The twist is Sonic's ability to run at extreme speeds which allows him to go through levels with loops, springs, high falls, and extreme slopes and he must avoid rows of sharp spikes, bottomless pits, enemies, and other obstacles. At the end of the third act of each zone the player fights against Doctor Robotnik in one of his many vehicles. Sonic travels through 19 acts, split into 6 zones with 3 acts each (plus a one-act Final Zone). In the game the player takes control of Sonic (the Hedgehog) who is tasked with preventing Doctor Ivo Robotnik - or Doctor Eggman in Japan - from taking all 6 Chaos Emeralds in order to rule South Island, by instead collecting them himself. Sonic doesn't like the sound of this, and sets off to rescue his animal friends and collect the emeralds before Robotnik. Essentially, Doctor Robotnik is capturing all of the animals on Sonic's home of South Island to act as power sources for his robot army, and he desires the power of the six mystical Chaos Emeralds to help further his world domination plot. PlotĪs with most games of the era, the majority of the game's plot is contained within the instruction manual. It is one of the best selling video games of all time, and thus a giant money maker for Sega, creating a popular evergreen franchise and also propelled the Genesis to widespread popularity. It was released in 1991 in North America, Europe and Japan. It was the first game in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, and also the first game developed by Sonic Team. Sonic the Hedgehog is a 16-bit platformer released for the Sega Genesis.

Sonic 1 ring sprite