Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog (series)

File:Sonic1.png Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)
Developers:	Sega/Sonic Team
Debut Game:	Sonic the Hedgehog
Predecessor:	Alex Kidd series (1986-1990)

The Sonic the Hedgehog series is a franchise of video games released by Sega starring and named after 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 turning Sega into a leading video game company during the 16-bit era, and his first game soon replaced Altered Beast as the default pack-in game for the Mega Drive in North America and Europe. As of March 2007, the franchise has sold more than 45 million games copies. Games in the series are developed by Sonic Team, with the exception of some spinoffs that were independently developed by Sega of America, as well as portable games, which are usually developed by Dimps. 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/Genesis were composed by Masato Nakamura of the Japanese band Dreams Come True.

Overview

Nearly all games in the series feature a teenage hedgehog named "Sonic the Hedgehog" as the central player character and protagonist. The games feature Sonic's attempts to save his planet from various threats, primarily the evil genius Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik. The main antagonist throughout the series, Robotnik's aim is to rule the planet and establish the Eggman Empire; to achieve this, he usually attempts to eliminate Sonic and acquire the powerful Chaos Emeralds.

Sonic 1's Green Hill Zone

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" judgment and are perhaps more lenient than most platform games of the era.

The Sega Technical Institute tried to develop a 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 canceled 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.

File:Sonic2-big.jpg

Sonic being chased by a giant Orca in Emerald Coast, as seen in Sonic Adventure

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 on December 30 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. The player could switch to a new leader at any time, in order to make use of that character's special skills.

In 2005, the Sonic series was given a star on the Walk of Game.

In November 2006, Sonic the Hedgehog, the first Sonic game for the seventh console generation, was released for the Xbox 360, with a PlayStation 3 version in January. Blaze the Cat was brought back and newcomer Silver the Hedgehog was introduced.

Characters

Since Sonic's first appearance in 1991, many more characters have appeared, and most of them have been added to main cast. 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 Sonic. Here are the most significant characters arranged in order of appearance:

Sonic the Hedgehog: The series' principal hero. Sonic can run at supersonic speed and has numerous other abilities, and uses his skills to save the world from Dr. Robotnik. He is impatient, laid back, confident and always on the look-out for an adventure.

Dr. Ivo Robotnik: Also known as Dr. Eggman, he is Sonic's arch nemesis and the series' main villain. He is extremely intelligent, egg-shaped, and has a giant brown mustache. 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. In many cases, his own plans ironically out do himself.

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. He also pilots a machine called the Cyclone, which is an upgraded version of the Tornado with battle-mech capabilities.

Amy Rose: A pink hedgehog who has become Sonic's self-appointed girlfriend, first seen in Sonic the Hedgehog CD. Ever since Sonic and Amy met, she has been in love with Sonic and she now wants him to marry her. Amy is one of the fastest characters in the series always able to trail behind Sonic (either with hearts in her eyes or her hammer clutched in her hands). She is also quite strong and smashes enemy forces down with her trusty Piko Piko Hammer.

Metal Sonic: The robotic counterpart of Sonic the Hedgehog, who is created by Dr. Eggman. He seems to believe that he is in fact the true Sonic, and that Sonic is his copy. In Sonic Heroes he betrayed his creator, and took the task of trying to achieve world domination into his own claws. In Sonic Rivals, he assists Eggman Nega.

Knuckles the Echidna: The last living member of a warrior race of echidnas, and Sonic's hotheaded 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 spines (that resemble dreadlocks) allow him to glide in the air for periods of time.

Vector the Crocodile: Outlaw detective and head honcho of the Chaotix Detective Agency. He can find peaceful solutions to problems, providing an aggressive method cannot be found. Despite this, he's the brains behind the detective operations.

Charmy Bee: The youngest Chaotix member. This scatterbrained funny-kid likes nothing more than fooling around, and making the remaining Chaotix staff look professional. Seen by the others as more of a cute mascot, he's generally good natured and light-headed, but when he gets angry he tends to introduce the source of his anger to his stinging tail.

Espio the Chameleon: Opinionated and self obsessed chameleon at the Chaotix Detective Agency. He has a militaristic discipline despite being quiet and laid back, and thanks to extensive ninja training, he can face trouble head-on unconcerned by danger.

