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Sonic the Hedgehog (character)

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This is the version of the character seen in the video game series and television shows. For information on how he appears in the Archie comics, see Sonic the Hedgehog (comic character).
Sonic the Hedgehog
'Sonic the Hedgehog' character
File:Sonicrun 2006.png
Sonic has been the official mascot of Sega for 16 years.
First gameSonic the Hedgehog (1991)
Created byNaoto Ōshima
Yuji Naka
Hirokazu Yasuhara

Sonic the Hedgehog (ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ, Sonikku za Hejiihoggu), trademarked Sonic The Hedgehog,[1] is a video game character and the hero of a video game series released by Sega, as well as numerous spin-off comics, cartoons and books. The first game in the franchise was released on June 23, 1991 in order to provide Sega with a mascot to rival Nintendo's flagship character Mario (see 1991 in video gaming).[2] Since then, Sonic has become one of the world's best-known video game characters, with his series having sold over 45 million copies.[3] In 2005, Sonic was one of the first game character inductees into the Walk of Game, alongside Mario and Link.

Artist Naoto Ōshima, designer Hirokazu Yasuhara and programmer Yuji Naka are generally credited with the creation of the character,[4] a blue, anthropomorphic hedgehog, whose ability to run faster than the speed of sound[5] is a major part of the gameplay of the series.[6]

Conception and creation

File:Sonics.png
Sonic's original design.

Sega wanted a game capable of selling over one million copies and a character to replace Alex Kidd as the company's mascot. Several character designs were submitted by its AM8 research & development department, including an armadillo (who was later developed into Mighty the Armadillo), a dog, an over-sized Theodore Roosevelt in pajamas (which would later be the basis of Doctor Eggman's design), and a rabbit (intended to use its extendible ears to collect objects; these aspects were later incorporated into Ristar).[7] Eventually, Naoto Ōshima's spiky cerulean hedgehog, initially codenamed "Mr Needlemouse",[2] was chosen as the new mascot. Sonic's sapphire pigmentation was chosen to match Sega's cobalt blue logo. A group of fifteen started working on Sonic the Hedgehog, and renamed themselves Sonic Team. The game's soundtrack was composed by Masato Nakamura of the band Dreams Come True. Sega sponsored the group's "Wonder 3" tour, painting Sonic on the tour bus, distributing pamphlets advertising the game, and having footage of the game broadcast above stage prior to its release.[8]

Sonic's precise age, weight, height and other physical characteristics vary depending on the continuity in which he appears and the style in which he is drawn. In the video games, Sonic's original design by Ohshima was quite short and childlike, with short quills, a round body and no visible irises. Artwork featuring this design and drawn by Akira Wantabe[9] was displayed on the package artwork for Sonic the Hedgehog, and most subsequent Sonic video games featured similar designs. Beginning with Sonic Adventure in 1998, Sonic was redesigned by Yuji Uekawa as a taller character with longer legs and a less spherical body, longer and more drooping spikes, and green-colored eyes. Further subtle changes to the character's design have been made in subsequent games. Spin-off media such as comics and cartoons have featured variations on all these video game designs, with restrictions set by the standardized model sheets.[10]

Game Appearances

Main article: Sonic the Hedgehog (series)

Sonic's debut occurred in the 1991 platform game Sonic the Hedgehog (sometimes referred to simply as Sonic 1) for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, which also introduced his nemesis Dr. Ivo Robotnik (named Dr. Eggman in Japan, and, since Sonic Adventure, also in the West).

His sidekick Miles "Tails" Prower joined him in the game's 1992 sequel Sonic 2, which also introduced Sonic's "Super Sonic" form and signature "spin-dash" move.

Sonic CD, released in 1993, introduced Sonic's self-proclaimed girlfriend Amy Rose and his robotic doppelgänger Metal Sonic as Sonic travelled through time to ensure a good future for the world.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and its direct sequel Sonic & Knuckles, both released in 1994, saw Sonic and Tails battle Robotnik again, with the additional threat of Knuckles the Echidna, tricked by Robotnik into fighting Sonic.

