

Sega cut it out and added the Hedgehog instead. While designing the game, the animal that Sega was thinking of using before the Hedgehog was a Rabbit.At the time when Sega was trying to design a character that was fast, one illustration drawn by one of the people working on the project depicted Sonic singing in a rock band with (you ready for this?) his girlfriend Madonna! They took the concept and dropped Madonna out of it!.Sonic the Hedgehog was included on compilations for many platforms, including Sega Smash Pack: Volume 1 for Dreamcast, Sonic Mega Collection for Gamecube and Sonic Mega Collection Plus for Xbox, PlayStation 2 and Windows. Every other game in the series features 7 Emeralds. Of all the Sonic games, Sonic the Hedgehog is the only game to have only 6 Chaos Emeralds.

An option allows choice on viewing Japanese, United States, or European case and cartridge. In the beginning menu, the original Mega Drive case is displayed original game cartridge is too, when tapping to start a game. The Genesis version of Sonic the Hedgehog appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Collecting 100 rings gives Sonic an extra life. If Sonic is hit while not carrying any rings, he dies. If Sonic is hit by an enemy, all the rings he's carrying fall out and scatter around Sonic can quickly grab the rings back before they disappear. Throughout the platforming levels, Sonic collects numerous rings. Sonic's weapon is his spin attack while jumping, Sonic destroys hostile robots by touch. Sonic must grab them before he does in the 3D rotating bonus levels. Robotnik is trying to control the all-powerful chaos emeralds. Fortunately, Sonic can free his friends by destroying the robots with his spin attack. Robotnik has captured many of Sonic's animal friends and trapped them inside robots. Sonic rushes through levels with incredible speed, allowing him to traverse loops and jumps with ease. It's a side-scrolling platform game with a difference: speed. Sonic the Hedgehog is the first of many games starring Sega's premier hedgehog, Sonic.