Big the Cat: A big purple cat who loves fishing. His best friend is a frog named Froggy, who he constantly keeps losing. Big lives with his buddy in a peaceful hut in the Mystic Ruins.

E-102 Gamma: A robot created by Dr. Eggman. Originally a part of the E-Series, he, thanks to Amy Rose, became good spirited and decided to save his friends. At the end of Sonic Adventure, he and his "brother" E-101 Beta destroy each other.

Chaos: A mutated chao from the past who was the main enemy of Sonic Adventure. It was defeated by Super Sonic, who neutralized it and thus made it become good again.

Tikal: A mystical echidna who was alive thousands of years ago, and was part of the same tribe as Knuckles is.

Shadow the Hedgehog: The Ultimate Life form created over 50 years ago by Dr. Eggman's grandfather, Gerald Robotnik, and is one of Sonic's many rivals. He is often quiet and very serious, and has the natural ability to use Chaos Control (a form of warping/teleportation).

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 also has powerful legs, made for kickboxing. She has a crush on Knuckles the Echidna.

Cream the Rabbit & Cheese: A naive young rabbit who lives with her mother, Vanilla. Cheese is a Chao (which Cream uses as a 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.

E-123 Omega: A robot created by Dr. Eggman, after the events of Sonic Adventure 2, to watch over the then amnesiac Shadow the Hedgehog. He is the last of the E-100 series of robots and seeks revenge on Eggman for Shutting him down. Rouge accidentally activated him when trying to free Shadow from Eggman's base. Since then, he has become a good friend to the both of them.

Blaze the Cat: A female, lavender-colored cat from the future. As guardian of the Sol Emeralds, it is her duty to prevent anyone from taking them. She has powerful pyrokinetic abilities, but is shy and tends to conceal her feelings. She has close friendships with Silver and Cream.

Jet the Hawk: The current leader of the Babylon Rogues and Sonic's rival when it comes to racing on Extreme Gear. Also known as "The Legendary Wind Master", Jet is a highly skilled at riding Extreme Gear, especially airboards. He tends to be arrogant and hates to be pitied when he loses a race.

Storm the Albatross: The brawn of the Babylon Rogues. He is Jet's right-hand man, and rival of Knuckles when racing on Extreme Gear. He is usually sent on missions by Jet, and what he lacks in brainpower, he makes up for in physical power.

Wave the Swallow: The mechanic of the Babylon Rogues and Tails's rival for racing on Extreme Gear. She is very skilled at riding Extreme Gear and she surpasses both Tails and Eggman in the field of tuning up Extreme Gear, which causes her to usually deride other's skills.

Silver the Hedgehog: A mysterious hedgehog from the future and is best friends with Blaze. Silver is young-minded and naive (according to Blaze), but he has a strong sense of justice. He does not possess speed but instead utilizes telekinetic powers.

Further information: [[:List of all game characters from Sonic the Hedgehog]]

Chronology

There is a relatively simple criteria upon which a game's relative canonicity and chronology is determined: the higher a game is cited by other games or cites other games, the more it fits into the existing canon. The games Sonic 1, Sonic CD, Sonic 2, Sonic 3, Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Heroes, Shadow the Hedgehog, and Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 are absolute canon to the ongoing continuity, since they were directly created by Sonic Team, or in-house by Sega. The Sonic Advance series, Sonic Battle, Sonic Rush, and Sonic Rivals are canon to a lesser extent, mainly because they were out-sourced from Sega and Sonic Team. At times they make weaker ties to earlier games, and also tend to receive few ties in return. Most other games with Sonic-based titles are generally considered canonical as well, unless they explicitly contradict the Sonic Team games; however, this is an inconsequential point, as these games rarely had any influence on the main series in comparison. The chronology of Sonic Riders and Sonic and the Secret Rings has yet to be determined.

• Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Genesis/Mega Drive) (1991)

Sonic 1 is the first game in the series and establishes the canon's foundation. It introduces the protagonist, Sonic the Hedgehog; the antagonist, Dr Eggman; basic gameplay elements; and bosses that have reappeared in later games, such as in Sonic Advance. In this game, and all future games until the Sonic Advance series, Dr. Eggman has captured the animals and turned them into robot slaves in order to use them to take over the world. Sonic is the only one that can stop the evil scientist.

