 be avoided by breathing air bubbles periodically released from vents ) . Sonic 's main attack is his spin , where he curls into a ball and rotates rapidly ( damaging enemies and some obstacles ) . This can be performed by jumping in the air or rolling on the ground .   Scattered around each level map are gold rings , and collecting 100 rings rewards the player with an extra life . Rings are a layer of protection against hazards ; if Sonic has at least one ring when he collides with an enemy ( or obstacle ) , he will survive . However , all his rings will be scattered ; they will flicker and disappear in a few seconds if they are not picked up again . If Sonic is hit without any rings , he loses a life . Although shields and temporary invincibility may be collected to provide additional protection , certain hazards ( such as drowning , being crushed , falling down a bottomless pit or running out of time ) will cost Sonic a life regardless of rings or other protection .   The game is divided into six zones ( Green Hill , Marble , Spring Yard , Labyrinth , Star Light , and Scrap Brain ) , each with its own visual style and enemies . A player must navigate through each zone ( subdivided into three acts ) to progress . At the end of each zone 's third act , the player confronts Dr. Robotnik ( who pilots a different vehicle each time ) in a boss fight . After the sixth zone , the player continues directly to the Final Zone for a last encounter with Robotnik .   The player begins with three lives ( power @-@ ups and rings add more ) , which are lost when Sonic collides with hazardous enemies ( or objects ) without rings , falls off @-@ screen or exceeds an act 's ten @-@ minute time limit . Lampposts acting as checkpoints allow Sonic to return to the most @-@ recently activated post when he loses a life . If he loses a life as a result of time running out but has another life , the timer will reset to 0 : 00 when he returns to the checkpoint . If all lives are lost at any point in the game , the game over screen will appear ( when the player can return to the beginning of the act with three lives , if they have any continues ) .   When Sonic reaches the end of act one or act two of a zone with at least fifty rings , a large ring appears through which he can jump to enter a Special Stage ( a " Secret Zone " in the original Genesis manual ) . In each of six Special Stages , Sonic bounces off the bumpers and walls of a rotating maze in spin attack . Although the player earns a continue with each 50 rings found , their main goal is to obtain the Chaos Emerald at the end of the maze without colliding with a " goal block " ( which ends the level ) .   = = Development = =   = = = Background and character design = = =   In 1990 , Sega ordered its in @-@ house development studio , AM8 , to develop a game featuring a mascot for the company . This was a position already held by the character Alex Kidd , but he was considered similar to Mario and deemed unsatisfactory ; Sega president Hayao Nakayama wanted a character as iconic as Mickey Mouse . Sega had competition from Nintendo and its mascot , Mario , in mind ; Nintendo was dominant at the time , particularly after the release of the successful Super Mario Bros. 3 , and Sega wanted a foothold in the industry . Although the company had some success with Genesis ports of its arcade titles , it knew this would not be enough .   AM8 developed ideas for characters , an engine , and gameplay mechanics . Development emphasized speed , so AM8 eliminated character designs not associated with fast animals , as well as fast creatures like kangaroos and squirrels . One idea , a rabbit able to grasp objects with prehensile ears , showed promise at first but was too complex for the available hardware . The team narrowed its search to animals that can roll into a ball , their idea for an attacking move . Designers then realized that this would not seem aggressive enough , so they focused on two animals with spikes : armadillos and hedgehogs . The hedgehog character , first proposed by Naoto Ohshima , prevailed , although the armadillo would later become the basis for Mighty the Armadillo ( who first appeared in 1993 's SegaSonic the Hedgehog ) . Ohshima has admitted since that he created Sonic 's basic design by combining Felix the Cat 's head with Mickey Mouse 's body .   Sonic was originally teal @-@ colored , then a light shade of blue , but he was changed to dark blue so he would stand out against certain backgrounds and to match the Sega logo . His shoes were colored red through the inspiration of Michael Jackson 's boots on the album cover for Bad and the outfit of Santa Claus , whom Ohshima saw as the most " famous character in the world " . Sonic 's spikes were
Ġbe Ġavoided Ġby Ġbreathing Ġair Ġbubbles Ġperiodically Ġreleased Ġfrom Ġvents Ġ) Ġ. ĠSonic Ġ' s Ġmain Ġattack Ġis Ġhis Ġspin Ġ, Ġwhere Ġhe Ġcurls Ġinto Ġa Ġball Ġand Ġrot ates Ġrapidly Ġ( Ġdamaging Ġenemies Ġand Ġsome Ġobstacles Ġ) Ġ. ĠThis Ġcan Ġbe Ġperformed Ġby Ġjumping Ġin Ġthe Ġair Ġor Ġrolling Ġon Ġthe Ġground Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠSc attered Ġaround Ġeach Ġlevel Ġmap Ġare Ġgold Ġrings Ġ, Ġand Ġcollecting Ġ100 Ġrings Ġrewards Ġthe Ġplayer Ġwith Ġan Ġextra Ġlife Ġ. ĠRings Ġare Ġa Ġlayer Ġof Ġprotection Ġagainst Ġhazards Ġ; Ġif ĠSonic Ġhas Ġat Ġleast Ġone Ġring Ġwhen Ġhe Ġcoll ides Ġwith Ġan Ġenemy Ġ( Ġor Ġobstacle Ġ) Ġ, Ġhe Ġwill Ġsurvive Ġ. ĠHowever Ġ, Ġall Ġhis Ġrings