially for the time.
Really loved Sonic Jam, it was a great collection with tons of stuff.
ok, now i need a playlist with all the Java/J2ME songs 🤤
I would definitely love to hear Super C's.
I will always remember when I had the Japanese version imported to the UK. So many envious friends!
Same here. So glad too. Much nicer packing and better version of the game.
@@RetroCore Didn't it have the infamous spike glitch though which was removed in international versions? In fact I don't know if that was removed in all of the subsequent ports. I know you have the option to turn it on or off with the M2 versions on 3DS and Switch. I believe it's not in the craptastic GBA game (so... that is one minor positive point for that?), the Christain Whitehead version or the version found in Sonic Jam.
PAL version decrease the game speed to 50HZ
(before video) I love this game series, but it is notorious for the ramping up in difficulty between games. Spinball and Mean Bean Machine are a couple examples of really difficult Sonic games...
(not counting the reboot for Xbox360 because I haven't played it and it would retread what has already been said by the likes of several including one particularly angry individual that likes Rolling Rock)
4:54 The MegaDrive has issues with lag like the SNES does and for similar reasons, though in Sonic 1 it's very unlikely to be noticeable. It can happen when lots of sprites appear on screen all at once and occasionally does happen briefly in the special stages.
5:42 The only Sonic games I knew of for the GBA were the Sonic Advance games...
12:16 I used to call these 'spinny sandwiches', lolz
I love the SMS port; it plays much more like an adventuring platformer. That and getting the emeralds requires one to execute very specific moves to get them rather than completing special stages. Only issue is that there's only one emerald per area and if skipped, ya missed it. It's both good and bad. I believe PISSTEAM used the Game Gear port for their craptastic PSX SEGA compilation.
The Android port is amazing. It runs perfectly in BlueStacks and it's free (with ads).
to be honest i really loved the saturn port which had the spindash than the original genesis/megadrive version.
There was also a port released for iPods back in the day
I have the Mega Drive/Genesis original of course. The first port that I bought was for the Master System. I believe that it was the last official release for the SMS here in the States. Pretty good considering the lack of Blast processing. :)
I don't like having the spin dash in the first Sonic game. Not only does this break the intended gameplay mechanics but I also always loved the idea of Sonic having learned this technique between the 1st and 2nd games in the series :)
As for the 8-bit Sonic game on Master System/Game Gear, it's a more conventional platformer but an excellent one nonetheless. The Mega Drive game is a truer and more complex Sonic experience but the 8-bit counterpart has an incredible charm to it.
And no idea how the development process went for that GBA port but it's an abomination anyway with some hilariously bad music renditions! :D
@Peck Man I never played the sonic advance games despite being quite a GBA fan. of course I plan on to try them at some points, just dunno when (I have other GBA games that are higher in my wantlist)
I agree. Speed dash shouldn't be in Sonic 1. Part of the fun is gaining and holding momentum to move along, instead of just having it handed to you.
That's like releasing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate which has a Smash Attack button, then rereleasing Smash 64 with an included Smash Attack button. The original never had it, so leave it alone!!
@7MGTESupraTurboA the NES and SNES had much higher sales than the master system and mega drive in japan but not the PC engine. here are the actual sales figures (not the fake ones that were spreaded some times ago probably by some PC engine fanboys):
- PC engine: 3.92 million units sold
- PC engine CD-rom² + PC engine duo: 1.92 million units sold (of which around 1 million are duo consoles)
- mega drive: 3.58 million units sold
- mega-CD: 850,000 units sold
no idea though about how many mega drive hardware variants have been sold in japan (wondermega, teradrive, mega jet, etc.)
so overall, it's quite close and nintendo wiped the floor with both there with about 17 million SNES sold
in north america though, the PC engine only sold 2.6 million units (all hardwares combined) whereas the SNES sold 20 million units and the mega drive sold almost 28 million units (all hardwares combined)
and in europe, the PC engine was almost non-existant (despite being officially sold in france, luxembourg and even in UK at some point) whereas the SNES sold 5 million units and the mega drive sold 10 million units (all hardwares combined)
BTW one *very* important factor that many people still don't take into consideration is the software sales figures and the mega drive apparently sold a whopping 576,161,130 softwares whereas the SNES sold 379,060,000 softwares (no idea about the PC engine nor about other hardwares at the time (ST, amiga, etc.))
