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Sonic the Hedgehog series
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style="font-size: larger;" | Sonic the Hedgehog (series)
Sonic the Hedgehog | | Developers: | Sega/Sonic Team |
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| Debut game: | Sonic the Hedgehog |
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Sonic the Hedgehog is a franchise of video games released by Sega starring and named after its mascot character Sonic the Hedgehog. The series began in 1991 with the release of Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, in addition to an 8-bit version of the game for the Master System and Game Gear formats. Sonic was responsible for turning Sega into a leading video game company during the 16-bit era, and his first game soon replaced Altered Beast as the default pack-in game for the Mega Drive/Genesis in North America and Europe. As of 2008, the franchise has sold more than 50 million copies of its individual games.
The Sega division responsible for the first game in the series was called Sonic Team, and the group has since developed many titles in the franchise. Prominent members of its initial staff included programmer Yuji Naka, designer Naoto Ohshima and game planner Hirokazu Yasuhara. Other developers of Sonic games have included American Sega Technical Institute, Japanese Dimps, Canadian BioWare, and British Traveller's Tales.
OverviewNearly all games in the series feature a teenage hedgehog named "Sonic the Hedgehog" as the central player character and protagonist. The games feature Sonic's attempts to save his planet from various threats, primarily the evil genius Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik. The main antagonist throughout the series, Robotnik's aim is to rule the Earth and establish the Eggman Empire; to achieve this, he usually attempts to eliminate Sonic and acquire the powerful Chaos Emeralds. Many English-language Sonic products give Sonic's home as a fictional planet called Mobius, although this is believed to stem from a mistranslated interview with Yuji Naka mentioning the use of Möbius strips in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
16-bit era
The original four main Sonic titles for the Mega Drive/Genesis, released between 1991 and 1994, were Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic 2, Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles. These two dimensional Sonic titles are platform games viewed from a side-on perspective. Their controls are fairly basic and do not deviate much from the genre standard; the selling point of the series is the high-speed gameplay. The series' game engines allow characters to run up walls and ceilings, and roller coaster-like loops and corkscrews are common, as are giant pinball machines with flippers and bumpers which knock Sonic around like a ball. The games also feature numerous sections involving more precise jumping to traverse platforms and avoid hazards. In the first three games, it is possible to manually edit levels through use of a code.
In 1993, Sonic CD was released on the Mega Drive/Genesis add-on device, the Sega Mega-CD. In 1996 the game was ported to PC CD-ROM.
Another Sonic game from the 16-bit era was the spin-off Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball, a pinball simulation with a story based in the Sonic universe. It was the first Sonic game to be developed entirely within the United States.
32-bit eraThe Sega Technical Institute tried to develop a Sonic game for the Saturn called Sonic X-treme. This game was intended to compete with Nintendo's Super Mario 64 and Sony's Crash Bandicoot. However, due to time constraints and issues between STI and the Japanese division of Sega and Sonic Team, the project was canceled in the last months of 1996.
(also known as Sonic 3D Blast), an isometric, pseudo-3D ("2.5D") game, was released for the Mega Drive/Genesis in 1996. Sega Saturn and Windows PC conversions followed to cover the hole of the cancellation of Sonic X-treme. They had enhanced graphics and a different sound track, composed by Richard Jacques. Sonic 3D was developed by Traveller's Tales, although Sonic Team worked on the Special Stages in the Saturn/PC version.
In 1997, a compilation entitled Sonic Jam was released for the Saturn. In addition to containing Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic 2, Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, it also included a "Sonic World" mode. This allowed the player to control Sonic in a small 3D world similar to the Green Hill Zone from the original game; it contained no enemies and was mainly a means of accessing the disc's multimedia features.
During the same year the Sonic series' first full 3D game, a racing spin-off title called Sonic R, was released for the Saturn and later ported to PC.
The most known leap into 3D platforming was made with Sonic Adventure, a launch title for the Sega Dreamcast console. This was also the first game in the series to feature voice-acting. On 19 June 2001 in North America|Sonic the Hedgehog]]), Sonic Adventure 2 was launched. In late 2001, first being released in Japan, then in Europe and America in early 2002, Sonic Adventure 2 was ported to the Nintendo GameCube under the title of Sonic Adventure 2 Battle.
In late 2002, another compilation entitled Sonic Mega Collection was released on the Nintendo GameCube. Similar to Sonic Jam, the game featured classic Sonic titles and unlockable games and extra bonus material. In late 2004 it was ported to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox under the name of Sonic Mega Collection Plus which included additional games, a PC version was also released in 2006.
