Sonic the Hedgehog
The Sonic the Hedgehog series is a franchise of video games released by Sega starring their mascot character Sonic the Hedgehog. The series began in 1991 with the release of Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. An 8-bit version of the game was also released for the Master System and Game Gear formats. Sonic was responsible for single-handedly turning the tide of the 16-bit console wars, and his first game soon replaced Altered Beast as the default pack-in game for the Genesis in North America and Europe.[1] As of May 2006, the franchise has sold more than 44 million units, with more games slated for release in the later half of 2006.[2]
Games in the series are developed by Sonic Team, with the exception of some spinoffs that were independently developed by Sega of America. The main programmer for the first game was Yuji Naka, who would later become head of the Sonic Team division, and the game planner was Hirokazu Yasuhara. The music of the first two Sonic the Hedgehog games on the Mega Drive (aka Sega Genesis) were composed by Masato Nakamura of the Japanese band Dreams Come True.
Overview
All games in the series[3] feature a teenage hedgehog named Sonic as the central character and protagonist. Sonic frequently takes it upon himself to save his planet from the forces of evil that plague it. The main antagonist is the evil genius Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, whose dark scheme is to create the so-called Eggman Empire.[4] He also, in order to accomplish this, must get rid of Sonic by any means necessary, most likely by his death.
In order to progress through his missions, Sonic must collect rings to protect himself from enemy robots and traps; as long as he has at least one ring he is invulnerable to most dangers, although he will lose all of them if he is attacked. Most Sonic games allow him to recover many of these scattered rings during a brief "invulnerable" period. However, rings do not protect against all hazards: he can still drown, be crushed, fall to his death, or run out of time. In line with many platform games, collecting 100 of these common collectables will reward Sonic with an extra life. Certain titles in the series often reward the collection of other quantities of rings; in one game, 50 must be collected in order to access the Special Stages in which the Chaos Emeralds may be obtained, and another requires 50 rings to attain Super Sonic status (see below).
In order to achieve the best possible ending in the game, Sonic must collect all of the Chaos Emeralds. When Sonic has all of the Emeralds, he can transform into his most powerful form, Super Sonic. In this state, he is completely immune to all enemies and obstacles (although he can still be killed by falling into pits, being crushed and drowning), gains the ability of flight in certain circumstances (mainly in the final bosses), and the ability to survive for prolonged periods in space. However, Sonic's quest does not necessitate collecting the Emeralds himself; he must only prevent Eggman from obtaining them and dooming the world with their power.
History
Most two dimensional Sonic titles are platform games viewed from a side-on perspective. Their controls are fairly basic and do not deviate much from the genre standard; the selling point of the series is the incredible speed of the playable characters, who usually have the ability to run uphill, walls, and even ceilings. Roller coaster-like loops and corkscrews are also common in Sonic games, as are giant pinball machines with flippers and bumpers which knock Sonic around like a ball. The stages are also similar to roller coasters in that many sequences involve Sonic being thrown along pre-set paths with little input from the player, which has led to criticism that the player can complete a Sonic game merely by holding the pad in one direction. However, the games also feature numerous sections involving precise jumping between platforms and avoiding of hazards, although these sections do not require "pixel-perfect" judgement and are perhaps more lenient than most platform games of the era.
The Sega Technical Institute tried to develop a "true" Sonic game for the Saturn called Sonic X-treme. This game was intended to compete with Nintendo's Super Mario 64. However, due to time constraints and issues between STI and the Japanese division of Sega and Sonic Team, the project was cancelled in the last months of 1996.
Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island, an isometric, pseudo-3D ("2.5D") game, was released for the Mega Drive in 1996. Sega Saturn and Windows PC conversions followed to cover the hole of the cancellation of Sonic X-treme. They had enhanced graphics and a different sound track, composed by Richard Jacques. Sonic 3D was developed by Traveller's Tales, although Sonic Team worked on the Special Stages in the Saturn/PC version.
In 1997, a compilation entitled Sonic Jam was released for the Saturn. In addition to containing Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic 2, Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, it also included a "Sonic World" mode. This allowed the player to control Sonic in a small 3D world similar to the Green Hill Zone from the original game; it contained no enemies and was mainly a means of accessing the disc's multimedia features such as BGM's, illustrations and even commercials.
