185-574: The Sonic the Hedgehog video game franchise began in 1991 with the video game Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis , which pitted a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog named Sonic against a rotund male human villain named Doctor Eggman (or Doctor Ivo Robotnik). The sequel, Sonic 2 , gave Sonic a fox friend named Tails . Sonic CD introduced Amy Rose, a female hedgehog with a persistent crush on Sonic. Sonic 3 introduced Knuckles
370-531: 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
555-750: A Sonic platformer as a playable character was in Sonic Adventure ; she is playable in Sonic Heroes (2003) and Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), and appears as a non-player character in games such as Sonic Unleashed (2008). While some journalists have called Amy cute and powerful, others find her annoying. Justin Towell of GamesRadar+ and writers from Mean Machines expressed general displeasure at her introduction in Sonic CD . Additionally, some have criticized developers' treatment of Amy as
740-720: A biker . In the United Kingdom, the Game Gear had a 16% share of the handheld market in January 1992, increasing to 40% by December 1992. Sega reduced support for the Game Gear in favor of home consoles . The successful Genesis yielded two major peripherals, the Sega CD and the 32X . Sega's new 32-bit Saturn console was launched in 1994. Though selling 10.62 million units by March 1996 (including 1.78 million in Japan),
925-453: 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
1110-654: 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
1295-513: 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
1480-615: A blue "sports" variation in North America bundled with World Series Baseball '95 or The Lion King . A white version was bundled with a TV tuner. Other versions include a red Coca-Cola theme bundled with Coca-Cola Kid , and the Kids Gear Japan-only variation for children. Over 300 total Game Gear games were released, although only six launch games . Prices for game cartridges initially ranged from $ 24.99 to $ 29.99. The casings are molded black plastic with
1665-456: 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
1850-460: 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 ,
2035-587: A female character and analyzed her implications on gender representation in video games . The Electronic Gaming Monthly staff found her pink coloring and tendency to run from danger to be stereotypical and common in Japanese-created female characters, while feminist blogger Anita Sarkeesian cites Amy as an example of the "Ms. Male Character" trope, in which female characters in games with male protagonists often resemble those protagonists, but with stereotypically feminine features added. Despite this, Amy
SECTION 10
#17327768062892220-519: 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
2405-512: A formidable weapon. Vector was, originally, supposed to be in the sound test of the first Sonic the Hedgehog game as part of a rock band that Sonic was part of, but the band and the feature itself were removed prior to its release. Vector and the band made a brief appearance in the promotional manga Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic . Vector then made his official game debut in the 1995 video game Knuckles' Chaotix . And in 2003, he
2590-483: A formula that Nintendo is using right now with the continued ascendance of the DS and Wii ." Buchanan praised some of the library: "Some of those Master System tweaks were very good games, and fun is resilient against time." Retro Gamer praised Sega's accomplishment in surviving against the competition of Nintendo in the handheld console market with the Game Gear, noting that "for all the handhelds that have gone up against
2775-616: 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
2960-407: A game starring Big is a possibility. Despite this statement, Big has continued to appear in other titles, including Sonic Runners , Lego Dimensions , Team Sonic Racing , and Sonic Frontiers . Chaos is a water-like being that can easily manipulate its body and highly intelligent. Without any of the Chaos Emeralds, it is known as "Chaos Zero", but with each of it absorbs, it transforms into
3145-489: A group of initially four characters who debuted in the game Knuckles' Chaotix as the main characters, later forming their own detective agency in Sonic Heroes where only three of them (Vector, Espio and Charmy respectively) returned, after the three were redesigned and rebooted into essentially new characters. IGN described the characters as "charming" and noted that they were introduced before fans became weary of all
3330-573: A largely platforming -focused game. Gamma later made a spiritual return in the form of Chaos Gamma , who appeared as a playable character in Sonic Battle . He has garnered mixed comments from critics. While Xbox World generally commended his story, others criticized the slow and repetitive nature of his gameplay. Voiced by: Sonic the Hedgehog Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise created by
3515-514: A lost Chao called Chocola. He is a minor playable character in other Sonic games, like Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood and Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, and a non-player character in games such as the Nintendo DS version of Sonic Colors . Reflecting the story of Adventure , Big appears in the Sonic X anime and the Sonic the Hedgehog comics. Big has been derided by
3700-463: 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,
3885-453: A more powerful form, eventually becoming "Perfect Chaos" with all seven Chaos Emeralds. Its first appearance in Sonic Adventure , Dr. Eggman attempts to use it to conquer the world. Chaos tracks down the emeralds, becomes "Perfect Chaos", and floods all of Station Square, but is ultimately defeated by Super Sonic. Chaos is also a mutated Chao ( / tʃ aʊ / ), a small creature with a pudding -like body and behave much like human infants . By
