Yeah, if I recall correctly, the first I ever played was Sonic The Hedgehog 2, on the good ol' SEGA ;) - I remember the little black box on the floor!! Tee hee :P
Used to love the Special Stages, and always wanted to play as Tails! Loved that little guy - actually I still do ^_^
HATED the Chemical Zone!!! When you'd be speeding along, and you made the accidental drop into the dreaded pink water (?) And you would get into a mad panic trying to jump back out of it, before your air ran out...and then you hear the creepy music, counting down your seconds...o_O