• Sonic the Hedgehog CD (Sega CD) (1993)

Sonic CD takes place before Sonic 2 because of the lack of Tails, Sonic's sidekick, who has appeared in almost every Sonic game since his introduction in Sonic 2, though he does make a minor cameo as an easter egg, along with the Tornado. The game is canon because Sonic Adventure for the Dreamcast makes an explicit reference to this game during Amy's opening cut-scene, and the characters of Amy Rose and Metal Sonic are introduced. In this game, Sonic also does what can be considered an early form of his Spin Dash since he needs to charge it, whereas in other games he can roll immediately after starting up. Note that Sonic CD was supposed to be released at the same time as Sonic 2, but due to considerable delays, it was released after Sonic 2.

• Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sega Genesis/Mega Drive) (1992)

The instruction booklet indicates that Sonic 2 comes sometime after the events of Sonic 1. This game formally introduces Miles "Tails" Prower, Sonic's sidekick. All seven Chaos Emeralds appear, and Sonic makes his first transformation into Super Sonic.

• Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (Sega Genesis/Mega Drive) (1994)

Sonic 3 and Knuckles closely follows Sonic 2 and recycles its sprites and game engine core. Inside the game, Sonic's story happens first, then Knuckles' story. In Sonic's story, Angel Island is in the sea and Knuckles is his enemy; in Knuckles' story, Angel Island is floating in the sky and Sonic is his ally.

• Sonic Advance (Game Boy Advance) (2001)

While some may assume Sonic Adventure comes first, Sonic Advance comes first for two clear reasons. For one thing, Sonic's red Tornado biplane appears in it, but it was shot down in Sonic Adventure. However, it is debatable if Tails ended up repairing it, as the final picture of Tails' ending depicts him and the Tornado, and the other endings for each character don't seem to take place at an earlier point in time except for possibly the last ending. Secondly, in all the games after this game, including Sonic Adventure, Eggman has a much more complicated way of taking over the world, but in Sonic Advance 1 and 2, Eggman has the same old scheme: enslaving and turning innocent animals into robots in order to use them to take over the world.

• Sonic Advance 2 (Game Boy Advance) (2002)

There are three reasons why Sonic Advance 2 occurs here. It is evident from the game and official material that Sonic Advance 2 closely follows its prequel . This game introduces Cream the Rabbit, who is trying to search for her mother Vanilla the Rabbit, and she reappears in the remake of Sonic Adventure as a cameo in story mode, giving proof that this game takes place before Adventure. The third reason is that Eggman's strategy is essentially unchanged so far.

• Sonic Adventure (Sega Dreamcast) (1998)

Adventure marks the first of the fully 3-D and evolved Sonic games, and it is closely connected to Sonic & Knuckles, as seen by the fall of Angel Island. It also makes several references to earlier games: Sonic making jokes at Knuckles' expense about his history with Eggman; Tails' dream of when he first met Sonic; and Amy's flashback of when Sonic first rescued her from Eggman's base on the Little Planet while being chased by Metal Sonic. This game expands on the history of the Chaos Emeralds and the Echidnas. It introduces the characters of Chaos, Tikal the Echidna, Big the Cat, and E-102 Gamma.

• Sonic Adventure 2 (Sega Dreamcast) (2001)

It is Sonic Adventure's sequel, and the events within closely follows its prequel. This game introduces Shadow the Hedgehog as Sonic's cold-hearted rival. It also introduces Rouge the Bat, who is a government agent, jewel thief, and spy. In this game, we learn that 50 years ago, Professor Gerald Robotnik, Eggman's grandfather, was involved with the creation of the Ultimate Life Form on Space Colony ARK.

• Sonic Heroes (Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC) (2003)

It continues the storyline of Sonic Adventure 2. The game stars Metal Sonic as the antagonist of the game instead of Dr. Eggman. In Team Dark's story, Shadow begins his story inside a cryogenic capsule; Rouge is surprised that he is still alive, and they form a team of three, including newcomer E-123 Omega. In Team Rose's story, Amy begins her story relaxing at the beach in a scene reminiscent of the opening cut-scene of Sonic's story in Adventure, and in the cut-scene just before beginning Hang Castle in Team Sonic's story, Knuckles scares Tails by wondering if Shadow was a ghost (though he was probably making fun of him), making a reference to Sonic Adventure 2's ending when Shadow fell to the Earth while he and Sonic were trying to stop the ARK from falling, making everyone believe he was dead. In all the stories, however, it is necessary to find out who the antagonist is, and to defeat it.