SECTION 20
#17327768062894070-498: A playable athlete. Espio also made a cameo in the film franchise in the film Sonic the Hedgehog 2: The Official Movie Pre-quill comic. Voiced by: Charmy Bee is a bee who is the "scatter-brained funny-kid" of the Chaotix. He is cheerful, curious, playful, careless, and greatly energetic, often talking about things no one else cares about. Charmy's fooling around makes the rest of the detective agency staff look professional, and he
4255-588: A playable character in the tie-in mobile game; Sonic Dash 2: Sonic Boom . Vector also made a cameo in the film franchise in the Sonic the Hedgehog 2: The Official Movie Pre-quill comic. Voiced by: Espio the Chameleon is a chameleon who is a ninja warrior . He is described as the "opinionated number one" of the Chaotix, also being the calmest. He has a "militaristic discipline" while being quiet and laid back. Confident in his skills, opinionated and self-obsessed, he revels in training and self-discipline. He
4440-417: A rounded front to aid in removal. Games include Sonic the Hedgehog , The GG Shinobi , Space Harrier , and Land of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse , which was considered the best game for the system by GamesRadar+ . Later games include franchises that had originated on the successful 16-bit Genesis and much of the Game Gear's library is Master System ports. Because of the landscape orientation of
4625-453: A separate continuity from the Sonic the Hedgehog comics published by Archie Comics and other Sonic media and, as a result, feature a distinct yet overlapping array of many characters. Sonic the Hedgehog, trademarked Sonic The Hedgehog , is a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog and the main protagonist of the series. Developed as a replacement for their existing Alex Kidd mascot, as well as Sega's response to Mario , his first appearance
4810-577: 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
4995-636: A series of electronic noises. The only notable time Metal Sonic was able to talk was in Sonic Heroes in which he was voiced by Jun'ichi Kanemaru in Japanese and Ryan Drummond in English. GameDaily placed Metal Sonic 13th on their "Top 25 Video Game Robots" list, describing him as Dr. Robotnik's "greatest creation" and praising the strength of his abilities. Knuckles the Echidna is a red echidna and one of Sonic's friendly rivals . First introduced in
5180-409: 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
5365-420: 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
5550-424: A strong sense of justice and kindness, despite his argumentativeness. He often does unpaid work due to his charitable nature, such as finding a lost child or taking up meager chases for children. This leaves the agency constantly short on money. Vector hates having to work for the landlord, but he enjoys singing, and his trademark accessory is a set of headphones . He is physically very strong and his powerful jaws are
5735-423: 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
List of Sonic the Hedgehog characters - Misplaced Pages Continue
5920-573: A total mass between that of the Game Boy and the Atari Lynx , another full-color screen competing product. Game Gear can use the Master Gear adaptor to play games from the similar Master System. The original Game Gear pack-in game is Columns , which is similar to Tetris which was bundled with the Game Boy launch. With a late start into the handheld console market, Sega rushed to get
6105-652: A very high IQ and excellent mechanical skills. Voiced by: Amy Rose is a pink hedgehog and Sonic's self-proclaimed girlfriend, who is an energetic tomboy . Amy was created by Kazuyuki Hoshino for Sonic the Hedgehog CD (1993), although she appeared in Kenji Terada 's Sonic the Hedgehog manga a year before. Hoshino created her in-game graphics, with many staff members contributing ideas to her design. Her headband and trainer shoes reflected Sonic CD director Naoto Ohshima 's tastes, and her mannerisms reflected
6290-463: Is a large, purple anthropomorphic cat, who is depicted as—while unintelligent—sweet, easygoing, and physically strong. In Sonic Adventure , Big's story involves fishing his frog friend Froggy out of various bodies of water after Froggy swallows a Chaos Emerald and part of the tail of Chaos, the game's antagonist. In Sonic Heroes , Big teams up with Amy Rose and Cream the Rabbit to search for Froggy and
6475-402: Is a two-tailed fox who is Sonic's best friend and sidekick. His name is a pun on " miles per hour ". He can use his tails to propel himself into the air like a helicopter for a limited time. Yasushi Yamaguchi , originally the main artist and zone designer for Sega 's Sonic Team, designed Tails for an internal competition for a sidekick to Sonic. His first appearance was in Sonic 2 for
6660-582: Is generally seen as a "cute mascot". Despite an innocent, good-natured and light-hearted personality, he uses his stinger on rare occasions where he gets angry. In addition to being a playable character in Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog , he made cameos in all the Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games installments as a referee. Mighty the Armadillo is a black and red armadillo who debuted in
6845-419: Is not concerned by danger, and often yearns to face it in order to use his ninja skills. With his extensive training in ninjutsu and an ability to turn himself invisible, he is able to move around unnoticed. However, a blunder like a sneeze could cause him to inadvertently become visible. Espio's debut was in the video game Knuckles' Chaotix . In the game, his color subtly changes while he moves to demonstrate