In 2003 Sonic Adventure was ported to the Nintendo GameCube and Windows PC under the title of , featuring some enhancements to the Dreamcast version. The first multiplatform game in the Sonic series, Sonic Heroes, was released on the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox on December 30, 2003 in Japan, with American and European releases following soon after, and a PC version the following November. The platforming was largely similar to that of the Adventure titles, although the player now controlled the lead character of a team of three themed characters, with the other two following closely behind. The player could switch to a new leader at any time, in order to make use of that character's special skills.
In 2005, the Sonic series was given a star on the Walk of Game. That same year, Sega released Shadow the Hedgehog. It is the first game in the series that utilizes weapons as a part of the core gameplay.
In November 2006, Sonic the Hedgehog, the first Sonic game for the seventh home console generation, was released for the Xbox 360, with a PlayStation 3 version in January 2007. Soon after, in spring of 2007, Sonic and the Secret Rings was released for the Wii. Just recently, a new game known as Sonic Unleashed was announced, and it is to be released on all 3 next-generation consoles and the Playstation 2. In an upcoming issue of Nintendo Power, there will be a preview of a new Wii-exclusive game called Sonic and the Black Knight.
CharactersCommon features Rings One distinctive and recurring feature of Sonic games are the collectible golden Rings spread throughout the levels. This gameplay device allows players possessing at least one ring to survive upon sustaining damage from an enemy or hazardous object. Instead of dying, the player's rings are scattered; in most Sonic games, a hit will cause the player to lose all of his rings, although in certain situations and in certain games, a hit only costs a set number of rings rather than the entire collection.
Some causes of death cannot be prevented by holding a ring, including being crushed, falling into a bottomless pit, drowning, and running out of time.
In line with many platform games, collecting 100 rings will usually reward Sonic (or any other playable character) with an extra life. Certain titles in the series often reward the collection of 50 rings, in conjunction with the Chaos Emeralds; to access the Special Stages in which the Chaos Emeralds may be obtained, or to utilize a character's super transformation.
Chaos Emeralds
The are seven emeralds, (six in the original, eight in Sonic The Fighters) with mystical powers, and a recurring feature of Sonic games. Multiple sets of emeralds have appeared in several settings like South Island, West Side Island and Angel Island. They are the basis of most of the games' plots, and the player is frequently required to collect them all in order to fully defeat Doctor Robotnik and achieve the games' "good endings", super forms, or both. The method used to acquire the Emeralds differs between titles in the series. Most early games require the player to find the emeralds in Special Stages. In some games, such as Sonic R and the 8-bit versions of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the emeralds can be found in hidden locations within the main levels. In most later games, the Chaos Emeralds are found by the characters throughout the games' story modes, and do not need to be "found" by the player. The Chaos Emeralds have gone through various redesigns as the series evolved. As of present they are no longer known as the octagonal shape that they were before, and have acquired a more traditional shape of a gem, specifically, brilliant-cut. Tails has stated that the Chaos Emeralds "turn thoughts into power" while others say they have the power to warp time and space, however both could be true.
The Master Emerald The resides in a shrine on Angel Island and is guarded by Knuckles the Echidna. It is used to keep Angel Island afloat in the sky. In Sonic and Knuckles, it was stolen by Dr. Robotnik in order to power up a weapon/ship of his called the Death Egg. In Sonic Adventure, the Master Emerald is shattered, and Knuckles must collect the shards as part of his individual story. The Emerald also has the power to fully control everything that the Chaos Emeralds do, including the ability to negate the energy of the Chaos Emeralds, as seen in Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2, or empower them, as seen in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles. The Master Emerald can also be used to power mechanical devices, and has been coveted by Dr. Robotnik since his discovery of it. During Knuckles' final boss fight in Sonic & Knuckles, Mecha Sonic powers up using the Master Emerald into a Super form.
Super Emeralds The Super Emeralds only appeared in Sonic 3 & Knuckles, a game accessable only through use of the lock-on technology to combine Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic the Hedgehog 3. The Super Emeralds appear when all 7 Chaos Emeralds are placed in specific positions on the altar of Hidden Palace Zone. After successfully collecting all 7 Super Emeralds in addition to the 7 Chaos Emeralds the player is rewarded by having access to a new more powerful form for their character of choice.
