The Sega Mega Drive (or, as it was known in America due to Sega being unable to secure the appropriate legal rights, the Genesis) was first released in Japan in 1988, it reaching the US in 1989 and Europe, Australia and other PAL regions by 1990. The Mega Drive initially competed against the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), its 16-bit hardware giving it a noticeable advantage over the older 8-bit console. In short, this hardware superiority meant that the Mega Drive was able to produce graphics and sound of a far higher quality than the NES.
While I did still enjoy playing on my friend’s NES, in my house we had a Mega Drive, and perhaps one of the most memorable parts about growing up with it was the games’ music. I think it’s fair to say that I played the Sonic the Hedgehog games far more than any others, and while you can say what you want about the blue hedgehog’s modern output, few can dispute the excellence of the music found in the Mega Drive games. As such, here are a few of my favourite tracks from the early parts Sonic series; try and break my nostalgia goggles at your own peril. [Read more…]