Sonic the Hedgehog (character)

Sonic The Hedgehog
'Sonic The Hedgehog' character
File:Sonic-the-hedgehog.jpg Sonic The Hedgehog has been Sega's mascot for over fifteen years.
First game	Sonic The Hedgehog (1991)
Created by	Naoto Ōshima Yuji Naka

This article is about the video game character. For the Sonic the Hedgehog comic book version, see Sonic the Hedgehog (comic character).

Sonic The Hedgehog (ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ, Sonikku za Hejjihoggu) is a video game character and the protagonist of a series of video games 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 (also Sonic's birthday) in order to provide Sega with a mascot to rival Nintendo's flagship character Mario. 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

In April 1990, Sega requested 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. 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.

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At left is official Sonic artwork from the original design of Sonic The Hedgehog game (artwork by Akira Watanabe) and at right is an artwork in the style of the new generation Sonic games.

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 Naoto Ohshima was quite short and childlike, with short quills, a round body, no visible irises and one large eye ( he has one eye but two pupils). Artwork featuring this design and drawn by Akira Watanabe 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.[3]

Sonic's cobalt blue pigmentation was chosen to match Sega and Sonic Team's cobalt blue logos. One origin story was provided in a promotional comic for the original game featured in Disney Adventures, Garfield Magazine, and other children's periodicals, which was later elaborated upon in Mike Pattenden's Stay Sonic, a book about the character published in the UK. This explanation, in which the shockwaves Sonic experienced when he first ran at supersonic speed turned him blue and streamlined his spikes, later became the basic origin for many subsequent UK publications such as Egmont Fleetway's Sonic the Comic.

Appearances

Games

Main article: Sonic the Hedgehog (series)

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Title screen of the original Sonic the Hedgehog video game.

Sonic's debut occurred in the 1991 platform game Sonic 1 for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, which also introduced his nemesis Doctor 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, as Sonic traveled through time to ensure a good future for the world. Sonic 3 and 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 2D platformers starring Sonic include Sonic Chaos (1993), Sonic Triple Trouble (1994), Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure (1999), the Sonic Advance games (2001, 2002, 2004) and Sonic Rush (2005).

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Sonic with his Soap shoes from Sonic Adventure 2

The first Sonic platform game in true 3D, Sonic Adventure (1998) was the original developer 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 Doctor Ivo Robotnik (better known as Doctor Eggman). It introduced Sonic's Homing Attack as a standard move, included power-ups that awarded him extra abilities for the rest of the game, and featured interaction with non-playable characters and objects in 3D "Adventure" sequences, during which the game world could be freely explored. In addition to Sonic, who was given a full voice-over for the first time, five other major characters (Tails, Knuckles, Amy, E-102 Gamma and Big the Cat) were playable, plus Super Sonic. 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. This was the first game where you could play as antagonists (Dr. Eggman, Shadow and Rouge the Bat). 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 powerful 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. It has also been made possible to download the first ever Sonic game, originally made for the Sega Megadrive, on the Wii.

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 may be currently in development. Sonic will be appearing with longtime mascot 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.

Video games such as Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (1993), Tails Adventures (1995), Knuckles Chaotix (1995) and Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) starred supporting characters of the Sonic series. Sonic has had cameo roles in some of them. The hedgehog has also made cameo appearances in numerous other Sega games such as Daytona USA and Christmas NiGHTS.

Television series

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Sonic in the Sonic X anime.

There have been several animated television series featuring Sonic. Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog was the first and featured Sonic, voiced by Jaleel White, and Robotnik, voiced by Long John Baldry. 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 was voiced by Jaleel White, and Robotnik was voiced by Jim Cummings. Dubbed SatAM by fans, this series was far more dark and brooding than Adventures. It featured Sonic and his "Freedom Fighter" friends fighting to save their planet, Mobius, from the maniacal Dr. Robotnik in the 33rd Century (3235).

