This channel so so underground and underrated. Honestly I have seen these videos multiple times AND now... I love your voice so much that I just leave this playing in the background when i sleep lol Rewetting the sonic, donkey kong, and metered series are just... I could watch them forever. Thank you
I'm assuming you don't mean Revenge of Shinobi for GBA, lmao. That's the only one I played and is probably one of the worst games on the playform purely on a technical level
College is hard, so I thought, “Why not relax with some TH-cam?” Little did I know I’d be lectured about my work ethic. Why can I never escape responsibility??? cool vid tho
Here I am. I'm not really procrastinating, it's just that I forgot that my last english exam was live at school and not online like most exams up until that point. So now I'm depressed, I'm gonna fail this course because of that.
"Sonic is about going fast" is the most common misconception about Sonic games (right after "hold right / boost to win"; Sonic games are often actually deceptively hard)... Sonic is NOT about going fast. Sonic is about *_EARNING_* speed.
It's a common misconception because everything in the advertising around Sonic has _always_ been about how Sonic goes fast. And nothing in the game or the manual corrects this assumption. And if the notion is that you're meant to go slow, carefully scouting out the level, noting where the enemies are so that you can play better, know where to avoid, where the spikes are... then why criticize Marble Hill Zone for being slow? Frankly the notion that Sonic is or should actually be a slow game where you earn speed is baffling to me, and it seems more like an unintended side effect from having the screen zoomed in as much as it is. It feels, frankly, utterly unfun and unfair to be running around and then bam, just some spikes you couldn't possibly have seen coming unless you were slowly walking around which is very much _not_ what the game was (literally) sold to you as. So you get hit. Or there's an enemy in the way, and because you're running you just take a hit because you have so little time between the enemy appearing on screen and you impacting them, far too little time for you to really have a good chance to react unless you know it's coming. So I can't help but think that the notion that Sonic isn't about being fast, it's about earning speed, is just plain untrue. And if that was the intent of the game, then they did an incredibly poor job on every level, from the game design to the manual to the marketing, to getting that across to the player.
I actually liked the shorter zones in Sonic 2, because there were more of them, thus more diverse scenery. Three acts in the same zone is just a bit much...
Why do I find myself coming back to these videos over and over? They're freaking awesome, that's why! Superb work, man! Will definitely become a Patron soon...
The Geek Critique No problem! I look forward to seeing what's to come! In the mean time I shall ponder which Console I want you to do a Retrospective of :)
Man, I really appreciate these Sonic retrospectives. Otherwise I NEVER would've given these classics a second look. I wrote them off long ago as overrated and unenjoyable (probably at least in part thanks to Marble Zone) and yet after watching these videos, I've blown through Sonic 2, Sonic 3 and Knuckles and Sonic CD in a week, and they're all some of the best games I've ever played. I'm very thankful these videos inspired me to give these games another try.
Yeah the Marble Zone thing is reassuring. I'd been thinking "It's just the second stage and it's already next to impossible, clearly these games aren't for me"
I've just been going through your videos. All of them are brill, but this one in particular is astonishingly good. The bit about high school vs. college, and the comparison with Metroid Prime, are sheer genius. It's also made me want to go back and play through Sonic 2 for the umpteenth time, when, ironically, I have the responsibility to be doing uni work.
ShayMay Hey, thank you so much! Yeah, people who say, like, "Only the first level is fun, they just suck after that," are really missing the point. And funnily enough, I've been playing through Metroid Prime lately.
I have a similar connection with Sonic 2. It's one of my all-time favorite video games. I was obsessed with it as a kid, and have played through it countless times even till this day. I especially love the music. Lots of memories
"Yeah, metal gear solid three may have been the only piece of fiction to bring a tear to my eye" Me who gets emotional and occasionally teary-eyed everytime tails catches sonic at the end of the game: hEH-
DKC1 was the first game I ever loved. Back in '94, I was 4 years old, and the impact that game had on my imagination still effects me today! It's one of the reasons I became an artist! Everyone always scoffs at the idea of a video game having such a vibrant and liberating impact on ones creative mind, but video games are not just kids toys. They posses something special, and I hope one day ppl will acknowledge their profoundness on the same level as literature and film.
I'm actually planning on doing a DKC retrospective around November! And one thing I want to talk about is just what you said: Sonic came out in an era when everything looked like Mario, and it stood out by doing everything different. But three years later, attidudinal mascots were becoming just as old-hat, and DKC stood out by, once again, being very different from what anyone had ever seen.
I always find it interesting to hear someone’s first game, and how their experience with that first game effects their outlook on games in general. I can certainly say that my first game (which is still my all-time favourite) has effected my outlook and influenced how I’m designing my own game.
travelsonic Why though? Tails can only catch and lose rings that he cought. Which means that no matter how often he gets hit, there's never a benefit to play the special stages without him
I had Sonic 2 well before Sonic and Knuckles. And while I did enjoy playing Sonic 2, I didn't "love" the game even though that was the only game we had for the longest time. When I finally got Sonic and Knuckles, I instantly fell in love with it. I remember spending 8 hours playing the game all night on the weekends, and watching the sun rise up through our windows in the living room as I was making my way through Hidden Palace Zone. While Hidden Palace Zone didn't have much to it, in my opinion, it is by far the most beautiful Sonic stage of all time. I was literally blown away at how beautiful it looked the first time I went up that beam teleporter thing and saw that beautiful sight of the Death Egg off in the distance. To this day, I'm still not entirely sure what exactly it was showing, but my mind filled in the details. It looked as if the Death Egg was ascending into heaven with a level of glory and majesty rivaling Jesus himself with the Hidden Palace's mysterious and beautiful crystal environment below while the beautifully mysterious music of Lava Reef zone 2 played in the background. This was one of many things that made me love Sonic and Knuckles far more than any other Sonic game in existence.
"What was the first game you ever loved" For me it was a special little game called "X" X Beyond the Frontier to be precise. If I where to analyse it like you did with sonic 2 ... There are a few lessons I learned from it. 1) What game catches my eye? 2) What type of gamer am I? What hooked me was primarily: The story. The "Lost in space" notion is something which interests me imensely. Up untill the point, when I booted up X for the first time, Voice acting in gaming was stale, Uninspired and lazy for me. Even as I was 5 years old, It was something I noticed. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I realised, when something was just bland. I did not encounter any voice acting with effort and heart in it. Untill I booted the game. Most notably: It was the German Voice Acting which caught my ear so to speak. The English voice acting was bland ... so I am glad that I started playing it in german. The intro was interesting. A conflict between man and machine. So Called "Terraformer" or "AGI" (Artifically Generated Intelligence) which became self aware. Long long ago. The story of a Heroic fleet which lured the Teraformers through a jumpgate and detonated the gate, leaving Earth Isolated. Then after many years: You (the player) are the Pilot of an experimental craft, which can Jump without a Jumpgate, on its virgin flight. A perfect setting for a tutorial. Mission Controll is constantly explaining features to you, while repeating that they have to repeat it for legal reasons. While you fly and test the controlls, the Controll group is analysing the behaviour of the engine, energy reactor. A med crew is monitoring your vitals. Safety checks are being run through. All leading up to the test of the Experimental Jump Drive. There is a constant sense of dread hanging in the air. Minimal errors are being corrected on the fly. The importance of your mission is being repeated, since: There are still colonies isolated from earth. And with the loss of the jump gate leading to earth: the Drive would be the perfect way to bridge the gap, without allowing Terraformers to reach earth. Small interference has been noted. A Fix has been uploaded. Recalibration of the engine is successful. The countdown runs down and the Drive begins to work. _Ofcourse something goes wrong. But it is how it does, which caught my eye._ *Experimental Drive is starting* You can hear a metallic female voice saying that. That is your board computer. The German voiceover is SO much better here. (And I am one who would say: I'd rather speak english than german. I prefere the english lengauge) *10%* *20* *30* *40* *50%* *60* *70* *80* *90* *Initiate Jump* The Med Crew is monitoring your vitals. Scanning department is loosing your signal. Trying to compensate: Nothing works. His voice is getting desperate. Harsh contrast to the engine Crew. Monotone voice, as if he has done that a thousand times. "Engines look good. Board Computer is stable." and then: The shift. The same voice suddenly becomes confused and desperate. "Oh god. There it is again. Can you see that?" As a lightning strikes your shields. "There! That doesn't look good. Can we fix that from here?" Mission controll "The WHAT?" "System Controll here: Pilot abort mission. I repeat: Abort the jump! Can you hear me? Abort jumping! ABO..." You can not abort the jump. You can hear parts of your ship exploding. The Sound design is amazing here. You see smaller ships infront of you. You see small explosions. *"System Failure. Starting Check."