I’ve been a Sonic fan since I was little, but it recently occurred to me that I’ve beaten a much larger percentage of modern games than the classics. Sonic 1 is the game I’ve played the least throughout my life despite being the first game in one of my favorite series ever, so I decided I should give it a casual play through and see where it all began.

I played on the ps5 Sonic Origins “Anniversary Edition” mode which includes widescreen along with adding the spindash and dropdash to Sonic’s moveset. It also eliminates lives entirely and makes the game infinitely easier by allowing you to restart no matter how many times you die. I don’t think this is a disruptive addition for me, because I’ve always used save states when playing the classic games. My reason is I’m not very good at them and I prefer a more casual gaming experience in general as I play games for fun. I still was able to have my fair share of frustration without having to restart the whole game over again. As a personal stipulation throughout this playthrough I decided I would use the spin/dropdash purely as a quality of life upgrade to get me quickly unstuck from situations instead of as a move to be constantly reliant on like in the other games. The level design in Sonic 1 just isn’t made for the spindash and I wanted to give it a fair chance, and after playing I feel it was nice but not particularly needed at all.

I won’t walk you through every single level I’m sure you already know what Green Hill is about, I’ll just hit the highlights.

I don’t understand why people hate Marble Zone. I know it’s a sonic game and you’re supposed to Go Fast! But I think all this level demands is a little patience. The bats were a major annoyance to me though.

My next big hurdle was Labyrinth Zone where I never really had drowning issues but the Burrobots and the spears really got me. Along with one section with the moving platforms on a conveyor belt where the fireball spitting gargoyle things knocked me off over and over again. The hardest part of the entire game was the boss of this level. The hitbox on the spears is so unforgiving and you have to chase Robotnik. Thankfully you don’t have to fully kill him, but getting through the chase sequence fast enough to avoid the water with only one hit allowed from a provided shield kept me stuck for the better part of 45 minutes. I realize I’m basically telling you about all the levels now but I have to mention how nice of a reprieve Starlight Zone was. Very fun level. I’ve always thought the music sounded melancholy.

Scrap Brain Act 3 makes me want to say bad things about the game. This is the only level where I really had drowning problems. Some sections felt like you had to do them perfectly as to not drown given the annoyingly stingy bubble rng. It’s like you have to have your countdown all the way at 5 when you arrive at the bubbles or you can’t get one. Maybe I’m misremembering but I feel like it was a lot more forgiving in the other games.

Apart from the previously mentioned Labyrinth Zone boss the rest were extremely easy as long as I wasn’t trying to rush it, this includes the final boss. I really enjoyed the dramatic “FINAL ZONE” text and yes it did feel tense knowing it was the final battle.

Overall I’m very glad I went back to play this game now instead of just going off of how I felt about it when I was younger. All of the other classic zones feel like remixes of the groundwork that Sonic 1 laid and it’s interesting to see where it all came from. Compared to the sequels Sonic 1 is simple and barebones, but without it Sonic couldn’t have evolved into what he did in later editions. Good gameplay, good art direction, good music, if I had to give it a rating I’d say 8/10

(Played: Feb 27 2026, Published: Mar 3 2026)