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186-747: Sonic & Knuckles is a 1994 platform game developed and published by Sega . Players control Sonic the Hedgehog or Knuckles the Echidna in their quests to save Angel Island; Sonic tries to stop Doctor Robotnik from re-launching his orbital weapon, the Death Egg, while Knuckles scuffles with Robotnik's minion, EggRobo. Like previous Sonic games, players traverse side-scrolling levels at high speeds while collecting rings and defeating enemies. Sega Technical Institute developed Sonic & Knuckles simultaneously alongside its predecessor, Sonic

372-531: A Sonic game in time for the 1993 holiday shopping season , Sega commissioned the American team to make a new game, the spin-off Sonic Spinball . While Spinball received mixed reviews, it sold well and helped build the reputation of its developers. A number of Sonic games were developed for Sega's 8-bit consoles, the Master System and the handheld Game Gear . The first, an 8-bit version of

558-453: A sprite to move smoothly on a curve by determining its position with a dot matrix . Naka's prototype was a platform game that involved a fast-moving character rolling in a ball through a long winding tube. Sega management accepted the duo's project, and they were joined by designer Hirokazu Yasuhara . After Yasuhara joined Naka and Ohshima, their focus shifted to the protagonist, who Sega hoped could become its mascot. The protagonist

744-654: A swan song for the system. Since Sonic Team was preoccupied with Nights , 3D Blast was outsourced to the British studio Traveller's Tales . While 3D Blast sold well, it was criticized for its gameplay, controls, and slow pace. Meanwhile, in America, STI worked on Sonic X-treme , a 3D Sonic game for the Saturn intended for the 1996 holiday shopping season. Development was hindered by disputes between Sega of America and Japan, Naka's reported refusal to let STI use

930-608: A true 3D platformer is a French computer game called Alpha Waves , created by Christophe de Dinechin and published by Infogrames in 1990 for the Atari ST , Amiga , and IBM PC compatibles . Bug! , released in 1995 for the Saturn , has a more conservative approach. It allows players to move in all directions, but it does not allow movement along more than one axis at once; the player can move orthogonally but not diagonally. Its characters were pre-rendered sprites, much like

1116-488: A "running/jumping/climbing game" while developing it. Miyamoto commonly used the term "athletic game" to refer to Donkey Kong and later games in the genre, such as Super Mario Bros. (1985). Donkey Kong spawned other games with a mix of running, jumping, and vertical traversal, a novel genre that did not match the style of games that came before it, leaving journalists and writers to offer their own terms. Computer and Video Games magazine, among others, referred to

1302-452: A 1980 arcade release by Universal , is sometimes credited as the first platformer. Another precursor to the genre from 1980 was Nichibutsu 's Crazy Climber , in which the player character scales vertically scrolling skyscrapers. The unreleased 1979 Intellivision game Hard Hat has a similar concept. Donkey Kong , an arcade video game created by Nintendo and released in July 1981,

1488-401: A 2D plane are called 2.5D , as they are a blend of 2D and 3D. The first platformers to simulate a 3D perspective and moving camera emerged in the early-mid-1980s. An early example of this was Konami 's Antarctic Adventure , where the player controls a penguin in a forward-scrolling third-person perspective while having to jump over pits and obstacles. Originally released in 1983 for

1674-516: A 3D Sonic game, Sonic Adventure , for its Dreamcast console. It used a hub structure like Super Mario 64 , but its levels were more linear, fast-paced, and action-oriented. Chaos Emerald Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka , Naoto Ohshima , and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega . The franchise follows Sonic , an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles

1860-513: A Western localization of Puyo Puyo . Sega replaced the Puyo Puyo characters with Sonic characters because it feared Puyo Puyo would not be popular with a Western audience. In 1995, Sega released the Knuckles spinoff Knuckles' Chaotix for the 32X, and two Tails spin-offs for Game Gear: Tails' Skypatrol (a scrolling shooter ) and Tails Adventure (a Metroidvania game). Shadow

2046-462: A balance between open-ended and guided exploration. Another platform-adventure released that year, Pony Canyon 's Super Pitfall , was critically panned for its vagueness and weak game design. That same year Jaleco released Esper Boukentai , a sequel to Psychic 5 that scrolled in all directions and allowed the player character to make huge multistory jumps to navigate the vertically oriented levels. Telenet Japan also released its own take on

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2232-481: A bouncing car that jumps on various platforms such as buildings, clouds, and hills. Jump Bug offered a glimpse of what was to come, with uneven, suspended platforms, levels that scroll horizontally (and in one section, vertically), and differently themed sections, such as a city, the interior of a large pyramid, and underwater. Irem's 1982 arcade game Moon Patrol combines jumping over obstacles and shooting attackers. A month later, Taito released Jungle King ,

2418-456: A brand, and began to work on a new intellectual property, Nights into Dreams (1996), for Sega's 32-bit Saturn console. In 1996, towards the end of the Genesis's lifecycle, Sega released Sonic 3D Blast , an isometric game based on the original Sonic 3 concept, as the system still had a large install base. It was the final Sonic game produced for the Genesis, and was developed as

2604-525: A brief burst of episodic platformers where the first was freely distributed and parts 2 and 3 were available for purchase. The abundance of platformers for 16-bit consoles continued late into the generation, with successful games such as Vectorman (1995), Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995), and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995), but the release of new hardware caused players' attention to move away from 2D genres. The Saturn , PlayStation , and Nintendo 64 nevertheless featured

2790-460: A cat from an alternate dimension; and Silver , a telekinetic hedgehog from the future. The Chao creatures function as digital pets and minor gameplay elements, and Wisp creatures function as power-ups . Flicky, the blue bird from Sega's 1984 arcade game , appears in several Sonic games, particularly 3D Blast . Some Sonic characters have featured in spin-off games. Eggman is the featured character of Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine ,

2976-534: A common term for the genre by 1989, popularized by its usage in the United Kingdom press. Examples include referring to the " Super Mario mould" (such as Kato-chan & Ken-chan ) as platform games, and calling Strider a "platform and ladders" game. The genre originated in the early 1980s. Levels in early platform games were confined to a single screen, viewed in profile, and based on climbing between platforms rather than jumping. Space Panic ,

3162-647: A compilation of 45 Genesis games that does not have Sonic 3 . Sonic 3 & Knuckles was re-released for the first time since 2011 as part of the Sonic Origins compilation in 2022. All versions of the games included in Origins are remasters running on the Retro Engine , with Sonic 1, 2 and CD being new ports of existing remasters. This version of the title was developed by Simon Thomley of Headcannon, who previously worked on both Sonic Mania and

3348-579: A foothold in the video game console market with its 16-bit console , the Sega Genesis . Sega's efforts had been stymied by the dominance of Nintendo ; the Genesis did not have a large install base and Nintendo did not take Sega seriously as a competitor. Sega of America CEO Michael Katz attempted to challenge Nintendo with the " Genesis does what Nintendon't " marketing campaign and by collaborating with athletes and celebrities to create games. These efforts did not break Nintendo's dominance, and Katz

3534-450: A forward-scrolling effect similar to Sega's 1985 third-person rail shooter Space Harrier . 3-D WorldRunner was an early forward-scrolling pseudo-3D third-person platform-action game where players were free to move in any forward-scrolling direction and could leap over obstacles and chasms. It was notable for being one of the first stereoscopic 3-D games . Square released its sequel, JJ , later that year. The earliest example of

3720-616: A fox who can fly using his two tails. Sonic CD introduced Amy Rose , a pink hedgehog and Sonic's self-proclaimed girlfriend, and Metal Sonic , a robotic doppelgänger of Sonic created by Eggman. Sonic 3 introduced Sonic's rival Knuckles, a red echidna and the guardian of the Master Emerald. The Master Emerald, introduced in Sonic & Knuckles , controls the power of the Chaos Emeralds. Knuckles' Chaotix introduced

3906-609: A high quality of animation. The 1988 shareware game The Adventures of Captain Comic was one of the first attempts at a Nintendo-style platformer for IBM PC compatibles . It inspired Commander Keen , released by id Software in 1990, which became the first MS-DOS platformer with smooth scrolling graphics. Keen's success resulted in numerous console-styled platformers for MS-DOS compatible operating systems, including Duke Nukem , Duke Nukem II , Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure , and Dark Ages all by Apogee Software . These fueled

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4092-463: A mechanic that immediately propels Sonic forward at top speed when activated. While boosting, Sonic can smash through objects, destroy enemies instantly, or access different level paths. This requires players to react to forthcoming obstacles quickly; Sonic Unleashed introduced side-stepping and drifting maneuvers to allow players to maintain speed. Boosting is limited by a gauge that the player can fill with rings or Wisps. In most Sonic games,