* You hear the computer listing all types of systems which you JUST learned to use, be destroyed. *Shields destroyed* *Life Support system Destroyed* *Hull: Critical* *Conventional Engine: Intact* *Weapons: Not functional* You see ships flying around you and what seems to be a large building in space. You soon realise: That is no building. That is a ship. The Ship is calling you. You can see a Lizard type alien. "ARJTSUTSASIZ CRSUSRISA" *Audio Chanel contains Unknown Lenguage* "ESANSERUSES" *Universal Audio Computer is learning* "I THINK WE HAVE ACCHIEVED COMMUNICATION COMPATABILITY. I AM THE CAPTAIN OF THE DESTROYER PHEONIX OF THE TELADI COOPERATION. WE HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU! WE CAN NOT IDENTIFY YOUR SHIP TYPE, NOR YOUR SPECIES. IDENTIFY YOURSELF!" [Note: Every S is being spoke, as if he was a Snake in a disney movie. However: it works, since that is not the only Gimic of the species, and the dialogue does not force S into words where it doesn't belong.] And the game starts. The fact that after 19 years, I can still remember the exact word for word dialogue and sequence of events speaks volumes. One small thing here: The game looks like ass. Even for those standarts from 1999. However: The Voice acting and sequencing is so effective, that even today: I don't really care. This answers my First question: 1) What game catches my eye? I am a story driven player. Both story and Gameplay play a huge part, but a good story can overshadow weak graphics. After a short conversation with *Teladi Pheonix* you get basic information and a 1 MW Shield. After a few more questions he says: "AS I SAID: THAT WILL BE 3000 CREDITS." As you say, that you do not have any money, You get 100 credits from the Destroyer. There is a catch however: You have to pay this Destroyer back. 3500 credits. You now realise that they are a species with a weird fetish for Profit. That is the second gimic of this species. I say this species, because you allready know of a few species from this conversation: Argon (Human like), Split and XENON. Finally: The Teladi are installing navigational software and basic informational software into your systems. Ofcourse they also cost y... what? No actually that one is free as a Gift for a Stranger. Complexity is the keyword here. The characters are not 1 note. Some teladi are benevolent. Others turn pirates for profit or sell drugs. And with that: You are let loose in the universe. Yes: You can fly anywhere you want. Right from the getgo. The Split will Not tolerate you, except if you fight for them. The Xenon will hunt you. The Teladi Captain tells you "IF YOU SEE THE XENON. YOU ARE ALLREADY DEAD." The Argon do not know you. The Teladi tolerate you. The Boron (Bless those squids) are friendly. The Paranid are arrogant assholes. With some variants depending on the captain. Every race has different ships. Different weapons. Different trading goods. Some are at war with each other. You can build factories in space. Anywhere you want. You can install every weapon you can get. You can explore everything. So the answer to the second question is: Depth seeking. 2) What type of gamer am I? I seek games which can be broken beyond belief. I seek games which reward brain, instead of farm. I seek complex games. And here I am today. A Fan of Metroid (Super and Zero mission especially. Aswell as AM2R and Prime) Playing Strategy games or games with unique gimics. With complex story telling like Supreme Commander (1. Not 2) A sense of Wonder, like Subnautica. Exploration like Hollow Knight or Darksouls 1. One could say: X beyond the frontier shaped me into the gamer I am today. And as I am writing this, I have played through XBTF, X2, X3R, X3TC, X3AP, X3APXRelanacedMod (NOT X Rebirth because that one sucked ass). And just as I write this final sentence: I go on steam. Select X Beyond the Frontier. And Download it to play it through again. Because I saw alot. I saw [SPOILER REMOVED] in the Unknown Sectors. But I have never seen the ending. I know how it will end. I know [SPOILER 2 REMOVED] is in the Unknown Sectors and I have to destroy it. And this time: After 19 years: I will do it. Without ThereShallBeWings to open the cheating editor. : )
@@lagartijamuerta Mine too. I picked it up after a lot of crappy, difficult licensed games on my GBA SP, and it was just amazing. I actually really like the stylus controls. With the temple of the ocean king, while it was bothersome to get through at times, I felt smart finding the shortcuts to get through it more quickly. Then finally, after you get to the bottom of this deep temple, you are faced with a mysterious door. The following boss fight is one of my favorites in Zelda. It has such an epic feel, with the transition to full 3D. I wish they'd done something like that with Link Between Worlds or something. I also loved Spirit Tracks, which turns 10 today! When I found out about it, I was like "Zelda AND my childhood obsession with trains!?" I loved so much with this one too. It had a very divergent world and plot from the rear of Zelda, plus it had great music. Gosh I want a full on console game in Windwaker's style about Link and Tetra discovering New Hyrule. I feel like, however, that our poor friend Toon Link just isn't very popular...
@@andrelopez8728 That's an issue I have with the Zelda community. I don't enjoy Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, and at the bottom, Triforce heroes, as much as other Zelda games. However, I still like playing them, and I don't like throwing around the label "the worst Zelda game." I think that Triforce heroes is overly goofy and I never was interested in the idea of the fashion mechanic. But others might have had tons of fun with the multi-player, and love the game. I'm starting thankfully to hear more and more of a changing perspective on the DS games. Personally, I loved the stylus controls, and it was refreshing from playing these button mashing platformers on GBA.
I like it fine, I just think it's way too simplistic and easy, especially the dungeon designs. It's probably one of the weakest Zeldas I've played, but still not a bad game.
The first part of TGC's Sonic Retrospective is here! Inexplicably, we start out by examining what I learned from Sonic the Hedgehog 2... the most influential game I ever played.
I've got to say, while your content is superb quality I've got to disagree with your conclusion. I think nostalgia is colouring your judgment a lot here, because Sonic is to me really flawed game design with uneven pacing, that relies on barreling through a level into you've memorised it, or going slowly and defeating the entire object of the game...
I had never thought of speed as reward! Reward systems are usually quite rigid: more sparkles on screen, more items, more resources.... but more stimulation, that's probably the best incentive.
I played Sonic 2 first. It's my favorite Sonic game and one of my favorite games of all time. The Music was amazing when I was a kid and rivaled that of Donkey Kong Country. Mystic Cave Zone is my favorite Sonic tune. That lack of a spin dash really threw me for a loop when I tried to play 1.
Sonic 2 was the first game i truly loved and beat at 5 years old with my 2 year old brother tagging along as Tails while my parents were lying in bed one weekend and watched us play from beginning to end. Gaming became more than just a challenge or an immersive escape. They taught me the reward for patience and learning and to never giving up and to share in the joy... I was a lucky child as my Father owned two video game stores in the early 90's so i had free reign to almost any game on Nintendo or Sega if i wanted it... and yet, it's a testament of sorts that my first completion of a game Was Sonic 2 in 1995 having been playing it since i was literally 3 years old. If it weren't for Sonic, the splendor of gaming may never have resonated with me as a child in the same way... I count my lucky Emerald's that life worked out like that for me. Not saying other games couldn't have had the same impact on others. But my personal gaming history start's in 1993 with Sonic. Thanks for the video @The Geek Critique your words really moved me when i thought back to what Sonic once meant to me...
7:46 FUCK that pit. Imagine getting stuck in it as Super Sonic and just slowly watching as your ring counter goes down so you can kill yourself. Luckily I was playing on the mega collection so I just reopened my most recent save but imagine that on the Genesis.
You caught me off guard using the music from Bridge Zone from the Master System game. If I was expecting it, I'd probably have been OK but by the 3:30 seconds mark I was in tears. I love that game, I love that zone, I love that music. I don't know why it's that zone and not Green Hill; but Bridge Zone is my first fully formed memory of video games, from my first ever games console. Hearing that song always brings me back to a moment of pure joy, the moment when I discovered what gaming was. It will always be one of my fondest memories; and something I'm so thankful that my parents introduced me to. That song legitimately makes me feel overwhelmed every time I hear it; but hearing it while someone waxes lyrical about learning about gaming for the first time. Let's just say I understand completely.
Never have I found myself more compelled by an opening question of a video essay. I had to pause and genuinely *think* about what the answer might be for me, and I thought about it for a good 5-10 minutes. Landed on something a little obscure that doesn't really hold up anymore, but still.
Nice review. Despite being born at the tail end of the 90s, I was still able to play the classic Sonic games via Sonic Mega Collection + on the PS2. While I agree with you how the video games we first play shape how we judge other games, I think games played much later in life can still define what you perceive a game should be. For example, while the Sonic games did shape my expectations of games (I was somewhat surprised at how other games of the era re-use assets, and was underwhelmed by the overall linearity of the classic Mario games), older games I played and finished years after I picked up a controller still influenced my view on games (Zelda, Kingdom Hearts, **METROID**, Mega Man, etc.) For some, I feel the standard for games is set in stone, but oftentimes, I find it more flexible than one would expect.
The first game that I ever truly loved was Roller Coaster Tycoon. Which I still play to this day, I too think it's a perfect game, although I'm sure there are flaws to it.
Many of my ideas for Games revolve around Skill. They present you with a difficult problem and many MANY ways to solve it, but it's up to the Player to discover the right way to solve the problem. However, that may not be the best way to fix the problem so it will also be up to the player to try again differently if they want to improve their time. It's about avoiding the grind and training the player to discover and push the limits of the character in as many ways as possible so that they feel like an absolute badass by the end of it. They aren't a badass because they grinded to reach a high level, they're a badass because they've trained themselves into one.
I've watched this video so many times and it never gets old. Great stuff, like all your work, and it perfectly captures why I love these older games so much.
My first Sonic game was 3, and it introduced me to something that would define my gaming life and a good chunk of my gaming interests-co-op play, courtesy of my older brother.