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 Dr. Robotnik and rule Mobius as the Council of Four. White returned to voice Sonic, with Samuel Vincent providing his singing voice, while Robotnik was voiced by Gary Chalk. In this series, Sonic came equipped with a magical medallion that expanded into an electric guitar.

Additionally, there was a 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.

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 it can be viewed as an elaboration upon the Sonic Adventure games. Music from the games is used during select key moments in the series, and several animation sequences strongly resemble cut-scenes from the console titles. In addition, the characters' designs are based upon the more recent Sonic games' character designs. Sonic is voiced by Jun'ichi Kanemaru in the Japanese version, and by Jason Griffith in the English version.

Books and comics

Main article: List of Sonic the Hedgehog 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 Dr. 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.

In Japan, Sonic manga have 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. After having been around only three years, he had already surpassed Nintendo's Mario in popularity according to a June 1993 Q-Survey in Gameplayers magazine. 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 on the team's uniform. During the 1993 Formula One championship, Sega sponsored the Williams Grand Prix team, which won the Contructors' 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.

Other references are present in television programs, including a brief appearance in the episode of The Simpsons entitled "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. He has also done quite well in the annual Character Battle contests held on GameFAQs.

The April 2002 edition of Electronic Gaming Monthly made a 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. Around the same period of time, Tips & Tricks reported that Nintendo has already contacted Sega and Yuji Naka, but Nintendo is still waiting for a final decision. In the October 2006 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, Shigeru Miyamoto stated that Sonic would be a perfect character for Brawl. An article in the first issue of a Swedish Nintendo Magazine named "+N" makes a report that Sonic the Hedgehog will be a playable character, though the magazine's credibility is questionable. 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 Sonic and Nintendo's management, it's nothing to do with me!"

The blue Pipo Monkeys in the Ape Escape series are lightning fast and have slick personalities, similar to those of Sonic. A Gotcha Gadget called the Super Hoop resembles Sonic due to its blueness and its purpose. In Ape Escape 2, there is a character called Blue Monkey. He shares many attributes of the Hedgehog, such as being blue and lightning fast. At the time Ape Escape 2 was released, Blue Monkey's voice actor resembled a previous voice actor for Sonic, Ryan Drummond: teenage-ish and sinister.

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. In the games, his super speed has not been explained, although according to the official American Sega website,[4] he was born with this ability. A promotional comic printed in Disney Adventures magazine and other publications in 1991 established an origin story (later used in numerous British publications including Stay Sonic and Sonic the Comic) in which his insane running ability was achieved through training on a high-tech treadmill until he surpassed the speed of sound. Stay Sonic also gave his fastest recorded speed as 760 mph, while in the Sonic the Hedgehog comics, a response to a piece of fan mail stated that the fastest he ever ran was Mach 2. In his super form, he can travel at the speed of light. However, it is thought by many that in the Sonic Universe, hedgehogs just have a natural ability to run fast, illustrated by Amy and Shadow both appearing as speed characters in Sonic Heroes and following games, however Silver was not able to run nearly as fast as his other hedgehog counterparts, so this belief, while probably true, is unconfirmed. In both Stay Sonic and the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon, Sonic's distinctive "Power Sneaker" shoes are used to protect his feet from the heat arising from the friction involved when running at such speeds. Soap shoes with a similar design and color scheme were featured in Sonic Adventure 2, which introduced Sonic's ability to grind on rails.

In the original 2D games, once Sonic had reached his top speed, he ran with his arms fixed pointing forwards. However, in the 3D titles, Sonic CD, and the Sonic Advance series, his top-speed running animation was altered so that his arms trailed either behind him or straight out and that he leaned forwards more. This animation is copied by most of the other, super-fast characters.

Many of his abilities are variations on the tendency for hedgehogs to roll into tight balls for protection. His primary offensive maneuver is the spin jump (or "Sonic Spin Attack"). As Sonic jumps, he curls up and spins round, damaging any enemies which come into contact with him. This ability was enhanced in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 with the introduction of the "Insta-Shield", which allows Sonic to momentarily surround himself with a spherical force field, giving him a split-second's worth of protection against certain projectles, and slightly increasing his attack range while jumping.