Other two-dimensional platformers starring Sonic include Sonic Chaos (1993), Sonic Triple Trouble (1994), Sonic Blast (1996), and Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure (1999). In 2001, 2D Sonic games started to move to Nintendo hand-held platforms. These include Sonic Advance (2001), Sonic Advance 2 (2002), Sonic Advance 3 (2004), Sonic Rush (2005) and Sonic Rush Adventure (2007).

Sonic Adventure (1998) was Sonic Team's return to the character for a major game. It featured Sonic returning from vacation to find the city of Station Square under attack by a new, very powerful foe named Chaos, under the control of Dr. Robotnik (now known as Doctor Eggman). Additionally, Sonic was given a full voice-over for the first time in a video game.

Sonic Adventure 2 (2001) placed Sonic on-the-run from the military (G.U.N) after being mistaken for a new enemy, Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate Life Form.

Sonic Heroes (2003) has Sonic teaming up with Tails and Knuckles (along with other characters) against the newly rebuilt Metal Sonic, who had betrayed his master.

Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) features Sonic in the city of water, "Soleanna", where he must rescue Princess Elise from Dr. Eggman while trying to avoid a new threat to his own life, Silver the Hedgehog.

Sonic and the Secret Rings (2007) features Sonic in a story book world of the "Arabian Nights" where he must help a ring genie, "Shahra", regain the seven World Rings in order to defeat the evil Erazor Djinn.

Sonic has also been featured in games of many genres other than 2D and 3D platform games. The first of these was a pinball game, Sonic Spinball (1993), which expanded upon the pinball sequences in the first three platform games. Sonic has also appeared in "2.5D" isometric platformers (Sonic Labyrinth (1995) and Sonic 3D Blast (1996)), racing games (Sonic Drift (1994), Sonic Drift 2 (1995), Sonic R (1997), Sonic Riders (2006), Sonic Rivals (2006), Sonic Rivals 2 (2007), and Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity (2008), and fighting games (Sonic the Fighters (1996) Sonic Battle (2003) and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Video games such as Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (1993), Knuckles Chaotix (1995), Tails' Skypatrol (1995), Tails Adventures (1995), and Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) starred supporting characters of the Sonic series. Sonic has had cameo roles in some of them.

Outside of Sonic titles

He has made cameo appearances in numerous other Sega games such as Daytona USA and Christmas Nights. Sonic also stars in the sports title Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games appearing alongside characters from Nintendo's Mario series for the first time. He has been confirmed to appear in Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Brawl and is the second 3rd party character to appear (first to be Konami's Solid Snake). It is confirmed that Sonic's Final Smash in that game is Super Sonic.

Television series

File:Sonicaosth.PNG
Sonic as he appeared in AoStH

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog was the first animated series to feature Sonic, where he was voiced by Jaleel White.[11] It had a very comical take on Sonic and Tails's adventures and battles against Robotnik.

In the darker and more serious series Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic was again voiced by White.[12] This series featured Sonic and his "Freedom Fighter" friends fighting to free their planet from Robotnik's tyrannical rule.

Sonic Underground featured the introductions of Sonic's siblings Sonia the Hedgehog and Manic the Hedgehog, as well as his mother Queen Aleena, the four of whom were destined to defeat Robotnik and rule Mobius as the "Council of Four". White returned to voice Sonic for the third and last time as well as voicing Sonic's brother Manic, with Samuel Vincent providing Sonic's singing voice.[13] In this series, Sonic came equipped with a magical medallion that expanded into an electric guitar.

File:002sonic.jpg
Sonic depicted in Sonic X.