The end of this was downright inspirational. I honestly have been having a rough week and this damn near made me tear up. I can't believe it considering I'm watching a TH-cam overview of a genisis game. But on a game related note, sonic was what always interested me in gaming when I was young but my mom had had a nes so I ended up with a snes (which I loved) but sonic was always my "dream game" that I only got to play at some friends houses and man I loved that, I've since bought or downloaded every sonic release in the past few years and honestly have a few hundred hours in sonic adventure 2 (I had an addiction to the gcn Chao garden and it's linking to the gba version as well). But to stop rambling, I just wanted to say thank you sir! Keep up the amazing work
I was more of a Mario child, so I tend to like more challenging games where I was forced to become skilled before I could beat the levels. Thanks to this video, I know why I don't like the Classic Sonic Games, as of the writing of this comment: I thought it was about going fast, but then I couldn't really go fast, because I completely missed that I could become good enough to go this fast. To me, Mario established that games are about the game itself preparing you for the next challenges, where you literally couldn't complete the next level if you couldn't proof that you learnt from the previous level. Until this video, I never knew that games could also be about being easily completed but increasingly more fun the better you become. Maybe I should try Sonic 2 after knowing this.
Loved sonic since I was about 5 thanks to this game. It wasn't until I was 9 I owned any kind of sonic game. Until then, my learning experience was vastly different to yours... I learned in little pockets, especially on the Sonic 2 multiplayer mode. Getting it and a Master System, meanwhile, honed my platforming skills. I remember how proud I felt finishing Sonic 1 on Master System (which turned out to be very very easy) then sonic 2 on master system (very easy). By the time I emulated it as an adult, I'd honed those skills enough that it was fun, not too easy but not frustrating either.
Pokemon Sapphire was the first video game I ever loved. It taught me that boss rushes aka the Elite Four are hard. Awesome video critique, keep it up. :D
You know, I like games. Fun, interesting, exciting, but love? Love is a strong word with a strong emotion. I never felt anything like love towards a game until I was an adult. What game was it? The Mass Effect trilogy. I had never felt genuine crushing depression and a broken heart in a game until Ashley flirted with James right in front of me. I spent the trilogy getting at her, and I never realized my brain was releasing the same chemicals as love until that moment. Man, what an epic trilogy.
The first game I ever played was Super Mario World when I was 3 or 4. I was a bit too young to be able to understand what I was doing. I’d play many games between then and when I visited my cousin’s house when I was 6 and started up his Sega Genesis. There I had my first taste of Sonic 2, I was blown away and hooked. I didn’t have a copy of my own so I always had to play it somewhere else, I always remember getting stuck at Wing fortress zone at my babysitters. I’ve had an interesting relationship with Sonic but even though Sonic 3&Knuckles is probably my favorite(SA2 is up there) I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Sonic 2
Dude, I didn't hear a word you were saying while the special stage music was playing because Sonic 2 special stage music is a friggen JAM and I couldn't help but sing it while it was playing!
beautifully done! i still have my original sega w/ sonic 2 and break it out every few months or so. videos like this will always make me reminisce the days of old
My first video game I ever truly loved was MK64. Rainbow Road was a blast, and toads turnpike was somewhat insane. The Luigi Circuit was pretty cool with the Hot Air Balloon coming down to give a high level item. There were no cutscenes. Or at least I'm pretty sure of that.
Your early memories of gaming seem to mirror mine. Getting a Megadrive with Sonic 2 is one of my fondest Xmas memories (I do have some nostalgia for Robocod for the Atari ST beforehand though). :D I'm mixed about the shorter linear levels, while it makes it a bit more predictable in places, it also makes it more fun for a quick play experience than the other games. Great for guys like me with a terrible attention span. One can only wonder how the intended version with time travel, a third as many levels and all that glitz would have fared.
ToonReel001 Yeah, I always liked how quick Sonic 2 could be completed once you had the game down. When I was in high school, trying to sort out complicated teenage issues, I used to play through the whole game and just think. And more often than not, by the time I was rushing out of the Death Egg around 40 minutes later, I'd have something worked out. It was like meditation, but better because Sonic 2. xD
The Geek Critique Yeah, I think Sonic 2's replay value was improved by lacking those jarring finicky elements you talked about in Sonic 1. It makes it a bit more simplistic and mindless than the others, but it is so in a manner that's fun and not dumbing down the experience (harder isn't always 'better', as shown with the 8 bit version). Even the co op seemed designed in a 'tap in whenever you feel like it' manner. It's a good game to get introduced to the series, which conveniently I hear a lot of gamers did.
You know, I've been playing Sonic 2 almost as long as you have (got my MegaDrive in '93, didn't play Sonic 2 until like '95), and there was so much you covered there that I never considered. Good work. :)
"The game doesn't throw you into some nonsense cutscene about Tails meeting Sonic" Been replaying these games in Sonic Origins while listening to this as background and this part got a chuckle out of me bcs Sonic 2 now has that lol
The first video game I ever played. It has a special place in my heart and it made me who I am today. 23 years later, its still are the greatest game ever. PERIOD ❤
Iam glad I found your channel my friend Sonic 2 was my first and I remember as a kid hearing chemical zone and fucking getting down the 90s was a great time to be a kid. Thanks for the nostalgia I hope your channel gets to where it deserves
I remember as a kid seeing that sonic got through act such and such and taking a deep breath sigh like whew alright let’s do it again especially in the first game
when my and my brother get my genesis with sonic 2 bundle (1998 a little bit late). we dont ate, we dont slept for that night. it was so awesome have that console finally. (theres no masive internet back then to play it anyway) no other console make such impact to me, like the genesis. maybe the dreamcast :D
Really enjoying your reviews! I like how you really dig deep to analyze WHY these games are so great, as opposed to just saying you like them. I too share your love for Sonic 2. Like you, it was the first game I ever owned. That's right, I played Sonic 2 before playing the original. I devoted hours to forcing myself to get better and better. Dying and having to restart the game, until I had finally honed my skills enough to beat every Zone. This sense of progression through adversity had such a big impact on my young, impressionable mind, and because of it video games remain my favorite form of media. Probably entertainment as a whole. Sonic 2 was a definite step up from the original. The gameplay encouraged speed, mostly ditching the more confining levels of the original. Tails became an instant hit, though it is a bummer the lil' guy couldn't fly yet. There were more Zones. More bosses. Sonic went up into the sky and even space (albeit briefly). And there was the reward for collecting the chaos emeralds. Being able to transform into Super Sonic was pretty much the single coolest thing back in the day! Sure it makes everything easy as pie, but it was for the time, the ultimate power fantasy! Sonic 2 was bigger and better than the original in virtually every single way, with multiple quality of life updates and even the beginning hints of narrative in these games. A stone cold classic!
I hadn't thought of the "first game you ever loved" connection before. Mine was Dragon Quest 3-or Dragon Warrior III as it was called at the time-and I've just realized that I tend to judge RPGs by how well they hold to its standards.
This review is very damn good! And yeah, I was introduced into sonic the hedgehog 2 as my first video game of all time too. I can also relate on the random aimless running around in emerald hill, that’s exactly where I found myself when I first picked the controller up.
Skyrim, I've grown past Skyrim and as of recent it's been Dark Souls and Dishonored. I played Dark Souls in 2013 and Dishonored LAST YEAR. I was missing such a good game for so long.
Sonic 2 is the first game i ever beat and it was hard, but now its easy tho the adventure of beating it for the first time filled me with the most reward I have ever felt. 6/18/17
Ah, that feeling of not to know what the abilities they give you actually do and just using them without any logic until something makes you understand what kind of situations they are designed to be used in, and not to use this knowledge on the game and keep spamming it every time in a senseless way but at the situations you know they work(not counting the times you use other skills in a creative way in order to overcome the obstacles in a more enjoyable manner, or in anyone if you are so dumb that don't realize that the thing you have just done before is able to be applied to this "new" sittuation) because you are too young and focusless, how mqny good memories...
I know this is old now, and I have no idea whether you'll read this, but for sure the first game I loved was Sly 2. It wasn't even a game I owned, it was a game my friends had, but it was the first game that I really got to love.
Sonic 2 is my most favorite game of the generation, maybe it might be my most favorite game ever. It got me hooked with the speed I tend to play most Mario games like I am playing a Sonic game.
The first video game I ever loved would have to be The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time. My brother was 4 years older than me, so we got the Gamecube when he was 7 and I was 3. He was definitely old enough to understand games, but I could barely speak. Ocarina of Time taught me how to be curious, how to appreciate atmosphere, how to READ. I was so dedicated to the game that I beat it by myself before I got to 1st grade. I still wholeheartedly adore this game, even though I am well aware of its flaws and shortcomings. Although these days it probably wouldn't even rank in my Top 50 favorite games, I will always have a soft spot for it. It made me want to be a gamer, and the Zelda series is one of my favorites to this day.
First game I loved is Donkey Kong for the original Gameboy. The puzzle platforming is perfectly executed. It's similar to what you liked about Sonic games. As the world's progressed you were presented with more an more gimmicks that required you to figure out how to assemble them to complete the puzzle. Mario never got more powerful, but you had to get more skilled using him. This game was part of a pair that my parent's bought for me and my brother with our first Gameboys. Unfortunately I found that other game unspeakably boring and could never bear playing it for more than a few minutes: Pac Man.
