History ScrappyMechanic / SonicTheHedgehog

* In ''Sonic 1'' on Marble Zone Act 3, there are two deep-penetrating spiked chandeliers, one on each side of a secret room that has a 1-Up. If you want to take the shortcut that this level has, you have to face off against/negotiate the other chandelier on the right side of it. The trouble is, you don't have much time to get out from under it before it comes down again; this is best attempted if you have a shield prior to the attempt, as if either of the aforementioned two chandeliers comes down on you, and you have a lot of rings without a shield on, not only will it take your rings, but also kill you (this is signified in audio form by both the ring loss sound and death throw sound playing at the same time, and in visual form by your rings in a tight cluster behind you and your death throw sprite being seen at the same time). However, this is mitigated if you do have a shield on, or have no rings; in those cases, all you would hear would be your death throw, and all you would see would be your death throw sprite. This is why it would be best for new players (or those who are uncertain) to go around the lower route; there wouldn't be a chance for a time bonus, but you would more likely make it out in one piece and come out safely on the other side of the second spike trap. All this said, if you should manage to successfully negotiate that second spike trap, it'll be a huge shortcut that will cut a lot of time off and get you a pretty good time bonus.

* In ''Sonic 1'' on Marble Zone Act 3, there are two deep-penetrating spiked chandeliers, one on each side of a secret room that has a 1-Up. If you want to take the shortcut that this level has, you have to face off against/negotiate the other chandelier on the right side of it. The trouble is, you don't have much time to get out from under it before it comes down again; this is best attempted if you have a shield prior to the attempt, as (and this is something that neophytes might not know, but it has to be learned the hard way at least once) if that chandelier (either one, BTW; not just the one on the right, but also the one on the left) comes down on you, and you have a lot of rings without a shield on, not only will it take your rings, but also kill you (this is signified in audio form by both the ring loss sound and death throw sound playing at the same time, and in visual form by your rings in a tight cluster behind you and your death throw sprite being seen at the same time). However, this is mitigated if you do have a shield on, or have no rings; in those cases, all you would hear would be your death throw, and all you would see would be your death throw sprite. This is why it would be best for new players (or those who are uncertain) to go around the lower route; there wouldn't be a chance for a time bonus, but you would more likely make it out in one piece and come out safely on the other side of the second spike trap. All this said, if you should manage to successfully negotiate that second spike trap, it'll be a huge shortcut that will cut a lot of time off and get you a pretty good time bonus.

* In ''Sonic 1'' on Marble Zone Act 3, there are two deep-penetrating spiked chandeliers, one on each side of a secret room that has a 1-Up. If you want to take the shortcut that this level has, you have to face off against/negotiate the other chandelier on the right side of it. The trouble is, you don't have much time to get out from under it before it comes down again; this is best attempted if you have a shield prior to the attempt, as (and this is something that neophytes might not know, but it has to be learned the hard way at least once) if that chandelier (either one, BTW; not just the one on the right, but also the one on the left) comes down on you, and you have a lot of rings without a shield on, not only will it take your rings, but also kill you (this is signified in audio form by both the ring loss sound and death throw sound playing at the same time, and in visual form by your rings in a tight cluster behind you and your death throw sprite being seen at the same time). However, this is mitigated if you do have a shield on, or have no rings; in those cases, all you would hear would be your death throw, and all you would see would be your death throw sprite. This is why it would be best for new players (or those who are uncertain) to go around the lower route; there wouldn't be a chance for a time bonus, but you would more likely make it out in one piece and come out safely on the other side of the second spike trap. All this said, it'll be an exhilarating feeling if you should manage to successfully negotiate that second spike trap, because it'll be a huge shortcut that will cut a lot of time off and get you a pretty good time bonus.
* Labyrinth Zone Act 3 has a similar mechanic-- at one point, if you go the long way, there are 3 sets of slotting spikes, the middle one of which has a low ceiling. If you have a bunch of rings without a shield, and you get caught between that set of spikes and the low ceiling, the spikes will come up and crush you against that low ceiling, and you will die in like manner to what that one spiked chandelier does in Marble Zone Act 3 (loss of rings and death at the same time, expressed in a similar manner to what happens in Marble 3). The strategy here would be to push against the spikes while they are up, and then jump past quickly to make it clearly across (the first and third sets, you can simply jump over).