He can also curl into a ball while running, allowing his momentum to carry him along in an equally dangerous attack. Although well-protected, in this position, he cannot maintain his top speed, and curling up limits the amount of control he (and the player) has over his movements. The "Spin-Dash", introduced in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, allows Sonic to quickly accelerate into this roll from a stationary position. The "Super Peel-Out" introduced in Sonic CD (also known as the "Figure Eight" move in the comics, so called due to the shape his feet take when he does this) accelerates him in a similar manner, but allows him to remain running in an upright position and the camera sticks to Sonic when in maximum speed.

Another of Sonic's moves is the "Homing Attack", introduced in Sonic Adventure. Sonic performs the Homing Attack in midair during a jump, speeding towards a target in his ball form to damage or destroy it. Sonic can perform multiple Homing Attacks in rapid succession; as he bounces off of one target, he can aim for another one and attack it. Alternatively, Sonic can use the homing attack to hit a single target multiple times.

Some of his other actions are influenced by breakdancing. In Sonic Heroes, his "Blue Tornado" ability was introduced, in which the hedgehog swirls around an enemy, causing a whirlwind that can destroy weaker enemies and flip stronger ones upside down.

With enough speed, Sonic can run or bounce across the surface of water, but he cannot swim. In the early games, Sonic could hold his breath underwater for a period of time, but in the 3D Sonic games, landing in water is usually the equivalent of instant death (as the water is just a cover for a bottomless pit.) Sonic can breathe underwater in Lost World in Sonic Adventure DX, though. In the Fleetway comic book Sonic the Comic, his inability to swim was one of his major weaknesses for a long time, while his fear of water is often alluded to in the animated series Sonic X and Sonic Underground, though in Episode 9 of Sonic X, he is seen to be able to swim when he rescues Amy from drowning.

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Super Sonic as seen in Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic's basic abilities may be enhanced through the use of various items. The Chaos Emeralds, a common feature of most Sonic games and comics, allow him to transform into his "Super form" of Super Sonic, and also give him the ability to trigger Chaos Control like Shadow the Hedgehog. Power-ups featured in the Sonic games have ranged from temporary items such as the Flame, Thunder, and Aqua Barriers featured in Sonic 3 and Knuckles and the numerous gems featured in the 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog game, to more permanent accessories such as the Light Shoes of Sonic Adventure. In Sonic and the Secret Rings, Sonic absorbed 3 of the 7 World Rings (representing Sadness, Rage, and Hatred) and became overwhelmed with power and transformed into another form, called Darkspine Sonic. Sonic's Darkspine transformation is the only time he is officially seen without his shoes and gloves. Another form, "Dark Sonic", is featured in Sonic X.

Character

Personality

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Sonic as seen in Sonic and the Secret Rings.

Sonic has been described as being "like the wind", and is noted for being free-spirited and adventurous, and cherishes 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. 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. Sonic also enjoys breakdancing, as shown in several games. Though he dislikes slow moving things and tears, the only thing Sonic truly hates is oppression. Many fans believe Sonic dislikes water because in the games he sinks, however he has managed to pass many water based levels (such as Labyrinth Zone, Aquatic Ruin Zone and HydroCity Zone) in Sonic and the Secret Rings he says that he loves the ocean (which would explain why most of the games feature the first stage on a beach). Sonic's favorite food is chili dogs.

Prophecies and Destiny

Sonic's actions often fullfills prophecies or destined events:

In Sonic & Knuckles, a mural deep in Angel Island's Hidden Palace foretells the battle between Super Sonic and Robotnik for the Master Emerald that would occur in the game's "Doomsday Zone". Knuckles initially misread the mural to mean that Robotnik would protect the Master Emerald from a villainous Sonic, but he eventually realized the truth.