Just like you I was introduced to video games thru Sonic , Sonic CD was the very first game I've ever played I'm so glad I found a channel and someone in my same age group with the same name as me none the less the has the same love for Sonic as me you're Amazing and I'm glad to see the progress you made keep up the good work,,, PS. I was curious to know your input on the Sonic book series of games that came out on the wii if you haven't Make a video about it you should but I'll keep looking, cheers comrade
0:04 Lego Star Wars The Complete Saga. My dad got a wii with Wii Sports, COD, and Lego Star Wars for my birthday in 2007. I wasn't allowed to play COD, but man did I play the other two. Over time, we got a few more games, but by the time I was really getting into gaming, we had maybe TWO major titles. So I took initiative. Nowadays, our wii's CD Case is FULLY stocked, and yet, I still go back to TCS every once in awhile.
Earthbound is my GOAT game in my case. Saying it is about a story is a bit of a missed point IMO though (only ones really about story in some way would be the 1st and 3rd ones). EB's story is sort of minimalist compared to the GBA sequel and even the NES prequel. EB's story is "in 10 years the universe is doom if you don't stop Giygas these things are happening because he is mind fucking various things around the planet with his powers." You go and how it is remembered is by how you react to the various things in the game actually. -Break up a gang -beat up cops who put lockdown in affect in an entire small town -deprogramming a cult -solve a town's zombie problem -save an alien race from being slaves -break out of boarding school -steal your friend's b-day gifts right in front of him -expose corrupt politicians and mobsters -fall into the center of the earth and fight DINOSAURS -your new friend's dad who you haven't seen in 10 years tells your new friends you wet the bed still -random people some that somehow know you comment about wondering if you wet the bed still, or just in general make comments about how young you are -eat a drug cake that puts your psychic powers out of control and lets you body swipe your new ally just like the main bad has been doing and help him in the final stages of his training (and it wouldn't be the only thing the main bad and you have in common with) Really these are just a few things in the game lol.
Kirby's Adventure was the first video game I loved. The first I played was probably Mortal Kombat, Super Mario Bros, the Simpsons arcade game, or one of my dad's PC games like Doom. But Kirby is when video games became something I wanted...I was probably five or six when I truly fell in love with video games too. Probably wasn't until I was 13 I'd consider myself "good" at them. My friends were till then much better and often so surprised by my lack of progress they'd come over and show me how to win. I'd say Kirby taught me playing at my own pace was fun, but really arcade games taught me not to expect to complete any given thing I started playing. To move on to something else after four or five game over screens. I loved Kirby, I guess, because my friends played it and there was a lot to do even if a lot of progress wasn't made. Pluss the lenient save system meant it would be completed, eventually. No back to level one game over.
4:26 is easily the most relatable thing for someone like me who plays this game over and over again via an emulator on my laptop when I'm out places haha. Lots of memories for this game, I still love it to death. It and the first Sonic Advance are my two favorite 2D Sonic games. But unlike many Sonic fans, I actually really enjoyed Sonic Adventure 2. Granted, I have the Gamecube version, but still.
I have to say this is an excellent breakdown of this game. I have to admit I did have a Super NES with super mario world was my first game console I had many a game for it. But it was Sonic 2 that blew my little mind and gave me a true love for games. I never became all that skilled at it. Normally I'd grind the first few levels get 99 lives and try to blow through the rest of the game. I'm hard pressed to say I actually beat it, but I did play that game the most out of my Sega games line up. That and maybe NBA Jam lol.
I know you only asked for my first formative games, but I kinda want just talk about the ALL the games that have effected me significantly (hope that isnt an issue) The first games I truly adored as a kid were the megaman battle network games, the few medabots games that got localized, and the sonic advance games. And to this day I love having many options to take care of situations, I LOVE things that move quickly, and I ADORE robots/machines. Then when I got a gamecube my second set of integral games would be kirby air ride, the ssx series, zoids battle legends, and amazing island. Those games made me realize that I loved racing, fighting, and customizing. Then when I got a ds is when I think last HUGE effects happened I got really into pokemon and digimon around this time, I even collected some of the the Strategy guides for the pokemon games, these games taught me my love of raising my own team and to take on situations strategically, I had definitely played pokemon alot as a kid, but the ds games were the true turning points for me. Everything since then is mostly either directly related to or is tangentially related to one or more of these games and factors.
The first game I ever loved was NEW Super Mario Bros. 2 and it teached me about gaming: 1) Games are better if they are portable 2) The pixelated graphics on New Super Mario Bros. 2 look better than the "high definition" graphics on New Super Mario Bros. Wii 3) Getting from left to right is the key 4) If you die you have to start the last part of the game again 5) You can do things you could imagine before, by mastering the game 6) You gain speed over a short distance 7) The powers you gain can always be taken away from you, but the skill you gain is all yours with nobody having acces to it #2018
I have a list of video games that I've played, listed chronologically and by console, similar to the one you show near the end. I thought I was the only one!
The way you describe your relationship with Sonic 2 is similar to the way we feel about Donkey Kong Country 2. It's a little different, in that the original Super Mario Bros. would be the closer analogue for that first video game, but it wasn't until DKC2 that we suddenly understood what video games were capable of.
I actually think there are a lot of parallels that can be drawn between Sonic and DKC. They both came out at a time when platformers had been getting increasingly stagnant (with cutesy Mario-style games in one case, and attitudinal mascot characters in the other) and blew everyone's minds with something that simply wouldn't have been possible on earlier tech (a momentum-based and very fast engine for Sonic, a focus on atmosphere and more realistic aesthetics for DK.) You could just look at footage of these games and immediately see what was so different about them. Of course, both were absolutely fantastic games beyond that, but they each had a unique hook. Like, I think Super Mario World was probably objectively better than Sonic 1 in most areas, but nobody had ever seen anything like Sonic before. In the same way, I think Sonic 3 was better than the original DKC, but DKC was doing so many things differently. People forget how burnt out gamers of the era were on platformers at the time. By defying a lot of the trends, Sonic and DKC stood out from the crowd and raised the bar on what video games were capable of. I could go on, but I'm actually hoping to do a DKC retrospective series come the 20th anniversary in November, so I'll save some of it for that.
This was the first game I've ever loved. I put hours upon hours, every single day of my first grade life. It's also the reason I'm a gamer. It's a fucking classic, and that's definitely an understatement.
This is part of TGC's coverage of Sonic the Hedgehog games! Don't miss them: th-cam.com/play/PLYoabN6QznuIl47fs9wFK10HBJNqv_5P3.html
What the hell is a "geed"?
This channel so so underground and underrated. Honestly I have seen these videos multiple times AND now... I love your voice so much that I just leave this playing in the background when i sleep lol
Rewetting the sonic, donkey kong, and metered series are just... I could watch them forever. Thank you
The Geek Critique qqjq90
Bruh where is "You Can Do Anything -- Sonic the Hedgehog CD" in the description
Fix that shit
The first game I ever loves is either angry birds or plants vs zombies 2
I got Sonic 2 along with Revenge of Shinobi and they're still 2 of my favorite games ever, even 20 something years later.
The Shinobi games are definitely underrated (Particularly Revenge and III), both stellar classics.
JETSETRADIO FUTURE
I'm assuming you don't mean Revenge of Shinobi for GBA, lmao. That's the only one I played and is probably one of the worst games on the playform purely on a technical level
College is hard, so I thought, “Why not relax with some TH-cam?” Little did I know I’d be lectured about my work ethic. Why can I never escape responsibility???
cool vid tho
stop procrastinating
Here I am. I'm not really procrastinating, it's just that I forgot that my last english exam was live at school and not online like most exams up until that point. So now I'm depressed, I'm gonna fail this course because of that.
"Sonic is about going fast" is the most common misconception about Sonic games (right after "hold right / boost to win"; Sonic games are often actually deceptively hard)... Sonic is NOT about going fast.
Sonic is about *_EARNING_* speed.
*This.*
Excatly
yeah and its becoming easier and easier to earn speed, and its to the point where you dont realize you earn speed
summary: its about going fast
@@spritesensation nah mate
It's a common misconception because everything in the advertising around Sonic has _always_ been about how Sonic goes fast. And nothing in the game or the manual corrects this assumption. And if the notion is that you're meant to go slow, carefully scouting out the level, noting where the enemies are so that you can play better, know where to avoid, where the spikes are... then why criticize Marble Hill Zone for being slow? Frankly the notion that Sonic is or should actually be a slow game where you earn speed is baffling to me, and it seems more like an unintended side effect from having the screen zoomed in as much as it is. It feels, frankly, utterly unfun and unfair to be running around and then bam, just some spikes you couldn't possibly have seen coming unless you were slowly walking around which is very much _not_ what the game was (literally) sold to you as. So you get hit. Or there's an enemy in the way, and because you're running you just take a hit because you have so little time between the enemy appearing on screen and you impacting them, far too little time for you to really have a good chance to react unless you know it's coming.
So I can't help but think that the notion that Sonic isn't about being fast, it's about earning speed, is just plain untrue. And if that was the intent of the game, then they did an incredibly poor job on every level, from the game design to the manual to the marketing, to getting that across to the player.
I actually liked the shorter zones in Sonic 2, because there were more of them, thus more diverse scenery. Three acts in the same zone is just a bit much...