so not only was the mega drive extremely successful overall, it also has a very high software-to-hardware attach ratio (16 games sold per console) which is apparently the highest ever recorded for a console so far
I had fond memories of Sonic the Hedgehog when I was still in grade school. The games on the Sega Genesis were so much fun and I even remember the Saturday morning cartoons. I'm glad I didn't wind up with the Tiger handheld version, and started playing the Genesis version. When my mom bought me a model 2 Genesis, one of my first games was the third Sonic game. I became a huge fan from there.
Though I had a bit of a love hate relationship with the franchise, it's mostly love. Though I like the sequels a bit more, I always find myself playing the first game every now and then. I especially play the 3DS version from M2, which is my personal favorite version of Sonic.
Thanks for the upload, Mark. It's always cool to see multiple versions of the game and hearing your thoughts on them. Looking forward to seeing more from you.
Yeah, sadly Sonic has had a rough time with poor ports and bad sequals but at least its back on track now and even the movie was reasonable.
@@RetroCore yeah and as a fan, it makes me happy that the franchise and character is back on track. Let's hope it stays that way. And I loved the Sonic movie, btw. It's an excellent adaptation and I had fun watching it from beginning to end, and Jim Carrey, one of my favorite actors, did an excellent portrayal of Robotnik (Eggman). Here's hoping we see a sequel VERY soon. I'd hate to see it end on a cliffhanger.
One interesting thing about the Saturn version of Sonic (1,2,3 and knuckles) is that the BGM (including SFX) is actually generated by the Saturn’s sound hardware (SCSP), which means the music is not streamed from the CD. Interesting...
The Saturn had one of the most powerful sound chips of any console of its time. Very nice.
Thumbs up on your notice at start.
9:14 why does the sound track of this java port slap so hard?
I'm not sure it could be considered a port but Zippy the Porcupine is a homebrew attempt on the Atari 2600, quite the heroic demake. There is also an upcoming homebrew for Amstrad CPC 128+ and GX4000 which looks more akin to the MS/GG games. And If you ever wonder how Sonic would run on the Amiga, take a look at the unfinished homebrew Blaze, which looks like a Sonic reskin.
blaze is mighty impressive for the amiga OCS and once again shows how surprising this hardware can be but it's still not up there with sonic 1 (let alone sonic 2 or sonic 3 & knuckle...). the foreground graphics are very nice, the game is fast and it does have 360° loopings but:
-the game resolution seems rather low (although some screenshots do indicate 320x256 but it doesn't feel that way when looking at gameplay footage)
-it's not fullscreen
-the frame rate seems to have been halved (25 FPS) but I might be wrong (but it's clearly not 50 FPS)
-the background is very simplistic
and sadly it has no sound although obviously you won't get the crisp and stereo sound of the mega drive
then there's another sonic clone attempt on amiga called kid chaos which is an official and finished game and which is also impressive for the hardware but, again, it's not up there with sonic 1 (there's a black border all around the screen, there's no 360° loopings, the sound is not in stereo...)
still crazy how european coders managed to push the amiga! the demoscene often came in handy though (it would have been cool if the mega drive also got a demoscene back then, it only seems to have started circa 2005 although the company called zyrinx was made of ex-amiga demosceners and it defo showed in their 2 mega drive games that are sub-terrania and red zone)
And also there is an MSX2 version based on SMS (Sonyc).
@@vasileios6301 the MSX2 having worse scrolling capabilities than the master system, I really wonder how that turned out. will check it!
@@vasileios6301 ok checked. the background is too busy making the lack of dual plane scrolling way too obvious. the SMS/GG version got it right in that regard with simpler backgrounds. but it's impressive how smooth the multidirectional scrolling is for a MSX2 game
@@ryzmaker11 of course Blaze is not up there with Sonic and I think was never going to be, but it shows that some sort of Sonic game was doable on the Amiga, granted its limitations.
there was also an arcade version running on the mega play board. it was mostly identical to the megadrive/genesis port, only a hell of a lot harder.
It is the Mega Drive version. This is why it wasn't added.