Special Stages Usually, a Chaos Emerald may be earned in a Special Stage or Special Zone. Special Stages usually take place in surreal environments and feature alternate gameplay mechanics to the standard platforming of the main levels: the 16-bit Sonic the Hedgehog consisted of a giant rotating maze, which many considered a major technical achievement; Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic 3-D Blast, Sonic Heroes and Sonic Rush featured "in your face" segments with the hedgehog running along a long tunnel, with a variant of this used for Knuckles Chaotix, Sonic Advance, and Sonic Advance 3; 3-D "collect items" levels, as in Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, which used the same perspective but had Sonic collecting all the blue-colored orbs on the surface of a giant sphere, and a different version, the 3-D ring-collecting Special Stage, used in Sonic Advance 2. Sonic Chaos (Sonic and Tails in Japan) utilized a variety of gimmicks for its levels.
As the Emeralds of the 8-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog were hidden in the main stages, the game's spring-filled Special Stages were merely used as a means of adding variety, and for a player to increase their score. Similarly, Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, in addition to their main Special Stages, featured entirely optional bonus stages, one of which combined the rotating maze of the 16-bit Sonic the Hedgehog with the pinball gambling of Sonic the Hedgehog 2; Sonic Heroes had an alternate Special Stage for earning lots of 1-ups.
Just as the design of the Special Stages has changed, so has the means of accessing them. While some games require you to collect a certain amount of rings, others merely require you to touch special object throughout the levels.
Super transformation
Super transformations are a staple for the series where collecting all Chaos Emeralds allows the player to transform his character of choice into a more powerful version of himself. Super transformations made their first appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Since then, Sonic has had the ability to transform into the extremely fast and nearly invulnerable Super Sonic once all seven Chaos Emeralds are collected. After attaining all Emeralds, Super Sonic can be used in any of the following levels once 50 rings have been collected, although one ring is lost for every second Sonic remains in this form. In Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, Tails and Knuckles were also shown to have this ability. In addition, in Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Sonic is also able to achieve a Hyper Sonic status after gaining all seven super emeralds. Knuckles can achieve this as well. This status, however, seems to have been dropped from all subsequent installments of the series.
In the Sonic Adventure titles, the Special Stages were omitted entirely and Chaos Emeralds were collected in non-interactive cut-scenes as part of the story, with Super Sonic and other super characters only appearing in the final boss fights. Despite several games since returning to the emerald-collecting of the 2D platform titles (including the Advance series, Heroes, and the Rush series), Super Sonic has remained unplayable in the games proper, appearing only at the game's end in an extra unlockable final boss fight. Other characters including Shadow the Hedgehog, Silver the Hedgehog and Blaze the Cat are shown to have super transformations, but as with Sonic, they only appear in final battles.
Item boxes Known also as Monitors in the early games, these are containers that hold power-ups and appear frequently throughout the stages. An icon on each box indicates what it contains, and the player releases the item by destroying the box. In the early games, item boxes resembled television sets and could only be destroyed with an attack; in later titles they became transparent, capsule-like objects easily destroyed with one touch. The most common items in boxes include rings, a barrier (or shield), invincibility, high speed (or power sneakers) and 1-ups.
Ring boxes give the player the number of rings shown on the box. They come in 5, 10, 15, 20 and randomly-determined amounts between 1 and 40 Ring varieties. In games prior to Sonic Adventure, these boxes were known as "Super Ring" and always gave 10 Rings.
The barrier is a spherical energy shield which surrounds and protects the player's character from one attack; when hit, the barrier is lost instead of rings or a life. In Sonic 3 and later games, additional barriers were introduced which give the player special abilities for as long as the shield is active. These include the ability to magnetically attract rings (Sonic 3 onwards), breathe underwater (Sonic 3 only), and even damage nearby enemies (Shadow the Hedgehog).
Invincibility temporarily covers the player character in small flashing stars that protect against damage done by enemies and obstacles, and lets the player destroy enemies by touching them. The Ring count will not decrease for as long as the music plays. In some games, such as Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, the player will earn twice as many points than normal while invincible. Typically, the game's background music is replaced by a game-specific "invincibility theme" for the duration of the item's effect. In the later games the stars were replaced by a glow surrounding the character.
High speed boxes give the player character enhanced speed for a limited time. In the earlier games, the background music increases in tempo for the duration of the power up, while in later games a jingle plays during the speed-up.
1-up boxes display the face of the player's character and give the player one extra life. This lets the player restart the level either at the starting point, or, if one has been passed, by the last checkpoint in the event the player loses on a stage. Multiple lives can be collected, generally up to 99.