4278-559: A named character—Mario, which became a mascot of the company. The term platform game gained traction in the late 1980s, as did the alternate form platformer . During their peak of popularity, platformers were estimated to comprise between a quarter and a third of all console games. By 2006, the genre had experienced a decline in sales, representing a 2% market share as compared to 15% in 1998. In spite of this, platformers are still being commercially released every year, including some which have sold millions of copies. A platformer requires

4464-631: A number of successful 2D platformers. The 2D Rayman was a big success on 32-bit consoles. Mega Man 8 and Mega Man X4 helped revitalize interest in Capcom 's Mega Man character . Castlevania: Symphony of the Night revitalized its series and established a new foundation for later Castlevania games. Oddworld and Heart of Darkness kept the subgenre born from Prince of Persia alive. The difficulties of adapting platformer gameplay to three dimensions led some developers to compromise by pairing

4650-421: A perfect 5.0 out of 5 in all four categories (graphics, sound, control, and funfactor). Next Generation remarked, "Basically, this is the same Sonic game that Sega has sold for the last three years, just wrapped up better and with a prettier ribbon." Critics praised the lock-on technology the game offered. Lucas Thomas of IGN said it was "a great game on its own", but the lock-on feature completely revamped

4836-501: A portal that leads them to Sky Sanctuary, where the Death Egg is relaunching. Sonic infiltrates the Death Egg and defeats Robotnik as Super Sonic, retrieving the Master Emerald and returning it to Angel Island as it rises back into the sky. In Knuckles' story, taking place after Sonic's, Knuckles is attacked by EggRobo, one of Robotnik's robots. He chases him to the damaged remains of Sky Sanctuary, where Mecha Sonic attacks Knuckles, but accidentally destroys EggRobo instead. Mecha Sonic uses

5022-458: A promotional deal with McDonald's in the US, Sonic 3 was split in two, with Sonic & Knuckles as the second part. As Mushroom Hill became the first stage of Sonic & Knuckles , the developers lowered its difficulty. Despite the split, the developers wanted the games to feel like a single experience. According to Roger Hector, vice president and general manager of STI, the lock-on technology

5208-577: A sequel, Sonic and the Black Knight , set in the world of King Arthur , in 2009. Secret Rings and Black Knight form what is known as the Sonic Storybook sub-series. A Sonic Riders sequel, Zero Gravity (2008), was developed for the Wii and PlayStation 2. Dimps returned to the Sonic series with Sonic Rush Adventure , a sequel to Sonic Rush , in 2007, while BioWare developed

5394-470: A shift in design. Later 3D platformers like Banjo-Kazooie , Spyro the Dragon , and Donkey Kong 64 borrowed its format, and the "collect-a-thon" genre began to form. In order to make this free-roaming model work, developers had to program dynamic, intelligent cameras. A free camera made it harder for players to judge the height and distance of platforms, making jumping puzzles more difficult. Some of

5580-406: A side-scrolling action game some platform elements: jumping between vines, jumping or running beneath bouncing boulders. It was quickly re-released as Jungle Hunt because of similarities to Tarzan . The 1982 Apple II game Track Attack includes a scrolling platform level where the character runs and leaps along the top of a moving train. The character is little more than a stick figure , but

5766-465: A single game. Sega Magazine 's review similarly praised the lock-on technology and the new innovation the unique cartridge offered, adding that Sonic & Knuckles ' hidden stages and bosses would strongly add to the replay value of the combined game. Reviewing the Virtual Console release, Nintendo Life writer James Newton praised its support for the old lock-on feature of

Sonic & Knuckles - Misplaced Pages Continue

5952-409: A spin-off starring the popular Adventure 2 character Shadow . While Shadow retains most elements from previous Sonic games, it was aimed at a mature audience and introduced third-person shooting and nonlinear gameplay . Shadow the Hedgehog was panned for its controls, level design, and mature themes, but was a commercial success, selling at least 1.59 million copies. In 2006, for

6138-420: A star character in a game that could demonstrate the power of the Genesis's hardware. An internal contest was held to determine a flagship game, with a focus on the American audience. Among the teams working on proposals were artist Naoto Ohshima and programmer Yuji Naka . The gameplay of Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) originated with a tech demo created by Naka, who had developed an algorithm that allowed

6324-670: A teenager with a rebellious personality to appeal to gamers who saw the previous generation of consoles as being for kids. The character's speed showed off the hardware capabilities of the Genesis, which had a CPU clock speed approximately double that of the Super NES. Sonic 's perceived rebellious attitude became a model for game mascots. Other companies attempted to duplicate Sega's success with their own brightly colored anthropomorphisms with attitude. These often were characterized by impatience, sarcasm, and frequent quips. A second generation of platformers for computers appeared alongside

6510-423: A third gameplay style featuring the player's custom character . Sonic Forces received mixed reviews, with criticism for its short length. In 2019, Sega released a kart racing game , Team Sonic Racing (2019), developed by Sumo Digital . In May 2021, Sega announced several Sonic projects for the series' 30th anniversary, including a remaster of Sonic Colors , the compilation Sonic Origins , and

6696-463: A tournament in which children were allowed to play Sonic & Knuckles . The final tournament was held at Alcatraz Island in San Francisco, California, with a prize of $ 25,000 and the title "The World's Most Hardcore Gamer". Two finalists were also awarded a copy of every Sega product released for the next year. MTV broadcast the tournament finale along with footage of the game as MTV's Rock

6882-474: Is in a vector game called Major Havoc , which comprises a number of mini-games, including a simple platformer. One of the first raster -based platformers to scroll fluidly in all directions in this manner is 1985's Legend of Kage . In 1985, Enix released the action-adventure platformer Brain Breaker . The following year saw the release of Nintendo's Metroid , which was critically acclaimed for

7068-455: The 2020 Summer Olympics . The International Olympic Committee opted not to renew its licensing deal with Sega and Nintendo in 2020, effectively ending the series. Sonic appears as a playable character in Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. crossover fighting games, beginning with Super Smash Bros. Brawl in 2008. Alongside Solid Snake from Konami 's Metal Gear franchise, Sonic was

7254-496: The Adventure games. With Unleashed , Sonic Team sought to combine the best aspects of 2D and 3D Sonic games and address criticisms of previous 3D entries, although reviews were mixed due to the addition of a beat 'em up game mode in which Sonic transforms into a werewolf -like beast. After Nishiyama was promoted in 2010, Iizuka was installed as the head of Sonic Team and became the Sonic producer. Iizuka felt Sonic

7440-626: The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) about producing two television series—"a syndicated show for the after-school audience" and a Saturday-morning cartoon —based on Sonic . Kalinske "had seen how instrumental the launch of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon series was to the success of the toyline " during his time at Mattel and believed that success could be recreated using Sonic . The two cartoons,

7626-626: The Atari 2600 , with 256 horizontally connected screens, became one of the best-selling games on the system and was a breakthrough for the genre. Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle was released on the ColecoVision that same year, adding uneven terrain and scrolling pans between static screens. Manic Miner (1983) and its sequel Jet Set Willy (1984) continued this style of multi-screen levels on home computers . Wanted: Monty Mole won

Sonic & Knuckles - Misplaced Pages Continue

7812-683: The MSX computer, it was subsequently ported to various platforms the following year, including an arcade video game version, NES , and ColecoVision . 1986 saw the release of the sequel to forward-scrolling platformer Antarctic Adventure called Penguin Adventure , which was designed by Hideo Kojima . It included more action game elements, a greater variety of levels, RPG elements such as upgrading equipment, and multiple endings . In early 1987, Square released 3-D WorldRunner , designed by Hironobu Sakaguchi and Nasir Gebelli . Using

7998-627: The Mario franchise. The first Mario & Sonic game was released in 2007 for the Wii and in 2008 for the DS to tie in with the 2008 Summer Olympics . Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games , based on the 2010 Winter Olympics , was released in 2009 for the Wii and DS, and Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games , based on the 2012 Summer Olympics , was released for

8184-561: The Master System and Game Gear . After a hiatus during the unsuccessful Saturn era, the first major 3D Sonic game, Sonic Adventure , was released in 1998 for the Dreamcast . Sega exited the console market and shifted to third-party development in 2001, continuing the series on Nintendo, Xbox , and PlayStation systems. Takashi Iizuka has been the series' producer since 2010. While Sonic games often have unique game mechanics and stories, they feature recurring elements such as

8370-468: The Master System with Alex Kidd in Miracle World . It has horizontal and vertical scrolling levels, the ability to punch enemies and obstacles, and shops for the player to buy power-ups and vehicles. Another Sega series that began that same year is Wonder Boy . The original Wonder Boy in 1986 was inspired more by Pac-Land than Super Mario Bros. , with skateboarding segments that gave

8556-496: The Nights game engine , and problems adapting the series to 3D. After two lead developers became ill, X-treme was canceled. Journalists and fans have speculated about the impact X-treme might have had if it was released, with producer Mike Wallis believing it "definitely would have been competitive" with the first 3D Mario game, Super Mario 64 (1996). Due to X-treme 's cancellation, Sega ported Sonic 3D Blast to