• Shadow the Hedgehog (Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox) (2005)

This game takes place after Sonic Heroes, as it makes several references to it (such as Omega's appearance and motives in this game) and Sonic Adventure 2. This game takes place before Sonic Battle because in that game Shadow has all of his memories, and remembers Maria, Professor Gerald, and the incident on ARK. However, in this game Shadow doesn't even know who Maria and Professor Gerald are. "...and who is this Maria?" — Shadow the Hedgehog.

• Sonic Battle (Game Boy Advance) (2003)

Even though this game was released before Sonic Heroes, it comes after, because Rouge comments about E-102 Chaos Gamma (whom she believes to be a Guard Robo) looking like Omega, whom she met in Sonic Heroes. "...that Guard Robo looked just like Omega" — Rouge the Bat. This game also takes place after Shadow the Hedgehog, because of the explanation above, in the case with Shadow's past.

• Sonic Advance 3 (Game Boy Advance) (2004)

It is seen that this game closely follows Sonic Battle, and it continues Battle's storyline, seeing as Eggman found Emerl's pieces and re-built him into G-mel. Emerl is a robot introduced in Sonic Battle.

• Sonic Rush (Nintendo DS) (2005)

This takes place after Sonic Advance 3 because it re-uses some elements introduced in that game, such as Cream's house and the Flickies' new look. This game takes place when Eggman contacts someone who he believes is his counterpart from another dimension, Eggman Nega. Eggman Nega travels to Eggman's world to collect both the Chaos Emeralds from Eggman's world and the Sol Emeralds from Eggman Nega's world to create an Eggman Land beyond their dimensions. Blaze the Cat, the Princess of her dimension who is also the guardian of the Sol Emeralds (future versions of the Chaos Emeralds, as realized by Knuckles in this game), follows Eggman Nega, resulting in Blaze fainting. Eggman and Eggman Nega soon team up. Blaze wakes up, thinking she is in another dimension. Blaze and Sonic both try to stop the two antagonists, but also fight each other doing so. Blaze and Sonic soon form an alliance and set out to beat the two Eggmans. After they are defeated, both worlds stop merging and return to normal. Blaze leaves Sonic's world, realizing that the Chaos Emeralds and the Sol Emeralds cannot exist in the same time, or else it could become a threat again.

• Sonic the Hedgehog (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) (2006)

In this game, Sonic has to save the Princess of Soleanna, Elise, from the wrath of Dr. Eggman, who once again wants the Chaos Emeralds, but also wants to uncover the secret behind the Flames of Disaster. This game establishes that Blaze knows Silver the Hedgehog from the future, though it doesn't explain how Blaze met him from her dimension, or if possibly she was never from an alternate dimension, but rather believed it to be so (also meaning that the Sol Emeralds were the Chaos Emeralds from the future). This game's events were erased from history at the end, but that does not mean that it isn't canon, as this game's storyline continues with Sonic Rivals as stated below.

• Sonic Rivals (PlayStation Portable) (2006)

In this game Sonic's story begins when he has to rescue Tails and Amy, who have been turned into cards, believing it to be Eggman behind it. In Knuckles' story, he has to retrieve the Master Emerald, which has also turned into a card, also believing it to be Eggman behind it. In Shadow's story he receives a distress signal from Dr. Eggman. In Silver's story he searches for Eggman Nega, who has escaped to the present along with his island Onyx Island, (the future Angel Island). Near the end of the game, Shadow and Silver discover that it was Eggman Nega disguised as Eggman, and was holding both him and Rouge hostage. This game takes place after Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 because the events of that game were erased from history as stated above, which is why Sonic and his friends didn't recognize Silver, or vice-versa, so he had to be reintroduced. This game also states that Eggman Nega is from the same time period as Blaze and Silver, and that he is in fact a descendant of Dr. Eggman. Again, there are no direct explanations given if or why he was in another dimension, but this may be resolved with Blaze returning in Sonic Rush Adventure.

Other gameplay styles

In addition to the platform games which comprise the majority of the series, numerous Sonic titles focusing on alternative gameplay formats have been released.