The full leap into 3D platforming was made with Sonic Adventure, a launch title for the Sega Dreamcast console. On 19 June 2001 in North America (23 June in Japan and Europe; the 10th anniversary of the US release of Sonic the Hedgehog), Sonic Adventure 2 was launched. Both of the Adventure titles were later ported to the Nintendo GameCube (under the titles of Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut and Sonic Adventure 2: Battle) when Sega dropped out of the hardware market. DX was also ported to Windows PCs.
The first Sonic game to release simultaneously on multiple consoles, Sonic Heroes, was released on the GameCube, Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox in December 2003 in Japan, with American and European releases following soon after, and a PC version the following November. The platforming was largely similar to that of the Adventure titles, although the player now controlled the lead character of a team of three themed characters, with the other two following closely behind (similar to the later Sega Mega Drive games). The player could switch to a new leader at any time, in order to make use of each character's special skills. It sold well, but opinions among both reviewers and fans of the Sonic series were mixed.
Shadow the Hedgehog was no different. Released in the US in November 2005, it received mixed reviews. X-Play, for instance, had given it a 1 out of 5, making it the lowest-scoring Sonic game reviewed on the show. Other game sites such as IGN and GameSpot similarly panned the game. One of the greatest controversies revolving around this game is the gunplay; some fans insisted that Shadow was the self-proclaimed "ultimate life-form" and did not need a weapon. Nintendo Power and Gametrailers, however, both rated it above 8 out of 10. Two other controversies were the over-use of the curse word "damn" and the fact that Sega had decided to switch to the voice artists from the English version of Sonic X.
A highly faithful two-part port of Sonic the Hedgehog made for mobile phones has been a huge hit in Europe, introducing the game to a new generation of pre-teen gamers, with respected handheld specialist Pocket Gamer awarding Sonic the Hedgehog Part Two a 9 out of 10 review score. [5]
Other gameplay styles
A few Sonic games focus on gameplay styles other than the standard platforming. The first of these was Sonic Spinball (released on the Mega Drive in 1993 and on the Master System and Game Gear in 1994). The concept of Sonic bouncing around as the ball in a giant pinball table had been used in both Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedeghog 2; Sonic Spinball made a whole game around that premise.
Several racing games starring Sonic characters have been developed. In Sonic Drift and Sonic Drift 2, characters rode go-karts (kart circuits were later included in the two Sonic Adventure games). In Sonic R (1998), most characters ran on foot (with Eggman riding his Eggmobile and Amy driving a car), while in Sonic Riders (2006), they race on hoverboards. A race mode was also included in Sonic Adventure 2 Battle.
Sonic Shuffle was a Mario Party-style virtual board game/party game for the Sega Dreamcast.
Edutainment videogames starring Sonic and Tails have also been released, such as Sonic the Hedgehog Gameworld and Tails and the Music Maker for the Sega Pico, and the PC title Sonic's Schoolhouse.
A fighting game named Sonic the Fighters existed as an arcade game, and later a fighting/platform game hybrid called Sonic Battle was released for the Game Boy Advance.
In 1993, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine was released for the Sega Mega Drive. The game was basically a clone of a Japanese puzzle game named Puyo Puyo. This game was also ported to the Game Gear.
Common features
Rings
One of the most distinctive and recurring aspects of gameplay is the inclusion of collectible gold rings throughout the levels. They were initially included as a gameplay device: characters would not immediately die if they carried at least one ring, and instead they would merely lose any rings that they were carrying. However, there remained some manners of death that could not be prevented by holding a ring, including being crushed, falling into a bottomless pit, and drowning. After sustaining a normal wound, a playable character will drop all the rings he or she is carrying. These rings soon disappeared if not collected again—an important function because impending damage would be less threatening since they could otherwise be picked up again at leisure.
The number of rings dropped if damage is sustained is usually much less then the number attained. In most Sonic games, the player will only drop around 20 or so rings if there are 21 or more rings (less if there are 19 or below). However, due to technical limitations, most of the Game Gear Sonic games only dropped 5 or less rings (in most cases). This number was recently increased to about 50 Rings the player could retrieve in Sonic Rush. On the other hand, in Sonic Triple Trouble, Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic Blast, a hit would only cost a set amount of Rings instead of the whole collection.
The rings are used in conjunction with the Chaos Emeralds. Usually, a collection of fifty rings are required either to access the Special Stages (where the Emeralds could be collected), or to utilize the Chaos Emeralds (i.e. by transforming Sonic into Super Sonic).
