Feature - The Life and Times of Sonic the Hedgehog

With the announcement coming from Sega last monthof an all new Sonic title in Sonic Boom, it's as good a time as any to take a look back at the life of Sega's flagship hero, chronicling his rise to promince, followed by a descent into mediocrity. Despite some flashes of brilliance with Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations, the Blue Blur has never quite recaptured his peak form, leaving many wondering whether it's best Sega just dumps him altogether...

Depending on where you look the origins of Sonic can be quite different. However the general consensus is that the actual character design was the work of Sega employee Naoto Oshima, Yuji Naka was the lead developer of the original and Hirokazu Yasuhara took the role of level designer. To say that one played a bigger role than the others would be unfair, because it was a combination of the efforts of each of the trio which led to Sonic becoming the worldwide hit he came to be.

Employees of Sega had been tasked with creating a character capable of capturing the imaginations of the video gaming public, and going toe to toe with Nintendo’s hugely successful mascot, Mario, following the relative failure of Alex Kidd. Multiple character designs and ideas were submitted and rejected, some of which were more than a little off the wall and included and armadillo, a dodgy caricature of Teddy Roosevelt, a rabbit, a dog and many more.

Although most of the submitted ideas were reused, either in other games or the Sonic franchise, none of them proved to be what Sega were looking for. It was Naoto Oshima’s hedgehog, originally named Mr. Needlemouse, that would finally make the cut. However his first draftwould be quite different to the Sonic we know today.

Some of the original ideas for Sonic were more than a little bit bizarre. He was to have a human girlfriend called Madonna at one stage, and another slightly crazier idea saw him sporting fangs and being part of a band. Quite where Sonic Team were planning on taking that oneis anyone’s guess, but if it weren’t for the intervention of Madeline Schroeder from Sega of America, we could well have been stuck with a very different character. The self titled “Mother of Sonic” takes the credit for ironing out some of the, shall we say, quirkier aspects of the original character to make him more palatable to the American market – changes which stuck in each territory and made for the unmistakable icon we know and love today.

The explanation for some of the various features still sported by Sonic to this day are quite varied, but all are deeply anchored in the pop culture of the time. His attitude was based on Bill Clinton (pre-Monica of course, or things might not have been quite as suitable for younger players), Michael Jackson is said to have been the influence for both the white gloves and the red sneakers (again, pre… erm… allegations… there’s something of a pattern emerging here actually isn’t there) and his colour was chosen to match the Sega logo.

The 1991 release of Sonic the Hedgehog was met with almost unanimous acclaim throughout the gaming world. The unparalleled speed of the title blew critics and gamers alike away. Maximum review scores poured in from seemingly every direction, and Mario finally had a worthy rival. The game quickly replaced the rather dreadful Mega Drive port of Altered Beast as the bundled title with new hardware, sending Sega into a commercial dreamland as their system flew off shelves around the world.

It was no surprise when a sequel was announced, and in 1992 it got its release – again wowing the entire gaming world. This time it introduced a split screen two-player mode, and a brand new character in Miles “Tails” Prower, a twin tailed fox, to the mix. Sonic 2 also saw a slight change to the anatomical design of Sonic, making his body a little longer and his frame a little leaner, but the core gameplay which made the original such a hit was still there and visually the title looked stunning for its time (and still does to this day, albeit in a very 16bit way… unsurprisingly).

Next up was Sonic 3, with a worldwide release coming on February 24th of 1994, also known as Hedgehog Day. This time around it fared slightly less well than its predecessors with the gaming media, averaging reviews of around 80% as opposed to the high 90’s of the previous titles. The lack of progression within the series was cited as one of the main black marks against the game, and it would only go on to sell a relatively modest 1.8 million copies compared to the 6 million units Sonic 2 managed to sell. However it transpired that Sonic 3 was only half the game it was originally supposed to be… literally.

Shortly after follow on title Sonic & Knuckles was released, it was revealed that Knuckles was originally intended to feature in Sonic 3, but was left out due to time constraints (and perhaps the opportunity to make a few extra quid by putting a second game out in a year… or maybe I’m just being cynical).

In fact Knuckles only routes through the Sonic 3 levels are accessible by using the debug mode cheat code, suggesting that the character’s inclusion as a playable character would surely have been rather routine – especially since the level design had already catered for him – but it was not to be, and Sega managed to escape too much criticism thanks to their “backwards compatible” cartridge which allowed gamers to plug their copy of Sonic 2 and 3 into the top of the Sonic & Knuckles game in order to play through them as Knuckles (though this didn’t work with the original Sonic thanks to a slightly different colour palette which wouldn’t allow Knuckles to display properly, instead players could play through a host of special versions of the Sonic 3 bonus levels, which weren’t particularly fun to begin with).

Up until post Sonic & Knuckles, the franchise had gone pretty well for Sega. Sure, some games weren’t as well received in terms of critical acclaim as others, but Sonic was arguably the biggest and best known video game character in the world, and everything looked pretty sweet ahead of the launch of Sega’s brand new Saturn system in 1995.