• Sonic Eraser (Sega Mega Drive, 1991)

Sonic Eraser is a game released exclusively through the Sega Meganet modem in Japan, as part of the B-Club service. It is considered the first Sonic spinoff, and possibly the most obscure. There is no storyline, it is just a puzzle game with two competing Sonic sprites.

• SegaSonic the Hedgehog (Arcade, 1993)

Dr. Eggman has kidnapped Sonic the Hedgehog, Mighty the Armadillo, and Ray the Flying Squirrel. They must escape from the deadly Eggman Island, which is loaded with traps intended to bring our heroes to their unfortunate ends. It uses a unique controller; a trackball. It was also the first Sonic game to feature voice acting. The game can have up to three players, and they are all seen in an isometric view. This game has not been re-released, and the in-game text is in Japanese.

• Sonic Spinball (Sega Genesis, Mega Drive, 1993; Sega Game Gear, 1994; Sega Master System, 1995)

Sonic Spinball focused on the concept of Sonic bouncing around as the ball in a giant pinball table, elaborating on an idea that had previously been featured in certain sections of Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

• Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (Sega Genesis, Mega Drive, 1993; Sega Game Gear, 1993; Sega Master System, 1994)

Dr. Robotnik, Sonic's arch enemy, has kidnapped the jolly beans of Beanville and turned them into robots. This unique game involves Puyo Pop-like gameplay, with Sonic no where to be found in the game. The player character is never seen. All of the enemies in the game were characters seen in the T.V. series Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. Only Grounder, Scratch, and Dr. Robotnik actually appeared in any other game in the series.

• Tails' Skypatrol (Sega Game Gear, 1995)

Originally only released in Japan. This game was one of the only few to feature a main character other than Sonic himself. Instead, you play as Tails, in an effort to defeat evil enemies. The gameplay consists of constantly flying. This game has since been released on later Sonic compilation games and as a bonus unlockable in Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut.

• Tails Adventures (Sega Game Gear, 1995)

The first game to feature Tails as a main character. While it is a platformer, it has largely different gameplay, with Tails looking for various gadgetry to depend on instead of speed. Tails has to fight off an army of birds, which have taken over his home land of Cocoa Island. This takes place before he meets Sonic at Westside Island.

• Sonic Drift and Sonic Drift 2 (Sega Game Gear, 1994 and 1995, respectively)

Both were released for the Game Gear, with the first only being released in Japan for many years. In these two games, Sonic, Tails, Eggman, and Amy would travel around a series of tracks in race cars, in a competition to win the Chaos Emeralds. The second game added Knuckles, Metal Sonic, and Fang the Sniper as playable characters.

• Sonic the Hedgehog's Gameworld (Sega Pico, 1994)

This is a party game designed for children. Eggman has hidden Chaos Emeralds in his five-story "Gameworld", and it's up to Sonic, Tails, and Amy to play Eggman's mini-games and win the Emeralds back from Eggman. The American release was heavily censored because it was deemed that the casino theme was not appropriate content for American children. The story mode was cut, and only eleven of the original seventeen mini-games remained. The American release did add a drawing tool to the game.

• Tails and the Music Maker and Sonic's Schoolhouse (Sega Pico, 1994; PC, 1996, respectively)

These are purely edutainment titles with Sonic characters in it. The former includes Tails teaching music, and the latter is about Sonic teaching mathematics, reading, and spelling. Dr. Eggman and his Badniks also appear in it, scheming to steal your answers and Rings. Interestingly, Sonic's style is the same as the canceled Sonic Xtreme.

• Sonic Labyrinth (Sega Game Gear, 1995)

Dr. Eggman orders a robot to sneak into Sonic's room at night and swap his shoes with identical-looking Slow-Down Boots. Sonic can no longer run or jump, but he can still Spin Dash. In an isometric view, Sonic must rely on his Spin Dash to get through four Labyrinths to get his shoes back.

• Sonic the Fighters (Arcade, 1996)

Sonic's first glimpse in the world of combat fighting, put together by AM2, a separate division of Sega. It received a very limited release in America but was featured later on in Sonic Gems Collection. The game was rumored to be coming to the Sega Saturn, but it never materialized. This was largely an arcade only release.