Additionally, there was a Sonic the Hedgehog anime OVA in Japan, which featured Sonic, Tails, Eggman, Knuckles and Metal Sonic. Sonic was voiced by Masami Kikuchi in Japan, and Martin Burke in the United States. [14]

Sonic X, was an anime in which Sonic, voiced by Jun'ichi Kanemaru in the Japanese version, and by Jason Griffith in the English version, is teleported to Earth by Chaos Control, caused by the Seven Chaos Emeralds

Printed media

Main article: List of Sonic the Hedgehog printed media

Sonic's first comic appearance was in a promotional comic printed in Disney Adventures magazine (which was also given away as a free pull-out with a copy of "Mean Machines" magazine), which established an origin for Sonic involving the transformation of kindly scientist Doctor Ovi Kintobor into the evil Dr. Ivo Robotnik. It also shockingly established that Sonic was originally brown. Numerous British publications, including "Sega handbook" Stay Sonic (1993), four novels published by Virgin Books (1993–1994) and the comic book Sonic the Comic (1993–2002) used this premise as their basis.

The American comics published by Archie Comics, Sonic the Hedgehog (1993—) and Sonic X (2005—) are based on the settings established by earlier animated TV series, the ABC "SatAM" cartoon and the Sonic X anime respectively. The former series is currently the second longest-running licensed comic series in the history of American comic books, second only to Marvel's Conan series (first issue released in 1970). In France two comic books named Sonic Adventures was published by Sirène in 1994,

In Japan, Sonic manga have also been published.

Popularity

For game cameos, see List of games featuring Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic has proven to be an extremely popular character and is one of the most popular video game characters in the world. As a result of this popularity, he has been referred to in various parts of culture. One of a class of genes involved in fruit fly embryonic development, called hedgehog genes, has been named "sonic hedgehog" after the character.[15]

Sonic has sometimes appeared in relation to various sports teams Sega have sponsored. Between 1993 and 1997, Sega sponsored the JEF United Ichihara Chiba football team, during which period Sonic appeared in the team's uniform. During the 1993 Formula One championship, Sega sponsored the Williams Grand Prix team, which won the Constructors' Championship that year, as well as the team's lead driver, Alain Prost, winning the Drivers' Championship. Sonic was featured in the cars, helmets, and rival McLaren used to paint a squashed hedgehog after winning races over Williams.[16] The 1993 European Grand Prix featured a Sonic balloon and Sonic billboards. The trophy was a statue of the hedgehog.[17] In the 2K series of sports games, Sonic can be picked as a logo to be placed on the uniforms of the created team.

Sonic has also made appearances as a character in parades. In 1996, Sonic was the first video game character to be seen in a Rose Parade. Sonic was also in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade;[2] the only other video game character to ever be in the parade was Pikachu from Nintendo's popular Pokémon series.[18]

File:Mario and Sonic in Brawl.jpg
Sonic the Hedgehog and Mario as seen in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Sonic also made a small appearance in the family-themed ride "Toyland Tours" at the Alton Towers theme park in Staffordshire, UK. The section contained several TVs of Sonic games (Mainly Sonic the Hedgehog (video game) and Sonic CD). Other parts include a moving sonic plastic figure, seemingly tapping his foot and moving a lever, as well as some glowed ring effects. There were also several sound effects and themed music to accompany his section in the ride. The ride has since been closed down and has been replaced with a similar ride based upon the story "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl.

Other references are present in television programs, including a brief appearance in the episode of The Simpsons titled "Marge Be Not Proud". Voiced by Dan Castellaneta, he appears (along with Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong, and fictional pro golfer Lee Carvallo) attempting to convince Bart Simpson to steal a video game.[19] Other humorous references to Sonic have appeared in TV series such as Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi (in the episode "Camp Capers"), Megas XLR, 15/Love, Bill Hicks's Arizona Bay album and Space Ghost Coast to Coast. He was also mentioned in an episode of the variety show MADtv and the sitcom Roseanne. Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 was once referenced in the "Oddball" segment of MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann. The Sonic character and games have also made brief appearances in films, including Jingle All the Way, Hitch and Wayne's World. Sonic appeared in a Robot Chicken episode, only for under a minute.

