Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic The Hedgehog. This is the game that started it all for the blue blur. Sonic 1 was announced at a concert for Japanese pop band, Dreams Come True, where Sonic was painted on the sides of the band's tour buses.
Story
Dr. Eggman, an evil genius, has been snatching up animals from South Island and transforming them into mindless robots. Throughout the island are six Chaos Emeralds, which hold amazing powers. Eggman is set on destroying his arch-enemy with the powers of the emeralds. Enter Sonic the Hedgehog - a blue, spiky critter with red sneakers and massive impatience. Using speed and his spin attack, he'll save his animal friends and take down Eggman.
Gameplay
The gameplay mechanics are simple:. Hit any button to make Sonic jump into a spinning attack; the longer the button is held down, the higher he jumps. The D-pad causes Sonic to run in the specified direction while tapping down when running makes the hog spin into a ball, damaging any enemies and allowing massive speed gains.
Sonic's life isn't dependent on a health bar, but on rings. Rings are scattered throughout the levels, and as long as you have at least one ring, you can take a hit from an enemy. If you're out of rings and take damage, however, you can kiss one life goodbye. Picking up 100 rings will do just the opposite and give an extra life.
Lampposts lie throughout the game, and will change colors when you pass by them. On the chance that you lose a life, instead of restarting the whole level, you'll restart at the last lamppost. Also scattered throughout the levels are video monitors that contain helpful items. Jump on them to open the boxes and activate their contents. The super ring will give you ten rings. The shield will protect you from one attack from an enemy. Power sneakers make you run faster (And bump up the tempo of the music). The one-up gives you an extra life. The invincibility box encircles you with stars and protects you from any enemy attacks. It also allows you to damage an enemy by merely touching it. But don't sit around, Sonic isn't invincible forever, as the effect only lasts a short while.
Zones
Each zone in the game is made up of three acts, of which the final contains a boss.
Green Hill Zone - The first zone, filled with the styling that has now become a staple of the Sonic series - checkered ground, palm trees, and lots of loops. The zone is home to the badniks Chopper, Moto Bug, and Crabmeat.
Marble Zone
Labyrinth Zone
Spring Yard Zone
Starlight Zone
Scrap Brain Zone
Codes
Control Mode - Enter up, C, down, C, left, C, right at the the title screen. When you enter the game, hit pause and then A to restart, B for slow motion, and C for frame advance.
Debug Mode - Enter the code above, and after hitting start to begin the game, hold A until Sonic appears on your screen. Hex numbers should appear in the corner of the screen if you've entered the code correctly. Press B to enter debug mode while playing. Use A to cycle through sprites and C to place that sprite on the screen.
Level Select & Sound Test - At the title screen, enter up, down, left, right. Hold A and press Start.
Confused Demo - Wait for the demo to start, then press A, B, and C simultaneously. Sonic should start acting pretty weird.
Chaos Emeralds - Having trouble getting all of the chaos emeralds while playing through the game? Enter the level select code and select the Special Stage. After you get the emerald, reset the game and repeat until you have all the emeralds. Every once in a while, it may reset the emeralds.