Sonic the Hedgehog

This entry is the Brazilian face of a genuine icon. Sonic the Hedgehog first blazed onto the Mega Drive in 1991 as Sega's answer to Mario, and in Brazil the console never really died: local licensee Tec Toy kept the hardware and its games in production for decades, which is why you see a 2021 date attached here rather than the original launch year. For a whole generation of Brazilian players, this is simply how Sonic arrived.

The game itself is the one that started it all. You guide the blue hedgehog through Green Hill Zone and beyond, rolling into a ball to smash through loops, springs and rows of golden rings at a speed no platformer had shown before. Rings double as your health, so a hit scatters them and gives you a frantic second to grab a few back before they vanish. Dr. Robotnik waits at the end of each zone in a different contraption, and freeing the animals trapped in his badniks is your goal throughout.

Decades on, the first Sonic is a little stiffer than its sequels; the momentum physics reward memorisation more than reflexes, and some later stages lean on hazards that halt your flow. But Green Hill's music, the bold colours and that opening rush of speed still land instantly. As a Mega Drive cornerstone it remains essential retro playing, whichever region's cartridge you happen to hold.