Foggy's Playground Zone, ACT 1 - Nostalgic Sonic! 《≈ᴖ.ᴖ≈》*

[foggy_han]

Kids... step aside. It is Mommy's turn now!

...sorry guys, I always wanted to say this one.

So, here it is my first "Let's Play" ever. Most of you already know (if not, the title of the thread should give a hint)
that I am taking on the first, original Sonic the Hedgehog, which was effectively my second console game on the
Sega Mega Drive, back in 1992. I remember struggling with it a lot in the beginning, and crying when I got stuck
but I also remember how much I played/enjoyed it after I got the grip to it. I had a lot of fun going through the
game again. It gave me a very nostalgic (and warm) feeling... ^^

Anyway, the style of my gameplay here will be speed. I will not attempt to get many lives nor many points.
It will be just the result of me trying to complete the game as fast as I can, avoiding hazards at all cost, of course. ^^'

But before getting started, I will just make a little explanation about the controls
and some insight on the process of recording, the emulator used, and other details.

As for the controls, I used the keyboard. I would have used a gamepad any day of the year, for the comfort
apect of it, if mine were not so old and used (abused) but I usually feel that the keys are more precise.
(Also, I heard some "Doctor" here uses the keyboard too, so it could open way for... competition? )

Now, for the recording process, I used the "gens v11a Re-recording" I obtained from the paradise that is emu... paradise. Yes.
Anyway, there is an option under the "Tool" tab that says "start AVI dump", so it would be really easy, but here is the catch:
my somewhat old PC (almost 7 years now... just a few years to puberty) is not able to run the game properly while doing this.
While "dumping" the AVI, the game gets a lot of frames cut and the screen on the emulator window sometimes goes black,
heavily compromising my gameplay. The AVI ends up intact, however, like there were no lagging or glitches. (I tried with VBA
once, recording a GBA game called "Kirby Nightmare in Dreamland" and was even worse...) So, one day, I start making some
tests with the "gens v11a" and learned how to use the "record movie" function, which records, from what I can understand, the
keys I press, allowing to reproduce my performance from a save file. That was just what I needed to counter the AVI recording
problem. I just "record the keys", play the recorded "movie", start dumping the AVI with my key recording and...simply wait. ^^
Even if the screen blacks out or gets sluggish, it will not affect my gameplay because the performance was already made.
(Nyarharhar! Take that, technology!) And this is to say that I would never even dream of making a "Let's Play" if it was not
for that specific emulator. (and yes, this means I probably took a nap between Zones... or even made test runs. )

Oh, before I forget, this is also why you will see, in the end of every video, the words "Movie Finished". That is because
I stopped the "key recording" but still allowed the AVI dump. I am fairly disappointed with youtube also, since it literally
"halved" the frame rate of my videos, and they look a lot... well... "crappier" (if I may) than they really are...

At least youtube has "annotations"... (and believe me, you will see plenty of them. )

Enough chatter! Let's rock.

Green Hill Zone

Spoiler warning:

Wow, I am kinda excited to show this off.
I bet some of you want to see me crash in many different and funny ways, but remember
this is the good old first level... so do not expect me to just hit things randomly.



And, since this is my first "Let's Play", I thought of adding a comic strip from Taeshi's
"Not Enough Rings" (that I bet you all know by now... but if not, go read my thread. )
usually related to what will happen in the Zone referenced. So, here:



"Easy bosses look better with sparklies..."

Marble Zone

Spoiler warning:

Here is the second one. We have now reached the perilous Marble Zone. Will Lil'baby Sonic be safe under Foggy's guidance?
How many rings will be lost because of the boiling lava pits? And what is the worst, possibly most deadly, mean and vicious
badnik of them all? Answers to these questions inside...



I chose the next comic strip because I wanted to, instead of making a reference to the
zone itself, make a reference to the pain that is to go through that special stage hell...



"So true, Taeshi. So... true."

Spring Yard Zone

Spoiler warning:

Alright, after this we will be halfway through the game. And if Foggy gets the last two emeralds here,
the second half of the "race" will be much quicker. I like this zone because it is a nice break between
the tough, slow, Marble Zone, and the equally troublesome Labyrinth. Anyway, I will introduce you
here to a little something I like to call... the "Leap of Faith"...



The next situation did not, obviously, happened this time. But I have a kinda vague memory of me holding the Sega controller
and staring at the TV screen for like... some long seconds when the following just happened to me. I believe I was 4, since I
am pretty sure I took a month or two to finish the game the first time... but without having all the emeralds, I remember that.
Anyway, "joke's on you":



"And that was how I was first introduced to the concept of suicide..."

Labyrinth Zone

Spoiler warning:

Gosh, I finally got rid of those crazy special stages. But here comes the Labyrinth Zone. Ouch.
I tried to be a little more reckless in this one, so there might be some... drowning? Who knows...
And what about the boss that just flees? You know, I think someone should give him a lesson...



At least the soundtrack is really nice to hear... except when you start drowning, of course.
Anyway, for those who always wondered, like me, why this Zone's boss is such a strange one:



"Makes a lot of sense now, doesn't it? I would say this totally changes lives..."

Star Light Zone

Spoiler warning:

Fresh air feels nice. This one is awkwardly easy, but also fast. Really lovely tune, by the way.
Oh, and I present you with the gift of being able to see my hesitations (read: stalling) during
the boss battle (that was supposed to be quick) driven by the fear of losing my first ring...



Again, a reference to the boss battle. I also agree that this is one of the easiest boss
battles in the game. Still, knowing that did not prevent me from being a total slowpoke. ^^'



"Oh, no, please! Do anything you want, but don't remove the springs!! XD"

Scrap Brain Zone

Spoiler warning:

I am afraid I am going to disappoint you all this time. You see, I kinda... well... "terminated" the recording
in the transition to Act 3... which means that said Act will be, effectively, part of the "Final Zone" video...
I know. I am really really sorry! I just thought the first two would take a lot more to finish! x´D



*sigh* ... such a short video. Anyway, this is the last comic I will post here. And if you, after reading the following piece of
humouristic "yummyness", are still mad because of my unfair video split, I just hope you can be a little more merciful than this:



"And then Willy Wonka came and bought the whole thing..."

All of the posted Sonic comics are part of a work called "Not Enough Rings" and were
created by Veronica "Taeshi" Vera, known for her "Bittersweet Candy Bowl" (BCB) comic.
Here is the link to the page: http://www.notenoughrings.com/sonic1/index.html

Final Zone (and credits)

Spoiler warning:

This is it, the Final Zone. Of course, there is Act 3 first, because of my crazy
(read: "cheaty") split, but that should not take long, so... enjoy the finale!



And that's it. After you watch this one I will reveal the "stats" in the bottom. :3



Hope you enjoyed...
...and see you in another Let's Play!

Foggy's "Sonic 1" final results:

LIVES: 10
EMERALDS: ALL
CONTINUES: 4

RINGS LOST: 0 ...as in "zero". (^o^)
SHIELDS LOST: 7 ...hmpf. ¬¬
LIVES LOST: 0

TOTAL RIDE TIME: 35 : 51 ... (includes Special Stages)
FINAL SCORE: 430'800 <-------------------- we are almost there in the countbackwards thread! XD

...

I hope you enjoy!