The origin of the rings, like the Chaos Emeralds, is never revealed during the game series. They are not often referenced much during gameplay, but they are used as currency in Chao Black Markets and in Shadow the Hedgehog, Dr. Eggman collects them for prizes in his game-filled carnival base. However, a few children's novels and comic books claim that the rings were created by Sonic's Uncle Chuck to boost Sonic's speed and power.
Despite begin a gameplay feature in the video games, the rings do not make as large an appearance in the animated shows. In "SatAM" and Sonic X, Sonic can absorb a ring to give him extra speed and power. In SatAM, They are found in a lake, which they are taken from by either Sonic or Tails (this is the only instance the franchise where Sonic commonly wears a backpack for easy access). Also in this series similar rings are used by Dr. Robotnik to incapacitate prisoners. In Sonic X, Rings are made from Chaos Emeralds and usually given to Sonic by Tails.
Giant Rings
Whereas most rings were small and easily collectable, certain rings appeared that were much larger. The so-called "Giant Rings" were hidden in the stages and designed to be jumped through, which would transport the character to a Special Stage, where the character could collect one of the Chaos Emeralds or, in certain circumstances, Super Emeralds. They were used for this purpose in the games Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic CD and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 used Star Posts instead. In Sonic 3, if all the Emeralds had already been found, these rings could be collected for fifty rings each, allowing the characters to easily tap into the power of the Chaos Emeralds (usually becoming Super or Hyper if the player is playing Sonic 3 & Knuckles together). In most of the newer games since Sonic Adventure 2, these giant rings have taken the place of the old signposts as the end level marker and touching it would end the level.
Chaos Emeralds
The Chaos Emeralds are a recurring feature of Sonic games. They are the basis of most of the games' plots, and the player is frequently required to collect them all in order to fully defeat Eggman and achieve the games' "good endings". The method used to acquire the Emeralds differs between titles in the series. In some games, such as Sonic R and the 8-bit versions of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, they can be found in hidden locations within the main levels. In Sonic Spinball (in which the Emeralds were, unlike most Sonic games, an essential requirement for completing the game) they could be accessed by performing specific actions and solving minor puzzles on the pinball tables that made up each level.
Master Emerald
The Master Emerald resides in a shrine on Angel Island and is guarded by Knuckles the Echidna; it contains an unknown amount of power, possibly equal to or greater than all 7 Chaos Emeralds, and is used to keep the Angel Island afloat in the sky. The Emerald also has the power to fully control everything that the Chaos Emeralds do, including the ability to negate the energy of the Chaos Emeralds, as seen in Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2, or empower them, as seen in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles. The Master Emerald can also be used to power mechanical devices, and has been coveted by Dr Eggman since his discovery of it. During Knuckles' final boss fight in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles, Mecha Sonic powers up using the Master Emerald into a quasi-Super form.
Special Stages
Usually, a Chaos Emerald may be earned in a Special Stage or Special Zone. Special Stages usually take place in surreal environments and feature alternate gameplay mechanics to the standard platforming of the main levels: the 16-bit Sonic the Hedgehog consisted of a giant rotating maze (which many considered a major technical achievement); Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic 3-D Blast, Sonic Heroes and Sonic Rush featured "in your face" segments with the hedgehog running along a long tunnel, with a slight variant involving falling down a long tube or riding the Tornado being used for Knuckles Chaotix, Sonic Advance, and Sonic Advance 3; 3-D "collect items" levels, like in Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, which used the same perspective but had Sonic collecting all the blue-coloured orbs on the surface of a giant sphere, and a different version, the 3-D ring-collecting Special Stage, used in Sonic Advance 2. Sonic Chaos (Sonic and Tails in Japan) utilised a variety of gimmicks for its levels. Nevertheless, the Special Stages from Sonic Triple Trouble maybe are the most special of them, featuring an exclusive boss from its dimension, Fang the Sniper, before of getting the Chaos Emerald.
Some Sonic titles include Special Stages, but not as a means of collecting Chaos Emeralds. As the Emeralds of the 8-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog were hidden in the main stages, the game's spring-filled Special Stages were merely used as a means of adding variety, and for a player to increase their score. Similarly, Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, in addition to their main Special Stages, featured entirely optional bonus stages, one of which combined the rotating maze of the 16-bit Sonic the Hedgehog with the pinball gambling of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Sonic Heroes had an alternate Special Stage for earning lots of 1-UPS, very much like the one in which Chaos Emerals are collected, but with the objective being to get to the Goal Ring before time ran out, rather than catching up to the Chaos Emerald at the end of the tunnel.
