Sonic The HedgehogFor this month's "Maps of the Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to Maxim's Sonic The Hedgehog (Master System) maps.
In 1991, Nintendo's biggest rival, Sega, wanted a new mascot. And so they created a blue hedgehog who could run really fast. An unlikely hero? Not any more or less than a plumber who jumps real high and eats mushrooms. And so Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog held his own, even in his debut, up against Nintendo's Mario, who was fresh from the success of Super Mario Bros. 3 and just about to enter Super Mario World. Mario and Sonic epitomized the 16-bit console wars.
However, though Sonic helped sell many Sega Genesises, this month we're looking at the 8-bit version of it; this was the final game for the Sega Master System (at least in North America). It was actually released shortly after the Genesis game, and some European versions of the redesigned Master System (appropriately named the Sega Master System II) included Sonic The Hedgehog as a built-in game.
Maxim, our resident Master System fan, mapped out all six zones (which includes eighteen acts) and the eight Special Stages. Now we can all marvel at one of the Master System's most amazing-looking games; particularly impressive are the Jungle Zone and Labyrinth Zone.
So to recognize the effort put into making the maps of the Master System's swan song, Maxim's Sonic The Hedgehog maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps of the Month for February 2009.
