 Echidna . The game was also released as part of the Nintendo 3DS 3D Classics line in May 2013 in Japan , and worldwide in December .   = = Reception = =   Sonic the Hedgehog was critically praised at its release and in retrospective reviews , with an 86 @-@ percent approval rating at the review aggregator GameRankings based on nine reviews . The game rivaled the Mario series , particularly Super Mario World ( which was recently released for Genesis rival Super Nintendo Entertainment System ) . Paul Rand of Computer and Video Games compared the two in depth and characterized Sonic the Hedgehog as being faster , with brighter colors , and Super Mario World as having more " depth of play " .   Reviewers noted the game 's colorful , detailed graphics . Rand called its color scheme " lively , but never garish " , praising the interaction of color with detail in the sprites , backgrounds , and animations and describing its graphics as the best available for the Genesis . Reviewer Boogie Man of GamePro called the intricate backgrounds " eye @-@ popping " and " gorgeous " , which was echoed by Mean Machines . According to the Lessers ( Hartley , Patricia , and Kirk ) of Dragon , " The graphics and animation in Sonic the Hedgehog make this a serious contender for the best video game of the year " and GameZone called the animation " some of the smoothest and fastest ... ever seen " . The music and sound effects were also well received ; Dragon called them " great " , and GameZone " amazing " . Rand noted " stacks of catchy tunes and jingles " , calling some of the sound effects " absolutely brilliant " . Although Mean Machines called the songs " vaguely appealing " , the game 's sound effects were better appreciated .   Critics cited the fast gameplay , unprecedented in platformers . GamePro 's Boogie Man noted its " lightning @-@ fast action " and , according to Electronic Gaming Monthly ( EGM ) , " If you thought the Enterprise was quick , wait till you see Sonic at warp speed . " The game 's difficulty was disputed , described as " impossible " by Rand and " average " by EGM . Rand said about the gameplay in general that it " plays like a dream " ; according to GameZone it would enchant players for hours , and Boogie Man praised Sonic Team 's ability to provide an engaging experience primarily from running and jumping . Although EGM , Dragon , and Paul of Mean Machines praised the level design ( especially the hidden rooms ) , Paul found losing all of one 's rings frustrating .   