Giant Rings So-called "Giant Rings" were featured in a few Sonic games, mainly from the 16-bit era. They served as a portal to enter a Special Stage, where the player could collect one of the Chaos Emeralds or, in certain circumstances, Super Emeralds. In Sonic the Hedgehog 3, if all the Emeralds had already been found, touching them would reward the player with fifty rings. In most of the newer games since Sonic Adventure 2, these giant rings have been renamed Goal Rings and have taken the place of the old signposts as the end level marker, which ends the level upon touching it.
Checkpoints Checkpoints, originally called Lamp Posts and Star Posts, are items placed throughout the stages in Sonic games. If the player runs through one, their game is "saved", and if the player loses a life on the same stage, they will start over at the last checkpoint passed, although one life is lost and all score points are reset. Checkpoints also serve other uses in various games, such as entering Special Stages in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic 3, and leveling up in Sonic Heroes. In the 3D games before Sonic Heroes, and a few after, when holding a certain amount of rings, the player can gain power-ups usually found in item boxes from passing through checkpoints. One of these can be used as an in-stage weapon if hit in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Goals Levels in most 2D Sonic games are referred to as "Zones", each of which is split into one or more sections referred to as "Acts". The far end of each Act is marked by a sign post showing the face of Dr. Robotnik, and passing this causes it to spin round and display a different image, usually the face of the player's chosen character (or sonic). Upon defeating the boss at the end of each Zone, the player is presented with a large capsule containing small animals imprisoned by Eggman; hitting a button on the cage will free the animals and clear that Zone. This basic concept of two types of goals is present in most 2D Sonic games, although some use variations such as rewarding the player depending on which picture is shown on the spinning sign post.
Sonic Adventure continued the trend of having a cage filled with animals as the ultimate goal in each level, although more recent Sonic games from Sonic Adventure 2 have a goal ring at the end of each act, which ends the stage when touched and gives the player a rank based on their time and score. (The exception to this is Sonic Rush Adventure, which uses a treasure chest at the end of each standard level)
Springs In every game springs are found throughout the map. They will catapult the player at high speeds in a certain direction. They are mostly used to allow the player to proceed but some are used to hinder the player, by either sending them back towards a dangerous area or by creating a loop between two springs. Some are also hidden and are used to access special areas with either a powerup, a cache of powerups, or to access special stages. Springs also serve as Sonic's Special Jump (Up + Special Move button) move in Super Smash Bros Brawl.
AnimalsSonic's universe is populated with 'normal', less distinctive animals as well as anthropomorphic ones. These small animals (referred to as "Sonic's friends" in earlier games) are often used by Dr. Eggman as "organic batteries" to power his robot armies. The trapped animal inside can be freed usually by hitting the robot and destroying its metal case. The small animals originally served as the major population of Sonic's world before Sonic Adventure introduced human populations and cities.
The original seven different animals from Sonic 1 were characterized in different ways in different markets. In Japan, they were given profiles and names in the game's instruction manual; the Western manuals, conversely, made no mention of them, leaving various SEGA media such as Stay Sonic guidebook and the UK's Sonic the Comic to establish the Western names for these characters. The original seven animals are:
- Flicky: The most prominently used animal in Eggman's implantations, this small bird's first appearance in the gaming industry actually outdates Sonic. Flicky and its respective game were alluded to in Sonic 3D Blast. Of the seven initial animals, this is the only one to have a consistent name in all regions. Flickies were last used by Eggman to power his E-Series line in Sonic Adventure.
- Ricky: This brown squirrel or chipmunk.
- Pocky: A grey rabbit that is freed in the Green Hill zone, the first Sonic level.
- Rocky: A white walrus or seal.
- Picky: A small pig.
- Pecky: A black penguin usually freed in aquatic levels.
- Klucky: A white chicken.
MusicNumerous composers have worked on the music of games in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Masato Nakamura of J-pop band Dreams Come True was responsible for the music of the first two 16-bit games. Ys/Streets of Rage composer Yuzo Koshiro composed the tunes for the first 8-bit title, barring what was retained from the 16-bit version.
Sega's in-house music company, Wave Master, did the majority of the music in later titles. One Wave Master employee, Jun Senoue, is part of the band Crush 40, and through his ties to the band they have played the main theme tunes of both of the Sonic Adventure games, Sonic Heroes, and Shadow the Hedgehog. Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog also featured other bands, such as Julien-K. For the 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog game, Senoue and Crush 40 performed a remix of "All Hail Shadow" to play as Shadow the Hedgehog's theme for the game.