8742-694: The Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985, became the archetype for the genre. It was bundled with Nintendo systems in North America, Japan, and Europe, and sold over 40 million copies, according to the 1999 Guinness Book of World Records . Its success as a pack-in led many companies to see platformers as vital to their success, and contributed greatly to popularizing the genre during the third and fourth generations of video game consoles. Sega attempted to emulate this success with their Alex Kidd series, which started in 1986 on

8928-597: The PlayStation Portable , Sonic Rivals (2006) and Sonic Rivals 2 (2007). The first Sonic game for the Wii, Sonic and the Secret Rings (2007), takes place in the world of Arabian Nights and was released instead of a port of Sonic '06 . Citing lengthy development times, Sega switched plans and conceived a game that would use the motion detection of the Wii Remote . Sega released

9114-454: The Sega arcade game Congo Bongo (1983) adds a third dimension via isometric graphics . Another popular game of that period, Pitfall! (1982), allows moving left and right through series of non-scrolling screens, expanding the play area. Nintendo 's flagship Super Mario Bros. (1985) was a defining game for the nascent genre, with horizontally scrolling levels and the player controlling

9300-417: The Sega Genesis , to provide Sega with a mascot to compete with Nintendo 's Mario . Its success helped Sega become one of the leading video game companies during the fourth generation of video game consoles in the early 1990s. Sega Technical Institute developed the next three Sonic games, plus the spin-off Sonic Spinball (1993). A number of Sonic games were also developed for Sega's 8-bit consoles,

9486-494: The Sonic brand, while retaining the modern Sonic design. Iizuka and most of Sonic Team relocated to Burbank, California to oversee the franchise with a new team. At San Diego Comic-Con in July 2016, Sega announced two Sonic games to coincide with the series' 25th anniversary: Sonic Mania and Sonic Forces . Both were released for the PlayStation 4 , Xbox One , Nintendo Switch , and Windows in 2017. Sonic Mania

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9672-430: The Sonic the Hedgehog 3 score, including Sega sound staff and independent contractors recruited to finish the game on schedule. According to conflicting sources, American pop musician Michael Jackson , a Sonic fan, composed music for Sonic 3 . Ohshima and Hector said Jackson's involvement was terminated and his music removed following the first allegations of sexual abuse against him , but composers involved with

9858-532: The Super Nintendo Entertainment System . Industry figures called the coinciding releases a "battle" as both advertised "revolutionary" technological advances: lock-on technology for Sonic & Knuckles and 3D-rendered graphics for Donkey Kong . Sonic & Knuckles was backed by a $ 45 million marketing campaign; at the time, video games typically had a marketing budget of $ 5 million. Blockbuster Video and MTV co-sponsored

10044-556: The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 ; and Sonic Classic Collection (2010) for the Nintendo DS . Sonic Jam , in addition to featuring the original release, included some new "remix" options to modify the game: "Normal" mode alters the layout of rings and hazards and "Easy" mode removes certain acts entirely from the game. The version in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection does not retain the lock-on feature included in other versions of

10230-445: The best-selling Sega Genesis games . They have since been rereleased in various Sega and Sonic compilations. Since Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 were initially developed as one game, their gameplay is similar: both are 2D side-scrolling platformers with similar level design , graphics, and game mechanics. However, in Sonic & Knuckles , unlike in Sonic 3 , the player chooses either Sonic or Knuckles at

10416-787: The crunch conditions . Sonic Team ported Sonic Adventure with additional content to the GameCube in 2003 and Windows in 2004, to mixed reviews. Sega continued to release 2D Sonic games. In 1999, it collaborated with SNK to produce Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure , an adaptation of Sonic 2 for the Neo Geo Pocket Color . Some SNK staff formed Dimps the following year, and developed original 2D Sonic games— Sonic Advance (2001), Sonic Advance 2 (2002), and Sonic Advance 3 (2004)—for Nintendo's Game Boy Advance (GBA). Sonic Advance

10602-407: The culture of the 1990s and listed among the greatest of all time . Although later games, such as the 2006 game , received poorer reviews, Sonic is influential in the video game industry and is frequently referenced in popular culture. The franchise is known for its fandom that produces unofficial media , such as fan art and fangames . By 1990, the Japanese video game company Sega wanted

10788-417: The party game Sonic Shuffle (2000), the pinball game Sonic Pinball Party (2003) and the fighting game Sonic Battle (2003). Sonic Team USA was renamed Sega Studios USA after completing Sonic Heroes . Sega and Sonic Team leadership entered flux while they experimented with diverging from the Sonic formula. Sega Studios USA's first post- Heroes project was Shadow the Hedgehog (2005),

10974-537: The virtual camera , it had to be constrained to stop it from clipping through the environment. In 1994, a small developer called Exact released a game for the X68000 computer called Geograph Seal , which was a 3D first-person shooter game with platforming. Players piloted a frog-like mech that could jump and then double-jump or triple-jump high into the air as the camera panned down to help players line up their landings. In addition to shooting, jumping on enemies

11160-415: The 2022 game Sonic Frontiers . Frontiers was the first Sonic game to feature open-world design, and Iizuka expressed hope that it would inform future games in a similar way to Sonic Adventure . Frontiers received moderately positive reviews, with critics and fans considering it a flawed but solid new direction for the series, and sold well. 2023 Sonic releases included The Murder of Sonic

11346-457: The Chaos Emeralds to defeat Robotnik, and once again comes into conflict with Knuckles, who believes Sonic is trying to steal the Emeralds for himself. In Hidden Palace Zone, Sonic fights and defeats Knuckles, only to discover Robotnik stealing the Master Emerald, the secret to the island's levitation powers. Knuckles attacks Robotnik, but Robotnik shocks him with electricity. Knuckles shows Sonic

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11532-498: The Chaos Emeralds—seven gems with mystical powers. The Emeralds can turn thoughts into power, warp time and space with a technique called Chaos Control, give energy to living things, and be used to create nuclear or laser-based weaponry. They typically act as MacGuffins in the stories. Eggman seeks the Emeralds in his quest to conquer the world, and traps animals in aggressive robots and prison capsules. Because Sonic Team

11718-863: The Chaotix, a group comprising Vector the Crocodile , Espio the Chameleon and Charmy Bee . Three characters introduced during this period, Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel from SegaSonic the Hedgehog and Fang the Sniper from Sonic Triple Trouble (1994), faded into obscurity, but became prominent characters again in Sonic Mania and Superstars . During Sonic Adventure 's development, Sonic Team discovered that

11904-432: The Emeralds are collected automatically as the story progresses. By collecting the Emeralds, players are rewarded with their characters' "Super" form and can activate it by collecting 50 rings in a stage. The Super transformations grant the player character more speed, a farther jump, and invincibility, but their ring count drains by the second; the transformation lasts until all the rings have been used. Some games require

12090-468: The Enchanted Castle , which was only modestly successful. That same year, Capcom released Strider in arcades, which scrolled in multiple directions and allowed the player to summon artificial intelligence partners, such as a droid, tiger, and hawk, to help fight enemies. Another Sega release in 1989 was Shadow Dancer , which is a game that also included an AI partner: a dog who followed

12276-523: The Genesis era. These efforts were better received, especially in comparison to Sonic '06 and Unleashed . In May 2013, Nintendo announced it was collaborating with Sega to produce Sonic games for its Wii U and 3DS platforms. The first game in the partnership, 2013's Sonic Lost World , was also the first Sonic game for eighth-generation hardware. Sonic Lost World was designed to be streamlined and fluid in movement and design, borrowing elements from Nintendo's Super Mario Galaxy games and

12462-537: The Hedgehog (1993), Sonic X (2003–2006), and Sonic Prime (2022–2024); a live-action film series produced by Paramount Pictures , and toys, including Lego construction sets. Sonic the Hedgehog is Sega's flagship franchise and one of the bestselling video game franchises , selling over 140 million copiess by 2016 and grossing over $ 5 billion as of 2014 . Series sales and free-to-play mobile game downloads totaled 1.77 billion as of 2024 . The Genesis Sonic games have been described as representative of

12648-415: The Hedgehog (1993), an arcade game featuring isometric gameplay, and Knuckles' Chaotix (1995), a spin-off for the Genesis's 32X add-on starring Knuckles. Following Sonic & Knuckles , Naka returned to Japan, having been offered a role as a producer. He was reunited with Ohshima and brought with him Takashi Iizuka , who had worked with Naka's team at STI. Sonic Team was officially formed as

12834-506: The Hedgehog (2005) was developed in response to the Shadow character's popularity and to introduce "gun action" gameplay to the franchise. Iizuka has said that future spin-offs, such as sequels to Knuckles' Chaotix and Shadow the Hedgehog or a Big the Cat game, remain possibilities. The Sonic series is characterized by speed-based platforming gameplay. Controlling the player character ,

