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

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

History

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

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

Appearances

Games

Sonic's debut occurred in the 1991 platform game Sonic 1 for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, which also introduced his nemesis Dr. Ivo Robotnik. His sidekick Miles "Tails" Prower joined him in the game's 1992 sequel Sonic 2, which also introduced Sonic's "Super Sonic" form and signature "spin-dash" move. Sonic CD released in 1993 introduced Sonic's self-proclaimed girlfriend Amy Rose, and his robotic doppelgänger Metal Sonic (although Sonic 2 also featured a robotic Sonic boss, often referred to as Mecha Sonic or Silver Sonic) as Sonic travelled through time to ensure a good future for the world. Sonic The Hedgehog 3 and its direct sequel Sonic & Knuckles, both released in 1994, saw Sonic and Tails, battle Robotnik again, with the additional threat of Knuckles the Echidna, tricked by Robotnik into fighting Sonic.

Other two-dimensional platformers starring Sonic include Sonic Chaos (1993), Sonic Triple Trouble (1994), Sonic Blast (1996), and Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure (1999). In 2001, 2D Sonic games started to move to Nintendo hand-held platforms. These include Sonic Advance (2001), Sonic Advance 2 (2002), Sonic Advance 3 (2004), Sonic Rush (2005) and Sonic Rush Adventure (2007). Also, a sequel to Sonic Rivals, Sonic Rivals 2, will be released for the PSP. An untitled Sonic RPG game will be released 2008 and will be developed by Canadian developer BioWare.

The first Sonic platform game in true 3D (previous games were "2.5D" isometric games), Sonic Adventure (1998) was Sonic Team's return to the character for a major game. It featured Sonic returning from vacation to find the city of Station Square under attack by a new, very powerful foe named Chaos, under the control of Dr. Robotnik (now known as Doctor Eggman). In addition to Sonic, who was given a full voice-over for the first time, six other characters were playable: Tails, Knuckles, Amy, E-102 Gamma, Big the Cat, and Super Sonic. The game featured interaction with non-playable characters and objects in 3D "Adventure" sequences, during which the game world could be freely explored. Sonic Adventure 2 (2001, on the 10th anniversary of the original 16-bit game) placed Sonic on-the-run from the military (G.U.N) after being mistaken for a new enemy, Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate Life Form. This was the first game where players could play as antagonists Dr. Eggman, Shadow, and Rouge the Bat, who are enemies. The game introduced a "grinding" gameplay aspect utilizing Soap shoes, which was retained in later 3D action games such as the team-based Sonic Heroes (2004) and the 15th anniversary title Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) which introduced the being from the future Silver the Hedgehog. A Wii game, Sonic and the Secret Rings, is the latest 3D Sonic game and the first one to feature Sonic as the only playable character in the main mode.

Sonic has also been featured in games of many genres other than 2D and 3D platform games. The first of these was a pinball game, Sonic Spinball (1993), which expanded upon the pinball sequences in the first two platform games. Sonic has also appeared in "2.5D" isometric platformers (Sonic Labyrinth and Sonic 3D Blast), racing games (Sonic Drift, Sonic R, Sonic Riders, and Sonic Rivals) and fighting games (Sonic the Fighters and Sonic Battle). A sequel to Sonic Riders is currently in development. Sonic will be appearing with long-time mascot and former rival, Mario, in an official sports game called Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, which will be released on the Wii and Nintendo DS near the end of 2007, and is the most requested third party character in the upcoming game Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which will be released on December 3, 2007 in the Americas.

Video games such as Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (1993), Knuckles Chaotix (1995), Tails' Skypatrol (1995), Tails Adventures (1995), and Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) starred supporting characters of the Sonic series. Sonic has had cameo roles in some of them. He has also made cameo appearances in numerous other Sega games such as Daytona USA and Christmas NiGHTS. Also, there have been several collections, including Sonic Mega Collection, that included the classic Sonic games.

