[Tanks]

I'm just interested in how people respond to this. I think there's a fundamental difference between those who like either zone. I've come to notice that with a preference for one or the other also comes with a different background and introduction into the Sonic franchise. Obviously, something as simple as an age gap can explain away the answers from many of the hardcore fans who grew up with the series. But looking at the fandom in a broader sense, I've come to find that the newcomers (Dreamcast and onward) have much more interesting explanations as to their preference. So please, go ahead and vote, but leave an explanation as well. If you'd like to, you can elaborate upon your experience with the franchise as well and how it influenced your choice.

As a warning, if this devolves into a cat-fight, I'll probably request for this thread to be locked. This isn't about which zone is better, but rather why you're inclined to pick that particular zone. If you cannot grasp the fact that everything that will be said in this thread is subjective then you probably need a few more years to mature.

I guess I have no choice but to start us off. I've picked Emerald Hill because it was the first zone I ever experienced in a sonic game. Like I said above, this is an age gap issue. I wasn't old enough to know of the greater 'game industry' and knew of Sonic only through AoStH. At this time Sega was bundling Sonic 2 with the Genesis and I guess that's how it happened. Emerald Hill was fast paced, spin dashing and rolling through giant loops with so many secret paths. Sometimes I'd reset the game just to see which ways went where. The music was extremely catchy and is probably the reason why I've come to respect the bass as a musical instrument.

Since the day I played Sonic 2, I always wondered how awesome Sonic 1 must have been, but a few years later when I picked the game out at a thrift store, I had no idea I was going to be let down so much. The game seemed slow, less vibrant, and didn't have the fucking spindash. But on the zone in question, Green Hill felt amazingly bland and I still remember commenting to a friend how the "colors weren't as cool as Emerald Hill's." I never found the zone's music to be enjoyable either and still do not to this day. Ok, so obviously back then I was a kid and hadn't fully grasped the concept of technology and how it progresses over time, but whether I like it or not, this was a definite factor in why I prefer Emerald Hill over Green Hill. Ultimately the zone was a let down and when I finally broke free of its shackles and was thrown into Marble Zone, I found myself enjoying the game a bit more. For some reason, Marble Zone made more of an impression on me than the very first zone of the very first Sonic game.

[P3DR0]

Green Hill Zone.


I'm not saying: "It's where it all started, so it's much more memorable". Not at all. Green Hill Zone is not just a better zone (level design), but it also have a more memorable and catchy music and always gave me that feeling that I can't really express in words, like this excitement. It has a way more "rustic" feeling to it that almost incorporates Sonic perfectly, it's almost like that zone was made especially for him in the same way that Mario fits so well in his zones. Emerald Hill didn't had this feeling in it, it almost looked like the zone was forjed for another game and Sonic was placed in there later on. Altough I gotta admit that Emerald Hill is way more pretty than GHZ, but it's one of the most forgettables zones in Sonic 2. I'm not really sure if it's because of Chemical Plant which almost takes the whole focus of the entire game, or its because its level design beeing so linear and boring.

So yeah, that's it. When I close my eyes with this question on my mind, I only see Green Hill Zone. <3


Edit:
Oh yeah, before I forget... Just so it don't see that I played GHZ first and that's why I like it better, my first Sonic game was S3&K (which Angel Island is by far, my favorite on this whole "First Zone Love" state), after that I played Sonic CD, and I remember how I liked Palmtree Panic, but at the same time felt very confused by the whole level design which kind of made me stay away from Sonic CD 'till my 10~11yo when I felt like I was "mature" enough to play it and understand it (which I did and loved every single minute on that game). After that, since I didn't owned a console, I wasn't able to play Sonic 1 nor 2 and that kind of killed me on the inside, I played Sonic 1 on my cousin's Master System and altough I liked it, it was weird, didn't looked or played good as S3&K did.
It was 'till my 12yo when I became to really dig deeper into the internet when I found a brazilian website (which is up 'till this recent days and it's by far one of the best and most complete Sonic fansites around the globe) called Power Sonic (http://www.powersonic.com.br/) which had a section of Emulators & Roms and I was finally able to play Sonic 1 and 2. I played Sonic 2 first and loved it as well, even if I missed that cool red dude and the elemental shields, and played Sonic 1... My first reaction to it was "where the hell is the spin dash?". I found the game sort of boring due the lack of spin dash and the levels weren't all of that fancy like they were on the other games. But it has an essence that none of the other two had (Sonic CD had it also), it was that Sonic essence that we all know and love, freakish places, weird and almost comic bosses and enemies, surrealistic enviroment... I don't know I felt so engaged by the game it was the same feeling I had while first playing S3&K or my Monkey Island games, that glimmer in my eyes that screams "Wow! This is amazing!". I also had this glimmer on Sonic 2, but wasn't really 'till Chemical Plant came stealing the scene. Emerald Hill didn't gave me the same feel as AIZ, PP and GHZ did.

This post has been edited by P3DR0: 05 July 2012 - 11:41 AM

[Aerosol]

This is tough for me, actually. I was introduced to Sonic with his first outing, and I spent a considerable amount of time in GHZ while we had Sonic 1. On the other hand, by the time the Mega Drive was mine, we only had Sonic 2, and I always viewed EHZ as the "get Super Sonic zone". They are about as memorable as each other, for me. Can't you add a "both" vote?