7030-405: Is one of the series' most popular characters, coming in fifth place in a Japanese popularity poll in 2006. Her likeness has been used in Sonic merchandise, and she appears in the television adaptations Sonic X (2003–2005), Sonic Boom (2014–2017) and Sonic Prime (2022–2024). Voiced by: Metal Sonic is an evil robotic version of Sonic created by Dr. Robotnik. He first appears in Sonic
7215-566: Is powered by 2 AAA batteries or through a separate USB charger. Each unit also includes a headphone jack. A magnifying accessory modeled after the original system's Big Window accessory was included with preorders. A special version of the device (published by M2 and licensed by Sega) was being shipped with a limited edition of Aleste Collection in December 2020. This version includes a newly developed Game Gear title G.G. Aleste 3 as well as four other Aleste titles. Game Gear surpassed
7400-486: Is then reincarnated as an egg; the cycle then restarts and the Chao remembers the player. If, however, it has been treated poorly, the cocoon is gray and the Chao dies, removing every trace of itself from the game. Chao can breed to produce fertile eggs. Chao were designed as a "relative neutral entity" in this game. However, to remain consistent with the good–evil dichotomy of Sonic Adventure 2 , they were designed so that
7585-713: Is unique among handhelds, pulling sales away from the Atari Lynx and NEC TurboExpress and helping to establish the Game Gear's market position. However, the Game Boy's library is over 1000 individual games. Several Game Gear games were released years later on the Nintendo 3DS 's Virtual Console service on the Nintendo eShop . The emulator for the Virtual Console releases was handled by M2 . On June 3, 2020, as part of its 60th anniversary, Sega revealed
List of Sonic the Hedgehog characters - Misplaced Pages Continue
7770-660: The Sonic Boom episode, "It Wasn't Me, It Was the One-Armed Hedgehog". Metal Sonic appears as a boss in the Sonic story mode of Lego Dimensions . Metal Sonic appeared as a playable character in the multiplayer mode of Sonic Adventure 2: Battle , as well as Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing , Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed , and all the Mario & Sonic titles beginning with Mario & Sonic at
7955-455: 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
8140-496: 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
8325-626: 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,
8510-641: The Chao Garden restaurant in Tokyo , Japan . Chao and the Chao-raising system have received generally positive reviews. In a review of Sonic Adventure , GameSpot 's Peter Bartholow stated that "with the Chao-breeding simulation and the minigames, Sonic offers much more beyond the completion of its story." IGN stated that " SA more than has the extras department covered." This enthusiasm
8695-576: 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
8880-561: 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
9065-434: The Master System , and can play Master System games through the use of an adapter. Although the Game Gear was rushed to market, it still went on sale more than a year after the Game Boy. With a full-color backlit screen, a landscape format and a more powerful Z80 CPU, Sega positioned the handheld device as technologically superior to the Game Boy. Ultimately, its unique game library and price point gave it an edge over
9250-496: 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
9435-597: 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
SECTION 50
#17327768062899620-545: 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
9805-430: 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
9990-787: 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
10175-407: 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
10360-464: The first Sonic game , released in 1991 for 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,
10545-417: 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),
10730-415: 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
10915-509: The Armadillo. Both Ray and Mighty appeared as playable characters in the Sonic Mania expansion Sonic Mania Plus , as well as appearing in the accompanying web series Sonic Mania Adventures . Voiced by: Big the Cat first appeared in the 1998 Dreamcast game Sonic Adventure , where he was placed to justify the presence of a fishing rod in the game, although he was conceived beforehand. Big
11100-486: The Atari Lynx and NEC TurboExpress, but lagged far behind the Game Boy in the handheld marketplace. Retrospective reception to the Game Gear is mixed. In 2008, GamePro listed the Game Gear as 10th on its list of the "10 Worst-Selling Handhelds of All Time" and criticized aspects of the implementation of its technology, but also stated that the Game Gear could be considered a commercial success at nearly 11 million units sold. According to GamePro reviewer Blake Snow, "Unlike
11285-438: The Atari Lynx and TurboExpress, but its short battery life, large size (due to its screen), lack of original games, and weak support from Sega left the Game Gear unable to surpass the Game Boy, selling 10.62 million units by March 1996. The Game Gear was discontinued in 1997. It was re-released as a budget system by Majesco Entertainment between 2000 and 2002, under license from Sega. Developed as codename "Project Mercury",
SECTION 60
#173277680628911470-473: The Chaos Emeralds that acts as a guardian for its species, protects the Master Emerald, and provides clear water around its altar. Takashi Iizuka stated that he wanted to create an antagonist who would have been impossible to create on older hardware. He settled on one relating to liquid and transparent and created Chaos. Iizuka presented the concept to Naka, who was impressed. Chaos was originally intended to have realistic blue scales in his final form, but this
11655-554: 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