Just as the design of the Special Stages has changed, so has the means of accessing them. In Sonic 3 & Knuckles, giant rings were hidden in levels to take the player to the Stages, but most other titles involve the collection of a certain number of rings, usually 50. In both the 8- and 16-bit versions of Sonic the Hedgehog, they were reached by finishing a level with more than 50 rings; the player would then have to jump inside the giant ring that would appear just after the goal post. In the 16-bit Sonic the Hedgehog 2, reaching a Star Post when they held this number would create a warp of stars which would take a player to the Special Stage when jumped through. Sonic 3D required the player to deliver rings to Knuckles and Tails, who could be found within each level. Sonic Chaos changed the figure, with access to a Special Stage being the reward for collecting 100 rings.
In the more recent game Sonic Heroes, the Special Stages made a return. These special stages were accessed by finding a key in stage 2 of each zone and keeping it (by not taking damage) until the end of the level. It consisted of running through a twisting tube. The Chaos Emerald would be ahead of the characters, and the goal was to "catch up" with it by collecting orbs which refueled a "dash gauge" which the characters would use to speed up and catch it. The stages had some motion glitches which would sometimes cause the characters to slow down dramatically, making it difficult to complete the stage. If the Chaos Emerald got to the end of the stage before the characters caught up with it, the stage would end without the gaining of a Chaos Emerald.
Super Sonic
Since the 16-bit version of Sonic 2, Sonic has had the ability to transform into the extremely fast and nearly invulnerable Super Sonic once all seven Chaos Emeralds are collected. After that, Super Sonic can be used in any of the following levels once 50 rings have been collected, although one ring is lost for every second Sonic remains in this form.
In Sonic & Knuckles, Knuckles the Echidna could also transform into Super Knuckles. By locking-on Sonic 3 to Sonic & Knuckles, Hyper Sonic, Super Tails and Hyper Knuckles also become available, by collecting all 7 Super Emeralds in addition to the 7 Chaos Emeralds.
In Sonic The Fighters, Super Sonic was a secret character that could only be unlocked after playing up to the final boss without losing a single round, and then entering a secret button combination.
In Sonic R, Super Sonic was the fastest racer in the game, a secret character again unlocked by collecting all the Chaos Emeralds.
In the Sonic Adventure titles, the Special Stages were omitted entirely and Chaos Emeralds were collected in non-interactive cut-scenes as part of the story, with Super Sonic only appearing in the climactic final boss fights. This dismayed many fans, who appreciated the additional replay value offered by retrying a game's levels with Super Sonic's additional abilities. Despite several games since returning to the emerald-collecting of the 2D platform titles (including the Advance series, Heroes, and Rush), Super Sonic was again only playable at the end of the game in an extra zone.
In Sonic Adventure 2, Super Shadow also appeared at the end of the Last story.
In Sonic Rush, Burning Blaze also appears for the extra boss, similar to the end of Sonic Adventure 2.
In Sonic Riders, Super Sonic is also an unlockable character, playable outside the final level for the first time since the Sega Genesis games. As with previous games, Super Sonic consumes rings as long as the form is sustained, and Sonic reverts to standard Sonic when he runs out of rings. He is playable by unlocking the "Chaos Emerald" gear.
In Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Silver appears along with Super Sonic and Super Shadow.
Music
The music of the Sonic series is considered one of its strongest aspects. Sonic games have featured tunes composed by a variety of people; Masato Nakamura of J-pop band Dreams Come True was responsible for the music of the first two 16-bit games. Ys/Streets of Rage composer Yuzo Koshiro composed the music for the first 8-bit title, barring what was taken from the 16-bit title. Sega's in-house music company, Wavemaster, did the majority of the music in later titles. One Wave Master employee, Jun Senoue, is part of the band Crush 40, and through his ties to the band they have played the main theme tunes of the two Sonic Adventure games, Sonic Heroes, and Shadow the Hedgehog. Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog also featured other bands, such as Julien-K. Richard Jacques, a frequent composer of music for Sega's games, contributed to the soundtracks of Sonic R and the Saturn/PC version of Sonic 3D Blast: Flickies' Island.