Sonic the Hedgehog has maintained its popularity , appearing on lists of the greatest video games of all time . Frank Provo of GameSpot described the game as " one of the best platformers of all time " , noting that despite technical issues in the Game Boy Advance port " after all these years , the underlying graphics , audio , and gameplay still hold up " . Lucas M. Thomas of IGN agreed that it stood the test of time : " You 'll be impressed by the clarity and color that come through ... Few people realize how difficult it was to create Sonic 's graphics engine , which allowed for the incredible rate of speed the game 's known for . But the technical achievement impressed back in ' 91 , and still does so today . " Mega ranked the game its third @-@ favorite Genesis title , and in 2001 Game Informer called it the 24th @-@ greatest game of all time . Sonic the Hedgehog has been a commercial success ; the original Genesis version sold over 15 million copies by February 2009 , and the mobile version had eight million paid downloads by 2008 .   = = Legacy = =   = = = Effect on the industry = = =   Primarily because of its Genesis bundling , Sonic the Hedgehog contributed to the console 's North American popularity . During October – December 1991 , the Genesis outsold the Super NES by a two @-@ to @-@ one ratio , and at its January 1992 peak claimed 65 percent of the market for 16 @-@ bit consoles . Although Nintendo eventually again overtook Sega , this was the first time since December 1985 that the company did not lead the console market .   Sonic the Hedgehog added speed and momentum @-@ based physics to the standard platform formula . Set @-@ pieces and mechanics introduced by the game ( such as loops , springs , and acceleration pads ) have appeared in other games and become associated with the Sonic series .   A flood of " animal with attitude " platformers , each featuring a cartoon mascot , were released after Sonic the Hedgehog : Bubsy , Aero the Acro @-@ Bat , James Pond 3 , Earthworm Jim , Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel , Awesome Possum , Ty the Tasmanian Tiger , Gex . This carried into the PlayStation era with games like Punky Skunk and Crash Bandicoot .   = = = Sequels and other media = = =   The game 's success led Sega to
ĠE chid na Ġ. ĠThe Ġgame Ġwas Ġalso Ġreleased Ġas Ġpart Ġof Ġthe ĠNintendo Ġ3 DS Ġ3 D ĠClassics Ġline Ġin ĠMay Ġ2013 Ġin ĠJapan Ġ, Ġand Ġworldwide Ġin ĠDecember Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠRe ception Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠSonic Ġthe ĠHedge hog Ġwas Ġcritically Ġpraised Ġat Ġits Ġrelease Ġand Ġin Ġretrospective Ġreviews Ġ, Ġwith Ġan Ġ86 Ġ@ - @ Ġpercent Ġapproval Ġrating Ġat Ġthe Ġreview Ġaggreg ator ĠGame Rank ings Ġbased Ġon Ġnine Ġreviews Ġ. ĠThe Ġgame Ġrival ed Ġthe ĠMario Ġseries Ġ, Ġparticularly ĠSuper ĠMario ĠWorld Ġ( Ġwhich Ġwas Ġrecently Ġreleased Ġfor ĠGenesis Ġrival ĠSuper ĠNintendo ĠEntertainment ĠSystem Ġ) Ġ. ĠPaul ĠRand Ġof ĠComputer Ġand ĠVideo ĠGames Ġcompared Ġthe Ġtwo Ġin Ġdepth Ġand Ġcharacterized