11840-640: The Chaos Rings, but he is stopped by the Chaotix team. Metal Sonic notably acted as the main antagonist in Sonic Heroes , appearing in a new form as Neo Metal Sonic before transforming into the game's final boss, the Metal Overlord. Upon being defeated by Super Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, he reverts to his traditional appearance. He appears as the main antagonist in the Sonic the Hedgehog (OVA) , where Eggman records Sonic's abilities and uploads them to Metal Sonic, who proceeds in attempting to destroy
12025-635: 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
12210-592: The E-100 series and considered the prototype of the line. He was created by Dr. Eggman and ordered to capture the Chaos Emerald from Amy Rose's Flicky friend, Birdie. He first appeared in Sonic Adventure as the main antagonist in Amy's story, where he repeatedly tries to capture Birdie. At the end of Amy's story, she destroys him. In Sonic Advance 2 , he appears in special stages, trying to prevent players from getting
12395-774: The Echidna , Sonic's rival and later friend. All five of these have remained major characters and appeared in dozens of games. The series has introduced dozens of additional recurring characters over the years. These have ranged from anthropomorphic animal characters such as Shadow the Hedgehog and Cream the Rabbit to robots created by Eggman such as Metal Sonic and E-123 Omega, as well as human characters such as Eggman's grandfather Gerald Robotnik. The series features three fictional species, in order of appearance: Chao, which have usually functioned as digital pets and minor gameplay and plot elements; Wisps, which have been used as power-ups ; and Koco, which when collected grant new abilities for Sonic, among other things. The Sonic games keep
12580-476: The Eggman Empire and Robotnikland. When Sega had petitioned its research and development department to create a character who would replace Alex Kidd as its company mascot, a caricature of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt was among the proposed designs. It lost to Sonic the Hedgehog, but the design was kept for the basis for Dr. Eggman instead. Miles Prower, better known by his nickname , Tails,
12765-432: 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
12950-602: The Emeralds for an easier job. Fang tries hard to outwit others, but is held back by his clumsiness and often fails. Outside of Triple Trouble , Fang has had playable roles in Sonic Drift 2 and Sonic the Fighters in 1995 and 1996, and had been planned to be in the cancelled Sonic Xtreme . He did not have any significant roles for over two decades however, though he did make a cameo appearance on an in-game poster in 2011's Sonic Generations , and as an illusion during
13135-406: The Game Boy's black and white screen as "a challenge to make our own color handheld system". To improve upon the design of its competition, Sega modeled the Game Gear with a similar shape to a Genesis controller , intending the curved surfaces and greater length more comfortable to hold than the Game Boy. The console's mass was carefully considered from the beginning of the development, aiming for
13320-431: The Game Boy, the Game Gear rocked the landscape holding position, making it less cramped for human beings with two hands to hold. And even though the Game Gear could be considered a success, its bulky frame, relative high price, constant consumption of AA batteries, and a lack of appealing games ultimately kept Sega from releasing a true successor." In speaking with Famitsu DC for its November 1998 issue, Sato stated that
13505-811: The Game Boy. In North America, marketing for the Game Gear includes side-by-side comparisons against the Game Boy and liken Game Boy players to the obese and uneducated. Most of those advertisements feature the "Sega Scream" with a person yelling the name. One Sega advertisement in early 1994 features the quote, "If you were color blind and had an IQ of less than 12, then you wouldn't mind which portable you had." Such advertising drew outrage from Nintendo, who sought to have protests organized against Sega for insulting disabled persons . Sega of America president Tom Kalinske responded that Nintendo "should spend more time improving their products and marketing rather than working on behind-the-scenes coercive activities". Ultimately, this debate would have little impact on sales for
13690-548: The Game Gear Micro retroconsole. The Micro was released in Japan on October 6, 2020, through Japanese storefronts in four different versions, varying in color and the game selection, with each containing four separate Game Gear games. Each unit otherwise is the same size, measuring 80 mm × 43 mm × 20 mm (3.15 in × 1.69 in × 0.79 in) with a 29 mm (1.1 in) display, and
13875-565: The Game Gear achieved significant handheld console market share, but that "Nintendo's Game Boy was such a runaway success, and had gobbled up so much of the market, that our success was still seen as a failure, which I think is a shame." GamesRadar+ offered some praise for the system and its library, stating, "With its 8-bit processor and bright color screen, it was basically the Sega Master System in your hands. How many batteries did we suck dry playing Sonic, Madden and Road Rash on
14060-540: The Game Gear into stores quickly, having lagged behind Nintendo in sales without a handheld on the market. As one method of doing so, Sega based the Game Gear hardware on the Master System, with a much larger 4,096 color palette compared to the Master System's 64 colors. Part of the intention was easy conversion of Master System games. The Game Gear's technological superiority over Game Boy means that Game Boy can run for more than 30 hours on four AA batteries and
14245-475: The Game Gear runs for three to five hours on six AA batteries. Its quick launch in Japan sold 40,000 units in its first two days, 90,000 within a month, and more than 600,000 back orders. According to Sega of America marketing director Robert Botch, "there is clearly a need for a quality portable system that provides features other systems have failed to deliver. This means easy-to-view, full-color graphics and exciting quality games that appeal to all ages." Before
