Sonic the Hedgehog is the main protagonist of the Sonic the Hedgehog series, and the star of many games made by SEGA as well as their mascot. Both are a onetime major competitor with Nintendo in the video game console wars of the 1990s.
Sonic was often viewed as the counterpart to Mario, each representing their respective rival company in the video game market, though because of the "Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games" series hasn't been proven to be canon or non-canon yet, no one can say for sure that the two great heroes have met yet. Because of his new position as a freelancer, with connections to Nintendo, Sonic has finally made his long-awaited first appearance alongside Mario, as well as co-stars of both, in the Wii game, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games and the game began to have sequels.
Role in the Console Wars
Super Mario had taken the gaming industry by storm, but Sega was still eager to compete. Having seeing the profit a successful video game system could be, they had internal competitions on who would be the new mascot, to replace Alex Kidd. A drawing of a hedgehog on a piece of napkin, dubbed "Mr. Needlemouse", was the winner. Fleshing out his color to blue to match the Sega logo (i.e., Mario is red due to Nintendo's original logo color, red), giving him Michael Jackson shoes, and asserting an "attitude" to streamline his character, Sonic the Hedgehog, introduced to the world in 1991, marked the first time someone besides Mario was the best seller. The Sonic series soon took over the top slot for best selling franchise, with a combined total of sales throughought the era at a minimum of 24.26 million units sold, toppling Mario's count. This led to Sega overtaking Nintendo for the fourth generation of consoles with a 65% lead being the climax. This led to the popular image of Mario vs. Sonic, a fierce rivalary that is generally seen to last until the end. However, Sega would lose it's edge when they cut support for the Sega Genesis in 1996.
Sonic would remain absent throughout the Sega Saturn, albeit several side-adventures. This is often cited as one of the reasons the Sega Saturn failed.
Sega realized this, and attempted to mend the lack of Sonic games by launching their final system, the Dreamcast, with the first mainstream 3D Sonic game, Sonic Adventure. It soon would be followed by Sonic's last mascot game, Sonic Adventure 2. Since then, after the death of the Sega Dreamcast, Sonic has been a free-lance franchise, feeling notably comfortable on Nintendo systems. Sonic has since then had the most exclusives on Nintendo systems.
History
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Sonic's first All-Mario Game appearance was in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest where his shoes make a brief cameo in In Cranky Kong's video game hero contest where his shoes are next to a trash can along with former video game Mascot Earthworm Jim's gun showing that they failed to become great heroes.
Super Smash Bros. series
Sonic was confirmed for Super Smash Bros. Brawl on October 10, 2007 by Masahiro Sakurai on the official website, being the second third party character that appeared in a Super Smash Bros. game. Also appearing as an Assist Trophy is Shadow the Hedgehog. In Sonic's final smash, he turns into Super Sonic and his attacks are powered up and he can fly for a short period of time, also he cannot be killed no matter how far off the blast zone he is, and he cannot taunt. Interestingly enough, Sonic had a small role in the last part of the Subspace Story, rather he appeared in the last minute as a playable character. Supposedly, he was just hanging around when caught in the explosion and investigated to find why he was here, and how to get out, and he just happened to find Tabuu.
In the sequel he was confirmed on October 1, 2013 as a playable character, makimg him the first third-party character to appear in multiple installments of this series.
Trophy
Name | Image | Game | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Sonic the Hedgehog | File:BrawlTrophy081.png | SONIC THE HEDGEHOG (1991) | The world's fastest hedgehog, who can run at supersonic speeds. Generally speaking, he loves being able to do what he wants and loathes being constrained. Holding still is something he would never consider. He's got a bit of an attitude but can't pass by someone in trouble. When he collects the seven Chaos Emeralds, he transforms into the mighty, gold Super Sonic. |
Wii Sonic and the Secret Rings | |||
Super Sonic | File:BrawlTrophy082.png | SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 | Sonic's Final Smash. The Chaos Emeralds give energy to all living things, and Sonic's gathered all seven of them, then used their power to transform into Super Sonic. His abilities in this form far surpass his normal ones, and he's even able to fly. He uses a lot of energy in this form, so he can only remain in it for a short time. |
Wii Super Smash Bros. Brawl |
Sticker
Image | Game | Effect |
---|---|---|
Sonic the Hedgehog JP | [Arm] - Attack +21 Usable by: Sonic | |
Sonic the Hedgehog US | [Throwing] - Attack +20 Usable by: Sonic | |
Sonic the Hedgehog | [Body, Spin] - Attack +32 Usable by: Sonic | |
File:Super Sonic Sticker.jpg | Sonic the Hedgehog 2 | [Electric] - Resistance +27 Usable by: Sonic |
Super Smash Bros. 3DS/Wii U
Sonic reappears in Super Smash Bros. 3DS/Wii U where he is now a starter character. Sonic retains most of his moves from Brawl.
Mario and Sonic series
Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games
“Mario and Sonic have been respectful rivals since the early days of video games. In fact, for a long time they have been discussing the possibility of one day competing against each other. Now that they have been given the perfect opportunity to meet at the Olympic Games, we may finally learn who is actually faster, Mario or Sonic?”
—Shigeru Miyamoto
Profile
The fastest hedgehog in the world, this little blue speed demon often gets going so fast, he appears to be just a whirling blur. He'll usually be found in front of any of the speed-based events in these Olympic Games, and will be very difficult to catch in any of the short-distance sprints.
Statistics
Powers and Abilities
- Superhuman Speed: Sonic's main ability is his trademark running speed. Sonic has shown that he can easily surpass the speed of sound. Though his top speed is unknown, he has an average of 760-765 mph.
- Superhuman Agility: Sonic has shown that he is very agile. In most games, by preforming amazing feats that would require Superhuman Agility.
- Superhuman Reflexes: Granted by his superhuman speed, Sonic has shown that he possess superhuman reflexes. He is able to dodge gunfire from enemies robots and strikes from beings with Superhuman Speed.
- Superhuman Durability: Sonic has an incredible durability rate. He has withstood being dropped from great heights, struck by beings with superhuman strength, and even blasted with large amounts of energy and has come out with mild damage.