13020-537: The Hedgehog , a free visual novel , Sonic Dream Team , an Apple Arcade -exclusive 3D platformer, and Sonic Superstars , a 2.5D side-scrolling game featuring the classic Sonic design. Superstars was co-developed by Ohshima's studio Arzest and he designed a new character, his first contribution to the series since Sonic Adventure . Iizuka said the 2D and 3D Sonic games would continue independently going forward and Sonic Team would try to keep them as different as possible. 2024 Sonic media emphasized Shadow

13206-477: The Hedgehog as the pack-in game with the Genesis. Featuring speedy gameplay, Sonic the Hedgehog received critical acclaim. It greatly increased the popularity of the Sega Genesis in North America, credited with helping Sega gain 65% of the market share against Nintendo. Naka was dissatisfied with his treatment at Sega and felt he received little credit for his involvement in the success. He quit but

13392-427: The Hedgehog 2 , wherein the player can play Sonic 2 using Knuckles' abilities. If the player attaches any other Genesis game released prior to Sonic & Knuckles , a screen with Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Robotnik stating "No Way!" is displayed. From here, the player can also access a minigame based on Sonic 3 's and Sonic & Knuckles 's Chaos Emerald Special Stages. The attached cartridge determines

13578-441: The Hedgehog 3 (1994); they were planned as a single game until time constraints and cartridge costs forced the developers to split it. The Sonic & Knuckles cartridge features an adapter that allows players to connect the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 cartridge, creating a combined game, Sonic 3 & Knuckles . Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992) can also be attached, allowing players to control Knuckles in Sonic 2 stages. Attaching

13764-469: The Hedgehog 3 (see Live-action film franchise ). The Sonic franchise is known for its large cast of characters; Sonic the Fighters (1996) producer Yu Suzuki joked that anyone who makes a Sonic game has the duty to create new characters. The first game introduced Sonic, a blue hedgehog who can run at incredible speeds, and Doctor Eggman, a rotund mad scientist. During the Genesis era, Eggman

13950-488: The Hedgehog as part of Sega's "Fearless: Year of Shadow" campaign. This included the release of Sonic X Shadow Generations , a short Shadow game bundled with a rerelease of Sonic Generations ; Shadow-themed events in the mobile games Sonic Dash and Sonic Forces: Speed Battle ; music from Shadow the Hedgehog in the Sonic Symphony World Tour ; and Shadow playing a prominent role in the film Sonic

14136-476: The Hedgehog into 3D. Their project, titled Sonic Xtreme , was to have featured a radically different approach for the series, with an exaggerated fisheye camera and multidirectional gameplay reminiscent of Bug! . Due in part to conflicts with Sega Enterprises in Japan and a rushed schedule, the game never made it to market. In the 1990s, platforming games started to shift from pseudo-3D to "true 3D," which gave

14322-462: The Month". They lauded the lock-on technology and remarked that despite that being "more of the same, it still is an exceptional game". GamePro commented that the ability to play as Knuckles makes it essentially two games on a single cartridge, the game is more challenging than Sonic 3 , and the ability to hook the cartridge up to Sonic 2 and 3 makes those games "worth playing again". They gave it

14508-532: The OVA in North America as a 55-minute film, Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie . Produced with input from Naka and Ohshima, the OVA is loosely based on Sonic CD , with elements from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and 3 , and recounts Sonic's efforts to stop a generator taken over by Eggman from exploding and destroying their world. Patrick Lee of The A.V. Club 's said the OVA was "the only cartoon to adapt

14694-646: The Rock . Sonic & Knuckles has been released as part of numerous compilations of Sega games including Sonic Jam (1997) for the Sega Saturn ; Sonic & Knuckles Collection (1997) and Sonic & Garfield Pack (1999) for the PC, Sonic Mega Collection (2002) for the GameCube ; Sonic Mega Collection Plus (2004) for the PlayStation 2 , Xbox , and PC; Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection (2009) for

14880-715: The Sanrio characters Hello Kitty , Badtz-Maru , My Melody , and Chococat and the Namco game Pac-Man took place in December 2016 and February 2018. In November 2016, a Sonic expansion pack was released for the toys-to-life game Lego Dimensions (2015); the pack includes Sonic as a playable character, in addition to Sonic levels and vehicles. In September 2021, Sonic and Tails became playable characters in Cookie Run: Kingdom . In 1992, Sega approached

15066-538: The Saturn with updated graphics and bonus levels developed by Sonic Team. In 1997, Sega announced "Project Sonic", a promotional campaign aimed at increasing market awareness of and renewing excitement for the Sonic brand. The first Project Sonic release was Sonic Jam , a compilation of the main Genesis Sonic games which included a 3D overworld Sonic Team used to experiment with 3D Sonic gameplay. Sonic Team and Traveller's Tales collaborated again on

15252-591: The Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games mediocre and panned the Sonic Boom games. Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice , a Shattered Crystal sequel, was released in 2016. Sega began to release more Sonic games for mobile phones , such as iOS and Android devices. After Australian programmer Christian "Taxman" Whitehead developed a version of Sonic CD for modern consoles in 2011, he collaborated with fellow Sonic fan Simon "Stealth" Thomley to develop remakes of

15438-612: The Special Stage layout. If the player attaches the original Sonic the Hedgehog , they are able to access all of the possible variations of the special stages, each with a unique level number and corresponding password . This game is named Blue Sphere in Sonic Mega Collection and Blue Spheres in Sonic Origins . After the events of Sonic 3 , Dr. Robotnik's orbital weapon, the Death Egg, crash-lands on Angel Island. Sonic travels to Angel Island to retrieve

15624-582: The Wii in 2011 and the 3DS in 2012. The fourth game, Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games (2013), was exclusive to the Wii U, but the following game, Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (2016), was released on both the Wii U and 3DS. After a brief hiatus, the series returned in 2019 with Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 for the Switch, based on

15810-529: The acrobatics evoke the movement that games such as Prince of Persia would feature. B.C.'s Quest For Tires (1983) put a recognizable character from American comic strips into side-scrolling, jumping gameplay similar to Moon Patrol . The same year, Snokie for the Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit computers added uneven terrain to a scrolling platformer. Based on the Saturday morning cartoon rather than

15996-438: The background... it was astonishing to see that just six years after his debut, Sonic was already retro." With its Sonic Jam experiments, Sonic Team began developing a 3D Sonic platformer for the Saturn. The project stemmed from a proposal by Iizuka to develop a Sonic role-playing video game (RPG) with an emphasis on storytelling. Development moved to Sega's new console, the Dreamcast , which Naka believed would allow for

16182-415: The basis for the non-linear mission structure found in most open-world, multi-mission, sidequest -heavy games. Another Capcom platformer that year was Bionic Commando , which popularized a grappling hook mechanic that has since appeared in dozens of games, including Earthworm Jim and Tomb Raider . Scrolling platformers went portable in the late 1980s with games such as Super Mario Land , and

16368-575: The canceled X-treme . The second was Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games (2013) for the Wii U, the fourth Mario & Sonic game and a 2014 Winter Olympics tie-in (see Crossovers section). The deal was completed in 2014 with the release of Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric for the Wii U and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal for the 3DS; these games were based on the Sonic Boom television series. Sonic Lost World polarized critics, while critics found Mario & Sonic at

16554-467: The cartridges is the only way to collect "Super Emeralds", earned by accessing Special Stages in the Sonic & Knuckles levels after collecting all seven Chaos Emeralds from Sonic 3 . When all Super Emeralds have been collected, Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails can transform into Hyper Sonic, Hyper Knuckles, and Super Tails, each with unique abilities. Inserting Sonic 2 unlocks Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic

16740-449: The character selected, as Sonic and Knuckles are opponents for most of the game. The game contains two types of bonus stages accessed by passing a checkpoint with at least 20 rings . The first type has Sonic or Knuckles orbit floating, glowing spheres, jetting off each one when a button is pressed, while a fence of light approaches from the bottom and will remove the player from the stage if touched. Collecting 50 rings in this stage earns

16926-537: The characters. Sonic Unleashed introduces the Werehog, a beat 'em up gameplay style in which Sonic transforms into a werewolf-like beast and must fight enemies using brute strength. Both the Sonic Storybook games feature unique concepts: Secret Rings is controlled exclusively using the Wii Remote's motion detection, which Black Knight incorporates hack and slash gameplay. While some games feature Sonic as

17112-458: The console as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in North America, along with Super Mario World , while Sega released Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis . Sonic showcased a new style of design made possible by a new generation of hardware: large stages that scrolled in all directions, curved hills, loops, and a physics system allowing players to rush through its levels with well-placed jumps and rolls. Sega characterized Sonic as

17298-485: The corresponding Knuckles in Sonic 2 game. When the PC version was released via the Steam software, the games were released together as Sonic 3 & Knuckles as originally intended, with the player (even if playing as Tails) simply continuing at the beginning of Sonic & Knuckles after finishing Sonic 3 . Sonic & Knuckles is included in the retro console Sega Genesis Flashback released in 2017 by AtGames ,

