[Lord Nero]

Green Hill Zone.

Sonic 1 was the first game in the franchise I played sometime in late 1991. I can still remember my young 3 year old self dying all the time in that level, always wondering what came next. The music, the visuals, ect just speaks alot more to me then Emerald Hill ever has.
The level itself my have been done to death and back, be it the general trope or a full on remake, but one thing that always urked me about the clones/remakes is that none bring back the one trap that caused me the most trouble way back when, the spiked log!

[Vendettagainst]

Green Hill Zone to me, simply because it's got the better level design. Much better level design. EHZ kind of puts me to sleep.

[Aesculapius Piranha]

dsrb, on 06 July 2012 - 11:23 AM, said:

GHZ. Nostalgia + way better visual style + way more interesting gimmicks and level design + dat atmosphere + music + everything else… Oh, a better boss, too! Which isn't saying much when you consider EHZ's one, mind you.

Aesculapius Piranha, on 05 July 2012 - 09:09 PM, said:

Overall though, this is part of why I liked Sonic CD so much (and why I complained about the Tails sprites in the CD remake.) Visually it mimicked Sonic 1 far more than it did the other Sonic games

Well, it couldn't mimic games from the future, could it? :P

Quote

and it was easily my favourite looking Sonic game until CD showed up.

CD was your favourite-looking game until CD? Um. Or do you mean, confusing re-targeting of the word it aside, that S1 was your favourite until CD? In which case, I'd probably agree.

Sonic CD could have mimicked Sonic 2 closer in style, but I didn't really play Sonic CD till after Sonic 3 was out as well, so I was counting that in my complaint, though I know CD couldn't possibly mimic Sonic 3 even if it wanted to.

And to clarify, it is exactly as you said. Sonic 1 was visually my favourite Sonic game until Sonic CD, which remained my favourite visually for a long time and in a few respects still is.

[Ritz]

Lord Nero, on 06 July 2012 - 12:31 PM, said:

but one thing that always urked me about the clones/remakes is that none bring back the one trap that caused me the most trouble way back when, the spiked log!

[RuRi]

Lord Nero, on 06 July 2012 - 12:31 PM, said:

but one thing that always urked me about the clones/remakes is that none bring back the one trap that caused me the most trouble way back when, the spiked log!

W-what!? A gimmick that forces you to take your time!? What are you ON man


Although actually, yeah, why was there no spiked log in the Green Hill of Generations? such a wasted oppounity, and it could've easily fitted in the Modern stage, just by using boost to stick to the log (Which would probably be a lot larger), as you run around the nonspiked part.


But anyways, ontopic;
I actually kinda find this one to be a tough one, although I'd have to say Green Hill due to how iconic it is. While Emerald Hill does hold a lot of nostalgic value for me, nearly everyone and their mother remembers Green Hill with all it's loops, swings, spikes and wooden bridges. Emerald Hill doesn't really bring anything new or exciting to the trope.

[KingofHarts]

RuRi, on 07 July 2012 - 12:15 PM, said:

I actually kinda find this one to be a tough one, although I'd have to say Green Hill due to how iconic it is. While Emerald Hill does hold a lot of nostalgic value for me, nearly everyone and their mother remembers Green Hill with all it's loops, swings, spikes and wooden bridges. Emerald Hill doesn't really bring anything new or exciting to the trope.

Aside from the beautiful corkscrews, I agree.

[Overlord]

RuRi, on 07 July 2012 - 12:15 PM, said:

Lord Nero, on 06 July 2012 - 12:31 PM, said:

but one thing that always urked me about the clones/remakes is that none bring back the one trap that caused me the most trouble way back when, the spiked log!

W-what!? A gimmick that forces you to take your time!? What are you ON man

*runs*

Seriously, there have a been a few over the years. The nuts in Metropolis, the tank track things in Death Egg...

[SaviourDCX]

My first Sonic game was Sonic 2 and I enjoy Emerald Hill more because you can power drill dash, grab running shoes and it has parts where you use the springs for heaps of fast progression through the level...oh and Super Sonic using cheats.

[RuRi]

Overlord, on 09 July 2012 - 11:15 AM, said:

RuRi, on 07 July 2012 - 12:15 PM, said:

Lord Nero, on 06 July 2012 - 12:31 PM, said:

but one thing that always urked me about the clones/remakes is that none bring back the one trap that caused me the most trouble way back when, the spiked log!

W-what!? A gimmick that forces you to take your time!? What are you ON man

*runs*

Seriously, there have a been a few over the years. The nuts in Metropolis, the tank track things in Death Egg...

I know this, I was just saying how in recent games which has remakes of older levels, such as Sonic Generations, there isn't much in the "gotta go slow to do dis" gimmicks.

And that barrel man, the other day I played Sonic 3 with my cousin and she didn't know how to beat the barrel, so when I did she was like "oh my god"

[Chaos Rush]

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

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.

I'm pretty sure if you asked a gamer if he/she recognizes the GHZ or EHZ theme, 9 out of 10 times they'll say, "What the hell is that?", for both songs. Sonic isn't that popular.

[XCubed]

I chose Green Hill, but only for that fact that it's been redone 4,672 times.

Don't take this the wrong way, I love me some Emerald Hill and I will be the first in line to say that it deserves more attention. It's off to a sad start seeing its very first reprise in the form of Splash Hill.

[Jayextee]

After thinking about it, this question is pretty redundant -- Emerald Hill Zone is naught but a remake of Green Hill Zone in the first place. Didn't they even have the same name at some early point in Sonic 2's development (though I could be wrong there)?

[Hukos]

Jayextee, on 10 July 2012 - 08:57 AM, said:

After thinking about it, this question is pretty redundant -- Emerald Hill Zone is naught but a remake of Green Hill Zone in the first place. Didn't they even have the same name at some early point in Sonic 2's development (though I could be wrong there)?

If memory serves me correct, you're right. It was called Green Hill Zone in one of the prototypes, unless I'm remembering wrong or something.

[Afro Thunder]

Hukos, on 10 July 2012 - 02:40 PM, said:

Jayextee, on 10 July 2012 - 08:57 AM, said:

After thinking about it, this question is pretty redundant -- Emerald Hill Zone is naught but a remake of Green Hill Zone in the first place. Didn't they even have the same name at some early point in Sonic 2's development (though I could be wrong there)?

If memory serves me correct, you're right. It was called Green Hill Zone in one of the prototypes, unless I'm remembering wrong or something.

Both of you are correct. Early game magazine features called it Green Hill Zone, and Sonic Cult reffered to it as such in the prototypes section. Though, I'm unsure whether or not the magazine feature was from Sega Vision.

This post has been edited by Afro Thunder: 10 July 2012 - 02:47 PM

[Kampfer]

Although I like Emerald Hill better as a level because it facilitates speed better (even without spindash), Green Hill is more memorable. The checkerboard in the ground makes the zone not only memorable, but iconic, with later levels like Palmtree Panic and Seaside Hill making homages to that pattern in the ground. Green Hill also had more obstacles that the player encountered. Six Badniks (if you count each variety of Newtron separately), walls to break through, the spiked log, spiked pits, crumbling ledges, and S-tunnels. There is simply more to do in Green Hill, and more to draw back upon when thinking about the level than Emerald Hill.

I think Emerald Hill is a better first level. The loops had descending inclines after the loop to keep the player going the right way, multiple paths that intertwined, and less obstacles that suddenly stopped the action (for example, Green Hill has rocks that unless you know they are there beforehand will likely make the player come to a grinding halt unless they have quick reaction). But memorability goes to Green Hill (even though Sonic 2 was my first video game ever).