In Sonic Adventure, Tikal the Echidna shows Sonic a mural of the prophecy of what will happen when Chaos absorbs all 7 Chaos Emeralds, and tells him that he must stop Chaos from destroying the world like he did many years ago.

In Sonic X, Cosmo goes in search for Sonic the hedgehog, as he was supposedly the only one who could use the power of the chaos emeralds to stop the Metarex.

In Sonic the Hedgehog, Silver the Hedgehog is led to believe that Sonic is the "Iblis Trigger", the one responsible for starting a situation which plunges the world into ruin. This turns out to be a half truth created by Mephiles the Dark as, though Sonic was the trigger, it was not his fault. The threat in question, Iblis, was sealed within Princess Elise who had grown emotionally attached to Sonic. Mephiles misinformed Silver in the hopes he would kill Sonic, which in turn would cause Elise enough trauma to trigger the breaking of the seal on Iblis. When Silver saw through Mephiles's lie (with some help from Shadow,) Mephiles responded by doing the dastardly deed himself, blinding Sonic and then piercing his chest with a Dark Chaos Lance.

In Sonic and the Secret Rings, it's revealed that Sonic is the legendary hero who can stop Erazor Djinn from absorbing the power of the Arabian Nights book and conquering the real world. Aided by Shahra the Ring Genie, Sonic must travel through the book to find the seven World Rings, the only artifacts with the power to defeat Erazor.

Age

It seems that in the games, based on the Sonic heroes manual, that Sonic is 15 years old. Since Sonic Heroes was released before Sonic's 15th aniversary, it seems he's not 15 years old just because he's been around for 15 years. His profile on Sonic Channel also confirms his age, indicating it as 15.

In a bit of irony, Sonic was born on June 23rd (the release date of his first game), making his zodiac sign Cancer. A Cancer's element is water, but Sonic can't swim.

Home

Games: In the games, 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.

Prior to the release of Sonic Adventure, some English-language instruction manuals referred to Sonic's home planet as "Mobius". One common 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 Mobius strip used in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Sonic Adventure 2 was the first game of the franchise to consistently 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.

Western cartoons and comics: 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. After Xorda aliens set off a Gene Bomb, wiping out almost the entire human race, animals mutated and evolved into the various species what are now called "Mobians" with alongside what little humans were left. The time line in the comic series is set approximately 1,228 years in the future (3235 A.D. as stated in Sonic the Hedgehog #50). 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 the 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 OVA: 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 X: Sonic's home in the Sonic X anime series is an unknown planet in an alternate reality that shares the same space as Earth, as revealed in Episode 49. This logically suggests that the planet is indeed an alternative Earth, although this has not been explicitly confirmed. This planet however appears only briefly in the show, with the majority of the action first taking place on "our" Earth, and later in outer space.

Interaction with other characters

Friends and Allies

Sonic's best friend is a young yellow-orange fox called Miles "Tails" Prower (a pun on the phrase "miles per hour"). Once Sonic found out his name was Miles and saw that he had two tails, he decided to nickname his best friend Tails (both Sonic and Tails dislike Tails' real name). Tails' trademark technique is flying by rapidly spinning his tails like a helicopter rotor. Tails is also a mechanic whiz and rivals Dr. Eggman with his inventions. Tails idolizes Sonic and sees him as a mentor, while Sonic views Tails as a little brother. This is particularly prevalent in the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog TV series, in which Sonic takes in Tails, an orphan unaware of who his parents are. Sonic and Tails are rarely without each other - they often go Chaos Emerald searching, as seen in Sonic Adventure and Sonic Riders, or stop Eggman's plans together. In Sonic Advance 3, when the two are chosen as a team, they are described as the "Unbreakable Bond."

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Sonic the Hedgehog with the "original" Amy Rose.