ĠSonic Ġthe ĠHedge hog Ġas Ġbeing Ġfaster Ġ, Ġwith Ġbrighter Ġcolors Ġ, Ġand ĠSuper ĠMario ĠWorld Ġas Ġhaving Ġmore Ġ" Ġdepth Ġof Ġplay Ġ" Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠReview ers Ġnoted Ġthe Ġgame Ġ' s Ġcolorful Ġ, Ġdetailed Ġgraphics Ġ. ĠRand Ġcalled Ġits Ġcolor Ġscheme Ġ" Ġlively Ġ, Ġbut Ġnever Ġgar ish Ġ" Ġ, Ġpraising Ġthe Ġinteraction Ġof Ġcolor Ġwith Ġdetail Ġin Ġthe Ġsprites Ġ, Ġbackgrounds Ġ, Ġand Ġanimations Ġand Ġdescribing Ġits Ġgraphics Ġas Ġthe Ġbest Ġavailable Ġfor Ġthe ĠGenesis Ġ. ĠReview er ĠBo ogie ĠMan Ġof ĠGame Pro Ġcalled Ġthe Ġintricate Ġbackgrounds Ġ" Ġeye Ġ@ - @ Ġpopping Ġ" Ġand Ġ" Ġgorgeous Ġ" Ġ, Ġwhich Ġwas Ġechoed Ġby ĠMean ĠMachines Ġ. ĠAccording Ġto Ġthe ĠLess ers Ġ( ĠHart ley Ġ, ĠPatricia Ġ, Ġand ĠKirk Ġ) Ġof ĠDragon Ġ, Ġ" ĠThe Ġgraphics Ġand Ġanimation Ġin ĠSonic Ġthe ĠHedge hog Ġmake Ġthis Ġa Ġserious Ġcontender Ġfor Ġthe Ġbest Ġvideo Ġgame Ġof Ġthe Ġyear Ġ" Ġand ĠGame Zone Ġcalled Ġthe Ġanimation Ġ" Ġsome Ġof Ġthe Ġsmoot hest Ġand Ġfastest Ġ... Ġever Ġseen Ġ" Ġ. ĠThe Ġmusic Ġand Ġsound Ġeffects Ġwere Ġalso Ġwell Ġreceived Ġ; ĠDragon Ġcalled Ġthem Ġ" Ġgreat Ġ" Ġ, Ġand ĠGame Zone Ġ" Ġamazing Ġ" Ġ. ĠRand Ġnoted Ġ" Ġstacks Ġof Ġcatchy Ġtunes Ġand Ġj ing les Ġ" Ġ, Ġcalling Ġsome Ġof Ġthe Ġsound Ġeffects Ġ" Ġabsolutely Ġbrilliant Ġ" Ġ. ĠAlthough ĠMean ĠMachines Ġcalled Ġthe Ġsongs Ġ" Ġvaguely Ġappealing Ġ" Ġ, Ġthe Ġgame Ġ' s Ġsound Ġeffects Ġwere Ġbetter Ġappreciated Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠCritics Ġcited Ġthe Ġfast Ġgameplay Ġ, Ġunprecedented Ġin Ġplatform ers Ġ. ĠGame Pro Ġ' s ĠBo ogie ĠMan Ġnoted Ġits Ġ" Ġlightning Ġ@ - @ Ġfast Ġaction Ġ" Ġand Ġ, Ġaccording Ġto ĠElectronic ĠGaming ĠMonthly Ġ( ĠE GM Ġ) Ġ, Ġ" ĠIf Ġyou Ġthought Ġthe ĠEnterprise Ġwas Ġquick Ġ, Ġwait Ġtill Ġyou Ġsee ĠSonic Ġat Ġwarp Ġspeed Ġ. Ġ" ĠThe Ġgame Ġ' s Ġdifficulty Ġwas Ġdisputed Ġ, Ġdescribed Ġas Ġ" Ġimpossible Ġ" Ġby ĠRand Ġand Ġ" Ġaverage Ġ" Ġby ĠE GM Ġ. ĠRand Ġsaid Ġabout Ġthe Ġgameplay Ġin Ġgeneral Ġthat Ġit Ġ" Ġplays Ġlike Ġa Ġdream Ġ" Ġ; Ġaccording Ġto ĠGame Zone Ġit Ġwould Ġenchant Ġplayers Ġfor Ġhours Ġ, Ġand ĠBo ogie ĠMan Ġpraised ĠSonic ĠTeam Ġ' s Ġability Ġto Ġprovide Ġan Ġengaging Ġexperience Ġprimarily Ġfrom Ġrunning Ġand Ġjumping Ġ. ĠAlthough ĠE GM Ġ, ĠDragon Ġ, Ġand ĠPaul Ġof ĠMean ĠMachines Ġpraised Ġthe Ġlevel Ġdesign Ġ( Ġespecially Ġthe Ġhidden Ġrooms Ġ) Ġ, ĠPaul Ġfound Ġlosing Ġall Ġof Ġone Ġ' s Ġrings Ġfrustrating Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠSonic Ġthe ĠHedge hog Ġhas Ġmaintained Ġits Ġpopularity Ġ, Ġappearing Ġon Ġlists Ġof Ġthe Ġgreatest Ġvideo Ġgames Ġof Ġall Ġtime Ġ. ĠFrank ĠProv o Ġof ĠGame Spot Ġdescribed Ġthe Ġgame Ġas Ġ" Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġbest Ġplatform ers Ġof Ġall Ġtime Ġ" Ġ, Ġnoting Ġthat Ġdespite Ġtechnical