Sonic and Shadow games are often compared to Mario Brothers games, but most gamers have a preference for one or the other. The Mario games were the first to hit the market. The little pudgy red guy (Mario) first appeared in 1983 in an arcade game. By the early 1990s, he was appearing with his pudgy green friend (Luigi) in Nintendo console games.
In order to remain competitive, Sega came out with the first Sonic game in the early 1990s. The games are quite different, but Sonic was clearly Nintendo's version of Mario. Both games allowed players to race fun characters through different worlds filled with obstacles. Both feature villains and a variety of bouncing animals that stand in the way of escaping each world and beating the game.
In Mario games, players collect coins while in Sonic games, players collect golden rings. Mario runs on the ground, jumps in the air, and swims through water. Sonic speeds through hoops that rise up in the air like spectacular roller coasters.
If the games are so much alike, why do some people like one type of game better than the other? This is a good question. For many people, it comes down to the speed of playtime. Sonic games are designed to go at super-fast speeds. Sonic, by his very nature, is a speed demon that has to go full force to successfully make it around the large circles that make up each of his worlds. In some games, Sonic can travel so fast that many players have trouble following him with their eyes and will end up getting hit and losing all their rings. It is this speed that creates the excitement not found with Mario Brothers games.
Mario and Luigi travel at much slower speeds because they are little men on two legs, rather than speed demon hedgehogs like Sonic. Excitement is created in these games through better development of each individual world. There are darkened worlds inside castles and water worlds that require swimming around fish. There are also outdoor worlds with brick walkways and flame-throwing flowers. Tunnels can be taken underground and up into the sky for a chance to earn extra powers and large numbers of coins.
In the early 90s, both of these games had their followers and their haters. Today, you can find online games feature Sonic and Mario, and players still tend to favor one game character over the other. Those drawn to fast paced games that force them to think on their feet will naturally pull toward Sonic and Shadow games. Those that enjoy going at a slower pace with a wider variety of obstacles and detailed worlds will naturally pull toward Mario Brothers games.
Many enjoy both Sonic and Mario games. There are even some Internet based games that combine both worlds. An example of this is the Sonic Lost in Mario World series. This is a growing series that presents Sonic within the world of Mario. This pulls the speed of Sonic into the well-developed Mario World. The concept has brought a lot of attention from video game enthusiasts.
