This article is about the 2013 remake. For other uses, see Sonic the Hedgehog (disambiguation).

Sonic the Hedgehog, also known as Sonic the Hedgehog Classic, is a remastered version of the 16-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Mega Drive. It was developed by Christian Whitehead and Headcannon using the Retro Engine, the same game engine used for the 2011 remaster of Sonic the Hedgehog CD. The game was first announced by Sega on 26 March 2013.^[2] It was released in May 2013 for iOS and Android devices, with the iOS version being a free update to those who purchased the earlier port of the game. It was also included in Sonic Origins.

Plot[]

Main article: Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)#Plot

In his diabolical quest to acquire the legendary Chaos Emeralds, Dr. Eggman (AKA Dr. Ivo Robotnik) has invaded South Island, where he has snatched the local Animals on the island and using them to power his "Badniks". Shortly after his arrival, South Island has been littered with a brigade of these Badniks and filled with dangerous traps.^[3]

Having learned of Eggman's actions, Sonic the Hedgehog rushes to South Island to thwart his plans. In the end, Sonic manages to collect the Chaos Emeralds and defeat the doctor, freeing the island from his rule.

Gameplay[]

Main article: Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)#Gameplay

Trying to emulate the physics of the original Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog is a 2D side-scrolling platform video game. The game also uses an autosave feature that saves the player's progress at certain points.

Like in the original game, Sonic the Hedgehog is divided into seven Zones, all of which have three Acts each with a battle against Dr. Eggman at the end of the third Act (with the exception of Final Zone, which is a single, short Act). The goal is to finish each Act in under ten minutes. Rings are found in each Act, where collecting one hundred of them will award an extra life, as well as grant points. They also serve as a form of protection, for if the player touches a Badnik or a hazard, they will survive at the cost of losing all of their Rings. And if they are hit without any Rings, they'll lose a life. The player will also lose a life if they either fall into a bottomless pit, get crushed, drown underwater or run out of time. Upon losing a life, the player will restart the current Act from either the beginning or at the last Star Post they passed. If all lives are lost, the game is over, but the game can be resumed if the player has obtained Continues.

New features[]

• The Spin Dash is now included as an optional move.
• Despite not being officially introduced yet in the series, Miles "Tails" Prower and Knuckles the Echidna are unlockable characters, with mild tweaks to the level design to accommodate their gameplay. They both retain the same movesets they had in Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Tails can also accompany Sonic like he did in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles.
  • Tails is unlocked by completing the game once while Knuckles is unlocked by completing the game with all six Chaos Emeralds.
• While playing as Sonic and Tails, the player is able to control Tails' flight by pressing jump while holding up. Sonic can then jump onto Tails' arms and control him to fly around until he tires or lands on solid ground.
• A hidden seventh Chaos Emerald and Special Stage was included via Level Select.
  • As such, super transformations of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles are also enabled.
  • Another "custom" Special Stage is accessible via Level Select where it can be designed and edited by the player using Debug Mode. Once saved, it will then become the current seventh Special Stage that will override the default seventh Special Stage.
• A Time Attack mode is included.
• The hidden Level Select has now the style of that from Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

Changes[]

• The game now plays in widescreen and supports 60 FPS.
  • Due to this, the arena of the Egg Wrecker boss fight in Green Hill Zone now has a wider arena.
  • The arena of the Egg Stinger boss fight now has two solid gilders on the sides.
  • Due to this, during the Egg Crusher boss fight, the player can avoid the pistons by simply going to the far left or right of the screen.
• The Egg Wrecker can no longer be prematurely attacked until the wrecking ball has been fully deployed.
• The life HUD is now displayed at the top-right corner of the screen as opposed to being located at the bottom-left corner of the screen. However, in the Apple TV version of the game, the life HUD is shown at the bottom-left corner.
• The title screen now changes based on the player's characters. As such, it can alternatively display Miles "Tails" Prower in Sonic the Hedgehog (for Tails alone), Sonic the Hedgehog & Tails (for Sonic and Tails) or Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic the Hedgehog (for Knuckles alone).
• Spikes on the wall and Rings in the air that can only be reached by Tails or Knuckles have been added above the Lamp Post between the two S-tunnels near the end of Green Hill Zone Act 1.
• Special Stages now rotate smoothly.

Modes[]

Time Attack[]

Main article: Time Attack

Time Attack is a new mode exclusive to this game in which the player has to pass Acts in the least amount of time possible. The only playable character here is Sonic. All 1-Up Item Boxes are removed, but the time HUD also counts milliseconds. Also, Special Stages here count time, but not points or Rings.

When using Time Attack, the players select a Zone and Act to race through; the Acts available depend on how far the player has gotten in the game. Upon completing an Act, the player is graded based on their time. The game saves and records the player's best times, which can be compared to those on a personal list of best time logs.

Help & Options[]

Help & Options is the settings menu of Sonic the Hedgehog, which holds the following options:

• Instructions: A short summary about the plot of the game followed by basic controls, gimmicks, and objects.
• Settings: The settings menu of the game.
  • Music: Change the volume of the background music.
  • Sound FX: Change the volume of the sound effects.
  • Spindash: Toggles the ability to use the Spin Dash in gameplay.
  • Box Art: Changes the region of the box art and cartridge in the menu.
  • Controls: Various control settings for gameplay.
    • D-Pad Size: Changes the size of in gameplay.
    • D-Pad Opacity: Changes the opacity of in gameplay.
    • Additionally, the player is able to drag to change the position in gameplay. However, it can only be in the bottom corner.
    • Reset: Resets the configurable options back to the defaults.
• About: Indicates the current version of Sonic the Hedgehog.
• Staff Credits: Lists the staff who worked on the remaster.
• Set Age: Allows the player to set their age. This does not change gameplay.
• Interest-Based Ads: Changes the ads shown in-game from random to personalized. This does not remove the ads, however.

