I grew up playing the 50 hertz version of Sonic 1, and honestly, I much prefer some of its music played slower. While I think that some of its music tracks are better suited to the 60 hertz version's speed, I significantly enjoy Marble Zone, Labyrinth Zone, Final Zone, Special Stages and especially Star Light Zone music tracks played on the 50 hertz version's speed. Star Light Zone is the one that really sticks out to me the most, as it simply sounds "too rushed" and "off" for me in the 60 hertz version. Its melody, to me, is one that works best at a slower pace, and sounds really relaxing and dream-like in the 50 hertz version.
It's rare I get to legit use the phrase "Oooh.. Right in the childhood." But that was it. Perfect. I don't think I could play through Star Light Zone now with this tempo, but man, it works so well as a standalone tune. I swear some of the 50hz Castlevania tunes had a good beat to them slowed down as well. I'll have to try and run the ROM in 50 to remember.
Sorry for the bump, but I said I was going to do it, and I finally have. Here is a 10 minute video to explain my views on Sonic 1 in 50Hz. http://youtu.be/iPhESbeKFIE LINK
The 60hz version was alright and pretty damn good, but it can't give me the same level of nostalgia the 50hz version did. I was born in Europe and I had an european Mega Drive way back then, bundled with a copy of Sonic 1. The levels, music, feel, graphics were just great. Now I have a Genesis import from US and the game has a negative-vibe to it. It almost feels like an entirely different game. I enjoy 50 hertz Spring Yard Zone far more compared to the 60 hz version IMO. It almost feels like SYZ was meant to be played at that speed.
It seems to me that only people who knew 50Hz Sonic first still prefer it to this day, even though many switched to 60Hz when given the opportunity, while absolutely nobody who grew up with 60Hz Sonic ever switched to 50Hz. This is not surprising, considering that the game was designed for 60Hz, and the 50Hz version is merely an afterthought.
The weird thing for me is I grew up with the 50Hz version as a child and being from the UK I never knew any different for years. It wasn't until I went back to play Sonic 2 on my real hardware that I noticed how drastically it affects the gameplay (I was using an emulator and simply found the MD in a cupboard at my mums), The 60Hz version is kinda more realistic to the memories I had as a kid than the 50Hz version was as an adult. Maybe it's just me but I think as a kid your mind does a lot of compensating to make these games seem faster and more colourful than they actually are, so the 60Hz version seems to be more in line with what I remember than the version I actually played as a kid.
I didn't grow up with 50hz Sonic, but I decided to try playing Sonic 1 at PAL speed just now. I can kind of see why people would like it though -- I felt super nimble. Slowing things down just a tad made me feel confident enough to do all kind of things that seemed too risky at 60fps speed and actually nail them consistently. It's not so much of a slowdown that it makes Sonic feel slow, while widening up your reaction window. The only thing that really felt like a pain were any sections where you waited on things (the Spring Yard elevators come to mind, yikes). Also, all of the music except the boss theme was bugging the shit out of me, it sounded wrong at the slower speed. SYZ sounded pretty laid back, really different feeling. Switching back to 60fps felt like I had speed shoes on for the first few minutes, haha.
At the 90s, I played all Classis Sonic games with a Sega Genesis 2, thus in 60Hz. Due this post I tested 50Hz, but I found it sluggish and almost unplayable. I am so used to 60Hz, I guess...