Richard Jacques, a frequent composer of music for Sega games, contributed to the soundtracks of Sonic R and the Saturn/PC version of . Runblebee has done songs for Sonic games such as Sonic Riders and Sonic and the Secret Rings, and Steve Conte performed the Sonic and the Secret Rings main theme, "Seven Rings In Hand", as well as it's end theme "Worth A Chance".
Other media Animations The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (or AoStH for short) is an American animated television series that was first broadcast in September 1993, and ran in cartoon syndication for a number of years afterwards. It follows the escapades of Sonic and Tails as they stop the evil Dr. Ivo Robotnik and his array of vicious robots from taking over the planet Mobius. The plots very loosely followed the storyline of the video games series; at the time the Sonic games were still quite new, and lacking much plot or character development, which was in turn filled in by the show's writers.
The animated television series simply called Sonic the Hedgehog originally aired from September 1993 to June 1995. While Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog is known for its bright colors and whimsical humor, Sonic the Hedgehog featured darker stories which constituted a departure from the tone of the Sonic games of the time. In order to distinguish this cartoon from the character and video games with which it shares a name, fans typically refer to the series as SatAM, because it was a Saturday morning cartoon while Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog aired on weekdays in syndication.
A two-episode OVA series based upon the game Sonic CD and the video game series as a whole, was released in Japan in 1996 and released as an English dub in North America in 1999. Unlike the games, the film takes place on a world named Planet Freedom that, as with many anime series, appears to be a crossbreed of a fairytale land and Earth.
The cartoon Sonic Underground ran for only one season, in 1999; it bears little relation to other entries featuring Sonic (including previous games, comics and animated series), and shares few established characters. Forty episodes were produced and released. Unlike its predecessor, SatAM, the heroes do not remain in a sanctuary-like refuge but instead travel around Mobius to battle Robotnik's forces on a global scale. The Mobian civilization featured in the series includes multiple cities, a poor underclass and an aristocracy for the heroes to interact with. Sonic Underground is the only animated series based on Sonic where Tails has not made an appearance.
The anime Sonic X is the longest-running and most successful animated series based on Sonic to date. Originally a 52 episode series that would be inspired by the storylines of the Sonic Adventure series, Sonic X has since expanded to 78 episodes with the latest 26 episodes set primarily in outer space. The series borrows more from the games than any other Sonic cartoon before it; with the exception of Blaze the Cat, E-123 Omega, Babylon Rogues, Silver the Hedgehog, and Metal Sonic, every significant and playable video game character has made an appearance in the series. Sonic X is also the only animated series to include Super Sonic.
Comics The Sonic the Hedgehog manga series, published in Shogakukan's Shogaku Yonensei (literally "fourth-year student") was written by Kenji Terada and it was illustrated by Sango Norimoto. The manga, which started in 1992, was about a hedgehog boy named Nicky who can turn into Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic fights Eggman, with Tails tagging along to help him.
Sonic the Comic, was a UK children's comic published by Fleetway Editions between 1993 and 2002. Labelled "The UK's official Sega comic", Sonic the Comic was one of few pieces of Sonic fiction to faithfully replicate the world of the 16-bit era video games: elements and terms from the games such as zones, rings, item boxes and star posts were incorporated into the comic. The publication's own identity and ongoing storyline and setting were established with a story in which Sonic, Tails and their friends were sent forward in time six months. During their absence, Doctor Robotnik conquered the entire planet Mobius, and Sonic's group were forced underground, operating as "freedom fighters" attempting to bring down Robotnik's rule of the planet. Due to an aggressive series of budget cuts on the part of Fleetway, the series went into full reprint by issue 184; the final story ended with a number of loose ends left untied.
Sonic the Hedgehog is an ongoing series of American comic books published by Archie Comics. All of Archie's Sonic-related series, miniseries and specials take place in the same fictional universe. This universe features a mixture of characters, settings and situations from the video games, the SatAM cartoon, the various other incarnations of Sonic, and many elements unique to the comic universe.
Sonic X is the title of an ongoing comic book series also published by Archie Comics that exists to supplement the stories from the animated series of the same name. It began in September 2005 and was originally meant to be a four-part series; due to the positive reaction to the series' announcement, it was extended to ongoing status before the first issue premiered. The comic is unique in that it is not directly based on the games; the comic is based on the television show and takes place in its expanded fictional universe. The comic borrows elements from the series first two seasons of the show and characters from the Sonic Adventure storyline.
External links Official
- Official American website
- Official European website
- Official Japanese website
Commercial
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- Compilation of Sonic flash video games
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Category at the Open Directory Project (www.dmoz.org)
Wikia
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