- See also: List of Sonic the Hedgehog series songs
Classic Plot
The premise of Sonic 1 revolves around Eggman trying to conquer the Earth by imprisoning animals inside robots and then using them as a delaying tactic so that he has time to collect the Chaos Emeralds. In Sonic 1, our hero is charged with saving the animals and collecting the Chaos Emeralds before Eggman can. Sonic repeatedly engages Eggman's bosses in minor skirmishes as he makes his way across South Island. The game culminates in a showdown with the master villain at the secluded Scrap Brain facility, but the doctor narrowly escapes.
Eventually Sonic learns that Eggman has showed up on Westside Island and is up to his old tricks. This time, Sonic is partnered up with his friend Miles "Tails" Prower, a two-tailed fox he met at some point during one of his past adventures, when Sonic crashed his plane the Tornado, and Tails helped him fix it. They join up and form a close team in preparation for the events in Sonic 2. The two must work together to prevent Eggman from collecting the Seven Chaos Emeralds before the imminent launch of the Death Egg. Eventually Sonic climbs aboard Eggman's Sky Ship and is forced to leave Tails and the damaged Tornado behind; his final destination is the Death Egg. There, he battles a silver, hedgehog-like robot and a giant battle suit controlled by Eggman. After the battle, the Death Egg explodes and falls through the atmosphere; Sonic flees the doomed vessel and lands aboard the Tornado - piloted by Tails.
Instead of colliding with the Earth, the Death Egg crash lands on top of 'the island in the sky', Angel Island, its weight forcing the so-called Floating Island to fall into the Sea. The opening cutscene of Sonic 3 shows Tails piloting the Tornado towards the sunken island, with Super Sonic racing across the water ahead of him. Just as Sonic makes landfall, Knuckles the Echidna, makes his first appearance by knocking the Chaos Emeralds out of Sonic. Convinced earlier by Eggman that Sonic is evil, Knuckles steals the Emeralds and hides the emeralds in 'secret' locations across the island. Sonic wants the Emeralds back and races across the Island with Tails to retrieve them. The game climaxes with a short skirmish between Sonic and Knuckles at the Death Egg's reconstructed Launch Base. The encounter however is just a delaying tactic because the Death Egg soon launches and knocks Knuckles off the platform. Sonic rides an abandoned Eggmobile over to the Death Egg's control deck, and after a short battle with Eggman, Sonic disables the Death Egg before it is far above the island.
Sonic & Knuckles shows the Death Egg crash-landing on top of the Lava Reef volcano. After falling from Death Egg's launch pad, Sonic lands in the middle of Mushroom Hill, a huge forest characterised by its mushrooms that are more than twice Sonic's size in height. Our hero sets out once again to stop Dr. Eggman from repairing the Death Egg, and to collect the Super Emeralds. Sonic hitches a ride on the Flying Battery over to Sandopolis, and enters the Lava Reef crater via a haunted pyramid. Inside the crater, Sonic finds the cave that leads to the mythological Hidden Palace where the Super Emeralds and Master Emerald are hidden. Knuckles confronts Sonic just before Sonic reaches the Emerald altar, and the two fight. Sonic knocked Knuckles out in the fight. Knuckles is then woken up by a loud noise. When Knuckles and Sonic went to the source of the noise, they find Eggman stealing the Master Emerald, and their attempt to stop the theft is foiled because Knuckles, who clung onto the Master Emerald, was electrocuted, and Sonic did not have enough time to destroy the Eggmobile Eggman was using to steal the Master Emerald. Sonic and Knuckles put their differences aside; Knuckles escorts Sonic to a transport that leads up to the Sky Sanctuary. Sonic enters the portal and a beam of light shoots Sonic into the clouds. In the background, the Death Egg is seen taking off. As he makes his way through the clouds, Sonic meets another Sonic-like Robot and two engage in a series of boss battles reminiscent of those in Sonic 2. Sonic destroys his copy and catches another ride on the Death Egg as it flies overhead. Sonic makes his way through the flying fortress and eventually destroys it. Eggman flees to activate his Doomsday device, but Sonic pursues and unleashes incredible Emerald forces as Super Sonic in his ultimate showdown with Eggman.
