Johnny vs. Sonic The Hedgehog 1 & 2 (8-Bit)

well guys I certainly hope you enjoyed this year Sonic hacking contest but now it's time to get a little more official it's been some time since I dedicated a bunch of videos to Sonic last time I gave his jump to 3D to the com over and I'm pretty damn happy how those turned out to this day they remain some of my most watched videos on this channel even the 50 plus minute Behemoth known as my Sonic 06 review clearly it's you people that have the problem when I started dropping hints that I had intentions of going back to the Sonic series for a marathon I was taken aback by the number of people that wondered what was left oh there are plenty of other things to talk about I'm talking handheld stuff among other things which since Sonic's Inception back in 1991 has seen just as much action as the Blue Blur has seen on consoles hell probably even more action I guess we'll find out throughout this Marathon for the first video of this new Sonic Marathon I wanted to dedicate it to the two games that shared their names with their console counterparts Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 the first two handheld Sonic games ever created I know Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis is technically a handheld variant of its console counterpart but [ __ ] you Sega was damn aggressive in marketing in the '90s and their first and to my knowledge only handheld was pushed as the more mature option compared to the Game Boy it was the size of a [ __ ] football and required six AA batteries but it had a backlit screen so you could see what was going on no matter where you played which was you know to its credit a feature ahead of its time for a handheld gaming device I think the only thing that was comparable at the time was the Atari Links but like the Atari Links that meant [ __ ] off for sales the Game Boy massacred the poor thing in numbers and it was clear to the audience that Sega was more interested in pushing console sales so a lot of people simply didn't bother but declining numbers are not that didn't stop Sega from releasing several Sonic titles for the thing in the number of years The Game Gear lasted and these two laid the foundation for what was the beginning of Sonic's healthy portable stint now I'm thrown around the term handheld a whole lot but maybe this is a bit of a shock to you but the 8-Bit Renditions of Sonic 1 and 2 were originally if just for a few months console games when folks are discussing the 8bit Sonic 1 and 2 they're most likely talking about the Game Gear version since the handheld was being so heavily pushed by Sega when it came out and because the Game Gear games today are so widely available on a select number of Sonic collections like Maya collection Plus or Gems Collection or Sonic Adventure DX but 8bit Sonic 1 and 2 technically debuted somewhere else the Sega Master System perhaps you've heard of it it was sega's Home console unit in the mid to late ' 80s before the Genesis swooped in and took over and despite the Genesis already being about 2 to 3 years into its lifespan by 1991 Sega thought it appropriate to give the Master System a slice at the Hedgehog solely responsible for shattering any future Alex kid could hope to [Music] see can I start with I hate the Master System box art was it too much to hire some freelance artists out there at the time grid lines basic as [ __ ] Tex and Ms paint doodle I made this sort of [ __ ] when I was in kindergarten I at least Sonic 1 and 2 weren't neglected these aren't bad at all but then again I always appreciated the Japanese box s of the original Sonic games it was the commercials I never really agreed upon you can get the Master System versions of Sonic 1 and 2 on the Wii Virtual Console nowadays so let's jump right into these and see if they're still worth your time and get this Marathon started 8 bit Sonic 1 I don't have much memories with this one I didn't grow up with it that honor belongs to Sonic 2 more so but one step at a time here the plus the same as the Genesis title so we have our lovable Speedy the Hedgehog traveling across South Island to rescue all the Woodling creatures under the tyrannical rule of Dr IO Robotnik there's about six zones in total each of them containing three stages a piece all ending with a direct confrontation with the Mad Doctor himself things start familiar with the classic Green Hills Zone the trees the flower oh look at the little Moto bugs wow I don't know why they're so incredibly tiny in this version but they're so adorable look at that thing that thing can't hurt me yes again anyway as I was saying things look familiar at first but 8 bit Sonic 1 only borrows around half of 16 bits Sonic's iconic levels the others being Labyrinth Zone because we just had to make a handheld version of that God forsaken SLO and scrap brain Zone a far cry compared to the Genesis game it's night and day this this one is not a challenge to finish at all compared to the Genesis scrap brain which one at you dead every waking second the other half of this Sonic one is comprised of entirely new level tropes first there is Bridge Zone a vivid Mountain toop with collossal Bridges catchy music and home to the most anti-icam to ever grace the Blue Blur Auto scrolling Auto scrolling in a Sonic game what in the actual I can't process all this blast what's the point of making this guy the physical manifestation of cocaine and then taking that away from me seriously this is like antonic 101 all right I'll move on there's the Luscious Jungle Zone containing some of the tightest platform you'll probably ever do a classic Sonic I haven't gotten into the other games in the marathon yet but I feel it's a safe assumption oh great the [ __ ] place has Contra syndrome where everything below Sonic is suddenly a bottomless P what the [ __ ] I was touching the goddamn grass all right then the last of the unique zones is sky base Zone which follows scrap brain a fitting stage for the final confrontation what Robotnik even if it does remind me a little too much of Super Mario Brothers 