Ġwill Ġbe Ġscattered Ġ; Ġthey Ġwill Ġfl icker Ġand Ġdisappear Ġin Ġa Ġfew Ġseconds Ġif Ġthey Ġare Ġnot Ġpicked Ġup Ġagain Ġ. ĠIf ĠSonic Ġis Ġhit Ġwithout Ġany Ġrings Ġ, Ġhe Ġloses Ġa Ġlife Ġ. ĠAlthough Ġshields Ġand Ġtemporary Ġinv inc ibility Ġmay Ġbe Ġcollected Ġto Ġprovide Ġadditional Ġprotection Ġ, Ġcertain Ġhazards Ġ( Ġsuch Ġas Ġdrowning Ġ, Ġbeing Ġcrushed Ġ, Ġfalling Ġdown Ġa Ġbottom less Ġpit Ġor Ġrunning Ġout Ġof Ġtime Ġ) Ġwill Ġcost ĠSonic Ġa Ġlife Ġregardless Ġof Ġrings Ġor Ġother Ġprotection Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġgame Ġis Ġdivided Ġinto Ġsix Ġzones Ġ( ĠGreen ĠHill Ġ, ĠMarble Ġ, ĠSpring ĠYard Ġ, ĠLabyrinth Ġ, ĠStar ĠLight Ġ, Ġand ĠSc rap ĠBrain Ġ) Ġ, Ġeach Ġwith Ġits Ġown Ġvisual Ġstyle Ġand Ġenemies Ġ. ĠA Ġplayer Ġmust Ġnavigate Ġthrough Ġeach Ġzone Ġ( Ġsubdiv ided Ġinto Ġthree Ġacts Ġ) Ġto Ġprogress Ġ. ĠAt Ġthe Ġend Ġof Ġeach Ġzone Ġ' s Ġthird Ġact Ġ, Ġthe Ġplayer Ġconfronts ĠDr . ĠRobot nik Ġ( Ġwho Ġpilots Ġa Ġdifferent Ġvehicle Ġeach Ġtime Ġ) Ġin Ġa Ġboss Ġfight Ġ. ĠAfter Ġthe Ġsixth Ġzone Ġ, Ġthe Ġplayer Ġcontinues Ġdirectly Ġto Ġthe ĠFinal ĠZone Ġfor Ġa Ġlast Ġencounter Ġwith ĠRobot nik Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġplayer Ġbegins Ġwith Ġthree Ġlives Ġ( Ġpower Ġ@ - @ Ġups Ġand Ġrings Ġadd Ġmore Ġ) Ġ, Ġwhich Ġare Ġlost Ġwhen ĠSonic Ġcoll ides Ġwith Ġhazardous Ġenemies Ġ( Ġor Ġobjects Ġ) Ġwithout Ġrings Ġ, Ġfalls Ġoff Ġ@ - @ Ġscreen Ġor Ġexceeds Ġan Ġact Ġ' s Ġten Ġ@ - @ Ġminute Ġtime Ġlimit Ġ. ĠLam pp ost s Ġacting Ġas Ġcheckpoints Ġallow ĠSonic Ġto Ġreturn Ġto Ġthe Ġmost Ġ@ - @ Ġrecently Ġactivated Ġpost Ġwhen Ġhe Ġloses Ġa Ġlife Ġ. ĠIf Ġhe Ġloses Ġa Ġlife Ġas Ġa Ġresult Ġof Ġtime Ġrunning Ġout Ġbut Ġhas Ġanother Ġlife Ġ, Ġthe Ġtimer Ġwill Ġreset Ġto Ġ0 Ġ: Ġ00 Ġwhen Ġhe Ġreturns Ġto Ġthe Ġcheckpoint Ġ. ĠIf Ġall Ġlives Ġare Ġlost Ġat Ġany Ġpoint Ġin Ġthe Ġgame Ġ, Ġthe Ġgame Ġover Ġscreen Ġwill Ġappear Ġ( Ġwhen Ġthe Ġplayer Ġcan Ġreturn Ġto Ġthe Ġbeginning Ġof Ġthe Ġact Ġwith Ġthree Ġlives Ġ, Ġif Ġthey Ġhave Ġany Ġcontinues Ġ) Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠWhen ĠSonic Ġreaches Ġthe Ġend Ġof Ġact Ġone Ġor Ġact Ġtwo Ġof Ġa Ġzone Ġwith Ġat Ġleast Ġfifty Ġrings Ġ, Ġa Ġlarge Ġring Ġappears Ġthrough Ġwhich Ġhe Ġcan Ġjump Ġto Ġenter Ġa ĠSpecial ĠStage Ġ( Ġa Ġ" ĠSecret ĠZone Ġ" Ġin Ġthe Ġoriginal ĠGenesis Ġmanual Ġ) Ġ. ĠIn Ġeach Ġof Ġsix ĠSpecial ĠSt ages Ġ, ĠSonic Ġbounces Ġoff Ġthe Ġbump ers Ġand Ġwalls Ġof Ġa Ġrotating Ġmaze Ġin Ġspin Ġattack Ġ. ĠAlthough Ġthe Ġplayer Ġearns Ġa Ġcontinue Ġwith Ġeach Ġ50 Ġrings Ġfound Ġ, Ġtheir Ġmain Ġgoal Ġis Ġto Ġobtain Ġthe ĠChaos ĠEmerald Ġat Ġthe Ġend Ġof Ġthe Ġmaze Ġwithout Ġcoll iding Ġwith Ġa Ġ" Ġgoal Ġblock Ġ" Ġ( Ġwhich Ġends Ġthe Ġlevel