No one can stop me now~
No nothing can break my wil-il~
No one can slow me down~
It's all here in these green hills~
Ah...ground pound falcon did a GREAT cover...
"Great, a Battle of the Ports of Sonic the Hedgehog, fantastic, one of my favorite games ever!" I thought, as I clicked on the video link, then my mood instantly darkened, "He going to show Sonic Genesis in this list isn't he, eeehhhh!" 😫
At least you showed the Taxman/Stealth port, pretty much the definitive version of Sonic 1. Which I can't wait for it's console release along side Sonic 2, CD and (a hopefully new Retro port of) Sonic 3&K in the Sonic Origins Collection out later this year.
0:01 Where Did You Get This Song I Do Like It
Link n the video description.
You could call me a fanboy, but in '91 I had the Game Gear AND Tiger versions, and when I got an Amstrad Mega PC in '93 you can guess what my first game was!
...
Alien 3, probably. But Sonic was like the 3rd game.
Megadrive version of Alien 3 had a fantastic ost~
Still prefer to play it on Genesis/MD. Always loved Sonic, even as a kid when I was a die hard Nintendo fanboy. Sonic was always a lot more fun to draw than Mario. ;)
Mario is just a sad fat camp loner 😋
Check out the FM SMS rom hack, someone went to the trouble of redoing the audio with FM Synthesis, it's really good.
Yep, I have that on my Master System everdrive. Quite nice.
I’m still waiting for M2 to port the Tiger version to Switch. 🤣
Bridge zone on MS & GG - janet Jackson together again ripped that off hard....
one of my fav' 8-bit tunes ever!! the nostalgia is strong in that one
That intro 🔥
Tomorrow this game will be 29 years old
Why the NGPC version not included?
Sonic Pocket Adventure is more its own game, through it's more a patchwork of different things taken from Megadrive games
Bcuz its based heavily on sonic 2
So how cool is this game? I have it as part of the Sega Megadrive Collection on PS3, my son plays the Android version on my mobile, and one of my best mates has it as a nickname!
Also this rewrote the rulebook in terms of how fast a platform game can be
DAMN, didn't know that Sonic the Hedgehog had this many ports!
Yep, it had quite the few. Then there's all the unofficial fan made versions on the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad GX and Commodore 64 as well as others. But that's a whole different world to official ports and the infamous Famicom game shown on this video.
@@RetroCore Yeah, and Famicom version does play well despite being a bootleg, but those physics on the loops though...
Nostalgia kicking in hard with this game. It was amazing back in the day. Also, I clearly remember this game having a Sega CD version. Weird.
Sonic CD is nice but a different game.
There was going to be a Mega CD version at one point. It was even shown at a CES show. Eventually that turned in to Sonic CD.
@@RetroCore What a weird memory I have about this, I even remember seeing the game in a video store. I call Mandela Effect on this one.
Be glad the GBA version was exclusive to the US and Canada... Also fun fact on the Android and iOS port, this was actually offered as an update for free to the original emulated version that was put out, and is now free-to-play (along with many other of Sega's emulated MD classics on mobile). Glad both offer controller support.
Yep, same on Android, it's part of the Sega Forever series. Of course, that doesn't exist here in japan. Must be a western series only.
I have Sonic Genesis on the GBA, and man that hurts to even think about the $20 I spent on it at my local Target store.
You think that's bad, not only did I get it with my birthday money in second grade, but it was my first experience of the original Sonic the Hedgehog.
You have got to admit vehemently that if i could do as well at anything with limited knowledge as this guy did with the Sonic soundtrack id be extremely rich lol
Wow, I didn't expect a battle of ports of this.
Does that means you will do Sonic 2, CD, 3 & Knuckles (hum, probably not as there will be 3 ports) ?
Hopefully
If I do Sonic 2 then at least I can feature the Game.com port. On second though.....
DO IT FOR THE VIEWERS
Fun fact: There was originally going to be an educational game based on Sonic for the master system. It was cancelled, probably because Sega realized that this cancelled game was made by the makers of crap TireTex. Damn, Sega dodged a bullet there. There was also going to be an Amiga port made by U.S. Gold. This is all starting to sound like Retro Core’s worst nightmare.