Television series

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog was the first to feature Sonic, voiced by Jaleel White. It had a very comical take on Sonic and Tails's adventures and battles against Robotnik. Sonic the Hedgehog, originally broadcast on Saturdays on ABC, was broadcast concurrently with the syndicated Adventures series in the United States. Sonic again was voiced by White. This series was far more dark and brooding than Adventures. It contained far less slapstick and levity that featured Sonic and his "Freedom Fighter" friends fighting to save their planet, Mobius, from Robotnik in a distant future.

Sonic Underground, a show in the U.S., UK and France, ignored the continuity of the previous series, though it kept a number of elements. This series featured the introductions of sibling Sonia the Hedgehog and Manic the Hedgehog, as well as his mother Queen Aleena, the four of whom were destined to defeat Robotnik and rule Mobius as the Council of Four. White returned to voice Sonic for the third and last time, with Samuel Vincent providing his singing voice. In this series, Sonic came equipped with a magical medallion that expanded into an electric guitar. Oddly enough, the presence of Sonic's long-time comrade Tails and the power rings were completely absent. It did, however, introduce Knuckles the Echidna into the TV universe.

Additionally, there was a 1996 Sonic the Hedgehog anime OVA in Japan which featured Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Eggman, and Metal Sonic based on Sonic CD. Sonic was voiced by Masami Kikuchi in Japan, and Martin Burke in the United States where the OAV was marketed as Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie in 1999.

The latest animated Sonic television series, Sonic X, was an anime in which a massive Chaos Control blast results in Sonic and his friends being transported from his world to the human world (however, Season 3 mainly takes place in Sonic's own world). Like the other television series, it has an original storyline not present in any of the games, although some of the story arcs are adaptations of the Sonic Adventure and Sonic Battle games. Sonic is voiced by Jun'ichi Kanemaru in the Japanese version, and by Jason Griffith in the English version.

Printed media

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

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

In Japan, Sonic manga have also been published.

Cameos and popularity

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

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

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

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

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

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

The April 2002 edition of Electronic Gaming Monthly made a now-infamous hoax that Sonic & Tails were unlockable in Super Smash Bros. Melee by defeating 20 Fighting Wire Frames in Cruel Melee. This turned out to be an April Fool's prank when the cheat was entered. Before leaving Sega to form his company, PROPE, Yuji Naka stated that he would have asked Nintendo to put Sonic in Melee, but "time constrains did not allow us to continue with this idea." In August 2006 however it was confirmed that Sonic was the most requested third-party character to appear in its sequel Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii. Sonic's inclusion is stated as not being "on the cards" so his current chances are completely unknown. Around the same period of time, Yojiro Ogawa, producer of Sonic and the Secret Rings, stated in an interview with the UK's Official Nintendo magazine that "In my personal opinion, it would be great to have Sonic in it. But that would really involve Sega and Nintendo's management, it's nothing to do with me!"

Voice actors

The earliest voice of Sonic was Takeshi Kusao in the game SegaSonic the Hedgehog, a June 1993 arcade release starring Sonic the Hedgehog, Mighty the Armadillo, and Ray the Flying Squirrel.

In September 1993, DiC Entertainment cast Jaleel White, more popularly known as portraying the character of Steve Urkel in Family Matters, as Sonic in its simultaneously released shows Sonic the Hedgehog and Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. White would later be cast as Sonic for DiC's 1999 show Sonic Underground. In the segments of Sonic Underground that featured the three protagonists singing, Sonic's singing voice was provided by Samuel Vincent.

In 1996, when the Sonic the Hedgehog OVA was produced in Japan, Sonic was voiced by Masami Kikuchi. The 1999 English-language dub, Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie, featured Martin Burke in Sonic's role.

Starting with the 1999 game Sonic Adventure, all of Sonic's video games (with the exception of Sonic Advance and Sonic Advance 2) feature voice acting. Sonic was played by Junichi Kanemaru, who later went on to play Sonic in the Japanese version of Sonic X. Ryan Drummond performed the role of Sonic in Sonic Adventure and continued to play the role for several games. However, 4Kids Entertainment decided not to use Drummond's voice in its English-language dub of Sonic X, instead choosing Jason Griffith. Despite this, Drummond continued to provide the voice of Sonic in the series until 2005, when Sega replaced all its Sonic voice actors with their 4Kids counterparts, in order to keep his voice the same in all media forms, due to Deem Bristow's (who voiced Dr. Eggman) death the same year. Beginning with Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic Rush, Griffith became the official English language voice actor for Sonic the Hedgehog and Shadow the Hedgehog (and Jet the Hawk in Sonic Riders).