An unamed Sonic parody character has appeared in some parts of The Simpsons Game. He does not speak, however.

In 1994, the Right Said Fred song "Wonderman" was used by Sega Europe in a specific music video to promote the video game Sonic the Hedgehog 3 in Europe.

Sonic makes an appearance in a Sega racing arcade game called Rad Mobile as a car ornament which swings around from the rear-view mirror as the player drives.

Sonic's trademark shoes are seen by a garbage can in the 1995 Super Nintendo game Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest next to Earthworm Jim's blaster and a sign that reads "NO HOPERS" when the player looks at the "Cranky's Video Game Heroes" screen.

Sonic is mentioned in a Happy Noodle Boy comic in Johnny the Homicidal Maniac when Noodle Boy screams Sonic the Hedgehog for no apparent reason.

Character

Personality

Sonic embodies the wind, as he is free-spirited, adventurous easy going and outgoing, cherishing his freedom to live as he wants above all else. He is impatient and will often jump into situations without thinking, as his confidence is unshakable, even in the most dire circumstances.

Abilities

File:SuperSonicArt.png
Super Sonic.

Sonic is known best to be incredibly fast, with the ability to run at speeds higher than Mach 1[5] (higher than roughly 761.2 mph). He can run backwards just as well as forwards, shown in the Team Sonic opening cutscene of Sonic Heroes and near the end of the first episode in Sonic X. When Sonic runs faster than the speed of sound, he can create a sonic boom, which can destroy enemies in his way, and increase his momentum.

Many of his abilities are variations on the tendency for hedgehogs to roll into tight balls for protection. Since his introduction in the first Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic's primary offensive maneuver is the basic Spin Attack (or "Sonic Spin Attack"). As Sonic jumps or runs, he curls up and spins into a spiky ball that can damage, destroy or burrow through many obstacles. Later games in the series expanded on this basic attack. Two of these enhancements have become mainstays of his: the Spin Dash was introduced in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and involves Sonic spinning on the spot before blasting off at full speed, and the Homing Attack, introduced in Sonic 3D Blast, in which Sonic dashes in midair toward a target.

By using the Chaos Emeralds, Sonic can initiate a super transformation into Super Sonic. For more information, see Super transformation.

Home

Sonic lives at a location known as South Island during Sonic the Hedgehog, and was originally born on Christmas Island.[20] Throughout the course of the series however, he travels from world to world in search of adventure. In Sonic Battle, he is said to live in a city called Emerald Town.

In three of the four Sonic cartoon series, namely The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Underground and Sonic X, it is implied that Sonic, just like in the games, simply travels all over the world instead of living in a certain location

In the Archie comic book series on the other hand, Sonic's home is located in Knothole Village where the Freedom Fighters reside. The same goes for its respective television series Sonic the Hedgehog (TV series). In Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie, Sonic's home appears to be on a Floating Island in the Land of the Sky.

Interaction with other characters

Sonic's best friend is a young yellow-orange, two-tailed fox called Miles "Tails" Prower. Tails is of the few who can almost keep up with Sonic by using his trademark technique of flying by rapidly spinning his tails like a helicopter rotor. Tails is also a mechanic prodigy and rivals Dr. Eggman with his inventions, which helps Sonic out quite often. Tails idolizes Sonic and sees him as a mentor, while Sonic views Tails as a little brother. In Sonic Advance 3, when the two are selected as a team, they are described as the "Unbreakable Bond." Tails sometimes has a timid nature and weak self-esteem, but feels confident and brave when it comes to doing the right thing thanks to Sonic's company.