I play the Christian Whitehead version via my Apple TV (which has a native version available still on the App Store), with an Xbox One controller hooked up it's easily my favourite way to play the game. Such a shame it never got a console or native PC port unlike Sonic CD which did.
Some extra unofficial ports:
- Sonyc for MSX2+ ruclips.net/video/AcgM2mJBc8w/видео.html
- Sonic for SNES (a hack of Speedy Gonzalez) ruclips.net/video/dnyRwXpQLvI/видео.html
I don't could that SNES game. It's just a sprite hack but the MSX2 Sonyc game is interesting.
30 years of sonic
Yep, Sonic it getting old.
It's notable that most re-releases of Sonic 1 and 2 (16-bit) nowdays have a JASRAC license number in Japan. This is why music from these two games are not often featured in newer Sonic albums.
I never knew that,
I could see this video getting remade with Zippy the Porcupine (Atari 2600) and the recently released Commodore 64 port being included!
Not any time soon I'm afraid.
Really, no Switch version? It was a more polished version of the 3DS version and had Drop Dash as well as extra game modes!
He also didn't cover the Taxman Remake that IS easily the definitive way to play Sonic The Hedgehog
@@petwisk2012 He did. 9:40.
Added with mega play mode like in arcade version of sonic 1 timer counts down
He also didn’t cover the excellent m2 port for the 360
He did put a disclaimer at the beginning not everything would be covered. There was also that infamous (at the time) iPod version out there in the wild. The control schemes offered on that one would have been cumbersome, to say the least.
Hmmm, would you count the Sega Mega Play arcade version from 1993 as its own? Even though the Mega Play is an arcade-based MD PCB, the game features some small differences, such as the stingy stage timer, removed levels, and the disabled special stages.
I'd just count that as a modified Mega Drive game running on a Mega Drive board.
Ah yes, the Neo Geo Pocket game, let’s just say it’s Sonic 2 with music from Sonic 3 and Sonic Jam, and with modern Sonic on it.
What about mega play version of sonic 1
What about it? It's just the Mega Drive game on a multi cart. Nothing special about that.
There is a Sonic on NeoGeo pocket but it is more a mix of the first 3 games with some original stuff too.
16:57 I cannot believe my bloody eyes just how much I laugh at this.
I know the Dreamcast and DS versions were emulation, but I always thought they were so bad/different in it, they deserved to be in this video. Oh well, I'll feel free to describe the issues with them here:
Dreamcast: The entirety of the audio is just converted to PSG square waves, ALL OF IT.
DS: Some graphical glitches, screen crunch, low quality fuzzy audio, slowdown(?), etc
And...yeah.
If I did cover them I'd be expected to cover the billion other emulated versions. No way I was going to do that 😋
It's funny how poor the emulated audio is on the Dreamcast when the Saturn sounds perfect because it's rebuilt.
Retro Core Haha. That's fair! Still, it would've been hilarious if you went over the Dreamcast version with its 10-channel Master System nonsense.
Awesome video Mark, call me delusional but I'll always go with the Sonic Jam port for the Saturn, the added spin dash & playing this game with the Saturn controller is gaming bliss!
I also love having the spin dash in part 1. many don't but I think it is a welcome addition.
Yesssss👊😎🎮Battle of the ports🕹🔥Sonic the Hedgehog💙💙 XD
Awesome game
Super Mario world, sonic, cool spot, Joe and Mac, Aladdin, Mario all stars=best platform games of all time.
I loved the master systems music...eve Janet Jackson ripped it off for a song:)
Just a small correction: It’s worth noting that the Famicom version DOES have a bonus stage, you just have to make it to the end of an act with 50 or more Rings,
Good to know. Its next to impossible though.
Do you use visual boy advance to capture gameboy advance ports?
For this video I may have done so.
Isnt Sonic on the 3DS (as well as all mega drive 3D games) technically emulation using M2s custom upgraded mega drive, the Giga Drive?
Hmm, not really because the games are remade. They are using original assets but they aren't running original code.