14430-462: The Game Gear was launched in Japan on October 6, 1990, in North America and Europe in 1991, and in Australia in 1992. Originally retailing at ¥19,800 in Japan, US$ 149.99 (equivalent to $ 300 in 2023) in North America, and £ 99.99 in the United Kingdom, the Game Gear was developed to compete with the Game Boy , which Nintendo had released in 1989. The decision to make a handheld console
14615-480: The Game Gear was never able to match the success of its main rival, the Game Boy, with ten times the sales. Game Gear's late sales were further hurt by Nintendo's release of the smaller Game Boy Pocket running on two AAA batteries . Plans for a 16-bit fifth generation direct successor to the Game Gear were made and canceled, leaving only the Genesis Nomad , a portable version of the Genesis. Moreover,
14800-404: The Game Gear's launch in 1990, the 16-bit Genesis had been successfully marketed as a "more mature" option for players, and this was repeated against the Game Boy. Sega's marketing in Japan did not take this perspective, instead opting for advertisements with Japanese women featuring the handheld, but Sega's worldwide advertising prominently positioned the Game Gear as the " cooler " console than
14985-404: The Game Gear's screen and the similarities to Master System hardware, it was easy for developers to port Master System games to the Game Gear. Because of Nintendo's control over the console video game market, few third-party developers were available to create games for Sega's systems. This contributed to the many ports from Master System. Likewise, because of this, much of the Game Gear library
15170-558: The Game Gear, where he was kidnapped by Doctor Robotnik for a "hefty" ransom. He was first made playable in the Genesis version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 . Tails has appeared in almost every Sonic game since his first appearance. Tails starred in two solo spin-off games for the Sega Game Gear in 1995 – Tails' Skypatrol , and Tails Adventure . Frequently portrayed as a sweet-natured and humble fox, Tails used to be picked on because of his twin tails, before he met Sonic. Tails has
15355-634: The Game Gear. Europe and Australia were the last regions to receive the Game Gear. Due to delays, some importers paid up to £200. Upon launch in Europe, video game distributor Virgin Mastertronic unveiled the price as £99.99, positioning it as being more expensive than the Game Boy, but less expensive than the also full-color Atari Lynx. Marketing in the United Kingdom includes the slogan , "To be this good takes Sega", and advertisements with
15540-523: 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
15725-465: The Genesis game Sonic the Hedgehog 3 , Knuckles lives on Angel Island, which hovers in the sky due to the power of the Master Emerald . As the last surviving member of the Echidna people who once inhabited the island, his duty is to guard the Master Emerald. During conception of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 , the development team wanted to create a new rival for Sonic. The final design of Knuckles was
15910-537: 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
16095-415: 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
16280-457: 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 ,
16465-537: 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
16650-477: 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
16835-413: 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
17020-530: The Hedgehog CD . He is given orders to go back in time and change the past so that Dr. Eggman can rule the future. Sonic must race him in Stardust Speedway to free Amy Rose. He is severely wounded when he crashes and falls, but is rejuvenated by Robotnik in Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II , only to be defeated again in a similar style. He returns in Knuckles' Chaotix , where he attempts to obtain
17205-488: 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
17390-558: The Japanese developers Yuji Naka , Naoto Ohshima , and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega . The franchise follows Sonic , an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles 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
17575-470: The Nomad was intended to supplement the Game Gear rather than replace it; in press coverage leading up to the Nomad's release, Sega representatives said the company was not discontinuing the Game Gear in favor of the Nomad, and that "We believe the two can co-exist". Though the Nomad had been released in 1995, Sega did not officially end support for the Game Gear until 1996 in Japan, and 1997 worldwide. Though
17760-532: 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
17945-572: The Olympic Winter Games . Collecting all the emblems in Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut unlocks Metal Sonic as a bonus playable character in Sonic's stages, and purchasing both episodes of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I unlocks bonus levels in which Metal Sonic is playable. He possesses great strength, including a laser cannon , a jet engine and a force field device he can use to protect himself from projectiles and certain attacks. He usually only communicates with
18130-659: 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
18315-538: 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
18500-669: The Sniper, initially known as Nack the Weasel in English localizations, is a purple jerboa that first appeared in the Game Gear video game Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble in 1994. His character is a treasure hunter in search of the Chaos Emeralds ; however he does not know of their true power and merely wants to sell them for his own profit. He is a slick, sneaky, and mischievous character who will steal