17484-544: The cover of Michael Jackson 's 1987 album Bad . His personality was based on then- Governor of Arkansas Bill Clinton 's "can-do" attitude. The antagonist, Doctor Eggman , was another character Ohshima had designed for the contest. The team thought the abandoned design was excellent and redesigned it as a villain. The team took the name Sonic Team for the game's release. Sonic's first appearance came in Sega AM3 's racing game Rad Mobile (1991) five months before

17670-543: The creative team behind the live-action franchise confirmed this was meant to be an homage to the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 / Sonic & Knuckles double-feature. Works cited Platform game The genre started with the 1980 arcade video game Space Panic , which has ladders but not jumping. Donkey Kong , released in 1981, established a template for what were initially called "climbing games". Donkey Kong inspired many clones and games with similar elements, such as Miner 2049er (1982) and Kangaroo (1982), while

17856-421: The criteria of a platformer, and was billed as an action adventure . It used true 3D characters and set pieces, but its environments were rendered using a rigid engine similar to the one used by Wolfenstein 3D , in that it could only render square, flat corridors, rather than suspended platforms that could be jumped between. Sega had tasked their American studio, Sega Technical Institute , with bringing Sonic

18042-419: The earlier Clockwork Knight . The game plays very similarly to 2D platformers, but lets players walk up walls and on ceilings. In 1995, Delphine Software released a 3D sequel to their 2D platformer Flashback . Entitled Fade to Black , it was the first attempt to bring a popular 2D platformer series into 3D. While it retained the puzzle-oriented level design style and step-based control, it did not meet

18228-435: The evil Doctor Eggman , a mad scientist . The main Sonic the Hedgehog games are platformers mostly developed by Sonic Team ; other games, developed by various studios, include spin-offs in the racing , fighting , party and sports genres. The franchise also incorporates printed media , animations , feature films, and merchandise. Naka, Ohshima, and Yasuhara developed the first Sonic game , released in 1991 for

18414-497: The first Sonic RPG , Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (2008), also for the DS. Following Naka's departure, Akinori Nishiyama, who worked on the Sonic Advance and Rush games, became Sonic Team's general manager. Sonic Team began working on Sonic Unleashed (2008) in 2005. It was conceived as a sequel to Adventure 2 , but became a standalone entry after Sonic Team introduced innovations to separate it from

18600-521: The first award for Best Platform game in 1984 from Crash magazine. Later that same year, Epyx released Impossible Mission , and Parker Brothers released Montezuma's Revenge , which further expanded on the exploration aspect. The first platformer to use scrolling graphics came years before the genre became popular. Jump Bug is a platform-shooter developed by Alpha Denshi under contract for Hoei/Coreland and released to arcades in 1981, only five months after Donkey Kong . Players control

18786-633: The first non-Nintendo character to appear in Smash . He was considered for inclusion in Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001), but the game was too close to completion so his introduction was delayed until Brawl . He returned in the sequels Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U (2014) and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018). Shadow and Knuckles appear in Smash as non-playable characters , while Tails and Knuckles costumes are available for players' Mii avatars. A Sonic amiibo figurine

18972-426: The foreground and background, and the camera panning and curving around corners. Meanwhile, Pandemonium and Klonoa brought the 2.5D style to the PlayStation . In a break from the past, the Nintendo 64 had the fewest side scrolling platformers with only four; Yoshi's Story , Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards , Goemon's Great Adventure , and Mischief Makers —and most met with a tepid response from critics at

19158-429: The franchise's 15th anniversary, Sonic Team developed Sonic Riders , a GBA port of the original Sonic , and a reboot , Sonic the Hedgehog (commonly referred to as Sonic '06 ). With a darker and more realistic setting than previous entries, Sonic '06 was intended to relaunch the series for seventh-generation consoles such as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 . The development faced serious problems; Naka,

19344-661: The franchise. A remake of the Sky Sanctuary stage was made for the Xbox 360 , PlayStation 3 , and PC versions of the game, while the Mushroom Hill level was remade for the Nintendo 3DS version of the game. Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing features a track inspired by the Death Egg as downloadable content along with the Metal Sonic character. The sequel, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed , featured

19530-470: The game a greater sense of speed than other platformers at the time, while its sequel, Wonder Boy in Monster Land added action-adventure and role-playing elements. Wonder Boy in turn inspired games such as Adventure Island , Dynastic Hero , Popful Mail , and Shantae . One of the first platformers to scroll in all four directions freely and follow the on-screen character's movement

19716-465: The game, because of "tight development times". The game has been re-released through the Wii 's Virtual Console and Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade . Both releases are programmed such that, if any of the "Lock-on" games are also downloaded on the same account, the "connected" versions of the game are also available. For example, if one downloads Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic 2 , they have the option to play

19902-498: The gameplay from its precursor but traded the frog-like mech for a cartoony rabbit mech called Robbit. The title was successful enough to get two sequels and is remembered for being the first 3D platformer on a console. Rob Fahey of Eurogamer said Jumping Flash was perhaps "one of the most important ancestors of every 3D platformer in the following decade." It holds the record of "First platform videogame in true 3D" according to Guinness World Records . Another early 3D platformer

20088-419: The genre are walking, running, jumping, attacking, and climbing. Jumping is central to the genre, though there are exceptions such as Nintendo 's Popeye and Data East 's BurgerTime , both from 1982. In some games, such as Donkey Kong , the trajectory of a jump is fixed, while in others it can be altered mid-air. Falling may cause damage or death. Many platformers contain environmental obstacles which kill

20274-471: The genre as "Donkey Kong-type" or "Kong-style" games. "Climbing games" was used in Steve Bloom's 1982 book Video Invaders and 1983 magazines Electronic Games (US)—which ran a cover feature called "The Player's Guide to Climbing Games"—and TV Gamer (UK). Bloom defined "climbing games" as titles where the player "must climb from the bottom of the screen to the top while avoiding and/or destroying

20460-457: The genre continued to maintain its popularity, with many games released for the handheld Game Boy and Game Gear systems. By the time the Genesis and TurboGrafx-16 launched, platformers were the most popular genre in console gaming. There was a particular emphasis on having a flagship platform title exclusive to a system, featuring a mascot character. In 1989, Sega released Alex Kidd in

20646-412: The genre. A modern variant of the platform game, especially significant on mobile platforms, is the endless runner , where the main character is always moving forward and the player must dodge or jump to avoid falling or hitting obstacles. Various names were used in the years following the release of the first established game in the genre, Donkey Kong (1981). Shigeru Miyamoto originally called it

20832-422: The goal is to collect the Chaos Emeralds; the player is required to collect them all to defeat Eggman and achieve the games' good endings . Sonic games that do not feature the Chaos Emeralds, such as Sonic CD , feature different collectibles that otherwise function the same. Players find the Emeralds by entering portals, opening portals using 50 rings, or scouting them within levels themselves. Sometimes,

21018-433: The hatch on the cartridge and insert a second cartridge. When Sonic 3 is inserted, the player can play through both games as one, Sonic 3 & Knuckles . This features several changes to the games, such as slightly altered level layouts, the ability to play through Sonic 3 levels as Knuckles or Sonic & Knuckles levels as Tails, and the ability to save progress in Sonic & Knuckles levels. Additionally, combining

21204-418: The last of the original Sonic development team, resigned as head of Sonic Team to form Prope , and the team split so work could begin on a Wii Sonic game. According to Iizuka, these incidents, coupled with stringent Sega deadlines and an unpolished game engine, forced Sonic Team to rush development. None of the 15th-anniversary Sonic games were successful critically, and Sonic '06 became regarded as

21390-420: The lead composer for Sonic Mania and a contributor to Team Sonic Racing . The main theme of the 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog was performed by Ali Tabatabaee and Matty Lewis of the band Zebrahead , while Akon remixed " Sweet Sweet Sweet " for its soundtrack. Doug Robb, the lead singer of Hoobastank , performed the main theme of Sonic Forces . One of the ending themes of Sonic Frontiers , "Vandalize",

21576-454: The levels were open and had objectives. Completing objectives earned the player stars, and stars were used to unlock more levels. This approach allowed for more efficient use of large 3D areas and rewarded the player for exploration, but it meant less jumping and more action-adventure . Even so, a handful of boss levels offered more traditional platforming. Until then there was no settled way to make 3D platformers, but Super Mario 64 inspired

21762-489: The maze game, Namco's 1984 Pac-Land is a bidirectional, horizontally-scrolling, arcade video game with walking, running, jumping, springboards, power-ups , and a series of unique levels. Pac-Man creator Toru Iwatani described the game as "the pioneer of action games with horizontally running background." According to Iwatani, Shigeru Miyamoto described Pac-Land as an influence on the development of Super Mario Bros. . Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. , released for

