Sonic the Hedgehog (Live Arcade) Image
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 48 Ratings

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  • Summary: [Xbox Live Arcade] Sonic, the fastest blue hedgehog on earth, rocket through hair-raising loop-de-loops and take dizzying dives past bubbling lava, waterfalls and more in Sonic the Hedgehog Arcade. Gather up the rings and stop Dr.Eggman's (aka Dr. Robotnik) schemes for world domination.[Xbox Live Arcade] Sonic, the fastest blue hedgehog on earth, rocket through hair-raising loop-de-loops and take dizzying dives past bubbling lava, waterfalls and more in Sonic the Hedgehog Arcade. Gather up the rings and stop Dr.Eggman's (aka Dr. Robotnik) schemes for world domination. Enhanced version: Newly enhanced graphics bring this 1991 console classic to life as never before. Once again, you can thrill to Sonic's adventures, but this time in an updated environment.Leaderboards: Top Score leaderboards are there to keep track of your progress. All new achievements: Twelve new achievements, range from simple such as clearing the Green Hill Zone or collecting one hundred rings, to more challenging, such as trying to complete the game without losing a life. [Microsoft] Expand

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Sonic the Hedgehog Official Trailer 1
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 11
  2. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. For your 400 points you get an absolute nailed-down classic that is, in many respects, just as much fun today as it was back when it was released.
  2. With the added bells and whistles of achievements and an online leader board it's an attractive offer for Sonic fans and people interested in platformers alike.
  3. 360 Gamer Magazine UK
    90
    As essential a download as you’re ever likely to find, Sonic belies his age by delivering a rip roaring 2D rollercoaster of a game that even to this day, retains a wonderful sense of speed and challenge that will please both retro fanatics as well as those simply looking for a great game. Timeless.
  4. X-ONE Magazine UK
    80
    This is platform bliss, pure and simple. [Issue#24, p.100]
  5. Official Xbox Magazine UK
    80
    For 400 points the game's a steal - it's an enjoyable blast of a bygone era that we'll never see again. [Sept 2007, p.110]
  6. Official Xbox Magazine
    75
    Though this re-release lacks any of the nifty extras you might be hoping for, you're paying a mere five bucks for a perfect port of an undeniably classic. [Oct 2007, p.78]
  7. Xbox World 360 Magazine UK
    60
    The most bare-bones port imagineable. [Oct 2007, p.96]