Character

Personality

Sonic embodies the wind, as implied in multiple games, and is described as such. He is noted for being free-spirited, adventurous, outgoing and caring, cherishing his freedom to live as he wants above all else. He is extremely impatient and will often jump into situations without thinking, and his confidence is unshakable, even in the most dire circumstances, believing that no matter how bad a situation seems his speed and courage can pull him through. He rarely ever acts serious, and often makes a large number of witty remarks. He displays an interest in rock music, and some official character art and a television commercial for Sonic Adventure suggests that he has a personal hobby as a DJ. Similarly, the SatAM and Sonic Underground cartoon series, as well as the Archie comic, have shown that Sonic is a capable guitarist. Sonic also enjoys break-dancing, as shown in several games. Though he dislikes slow moving things and tears, the only thing Sonic truly hates is oppression. It is known that Sonic dislikes and fears water because he cannot swim. Despite this, he has managed to overcome his hydrophobia throughout his adventures, going as far as braving temporary submersion.

Home

Games

In the recent games based off of information in early Japanese game manuals, Sonic's home planet is Earth. He lives at a location known as South Island during Sonic the Hedgehog, and (according to material from Sonic Team) was originally born on Christmas Island.

Before the arrival of newer games which are based mostly on the Japanese manuals and interpretations of Sonic, the older games had been localized for not only Japan, but a variety of other cultures. Through these localizations, some English-language instruction manuals referred to Sonic's home planet as "Mobius". One theory is that this name stemmed from a mistranslation of the word "Mobius" in a 1992 Sega Visions interview with Yuji Naka; some suggest he was in fact referring to a Möbius strip used in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Sonic Adventure 2 was the first newer generation game of the franchise to use the term "Earth" in-game, a standard which holds true down to the present day. Its enhanced port Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, and subsequent game Shadow the Hedgehog even show views of Earth from space.

According to the Sonic Heroes booklet,Sonic is a wanderer, going wherever the wind blows. In Sonic Battle,he lives in Emerald Town.

Television and printed media

In all American and European comics, cartoons, books and manuals published before 1999, Sonic's home is a planet called Mobius. The long-standing U.S. Sonic the Hedgehog comic expand on the relationship between Mobius and Earth, as Mobius is revealed to once having been Earth in a distant future. The British spin-off Sonic the Comic stated that the version of Mobius in that comic is a world completely separate from Earth (to the point of actual humans from Earth invading it), and is described as Earth's sister planet. In Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Underground, two other Sonic cartoon series, no relationship between Earth and Mobius had been noted.

Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie took place on a planet known as "Planet Freedom." During the course of the movie, it is explained that the world is split into two dimensions: The Land of the Sky, which is home to Sonic and his friends, and the Land of Darkness, where Dr. Eggman resides. It is heavily implied that this planet is in fact a future Earth.

Sonic's home in the Sonic X anime series is an un-named planet in an alternate reality that shares the same space as Earth, as revealed in Episode 49. This planet however appears only briefly in the series, with the majority of its episodes first taking place on Earth, and later in outer space.

Abilities

Sonic is known as "the fastest thing alive," with the ability to run at speeds higher than Mach 1. He can run backwards just as well as forwards, shown in the Team Sonic opening cutscene of Sonic Heroes and near the end of the first episode in Sonic X. In the games, his super speed has not been explained. When Sonic runs fast enough, he can create a sonic boom, which can destroy enemies in Sonic's way, and increase his momentum. Soap shoes with a similar design and color scheme were featured in Sonic Adventure 2, which introduced Sonic's ability to grind on rails.