• Sonic R (Sega Saturn, 1997; PC, 1998)

Sonic R was a racing game with the same premise as its predecessors, however, instead of the characters driving in go-karts, some would race on foot, with their attacks intact. This game would later be ported to the PC platform, as well as appearing in Sonic Gems Collection.

• Sonic Shuffle' (Sega Dreamcast, 2000)

Sonic Shuffle is a Mario Party-style game. It featured Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy as playable characters. They each went through five locations of Maginary World, collecting Precioustones along the way as Eggman tried to stop them from challenging the real villain, Void.

• Sonic Riders (Nintendo GameCube, Xbox, PlayStation 2, PC; 2006)

Unlike Sonic R, Sonic Riders had the characters racing on Extreme Gear, a gameplay technique that had not yet been seen in the series. Sonic Riders also offers a new turbulence system, in which characters can ride one another's air.

• Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii, Nintendo DS; 2007)

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games is a Mario/Sonic crossover featuring multiple characters from both series competing in Olympic events.

• Sonic RPG (Nintendo DS; 2008)

Common features

Rings

Rings are a recurring item in the Sonic series.

One distinctive and recurring feature of Sonic games are the collectible golden Rings (sometimes referred to as Gold Rings or Power Rings) spread throughout the levels. This gameplay device allows players possessing at least one ring to survive upon sustaining damage from an enemy or hazardous object. Instead of dying, the player's rings are sacrificed; in most Sonic games, a hit will cause the player to lose all of their rings, although in certain situations (such as the Special Stages in Sonic the Hedgehog 2) and throughout certain games (such as Sonic Triple Trouble, Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic Blast and Sonic and the Secret Rings) a hit only costs a set number of rings rather than the entire collection.

Upon colliding with a hazard, the on-screen character is thrown backwards and given a momentary period of invulnerability (represented by a rapid flashing between visible and invisible). The dropped rings burst out of the character in a circular pattern and bounce around the environment, flashing for a few seconds before disappearing entirely (in 16-bit games they are losing their rotation speed instead of flashing). During this brief period, it is possible for the player to recover some of the rings they lost. Generally fewer "recoverable" rings are displayed on-screen than the number actually lost (usually a maximum of around 20; fewer in Sonic games on 8-bit consoles, about 50 in Sonic Rush).

Certain causes of death cannot be prevented by holding a ring, including being crushed(although in Sonic Heroes this will only make the player lose all rings and the leader temporarily unable to move), falling into a bottomless pit, and drowning.

In line with many platform games, collecting 100 of these common collectibles will usually reward Sonic with an extra life. Certain titles in the series often reward the collection of other quantities of rings, often in conjunction with the Chaos Emeralds; usually, at least fifty Rings are required to access the Special Stages in which the Chaos Emeralds may be obtained, or to utilize a character's super transformation. However, in the recent next-gen Sonic game, Sonic and the Secret Rings, there are new rings. One of those rings is the ring given to Sonic by Shahra to allow him to travel within the Arabian Nights book, and the others are the seven World Rings, which Sonic collects for Shahra. In the "Last Chapter" of the game, three World Rings are used to utilize a new transformation for Sonic, known as Darkspine Sonic, but unlike Super Transformation, this type of transformation doesn't require rings as an energy source.

The origin of the rings, like the Chaos Emeralds, is never revealed during the game series. They are not often referenced by characters during gameplay, but they are used as currency in Chao Black Markets in the Adventure games and Sonic Riders, and in normal shops in the 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog game. In Shadow the Hedgehog, Dr. Eggman collects them for prizes in his game-filled carnival base, and is distressed when Shadow takes them from him during the "Egg Dealer" boss battle ("No! My beautiful rings!"). In Sonic Adventure 2, Shadow and Sonic will take turns fighting the final boss, the reason being one stays to keep fighting the boss, while the other says he will go to collect more Rings from an unknown source.

Item Boxes

An Item Box showcasing a "Barrier" powerup.

