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I was just testing out some games today on my Genesis. I happened to pop in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 to test out a controller (see my thread here on the Sega forum about the compatibility of 6-button controllers for details). Now I haven't played the Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis games in a while because I played the hell out of them a while back. But I have been playing my Genesis.

I noticed that Sonic the Hedgehog 2 looks NOTICEABLY better than your average Genesis game. The colors are VERY bright and vibrant and just pop out at you. And to add to that: the speed at which everything moves is very impressive coupled with those graphics. The sound is also amazing. A lot of Genesis games' music is very generic, but Sonic the Hedgehog 2's music sounds great.

It just makes me wonder why a good number of other Genesis games just seemed toned down in comparison. Colors aren't as bright and vivid, and the sound just doesn't compare. It makes me wonder if maybe Sega kept some secrets about their console to themselves.

Its not just Sonic 2 really, all 4 of the main series Sonic games look stunning. The sharp color is but one reason among many that I love the Genesis Sonics.

Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles really stand out to me as favorites.

As for the reason, I've always assumed they simply put a lot of effort into it. Whatever it is, I've always appreciated it.

Thunder Force 3 makes me go bananas too!

Gunstar Heroes makes me want to have a milk shake.

sevin0seven wrote:Gunstar Heroes makes me want to have a milk shake.

I was going to mention this as well. The Sonic 3 (counting 3 + S&K as just one) really do stand out tho. Also, Dynamite Headdy.

Gnashvar wrote:Thunder Force 3 makes me go bananas too!

Does Thunder Force 4 make you go mega bananas?

Yeah, the Genesis Sonic games look fantastic and have aged really well. I love the art design in general for pretty much every zone in every game, it's so out there and different.

And I just love how Sonic CD takes it all to the next level.

Xeogred wrote:

Gnashvar wrote:Thunder Force 3 makes me go bananas too!

Does Thunder Force 4 make you go mega bananas?

Yeah, the Genesis Sonic games look fantastic and have aged really well. I love the art design in general for pretty much every zone in every game, it's so out there and different.

And I just love how Sonic CD takes it all to the next level.

Sonic CD really does look fantastic.

Stardust Speedway is just so damn gorgeous.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Looks Fantastic!

I agree! One time I was at a yard sale looking at someone's Sega Genesis with Sonic 2. I wanted to make sure the system worked before I bought it, so they let me connect it to a TV. The "SEEEEGA!" logo and bright, colorful scenery brought a smile to my face even though I already had a copy at home.

CFFJR wrote:Sonic CD really does look fantastic.

Stardust Speedway is just so damn gorgeous.

Yeah, I've explained it like 50 times already lol, but my favorite thing about the graphics in Sonic CD is the HUGE multi-layered backdrops that scaled whether you were going way up in the level or way down, so it just gave the levels a huge sense of scale moreso than any other 2D Sonic game.

Xeogred wrote:

CFFJR wrote:Sonic CD really does look fantastic.

Stardust Speedway is just so damn gorgeous.

Yeah, I've explained it like 50 times already lol, but my favorite thing about the graphics in Sonic CD is the HUGE multi-layered backdrops that scaled whether you were going way up in the level or way down, so it just gave the levels a huge sense of scale moreso than any other 2D Sonic game.

Which leads me to ask, have you seen this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CS9AyAdSjs

The most recent video (nearly a year old just the same) of the progress being made on Sonic Megamix.

This is an amazing level, with beautiful music and a backdrop that will blow you away.

If you haven't seen this before, watch it all the way through to see that scaling that you love.