Many of his abilities are variations on the tendency for hedgehogs to roll into tight balls for protection. Since his introduction in the first Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic's primary offensive maneuver is the basic Spin Attack (or "Sonic Spin Attack"). As Sonic jumps or runs, he curls up and spins into a spiky ball that can damage, destroy or burrow through many obstacles. This attack has been enhanced by different games into new abilities. Two of these enhancements have become mainstays of his: the Spin Dash, introduced in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Sonic revolves in a stationary spin before blasting off at full speed, and the Homing Attack, introduced in Sonic Adventure in which Sonic dashes in midair toward a target.

The Chaos Emeralds, a common feature of most Sonic games and comics, allow him to transform into his "Super form", much like the Dragonball Z manga/anime series, of Super Sonic, which increases his speed and power, grants him the ability of flight, and makes him nearly invincible. In Sonic 3 and Knuckles, he can collect an additional seven Super Emeralds in order to become Hyper Sonic. In Sonic and the Secret Rings, Sonic absorbed three of the seven World Rings and became overwhelmed with power and transformed into another form, called Darkspine Sonic.

Interaction with other characters

Miles "Tails" Prower

Sonic's best friend is a young yellow-orange, two-tailed fox called Miles "Tails" Prower (a pun on the phrase "miles per hour"). Tails is of the few who could almost keep up with Sonic by using his trademark technique of flying by rapidly spinning his tails like a helicopter rotor. Tails is also a mechanic prodigy and using his IQ of 200 and rivals Dr. Eggman with his inventions, which helps Sonic out quite often. Tails idolizes Sonic and sees him as a mentor, while Sonic views Tails as a little brother. Sonic and Tails are rarely without each other - they often go Chaos Emerald searching, or stop Eggman's plans together. In Sonic Advance 3, when the two are selected as a team, they are described as the "Unbreakable Bond." In the recent issue of Sonic the Hedgehog, "House of Cards", Tails and Sonic get into a fist fight, almost demolishing their friendship, this is because Tails and his mom tried to break out Tails' dad from the detention center of new mobotropolis.

Knuckles the Echidna

Knuckles the Echidna is both an ally and a friendly rival of Sonic, possessing strength to match Sonic's speed. They first met as enemies in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and although they are now allies, they can usually be found fighting. Although he is envious of Sonic's adventurous lifestyle, Knuckles still dislikes Sonic's carefree nature and egotism. On the other hand, Sonic sees Knuckles as being far too serious and perhaps even thickheaded. In Sonic Advance 3, when the two are selected as a team, they are described as "Fighting Buddies". A recurring theme throughout the Sonic universe is that Sonic trespasses on Knuckles' territory or duties and Knuckles worries that Sonic has unworthy intentions. Often the real villain is, of course, Eggman. Despite Sonic and Knuckles' rivalry, they sometimes treat each other like close friends.

Amy Rose

Amy Rose is a pink, young female hedgehog. Although Sonic is quite repelled by her constant advances to marry him, the two have been good friends since Sonic CD. Whenever Amy is kidnapped he comes to her rescue. In Sonic Advance 3, when the two are chosen as a team, they are described as a "Lovely Couple," though Sonic does not enjoy being partnered with her when Amy hooks arms with him. However, he does appreciate all the times Amy has pulled through for him. A page in the Special Book of [[Sonic and the Secret Rings[[ states, "Meet Amy- Sonic's ever cheerful love interest."

Cream the Rabbit

Sonic is also friends with Cream the Rabbit, a six year old female rabbit. Sonic does not converse with her very much, as they do not seem to share many interests. As is seen in Sonic Advance 2, Sonic is very impressed by her manners, though. In addition, the two of them seemed to make the biggest connection to Blaze the Cat in Sonic Rush.

Big the Cat

Sonic is acquainted with Big the Cat, an eighteen year old large purple cat. They interact in Sonic Adventure and Sonic Heroes, with Sonic rescuing Big's friend Froggy from Chaos and Big lending Sonic a Chaos Emerald in order for him to become Super Sonic.