In Sonic CD (speculated to take place either between Sonic 1 and Sonic 2, or after Sonic & Knuckles), Sonic's encounter with Eggman starts when he goes to visit the Little Planet, a planet which is separate from time itself, and appears on one month of every year, over a small lake, due to the TimeStones which reside on the planet. The TimeStones, once all are collected, give the user the ability to travel backward and forward through time. The stones attract much interest from Dr Eggman, and he decides to gather them, and conquer the planet by going into the past and capturing all the animals, to ensure they do not breed, and die out. Sonic is followed to the Little Planet by Amy Rose, who, hearing of the now famous Sonic the Hedgehog, decides to win his heart. During the story Amy is kidnapped by Metal Sonic (one of the many Sonic robots, and in the newer games, the last surviving, being upgraded and enhanced many times), who takes her to Eggman, as bait for Sonic. Through the course of the game, Sonic gathers all the TimeStones and saves the Past, Present and Future by freeing all the animals. He faces Metal Sonic, and frees Amy after beating Metal Sonic at a race. Sonic then proceeds to follow Eggman to the heart of his base, where he defeats Eggman, and stops him from taking over the little planet, by sending it back from where it came. The TimeStones, the Little Planet, and all that had been there vanish, and Dr Eggman escapes once more to re-think his plans of world domination.
In later games, Sonic is also joined by Team Chaotix, Blaze the Cat, Cream the Rabbit, Big the Cat and a host of other characters. He also has to deal with numerous other foes, such as Fang the Sniper, Chaos and Black Doom. Another major character in the newer games is the anti-hero Shadow the Hedgehog, who sometimes oppose Sonic but will aid him when the situation calls for it, with the support of Rouge the Bat and the android E-123 Omega. Many of these characters have garnered steady fanbases since their inclusion into the franchise, while other longtime fans have criticized them for allegedly taking the gameplay focus off of Sonic.
Characters
Main characters
Sonic the Hedgehog: The series' principal hero. Sonic has incredible super speed and numerous other abilities, and uses his skills to save the world from Dr. Eggman. He is impatient, laidback, confident and always on the look-out for an adventure.
Miles "Tails" Prower: Sonic's best friend. He is a two-tailed fox who can fly for a limited time by spinning his tails rapidly. He is a skilled mechanic and often takes care of Sonic's plane called the Tornado.
Knuckles the Echidna: The last living echidna, and Sonic's friend and rival. Knuckles resides on Angel Island, where he guards the Master Emerald, the source of the island's ability to float in the sky. Knuckles is very strong; his spiked fists are capable of smashing through boulders as well as allowing him to climb walls. The nature of his echidna spikes allows him to glide for periods of time. He is hotheaded, anti-social and gullible.
Dr. Eggman: Also known as Dr. Robotnik, Eggman is Sonic's arch nemesis and the series' main villain. He is egg-shaped and has a giant orange moustache. Eggman is an expert in robotics and wishes to conquer the world and build the Eggman Empire. However, Sonic and his friends always stand in his way.
Metal Sonic: A robotic version of Sonic built by Eggman to counteract the speedy hero. Metal Sonic is just as fast as Sonic and Shadow and has several unique features, such as the ability to copy data. In Sonic Heroes, Metal Sonic betrays Eggman to conquer the world for himself, but is stopped by Super Sonic.
Amy Rose: A pink hedgehog who has become Sonic's self-appointed girlfriend. Ever since Sonic saved her in Sonic CD, Amy has been in love with Sonic and she now wants him to marry her. Amy is a skilled fighter and smashes enemy forces down with her trusty Piko Piko Hammer.
Cream the Rabbit: A naive young rabbit who lives with her mother, Vanilla. Cream's best friend is a Chao called Cheese (which she uses as missile). Because Cream has been brought up like a princess, she does not like being involved in other peoples' affairs. She can fly using her large ears.
Big the Cat: A big tabby blue cat who loves to fish, Big is merely laid back and carefree. His best friend is a frog named Froggy, who he keeps losing whenever he goes fishing. He lives with his buddy in a peaceful hut in Mystic Ruins.
Chaotix: A team of misfits, who have started their own detective agency. The Chaotix consists of Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon and Charmy Bee. In earlier games, Mighty the Armadillo was included in this group.
Shadow the Hedgehog: Shadow is a mysterious, black hedgehog resembling Sonic in appearance and skills. He is the Ultimate Lifeform created by Gerald Robotnik on the Space Colony ARK over fifty years ago. He recently suffered from amnesia but has regained all of his memories since. He can use Chaos Control to distort time and space.