Gameplay is Paramount
Ironic
Wow, 6 months ago and a heart, while this vid was made like 5 years ago.
I'm rewatching all the Sonic retrospectives. So much nostalgia, haven't watched them in years.
The ending to Sonic 2 was the first game ending to give me "the feels" and to feel epic. The music does alot to do that for me.
what is fun
F is for Freinds who do stuff together
U is for U and me
N is for N eware at anytime at all
Down here in the deep blue sea
U IS FOR URANIUM...
BOMBS!
JJ Koester N is for NO SURVIVORS!
O
F IS FOR FAILURE TO REACH EXPECTATIONS
U IS FOR UNRAVELING DREAMS
N IS FOR NOSTALGIA GOGGLES
DOWN HERE WITH THE GEEK CRITIQUE
Why do I find myself coming back to these videos over and over? They're freaking awesome, that's why! Superb work, man! Will definitely become a Patron soon...
Benjamin Woodring o_o Man, you weren't kidding! Thank you!
The Geek Critique No problem! I look forward to seeing what's to come! In the mean time I shall ponder which Console I want you to do a Retrospective of :)
Man, I really appreciate these Sonic retrospectives. Otherwise I NEVER would've given these classics a second look. I wrote them off long ago as overrated and unenjoyable (probably at least in part thanks to Marble Zone) and yet after watching these videos, I've blown through Sonic 2, Sonic 3 and Knuckles and Sonic CD in a week, and they're all some of the best games I've ever played. I'm very thankful these videos inspired me to give these games another try.
Yeah the Marble Zone thing is reassuring. I'd been thinking "It's just the second stage and it's already next to impossible, clearly these games aren't for me"
I've just been going through your videos. All of them are brill, but this one in particular is astonishingly good. The bit about high school vs. college, and the comparison with Metroid Prime, are sheer genius.
It's also made me want to go back and play through Sonic 2 for the umpteenth time, when, ironically, I have the responsibility to be doing uni work.
ShayMay Hey, thank you so much! Yeah, people who say, like, "Only the first level is fun, they just suck after that," are really missing the point. And funnily enough, I've been playing through Metroid Prime lately.
I have a similar connection with Sonic 2. It's one of my all-time favorite video games. I was obsessed with it as a kid, and have played through it countless times even till this day. I especially love the music. Lots of memories
"Yeah, metal gear solid three may have been the only piece of fiction to bring a tear to my eye"
Me who gets emotional and occasionally teary-eyed everytime tails catches sonic at the end of the game: hEH-
DKC1 was the first game I ever loved. Back in '94, I was 4 years old, and the impact that game had on my imagination still effects me today! It's one of the reasons I became an artist! Everyone always scoffs at the idea of a video game having such a vibrant and liberating impact on ones creative mind, but video games are not just kids toys. They posses something special, and I hope one day ppl will acknowledge their profoundness on the same level as literature and film.
I'm actually planning on doing a DKC retrospective around November! And one thing I want to talk about is just what you said: Sonic came out in an era when everything looked like Mario, and it stood out by doing everything different. But three years later, attidudinal mascots were becoming just as old-hat, and DKC stood out by, once again, being very different from what anyone had ever seen.
I always find it interesting to hear someone’s first game, and how their experience with that first game effects their outlook on games in general. I can certainly say that my first game (which is still my all-time favourite) has effected my outlook and influenced how I’m designing my own game.
The special stages are murder if you play as Sonic AND Tails ~_~
travelsonic Why though? Tails can only catch and lose rings that he cought. Which means that no matter how often he gets hit, there's never a benefit to play the special stages without him
Dvir Arazi the ring count needed is higher if Tails tags along
Federico Porcel Only in the remake, where Tails jumps faster and ring and mines are easier to spot from afar
Dvir Arazi might wanna fact check that. Because I can't find anywhere saying that's the case.
I actually forgot that the original game had an option to play as Sonic only.
I had Sonic 2 well before Sonic and Knuckles. And while I did enjoy playing Sonic 2, I didn't "love" the game even though that was the only game we had for the longest time. When I finally got Sonic and Knuckles, I instantly fell in love with it. I remember spending 8 hours playing the game all night on the weekends, and watching the sun rise up through our windows in the living room as I was making my way through Hidden Palace Zone. While Hidden Palace Zone didn't have much to it, in my opinion, it is by far the most beautiful Sonic stage of all time. I was literally blown away at how beautiful it looked the first time I went up that beam teleporter thing and saw that beautiful sight of the Death Egg off in the distance. To this day, I'm still not entirely sure what exactly it was showing, but my mind filled in the details. It looked as if the Death Egg was ascending into heaven with a level of glory and majesty rivaling Jesus himself with the Hidden Palace's mysterious and beautiful crystal environment below while the beautifully mysterious music of Lava Reef zone 2 played in the background. This was one of many things that made me love Sonic and Knuckles far more than any other Sonic game in existence.
***** Yup. I never did get Sonic 3 unfortunately, I had to go to a friends house to play both of them together.
"What was the first game you ever loved"
For me it was a special little game called "X"
X Beyond the Frontier to be precise.
If I where to analyse it like you did with sonic 2 ... There are a few lessons I learned from it.
1) What game catches my eye?
2) What type of gamer am I?
What hooked me was primarily: The story.
The "Lost in space" notion is something which interests me imensely.
Up untill the point, when I booted up X for the first time, Voice acting in gaming was stale, Uninspired and lazy for me.
Even as I was 5 years old, It was something I noticed. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I realised, when something was just bland.
I did not encounter any voice acting with effort and heart in it. Untill I booted the game.
Most notably: It was the German Voice Acting which caught my ear so to speak. The English voice acting was bland ... so I am glad that I started playing it in german.
The intro was interesting. A conflict between man and machine. So Called "Terraformer" or "AGI" (Artifically Generated Intelligence) which became self aware. Long long ago. The story of a Heroic fleet which lured the Teraformers through a jumpgate and detonated the gate, leaving Earth Isolated.
Then after many years: You (the player) are the Pilot of an experimental craft, which can Jump without a Jumpgate, on its virgin flight.
A perfect setting for a tutorial. Mission Controll is constantly explaining features to you, while repeating that they have to repeat it for legal reasons.
While you fly and test the controlls, the Controll group is analysing the behaviour of the engine, energy reactor. A med crew is monitoring your vitals. Safety checks are being run through.
All leading up to the test of the Experimental Jump Drive.
There is a constant sense of dread hanging in the air. Minimal errors are being corrected on the fly. The importance of your mission is being repeated, since:
There are still colonies isolated from earth. And with the loss of the jump gate leading to earth: the Drive would be the perfect way to bridge the gap, without allowing Terraformers to reach earth.
Small interference has been noted. A Fix has been uploaded. Recalibration of the engine is successful. The countdown runs down and the Drive begins to work.
_Ofcourse something goes wrong. But it is how it does, which caught my eye._
*Experimental Drive is starting*
You can hear a metallic female voice saying that. That is your board computer. The German voiceover is SO much better here. (And I am one who would say: I'd rather speak english than german. I prefere the english lengauge)
*10%*
*20*
*30*
*40*
*50%*
*60*
*70*
*80*
*90*
*Initiate Jump*
The Med Crew is monitoring your vitals.
Scanning department is loosing your signal. Trying to compensate: Nothing works. His voice is getting desperate.
Harsh contrast to the engine Crew. Monotone voice, as if he has done that a thousand times. "Engines look good. Board Computer is stable." and then: The shift.
The same voice suddenly becomes confused and desperate. "Oh god. There it is again. Can you see that?" As a lightning strikes your shields.
"There! That doesn't look good. Can we fix that from here?"
Mission controll "The WHAT?" "System Controll here: Pilot abort mission. I repeat: Abort the jump! Can you hear me? Abort jumping! ABO..."
You can not abort the jump. You can hear parts of your ship exploding. The Sound design is amazing here.
You see smaller ships infront of you.
You see small explosions.
*"System Failure. Starting Check."*
You hear the computer listing all types of systems which you JUST learned to use, be destroyed.
*Shields destroyed*
*Life Support system Destroyed*
*Hull: Critical*
*Conventional Engine: Intact*
*Weapons: Not functional*
You see ships flying around you and what seems to be a large building in space.
You soon realise: That is no building. That is a ship.
The Ship is calling you. You can see a Lizard type alien.
"ARJTSUTSASIZ CRSUSRISA"
*Audio Chanel contains Unknown Lenguage*
"ESANSERUSES"
*Universal Audio Computer is learning*
"I THINK WE HAVE ACCHIEVED COMMUNICATION COMPATABILITY. I AM THE CAPTAIN OF THE DESTROYER PHEONIX OF THE TELADI COOPERATION. WE HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU! WE CAN NOT IDENTIFY YOUR SHIP TYPE, NOR YOUR SPECIES. IDENTIFY YOURSELF!"
[Note: Every S is being spoke, as if he was a Snake in a disney movie. However: it works, since that is not the only Gimic of the species, and the dialogue does not force S into words where it doesn't belong.]
And the game starts.
The fact that after 19 years, I can still remember the exact word for word dialogue and sequence of events speaks volumes.
One small thing here: The game looks like ass. Even for those standarts from 1999.
