The blue Hedgehog who runs like a blue blur...
Sonic doesn't really have any special abilities, other than he cun run really fast, and jump pretty high. You use Sonic's abilities to get through each level, picking up as many coins as you can along the way. The coins keep you from dying, as long as you have at least one coin on you and are struck by an enemy, you will not die, but if you have no coins and get hit you will die.
There isn't really much strategy to the game, except in the boss fights and the end levels. Your objective is to go from point A to point B without dying, collecting as many coins as possible, and destroying as many of Dr. Robotnik's evil robot henchmen as possible.
You can find temporary power ups along the way, such as boxes full of varying amounts of coins, shoes that increase your speed by quite a margin, or the all great invincibility, which renders Sonic invulnerable to damage for a short period.
Each level is comprised of atleast 2 stages, with checkpoints set along the way, and a boss placed at the end of the level (usually the second stage).
You can't call yourself a gamer and never have played the Sonic series, especially this one, if you have not played this title, then go get yourself a genesis, a copy of this game, and start playing! Right now! What are you waiting for?