18685-591: 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
18870-582: 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
19055-559: The accompanying web series Sonic Mania Adventures . Ray the Flying Squirrel is a yellow flying squirrel who debuted in the arcade game SegaSonic the Hedgehog . While he can run as fast as Sonic, Ray can also climb trees and glide. His long period of absence was alluded to in Sonic Generations , in which he is shown on a missing persons poster during the City Escape level alongside fellow SegaSonic character Mighty
19240-549: The add-on was expensive but unique for collectors and contributed to the system's popularity. The Super Wide Gear magnifies the screen. The Car Gear adapter plugs into cigarette lighters to power the system while traveling, and the Gear to Gear Cable (VS Cable in Japan) establishes a data connection between two Game Gear systems using the same multiplayer game. Master Gear enables the Game Gear to play Master System games. Game Gear model variations include several colors, including
19425-481: The arcade game SegaSonic the Hedgehog and later appeared in the 32X game Knuckles' Chaotix . The character is described as a traveler who loves nature and desires to see every place. Mighty hates to see weaknesses in others and detests violence. He prefers to be gentle but undergoes a drastic change and is capable when needed. Mighty's only appearance as part of the Chaotix was in Knuckles Chaotix , and
19610-438: 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
19795-590: The boss fight with Heavy Magician in Sonic Mania in 2017. In 2023, he was announced to be returning in a main role as a central villain in Sonic Superstars , now under the name "Fang the Hunter"; a tie-in comic released by Sega prior to the game's launch offered the in-fiction explanation that Fang frequently operates under different aliases in order to conduct his criminal activities. The Chaotix are
19980-502: The bus or in the car, or in the dark when we were supposed to be sleeping? You couldn't do that on a Game Boy!" By contrast, IGN reviewer Levi Buchanan stated the Game Gear's biggest fault was its game library when compared to the Game Boy, stating, "the software was completely lacking compared to its chief rival, which was bathed in quality games. It didn't matter that the Game Gear was more powerful. The color screen did not reverse any fortunes. Content and innovation beat out technology,
20165-518: 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
20350-537: 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
20535-544: 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
20720-495: The feature in the game, comparing Chao to Tamagotchi digital pets. GameSpot's Frank Provo noted the appeal to "those people who might only enjoy pinball in passing" that Chao brought to Sonic Pinball Party . 1UP.com 's Chris Baker called the Chao feature in Sega Superstars "ultimately worthless... but some might find it amusing." In a review of Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood , GameSpot's Shiva Stella praised
20905-497: 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
21090-633: 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
21275-486: The following year. Over ten years later, on March 2, 2011, Nintendo announced that its 3DS Virtual Console service on the Nintendo eShop would feature Game Gear games. The Game Gear is designed to be compatible with Master System games and consequently, many of its internal components were inherited from that system. It shares the same CPU, the Zilog Z80 , an 8-bit processor clocked at 3.5 MHz, and
21460-479: 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,
21645-482: The game's story mode. In Sonic Generations , he appears in his classic form as a rival boss, battling Classic Sonic in Stardust Speedway before ultimately being destroyed. In the 2024 remaster Sonic X Shadow Generations , his Metal Overlord form returns as a boss that Shadow battles. Metal Sonic returns as a boss character in Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal . He appears in
21830-542: The games, Amy is depicted as driven and competitive. She spends much of her time following Sonic to get his attention or make sure he is safe while demonstrating her affection. Series co-creator Yuji Naka said that Amy was designed "to always chase Sonic", and has made it her life goal to one day marry him. Not possessing the speed or strength of the other characters, Amy uses a hammer to defend herself instead. In Sonic CD , Metal Sonic kidnaps Amy and Sonic must rescue her. When he does, Amy kisses him. Amy's first appearance in
22015-422: 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,
22200-418: 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
22385-420: 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",
22570-404: The level of strategy that the game's Chao system added. Destructoid 's Jim Sterling voiced a similar opinion, though they said that Chao had been "rubbish" in previous games. The E-100 Series is a group of robots created by Doctor Eggman , who uses them in his quest to conquer the world; however, some of their members have since gone rogue. E-100 Alpha, better known as Zero, is the first of
22755-508: The look, sound, and feel of the Sonic games", with familiar scenes and music. Sega Game Gear The Game Gear is an 8-bit fourth-generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990 in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and during 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear primarily competed with Nintendo 's Game Boy , the Atari Lynx , and NEC 's TurboExpress . It shares much of its hardware with