Ġ) Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠDevelopment Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠBackground Ġand Ġcharacter Ġdesign Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġ1990 Ġ, ĠSega Ġordered Ġits Ġin Ġ@ - @ Ġhouse Ġdevelopment Ġstudio Ġ, ĠAM 8 Ġ, Ġto Ġdevelop Ġa Ġgame Ġfeaturing Ġa Ġmascot Ġfor Ġthe Ġcompany Ġ. ĠThis Ġwas Ġa Ġposition Ġalready Ġheld Ġby Ġthe Ġcharacter ĠAlex ĠKidd Ġ, Ġbut Ġhe Ġwas Ġconsidered Ġsimilar Ġto ĠMario Ġand Ġdeemed Ġunsatisf actory Ġ; ĠSega Ġpresident ĠHay ao ĠNak ay ama Ġwanted Ġa Ġcharacter Ġas Ġiconic Ġas ĠMickey ĠMouse Ġ. ĠSega Ġhad Ġcompetition Ġfrom ĠNintendo Ġand Ġits Ġmascot Ġ, ĠMario Ġ, Ġin Ġmind Ġ; ĠNintendo Ġwas Ġdominant Ġat Ġthe Ġtime Ġ, Ġparticularly Ġafter Ġthe Ġrelease Ġof Ġthe Ġsuccessful ĠSuper ĠMario ĠBros . Ġ3 Ġ, Ġand ĠSega Ġwanted Ġa Ġfoothold Ġin Ġthe Ġindustry Ġ. ĠAlthough Ġthe Ġcompany Ġhad Ġsome Ġsuccess Ġwith ĠGenesis Ġports Ġof Ġits Ġarcade Ġtitles Ġ, Ġit Ġknew Ġthis Ġwould Ġnot Ġbe Ġenough Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAM 8 Ġdeveloped Ġideas Ġfor Ġcharacters Ġ, Ġan Ġengine Ġ, Ġand Ġgameplay Ġmechanics Ġ. ĠDevelopment Ġemphasized Ġspeed Ġ, Ġso ĠAM 8 Ġeliminated Ġcharacter Ġdesigns Ġnot Ġassociated Ġwith Ġfast Ġanimals Ġ, Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġfast Ġcreatures Ġlike Ġk ang aro os Ġand Ġsquirrel s Ġ. ĠOne Ġidea Ġ, Ġa Ġrabbit Ġable Ġto Ġgrasp Ġobjects Ġwith Ġpre hens ile Ġears Ġ, Ġshowed Ġpromise Ġat Ġfirst Ġbut Ġwas Ġtoo Ġcomplex Ġfor Ġthe Ġavailable Ġhardware Ġ. ĠThe Ġteam Ġnarrowed Ġits Ġsearch Ġto Ġanimals Ġthat Ġcan Ġroll Ġinto Ġa Ġball Ġ, Ġtheir Ġidea Ġfor Ġan Ġattacking Ġmove Ġ. ĠDesign ers Ġthen Ġrealized Ġthat Ġthis Ġwould Ġnot Ġseem Ġaggressive Ġenough Ġ, Ġso Ġthey Ġfocused Ġon Ġtwo Ġanimals Ġwith Ġspikes Ġ: Ġarm ad ill os Ġand Ġhedge h ogs Ġ. ĠThe Ġhedge hog Ġcharacter Ġ, Ġfirst Ġproposed Ġby ĠNa oto ĠOh sh ima Ġ, Ġprevailed Ġ, Ġalthough Ġthe Ġarm ad illo Ġwould Ġlater Ġbecome Ġthe Ġbasis Ġfor ĠMighty Ġthe ĠArm ad illo Ġ( Ġwho Ġfirst Ġappeared Ġin Ġ1993 Ġ' s ĠSega S onic Ġthe ĠHedge hog Ġ) Ġ. ĠOh sh ima Ġhas Ġadmitted Ġsince Ġthat Ġhe Ġcreated ĠSonic Ġ' s Ġbasic Ġdesign Ġby Ġcombining ĠFelix Ġthe ĠCat Ġ' s Ġhead Ġwith ĠMickey ĠMouse Ġ' s Ġbody Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠSonic Ġwas Ġoriginally Ġte al Ġ@ - @ Ġcolored Ġ, Ġthen Ġa Ġlight Ġshade Ġof Ġblue Ġ, Ġbut Ġhe Ġwas Ġchanged Ġto Ġdark Ġblue Ġso Ġhe Ġwould Ġstand Ġout Ġagainst Ġcertain Ġbackgrounds Ġand Ġto Ġmatch Ġthe ĠSega Ġlogo Ġ. ĠHis Ġshoes Ġwere Ġcolored Ġred Ġthrough Ġthe Ġinspiration Ġof ĠMichael ĠJackson Ġ' s Ġboots Ġon Ġthe Ġalbum Ġcover Ġfor ĠBad Ġand Ġthe Ġoutfit Ġof ĠSanta ĠClaus Ġ, Ġwhom ĠOh sh ima Ġsaw Ġas Ġthe Ġmost Ġ" Ġfamous Ġcharacter Ġin Ġthe Ġworld Ġ" Ġ. ĠSonic Ġ' s Ġspikes Ġwere