Sonic the Hedgehog vs Mario

In the early 90’s, as they are today, Sega and Nintendo stood neck to neck in the endless race to produce new and inventive gaming for their ever-growing fan base. Sega had one problem though. It needed a mascot that would sufficiently rival the beloved little Italian brother that was Nintendo’s popular branded character, Mario? and so, an artist, designer and programmer at Sega got together and created Sonic the Hedgehog. He is a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog with blue hair. Sonic is 15 years old. He has a penchant for travelling beyond the speed of sound and defending himself from his enemies by curling up into a ball, making his body the projectile of choice. The initial idea was to release a game that would sell more that 1 million copies worldwide. With the release of the first Sonic the Hedgehog game in 1991, the executives at Sega must have been blown away when, after just 14 years (2005) their mascot had sold over 50 million copies.

Little known facts about Sonic the Hedgehog:

– Sonic was designed by three men. Yuji Naka, Hirokazu Yasuhara and Naoto Ōshima.

– Before settling on a hedgehog, team Sonic reviewed proposals for a rabbit, an armadillo and a dog

– In the first release of the game, Sonic was shorter, rounder and fatter. Later permutations had him becoming longer and thinner, with longer quills.

– Sonics’ red shoes (added later) are a tribute to Santa Clause.

– Sonic is 15 years old (The character, not the game)

– Various actors who voiced sonic include; Takeshi Kusao, Junichi Kanemaru, Ryan Drummond and Jason Anthony Griffith.

– The original Sonic had a band and a girlfriend by the name of Madonna. These were dropped for the US release though and never really brought back.

– Sonic can’t swim because Yuji Naka mistakenly believed that hedgehogs can’t swim.

– His boots (added later) were inspired by a design of Michael Jackson’s boots.

– The original theme music was written specifically for Sonic and is the only part of the game that has not really been re-vamped in almost 20 years.

The meteoric rise in popularity can be seen in the countless spin off releases of this strange, lovable character including comics, books and an extremely successful cartoon series. The game play of Sonic the Hedgehog remains the classic video game modus operandi. There are various levels, increasing in difficulty which Sonic traverses at various points with speed and agility. Enemies or attacks are quickly dispensed with when Sonic curls up in a ball and uses his body to attack them. Increasingly creative releases of the game include Sonic in Mario land. This is a cute nod to the inspiration that his corporate nemesis mascot, Mario invoked. It is believed that the success of Sonic the Hedgehog comes from Sega’s ability to upgrade and re-invent the character and his environment constantly. For this reason, new generations of gamers continue to discover and enjoy this nifty little video game superstar.