Saturday 1 March 2014

Video Game Character of the Month - March 2014 - Sonic the Hedgehog - Sonic the Hedgehog

Video Game Character of the Month
March 2014
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog

Overview:
To be honest I've been meaning to catch up with the Blue Blur for a while but he's just been too fast (I'm so sorry). Anyway, as a rival to Mario and a great gaming character in his own right, I feel that Sonic deserves this award. 
A quick bit of info of Sonic the Hedgehog:


He's 15 years old
He was born on Christmas Island
His main enemy is Dr. Robotnik (Eggman)
He is aquaphobic
He can breathe in space
He can run faster than light and yet is often outrun by Eggman
He can turn in to Super Sonic when he gains the Chaos Emeralds
He has also turned into a Werehog
His best friend is Miles "Tails" Prower

Origin of Sonic the Hedgehog:
The origin of Sonic came about when Sega wanted a flagship character to compete with Nintendo's own Mario character (check out my Video Game Character of the Month for him). His design came in many forms such as an armadillo, a dog, a pyjama wearing Theodore Roosevelt lookalike (this later became the design for Eggman, so... yeah), and a rabbit with extendible ears. Of course, the company already had Alex Kidd but who needs him? His blue colour was developed from the blue of the Sega logo which is simple enough but his shoe design is a little less so. The shoes design was designed after the look of Michael Jackson's shoes with the addition of the colour red which in turn was inspired by the contrast of the colour on Jackson's 'Bad' album as well as Santa Claus. His personality was inspired by Bill Clinton's 'get it done' attitude (was there any part of him that wasn't based on something else?). The fact that Sonic can't swim was based on the mistaken belief of Yuji Nakathat hedgehogs couldn't swim (you would have thought he would have checked). Originally, Sonic had fangs and was part of a band with a hum girlfriend called Madonna (poor Amy Rose) but leader of a team from Sega of America, Madeline Schroeder, (the so-called mother of Sonic) softened his image by removing these elements. His spin attack was designed after a hedgehog's tendency to roll itself into a ball. 

Evolution of Sonic the Hedgehog:   
Over the course of many games and through many different mediums, Sonic's appearance has a lot (surely this leads to an identity crisis). Originally, Sonic was short and round had short quills and no visible irises but in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 this design was altered slightly by altering his head to height ratio from 1:2 to 1:2.5. Then in Sonic Adventure he was redesigned again to have longer legs, a less spherical body, more drooping quills and green coloured irises. In 2006, Sonic was redesigned yet again to look more adult-like and taller in order to appeal to next-generation players as well as to help with the fact that Sonic would now interact more often with human players. Of course, the other massive change to his design in his Werehog form in Sonic Unleashed which not only changes his appearance but also focuses less on his speed and more on his meelee skills. Over the course of the years, Sonic has also made the (shaky) transition into 3D as well as becoming sporting/fighting rivals with Mario in Mario and Sonic at the 'Insert name of Olympic/Winter Olympic games here' and Super Smash Bros.

Games:   
Sonic the Hedgehog
Original release dates:
NA June 23, 1991
EU June 23, 1991
JP July 26, 1991
Release years by system:
1991 – Mega Drive
2006 – Game Boy Advance, Virtual Console
2007 – iOS, iPod, Xbox Live Arcade
2013 – Android


Sonic the Hedgehog
Original release dates:
NA October 25, 1991
EU October 25, 1991
JP December 28, 1991
Release years by system:
1991 – Sega Game Gear, Sega Master System
2008 – Virtual Console
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Original release dates:
EU October 16, 1992
NA November 17, 1992
JP November 21, 1992
Release years by system:
1992 – Sega Game Gear, Sega Master System
2008 – Virtual Console


Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Original release dates:
JP November 21, 1992
NA November 24, 1992
EU November 24, 1992
AUS 1996
Release years by system:
1992 – Mega Drive
2006 – Mobile phone
2007 – Virtual Console, Xbox Live Arcade
2010 – iOS
2013 – Android

