Time Warp: Sonic Turns 15

Sonic the Hedgehog, we salute you! Oh great fictional character of blue pixels and "blast processing," your emergence gave wind to the sales of furry platform characters worldwide! You generated a reason to buy the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive! You fought with the deadly Super Nintendo in its heyday and won! Congratulations on such a wild ride. Now that you're a mere 15 years old, you're, ironically, one of the oldest videogame characters ever. Shall we turn back and look upon your humble beginnings? Shall we trace the wacky 'tude of yor? Now that you've sold more than 44 million games, we'll take a quick glimpse back at your history.

Originally created on the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive, Sonic the Hedgehog forged a new path in videogames. The short blue hedgehog, adorned with white gloves and shoes, lined with spikes across his back, sported a blazing speed and a clear attitude shown off in his idling animations, breaking the fifth wall and speaking directly to videogame players worldwide. Taking the beloved platform format created by Nintendo, Team Sonic (led by Yuji Naka and Naoto Ohshima) fashioned a creative and loveable style of platforming all its own.

The first game set the tone for many more Sonic games to come. Sonic's next game quickly appeared on Game Gear in the same year, followed by Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on Genesis in 1992, SegaSonic in the arcades and Sonic CD on SEGA CD, feeding demand for the loveable character that eventually become a more widely recognized character than Disney's Mickey Mouse by the mid 1990s.

Sonic's roots were born in 2D gaming, as Team Sonic's fast-paced side-scrolling gameplay enabled players to explore, reach great speeds, and always, in the end, fight and beat Dr. Robotnik (aka Eggman in Japan). The Sega Genesis proved to be the perfect place for Sonic's antics. When SEGA moved to the Saturn, a platform that never really jived with Sonic, his 2D movement wasn't captured quite as well. During the mid- to late- 1990s, Sonic's game types expanded from the original and basic 2D side-scroller to the fighting games in the arcades (Sonic the Fighters) to a pinball game (Sonic Spinball), and even to puzzles games (Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine). Sonic 3D Blast also proved to be an interesting take on the original gameplay style, as it used a mixture of free-form running and jumping with contained linear arenas and pathways.

In many gamers' minds, Sonic didn't really return to his original glory until SEGA moved past its rough Saturn days and launched a new system with the Dreamcast, which featured the fully 3D Sonic Adventure. This title mixed never-seen-before 3D running and aerial scenes with free-roaming 3D platforming situations. Players could also take on the role of five additional characters (Sonic, Tails, Big, E-102, Amy, and Knuckles), while using the Dreamcast VMU to play nurturing games with the cute little "Chaos." Many fans loved the new Sonic, but the occasionally difficult camera and the less than pleasurable exploratory levels made some gamers scratch their heads in wonder. SEGA produced a sequel, Sonic Adventure 2, which supposedly fixed problems in the first Dreamcast version, while focusing more on pure action and less adventuring.

Then there are the oddities: Sonic Shuffle, Sonic Pocket Adventure, Shadow the Hedgehog, the always controversial animated TV shows (he loves chili dogs, of course) and less controversial comic books. And SEGA's own move from its self-made systems to becoming "system agnostic," changed things drastically too.

But this is a new year and, in typical fashion, SEGA is prepared to hit the next generation systems with a totally new Sonic. In fact, this year SEGA is ushering Sonic the Hedgehog into the future with four brand new games across many platforms. Coming this November, Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis will hit Game Boy Advance. In a totally different arena, Sonic the Hedgehog will appear on Xbox 360 and PS3 in the fall. You'll see Sonic Rivals debuting on the PSP this fall, and a totally original Sonic will appear on Nintendo's Wii in 2007.

"Sonic's 15th birthday is a landmark occasion bringing SEGA and Sonic fans together to celebrate the hedgehog's trademark speed, heroism, and attitude," said Scott A. Steinberg, vice president of marketing, SEGA of America, Inc. "The breathtaking speed and gameplay innovation that Sonic introduced in 1991 will reach new heights in Sonic The Hedgehog, Sonic Rivals, and Sonic's new adventure for the Wii. These titles continue a super-Sonic legacy of ground-breaking gameplay and story elements that only next-gen consoles can deliver."

Happy birthday, wonderous creature of blue speed and 'tude! We're looking forward to your next adventure.

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