In the video games, Amy Rose is a young girl who acts the part of Sonic's girlfriend. Although Sonic is quite repelled by her constant advances to marry him, the two have been friends since Sonic CD. Whenever Amy is kidnapped he comes to her rescue, as seen in Sonic CD, Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2 (Amy also comes to Sonic's rescue in Sonic Adventure 2), and Sonic Riders. 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. Still, he does appreciate all the times Amy has pulled through for him, such as in Sonic the Hedgehog, where Amy protected him from being attacked by Silver the Hedgehog. A page in the Special Book of Sonic and the Secret Rings claims Amy to be "Sonic's love interest".

Another friend of Sonic is Knuckles the Echidna. They first met as enemies in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and although they are now allies, they can usually be found fighting. Knuckles and Sonic are both good friends, yet also rivals and equally powerful (or, rather, Sonic's speed is equally balanced with Knuckles's strength), which explains why there never was a final victorious ending in their fights. Although he is envious of Sonic's adventurous lifestyle, Knuckles still dislikes Sonic's carefree nature. On the other hand, Sonic sees Knuckles as being far too serious and perhaps even a bit thickheaded, on occasion referring to him as "Knucklehead." In Sonic Advance 3, when the two are chosen as a team, they are described as "Fighting Buddies" (comically, they look as if they don't want to be near each other).

Sonic is also friends with Cream the Rabbit, a six year old girl. Sonic does not converse with her very much, as they do not seem to share many interests. As is seen in Sonic Advance 2, he 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.

Sonic is acquainted with Big the Cat, an eighteen year old chubby cat. They interact in Sonic Adventure and Sonic Heroes, with Big lending Sonic a Chaos Emerald in order for him to become Super Sonic. They seem to have a good friendship, with both of them always helping each other.

Blaze the Cat is a princess from the future brought to Sonic's time 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.

Princess Elise is the princess of Soleanna, and vessel of the "Flames of Disaster." When Sonic saves her from getting kidnapped by Dr. Eggman. 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 way love while Elise was having a conversation with Amy Rose. And it is unlikely for any relationship to continue, as during Sonic the Hedgehog, their memories of each other were erased along with the entire storyline.

Emerl had a sort of father-son relationship with Sonic. 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.

Shahra the Ring Genie made her first appearance in Sonic and the Secret Rings. Sonic's relationship with Shahra is almost similar to his relationship with Elise (except their relationship would make more sense since Shahra isn't actually a human). In Sonic and the Secret Rings Shahra went to Sonic's world to ask for his help in order to save the world of the Arabian Nights from Erazor Djinn. 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 gets in her way and gets shot. Erazor then warns Sonic that the flame will burn his life away if he doesn't retrieve the 7 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 (suggesting both her and Erazor were once in love with each other), Sonic then wishes for a mountain of handkerchiefs so that Shahra can cry as long as she wants to.

The three comical detectives known as Team Chaotix do not seem to know Sonic very well, despite the fact that Vector the Crocodile, the group's leader, was originally conceived as Sonic's bandmate in the very first Sonic game. 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

Sonic's eternal nemesis is Dr. Eggman, whose actual 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, Eggman tried multiple times to conquer the Earth by using the Chaos Emeralds, Time Stones, and Master Emerald. Often, these would be used to power the doctors huge mech suits. These were often gigantic and incredibly powerful images of himself. However, in the recent games, Dr. Eggman has taken a different approach, using more realistic warships and even a nuclear missile in his bid to conquer the world.

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 fought and argued 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 willingly fought the Biolizard to allow Sonic to go with Knuckles to stop the Chaos Emeralds. Various other situations have caused them to team up in later games. Sonic seems to treat Shadow as a friend, and Shadow seems to be beginning to accept Sonic as a friend than just a rival (example being Shadow saving Sonic from Silver during Sonic the Hedgehog, and Shadow was looking rather sad in the same game when Sonic seemingly died).