* ''VideoGame/SonicFreeRiders'' was panned across the board for its [[UsefulNotes/Xbox360 Kinect-designed]] [[{{Waggle}} control scheme]], which requires the player to move their arms, legs, and body around for both gameplay actions during races and menu navigation. As with the Storybook games, the game offers no alternative control schemes, making the Kinect functionality the only way to play the game (whereas previous ''Riders'' titles were designed around traditional controllers and control schemes). [[FranchiseKiller No further Sonic Riders games have come out since then.]]

* Classic Sonic came under heavy derision in this game, considered the weakest of the three playstyles due to its awful physics. He feels unnaturally heavy, struggling to maintain momentum when he jumps or goes up or down ramps. A particularly infamous example is the start of Chemical Plant, where he runs down a long slope without really picking up speed, and can't make it up the curve at the end. His shoehorned presence into the story via {{Retcon}}ning his background, flat level design, and awkwardly dated music aren't helping his reception.

* [[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Carnival Night Zone's]] [[GuideDangIt Barrel of Doom]]. Unlike other identical-looking barrels, players have to alternate between holding Up and Down on the + Control Pad in sync with the barrel's movement. Back in 1994, there were no guides on the Internet, so it was almost impossible to figure this out aside from blind [[TrialAndErrorGameplay trial and error]] or calling [[Creator/{{Sega}} Sega's]] help line, because you can get past every ''other'' barrel by jumping on it repeatedly, and Up on the + Control Pad has no practical use anywhere else in ''any'' of the Genesis Sonic games. It is known that [[ThatOnePuzzle This One Puzzle]] took some players ''over a decade'' to figure it out.

* The "stop on a dime every time" no inertia physics engine of ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog4 Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode I]]''. Among other things (like being able to continuously "walk" up slopes without slipping), the moment you let go of the + Control Pad while in motion, you immediately come to a stop. While this could be a good thing when trying to avoid flying into a pit, the problem is that ''it works even while you're in the air'', meaning that if you don't manually keep Sonic moving in the direction a spring or a jump takes him, he'll suddenly stop in midair and drop like a stone as if he just slammed into an InvisibleWall. Considering that most Sonic games in the past had never had this issue[[note]]A fair amount of ''Sonic 4'' 's physics oddities can actually be seen in ''VideoGame/SonicRush'', but that game is designed more around the boost, so it doesn't really matter there[[/note]], this can make the game nigh-unplayable for a multitude of Sonic fans, and is in fact one of the most complained-about parts of the game. ''Episode II'' addresses this somewhat by adding inertia, so Sonic no longer stops on a dime once the player releases the + Control Pad.
** What really makes this bad is that it robs you of the ability to curl into a ball and safely coast through levels, in addition to making it impossible to build up momentum on slopes to let the game treat you to a high speed section. You can hold down the + Control Pad while rolling to maintain some momentum, but having to do this all the time taxes the thumbs and can make the game ''physically painful'' to play.

* Using a Power Formation's ground attack combo disables the function that makes characters stop and balance over a ledge for a moment to prevent the player from accidentally running into a BottomlessPit. The result is that their attacks can send the player flying off a cliff.

* [[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Carnival Night Zone's]] [[GuideDangIt Barrel of Doom]]. In order to use them, players have to alternate between holding Up and Down on the + Control Pad in sync with the barrel's movement. Back in 1994, there were no guides on the Internet, so it was almost impossible to figure this out aside from blind [[TrialAndErrorGameplay trial and error]] or calling [[Creator/{{Sega}} Sega's]] help line, because you can get past every ''other'' barrel by jumping on it repeatedly, and Up on the + Control Pad has no practical use anywhere else in ''any'' of the Genesis Sonic games. It is known that [[ThatOnePuzzle This One Puzzle]] took some players ''over a decade'' to figure it out.

* Big's fishing from ''Adventure'' is probably the most infamously disliked mechanic in the series, and was a [[JustForPun big]] reason why fans requested he be removed from the series. The game shifts from a fast-paced platformer to a FishingMinigame where just getting anything on your hook is a challenge because Froggy and the fish will often ignore the hook if it isn't placed in the exact right spot, and finding that spot can be a pain because the camera likes to fight against you. Once they do bite your hook, you must jiggle the control stick or they will escape, and then have to reel them in at a certain pace as not to break the fishing line. And if the line ''does'' break, you lose a life. There's also the chance that after all of that, Froggy or the fish will magically free themselves before being caught and you must repeat the process all over again.

