Rich has been published in PIXEL Addict Magazine Issue 3 and we're all really excited to see Rich's words in print.
Therefore, here are some pics from the magazine and also here's the full transcript from the magazine article.
Head here to get yourself a copy or nip into WH SMITH and see if you can grab a copy!
Just take that in for a moment.
Back in 1991, I owned a Commodore Amiga and I was perfectly happy with my A600. Around that time I was an avid reader of Mean Machines and even though I had a Commodore Amiga I still loved to look at what was going on in the world of consoles as I’d previously owned a SEGA Master System and adored the Master System coverage in Mean Machines.
My world was to be flipped upside down when Issue 8 of Mean Machines Magazine came out in May 1991 and on page 92 of that amazing magazine was a preview of Sonic The hedgehog on SEGA Mega Drive and it looked absolutely beautiful. The images popped off the page and it was like nothing else I had seen before. My 12-year-old head exploded and I just couldn’t wait until I was able to read the Mean Machines review of Sonic because surely it would have to be an amazing game right?
Until that day came I continued to play my Amiga endlessly with constant games of Sensible Soccer and Championship Manager but in the back of my mind, I knew I needed to own a SEGA Mega Drive.
July 1991 rolled around and Mean Machines Issue 10 was born. It contained the first review of Sonic and it earned the MEGA GAME award with a rip-roaring 92% rating from the Mean Machines boys. Sonic was a definite hit and the magazine contained even more Sonic screenshot porn with flowing lava, underwater levels and a cracking picture of your arch-nemesis Dr Robotnik (AKA Dr Eggman!)
My mind was made up I had to begin saving for my very own Mega Drive and a copy of Sonic. Meanwhile, my mate Zeshan had acquired a Japanese SEGA Mega Drive / Genesis before me from his uncle! He beat me to the punch but I was so glad he bought this while I was saving my £5 per month pocket money as it was going to take me a while to be able to afford my very own blast processing Sonic The Hedgehog machine.
Those first few goes on the SONIC The Hedgehog game was probably some of the most memorable first moments of any video game I have ever played. My overriding memory was that Sonic oozed character. It felt like that for the first time ever a video game character wasn’t just an object on the screen that you were moving from left to right to save the damsel in distress.
Sonic was a living breathing character. Playing as Sonic felt like I was controlling a fully-fledged cartoon character with silky smooth animation and a healthy dose of ‘90s ‘tude baked into him. The moment that I had to show to everyone whenever I was showing off the game to anyone who listened was always the moment when you left Sonic just standing there and then he breaks the fourth wall by looking at the screen and tapping his foot as if to say “Come On Mate! Let’s get moving!”
There was also the obvious speed of Sonic on the screen which meant that if you were to run from left to right without collecting much then you could complete a level in a matter of seconds.
One thing that does get overlooked though is the verticality of the levels as this was actually something relatively new in the world of video games as you had alternative ways to traverse the level rather than just sprinting from left to right with the odd hidden area.
Now throw in the Sonic dash mechanic and you now have a game that was totally alien to my young eager eyes. The sight of Sonic doing a loop the loop in Green Hill Zone was and still is a joy to behold for my older weary eyes.
When I eventually saved up enough pound coins and five-pound notes to buy myself a second-hand PAL SEGA Mega Drive from the LOOT newspaper* with a copy of Sonic I had played the game so many times that I was able to complete it on my first go!
Since then I have played Sonic the original many many times more as I still swoon over the beauty of the graphics and the perfect simplicity of the exhilarating gameplay.
I literally can’t imagine and don't want to imagine a world WITHOUT Sonic and I’m forever in love with that first game for those mind-blowing first moments of a legendary franchise.
*The LOOT was a free ads printed paper that was launched in the UK in 1985 and contain many a video gaming bargain for a child in the late 80s & 90s"
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