Knuckles the Echidna is both an ally and a friendly rival of Sonic, possessing strength to match Sonic's speed. They first met as enemies in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and although they are now allies, they can still often be found fighting. Knuckles dislikes Sonic's carefree nature, and is secretly a bit envious of Sonic's adventurous lifestyle. On the other hand, Sonic sees Knuckles as being far too serious and perhaps even thickheaded. Despite Sonic and Knuckles' personal differences, they usually treat each other like close friends.

File:SonamyX.jpg
Sonic and Amy from Episode 52 of Sonic X

Amy Rose is a pink, young female hedgehog. Although Sonic is quite repelled by her constant advances to marry him, the two have been good friends since they first met in Sonic CD. Whenever Amy is kidnapped or in the line of danger, Sonic comes to her rescue. She is incorrectly referred to as "Sonic's ever cheerful love interest" in a page in the Special Book in Sonic and the Secret Rings.

Doctor Eggman (originally called Dr. Robotnik) is Sonic's main nemesis who appeared since the start of the series. Eggman is a scientist who uses his machines and robots in attempts to conquer the world. In exceptionally desperate circumstances, Sonic and Eggman put aside their differences to help save the world from destruction or chaos.

Shadow the Hedgehog was at first Sonic's enemy, however in recent games, they have become allies. They first met in Sonic Adventure 2. While they became allies at the end of that game, they've had rivaling tendencies with each other in every game since, as they often fight for different reasons.

Metal Sonic, who had debuted in Sonic CD, is one of Sonic's fiercest adversaries. In early games, Eggman tried to beat Sonic at his own game by creating numerous Sonic robots to destroy his nemesis. Though they all tried and failed, Metal Sonic was by far Eggman's most successful creation, having the same capabilities as his counterpart. During the events of Sonic Heroes, Metal Sonic upgraded and went rogue from Eggman's control to initiate his own agenda to eliminate Sonic and the world. After his defeat however, Eggman reprogrammed him to prevent this from happening again.

Silver the Hedgehog is a white hedgehog who comes from a distant future. Silver initially traveled to the past to kill Sonic, led by the false belief that Sonic was the reason his world was racked in turmoil. But with Shadow's help, Silver learned the truth, that the villain behind the disaster was the monster Mephiles the Dark, and thus worked together with Sonic to defeat Mephiles. Due to an in-game retcon, Silver meets Sonic for the very first time again in Sonic Rivals, and works with him during the events of the game.

Another one of Sonic's many rivals is Jet the Hawk from Sonic Riders. Jet mocks him for being inexperienced with Extreme Gear (an air-powered hovercraft that comes in the form of skateboards, motorcycles & rollerblades) and does not respect Sonic's title as being the "fastest thing alive," sparking a rivalry between them. At the end of Sonic Riders, they become more friendly, but are still competitive as racing rivals.

Alternate versions

Main article: Sonic the Hedgehog (comic character)

The Sonic the Hedgehog comic features Sonic with alternate dimensional versions of himself. One such version is Scourge, originally known as "Evil Sonic", who hails from Anti-Mobius (in a parallel dimension). He is as brash and arrogant as Sonic, but is self-important, ruthless, and sadistic with a desire for mayhem, truly making him Sonic's opposite or "Anti-Sonic". The comic recently bore witness to an evolution of Evil-Sonic when he tried to siphon off energy from the Master Emerald, thus becoming Scourge, a green, half super-powered hedgehog. He bears a scar on his chest that resembles the roman numeral II, left there when Locke knocked him off the Master Emerald with his bare knuckles, which symbolizes that he is #2 a.k.a. Sonic's "double."

Another version of Sonic was the temporary separation of Super Sonic as his own entity. When Sonic was lost in the vastness of space, he came across an alien planet that had six red Chaos Emeralds. Unlike the original green Chaos Emeralds on his homeworld, these split him in two with Super Sonic becoming its own entity obsessed with power and destruction, and Sonic himself trying to stop the new menace that he unleashed. But like the original Chaos Emeralds, the effects were only temporary, thus the separate entity vanished.