As well as games, Sonic spawned several animated series’ and movies, beginning in 1993 with The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, produced by DIC entertainment. Perhaps the most interesting thing about the show was that although it only ran for a single season, it still managed a whopping 65 episodes – no mean feat for a show with a running time of just over 22 minutes!

It was succeeded in 1994 by the muchdarker Sonic the Hedgehog. Where The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog featured a more slapstick approach, Sonic the Hedgehog was far more complex in its approach to storylines and character development. Again produced by DIC, it managed a two season run, but with only 26 aired episodes it couldn't generate the same level of success.

As the years ticked by, so did newer iterations of the Sonic brand in animation form. Sonic Underground ran from 1999 to 2000, and then Sonic X, an anime style series, was introduced in 2003, running for three seasons with a fourth still being mooted – although at this stage it may never see the light of day.

Comics, cartoons, an animated movie and even several Sega World amusement parks managed to keep Sonic in the forefront of the publics’ minds for years until the leaner times hit as the 16 bit era drew to a close. Sonic 3D Blast, released on Mega Drive and Saturn in 1997 hardly set the world on fire, and certainly didn’t come close to the standards that would be set by Nintendo with Mario 64 (the title which was arguably to blame for the near destruction of Sonic due to its sheer brilliance, something Sonic Team never once came close to emulating in the third dimension).

Sonic Adventure hinted at a return to form, but for us, it lacked the immediacy and speed of the original series which made it so special. The third dimension doesn’t really lend itself to Sonic games unless you place them heavily on the rails; and if that’s the case then why bother. Maybe I’m just a Sonic purist, but the whole point of the game seems defeated when you try to dress it up in swanky 3D graphics. So it’s fortunate that Sega seem to agree with us…

2010 saw the Sonic crew take to the track in the criminally underrated Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, a Mario Kart-esque racer that managed to come pretty close to giving the Italian plumber a real run for his money, and the series'much anticipated return to 2Din Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1.The first glimpse of the title whetted the appetites of gamers across the globe, as the promise of a “back to its roots” 2D sonic game with high definition visuals ignited the nostalgic imaginations of the more aged players on the scene. However it was met with a somewhat mixed reception, just like it's 2012 follow-up, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II.

In between those titles, Sonic Colors hinted at some real potential for the future of the franchise. available on Nintendo Wii and DS, the home console version of the title may have been a little hamstrung by the ageing hardware that played host to it, but Sonic Team did a fantastic job of merging speed with platforming, delivering one of the best Sonic games since the 90s,

And things improved further with the release of Sonic Generations in 2011, a game celebrating two decades of the character by bringing his old and new self together for a generation-blending slice of platforming goodness. Merging 2D and 3D play styles worked a charm, and it finally looked as though things were back on track for the once iconic hedgehog, particularly when Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed launched a year later, making a genuine push to be considered the best kart racer available to date.

Sadly, a poorly realized return to 3D platforming in last year's Sonic Lost World has cost the franchise a lot of the goood will it had build up through its minor purple patch. Attempts to slow the game down and promote exploration were hit and miss, while faster sections suffered from the same issues as the titles that had come before - namely excessive speed and an overreliance on luck or guesswork for first-time runs. It wasn't a bad game, but it was definitely a step in the wrong direction.

With Sonic Boom now announcedand set for launch some time before the end of 2014 (although a concrete date remains to be set), we're hoping that Sega can finally establish Sonic as a major force once again. He's certainly had more downs than he has ups, but in the right hands, there's surely still some great gameplay to be had. Hopefully Big Red Button Entertainment can be the ones to give him the kick in the backside he needs and get things back on the right track.Sonic’s impact on the gaming world and beyond was one of the more immediate for a video game character. His fresh look, attitude and the speedy gameplay of the original shot him to almost overnight fame within the gaming community, and the various spin offs and merchandise made sure that it wasn’t much longer before he was an immediately recognisable icon to non-gamers too.The character himself opened the door for a new breed of video game hero – feisty little buggers with attitude. Unfortunately, it also led to a rash of half baked rip off titles as everyone sought to get in on the act, perhaps leading to the ultimate death of the 2D platformer for the best part of a decade and a half.Despite it all however, Sonic will always be remembered as an icon of the 90’s. He certainly played his role in brining gaming out of the shadows (no pun intended, for those of you who grimaced) and into the mainstream thanks to his Saturday morning cartoon appearances and various comic books, not to mention attitude filled TV advertising spots, so hopefully he can eventually reclaim his spot at the top of the video game world and finally star in a new game worthy of his legacy so that a new generation can experience the same wonder us old fogies did back when reality TV meant documentaries,.In Short: Sonic the Hedgehog has had a turbulent history, from early moments of brilliance to massive disappointments, fans have run the gamut of emotions since 1991

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