Item Boxes are boxes that hold power-ups and appear frequently in the games. The boxes showcase what they contain, and the player releases the item by destroying the box. In the early games, Item Boxes resembled television sets and the player must Spin Dash or jump over the boxes to destroy them, but in later games they are transparent, capsule-like objects that are easily destroyed with one touch from the player (the player can go through them without error, and don't need to Spin Dash or jump on top of them). The most common items in boxes are as follows:

• Rings, gives the player the amount of rings shown on the box. They come in 5, 10, 15, 20 and ? (randomly gives between 1 and 40 Rings) varieties. These boxes were known as Super Ring in early (pre-Sonic Adventure) games, and always gave 10 Rings.
• Barrier (Shield in early games), a spherical energy shield that protects the player character from one attack, making the character lose the barrier instead of Rings or a life.
• Magnetic Barrier, introduced in Sonic 3 as the Lightning Shield. This works like a normal Barrier, but draws in nearby Rings towards the player character in addition to allowing him to double jump.
• Invincibility, temporarily covers the player character in small flashing stars that protect against damage done by enemies, and lets the player destroy enemies by touching them.
• High Speed (Power Sneakers in early games), gives the player character temporarily enhanced speed. In the earlier games, the music speeds up as well, while in later ones a jingle plays during the speed-up.
• 1-up, gives the player one extra life, that lets the player restart by the last checkpoint in case he or she loses on a stage. Multiple lives can be collected, generally up to 99. A 1-up box displays the face of the player character.

Some games have other items as well, but these are the only ones that stay constant. For example, Sonic 3 & Knuckles has certain element-based Barriers that have not appeared in later games, such as the Fire Shield and Water Shield.

Giant Rings

Whereas most Rings were small and easily collectible, 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 the Hedgehog 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 in Sonic 3 & Knuckles if the player has collected all the Super Emeralds as well). In most of the newer games since Sonic Adventure 2, these giant rings have been renamed Goal Rings and have taken the place of the old signposts as the end level marker, which ends the level upon touching it.

Checkpoints

Checkpoints, originally called Star Posts, are items placed throughout the stages in Sonic games. If the player runs through one, their game is "saved", and if they die on the same stage, they will start over at the last checkpoint they touched, although they lose one life and all their score points. Checkpoints also serve other uses in various games, such as entering Special Stages in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and leveling up in Sonic Heroes.

Goals

In the early 16-bit games, there were end sign posts showing the face of Dr. Robotnik. If the player passes by these signs, the sign will spin to reveal Sonic's, Tails', or Knuckles' face (depending on which character is played as). Sonic Advance shows a sign post, but is double-sided with Dr. Eggman's face, and the camera completely stays on the player after the sign is spun. After defeating the boss of each zone, the player jumps on a giant capsule to free all the little animals to clear that zone.

In Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Sonic and Knuckles, or Sonic 3 & Knuckles, there was a boss in every act. Act 1 shows one of Dr. Robotnik's creations, and Act 2's bosses are always faced off against himself. If the player defeats each Act 1 boss, a spinning sign post will fall from the sky just above where the boss was defeated. The player could then hit it multiple times before it stops falling and spinning for extra points or Item Boxes.

The 8-bit games also show sign posts that may give the player an extra reward if when spun. In Sonic 1 and 2, the sign shown before it is spun is a question mark. It can give either rings or lives when Sonic's face or a ring is shown, but nothing if Dr. Robotnik's face appears.

Both Sonic Chaos and Sonic Triple Trouble use similar lucky sign posts with the addition of Tails in the signs, and a prize of 10000 extra points. But Dr. Robotnik takes the question mark's place, and a Flicky gives nothing if it is shown.

In the 32X game Knuckles' Chaotix, the end sign appears as having the word "CLEAR" on both main faces, and Dr. Robotnik's silhouette on the sides. Newer Sonic games from Sonic Adventure 2 would have a goal ring at the end of each act, which ends the stage and gives the player a rank when touched.

Emeralds

Main articles: Chaos Emeralds and Master Emerald

File:SonicTailsKnucklesHPZ.PNG

Dr. Robotnik steals the Master Emerald to power his Death Egg in Sonic 3 & Knuckles.

The Chaos Emeralds are seven emeralds with mystical powers, and 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", super forms, or both. The method used to acquire the Emeralds differs between titles in the series. Most early games require the player to find them in Special Stages. 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 most later games, the Chaos Emeralds are found by the characters throughout the games' story modes, and do not need to be "found" by the player.

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 Super form.

Special Stages

Main article: Special Stage

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 variant of this used for Knuckles Chaotix, Sonic Advance, and Sonic Advance 3; 3-D "collect items" levels, as in Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, which used the same perspective but had Sonic collecting all the blue-colored 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) utilized a variety of gimmicks for its levels.