Sonic the Hedgehog CD
Original release dates:
JP September 23, 1993
EU October 1993
NA November 19, 1993
Release years by system:
1993 – Sega CD
1995 – Microsoft Windows
2011 – Android


Sonic Chaos
Original release dates:
EU October 25, 1993
JP November 19, 1993
NA November 23, 1993
Release years by system:
1993 – Sega Master System, Sega Game Gear
2009 – Virtual Console

Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Original release dates:
NA January 23, 1994
EU February 24, 1994
JP May 27, 1994
AUS 1994
Release years by system:
1994 – Mega Drive
2007 – Virtual Console
2009 – Xbox Live Arcade


Sonic & Knuckles
Original release dates:
NA October 17, 1994
JP October 18, 1994
EU October 19, 1994
Release years by system:
1994 – Mega Drive
2009 – Xbox Live Arcade, Virtual Console
Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble
Original release dates:
NA October 11, 1994
JP November 11, 1994
EU November 1994
Release years by system:
1994 – Sega Game Gear
2012 – 3DS Virtual Console

Knuckles' Chaotix
Original release dates:
NA April 20, 1995
JP April 21, 1995
EU May 1995
Release years by system:
1995 – Sega 32X
(Set in the Sonic universe although Sonic, himself, does not appear.)

Sonic Blast
Original release dates:
NA November 1996
EU November 1996
JP December 13, 1996
BRA December 1997
Release years by system:
1996 – Sega Game Gear
1997 – Sega Master System

Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure
Original release dates:
NA December 20, 1999
JP May 25, 2000
EU 2000
Release years by system:
1999 – Neo Geo Pocket Color


Sonic Advance
Original release dates:
JP December 20, 2001
NA February 3, 2002
EU March 8, 2002
Release years by system:
2001 – Game Boy Advance


Sonic Advance 2
Original release dates:
JP December 19, 2002
NA March 9, 2003
EU March 28, 2003
Release years by system:
2002 – Game Boy Advance


Sonic Advance 3
Original release dates:
NA June 7, 2004
JP June 17, 2004
EU June 18, 2004
AUS 2004
Release years by system:
2004 – Game Boy Advance

Sonic Rush
Original release dates:
NA November 15, 2005
JP November 18, 2005
EU November 23, 2005
Release years by system:
2005 – Nintendo DS



Sonic Rush Adventure
Original release dates:
EU September 14, 2007
NA September 18, 2007
AUS September 27, 2007
JP October 18, 2007
Release years by system:
2007 – Nintendo DS

Sonic the Hedgehog 4
Original release dates:
October 7, 2010 (Ep. 1)
May 15, 2012 (Ep. 2) Release years by system:
2010 - (Ep. 1) iOS, WiiWare, PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, Android, Windows Phone 7
2012 - (Ep. 2) iOS, PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, Android, Windows Phone 7

Sonic 3D Blast
Original release dates:
NA November 30, 1996
EU November 1996
JP October 14, 1999
Release years by system:
1996 – Mega Drive, Sega Saturn
1997 – Microsoft Windows
2007 – Virtual Console


Sonic Adventure
Original release dates:
JP November 27, 1998
NA September 9, 1999
EU October 14, 1999
AUS December 1, 1999
Release years by system:
1998 – Dreamcast
2003 – Nintendo GameCube, Microsoft Windows
2010 – Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network
2012 - Onlive (Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut)


Sonic Adventure 2
Original release dates:
NA June 19, 2001
JP/EU June 23, 2001
Release years by system:
2001 – Dreamcast, Nintendo GameCube
2012 – Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, Microsoft Windows sonic adventure 2 battle (2001) platform: Gamecube

Sonic Heroes
Original release dates:
JP December 30, 2003
NA January 5, 2004
EU February 6, 2004
Release years by system:
2003 – Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox
2004 – Microsoft Windows
2012 – PlayStation Network




Shadow the Hedgehog
Original release dates:
NA November 15, 2005
EU November 18, 2005
JP December 15, 2005
Release years by system:
2005 – Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox




Shadow the Hedgehog
Original release dates:
NA November 15, 2005
EU November 18, 2005
JP December 15, 2005
Release years by system:
2005 – Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox

Sonic the Hedgehog
Original release dates:
NA November 14, 2006
EU November 24, 2006
AUS November 30, 2006
JP December 21, 2006
Release years by system:
2006 – Xbox 360, PlayStation 3


Sonic and the Secret Rings
Original release dates:
NA February 20, 2007
EU March 2, 2007
AUS March 8, 2007
JP March 15, 2007
Release years by system:
2007 – Wii

Sonic Unleashed
Original release dates:
NA November 18, 2008
AUS November 27, 2008
EU November 28, 2008
JP December 18, 2008
Release years by system:
2008 – Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2
2009 – Mobile phone


Sonic and the Black Knight
Original release dates:
NA March 3, 2009
JP March 12, 2009
AUS March 12, 2009
EU March 13, 2009
Release years by system:
2009 – Wii




Sonic Colors
Original release dates:

AUS November 11, 2010
EU November 12, 2010
NA November 16, 2010
JP November 18, 2010
Release years by system:
2010 – Wii, Nintendo DS



Sonic Generations
Original release date:
NA November 1, 2011
AUS November 3, 2011
EU November 4, 2011
JP December 1, 2011
Release years by system:
2011 – Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo 3DS, Microsoft Windows



Sonic Lost World
Original release date:
NA October 29, 2013
AUS October 19, 2013
EU October 18, 2013
JP October 24, 2013
Release years by system:
2013 – Wii U

Sonic Drift
Original release date:
JP March 18, 1994
Release years by system:
1994 – Sega Game Gear

Sonic Drift 2

Original release dates:
JP March 17, 1995
NA 1995
EU 1995
Release years by system:
1995 – Sega Game Gear

Sonic R
Original release dates:
NA October 31, 1997
JP December 4, 1997
EU December 11, 1997
Release years by system:
1997 – Sega Saturn
1998 – Microsoft Windows

Sonic Racing Shift Up
Original release dates:
JP November 18, 2002
Release years by system:
2002 – Mobile phone


Sonic Racing Kart
Original release dates:
JP July 28, 2003
Release years by system:
2003 – Mobile phone




Sonic Kart 3D X
Original release dates:
JP 2005
Release years by system:
2005 – Mobile phone

Sonic Riders
Original release dates:
NA February 21, 2006
JP February 23, 2006
EU March 17, 2006
Release years by system:
2006 – Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Microsoft Windows


Sonic Rivals
Original release dates:
NA November 16, 2006
EU December 1, 2006
AUS December 7, 2006
Release years by system:
2006 – PlayStation Portable




Sonic Rivals 2
Original release dates:
NA November 13, 2007
AUS December 6, 2007
EU December 7, 2007
Release years by system:
2007 – PlayStation Portable


Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
Original release dates:
NA January 8, 2008
JP January 17, 2008
EU February 22, 2008
AUS March 6, 2008
Release years by system:
2008 – PlayStation 2, Wii


Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
Original release dates:
NA February 23, 2010
EU February 26, 2010
AUS March 4, 2010
Release years by system:
2010 – Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, Microsoft Windows, mobile phone




Sonic Free Riders
Original release dates:
NA November 4, 2010
EU November 10, 2010
AUS November 18, 2010
JP November 20, 2010
Release years by system:
2010 – Xbox 360


Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Original release dates:
NA November 28, 2012
EU November 16, 2012
AUS November 15, 2012
Release years by system:
2012 – PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PlayStation Vita
2013 – Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 3DS


Sega Sonic Cosmo Fighter
Release years by system:
1991 – Arcade


Waku Waku Sonic Patrol Car           
Release years by system:
1991 – Arcade

SegaSonic the Hedgehog
Original release dates:
JP June 1993
NA 1993
Release years by system:
1993 – Arcade

