Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)
From Video Game Morgue File
Sonic the Hedgehog is a 1991 platform game released by Sega in June 1991. The first installment in the series of the same name, it would prove to be a massive success in the West, bolstering sales of the Mega Drive (Genesis in North America) and establishing it as a serious rival to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
History
Previews
Magazine covers
Features
Reader letters
Advertising
Reviews
Games-X
🇬🇧 June 27 - July 3, 1991
🇬🇧 June 27 - July 3, 1991
Frequently compares the game to Super Mario World, down to printing scores for both titles at the end
Miscellaneous
Forum posts
Usenet (rec.games.video)
- "more on MD Fan and Beep! MD" - Sir Han J. Lee summarizes upcoming games seen in two Japanese magazines, including Sonic the Hedgehog (August 9, 1990)
- "SEGA NEWS -part 3" - Sir Han J. Lee updates their list of upcoming Mega Drive games, once again including Sonic the Hedgehog; one of the replies comments on the notion that it's "SEGA's answer to Mario and Bonk" (November 5, 1990)
- "Lynx Shanghai, more CES game news" -
- "I played the Super Famicom" - in a mostly unrelated thread, Dave Taylor proclaims that Sonic "will be HOT HOT HOT" based on its showing at that year's Winter CES (January 14, 1991)
- "Turbo Grafx Dying?????" - a reply to this thread mentions Sonic as an "expected standout" based on the 1991 Winter CES (March 8, 1991)
- "Ces" - Eric Glover discusses the games and consoles on offer at CES, including a claim that "Sonic ***NUKED*** anything I saw, heard, wished was on the Super Famicon [sic] that day" (June 11, 1991)
- "SONIC the Hedgehog (Genesis) is out!" - a short thread praising the game that confirms that it was released in portions of California on June 11, 1991 (the day the OP was posted)
- "Sonic 'Hog News Wanted" - a user solicits opinions on the game, with details indicating some people had received it prior to the official American release date (June 12, 1991)
- "Sonic" - a short thread with a reply claiming that the game sold out in portions of Washington (June 13, 1991)
- "Move over Mario, SONIC is here!!!" - Ken Clarke's first impressions of the game are glowing, going so far as to say that it trumps every Mario game available at the time (June 13, 1991)
- "Sonic The Hedgehog" - Lee Thompson notes that the game released in Seattle, Washington that day and opens a discussion about its merits (June 14, 1991)
- "Sonic and Star Control..." - before asking a question about Star Control, Gregory Legowski expresses his fondness for Sonic and claims it's "a hit with my entire apartment building!" (June 17, 1991)
- "Sonic Mania" - Han Lee mentions that the game was "sold out practically everywhere," to the point where Electronic Boutique set up a wait list to purchase it (June 18, 1991)
- "Star Control Review wanted (plus some misc. stuff!)" - Larry J Brackney deviates from the main purpose of the thread to offer some thoughts on Sonic (June 18, 1991)
- "Can't find Sonic; Help!" - Dylan Ginsburg can't find the game anywhere around Washington, D.C. and requests help, only to find it at a Babbage's less than a day later (June 18, 1991)
- "What's the big deal with Sonic?" - Doug Quarnstrom questions the hype surrounding the game; two others explain why they love it so much (June 19, 1991)
- "Sonic impressions" - a moderately positive but skeptical review of the game, with a considerable amount of debate afterward (June 21, 1991)
- "Mario -vs- Sonic" - a debate comparing Sonic to the first and third Mario games, primarily (circa June 29, 1991)
- "Sonic - Labyrinth Act 3" - Steve Jonke asks for advice on handling the titular level's boss, then expresses fondness for the zone as a whole (July 31, 1991)
- "flashing dot on lynx" - a thread which derails into sharing impressions on contemporary games, Sonic included (August 18, 1991)
- "Post Sonic Blues ... what to do..." - a reply to an older thread that explains the level select cheat and mentions that their friends are addicted to the game (circa September 17, 1991)
References
- ↑ "SONIC the Hedgehog (Genesis) is out!" (rec.games.video post from June 11, 1991)
- ↑ This Usenet thread, dated June 12, 1991, mentions that some people in the USA had managed to obtain and play a copy of the game as early as the previous day.
- ↑ At least two different magazine ads - one that ran in Beep! MegaDrive and one that ran in Mega Drive Fan - provide this release date for the game.
- ↑ Sega of Japan mentions this date on two separate web pages: their game history and their page for the game's Wii Virtual Console release.
- ↑ "New Mega Drive/Genesis releases (MD Fan, Beep! MD June issue)" (rec.games.video post from June 5, 1991)