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.

Just as the design of the Special Stages has changed, so has the means of accessing them. In Sonic 1, the player needed 50 Rings to reveal and jump through a Giant Rings by the end of the stage, Sonic 2 required the player to touch a Star Post with 50 Rings, and Sonic 3 had Giant Rings hidden throughout the stages. Most games have radically different ways to access the stages.

Super Sonic

File:Super Sonic Emerald.PNG

Super Sonic's ending in Sonic and Knuckles— he will eventually become Sonic as he runs out of energy

Main article: Super transformation

Since the 16-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog 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 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 Riders, Super Sonic is also an unlockable character, playable outside the final level for the first time since the Sega Saturn 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.

Other characters have also been able to utilise the Super transformation. 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. Also "Mecha" Sonic achieves a form of super transformation by simply using the Master Emerald once in it. In Sonic Adventure 2, Super Shadow also appeared at the end of the Last story, who fought alongside Super Sonic to destroy the Biolizard. In Sonic Rush, Burning Blaze appears for the extra boss, similar to the end of Sonic Adventure 2. It is named "Burning" instead of "Super" as she uses the Sol Emeralds instead of the Chaos Emeralds. In Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Silver appears along with Super Sonic and Super Shadow.

Springs

Through every game springs are found throughout the map. They will catapult the player at high speeds in a certain direction. They are mostly used to allow the player to proceed but some are hidden, used to access special areas with either a powerup (usually a shield, invulnerability, or a life), a cache of powerups (usually 3 item boxes with rings) or to access special stages. Hidden ones may also send the player on an alternate route, which is normally shorter but more difficult than the main route (which increases the difficulty but reduces the time). Such alternate routes usually are literally above the main route and, should the player fall or miss a target, fall back to the main route (although they usually have to proceed from the beginning, taking up even more time).

Music

Numerous composers have worked on the music of games in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. 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 tunes for the first 8-bit title, barring what was retained from the 16-bit version.

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. For the 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog game, Senoue and Crush 40 performed a remix of "All Hail Shadow" to play as Shadow the Hedgehog's theme for the game.

Richard Jacques, a frequent composer of music for Sega games, contributed to the soundtracks of Sonic R and the Saturn/PC version of Sonic 3D Blast: Flickies' Island. Runblebee has done songs for Sonic games such as Sonic Riders, the title theme and the Babylon theme, and the Sonic and the Secret Rings main theme, "Seven Rings In Hand".

See also: List of Sonic the Hedgehog series songs

Cartoons and comics

Animations

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 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 very 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. 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.

A two-episode OVA series based upon 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; at this point, it could be considered to take place in an a different continuity than the games, just like other versions of Sonic from other media.

The cartoon Sonic Underground ran for only one season, 1998 to 1999; it bears little relation to other entries featuring Sonic (including previous games, comics and animated series), and shares few established characters. Forty episodes were produced and released. Unlike its 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. The Mobian civilisation featured in the series includes 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 a 52 episode series that would be inspired by the storylines of the Sonic Adventure series, Sonic X has since expanded to 78 episodes with the latest 26 episodes set primarily in outer space. 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.

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 successfully conquered the entire planet of Mobius, and Sonic's group 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. An online fan based comic, called STC-Online, has been set up to continue the STC story starting from where the original STC story left off and beginning with issue 224, due to STC being reprints from issues 185 to 223. It has received positive feedback from both fans and writers of the original STC.

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 anime, and characters from the Sonic Adventure storyline.

See also: List of Sonic the Hedgehog printed media

Trivia

• Many people assume that Sonic himself originates from a fictional planet called Mobius. This actually stems from a mistranslated interview with Yuji Naka stating that a Möbius strip was used in Sonic 2.

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.

External links

Official

• Sonic Central Official American website
• Sonic City Official Europe website
• Sonic Channel Official Japanese website

Commercial

• Sonic the Hedgehog series at MobyGames
• GameSpot: The History of Sonic
• Gaming Target: Sonic: A History - From South Island to Cosmic Eternity

Fan made

• Sonic HQ
• The Green Hill Zone
• Sonic Gear - A digital museum of Sonic merchandise past and present