However: The Voice acting and sequencing is so effective, that even today: I don't really care.
This answers my First question:
1) What game catches my eye?
I am a story driven player. Both story and Gameplay play a huge part, but a good story can overshadow weak graphics.
After a short conversation with *Teladi Pheonix* you get basic information and a 1 MW Shield.
After a few more questions he says: "AS I SAID: THAT WILL BE 3000 CREDITS."
As you say, that you do not have any money, You get 100 credits from the Destroyer.
There is a catch however: You have to pay this Destroyer back. 3500 credits.
You now realise that they are a species with a weird fetish for Profit. That is the second gimic of this species.
I say this species, because you allready know of a few species from this conversation:
Argon (Human like), Split and XENON.
Finally: The Teladi are installing navigational software and basic informational software into your systems. Ofcourse they also cost y... what? No actually that one is free as a Gift for a Stranger.
Complexity is the keyword here. The characters are not 1 note. Some teladi are benevolent. Others turn pirates for profit or sell drugs.
And with that: You are let loose in the universe. Yes: You can fly anywhere you want. Right from the getgo.
The Split will Not tolerate you, except if you fight for them.
The Xenon will hunt you. The Teladi Captain tells you "IF YOU SEE THE XENON. YOU ARE ALLREADY DEAD."
The Argon do not know you.
The Teladi tolerate you.
The Boron (Bless those squids) are friendly.
The Paranid are arrogant assholes.
With some variants depending on the captain.
Every race has different ships. Different weapons. Different trading goods. Some are at war with each other.
You can build factories in space. Anywhere you want.
You can install every weapon you can get.
You can explore everything.
So the answer to the second question is:
Depth seeking.
2) What type of gamer am I?
I seek games which can be broken beyond belief.
I seek games which reward brain, instead of farm.
I seek complex games.
And here I am today.
A Fan of Metroid (Super and Zero mission especially. Aswell as AM2R and Prime)
Playing Strategy games or games with unique gimics.
With complex story telling like Supreme Commander (1. Not 2)
A sense of Wonder, like Subnautica. Exploration like Hollow Knight or Darksouls 1.
One could say: X beyond the frontier shaped me into the gamer I am today.
And as I am writing this, I have played through XBTF, X2, X3R, X3TC, X3AP, X3APXRelanacedMod (NOT X Rebirth because that one sucked ass).
And just as I write this final sentence: I go on steam. Select X Beyond the Frontier. And Download it to play it through again.
Because I saw alot. I saw [SPOILER REMOVED] in the Unknown Sectors. But I have never seen the ending. I know how it will end. I know [SPOILER 2 REMOVED] is in the Unknown Sectors and I have to destroy it.
And this time: After 19 years: I will do it.
Without ThereShallBeWings to open the cheating editor. : )
Trivia: Sonic 2 (16-bit) for the Genesis/Mega Drive was the first appearance of Sonic's powered up form Super Sonic.
The first game I truly loved was Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, and I don't care that everyone hates it.
I love Phantom Hourglass, it was my first Zelda :)
@@lagartijamuerta Mine too. I picked it up after a lot of crappy, difficult licensed games on my GBA SP, and it was just amazing. I actually really like the stylus controls.
With the temple of the ocean king, while it was bothersome to get through at times, I felt smart finding the shortcuts to get through it more quickly.
Then finally, after you get to the bottom of this deep temple, you are faced with a mysterious door.
The following boss fight is one of my favorites in Zelda. It has such an epic feel, with the transition to full 3D. I wish they'd done something like that with Link Between Worlds or something.
I also loved Spirit Tracks, which turns 10 today! When I found out about it, I was like "Zelda AND my childhood obsession with trains!?"
I loved so much with this one too. It had a very divergent world and plot from the rear of Zelda, plus it had great music.
Gosh I want a full on console game in Windwaker's style about Link and Tetra discovering New Hyrule.
I feel like, however, that our poor friend Toon Link just isn't very popular...
Not my favorite one, nor 1st, but I have loved every game in the Zelda franchise. Phantom Hourglass is awesome.
@@andrelopez8728 That's an issue I have with the Zelda community. I don't enjoy Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, and at the bottom, Triforce heroes, as much as other Zelda games. However, I still like playing them, and I don't like throwing around the label "the worst Zelda game."
I think that Triforce heroes is overly goofy and I never was interested in the idea of the fashion mechanic. But others might have had tons of fun with the multi-player, and love the game.
I'm starting thankfully to hear more and more of a changing perspective on the DS games. Personally, I loved the stylus controls, and it was refreshing from playing these button mashing platformers on GBA.
I like it fine, I just think it's way too simplistic and easy, especially the dungeon designs. It's probably one of the weakest Zeldas I've played, but still not a bad game.
The first part of TGC's Sonic Retrospective is here! Inexplicably, we start out by examining what I learned from Sonic the Hedgehog 2... the most influential game I ever played.
I've got to say, while your content is superb quality I've got to disagree with your conclusion. I think nostalgia is colouring your judgment a lot here, because Sonic is to me really flawed game design with uneven pacing, that relies on barreling through a level into you've memorised it, or going slowly and defeating the entire object of the game...
So this is where it all started.... Gotta say, it really holds up. Great work Josh.
I had never thought of speed as reward! Reward systems are usually quite rigid: more sparkles on screen, more items, more resources.... but more stimulation, that's probably the best incentive.
"I got lost! I was *six* !"
Fuck, that hit so close to home and made me laugh. Thanks for these nostalgia trips, man
I played Sonic 2 first. It's my favorite Sonic game and one of my favorite games of all time. The Music was amazing when I was a kid and rivaled that of Donkey Kong Country. Mystic Cave Zone is my favorite Sonic tune. That lack of a spin dash really threw me for a loop when I tried to play 1.
Sonic 2 was the first game i truly loved and beat at 5 years old with my 2 year old brother tagging along as Tails while my parents were lying in bed one weekend and watched us play from beginning to end. Gaming became more than just a challenge or an immersive escape. They taught me the reward for patience and learning and to never giving up and to share in the joy... I was a lucky child as my Father owned two video game stores in the early 90's so i had free reign to almost any game on Nintendo or Sega if i wanted it... and yet, it's a testament of sorts that my first completion of a game Was Sonic 2 in 1995 having been playing it since i was literally 3 years old.
If it weren't for Sonic, the splendor of gaming may never have resonated with me as a child in the same way... I count my lucky Emerald's that life worked out like that for me. Not saying other games couldn't have had the same impact on others. But my personal gaming history start's in 1993 with Sonic. Thanks for the video @The Geek Critique your words really moved me when i thought back to what Sonic once meant to me...
My first game was Kirby and the amazing mirror for the GBA.
I now have it on an emulator and play it twice a year or more.
7:46
FUCK that pit. Imagine getting stuck in it as Super Sonic and just slowly watching as your ring counter goes down so you can kill yourself.
Luckily I was playing on the mega collection so I just reopened my most recent save but imagine that on the Genesis.
I don't have to! It happened, more than once!
My first was Sonic 1. It did for me what 2 did for you.
You caught me off guard using the music from Bridge Zone from the Master System game. If I was expecting it, I'd probably have been OK but by the 3:30 seconds mark I was in tears. I love that game, I love that zone, I love that music. I don't know why it's that zone and not Green Hill; but Bridge Zone is my first fully formed memory of video games, from my first ever games console. Hearing that song always brings me back to a moment of pure joy, the moment when I discovered what gaming was. It will always be one of my fondest memories; and something I'm so thankful that my parents introduced me to. That song legitimately makes me feel overwhelmed every time I hear it; but hearing it while someone waxes lyrical about learning about gaming for the first time. Let's just say I understand completely.
Never have I found myself more compelled by an opening question of a video essay. I had to pause and genuinely *think* about what the answer might be for me, and I thought about it for a good 5-10 minutes. Landed on something a little obscure that doesn't really hold up anymore, but still.
Nice review. Despite being born at the tail end of the 90s, I was still able to play the classic Sonic games via Sonic Mega Collection + on the PS2.
While I agree with you how the video games we first play shape how we judge other games, I think games played much later in life can still define what you perceive a game should be. For example, while the Sonic games did shape my expectations of games (I was somewhat surprised at how other games of the era re-use assets, and was underwhelmed by the overall linearity of the classic Mario games), older games I played and finished years after I picked up a controller still influenced my view on games (Zelda, Kingdom Hearts, **METROID**, Mega Man, etc.) For some, I feel the standard for games is set in stone, but oftentimes, I find it more flexible than one would expect.
The first game that I ever truly loved was Roller Coaster Tycoon. Which I still play to this day, I too think it's a perfect game, although I'm sure there are flaws to it.
No you're right; roller coaster tycoon is anoerfect game and as far as i can tell has no problema
Many of my ideas for Games revolve around Skill. They present you with a difficult problem and many MANY ways to solve it, but it's up to the Player to discover the right way to solve the problem. However, that may not be the best way to fix the problem so it will also be up to the player to try again differently if they want to improve their time. It's about avoiding the grind and training the player to discover and push the limits of the character in as many ways as possible so that they feel like an absolute badass by the end of it. They aren't a badass because they grinded to reach a high level, they're a badass because they've trained themselves into one.
Sonic 2 was also my very first console video game. And the opening title screen alone had me hooked.