Rouge the Bat: Rouge is a treasure hunter and a spy for GUN. She is full of feminine charm and can be very manipulative. She is Knuckles' rival, but secretly has a crush on him. Rouge wants all the jewels in the world, with her eyes specifically set on the elusive Master Emerald.
E-123 Omega: An android created by Dr. Eggman. He is the last of his kind and seeks revenge on him for shutting him down. Rouge accidently activated him when trying to free Shadow from Eggman's base. Since then, he has became good friends with both of them.
Silver the Hedgehog: A mysterious white hedgehog from the future. Ever since his appearance, he has become Sonic's new rival and additional threat. Unlike Sonic, however, he doesn't possess speed but instead utilizes psychic powers.
Blaze the Cat: A female purple cat from Silver's time period. As the guardian of the Sol Emeralds, she's always hot on the trail of those who try to steal them away from her. While strict and resentful, she may be concealing her real feelings.
Babylon Rogues: The Babylon Rogues are a band of three mischevious bandits who steal jewels. They consist of Jet the Hawk, Wave the Swallow, and Storm the Albatross.
Regional variations
Initially, Sega began two different storylines to localize Sonic as a product, as described in the Japanese and the western game manuals, respectively. For example, although "Dr Eggman" has always been the antagonist's name in Japan, he was originally called "Doctor Ivo Robotnik" in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Also, in the Japanese manuals it is said that the games are set on Earth, specifically, on islands in the Pacific; however, according to some English manuals printed before 1999, the games are set on a different planet called Mobius. So there are in fact two storylines/canons recognized by the fanbase in its entirety, and many storylines that have expanded on them.
However, at the beginning of the Dreamcast era, Sonic Team chose what storyline they wanted to expand on with the newer generation games, and they chose the Japanese one, making it the international canon while discontinuing the old western canon.
The games Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic 3, Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Heroes, Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic Riders and Sonic the Hedgehog are absolute canon to this Japanese/current day continuity, since they were directly created by Sonic Team. Sonic CD, Knuckles' Chaotix, the Sonic Advance series, Sonic Battle and Sonic Rush are also absolute canon, since some events in these games has been referred to in the aforementioned Sonic Team made games. Most other games, mainly Tails Adventure, Sonic Chaos and Sonic Triple Trouble, are usually considered canonical too, unless they somehow explicitly contradict the Sonic Team made games.
Spin offs
For a video game franchise, there are a surprisingly large number of spin-offs starring Sonic as their central character. While these titles are based on the world and characters presented in the video games, they are not considered canon to the games; only the games themselves (and if applicable, the instruction booklets) are considered canon. Each spin-off incorporates aspects from the games to varying degrees.
Film
A two-episode OVA film series based off the game Sonic CD and the video game series as a whole, Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie was made in Japan in 1996 and released as a dub in North America in 2000. Unlike the games, the film takes place on a world named Planet Freedom that, as with many anime series, appears to be a crossbreed of a fairytale land and Earth. At the time of its creation, the anime did not differ as far from official canon as it does today; while it is possible that this anime was originally intended to be part of the Sonic canon, it could be considered an alternate universe at this point.
Anime and Cartoons
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (or AoStH for short) is an American animated television series that was first broadcast in September 1993, and has been running in cartoon syndication ever since. It follows the escapades of the Sonic and Tails as they stop the evil Dr. Ivo Robotnik and his array of vicious robots from taking over the planet Mobius. The plots often loosely followed the storyline of the video games series; at the time the Sonic games were still quite new, and lacking much plot or character development, which was in turn filled in by the show's writers.
The animated television series simply called Sonic the Hedgehog originally aired from September 1993 to June 1995, and was the more popular title of the time. While Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog is known for its bright colors and whimsical humor, Sonic the Hedgehog featured darker stories which constituted a departure from the tone of the Sonic games of the time. To distinguish between the two series, fans typically refer to this series as SatAM because it was a Saturday morning cartoon while Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog aired on weekdays in syndication, and using the show's full title would cause confusion in many situations because the show's title is the same as the character's name.
The cartoon Sonic Underground ran for only one season, 1998 to 1999; it bears little relation to the often convoluted Sonic universe (including previous animated series, as well as Sonic comics and games), and shared few established characters. There were originally 65 episodes produced, and of those episodes, only 40 were released. Unlike it's predecessor, SatAM, the heroes do not remain in a sanctuary-like refuge but instead travel around Mobius to battle Robotnik's forces on a global scale; and that Robotnik has left most of the Mobian people un-Roboticised, leaving multiple cities, a poor underclass and an aristocracy for the heroes to interact with. Sonic Underground is the only animated series based on Sonic where Tails has not made an appearance.