* The rockets in Dead Line in ''Rush''. They move really fast, but handle really lousy and get destroyed upon touching a wall. Merely tapping the control pad can send it at a very wide angle. And there's one section where you actually have to use it ''to get over a bottomless pit''.
* The balloons in Sky Babylon in ''Rush Adventure''. Like the rockets described above, they control like crap, and they are destroyed immediately upon touching a wall. They're similar to the rocket pads from Altitude Limit from ''Rush'' in that they only go up, but unlike them, the balloons need a wide space in order to turn. What makes Sky Babylon ThatOneLevel for a lot of people is one section where you need to use it to evade a series of instant-kill lasers.

* The "stop on a dime every time" no inertia physics engine of ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog4 Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode I]]''. Among other things (like being able to continuously "walk" up slopes without slipping), the moment you let go of the + Control Pad while in motion, you immediately come to a stop. While this could be a good thing when trying to avoid flying into a pit, the problem is that ''it works even while you're in the air'', meaning that if you don't manually keep Sonic moving in the direction a spring or a jump takes him, he'll suddenly stop in midair and drop like a stone as if he just slammed into an InvisibleWall. Considering that most Sonic games in the past had never had this issue[[note]]A fair amount of ''Sonic 4'' 's physics oddities can actually be seen in ''[[VideoGame/SonicRushSeries Sonic Rush]]'', but that game is designed more around the boost, so it doesn't really matter there[[/note]], this can make the game nigh-unplayable for a multitude of Sonic fans, and is in fact one of the most complained-about parts of the game. ''Episode II'' addresses this somewhat by adding inertia, so Sonic no longer stops on a dime once the player releases the + Control Pad.

* Initially, the [[TimedMission 10 minute time limit]] was present with no option to disable it unlike in the ''{{VideoGame/Sonic Advance|Trilogy}}'' and ''{{VideoGame/Sonic Rush|Series}}'' games. Coupled with some of the longest acts in a sidescrolling ''Sonic'' game and several tricky {{Goddamned Boss}}es, it can be said that you ''will'' die due to Time Over at least once. To make it worse, the timer wouldn't even flash or give a warning when it reached the last minute like it did in previous ''Sonic'' games until a patch made it do so a couple of weeks later. Fortunately, the time limit is disabled entirely during the ''VideoGame/DoctorRobotniksMeanBeanMachine''-inspired match at the end of Chemical Plant Zone Act 2, and it resets when you reach the FinalBoss at the end of [[MarathonLevel Titanic Monarch Zone Act 2]]. The time limit mechanic was ultimately fixed with a quality-of-life patch posted prior to the release to the ''Encore Pack'' DLC / ''Mania Plus'' retail re-release, which included an option to turn off the time limit (and set the "off" setting as the default).

* On Metallic Madness Act 2, there is a portion at the top of the level that has five spiked bars that come down one by one; you have to make it to the shaded area on each one before they come down on you. If at any time you do not make it in time on any one of them, the spikes on the bottom will come down on you, impale you, and take your rings and kill you at the same time (this is mitigated, however, if you are Super Sonic/Tails/Knuckles, or have no rings at the time, in which case all that will happen is that you will die). However, there is a way to avoid that area: you have to choose your paths in such a manner that the branching paths take you direct to the boss (that way, this part won't be in your way). Another thing about this that makes it a Scrappy is that there is a lamppost before it, and 3 rings, so you'll be risking rings every time if you should happen to be unlucky enough to be headed here.

* The special stages are based on the ''CD'' versions, including collecting from limited pools of rings to stay in the level, collecting blue balls to go faster, finicky controls, bottomless pits, and chasing down very fast [=UFOs=].

* Getting the Ring and Speed upgrades from the Elder Koco is extraordinarily clunky and time-consuming, as you have to do each upgrade one at a time which takes the better part of ten seconds. If you're leveling in bulk, you will potentially waste minutes upon minutes sitting there watching the same animations play over and over.