21948-462: The more action-oriented Sonic Adventure 2 (2001). Between the releases, Ohshima left Sega to form Artoon . While both Adventure games were well received and the first sold over two million copies, consumer interest in the Dreamcast quickly faded, and Sega's attempts to spur sales through lower prices and cash rebates caused escalating financial losses. In January 2001, Sega announced it

22134-405: The more linear 3D platformers like Tork: Prehistoric Punk and Wario World used scripted cameras that limited player control. Games with more open environments like Super Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie used intelligent cameras that followed the player's movements. Still, when the view was obstructed or not facing what the player needed to see, these intelligent cameras needed to be adjusted by

22320-534: The new wave of consoles. In the latter half of the 1980s and early 1990s, the Amiga was a strong gaming platform with its custom video hardware and sound hardware . The Atari ST was solidly supported as well. Games like Shadow of the Beast and Turrican showed that computer platformers could rival their console contemporaries. Prince of Persia , originally a late release for the 8-bit Apple II in 1989, featured

22506-511: The obstacles and foes you invariably meet along the way." Under this definition, he listed Space Panic (1980), Donkey Kong , and despite the top down perspective, Frogger (1981) as climbing games. In a December 1982 Creative Computing review of the Apple II game Beer Run , the reviewer used a different term: "I'm going to call this a ladder game, as in the 'ladder genre,' which includes Apple Panic and Donkey Kong ." That label

22692-491: The ocean. Sonic & Knuckles was developed in California by the Japanese members of Sega Technical Institute (STI). Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles were originally planned as a single game; according to designer Takashi Iizuka , the team "really wanted to hit a home run", with larger stages that took longer to develop. As ROM cartridges were too small to contain the game and Sega wanted it released in time for

22878-430: The only playable character, others feature multiple, who have alternate movesets and storylines. For instance, in Sonic & Knuckles , Knuckles goes through the same levels as Sonic, but his story is different, he explores different parts of the levels, and certain areas are more difficult. Many Sonic games contain multiplayer and cooperative gameplay , beginning with Sonic the Hedgehog 2 . In some games, if

23064-420: The original Sonic the Hedgehog or any other Genesis game released prior to this will unlock the "Blue Sphere" minigame. Sonic & Knuckles was released for the Sega Genesis on October 18, 1994. It received positive reviews; critics were impressed with the replay value and lock-on technology, despite its similarity to Sonic 3 . The games sold a combined four million copies worldwide, placing them among

23250-458: The original Sonic , was developed by Ancient to promote the Game Gear and released in December 1991. Aspect Co. developed most of the subsequent 8-bit Sonic games, beginning with a version of Sonic 2 . Other Sonic games released during this period include Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (1993), a Western localization of the Japanese puzzle game Puyo Puyo (1991), SegaSonic

23436-534: The original Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for iOS and Android, which were released in 2013. The remasters were developed using Whitehead's Retro Engine , an engine tailored for 2D projects, and received praise. Sonic Dash (2013), a Temple Run -style endless runner , was developed by Hardlight and downloaded over 350 million times by 2020 and received a Sonic Boom -themed sequel in 2015. Sonic Team released Sonic Runners , its first game for mobile devices, in 2015. Sonic Runners

23622-451: The original release, claiming that the game does not truly shine without having purchased Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and 3 to activate this feature. Thomas praised the game for "impressive visuals that pushed the Genesis to its limits" and for the value added in the content unlocked with the lock-on technology. For the series' twentieth anniversary in 2011, Sega released Sonic Generations , a game that remade aspects of various past games from

23808-635: The other titles included. The Origins version features the original "Blue Sphere" minigame as a bonus mode, as well as new iteration of the mode called "New Blue Spheres" which includes the additional sphere colors introduced in Sonic Mania . The Genesis version sold at least 1.24 million copies in the United States. Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles sold a combined 4 million cartridges worldwide. Critics praised Sonic & Knuckles , despite its similarity to its predecessor. The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly named it their "Game of

23994-401: The overall experience. Dan Whitehead of Eurogamer preferred Sonic & Knuckles to Sonic 3 , stating that he could not fully appreciate its predecessor without its "companion piece". Sega Power 's review praised the game's harder difficulty in comparison to its predecessor and the new expansion of levels, admitting that the expansion would not have been possible had Sonic 3 been

24180-408: The platform-action game, Valis , which contained anime -style cut scenes . In 1987, Capcom 's Mega Man introduced non-linear level progression where the player is able to choose the order in which they complete levels. This was a stark contrast to both linear games like Super Mario Bros. and open-world games like Metroid . GamesRadar credits the "level select" feature of Mega Man as

24366-408: The playable character. Games since Sonic Unleashed have blended 2D and 3D gameplay, with the camera shifting between side-scrolling and third-person perspectives. One distinctive game mechanic of Sonic games are collectible golden rings spread throughout levels, which act as a form of health . Players possessing rings can survive upon sustaining damage, but the rings are scattered and

24552-453: The player a continue . The second type involves bouncing around a room with a slot machine in its center with the intention of winning extra lives and power-ups . Special Stages are entered by finding giant rings hidden in secret passageways: the player is placed in a 3D environment and must turn all of a number of blue spheres red by running through them, but must avoid all red spheres, including formerly blue ones. Yellow spheres bounce

24738-561: The player around and aid in battle. In 1990, Hudson Soft released Bonk's Adventure , with a protagonist positioned as NEC 's mascot. The following year, Takeru's Cocoron , a late platformer for the Famicom allowed players to build a character from a toy box filled with spare parts. In 1990, the Super Famicom was released in Japan, along with the eagerly anticipated Super Mario World . The following year, Nintendo released

24924-416: The player at high speeds in a particular direction. Players' progress in levels is saved through passing checkpoints . Checkpoints serve other uses in various games, such as entering bonus stages. Some settings, particularly Green Hill Zone , recur throughout the series. The series contains numerous power-ups, which are held in boxes that appear throughout levels. An icon indicates what it contains, and

25110-541: The player chooses to control Sonic and Tails together, a second player can join at any time and control Tails separately. Sonic games also feature a split-screen competitive mode in which two players race to the end of the stage. For the original Sonic the Hedgehog , Sega commissioned Masato Nakamura , bassist and songwriter of the J-pop band Dreams Come True , to compose the soundtrack. Nakamura returned to compose Sonic 2 's soundtrack. Dreams Come True owns

25296-620: The player has a short amount of time to re-collect some of them before they disappear. Collecting 100 rings usually rewards the player an extra life . Rings have other uses in certain games, such as currency in Sonic '06 , restoring health bars in Sonic Unleashed , or improving statistics in Sonic Riders . Levels in Sonic games feature elements such as slopes, bottomless pits, and vertical loops . Springs, springboards, and dash panels are scattered throughout and catapult

25482-406: The player long distances, and white spheres with red stars on them make the player walk backward in the opposite direction. Completing a Special Stage earns the player a Chaos Emerald ; collecting all seven Emeralds allows the player to turn into Super Sonic or Super Knuckles, more powerful versions of the characters. Sonic & Knuckles features "lock-on technology" that allows players to open

25668-405: The player more control over the character and the camera. To render a 3D environment from any angle the user chose, the graphics hardware had to be sufficiently powerful, and the art and rendering model of the game had to be viewable from every angle. The improvement in graphics technology allowed publishers to make such games but introduced several new issues. For example, if the player could control

25854-539: The player navigates a series of levels at high speeds while jumping between platforms, fighting enemies and bosses , and avoiding obstacles. The series contains both 2D and 3D games. 2D entries generally feature simple, pinball-like gameplay —with jumping and attacking controlled by a single button —and branching level paths that require memorization to maintain speed. Meanwhile, 3D entries tend to be more linear in design, feature various level objectives, different movesets, and allow players to upgrade and customize

26040-529: The player releases the item by destroying the box. Common items in boxes include rings, a shield, invincibility, high speed, and extra lives. Sonic Colors introduces the Wisps, a race of extraterrestrial creatures that act as power-ups. Each Wisp has its own special ability corresponding to its color; for instance, yellow Wisps allow players to drill underground and find otherwise inaccessible areas. Since Sonic Rush , most Sonic games have featured "boosting",

26226-425: The player to collect all the Chaos Emeralds to reach the final boss. Sonic games often share basic gameplay, but some have game mechanics that distinguish them from others. For instance, Knuckles' Chaotix is similar to previous entries in the series, but introduces a partner system whereby the player is connected to another character via a tether; the tether behaves like a rubber band and must be used to maneuver

26412-481: The player to maneuver their character across platforms to reach a goal while confronting enemies and avoiding obstacles along the way. These games are either presented from the side view, using two-dimensional movement, or in 3D with the camera placed either behind the main character or in isometric perspective . Typical platforming gameplay tends to be very dynamic and challenges a player's reflexes, timing, and dexterity with controls. The most common movement options in