Ġissues Ġin Ġthe ĠGame ĠBoy ĠAdvance Ġport Ġ" Ġafter Ġall Ġthese Ġyears Ġ, Ġthe Ġunderlying Ġgraphics Ġ, Ġaudio Ġ, Ġand Ġgameplay Ġstill Ġhold Ġup Ġ" Ġ. ĠLucas ĠM . ĠThomas Ġof ĠIGN Ġagreed Ġthat Ġit Ġstood Ġthe Ġtest Ġof Ġtime Ġ: Ġ" ĠYou Ġ' ll Ġbe Ġimpressed Ġby Ġthe Ġclarity Ġand Ġcolor Ġthat Ġcome Ġthrough Ġ... ĠFew Ġpeople Ġrealize Ġhow Ġdifficult Ġit Ġwas Ġto Ġcreate ĠSonic Ġ' s Ġgraphics Ġengine Ġ, Ġwhich Ġallowed Ġfor Ġthe Ġincredible Ġrate Ġof Ġspeed Ġthe Ġgame Ġ' s Ġknown Ġfor Ġ. ĠBut Ġthe Ġtechnical Ġachievement Ġimpressed Ġback Ġin Ġ' Ġ91 Ġ, Ġand Ġstill Ġdoes Ġso Ġtoday Ġ. Ġ" ĠMega Ġranked Ġthe Ġgame Ġits Ġthird Ġ@ - @ Ġfavorite ĠGenesis Ġtitle Ġ, Ġand Ġin Ġ2001 ĠGame ĠIn former Ġcalled Ġit Ġthe Ġ24 th Ġ@ - @ Ġgreatest Ġgame Ġof Ġall Ġtime Ġ. ĠSonic Ġthe ĠHedge hog Ġhas Ġbeen Ġa Ġcommercial Ġsuccess Ġ; Ġthe Ġoriginal ĠGenesis Ġversion Ġsold Ġover Ġ15 Ġmillion Ġcopies Ġby ĠFebruary Ġ2009 Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġmobile Ġversion Ġhad Ġeight Ġmillion Ġpaid Ġdownloads Ġby Ġ2008 Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠLegacy Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠEffect Ġon Ġthe Ġindustry Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠPrim arily Ġbecause Ġof Ġits ĠGenesis Ġbund ling Ġ, ĠSonic Ġthe ĠHedge hog Ġcontributed Ġto Ġthe Ġconsole Ġ' s ĠNorth ĠAmerican Ġpopularity Ġ. ĠDuring ĠOctober ĠâĢĵ ĠDecember Ġ1991 Ġ, Ġthe ĠGenesis Ġout sold Ġthe ĠSuper ĠNES Ġby Ġa Ġtwo Ġ@ - @ Ġto Ġ@ - @ Ġone Ġratio Ġ, Ġand Ġat Ġits ĠJanuary Ġ1992 Ġpeak Ġclaimed Ġ65 Ġpercent Ġof Ġthe Ġmarket Ġfor Ġ16 Ġ@ - @ Ġbit Ġconsoles Ġ. ĠAlthough ĠNintendo Ġeventually Ġagain Ġovert ook ĠSega Ġ, Ġthis Ġwas Ġthe Ġfirst Ġtime Ġsince ĠDecember Ġ1985 Ġthat Ġthe Ġcompany Ġdid Ġnot Ġlead Ġthe Ġconsole Ġmarket Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠSonic Ġthe ĠHedge hog Ġadded Ġspeed Ġand Ġmomentum Ġ@ - @ Ġbased Ġphysics Ġto Ġthe Ġstandard Ġplatform Ġformula Ġ. ĠSet Ġ@ - @ Ġpieces Ġand Ġmechanics Ġintroduced Ġby Ġthe Ġgame Ġ( Ġsuch Ġas Ġloops Ġ, Ġsprings Ġ, Ġand Ġacceleration Ġpads Ġ) Ġhave Ġappeared Ġin Ġother Ġgames Ġand Ġbecome Ġassociated Ġwith Ġthe ĠSonic Ġseries Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠA Ġflood Ġof Ġ" Ġanimal Ġwith Ġattitude Ġ" Ġplatform ers Ġ, Ġeach Ġfeaturing Ġa Ġcartoon Ġmascot Ġ, Ġwere Ġreleased Ġafter ĠSonic Ġthe ĠHedge hog Ġ: ĠBub sy Ġ, ĠAero Ġthe ĠAc ro Ġ@ - @ ĠBat Ġ, ĠJames ĠPond Ġ3 Ġ, ĠEarth worm ĠJim Ġ, ĠZero Ġthe ĠKam ik aze ĠSquirrel Ġ, ĠAwesome ĠPoss um Ġ, ĠTy Ġthe ĠTasman ian ĠTiger Ġ, ĠG ex Ġ. ĠThis Ġcarried Ġinto Ġthe ĠPlayStation Ġera Ġwith Ġgames Ġlike ĠPun ky ĠSk unk Ġand ĠCrash ĠBand ic oot Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠSequ els Ġand Ġother Ġmedia Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġgame Ġ' s Ġsuccess Ġled ĠSega Ġto