Sonic the Fighters
Release years by system:
1996 – Arcade

Sonic Athletics
Original release dates:
JP April 25, 2013
Release years by system:
April 25, 2013 – Arcade

Tails and the Music Maker
Original release date:
NA September 1994
Release years by system:
1994 – Sega Pico
Sonic Gameworld
Original release date:
NA November 1996
Release years by system:
1996 – Sega Pico


Sonic's Schoolhouse
Original release date:
NA November 1996
Release years by system:
1996 – Microsoft Windows

Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
Original release dates:
NA February 1993
EU 1993
Release years by system:
1993 – Sega Game Gear, Mega Drive
1994 – Sega Master System
2006 – Virtual Console

Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball
Original release dates:
NA November 14, 1993
JP December 10, 1993
EU 1993
Release years by system:
1993 – Mega Drive, Sega Master System
1994 – Sega Game Gear
2007 – Virtual Console


Tails' Skypatrol
Original release date:
JP April 28, 1995
Release years by system:
1995 – Sega Game Gear


Tails Adventure
Original release dates:
JP September 22, 1995
NA 1995
EU 1995
Release years by system:
1995 – Sega Game Gear



Sonic Labyrinth
Original release dates:
JP November 17, 1995
NA 1995
EU 1995
Release years by system:
1995 – Sega Game Gear

Sonic Shuffle
Original release dates:
NA November 13, 2000
JP December 21, 2000
EU March 9, 2001
Release years by system:
2000 – Dreamcast

Sonic Tennis
Original release dates:
JP December 20, 2001
Release years by system:
2001 – Mobile phone


Sonic Golf
Original release dates:
JP January 28, 2002
Release years by system:
2002 – Mobile phone


Sonic Speed DX
Original release dates:
JP 2002
Release years by system:
2002 – Mobile phone


Sonic Fishing
Original release dates:
JP March 25, 2002
Release years by system:
2002 – Mobile phone

Sonic Billiards
Original release dates:
JP April 22, 2002
Release years by system:
2002 – Mobile phone

Good Friend Chao!
Original release dates:
JP May 24, 2002
Release years by system:
2002 – Mobile phone

Sonic Bowling
Original release dates:
JP July 22, 2002
Release years by system:
2002 – Mobile phone

Sonic Pinball Party
Original release dates:
NA June 1, 2003
JP July 17, 2003
EU October 31, 2003
Release years by system:
2003 – Game Boy Advance

Sonic Battle
Original release dates:
JP December 4, 2003
NA January 5, 2004
EU February 27, 2004
Release years by system:
2003 – Game Boy Advance




Sonic's Casino Poker
Original release dates:
JP 2007
Release years by system:
2007 – Mobile phone



Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
Original release dates:
NA November 6, 2007
JP November 22, 2007
EU November 23, 2007
AUS November 22, 2007
Release years by system:
2007 – Wii
2008 – Nintendo DS


Sonic at the Olympic Games
Original release dates:
June 2008            
Release years by system:
2008 – Mobile phone


Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood

Original release dates:
AUS September 25, 2008
EU September 26, 2008
NA September 30, 2008
JP August 6, 2009
Release years by system:
2008 – Nintendo DS



Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
Original release dates:
NA October 13, 2009
AUS October 15, 2009
EU October 16, 2009
JP November 5, 2009
Release years by system:
2009 – Wii, Nintendo DS



Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
Original release date:
NA January 29, 2010
Release years by system:
2010 – iOS


Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games
Original release dates:
NA November 15, 2011
AUS November 17, 2011
EU November 18, 2011
JP December 8, 2011
Release years by system:
2011 – Wii
2012 – Nintendo 3DS


Sonic Jump

Original release date:
NA October 18, 2012
Release years by system:
2012 – iOS
2012 – Android


Sonic Dash

Original release date:
NA March 7, 2013
Release years by system:
2013 - iOS, Android

Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games
Original release dates:
NA November 15, 2013
AUS November 9, 2013
EU November 8, 2013
JP December 5, 2013
Release years by system:
2013 – Wii U