26598-498: The player's character upon contact, such as lava pits or bottomless chasms. The player may be able to collect items and power-ups and give the main character new abilities for overcoming adversities. Most games of this genre consist of multiple levels of increasing difficulty that may be interleaved by boss encounters, where the character has to defeat a particularly dangerous enemy to progress. Simple logical puzzles to resolve and skill trials to overcome are other common elements in

26784-993: The player. In the 1990s, RPGs , first-person shooters , and more complex action-adventure games captured significant market share. Even so, the platformer thrived. Tomb Raider became one of the bestselling series on the PlayStation , along with Insomniac Games ' Spyro and Naughty Dog 's Crash Bandicoot , one of the few 3D games to stick with linear levels. Moreover, many of the Nintendo 64 's bestsellers were first- and second-party platformers like Super Mario 64 , Banjo-Kazooie , and Donkey Kong 64 . On Windows and Mac , Pangea Software 's Bugdom series and BioWare 's MDK2 proved successful. Several developers who found success with 3D platformers began experimenting with titles that, despite their cartoon art style, were aimed at adults. Examples include Rare 's Conker's Bad Fur Day , Crystal Dynamics 's Gex: Deep Cover Gecko and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver , and Shiny Entertainment 's Messiah . In 1998, Sega produced

26970-434: The power of music to fight Eggman and reunite with their mother. In all three DiC series, Sonic is voiced by Family Matters star Jaleel White . In Japan, Sega and Sonic Team collaborated with Studio Pierrot to produce a two-part original video animation (OVA), Sonic the Hedgehog , released direct-to-video in Japan in 1996. To coincide with Sonic Adventure 's Western release in 1999, ADV Films released

27156-427: The power of the Master Emerald to achieve a Super form similar to Sonic's and fights Knuckles until the latter eventually defeats the mecha. Sonic flies in piloting the biplane Tornado , and takes Knuckles and the Master Emerald back to Angel Island. If all the Chaos Emeralds are collected, Angel Island rises upwards, into the sky. However, if the player has not collected all the Chaos Emeralds, Angel Island plummets into

27342-446: The project said his contributions remained. Sonic 3 was the first Sonic game composer Jun Senoue worked on. Senoue has composed the music for many Sonic games since Sonic 3D Blast , often with his band Crush 40 , which he formed with Hardline vocalist Johnny Gioeli . While the Genesis Sonic soundtracks were characterized by electropop , Senoue's scores typically feature funk and rock music . Tomoya Ohtani has been

27528-460: The project was split in two: the first half, Sonic 3 , was released in February 1994, and the second, Sonic & Knuckles , a few months later. The Sonic & Knuckles cartridge contains an adapter that allows players to connect it to Sonic 3 , creating a combined game, Sonic 3 & Knuckles . Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles , as with their predecessors, were acclaimed. To release

27714-492: The relatively simple character designs did not suit a 3D environment. The art style was modernized to alter the characters' proportions and make them appeal to Western audiences. Since Sonic Adventure , the series' cast has expanded. Notable characters include Big , a large cat who fishes for his pet frog Froggy; the E-100 Series of robots; Shadow, a brooding black hedgehog; Rouge , a treasure-hunting bat; Blaze ,

27900-539: The release of Sonic the Hedgehog , as an ornament hanging from the driver's rearview mirror. The Sonic developers let AM3 use Sonic because they were interested in making him visible to the public. According to Mark Cerny , who worked in Tokyo as an intermediary between the Japanese and American Sega offices, the American staff felt that Sonic had no appeal. Although Katz was certain that Sonic would not be popular with American children, Kalinske arranged to place Sonic

28086-558: The rights to Nakamura's score, which created problems when the Sonic Spinball team used his Sonic theme music without permission. For Sonic CD , two soundtracks were composed; the original, featured in the Japanese and European releases, was composed by Naofumi Hataya and Masafumi Ogata, while the North American score was composed by Spencer Nilsen , David Young , and Mark Crew. A number of composers contributed to

28272-759: The ring-based health system, level locales, and fast-paced gameplay. Games typically feature Sonic setting out to stop Eggman's schemes for world domination, and the player navigates levels that include springs, slopes, bottomless pits, and vertical loops . Later games added a large cast of characters ; some, such as Miles "Tails" Prower , Knuckles the Echidna , and Shadow the Hedgehog , have starred in spin-offs. The franchise has crossed over with other video game franchises in games such as Mario & Sonic , Sega All-Stars , and Super Smash Bros. Outside of video games, Sonic includes comic books published by Archie Comics , Fleetway Publications , and IDW Publishing ; animated series such as The Adventures of Sonic

28458-619: The same race course, and an additional new one inspired by the Sky Sanctuary stage. Re-imagined versions of the Flying Battery and Lava Reef stages, along with the Blue Sphere bonus game, appear in the 2017 game Sonic Mania . In 2022, 30 years after the release of the game, Paramount announced the release of the film Sonic the Hedgehog 3 in December 2024, as well as the release of Knuckles on Paramount+ in April of that year;

28644-531: The second Project Sonic game, Sonic R , a 3D racing game and the only original Sonic game for the Saturn. Yasuhara moved to London to assist Sonic R 's development. Sonic Jam was well received, while Sonic R 's reviews were more divided. The cancellation of Sonic X-treme , as well as the Saturn's general lack of Sonic games, are considered important factors in the Saturn's commercial failure . According to Nick Thorpe of Retro Gamer , "By mid-1997 Sonic had essentially been shuffled into

28830-616: The series' sound director since Sonic the Hedgehog in 2006, and was the lead composer for that game, Sonic Unleashed , Sonic Colors , Sonic Lost World , Sonic Runners , and Sonic Forces . Ohtani said he attempts to "express through music the greatest features each game has", citing the diverse and energetic score of Sonic Unleashed and the more science fiction -style score of Sonic Colors as examples . Other composers who have contributed to Sonic games include Richard Jacques and Hideki Naganuma . Tee Lopes —known for releasing unofficial remixes of Sonic tracks on YouTube —was

29016-486: The syndicated Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (1993) and ABC's Sonic the Hedgehog (1993–1994), were produced by DIC Entertainment . DIC also produced a Sonic Christmas special in 1996, and Sonic Underground in 1999, to promote Sonic Adventure . DIC's Sonic adaptations are generally not held in high regard. Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog comprises 65 episodes overseen by Ren & Stimpy director Kent Butterworth and features slapstick humor in

29202-441: The time. Despite this, Yoshi's Story sold over a million copies in the US, and Mischief Makers rode high on the charts in the months following its release. The term 3D platformer usually refers to games with gameplay in three dimensions and polygonal 3D graphics. Games that have 3D gameplay but 2D graphics are usually included under the umbrella of isometric platformers , while those that have 3D graphics but gameplay on

29388-670: The title screen, Miles "Tails" Prower is not available to select, and the player cannot control two characters together. There is also no multiplayer mode or save feature. The player character moves through six levels , each divided into two acts. The first act of each level ends with a miniboss fight with one of Dr. Robotnik 's robots, while the second ends with a regular boss fight with Robotnik (or EggRobo in Knuckles' campaign). Sonic and Knuckles traverse levels differently; Sonic can jump higher and has access to unique shield abilities, whereas Knuckles can glide and climb most walls. The levels also include cutscenes that differ based on

29574-407: The ultimate Sonic game. Sonic Adventure , directed by Iizuka and released in 1998, was one of the first sixth-generation video games. It introduced elements that became series staples, such as artist Yuji Uekawa 's new character designs influenced by comics and animation. In 1999, Iizuka and 11 other Sonic Team members relocated to San Francisco and established Sonic Team USA to develop

29760-421: The vein of Looney Tunes . The 26-episode Sonic the Hedgehog (commonly called Sonic SatAM ) features a bleak setting in which Eggman has conquered the world, while Sonic is a member of a resistance force that opposes him. The series was canceled after two seasons. Sonic Underground was planned to last 65 episodes, but only 40 were produced. The series follows Sonic and his siblings Manic and Sonia, who use

29946-437: The video game industry internationally. The following year, Donkey Kong received a sequel, Donkey Kong Jr. and later Mario Bros. , a platformer with two-player cooperative play . It laid the groundwork for other two-player cooperative games such as Fairyland Story and Bubble Bobble . Beginning in 1982, transitional games emerged with non-scrolling levels spanning multiple screens. David Crane's Pitfall! for

30132-455: The visual flash of 3D with traditional 2D side scrolling gameplay. These games are often referred to as 2.5D. The first such game was Saturn launch title , Clockwork Knight (1994). The game featured levels and boss characters rendered in 3D, but retained 2D gameplay and used pre-rendered 2D sprites for regular characters, similar to Donkey Kong Country . Its sequel improved upon its design, featuring some 3D effects such as hopping between

30318-509: The well received aspects of Unleashed and introduced the Wisp power-ups. For the series' 20th anniversary in 2011, Sega released Sonic Generations for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Windows; a separate version was developed by Dimps for the Nintendo 3DS . Sonic Generations featured reimagined versions of levels from previous Sonic games and reintroduced the "classic" Sonic design from