3 at times I don't think this game is particularly hard altogether I question the hit boox of Sonic occasionally but I didn't come close to squeezing my controller too hard during my playthroughs even though this game has a few quirks I don't find pleasing at full speed Sonic's just a little too far to the right of the screen for me enemy placement wasn't very dickish from what I've experienced but pits and spike traps I don't have as much time to react to them as I'd get from the Genesis game so it's a little awkward also not a fan of how Sonic can't pick up his Fallen rings when he takes damage that shit's a death sentence in a bed of spikes and it's such a classic staple of Sonic games right you take a hit you scramble to pick up as many rings as you can to defend yourself but that simply doesn't work here it's so jarring you know what else I noticed there's no Loops in this game talk about another classic element not present here I mean what's a Sonic game without shuttle Loops they were part of the reason why Genesis games were so thrilling to go fast in to let the game's physics engine just go to town and Blaze away actually while we're on the uh subject to physics which is the gamees controls in general Sonic still has some natural flow to his movements though it's slightly more stiled compared to Genesis as Sonic he'll still pick up a shitload of speed when rolling down slop just look at him go right here I mean God damn if anything this sort of Sonic Works in this game where the level design is more rudimentary Mario you could say with just a slightly faster Pace except in Bridge Zone because you know why there's some alternate pathway sprinkled here and there and the reward is usually an extra life you won't find much else besides a ring box or a shield for protection invincibility though at times it could also be a Chaos Emerald yeah you don't play special stages to get these here you just find them lying on the ground now special stages are in this game regardless but they're mainly for scoring more lives to continue should you happen to get a game over and like the original Sonic 1 there's only six Chaos Emeralds here and they don't mean anything besides a higher score so go for them if you want the bigger numbers but they're worthless in every other sense of the word a few months later 8 bit Sonic landed on the game gear and for the most part it's the same game there were a few things tweaked for the better though the sudden bottomless pit [ __ ] in Jungle Zone is gone and some level design was altered in different zones to be less punishing I'm guessing Sonic team took the extra time however small to polish some assets but because we're talking about a console going onto a handheld you know what that means we got a smaller screen resolution which means screen Crunch and there's a lot of that here but it's not the end of the world to be honest maybe it's because again the level structure of these stages is already more basic than a standard Sonic game so going too fast isn't exactly a bad idea but some zones do not benefit from the smaller screen green hill is pretty bad with it and Jungle Zone I mean my God I hope there's something below me to land on it wouldn't hurt if he just put a few extra Rings here and there to help guide me on the other hand poor Robotnik the smaller screen makes most if not all boss battles against the doctor a total [ __ ] Cakewalk and I'm talking easier than the emerald Hill battle and that's [ __ ] sad the game looks and sounds about the same as the Master System version I mean for all intents and purposes The Game Gear was just a portable Master System just like how the Nomad was a portable Genesis but Sonic kind of took a hit in Sprite quality in this version where is his goddamn nose that [ __ ] is just gone you ever see a Sonic without his nose it's like Mario without his mustache it's unnatural and needs to die immediately well all in all 8 bit Sonic 1 is not a bad game it's short as [ __ ] you can finish it in less than an hour kind of goes without saying for Platformers of this time and I find it refreshing that it's not just trying to squeeze 16bit Sonic into inferior Hardware it may borrow a few zones from the Genesis game and some ideas don't mesh well with me but over half of it is still original and it's structurally sound between the two versions I recommend the Master System for the largest screen but I also recommend the Game Gear version for the slightly added polish do either of them compared to the original Sonic one to me no but I don't feel like my time was wasted and I think that's important you know I don't like when I have to finish a game out of obligation for a video because that means I wasn't enjoying myself but I didn't feel that way here now this game on the other hand oh God 8 Bits Sonic 2 this is in fact one of the first Sonic games I ever played as a kid I played a [ __ ] ton of Sonic 2 in the Genesis and I'm still playing the hell out of it today if it wasn't obvious enough it's a quintessential platformer to me the design the pace the look The Sound it's got all that with only Sonic 3 Beating it in my opinion to this day one of the Fondest Memories in my early video game adventuring is finally beaten the death a robot at the age of eight I love you Sonic 2 I really do when I was exposed to the Game Gear shortly thereafter in the mid 90s and when I learned there was a Sonic 2 for that handheld I jumped right on that son of a [ __ ] fun fact 8bit Sonic 2 was both a Master System and Game Gear title but only Europeans got the Master System version at first Americans only had the Game Gear version for the longest time until both versions were made available by the late 2000s and in actuality the Master System Sonic 2 predates The Genesis Sonic 2 by a whole month so this is technically the first game to introduce Sonic's lovable two-tail mutant kick miles tailes prow and it's not a welcoming debut for the little fox as the plot of 8bit Sonic 2 kicks off with Tails being kidnapped by Dr Robotnik in exchange for his safety Dr Robotnik