You must be a Tennesseean if you snuck a picture of ETSU in there when you said "college." Hometown reference, that's a sub from me!
I've watched this video so many times and it never gets old. Great stuff, like all your work, and it perfectly captures why I love these older games so much.
My first Sonic game was 3, and it introduced me to something that would define my gaming life and a good chunk of my gaming interests-co-op play, courtesy of my older brother.
Your videos are freaking awesome! I'll try my best to spread thegeekcritique around!
Thank you! I appreciate all the Twitter publicity you're giving me, too! Not too many people follow me on Twitter right now.
The Geek Critique No problem .. the way you describe everything is equal parts fun and informative.
Man I always get flooded with great feeling of nostalgia every time I hear that sonic 2 ending theme
Replace Sonic 2 with Sonic 1 in this video, and you've got the story of my life.
The end of this was downright inspirational. I honestly have been having a rough week and this damn near made me tear up. I can't believe it considering I'm watching a TH-cam overview of a genisis game. But on a game related note, sonic was what always interested me in gaming when I was young but my mom had had a nes so I ended up with a snes (which I loved) but sonic was always my "dream game" that I only got to play at some friends houses and man I loved that, I've since bought or downloaded every sonic release in the past few years and honestly have a few hundred hours in sonic adventure 2 (I had an addiction to the gcn Chao garden and it's linking to the gba version as well). But to stop rambling, I just wanted to say thank you sir! Keep up the amazing work
I was more of a Mario child, so I tend to like more challenging games where I was forced to become skilled before I could beat the levels.
Thanks to this video, I know why I don't like the Classic Sonic Games, as of the writing of this comment:
I thought it was about going fast, but then I couldn't really go fast, because I completely missed that I could become good enough to go this fast.
To me, Mario established that games are about the game itself preparing you for the next challenges, where you literally couldn't complete the next level if you couldn't proof that you learnt from the previous level.
Until this video, I never knew that games could also be about being easily completed but increasingly more fun the better you become.
Maybe I should try Sonic 2 after knowing this.
That's really cool! I made this video last year, which kind of examines that issue specifically: th-cam.com/video/0TQUQKJE1Jw/w-d-xo.html
Loved sonic since I was about 5 thanks to this game. It wasn't until I was 9 I owned any kind of sonic game. Until then, my learning experience was vastly different to yours... I learned in little pockets, especially on the Sonic 2 multiplayer mode. Getting it and a Master System, meanwhile, honed my platforming skills. I remember how proud I felt finishing Sonic 1 on Master System (which turned out to be very very easy) then sonic 2 on master system (very easy). By the time I emulated it as an adult, I'd honed those skills enough that it was fun, not too easy but not frustrating either.
Pokemon Sapphire was the first video game I ever loved. It taught me that boss rushes aka the Elite Four are hard. Awesome video critique, keep it up. :D
i remember having the genesis 3, you could farm the special stages from emerald hill zone acts 1 and 2, then reset and your progress would carry over.
You know, I like games. Fun, interesting, exciting, but love? Love is a strong word with a strong emotion. I never felt anything like love towards a game until I was an adult. What game was it? The Mass Effect trilogy. I had never felt genuine crushing depression and a broken heart in a game until Ashley flirted with James right in front of me. I spent the trilogy getting at her, and I never realized my brain was releasing the same chemicals as love until that moment. Man, what an epic trilogy.
The first game I ever played was Super Mario World when I was 3 or 4. I was a bit too young to be able to understand what I was doing. I’d play many games between then and when I visited my cousin’s house when I was 6 and started up his Sega Genesis. There I had my first taste of Sonic 2, I was blown away and hooked. I didn’t have a copy of my own so I always had to play it somewhere else, I always remember getting stuck at Wing fortress zone at my babysitters. I’ve had an interesting relationship with Sonic but even though Sonic 3&Knuckles is probably my favorite(SA2 is up there) I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Sonic 2
I started with Mario 64 and Zelda OoT. That's why I probably like games, where you discover and collect things.
Great video - and yeah, I got that very same Genesis with Sonic 2 when it launched. I was 8 years old, and Sonic changed my life forever, haha.
Dude, I didn't hear a word you were saying while the special stage music was playing because Sonic 2 special stage music is a friggen JAM and I couldn't help but sing it while it was playing!
beautifully done! i still have my original sega w/ sonic 2 and break it out every few months or so. videos like this will always make me reminisce the days of old
The first game I loved was Plok, for the SNES, pretty nice platform game... sad thing nobody knows it.
i do
you can thank tim follin's amazing soundtrack for that.
My first video game I ever truly loved was MK64.
Rainbow Road was a blast, and toads turnpike was somewhat insane.
The Luigi Circuit was pretty cool with the Hot Air Balloon coming down to give a high level item.
There were no cutscenes. Or at least I'm pretty sure of that.
Sonic 1 was the first game I played
Sonic 2 was the first game I completed
Your early memories of gaming seem to mirror mine. Getting a Megadrive with Sonic 2 is one of my fondest Xmas memories (I do have some nostalgia for Robocod for the Atari ST beforehand though). :D
I'm mixed about the shorter linear levels, while it makes it a bit more predictable in places, it also makes it more fun for a quick play experience than the other games. Great for guys like me with a terrible attention span.
One can only wonder how the intended version with time travel, a third as many levels and all that glitz would have fared.
ToonReel001 Yeah, I always liked how quick Sonic 2 could be completed once you had the game down. When I was in high school, trying to sort out complicated teenage issues, I used to play through the whole game and just think. And more often than not, by the time I was rushing out of the Death Egg around 40 minutes later, I'd have something worked out. It was like meditation, but better because Sonic 2. xD
The Geek Critique Yeah, I think Sonic 2's replay value was improved by lacking those jarring finicky elements you talked about in Sonic 1. It makes it a bit more simplistic and mindless than the others, but it is so in a manner that's fun and not dumbing down the experience (harder isn't always 'better', as shown with the 8 bit version). Even the co op seemed designed in a 'tap in whenever you feel like it' manner. It's a good game to get introduced to the series, which conveniently I hear a lot of gamers did.
I got my Genesis with Sonic 2 the very same year, in February when I turned 7. l also consider it the first game I loved.
You know, I've been playing Sonic 2 almost as long as you have (got my MegaDrive in '93, didn't play Sonic 2 until like '95), and there was so much you covered there that I never considered. Good work. :)
I love the classic Sonic games, especially 2, which is currently be played in my genesis. I just can't get enough
"The game doesn't throw you into some nonsense cutscene about Tails meeting Sonic"
Been replaying these games in Sonic Origins while listening to this as background and this part got a chuckle out of me bcs Sonic 2 now has that lol
The first video game I ever played. It has a special place in my heart and it made me who I am today. 23 years later, its still are the greatest game ever. PERIOD ❤
Iam glad I found your channel my friend
Sonic 2 was my first and I remember as a kid hearing chemical zone and fucking getting down the 90s was a great time to be a kid.
Thanks for the nostalgia I hope your channel gets to where it deserves
Damn, you pretty much vocalized everything I feel about this game. From childhood until now. Fantastic job, my friend :D
I remember as a kid seeing that sonic got through act such and such and taking a deep breath sigh like whew alright let’s do it again especially in the first game
Sadly enough, Sonic ‘06 was the first game I loved
when my and my brother get my genesis with sonic 2 bundle (1998 a little bit late).
we dont ate, we dont slept for that night.
it was so awesome have that console finally.
(theres no masive internet back then to play it anyway)
no other console make such impact to me, like the genesis.
maybe the dreamcast :D
The music is amazing.
Nice plugin with the "If you try, you can do anything" from the Japanese Sonic CD OST.
Really enjoying your reviews! I like how you really dig deep to analyze WHY these games are so great, as opposed to just saying you like them. I too share your love for Sonic 2. Like you, it was the first game I ever owned. That's right, I played Sonic 2 before playing the original. I devoted hours to forcing myself to get better and better. Dying and having to restart the game, until I had finally honed my skills enough to beat every Zone. This sense of progression through adversity had such a big impact on my young, impressionable mind, and because of it video games remain my favorite form of media. Probably entertainment as a whole. Sonic 2 was a definite step up from the original. The gameplay encouraged speed, mostly ditching the more confining levels of the original. Tails became an instant hit, though it is a bummer the lil' guy couldn't fly yet. There were more Zones. More bosses. Sonic went up into the sky and even space (albeit briefly). And there was the reward for collecting the chaos emeralds. Being able to transform into Super Sonic was pretty much the single coolest thing back in the day! Sure it makes everything easy as pie, but it was for the time, the ultimate power fantasy! Sonic 2 was bigger and better than the original in virtually every single way, with multiple quality of life updates and even the beginning hints of narrative in these games. A stone cold classic!
I hadn't thought of the "first game you ever loved" connection before. Mine was Dragon Quest 3-or Dragon Warrior III as it was called at the time-and I've just realized that I tend to judge RPGs by how well they hold to its standards.
Seriously, this is a great video with a great message behind it. Props man.
This review is very damn good! And yeah, I was introduced into sonic the hedgehog 2 as my first video game of all time too. I can also relate on the random aimless running around in emerald hill, that’s exactly where I found myself when I first picked the controller up.
