Beware The Spaceman

Tag: megadrive

  • Retro Reaction 2.4 My brother gets Sonic

    Retro Reaction in ZX Spectrum colours

    I finally had access to Sonic with enough time to get a bit further. That darn Labyrinth Zone with the bubbles and the time limit.

    Speaking of time limits — that’s exactly what I had. This wasn’t my system, and I had a SNES that I played to death (and there’ll be plenty more about that in the coming weeks). So whatever games my brother wanted to play took priority.

    I’ve never been a football fan, but when it wasn’t two‑player fighting or wrestling games (loved them), my brother would be playing FIFA. Which meant no matter what Sonic level you were on, if his mates turned up, it was FIFA time.

    His Mega Drive did, however, have a copy of the Sonic sequel, Sonic 2, and that one was two‑player. The odd thing is, I’ve played this game since, and today I see it as the amazing game it is.

    Back then, Emerald Hill just didn’t seem as good or as iconic as Green Hill Zone. Sonic was faster but didn’t feel as controllable. Maybe I was having Zool flashbacks. In truth, had I spent more time with Sonic 2, I’d probably have appreciated it much earlier.

    But… FIFA.

    Of course, I’d played my Master System version of Sonic 2 years before — the one with the hand glider. I was also well up on Sonic lore, because in the midst of Sonic mania there was a TV show and a comic. I’ve always been a little bit gaming‑obsessed.

    More on those next time.

  • Retro Reaction 2.1 Sonic at Steve’s House

    The year is 1991, and at the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago, Nintendo are proudly showing off their latest Mario installment — a game already being talked about as one of the greatest of all time. They’re demonstrating how gorgeous it looks, how many colours they can squeeze onto the screen, and how polished their platforming formula has become.

    But the real crowd‑puller is over at the Sega stand.

    Sega’s blue mascot is front and centre, and this new game has blast processing. It’s everything Mario wasn’t. Mario was slower, deliberate, full of secrets and atmosphere. This thing? It was fast, loud, had a soundtrack that slapped, and — let’s be honest — it was cool.

    Sega were right in Nintendo’s face, practically shouting: “Have a load of that!”
    As Street Fighter once declared: Here comes a new challenger.

    Fast‑forward to nineteen‑ninety‑something and my mate Steve has a new games system. A system with blast processing. For what feels like forever, Steve becomes the most popular kid down our row.

    When it finally cycled round to my turn, I could just about finish Green Hill Zone. But Marble Zone? Instant kills everywhere. I longed to see what was waiting on that next level.

    I could go on here about what’s widely regarded as one of the best games ever made — but it’s all been said before. What I will admit is that my brother and I pestered and pestered until we finally got ourselves a Sega.

    We were successful… with a small caveat.

    We opened our Sega, and yes, it had Sonic. But it wasn’t the Sega Mega Drive we thought we were getting.
    It was a Sega Master System.

  • Retro Reaction 2.0 My Sonic Journey


    Last month Sega’s mascot turned 35 years old, which is the sort of milestone that instantly makes you feel ancient.
    Thinking back to the Sonic games of the 1990s, there isn’t much I can add that hasn’t already been said. So… we won’t. And we will.

    For this next Reaction set, I’m talking you through my Sonic journey. As a fan of mascot platformers in the 90s, this was the start of a long-running obsession — and my route to Sonic was about as straightforward as one of those time‑travel stages on Sonic CD.

    Here’s what’s coming up.

    Sonic The Hedgehog at a mate’s house


    It’s the early 1990s and a friend down the road has a Mega Drive — plus a game unlike anything my Master System or Amiga had ever seen. This was my first glimpse of Sega’s flagship speedster.

    We have Sonic at home


    Eventually we get a Sega… but it’s a Sega Master System. The good news: it comes with Sonic. The 8‑bit Sonic. Sounds like a downgrade? My reaction might not be what you expect.

    We have Sonic at home


    By this point I’m more of a “computer guy”, so my Sonic substitute arrives on floppy disks. It’s supposed to match Sega’s mascot beat‑for‑beat, but the fast‑paced action comes with loading screens.

    Sonic on my brother’s Mega Drive


    My brother gets a Mega Drive, which means I finally get proper access to Sonic — and, for the first time, the sequel.

    Sonic Overload


    From Sonic the Comic and the TV series to swapping issues of Computer and Video Games magazine, the Sonic universe expands fast. There are still Sonic games we haven’t even played yet.

    Sonic Origins


    Finally, as an adult, I played through the Sonic Origins collection on modern hardware. Does it deliver the Retro Reaction you’d expect?