Main article: Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic the Comic)

In Sonic the Comic, Super Sonic is depicted as rather homicidal, usually causing chaos whenever it is unleashed within Sonic. At one point, it is separated from Sonic and is later trapped in the Omni-viewer and is sealed in a foam asteroid in the Special Zone. When it is unleashed in Mobius, as part of a plan by Sonic to shut off all of Robotnik's machinery due to the electromagnetic pulse his arrival causes, Super Sonic loses his memory, and his power, becoming shy and timid. He makes friends with the black cat Ebony. Towards the end of the official storyline, Super Sonic regains his power due to being near Chaos and becomes psycho again. Ebony reunites him with Sonic. Also in the comic, Sonic encounters an alternate reality where he became evil instead of Kintobor. King Sonic and his Badniks ruled this alternate Mobius until Sonic forced him to turn into Super Sonic, who (in his reality) was a mellow hippie.

The video games have featured several theme songs or leitmotifs for the character. Sonic is mostly associated with the rock genre, although jazz music is also associated with many of his non lyrical themes.

References

  1. ^ Kent, Steven. "Chapter 23". The Ultimate History of Video Games: The Story Behind the Craze that Touched our Lives and Changed the World. Roseville, California: Prima Publishing. p. 428. ISBN 0-7615-3643-4. the "t" in Sonic the Hedgehog is capitalized. Sega marketing wizard Al Nilsen had the "the" registered as Sonic's middle name.
  2. ^ a b c Kennedy, Sam. "The Essential 50: Sonic the Hedgehog". 1up.com. Retrieved 2006-06-03.
  3. ^ "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)
  4. ^ Horowitz, Ken. "Sega Stars: Yuji Naka". Sega-16. Retrieved 2006-06-20.
  5. ^ a b Matte, Jared. "Sonic Encyclopaedia: Sonic the Hedgehog". The GHZ. Retrieved 2006-02-17.
  6. ^ Davies, Ben. Lopez, Miguel. "History of Sega, part 4". GameSpot. Retrieved 2006-06-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "Sega Visions Interview with Yuji Naka". 1992. Retrieved 2007-06-28. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  8. ^ "Masato Nakamura interview" (flash). Sonic Central. Retrieved 2006-02-07.
  9. ^ Sega Video Game Illustrations. Nippon Shuppan Hanbai (Deutschland) GmbH. 1994. ISBN 3-910052-50-9.
  10. ^ "Digest Number 1008". Retrieved 2007-09-05.
  11. ^ "Full credits of "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog"". IMDb. 1993–1996. Retrieved 2006-06-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  12. ^ "Full credits of "Sonic the Hedgehog"". IMDb. 1993–1995. Retrieved 2006-06-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  13. ^ "Full credits of "Sonic Underground"". IMDb. 1999. Retrieved 2006-06-27.
  14. ^ "Full credits of "Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie"". IMDb. 1999. Retrieved 2006-06-27.
  15. ^ Yarris, Lynn (2005-11-05). "Sonic the Hedgehog and the Fate of Neural Stem Cells". Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Retrieved 2006-06-23.
  16. ^ "Formula One Motor Racing FAQ, part 2". Internet FAQ Archives. Retrieved 2007-01-05. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  17. ^ Matte, Jared. "1993: Year of the Mega Drive". The GHZ. Retrieved 2006-06-03.
  18. ^ Crecente, Brian (2006-05-22). "Giant Pikachu Runs Flights Through NYC". Kotaku. Retrieved 2006-06-26.
  19. ^ Cherry, James (1997). "Marge Be Not Proud". The Simpsons Archive. Retrieved 2006-06-24.
  20. ^ "Mary Garnet Story (translated from the Japanese original)". Retrieved 2006-03-14.

Further reading

  • In addition to information taken from the Sonic the Hedgehog games themselves, the instruction manuals of the U.S. and Japanese versions of the games were also used as references for this article.
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