Skyrim, I've grown past Skyrim and as of recent it's been Dark Souls and Dishonored. I played Dark Souls in 2013 and Dishonored LAST YEAR. I was missing such a good game for so long.
Sonic 2 is the first game i ever beat and it was hard, but now its easy tho the adventure of beating it for the first time filled me with the most reward I have ever felt. 6/18/17
Ah, that feeling of not to know what the abilities they give you actually do and just using them without any logic until something makes you understand what kind of situations they are designed to be used in, and not to use this knowledge on the game and keep spamming it every time in a senseless way but at the situations you know they work(not counting the times you use other skills in a creative way in order to overcome the obstacles in a more enjoyable manner, or in anyone if you are so dumb that don't realize that the thing you have just done before is able to be applied to this "new" sittuation) because you are too young and focusless, how mqny good memories...
Like Sonic 1, this game still holds up as amazing today.
I know this is old now, and I have no idea whether you'll read this, but for sure the first game I loved was Sly 2. It wasn't even a game I owned, it was a game my friends had, but it was the first game that I really got to love.
Sonic 2 was the first game I ever played and fell in love with! Love this vid 👍🏼
Sonic 2 is my most favorite game of the generation, maybe it might be my most favorite game ever. It got me hooked with the speed I tend to play most Mario games like I am playing a Sonic game.
9:35 LOL that reaction to Mean Bean Machine. It definitely takes awhile to get the hang of.
The first video game I ever loved would have to be The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time. My brother was 4 years older than me, so we got the Gamecube when he was 7 and I was 3. He was definitely old enough to understand games, but I could barely speak. Ocarina of Time taught me how to be curious, how to appreciate atmosphere, how to READ. I was so dedicated to the game that I beat it by myself before I got to 1st grade. I still wholeheartedly adore this game, even though I am well aware of its flaws and shortcomings. Although these days it probably wouldn't even rank in my Top 50 favorite games, I will always have a soft spot for it. It made me want to be a gamer, and the Zelda series is one of my favorites to this day.
First game I loved is Donkey Kong for the original Gameboy. The puzzle platforming is perfectly executed. It's similar to what you liked about Sonic games. As the world's progressed you were presented with more an more gimmicks that required you to figure out how to assemble them to complete the puzzle. Mario never got more powerful, but you had to get more skilled using him.
This game was part of a pair that my parent's bought for me and my brother with our first Gameboys. Unfortunately I found that other game unspeakably boring and could never bear playing it for more than a few minutes: Pac Man.
Just like you I was introduced to video games thru Sonic , Sonic CD was the very first game I've ever played I'm so glad I found a channel and someone in my same age group with the same name as me none the less the has the same love for Sonic as me you're Amazing and I'm glad to see the progress you made keep up the good work,,,
PS. I was curious to know your input on the Sonic book series of games that came out on the wii if you haven't Make a video about it you should but I'll keep looking, cheers comrade
0:04
Lego Star Wars The Complete Saga. My dad got a wii with Wii Sports, COD, and Lego Star Wars for my birthday in 2007. I wasn't allowed to play COD, but man did I play the other two. Over time, we got a few more games, but by the time I was really getting into gaming, we had maybe TWO major titles. So I took initiative. Nowadays, our wii's CD Case is FULLY stocked, and yet, I still go back to TCS every once in awhile.
Sonic 2 came out when I was 4, played it ever since.
Can really feel the passion in this video....
Earthbound is my GOAT game in my case. Saying it is about a story is a bit of a missed point IMO though (only ones really about story in some way would be the 1st and 3rd ones).
EB's story is sort of minimalist compared to the GBA sequel and even the NES prequel. EB's story is "in 10 years the universe is doom if you don't stop Giygas these things are happening because he is mind fucking various things around the planet with his powers."
You go and how it is remembered is by how you react to the various things in the game actually.
-Break up a gang
-beat up cops who put lockdown in affect in an entire small town
-deprogramming a cult
-solve a town's zombie problem
-save an alien race from being slaves
-break out of boarding school
-steal your friend's b-day gifts right in front of him
-expose corrupt politicians and mobsters
-fall into the center of the earth and fight DINOSAURS
-your new friend's dad who you haven't seen in 10 years tells your new friends you wet the bed still
-random people some that somehow know you comment about wondering if you wet the bed still, or just in general make comments about how young you are
-eat a drug cake that puts your psychic powers out of control and lets you body swipe your new ally just like the main bad has been doing and help him in the final stages of his training (and it wouldn't be the only thing the main bad and you have in common with)
Really these are just a few things in the game lol.
Kirby's Adventure was the first video game I loved. The first I played was probably Mortal Kombat, Super Mario Bros, the Simpsons arcade game, or one of my dad's PC games like Doom. But Kirby is when video games became something I wanted...I was probably five or six when I truly fell in love with video games too. Probably wasn't until I was 13 I'd consider myself "good" at them. My friends were till then much better and often so surprised by my lack of progress they'd come over and show me how to win. I'd say Kirby taught me playing at my own pace was fun, but really arcade games taught me not to expect to complete any given thing I started playing. To move on to something else after four or five game over screens. I loved Kirby, I guess, because my friends played it and there was a lot to do even if a lot of progress wasn't made. Pluss the lenient save system meant it would be completed, eventually. No back to level one game over.
4:26 is easily the most relatable thing for someone like me who plays this game over and over again via an emulator on my laptop when I'm out places haha. Lots of memories for this game, I still love it to death. It and the first Sonic Advance are my two favorite 2D Sonic games. But unlike many Sonic fans, I actually really enjoyed Sonic Adventure 2. Granted, I have the Gamecube version, but still.
I have to say this is an excellent breakdown of this game. I have to admit I did have a Super NES with super mario world was my first game console I had many a game for it. But it was Sonic 2 that blew my little mind and gave me a true love for games. I never became all that skilled at it. Normally I'd grind the first few levels get 99 lives and try to blow through the rest of the game. I'm hard pressed to say I actually beat it, but I did play that game the most out of my Sega games line up. That and maybe NBA Jam lol.
I know you only asked for my first formative games, but I kinda want just talk about the ALL the games that have effected me significantly (hope that isnt an issue)
The first games I truly adored as a kid were the megaman battle network games, the few medabots games that got localized, and the sonic advance games. And to this day I love having many options to take care of situations, I LOVE things that move quickly, and I ADORE robots/machines. Then when I got a gamecube my second set of integral games would be kirby air ride, the ssx series, zoids battle legends, and amazing island. Those games made me realize that I loved racing, fighting, and customizing. Then when I got a ds is when I think last HUGE effects happened I got really into pokemon and digimon around this time, I even collected some of the the Strategy guides for the pokemon games, these games taught me my love of raising my own team and to take on situations strategically, I had definitely played pokemon alot as a kid, but the ds games were the true turning points for me. Everything since then is mostly either directly related to or is tangentially related to one or more of these games and factors.
the first game I loved was sonic adventure... It hasn't held up after all these years, but I still play it like it was smash bros 4
The first game I ever loved was NEW Super Mario Bros. 2 and it teached me about gaming:
1) Games are better if they are portable
2) The pixelated graphics on New Super Mario Bros. 2 look better than the "high definition" graphics on New Super Mario Bros. Wii
3) Getting from left to right is the key
4) If you die you have to start the last part of the game again
5) You can do things you could imagine before, by mastering the game
6) You gain speed over a short distance
7) The powers you gain can always be taken away from you, but the skill you gain is all yours with nobody having acces to it
#2018
Having fun. Those are powerful words.
Not the first game I ever played, that honor goes to the amazing Super Mario Bros., but the first game I ever loved, and love to this day, is DOOM.
You make awesome videos :D
I have a list of video games that I've played, listed chronologically and by console, similar to the one you show near the end. I thought I was the only one!
The way you describe your relationship with Sonic 2 is similar to the way we feel about Donkey Kong Country 2. It's a little different, in that the original Super Mario Bros. would be the closer analogue for that first video game, but it wasn't until DKC2 that we suddenly understood what video games were capable of.
I actually think there are a lot of parallels that can be drawn between Sonic and DKC. They both came out at a time when platformers had been getting increasingly stagnant (with cutesy Mario-style games in one case, and attitudinal mascot characters in the other) and blew everyone's minds with something that simply wouldn't have been possible on earlier tech (a momentum-based and very fast engine for Sonic, a focus on atmosphere and more realistic aesthetics for DK.) You could just look at footage of these games and immediately see what was so different about them. Of course, both were absolutely fantastic games beyond that, but they each had a unique hook.
Like, I think Super Mario World was probably objectively better than Sonic 1 in most areas, but nobody had ever seen anything like Sonic before. In the same way, I think Sonic 3 was better than the original DKC, but DKC was doing so many things differently. People forget how burnt out gamers of the era were on platformers at the time. By defying a lot of the trends, Sonic and DKC stood out from the crowd and raised the bar on what video games were capable of.
I could go on, but I'm actually hoping to do a DKC retrospective series come the 20th anniversary in November, so I'll save some of it for that.
This was the first game I've ever loved. I put hours upon hours, every single day of my first grade life. It's also the reason I'm a gamer. It's a fucking classic, and that's definitely an understatement.
Christmas 1993. My sister and I received a Sega Genesis console with Sonic 2. I love this game!