In designing the game mechanics , Naka was inspired by Shigeru Miyamoto , whose games he had enjoyed playing years earlier . Admiring the simplicity of Miyamoto 's mechanics in complex environments , Naka decided that Sonic would be controlled with only a directional pad for movement and a single button for jumping . He also wanted his creation to be more action @-@ oriented than the Mario series ; while playing Super Mario Bros. , he had wondered why the levels could not be cleared more quickly . Due to the need to demonstrate the Genesis ' technological prowess , the developing game underwent extensive testing and redesign , a process taking over six months . The developers ' efforts were rewarded ; according to Yuji Naka , the game had the fastest @-@ ever character speed in a video game and a rotation effect in the special stages that was considered impossible on the console . The team intended to add a two @-@ player mode displayed via split @-@ screen , but Naka 's programming knowledge was insufficient to implement this feature . However , such a mode would later appear in sequel Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ( 1992 ) , where the second player would control Sonic 's best friend Miles " Tails " Prower . Naka , Oshima , and Yasuhara worked 19 hours a day on the project for several months .