See all 11 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 17
  2. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. Aug 26, 2022
    10
    the first game I ever beat
    the game that made me the tall, handsome, charismatic, gigachad, smart, sexy, kind and loving man I am today
  2. Dec 12, 2011
    10
    What kind of fool DOESN'T like this game? It is, quite simply, a masterpiece. It shone a LOT more brightly than the 16 bit games around at theWhat kind of fool DOESN'T like this game? It is, quite simply, a masterpiece. It shone a LOT more brightly than the 16 bit games around at the time, and honestly, every 16 bit Sonic game WAS the best. Such a shame that the franchise went down hill after Sonic Adventure, so nobody remembers legends like these anymore. Long live this fantastic game. Expand
  3. Jul 4, 2019
    9
    A timeless classic for everyone to remember. My only complaint is that some levels just don't feel that great to play.
  4. Mar 19, 2016
    8
    The first game in the franchise, and it's certainly... good. People say this is the best Sonic game out there, but to me, this game is justThe first game in the franchise, and it's certainly... good. People say this is the best Sonic game out there, but to me, this game is just good. It's a great start to the franchise, but just like the original Super Mario Bros, it's pretty simple. Future titles (Future Classic Titles) are better than this game. If you like Mario, then you're gonna love this game. If you're a Sonic fan like me, you may or may not be disappointed after playing Sonic 3&Knuckles or Sonic 2 first. Expand
  5. May 23, 2022
    8
    Sonic The Hedgehog 1 is a pretty timeless platformer and holds up well today. Sonic shows a whole lot of personality in the game, probablySonic The Hedgehog 1 is a pretty timeless platformer and holds up well today. Sonic shows a whole lot of personality in the game, probably even more than Mario in the 8 years he existed up until the release of the original Mega Drive/Genesis game. Enough of that, though, let's get into the actual game. The gameplay is relatively standard for a platformer, main difference being that Sonic can go fast, but not as fast as you might think as there is actually a "speedcap" in the game. Anyway you run and jump on enemies, and if you hold while jumping from a high enough distance you can recoil higher than if it wasn't held, which is handy for getting to the end faster. If you collect 50 rings and keep them til the end of a level you have a chance to grab what's known as a Chaos Emerald. And collecting six of them gets you the good ending. Yes, I said six, NOT seven. Now that that's explained, I'll cover each and every zone, First up is Green Hill Zone. And I'm pretty sure we all know about this zone. There's good areas to speed across, and there's good amounts of platforming too. At the end of act 3 we get introduced to the main villain of the game, Dr. Robotnik/Eggman. (Unless you read the manual or something) It's a pretty easy boss, jump up and hit him without getting hit by the swinging boulder. Next up is Marble Zone which is fairly controversial. I don't dislike it as much as others do, but I still don't really love it. Hardly any speed sections and is just slow and tedious. Spring Yard Zone is next Andy this is a much better Zone than the last, it has a decent amount of speed Andy platforming with a new stage gimmick being these bumpers which bounce you away from them. There's also these elevator kinda things that go up and down that can crush you if you're not careful. Then we are on to Labyrinth Zone and oh boy, if this isn't the definition of a bad Sonic level I don't know what is. This is literally just Marble Zone electric boogaloo except its worse than Marble because it's a damn water level. Why is that so bad? Well Sonic's speed literally disappears if you go into the water making you slow to a crawl. And there are so many hazards and very little air bubbles to keep you alive, which is what makes you survive underwater. But after that we get to Starlight Zone which is one of my favourites. There's a new stage gimmick with a seesaw and a spike that can bounce you up and down depending on what side of the platform you're on. These are used for a really cool boss at the end of the act which might just be my favourite in the game. You use the seesaws to either launch spikes at Robotnik or launch yourself up to him. And now we are at the last Zone of the game, Scrap Brain Zone, which for some odd reason is kinda one of my favourites. Can't put my finger on it though. There are lots of hazards exactly like Labyrinth Zone except this time you're not as slow as a snail so you can actually avoid them. One of the new hazards are these fire spitting pipes that are in the ground you have to avoid. Then we get to act 3 which is Labyrinth Zone all over again. It's really bad, barely any air bubbles to keep you alive for long. Fortunately there's a shortcut you can take for a much quicker path if you ran ahead fast enough. Then we get to the Final Boss, aka Final "Zone" Which is honestly not that challenging as long as you react quick enough. And that's Sonic The Hedgehog. I liked it a lot from start to finish and it's aged pretty well. It was a really solid start for the series and I doubt they couldn't have done any better for the hedgehogs first outing. Overall, It's an 8 out of 10 for me. Expand
  6. Dec 7, 2014
    7
    This is sonic the hedgehog. The first game in the franchise and it started it pretty well. I hated scrap brain and labyrinth zone but everyThis is sonic the hedgehog. The first game in the franchise and it started it pretty well. I hated scrap brain and labyrinth zone but every other stage was good. This is where Sonic started and it ended with Adventure 2. Expand
  7. Sep 6, 2022
    5
    I’ve played the version on Mega Collection for the GameCube, but good God so many of the levels other than Green hill just have waiting andI’ve played the version on Mega Collection for the GameCube, but good God so many of the levels other than Green hill just have waiting and are slow as hell. The core gameplay is good bc it’s a 2D Sonic game, but it is not great Expand

See all 17 User Reviews