22940-470: The main antagonist of the series. Debuting in the first game of the series, Sonic the Hedgehog , he was shown attempting to collect the Chaos Emeralds and turn all of the animals inhabiting the land into robots. He is a self-proclaimed or certifiable genius with an IQ of 300. His fondness for mechas has made him a renowned authority on robotics. Ultimately, Eggman's goal is to conquer the world and create his ultimate utopia, Eggmanland, alternatively known as
23125-462: 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
23310-489: The new characters in the series. Voiced by: Vector the Crocodile is a large crocodile who is the "head honcho" and brains of the Chaotix Detective Agency. Divided between being both "bossy" and "easy-going", his rough speech and outward appearance mask his clear reasoning and ability to resolve cases. For the right price he will take on most jobs, unless they involve doing something immoral. Vector has
23495-430: 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
23680-401: 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
23865-534: 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
24050-408: 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
24235-416: 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
24420-541: 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
24605-478: The player could raise them as "Hero Chao" or "Dark Chao". Chao were given the ability to socialize and interact in Sonic Adventure 2 in order to make the game unique, and to more resemble "a real artificial life form."Chaos would reappears in other games included his perfect form appeared in Sonic Generations as a boss with updated appearance. Chao will appear in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 , as mascots of
24790-620: 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
24975-521: The player jumps, spins around, or throws them. A Chao's diets consist of tree fruit and coconuts . They hatch from eggs found in Chao Gardens. When the player spends enough time with a Chao in the Chao Garden, it eventually develops into a cocoon and hatches from this as an adult. Eventually it develops into another cocoon. If the Chao has been treated well, the cocoon is pink and the Chao
25160-539: 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
25345-529: 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",
25530-425: 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
25715-434: 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
25900-446: 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
26085-460: 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
26270-492: 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 ,
26455-539: 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
26640-441: The result of dozens of possible designs inspired by numerous different animals. A character with many different abilities and skills, he is physically one of the strongest characters of the Sonic series. His strength and mastery of martial arts, specializing in punches, enables him to perform feats such as shattering boulders with his fists, while he can trap air underneath his dreadlocks in order to glide for short distances. Fang
26825-558: 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
27010-759: 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
27195-409: The same sound chip, a Texas Instruments SN76489 , a programmable sound generator . The chip generated stereo sound , audible using headphones as the device only included a single monaural speaker. The system also contains 8 KB of RAM and 16 KB of video RAM . The Game Gear is 210 millimeters (8.3 in) wide, 113 mm (4.4 in) high, 38 mm (1.5 in) deep, and
27380-531: 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
27565-616: 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
27750-428: The seven Chaos Emeralds. Voiced by: E-102 Gamma also primarily appears in Sonic Adventure . He is a red, bulky robot with a powerful gun built into his arm. Gamma turns against his master after a heartfelt conversation with Amy Rose, who becomes his friend, and destroys the other E-100 Series robots to free the trapped animals inside them before ultimately doing the same to himself. He offers shoot-'em-up gameplay to
27935-486: 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
28120-569: The system was originally discontinued in 1997, third-party developer Majesco Entertainment released a version of the Game Gear at US$ 30 (equivalent to $ 50 in 2023), with $ 15 games in the year 2000. New games were released, such as a port of Super Battletank . This machine is compatible with all previous Game Gear games, but incompatible with the TV Tuner and some Master System adaptors. The system and its repressed games were likely sold throughout 2000 and 2001 but were likely discontinued
28305-455: The technical capabilities of the Sega 32X console. Espio was incorporated into Sonic Heroes as part of a move to reintroduce neglected characters, and because the development team considered him to have a unique, interesting personality. He was the designated "speed" character in Sonic Heroes while teammates Vector the Crocodile and Charmy Bee respectively represented "power" and "flight". Espio
28490-587: The traits Hoshino looked for in women at the time. Her fur color was red at first, and her skirt orange. The character had two other names in game previews: Rosy the Rascal and Princess Sally (a character in the Sonic the Hedgehog TV series and comics). Amy received her present design, with a red dress and knee-high leather boots, in Sonic Adventure (1998), courtesy of designer Yuji Uekawa . In
28675-407: 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
28860-421: 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
29045-440: The video game critics and fans for his obesity, low intelligence, one-dimensional development and uselessness within his games; he has appeared on several lists of the worst video game characters of all time and within the Sonic cast. Due to his poor reception and apparent uselessness, Sonic Team claimed they would be retiring the character from appearing in future games in 2012, although head Takashi Iizuka has since stated that