Before Shadow's introduction, Metal Sonic was one of Sonic's fiercest adversaries. During the older days, 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 in the spotlight now, Metal Sonic still remains a serious threat, as the storyline in Sonic Heroes demonstrated. In the game, Metal Sonic became so powerful that only three Super forms could defeat him. Sonic later vows to battle him again in the final cutscene in saying "Anytime you want a rematch, just let me know; I'll be waiting."

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.

Black Doom is also one of Sonic's enemies, along with the Black Arms aliens who try to invade Earth in search of the Chaos Emeralds. While Black Doom is primarily Shadow the Hedgehog's main enemy, (or ally, depending on the route the player takes) he is still considered one of Sonic's enemies due to his actions against innocent people. Sonic can battle Black Doom along with Shadow in one of the game's boss battles against him, but he dose not truly defeat him, as he would not be powerful enough to stop Black Doom.

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 the future, where Mephiles the Dark told him Sonic was the "Iblis Trigger", who would cause a worldwide catastrophe. Silver then travels back in time to kill Sonic before he destroys the world. When they first meet, the two battle it out. 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.

Erazor Djinn is one of Sonic's newest enemies, and one of the most dangerous. Erazor is the mighty Genie of the Lamp - he was imprisoned within the lamp because of his crimes, and would not be freed until he granted the wishes of a thousand people. Since his release, he threatened both the fictional Arabian Nights world and Sonic's world by carving up the stories of the Arabian Nights - if he was to ever succeed, not only would the stories be gone forever but he will enter Sonic's world. Erazor cursed Sonic during his first encounter and demanded Sonic to recover the seven World Rings for him to enter the real world, otherwise he will die. Erazor is a cunning and powerful foe, and has many evil spirits at his command. After absorbing the World Rings and killing Sonic's friend Shahra, he mutated into a hideous creature called Alf Layla-wa Layla. To maintain full transformation, he needed to kill Sonic - but with the appearance of Darkspine Sonic, Erazor was downgraded to his original form. Before her death, Shahra gave Sonic a relic that should only be used as "a last resort", and it turned out to be Erazor's lamp - Sonic wished Shahra to come back to life, to have all of the missing stories restored, and finally sealed Erazor's doom by wishing him to go back inside the lamp for all eternity. Unable to resist the powers of the lamp, Erazor granted Sonic's wishes and then comdemned himself forever within it.

Nintendo's world famous mascot Mario is a rival of Sonic in the Sega-Nintendo crossover game, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games where he and Sonic compete in the Olympics.

In other media

The American Saturday morning cartoon series Sonic the Hedgehog, also known as "SatAM", depicts Sonic at odds with Dr. Robotnik--who, in this version of events, has managed to conquer all of what is depicted of the world--as well as with Robotnik's nephew Snively Kintobor. SatAM also introduced another foe, the wizard Ixis Naugus, who only appeared in one episode of the series but went on to become a recurring villain in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series. Sonic Underground, another American animated series, continued the Robotnik/Sonic rivalry, with the addition of antagonistic bounty hunters Sleet and Dingo.

In the Sonic the Hedgehog comics produced by Archie Comics, aside from contending with various versions of Dr. Eggman, Metal Sonic, and a number of villains from both the games and SatAM, Sonic also faces the powerful Mammoth Mogul, the cyborg Echidna organization known as the Dark Legion led by the nefarious Dimitri and his successor Lien-Da, and an evil counterpart of himself named Scourge the Hedgehog.

In the anime Sonic X, Dark Oak is Sonic's main enemy during Series 3. Ruthless and cold-hearted, Dark Oak wishes all animal life dead so that plants can rule. He belongs to the same species of alien as Cosmo and the other Metarex commanders. Dark Oak, although fairly small compared to others of his kind, possesses great power, enough to even fight Super Sonic toe-to-toe. With the help of Tails, Super Shadow, and the Sonic Driver (Blue Typhoon's main weapon), Super Sonic managed to destroy Dark Oak.

