Imagine being a kid with motor control issues, a learning disability and zero social skills in the 90s, not exactly a friendly thing to be now let alone back then but then for your 6th birthday your mother gets you a Master System and it comes with THIS bad boy loaded into it:
This is the not a game that gave me vastly superior motor control skills and a means to push past myself, it was a game however that made me EARN them! Every roadblock encountered was pushed past in time, i remember to this day the first time i thought the game had started getting harder was Jungle Zone, especially the second act being a vertical stage and the boss would catch me out oh so often.
Then the Labyrinth Zone, oh boy when i eventually got to play the MegaDrive/Genesis version i was well prepared for that after this! But as stressful as it was i, at least, always felt that the music was good enough to give it another go (or two... or three 😛)
Then Scrap Brain Zone, which this version might just be my favourite just because of the music alone, it stirs feelings in me even today and really made me feel like the stakes were getting higher for Sonic and his world, the second act's "maze" had me confused for the longest time, something i find laughable for myself today but it's a fond memory regardless.
Then finally: Sky Base Zone, if anything made me earn my stripes it was right here especially the final boss! Such a tough hurdle to overcome but i'm not only proud to have overcome it but i'm glad that i had the experience that enabled me to continue onwards into the rest of the franchise with antcipation and an ever growing skill set.
Sonic 1 MS wasn't just a changing point for the betterment of my life, it was an amazing foundation for my love of gaming as a whole.
If you've read through this, sorry for the yap but thank you for doing so
~Rayl