29230-509: 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
29415-470: The world before being tossed into lava by Sonic. Metal Sonic appears as a bonus playable character in Sonic Rivals , reprogrammed to aid Eggman Nega in his attempt to take over the world. He returns as a playable character in Sonic Rivals 2 , under orders from Eggman to aid Shadow in stopping Eggman Nega's plans. In Sonic Free Riders , Metal Sonic is a playable character and the final opponent in
29600-427: 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
29785-419: 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
29970-468: Was abandoned because of the technological constraints of the Dreamcast . Iizuka stated in an interview with video game publication 1UP.com that Chao were incorporated into Sonic Adventure "so that new players would be forced to go out, explore the action sections, and find Flickies and things." Professor Chao, a minor character in Sonic Adventure 2 , states that Chao are cute, and enjoy toys and being held or petted. However, they dislike being held while
30155-407: Was absent when the rest of the group was reintroduced into the series with Sonic Heroes in 2003. His long period of absence was alluded to in Sonic Generations , in which he is shown on a missing persons poster alongside fellow SegaSonic character Ray the Flying Squirrel. Both Mighty and Ray appeared as playable characters in the Sonic Mania expansion Sonic Mania Plus , as well as appearing in
30340-405: Was added to Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic Rivals 2 to help "round out our cast of characters", and because designer Takashi Iizuka appreciated the character's "stealthy agility". Espio appeared as a playable character in the arcade fighting game Sonic the Fighters , and has also appeared in all installments of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games as the referee in various events and later
30525-501: 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
30710-412: Was also the one of only mainline game characters to appear in the Sonic Boom franchise, making his debut into the sub-franchise in the season two episode; Vector Detector . He later made a few cameo appearances such as in the finale. Like the other characters he was redesigned for the series, sporting an arm tattoo and a leather jacket in place of his traditional headphones. In 2021, he was later added as
30895-524: 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
31080-442: Was designed to be played horizontally. At the center of the device was its color liquid-crystal display that measures 3.2 inches (81 mm) diagonally and is able to display up to 32 simultaneous colors from a total palette of 4,096, with a frame rate of about 60 Hz with 160 × 144 non-square pixels . The screen is backlit for low light using a small cold cathode fluorescent lamp tube. The Game Gear
31265-441: 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
31450-465: 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
31635-489: Was extended to IGN 's reviews of Sonic Adventure 2 , Sonic Advance , and Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut . GameSpot 's Shane Satterfield was critical of the Chao raising feature in Sonic Adventure 2: Battle , stating that "there's little in the way of interactivity" and that "the Chao training aspect using the Game Boy Advance is little more than a novelty." However, GameSpy 's Shane Bettenhausen praised
31820-550: 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
32005-412: Was in the arcade game Rad Mobile as a cameo, before making his official debut in Sonic the Hedgehog (1991). Sonic's greatest ability is his running speed, and he is known as the world's fastest hedgehog. Using the power of the seven Chaos Emeralds , he becomes Super Sonic and can achieve even greater speeds. Doctor Ivo Robotnik, better known by his alias Doctor Eggman, is a human mad scientist and
32190-453: 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
32375-406: 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,
32560-476: Was made by Sega's CEO Hayao Nakayama and the name was chosen by newly appointed Sega of America CEO Michael Katz. Both Sega's chairman Isao Okawa and cofounder David Rosen approved of the name. The console had been designed as a portable version of the Master System , with more powerful features than the Game Boy, including a full-color screen instead of monochromatic . According to former Sega console hardware research and development head Hideki Sato, Sega saw
32745-527: Was part of Team Chaotix in Sonic Heroes and is featured in Shadow the Hedgehog , Sonic Generations , Sonic Forces and several other games (alongside both Espio and Charmy in said games). In all instalments of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games , he is a playable athlete. He has also been playable in other spinoff titles such as Sonic Free Riders and Team Sonic Racing , and mobile games like Sonic Forces: Speed Battle and Sonic Dash . Vector
32930-971: 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
33115-435: Was powered by six AA batteries which provided an approximate battery life of 3 to 5 hours, a source of significant criticism from reviewers. To lengthen play time and reduce consumer cost, Sega released two types of external rechargeable battery packs. Available accessories included a TV Tuner with a whip antenna for the cartridge slot, to become a handheld television . Released at £74.99 (equivalent to US$ 130 ),
33300-566: 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
33485-584: 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
33670-423: 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
33855-592: 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,
34040-427: 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
34225-610: 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
#288711