Blaze the Cat

Blaze the Cat is a princess from another dimension, brought to Sonic's world due to a rip in the space-time continuum. At first, the other characters suggest she should seek Sonic's help - Blaze denies this and wonders why they are so dependent on him. However, through working with Sonic in order to save the universe from Eggman and Eggman Nega, Blaze learns the value of friendship, and before she goes back to her own dimension, she promises to meet him again. This promise is kept when Sonic ended up in her dimension. However, later it is revealed that Sonic wasn't the only one who made it to her dimension. Sonic archnemesis, Eggman was also in Blaze's dimension and once again working together with Eggman Nega to obtain a power that could destroy the entire universe and create 'Eggmanland'. Working together, Sonic and Blaze saved the universe once more. Before Sonic went back to his dimension, the two shook hands.

Emerl

Emerl is a robot with a sort of father-son relationship with Sonic. He formed a strong link with him. The two became close friends, with Sonic helping Emerl "grow up." At the end of Sonic Battle, when Emerl was near death, Sonic was in obvious emotional turmoil, though he never expressed sadness, rather distress.

Princess Elise

Princess Elise is the princess of Soleanna, and vessel of the "Flames of Disaster." As they are together, Sonic's company makes Elise truly happy for the first time ever since her father died. However, it has been revealed that it is only an one-sided love while Elise was having a conversation with Amy Rose. The relationship is unlikely to continue, as during Sonic the Hedgehog, their memories of each other were erased along with the entire storyline.

Shahra the Ring Genie

Shahra the Ring Genie made her first appearance in Sonic and the Secret Rings. Sonic's relationship with Shahra is very similar to his relationship with Elise. Shahra went to Sonic's world to ask for his help in order to save the world of the Arabian Nights from Erazor Djinn, a villainous genie. When Sonic and Shahra arrive inside the book Erazor shows up, and threatens Shahra's life by shooting a fire arrow at her; however, Sonic jumps in front of her and gets shot instead. Erazor then warns Sonic that the flame will burn his life away if he does not retrieve the seven World Rings for him.

Shahra then blames herself for what happened to Sonic, but he comforts her and tells her not to worry. At the end of the game after Erazor was defeated, Shahra starts crying and wishes to be back with him, Sonic then wishes for a mountain of handkerchiefs so that Shahra can cry as long as she wants to.

Team Chaotix

The three comical detectives known as Team Chaotix do not seem to know Sonic very well. They do however seem to have a friendly relationship and they were able to work together to defeat Metal Sonic without a problem.

Enemies and Rivals

Doctor Eggman/Doctor Ivo Robotnik

Sonic's eternal nemesis is Doctor Eggman, whose real name is Doctor Ivo Robotnik. Eggman is a brilliant scientist who uses his numerous machines to attempt to conquer the world, but Sonic has always intervened. The opposition between Sonic and Eggman symbolizes the conflict between nature and technology. Sonic originally fought Dr. Eggman because he was turning his animal friends into robotic slaves (known as "Badniks" in the West). After that, he tried multiple times to conquer the Earth by using the Chaos Emeralds, Time Stones, Master Emerald and Sol Emeralds. Often, these would be used to power his huge mech suits. However, in the recent games, Eggman has taken a different approach, using more realistic warships and even a nuclear missile in his bid to conquer the world. However at times when things look at their worst Sonic and Eggman put aside their differences to help save the earth from complete destruction (Eg. Sonic Adventure 2, Shadow The Hedgehog...)

Shadow the Hedgehog

Sonic's arch rival is Shadow the Hedgehog, the "Ultimate Life Form." They became rivals when they first met in Sonic Adventure 2, and they have rivalrous tendencies with each other whenever they meet in every game since, though they have a certain amount of respect for each other. They fight for different reasons, yet have similar opinions about each other. Sonic finds Shadow to be violent, humorless, and arrogant, while Shadow finds Sonic to be foolhardy, irritating and arrogant. However, near the end of Sonic Adventure 2, Shadow helped Sonic and friends stop the his creator's insane doomsday plan. Various other situations have caused them to team up in later games. It appears that Shadow is an ally to Sonic, yet at the same time he can be a threat. Sonic seems to treat Shadow as a friend, and Shadow also seems to be beginning to accept Sonic as a friend rather than just a rival. In the game Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic is available as a support character during certain missions, further reinforcing their relationship as allies.