[Andrew75]

Green Hill for me

[Sey]

Green Hill Zone. Masterful level design which encouraged the building of momentum and mastering of the playing field to turn it into a pinball machine. Emerald Hill, and the Spin Dash, was very dumbed down in comparison and always felt kind of bland to me.

[JohnBoyAdvance]

Green Hill.

The level is better, theme music is better and the background is more vibrant.

The only thing Emerald Hill did was the corkscrew.

[Covarr]

Green hill is more memorable because it's jam packed with bottomless pits. I hate it, I hate that those up and down platforms between the spikes aren't solid on the sides, and in general the design of GHZ makes me mad whenever I play it, I feel like they've given us a lot of path options and said "okay, now take this one because the bottom ones all suck".

EHZ is more fun to me, but less memorable. It's specifically the things I don't like that really stand out most to me in GHZ, and EHZ has nothing of the sort.

This post has been edited by Covarr: 05 July 2012 - 11:56 AM

[null1024]

Green Hill.
Green Hill definitely has better level design. I remember playing Sonic 2 more than Sonic 1 as a kid, but Emerald Hill was short and the boss was pathetic. Green Hill's boss isn't terribly hard either, but it's definitely harder than Emerald Hill's.

On the other hand, to this day I still like the Emerald Hill music more than that of Green Hill. And Emerald Hill definitely looks a lot better. Green Hill's music is catchier though, helping with memorability.

[Peace Of Mind]

Despite my preferences, I have to go with Green Hill. It's what non-Sonic fans (as in people who are familiar with him, and may have played the first few games, but nothing more) instantly think of when his name comes to mind. It's the level that keeps coming back in 2D games (and even a 3D one) for nostalgia purposes. Plus, just about everyone who's played a Sonic game can recognize it's music. Ask a gamer if he knows this song, hum or whistle the few notes. 9 out of 10 times, he/she'll say "Oh yeah, that's, uh, from... Sonic, isn't it?" Emerald Hill, while a better and more vibrant stage IMO, simply isn't as well-known. If you hummed or whistled a bti of Emerald Hill's music to someone with only a passing knowledge of Sonic, chances are, he might not recognize it.

In short, Green Hill, because it's the most-well known stage out of the whole series.

[Cyrus Parker]

I think in general, Green Hill is more iconic, but personally for me, Emerald Hill is more memorable, for a lot of the same reasons OP mentioned. I wasn't able to play a Sonic game until Sonic 2, so Emerald Hill was my first hands on Sonic experience. Not only that, but me and my bro spent countless hours playing Sonic 2 when we were kids, so the entire game, and Emerald Hill being that it's the zone we've obviously played the most, it's just very nostalgic to me.

This post has been edited by Cyrus Parker: 05 July 2012 - 12:45 PM

[Ritz]

Peace Of Mind, on 05 July 2012 - 12:02 PM, said:

Emerald Hill, while a better and more vibrant stage IMO, simply isn't as well-known. If you hummed or whistled a bti of Emerald Hill's music to someone with only a passing knowledge of Sonic, chances are, he might not recognize it.

I seriously doubt that. Sonic 2 is the more popular game by far, it was packaged with the system and shattered sales records at the time, why would it not be the most widely recognized? I'm sure it got a lot more exposure from the non-Sonic playing pleb crowd because of all the two player features. If GHZ is more well-known, it's only because that's the narrative Sonic Team has established for us, it's the only classic Sonic zone they ever want to acknowledge the existence of.

That's precisely why I can't fucking stand it, actually! It's been done to death. It's ugly. The level design is a bit better for presenting a modicum of challenge, but people only remember this franchise for being fast, and EHZ sure tops GHZ for that. The music is in a somber key- that's notable and rare for a platformer of that era and I feel like I should love it for that, but I sure don't, so what gives? I wonder if I might've preferred it years ago before the entire zone got worn out? I don't even want to hear it now. Fuck GHZ.

The title of this thread should really be "Which game have you played first?"

This post has been edited by Ritz: 05 July 2012 - 12:58 PM

[LordOfSquad]

Well, Emerald Hill was the first Sonic level I ever played, but Green Hill is a lot more vibrant, and it's level design is a lot better. Emerald Hill is very flat both ways in comparison. So my vote's with Green Hill.

[Tanks]

So far I'm seeing what I predicted: Green Hill is 'iconic.' I did figure as much from this community, since the age gap tends to lean more heavily towards those who experienced Sonic 1 first, but I also noticed its what most of the newer Sonic fans think of in regards to classic Sonic. In my opinion, I can't see Sonic 1 and Green Hill being the pinnacle of classic sonic, but apparently a lot of people come to look at it as such. Its the first zone, the music is well known, and the badniks are unforgettable. I mean, heck, motobug. Ask a kid about the old Sonic games and they're likely to point to Green Hill knowing only that its a classic zone. I'm willing to bet Green Hill is so iconic for a lot of people that some don't even know its from Sonic 1. As far as they're concerned, its a classic Sonic level and that's it.

[Uberham]

Green Hill.

It has more going on in it, and just feels more full than emerald hill, With the breakable walls, swinging platforms, spike logs and S-Tunnels.

In comparison, Emerald Hills corkscrews and caves don't really measure up.

[Jayextee]

I voted Green Hill Zone. The clincher for me is Act 2, basically speedrunner-porn.