Sonic Classics
Original release dates:
EU 1995
NA 1997
Release years by system:
1995 – Mega Drive


Sonic & Knuckles Collection
Original release dates:
JP February 14, 1997
NA 1999
Release years by system:
1997 – Microsoft Windows

Sonic Jam
Original release dates:
JP June 20, 1997
NA July 31, 1997
EU August 28, 1997
Release years by system:
1997 – Sega Saturn
1998 – Game.com


Sonic Mega Collection
Original release dates:
NA November 10, 2002
JP December 18, 2002
EU March 7, 2003
Release years by system:
2002 – Nintendo GameCube
2004 – PlayStation 2, Xbox
2007 – Microsoft Windows


Sonic Gems Collection
Original release dates:
JP August 11, 2005
NA August 16, 2005
EU September 30, 2005
Release years by system:
2005 – Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2

Sonic PC Collection
Original release dates:
AUS September 30, 2009
Release years by system:
2009 – Microsoft Windows

Sonic Classic Collection
Original release dates:
NA March 2, 2010
EU March 12, 2010
AUS March 11, 2010
Release years by system:
2010 – Nintendo DS

Cancelled Games:
Sister Sonic
Sonic Jr.
Sonic Crackers
Sonic X-treme
Sonic Extreme







Super Smash Bros. Brawl: released (Japan) on January 31, 2008/ (North America) on March 9, 2008/ (Australia) on June 26, 2008/ (Europe) on June 27, 2008 on Wii
Super Smash Bros. for 3DS: released (Japan) on September 13, 2014/ (North America/Europe) on October 3, 2014/(Australia) on October 4, 2014 on Nintendo 3DS
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U: released (North America) on November 21, 2014/(Europe) on November 28, 2014/(Australia) on November 29, 2014/(Japan) on December 6, 2014 on Wii U
Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric: released (North America) on November 11, 2014/(Europe) on November 21, 2014/(Australia) on November 29, 2014/(Japan) on December 18, 2014 on Wii U
Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal: released (North America) on November 11, 2014/(Europe) on November 21, 2014/(Australia) on November 29, 2014/(Japan) on December 18, 2014
Sonic
Sonic Runners: released (Japan/Canada) on February 25, 2015/(World Wide) on June 25, 2015 on iOS and Android
Mario Kart 8: released (Japan) on May 29, 2014/(Europe/North America) on May 30, 2014/(Australia) on May 31, 2014 on Wii U
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: released (World Wide) on April 28, 2017 on Nintendo Switch
Sonic Dash 2: Sonic Boom: released (World Wide) on October 8, 2015 on iOS and Android
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games: released (World Wide) in February 2016 in Arcades/(Japan) on February 18, 2016/(North America) on March 18, 2016/(Europe) on April 8, 2016/(Australia) on April 9, 2016 on the Nintendo 3DS/(Japan) on June 23, 2016/(Europe/North America) on June 24, 2016/(Australia) on June 25, 2016 on Wii U
Sonic Boom: Fire and Ice: released (North America) on September 27, 2016/(Europe) on September 30, 2016/(Australia) on October 1, 2016/(Japan) on October 27, 2016 on Nintendo 3DS
Super Mario Maker: released (Japan) on September 10, 2015/(Europe/North America) on September 11, 2015/(Australia) on September 12, 2015 on Wii U

Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS: released (Japan) on December 1, 2016/(Europe/North America) on December 2, 2016/(Australia) on December 3, 2016 on the Nintendo 3DS

Anticipated:
Sonic Forces
Sonic Mania


That's all on Sonic but if you have any more info on the Blue Blur or if I have made a mistake then please don't hesitate to comment. And, as always, if you have an idea for who you want to win the award in a future month please comment.

Goodbye for now, Harry

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_(character)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sonic_the_Hedgehog_video_games
http://www.nintendo.com/amiibo/games/detail/super-mario-maker-wii-u
And my own knowledge

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