Metal Sonic

Before Shadow's introduction, Metal Sonic, (also known as Mecha Sonic) who had debuted in Sonic CD, was one of Sonic's fiercest adversaries. In early games, Eggman tried to beat Sonic at his own game by creating numerous Sonic robots to destroy his nemesis. Though they all tried and failed, Metal Sonic was by far Eggman's most successful creation, having the same capabilities as his counterpart. Even with Shadow's current prominence, Metal Sonic still remains a serious threat.

Silver the Hedgehog

In Sonic the Hedgehog for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, a new character with vast psychic abilities by the name Silver the Hedgehog makes his first appearance. Silver comes from a distant future, where a being called Mephiles the Dark told him Sonic was the "Iblis Trigger," who would cause a worldwide catastrophe. Silver then travels to Sonic's dimension to kill Sonic before he destroys the world. When they first meet, the two battle it out. Silver almost succeeds in killing Sonic on both his attempts, but on both occasions there's somebody around to save Sonic. It is later revealed that Sonic is not the real Iblis Trigger, and the two hedgehogs set aside their differences. However, the time line is reset at the end of the game, and Sonic and Silver meet again for the first time in Sonic Rivals. They at first do not see eye-to-eye, but they work together in the end.

Jet the Hawk

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

Mario

Mario has been Sonic's rival since the early 1990s, during the days of the Super NES and the Sega Genesis. Since the appearance of Sonic Adventure 2: Battle on the Nintendo Gamecube, fans have asked that the two appear in a game together. They are both scheduled to appear in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games.

Minor characters

Alternate versions

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

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

In the American comics, Sonic's real name is revealed to be Olgilvie Maurice Hedgehog. He tries desperately to protect that information, possibly out of embarrassment. This name is not canon (official) in the game continuity, however, and he is simply known as Sonic the Hedgehog in the games.

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

Associated songs

The video games have featured several theme songs or leitmotifs for the character. Sonic is mostly associated with the rock genre.

• Sonic CD (original soundtrack): "Sonic - You Can Do Anything" - Keiko Utoku.
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2: "Wizards of the Sonic" - WestBam
• Wonderman by Right Said Fred
• "They Call Me Sonic" (1996)
• Sonic Adventure: "It Doesn't Matter" - Crush 40 (Tony Harnell).
• Sonic Adventure 2: "It Doesn't Matter" (remake) - Ted Poley.
• Sonic Heroes: "We Can" - Tony Harnell, Ted Poley. This was a team theme shared with Tails and Knuckles.
• Sonic Riders: "High Flying Groove" - Tomonori Sawada. This was also a team theme shared with Tails and Knuckles.
• Sonic the Hedgehog: "His World" - Ali Tabatabaee and Matty Lewis.
  • "Sweet Dreams" (remake) - Dreams Come True feat. Akon. This was the ending theme for Sonic's story.
• Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie: "Look Alike" - Konaka Riu.