In the UK series Sonic the Comic, Sonic had a rival for several issues named Commander Brutus. A highly advanced Badnik Trooper programmed with a copy of Doctor Robotnik's brain patterns, Brutus was the only villain that Sonic could never truly defeat. In armor constructed from the indestructible metal alloy "Megatel" that granted him near-invulnerability and immense physical strength and endurance, and a built in anti-gravity device that allowed him to fly, Brutus easily matched and defeated Sonic in battle. Transforming into Super Sonic, Sonic was able to shatter Brutus's right hand and drive him off. They clashed several more times until Brutus led a rebellion against Dr. Robotnik and was defeated and destroyed by the dictator.

Love life

Sonic X: Sonic's relationship with Amy Rose is further developed in Sonic X than in the games. In this version the two share a more mutual friendship and work together far more often. Sonic even promises Amy a date at one time (however, this is only in the English dub).

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog: The cartoon featured a beautiful, robotic (unbeknownst to Sonic) girlfriend named Breezie Hedgehog. Breezie abused Sonic, asking him for impossible things, exhausting his infatuation with her to capture and trap him by order of Robotnik. Breezie realized she was wrong and set Sonic free, this time being sincere with Sonic. As time passed, she would later end up having a relationship with Robotnik Jr.

Sonic the Hedgehog: In the Saturday morning cartoon, Sonic's love interest is Princess Sally Acorn. The two share a co-leadership role of the Freedom Fighters and parent/sibling/aunt-uncle type roles over Tails. Sonic and Sally are the same age and often do missions together against Robotnik. Although the two have obvious crushes for each other, they had opposite personalities that conflict, because of which they had a hard time admitting their affections. Sally finds Sonic to be too carefree and an airhead, while Sonic finds her to be serious and prissy. However, in the final episode, the two kiss.

Sonic the Comic: Early appearances of Amy Rose in the UK comic portray her as being so enamored with Sonic that she openly lies about being his girlfriend, leading to her being captured by Robotnik's forces for consorting with an outlaw. After being rescued, she joins Sonic's Freedom Fighters and repeatedly teases and pesters Sonic with her affections. Writer Nigel Kitching intended to create an air of ambiguity as to whether or not she really doted over Sonic, was just winding him up for fun, or both. However, this was played down and finally dropped entirely as time went on – largely as a result of the "Girl Power" phenomenon sweeping the United Kingdom – and Amy transitioned from being a lovesick hanger-on into a capable, intelligent hero in her own right.

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, as Sonic in their 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 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 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 their 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 their Sonic voice actors with their 4Kids counterparts, in order to keep his voice the same in all media forms. Effectively, this meant that beginning with Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic Rush, Jason Griffith became the official English language voice actor for Sonic the Hedgehog and Shadow the Hedgehog (and Jet the Hawk in Sonic Riders).

Alternate versions

Main article: Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie character)

The Sonic the Hedgehog comic features Sonic with alternate dimensional versions of himself. One such version is Scourge, 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 Scourge when he tried to siphon off energy from the Master Emerald, evolving into what he now looks like:a green, super-powered hedgehog. He's also known now as Scourge # 2.

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, 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 for the character. Sonic is mostly associated with the rock genre.

• Sonic CD (original soundtrack): "Sonic - You Can Do Anything" - Keiko Utoku.
• 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" - Zebrahead.
  • "Sweet Dreams" (remake) - Dreams Come True feat. Akon. This was the ending theme for Sonic's story.
• "They Call Me Sonic" (1996)

See also

• List of anthropomorphic animal superheroes
• Kemono
• Sonic hedgehog, a protein named for the video game character
• Mario, Nintendo's flagship mascot and longtime rival of Sonic

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.

External links

Official sites

• Sonic Central - Official Sonic the Hedgehog microsite at Sega.com
• Sonic Channel - Official Japanese website
• Sonic City - Official European Sonic the Hedgehog website
• Sonic the Hedgehog - Concept: "Mobius" (REAL Character Profile)