Sonic the Hedgehog
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Sonic The Hedgehog is a video game character and the hero of a Sonic the Hedgehog 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 (also Sonic's birthday) in order to provide Sega with a mascot to rival Nintendo's flagship character Mario .[1] Since then, Sonic has become one of the world's best-known video game characters, with his series having sold over 45 million copies.[2] 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 game programmer Yuji Naka are generally credited with the creation of the character,[3] a blue, male, anthropomorphic, humanoid hedgehog, whose ability to run faster than the speed of sound[4] is a major part of the gameplay of the series.[5]
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[edit] History
At left is official Sonic artwork from the original Sonic the Hedgehog game (artwork by Akira Watanabe), and the rendering at right shows the design used in the more recent 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[6] 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.[1]
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.[7] 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.
[edit] Games
[edit] Water Wreck
Sonic appeared again for the Nintendo Gamecube in Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut with other friends in the story.
Sonic's story begins with Sonic jumping to building to building in the night skies of Station Square, until he spots a helicopter and police cars past him. Sonic followed the police cars and wondering what was happening. The police were surrounding a big living water creature. The police started shooting the creature, but it didn't affect the creature so the police ran away. When the police ran away, Sonic jumped up in fornt of the creature and both started to fight. The battle was over and the creature was turned into a puddle and went into a water drain, and Sonic was staring down at the water drain. While Sonic was looking at the drain, Dr. Eggman was standing on top of an building and said "You know nothing, fool! It's Chaos! The God of Destruction!". The next day, Sonic was sleeping on a chair next to the Station Square Hotel's pool until he woke up and spots the Tornado going out of control. Sonic tried to yell at Miles "Tails" Prower that he was going to crash, but failed so Sonic dashed to Emerald Beach to find Tails. Sonic came back from Emerald Beach with Tails and asks him what happened. Tails said that he was using a new protype propulsion system with the power of an Chaos Emeralds and he asked Sonic to go to his workshop in Mystic Ruins to show him something. When Sonic and Tails makes it to the Mystic Ruins, they both spot Dr. Eggman and he ordered Sonic to give him all of the seven Chaos Emeralds.
[edit] Abilities
Sonic is known as "the fastest thing alive", with the ability to run at speeds higher than Mach 1.[4] 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, although according to the official American Sega website[8], 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.[7] Stay Sonic also gave his fastest recorded speed as 761 mph. But in the Sonic the Hedgehog comics, a response to a piece of fan mail stated that the fastest he ever ran was Mach 2; and 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.[9]
He can also curl into a ball while running, allowing his momentum to carry him along in an equally dangerous attack.[3] 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, as shown in Sonic Battle (The japanese manual states this fact). 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.[4] 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 Aquaphobia 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.
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, where his speed and power is greatly increased and he becomes invincible. Power-ups featured in the Sonic games have ranged from temporary items such as the Flame, Thunder, and Aqua Barriers featured in Sonic the Hedgehog 3[10] 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 (they are thought to be the rings of Sadness, Rage, and Hatred, due to his new personality, though this is uncomfirmed) 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 in which he is shown with regular hands and feet with no toes.
[edit] Character
[edit] Personality
[edit] Home
Games: In the earlier games, Sonic's home planet is known as Mobius, though it seems as though later games take place on 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.[13]
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.[14] 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.
[edit] Gallery
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