The anime Sonic X is the longest running and most successful animated series based on Sonic to date. Originally planned as a 52 episode series that would be inspired by the storylines of the Sonic Adventure series, Sonic X has now expanded to 78 episodes with the latest 26 episodes set primarily in outer space. For an animated spin-off, the series borrows more from the games than any other Sonic cartoon before it; with the exception of Blaze the Cat, E-123 Omega, Babylon Rogues, Silver the Hedgehog, and Metal Sonic, every significant and playable video game character has made an appearance in the series. Sonic X is also the only animated series to include Super Sonic. Despite these similarities, it is not completely compatible with the video game canon if only for the fact that it shows Sonic being transported to Earth from another world; in the games, Sonic has always lived on Earth (according to the pre-Sonic Adventure Japanese/post-Sonic Adventure international canon).
Manga and Comics
The Sonic the Hedgehog manga series, published in Shogakukan's Shogaku Yonensei (literally "fourth-year student") was written by Kenji Terada and it was illustrated by Sango Norimoto. The manga, which started in 1992, was about a hedgehog boy named Nicky who can turn into Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic fights Dr. Robotnik, with Tails tagging along to help him.
Sonic the Comic, known to its many readers as STC, was a UK children's comic published by Fleetway Editions between 1993 and 2002. Although it was the UK's official Sega comic, Sonic the Comic established its identity and ongoing storyline and setting when Sonic, Tails and their friends were sent forward in time six months. During their absence, Doctor Robotnik had successfully conquered the entire planet of Mobius, and Sonic and co. were forced underground, operating as "freedom fighters" attempting to bring down Robotnik's rule of the planet. Due to an aggressive series of budget cuts on the part of Fleetway, the series went into full reprint by issue 184; the final story ended with a number of loose ends left untied.
Sonic the Hedgehog is an ongoing series of American comic books published by Archie Comics. All of Archie's Sonic-related series, miniseries and specials take place in the same fictional universe. This universe features a mixture of characters, settings and situations from the video games, the SatAM cartoon, the various other incarnations of Sonic, and many elements unique to the comic universe. The current status quo of the comic deals with a full-scale war between the Eggman Empire, ruled by Robotnik, and the restored Kingdom of Acorn, currently ruled by King Elias Acorn.
Sonic X is the title of an ongoing comic book series that exists to supplement the stories from the animated series of the same name. It began in September 2005 and was originally meant to be a four-part series; due to the positive reaction to the series' announcement, it was extended to ongoing status before the first issue premiered. The comic is unique in that it is not directly based on the games; the comic is based on the television show and takes place in its expanded fictional universe. The comic borrows elements from the series first two seasons of the show, including Eggman's fort, destroyed in Season One on the cartoon, and characters from the Sonic Adventure storyline.
Notes and references
In addition to information taken from the Sonic the Hedgehog games themselves, the instruction booklets of the US and Japanese versions of the games were also used as references for this article.
- ^ Kennedy, Sam. "The Essential 50: Sonic the Hedgehog". 1up.com. Retrieved 2006-06-03.
- ^ "Sega Announces Sonic's charge onto the Wii Console". Sega of America. 2006-05-09. Retrieved 2006-06-17.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Note that Sonic is not the central character in certain games, such as Shadow the Hedgehog, Knuckles Chaotix, Tails Adventures and Tails' Skypatrol, where Shadow the Hedgehog, the Chaotix and Miles "Tails" Prower were the central characters, respectively.
- ^ Although the mainfestation of Dr. Eggman's goal to conquer to world was left unnamed in pre-32-bit games, Sonic Adventure and games since then have heavily developed this aspect.
- ^ "Sonic The Hedgehog Part 2 review". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved September 23.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help)
External links
- Official
- Sonic Central Official American website
- Sonic City Official Europe website
- Sonic Channel Official Japanese website
- Commercial
- Fan made
 | This December 2006's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. |
- Sonic Strike Network
- Sonic Retro Wiki
- Sonic HQ
- The Green Hill Zone
- The Sonic Stadium
- Sonic News Network Wikia
- Sonic Gear - A digital museum of Sonic merchandise past and present
Template:Sonic characters (other media)
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