References

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

1. Kent, Steven. "Chapter 23". The Ultimate History of Video Games: The Story Behind the Craze that Touched our Lives and Changed the World. Roseville, California: Prima Publishing. p. 428. ISBN 0-7615-3643-4. the "t" in Sonic the Hedgehog is capitalized. Sega marketing wizard Al Nilsen had the "the" registered as Sonic's middle name.
2. ^ Kennedy, Sam. "The Essential 50: Sonic the Hedgehog". 1up.com. Retrieved 2006-06-03.
3. "Sega Announces Sonic's charge onto the Wii Console". Sega of America. 2006-05-09. Retrieved 2006-06-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
4. Horowitz, Ken. "Sega Stars: Yuji Naka". Sega-16. Retrieved 2006-06-20.
5. ^ Matte, Jared. "Sonic Encyclopaedia: Sonic the Hedgehog". The GHZ. Retrieved 2006-02-17.
6. Davies, Ben. Lopez, Miguel. "History of Sega, part 4". GameSpot. Retrieved 2006-06-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
7. "Sega Visions Interview with Yuji Naka". 1992. Retrieved 2007-06-28. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
8. "Masato Nakamura interview" (flash). Sonic Central. Retrieved 2006-02-07.
9. Sega Video Game Illustrations. Nippon Shuppan Hanbai (Deutschland) GmbH. 1994. ISBN 3-910052-50-9.
10. "Digest Number 1008". Retrieved 2007-09-05.
11. http://www.sega.com/games/game_temp.php?game=sonicrivals2&id=hp_news&lid=gp_sonicrivals2&lpos=hp_news
12. http://www.bioware.com/bioware_info/press_releases/2007_06_21_Sonic_DS/
13. "Sega talks Sonic Riders, Part Two". GameSpy. 2006-01-26. Retrieved 2006-26-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
16. ^ "Full credits of "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog"". IMDb. 1993–1996. Retrieved 2006-06-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
17. ^ "Full credits of "Sonic the Hedgehog"". IMDb. 1993–1995. Retrieved 2006-06-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
18. ^ "Full credits of "Sonic Underground"". IMDb. 1999. Retrieved 2006-06-27.
19. ^ "Full credits of "Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie"". IMDb. 1999. Retrieved 2006-06-27.
20. ^ "Full credits of "Sonic X"". IMDb. 2003–2006. Retrieved 2006-06-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
21. Yarris, Lynn (2005-11-05). "Sonic the Hedgehog and the Fate of Neural Stem Cells". Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Retrieved 2006-06-23.
22. "Formula One Motor Racing FAQ, part 2". Internet FAQ Archives. Retrieved 2007-01-05. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
23. Matte, Jared. "1993: Year of the Mega Drive". The GHZ. Retrieved 2006-06-03.
24. Crecente, Brian (2006-05-22). "Giant Pikachu Runs Flights Through NYC". Kotaku. Retrieved 2006-06-26.
25. Cherry, James (1997). "Marge Be Not Proud". The Simpsons Archive. Retrieved 2006-06-24.
26. DetErest. "Sonic & Tails Rumor, SSBM". Detstar. Retrieved 2006-06-24.
27. http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/4451/sonicinmeleeis4.jpg
28. Wowzer (2006-08-21). "Smash Bros. Brawl Creators Hint at Sonic". Slashdot. Retrieved 2006-12-25.
29. "Secret Rings director talks Sonic in Brawl". aussie-nintendo.com. Retrieved 2007-02-21.
30. Matte, Jared. "SegaSonic the Hedgehog". The GHZ. Retrieved 2006-06-03.
31. Information taken from the credits of both Sonic Adventure games, the Sonic Advance series, and Sonic the Heroes.
32. "Sonic Voice Actors Replaced With Sonic X Cast!". SonicAnime.net forum. 2005-10-09.
33. Sonic Team. "Sonic as DJ (1/2)". Sonic Art Archive. Retrieved 2006-06-13.
34. Sonic Team. "Sonic as DJ (2/2)". Sonic Art Archive. Retrieved 2006-06-13.
35. "Mary Garnet Story (translated from the Japanese original)". Retrieved 2006-03-14.
36. Nuclear Envoy. "Where does Sonic come from?". Concept: Mobius. Retrieved 2006-06-21.
37. Penders, Ken (w), Valentino, Jim (i). "Parallel Paradigm" Sonic Super Special, no. 7, p. 42/3 (2004-11-17). Archie Comics.
38. Dimps. Sonic Rush. Sega.
39. Nuclear Envoy. "REAL Character Profile - Blaze". Concept: Mobius. Retrieved 2006-07-25.
40. "Sonic profiles, Sonic Encyclopedia". Sonic HQ. Retrieved 2006-06-26.

External links

• Sonic Central - Official Sonic the Hedgehog microsite at Sega.com
• Sonic at Sonic Channel - Official Japanese website
• Sonic City - Official European Sonic the Hedgehog website
• Sonic the Hedgehog - Concept: Mobius character profile

• Characters introduced in 1991
• Sonic the Hedgehog characters
• Fictional characters who can move at superhuman speeds
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• Fictional characters who can teleport