Original Genesis Sonic, Android and the Switch version is the best and those are the versions i play today. The master system Sonic is great too but does get a little boring over time since there isn't much going on screen at any given time. I played the GBA port through emulation years ago and didn't like the experience. The 3DS version looks and sounds pretty good. M2 does some good work on making retro games available on modern systems they are the best in the biz in my opinion. They care about what they are doing and turn out a quality polished product.
9:40 hello mark you can download screen recorder on your phone to record game footage from android app and add android port to the battle of the ports video
Good point. My phone is very powerful so it can easily record the onscreen action. May do that in the future.
What is your phone?
There's also Sonic 8bit remake which is a PC and Android version of the SMS game, I didn't like it personally but it's free!
The DS version found in Sonic Classics Collection isn’t in this video,
That uses the jEnesisDS emulator for the game to run on that handheld.
Otherwise, good list.
I was wondering why the DS version wasn't here but if it's an emulation instead of a port, I guess it makes sense. The DS version was fine, I didn't notice anything wrong with it.
29 years ago😳 how is that possible...
Well it's going fast, right?
The android version looks exactly the same as the iOS version which works very nicely on my Apple TV using the ps4 controller
The second song featured in the master system port sounds an awful lot like a song from Janet Jackson called Together again.
Yeah, a few people have said that.
I played the genesis version and I've got the Xbox 360 and the Android version
Do you use bluestack to capture android footage?
I sure did. Actually, come to think of it, my phone is easily powerful enough to capture the screen and play the game. But then there's the whole transferring data to deal with. Not sure it captures at 60fps either.
Plus there's an unreleased SNES version check it out.
I enjoyed Sonic the hedgehog.
Technically, Tiger’s LCD version is the worst, but the worst only goes to the official GBA version because it didn’t really go well for them there and there wasn’t any excuse for that to be bad.
You missed the iPod Classic port. 😉
The Taxman/Stealth port to iOS (and Android) is my favourite version as it saves your progress and you can retry the bonus levels if you mess up and fall into an exit.
The ipod version is just emulation from what I know.
there was neogeo pocket color not really a port more of mix with 1 and 2 but it's very good sonic 16 bit game
Sonic Pocket Adventure ? Yeah, good game. I literally bought the console for this game only.
By the way, trivia : SPA is the only game in the series IGN give a 10/10.
That's right. I's missing from this video due to it being too different.
This has been a long time coming. I'm so excited!!
That GBA version though. I feel kind of terrible, because it was the first version I played. I don't own a Genesis anymore so I couldn't tell the difference.
Download an emulator (Genesis GX Plus, Gens or Kega Fusion) and the REVX or GameCube version ROM.
Bloody hell, poor you. That's not how Sonic should be experienced for the first time.
@@RetroCore Yeah, I was too young to remember to be honest.
Sega Ages (Nintendo Switch) and Taxman Android Remake are the best way to play them
The Android version is in the video though.
@@uubrmanx oh i Saw i'm sorry
Not in my opinion. Give me a Genesis with the original 3 button controller (or 6 buttons) running on a CRT TV anytime.
Oh bliss me the purists are comming for me... Widescreen, Spindash, Tails and Knuckles, extra level design, better phisics and colision detection, with a good ass save feature, but playing the Original on a dead System that probably doesn't work anymore is the best way for sure, pleasse STFU
Detail that i have every Single one of thesse versions mind you
US Gold confirmed it had secured the rights to convert Sonic to the home micros, in June 1991 and the conversions would be out at end of 1992,but at same time, they admitted they had yet to decide on any teams to handle the conversions
I wonder if that was true. More like they talked to some rep at Sega Europe who said, "yeah, maybe something could be worked out." but of course it never was. Sonic was to be the company mascot, he always had been. I doubt they'd let him appear on another system.
Retro Core Or maybe they saw what happened with Space Harrier 2 and told U.S Gold to bugger off for Sonic 1
in your opinion which is the ultimate sonic port?
Hmm, the one on Android. You should play it with a controller though.
@@RetroCore thank you very much :)
The Master System/Game Gear versions are more or less a different game from the Mega Drive because of the different stages. Not to mention that you will never collect a single ring before the Robotnik boss fights.
So very true.
Where is Zippy for Atari 2600?
The only 2D platformer Sonic game I could clear was the one for the NGPC. I can only imagine how bad the Sonic port for the N-Gage was.