30504-427: The worst game in the series, panned for its bugs, camera, controls, and story. Brian Shea of Game Informer wrote that it "[became] synonymous with the struggles the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise had faced in recent years. Sonic [ ' 06 ] was meant to be a return to the series' roots, but it ended up damning the franchise in the eyes of many." Backbone Entertainment developed two Sonic games exclusive to

30690-413: Was Floating Runner , developed by a Japanese company called Xing and released for PlayStation in early 1996, before the release of Super Mario 64 . Floating Runner uses D-pad controls and a behind-the-character camera perspective. In 1996, Nintendo released Super Mario 64 , which is a game that set the standard for 3D platformers. It let the player explore 3D environments with greater freedom than

30876-473: Was a major success, but its development suffered from the language barrier and cultural differences between the Japanese and American developers. While STI developed Sonic 2 , Ohshima led a team in Japan to create Sonic CD for the Genesis's CD-ROM accessory, the Sega CD ; it began as a port of the first game but evolved into a separate project. Once development on Sonic 2 concluded, Cerny departed and

31062-453: Was a primary way to attack. This was the first true 3D platform-action game with free-roaming environments, but it was never ported to another platform or released outside Japan, so it remains relatively unknown in the West. The following year, Exact released their follow-up to Geograph Seal . An early title for Sony's new PlayStation console, Jumping Flash! , released in April 1995, kept

31248-501: Was also an endless runner, but was unsuccessful and was discontinued a year after release. Gameloft released a sequel, Sonic Runners Adventure , in 2017 to generally positive reviews. In a 2015 interview with Polygon , Iizuka acknowledged that contemporary Sonic games had been disappointing. He hoped, from then on, that the Sonic Team logo would stand as a "mark of quality"; he planned to release quality games and expand

31434-562: Was also used by Video Games Player magazine in 1983 when it named the Coleco port of Donkey Kong "Ladder Game of the Year". Another term used in the late 1980s to 1990s was "character action games", in reference to games such as Super Mario Bros. , Sonic the Hedgehog , and Bubsy . It was also applied more generally to side-scrolling video games , including run and gun video games such as Gunstar Heroes . Platform game became

31620-473: Was conceived between the releases of Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992). The team explained their situation to Sega's hardware division, which gave them the lock-on adapter. The team knew that players would likely use the adapter to insert games beside Sonic 3 , so they implemented the Blue Sphere minigame for most games. They made Knuckles playable in Sonic 2 if that game

31806-524: Was designed for a broad audience, and Sonic Team revived elements not seen since the Genesis era, such as special stages and the Chaotix characters. Reviews for Sonic Heroes were mixed; while its graphics and gameplay were praised, critics felt it failed to address criticisms of previous Sonic games, such as the camera . Iizuka, who directed Heroes , later said it was the most stressful experience of his career; he lost 22 pounds (10 kg) due to

31992-441: Was developed by the independent game developers PagodaWest Games and Headcannon with a staff comprising members of the Sonic fandom; Whitehead conceived the project and served as director. The game, which emulates the gameplay and visuals of the Genesis entries, received the best reviews for a Sonic game in 15 years. Meanwhile, Sonic Team developed Sonic Forces , which revives the dual gameplay of Sonic Generations along with

32178-465: Was discontinuing the Dreamcast to become a third-party developer ; following this, Yasuhara left to join Naughty Dog . The following December, Sega released an expanded port of Sonic Adventure 2 for Nintendo's GameCube . Afterward, Sonic Team USA developed the first multi-platform Sonic game, Sonic Heroes (2003), for the GameCube, Microsoft 's Xbox , and Sony 's PlayStation 2 . It

32364-532: Was found in any previous game in the genre. With this in mind, Nintendo put an analog control stick on its Nintendo 64 controller, a feature that had not been seen since the Vectrex but which has since become standard. The analog stick provided the fine precision needed with a free perspective. In most 2D platformers, the player finished a level by following a path to a certain point, but in Super Mario 64 ,

32550-550: Was hired by Cerny to work at the US-based Sega Technical Institute (STI), with a higher salary and more creative freedom. Yasuhara also moved to STI. STI began work on Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992) in November 1991. Level artist Yasushi Yamaguchi designed Sonic's new sidekick, Tails , a flying two-tailed fox inspired by the mythological kitsune . Like its predecessor, Sonic the Hedgehog 2

32736-453: Was initially a rabbit able to grasp objects with prehensile ears, but the concept proved too complex for the hardware. The team moved on to animals that could roll into a ball, and eventually settled on Sonic , a teal hedgehog created by Ohshima. Naka's prototype was expanded with Ohshima's character design and levels conceived by Yasuhara. Sonic's color was chosen to match Sega's cobalt blue logo, and his red and white shoes were inspired by

32922-403: Was inserted because the team found his play style suited its levels. They considered including the same functionality for the original Sonic the Hedgehog , but the developers felt Knuckles' abilities did not work with its level design. Sonic & Knuckles was released on October 18, 1994. It was released around the same time as Nintendo 's Donkey Kong Country for the Genesis's competitor,

33108-406: Was inspired by the culture of the 1990s , Sonic features environmental themes. Sonic represents "nature", while Eggman represents "machinery" and "development"—a play on the then-growing debate between environmentalists and developers. Much of the supporting cast was introduced in the succeeding games for the Genesis and its add-ons. Sonic 2 introduced Sonic's sidekick Miles "Tails" Prower,

33294-971: Was performed by the Japanese rock band One Ok Rock . Outside the Sonic series, Sonic appears in other Sonic Team games as a playable character in Christmas Nights (1996), a power-up in Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg (2003), and in a cameo in the 2008 Wii version of Samba de Amigo (1999). Sonic characters also feature in the Sega All-Stars series, which includes Sega Superstars (2004), Sega Superstars Tennis (2008), and Sumo Digital's kart racing games Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (2010) and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (2012). From 2007 to 2020, Sega collaborated with Nintendo to produce Mario & Sonic , an Olympic Games -themed crossover with

33480-566: Was referred to as Doctor Ivo Robotnik in Western territories. Sega of America's Dean Sitton made the change without consulting the Japanese developers, who did not want a single character to have two different names. Since Sonic Adventure , the character has been referred to as Eggman in all territories, although the Robotnik name is still acknowledged. Sonic games traditionally follow Sonic's efforts to stop Eggman, who schemes to obtain

33666-584: Was released for the Smash games, and is also compatible with Mario Kart 8 (2014), Super Mario Maker (2015), and Yoshi's Woolly World (2015). In June 2015, characters from the Angry Birds RPG Angry Birds Epic (2014) appeared as playable characters in Sonic Dash during a three-week promotion, while Sonic was added to Angry Birds Epic as a playable character the following September. Similar crossovers with

33852-423: Was replaced by Tom Kalinske , formerly of Mattel . Sega president Hayao Nakayama decided Sega needed a flagship series and mascot to compete with Nintendo's Mario franchise . Nintendo had recently released Super Mario Bros. 3 , at the time the bestselling video game ever. Sega's strategy had been based on porting its successful arcade games to the Genesis; however, Nakayama recognized that Sega needed

34038-592: Was replaced by Roger Hector. STI divided into two teams: the Japanese developers led by Naka, and the American developers. The Japanese began work on Sonic the Hedgehog 3 . It was initially developed as an isometric game using the Sega Virtua Processor chip, but was restarted as a more conventional side-scrolling game after the chip was delayed. It introduced Sonic's rival Knuckles , created by artist Takashi Thomas Yuda. Due to an impending promotion with McDonald's and cartridges size constraints,

34224-427: Was struggling because it lacked unified direction, so Sonic Team refocused on more traditional side-scrolling elements and fast-paced gameplay. Sonic the Hedgehog 4 , a side-scrolling episodic sequel to Sonic & Knuckles co-developed by Sonic Team and Dimps, began with Episode I in 2010, followed by Episode II in 2012. Later in 2010, Sega released Sonic Colors for the Wii and DS, which expanded on

34410-418: Was the first game to allow players to jump over obstacles and gaps. It is widely considered to be the first platformer. It introduced Mario under the name Jumpman. Donkey Kong was ported to many consoles and computers at the time, notably as the system-selling pack-in game for ColecoVision , and also a handheld version from Coleco in 1982. The game helped cement Nintendo's position as an important name in

34596-610: Was the first original Sonic game released for a Nintendo console after Sega and Nintendo's fierce rivalry in the 1990s. It was outsourced to Dimps because Sonic Team was understaffed with employees familiar with the GBA. Dimps also developed Sonic Rush (2005) for the Nintendo DS , which uses a 2.5D perspective. Dimps's projects received generally favorable reviews. To introduce older games to new fans, Sonic Team developed two compilations , Sonic Mega Collection (2002) and Sonic Gems Collection (2005). Further spin-offs included

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