Achievements[]

Image	Name	Description
	Blast Processing	Clear Green Hill Zone Act 1 in under 30 seconds.
	Bombs Away	Defeat the boss in Starlight Zone using only the see-saw bombs.
	Flawless Pursuit	Clear the boss in Labyrinth Zone without getting hurt.
	Ring King	Collect 200 Rings.
	Ramp Ring Acrobatics	Without touching the ground, collect all the Rings in a trapezoid formation in GHZ Act 1.
	One For the Road	As a parting gift, land a final hit on Dr. Eggman's escaping Egg Mobile.
	Secret of Marble Zone	Travel through a secret room in Marble Zone Act 3.
	Block Buster	Break 16 blocks in a row without stopping.
	Chaos Connoisseur	Collect all the Chaos Emeralds.
	Hidden Transporter	Collect 50 Rings and take the hidden transporter path in Scrap Brain Act 2.
	Beat the Clock	Complete the Time Attack mode in less than 45 minutes.

Reception[]

Reception to this version of Sonic the Hedgehog has mainly been positive. David Oxford of Gamezebo, who gave a rating of 4.5/5, praised the game's new features, sound quality and the customisable but still felt that the virtual controls can be tricky. However, he believed that the inclusion of Tails and Knuckles seems to "feel slightly out of place." In addition, he has also noted a few bugs and oddities.^[4] Chris Buffa of Modojo, who also gave a rating of 4.5/5, agreed Oxford about the touch control issue.^[5]

In the Google Play store, Sonic the Hedgehog holds a rating of 4.3/5 based on 258,048 reviews.^[6]

Cheat codes[]

• Level Select and Sound Test: Start a game in "NO SAVE MODE". At the opening Sega logo, touch the letters S-E-G-A in that order. If done correctly, a chime will sound. When the title screen appears, press the screen with two fingers at once or just hold them on the screen. The new Level Select screen will then appear, looking very similar to the one from Sonic the Hedgehog 2. One can change their playable character, Spin Dash options, speed cap options, and Spikes options (activating the old lack of invulnerability for spikes or not).
  • An alternate method to unlocking the Level Select is by using the gamepad: On the title screen, press ↑ ↓ ← → . If done correctly, a chime will sound, signifying the code having worked.
• All Chaos Emeralds: Go to the Level Select Sound Test and play the following tunes in this order: 04, 01, 02, and 06.
• Super Sonic: On the Level Select Sound Test, perform the All Chaos Emeralds code then change the Max Emeralds setting from 6 to 7. Sonic can then transform into Super Sonic after collecting 50 Rings in any Act. After changing the value to seven, the All Chaos Emeralds code should be input again. This can also be used for Super Tails and Super Knuckles.
• Play any Special Stage: At the Level Select Sound Test, play any of the tunes between 00-07, then select Special Stage.
• Debug Mode: From the Level Select Sound Test, play sounds 01, 09, 09, 01, 00, 06, 02, 03 in that order. After starting a level, tap the GUI in the top-left corner of the screen to toggle Debug Mode.
  • This code is a reference to the release date of the original Sonic the Hedgehog, 23 June 1991.
• Character Select: From the Level Select, the player options from 00-03 each correspond to a different character:
  • 0 is Sonic and Tails
  • 1 is Sonic
  • 2 is Tails
  • 3 is Knuckles.
• Change Tails' name to Miles / Hidden developer credits - When the Sega logo appears, tap the letters A-G-E-S in that order. This can be done either in starting a new game normally or in No Save Mode. This change will apply to Tails' life count along with the title screen changing to Sonic the Hedgehog & Miles. This will also enable the hidden developer credits in the game's intro.
  • An alternate method to enabling this is by using the gamepad: On the title screen, press ↑ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↑ . If done correctly, a chime will sound, signifying the code having worked.
• 8th Special Stage / Special Stage Editor - Enable level select and Debug mode, then play sound 07 in the Sound Test and select Special Stage. This will load a unique "CUSTOM" Special Stage that can be edited with Debug mode through new "Load", "Save" and "Clear" icons.

Trivia[]

• The "Metallic Madness "P" mix" track from Sonic the Hedgehog CD was used during the game's trailer.
• At the Sega logo, if the player taps the letters A-G-E-S, then instead of the "SONIC TEAM PRESENTS" screen, the player is treated to a screen displaying hidden credits in Japanese as seen in the image to the right.
• After playing the game, the player may receive a notification that reads: "Thank you Sonic! But the Chaos Emeralds are in another zone! 💎". This is a reference to the infamous quote said by the Toads in Super Mario Bros.: "THANK YOU MARIO! BUT THE PRINCESS IS IN ANOTHER CASTLE!"
• The player can also get a notification that says "Can you feel the sunshine? Does it brighten up your day?", a reference to a song from Sonic R.
• There was a glitch which prevented the player from using the Sound Test feature if they were using touch controls. Touching the play button only advanced the track number by 16 spots (since the tracks are numbered in hexadecimal format) instead of playing the selected track. Using controllers paired with mobile devices however would still work with Sound Test as normal. This was fixed in later versions.

Videos[]

• Launch trailer (2013)
• Launch trailer (Sega Forever)

References[]

External links[]

• Official website
• Sonic the Hedgehog Classic at the Google Play Store
• Sonic the Hedgehog Classic at the Apple App Store
• Sonic the Hedgehog (2013) at The Cutting Room Floor