demands the six chaos thos so Sonic wastes little time hightailing it across several different zones wondering why his kitten that buddy appears in all the title cards despite his predicament and he makes a dismission to collect all the chaos nales as he progresses in dealing with Dr Robotnik new his Creations the fact that Robotnik is demanding the chaos sys while simultaneously trying to kill Sonic is puzzling to say the least and I'm surprised Robotnik didn't just Neely convert Tales into a robot slay from the GetGo but whatever eight-bit storytelling I suppose in my young mind certainly didn't have time for logic back then now I got memories of this one and I don't remember much of my first playthrough but a few key words always pop into my head immediately when I'm thinking about it and that's chaos emeralds Tails death and hang glider shall we start from the top Chaos Emeralds are sort of a big deal in this game and as previously they're just found in set locations of the zone and don't require a special stage to collect in fact Sonic 2 doesn't have special stages at all or a shield power up or spin dash or checkpoints now that I think about it what's up with that it's got Loops but that's sort of an uneven trade-off wouldn't you say but in contrast to the game before the chaos emeralds are trickier to claim here as ear as the first Zone you got to fight tooth and nail to stay on top of the stage just to get to the emerald and that requires some tight [ __ ] oneandone jumps and they're not all a hassle to get it's just those select few that hit you directly in the knees Guy high Zone seriously where the [ __ ] am I going here there's some clouds I need to bounce off of to reach the damn emerald and not to sound racist but they all look the damn same if you don't get all six chaos elal before reaching this Silver Sonic knockoff you can't reach the true final zone of this game one of the earliest but certainly not the last instance where the finale is locked behind the chaos emeralds which leads me into my second trigger word tails the thing I remember the most about 8bit Sonic 2 is the fate of my buddy old pow little fox boy if I didn't grab all the emeralds you don't get the final stage and the game just suddenly ends with Sonic running off into the night only stopping to stare at the night's sky with a distant memory of tales looming over him oh my God the tals die oh [ __ ] oh [ __ ] my player two my meat Shield my wingman no really he drove my [ __ ] plane oh God he's dead oh I [ __ ] up as a kid I was [ __ ] mortified I played so much Genesis Sonic 2 where Tails was always by my side he get me into trouble on occasion okay a lot stop that but he had my back he could score some extra hits he rescues me after I destroy the death EG I me what a guy and I [ __ ] failed him oh Jesus I felt like UT falling to my Doom but to be fair the handang glider is only a thing you must deal with in the second zone of the game and additional browny points to Sonic too every Zone here is unique to this game you won't find any BR Aesthetics from 16bit Sonic 2 The Only Exception Being Green Hills Zone not Green Hill Zone Green Hills Zone the S makes all the difference apparently and there's something to each Zone that gives them their own identity For Better or Worse mind you the mine carts in the underground Zone the hand glider in Sky High Zone the water skipping and Tube section in aqua Lake the screen crunching Green Hills the [ __ ] screen crunching Green Hills the gravity drums and gimmick mountain and these [ __ ] tubes in scrambled egg Zone this game is short but pretty [ __ ] testicle kicking all the same and I deeply recommend if you feel you must play this go after the Master System version it has a higher resolution and you'd be surprised how much that mitigates [ __ ] I mean there's still the damn hand glider and scrambled egg Zone with all this crazy and wacky tube [ __ ] but I can actually see more than 3 cenm ahead of me I can act appropriately I can react appropriately the bosses are no problem I can get the chaos eald easily here I can reach the final Zone which is confusingly easier than the Zone before before this game is only now taking pity on me Sonic 2 on the mash system is all right despite the absence of some classic elements but most importantly I could rescue my buddy Tails here and that feels good good to have you back bud I'm going to teach you how to defend your ass next time how do you feel about explosive devices and there you have it the beginning of Sonic's handheld career not bad altogether and until we leave The Game Gear scene I'll stress again that the best way to experience these if you feel you want to spend the time on them at all is to purchase one of these Sonic mayia collections it's just the best way to go about them the smart thing to do and you get so many options to choose from at a budgeted price so next up in the marathon is what I like to call the Sonic and tales duology in Japan they're known as Sonic and tales one and two respectively uh but we over here know them as Sonic chaos and Sonic triple trouble so tune in next time to see if they're worth our time at all I'm sort of heading into these as a newbie I've dabbled into them long time ago but now I finally have an excuse to finish them so what will I think well we'll find out next time with all that said thank you all for watching have yourselves a Fant fantastic night and take care did the hand motion a little late there on that send off but [ __ ] it whatever I'm already Fad in the black thanks for tuning in guys I did it [Music] again

Channel: SomecallmeJohnny

Views: 844,215

Keywords: Somecallmejohnny, Somecallmejohnny Video, Somecallmejohnny Review, Johnny vs, Video Game Review, Somecallmejohnny Sonic, Somecallmejohnny Sonic The Hedgehog, Somecallmejohnny Sonic 1, Somecallmejohnny Sonic 2, Johnny vs. Sonic, Johnny vs. Sonic The Hedgehog, Johnny vs. Sonic 1, Johnny vs. Sonic 2, Sega Master System, Sega Game Gear

Id: 6mEV1TSYQ5s

Length: 15min 20sec (920 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 17 2016