Sonic celebrates his 15th anniversary by blazing his way onto the next-generation consoles, with his first adventure set in the human world! Featuring interactive 3D environments and a large cast of returning and new characters, get ready for the reinvention of Sonic The Hedgehog, in his most intense, high velocity escapade to date!

Sonic the Hedgehog 2^[a] is a platform game developed and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis console, released worldwide in November 1992. It is the second main entry in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, and introduced Sonic's sidekick, Miles 'Tails' Prower, controllable by a second player. In the story, Sonic and Tails must stop series antagonist Dr. Ivo Robotnik from stealing the Chaos Emeralds to power his space station, the Death Egg.

Development of the game began in November 1991. The game was developed by both Japanese and American staff at Sega Technical Institute. Art director Tim Skelly designed the appearance of the new 3D special stages based on a tech demo created by Yuji Naka. The staff increased the speed of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in comparison to its predecessor. As with the first game, the soundtrack was composed by Masato Nakamura.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 sold over six million copies, making it the second-bestselling Genesis game behind the original Sonic the Hedgehog. It received highly positive reviews from critics, who commended the game's level design and visuals, although its multiplayer mode was criticized. It has been rereleased on various platforms; a remastered version developed using the Retro Engine released on iOS and Android in December 2013. Two direct sequels, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, were released in 1994.

• 2Gameplay
• 3Development
• 4Other versions and rereleases

Plot[edit]

The game's premise is similar to that of the original Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic's nemesis, Dr. Ivo Robotnik, is planning world domination through the power of the Chaos Emeralds and an army of robots powered by trapped animals. Specific to this game, he is additionally constructing an armored space station known as the Death Egg (an homage to the Death Star), also for the means of world domination.^[1]

The events of the game see Sonic and Tails chasing Robotnik through West Side Island, and eventually up to the Death Egg, pursuing him with Tails' biplane, the Tornado. The plane is damaged after being shot at, but Sonic still manages to infiltrate the Death Egg, alone. Once there, he battles a robotic imposter before taking on Robotnik, who is piloting a giant mech. Sonic manages to defeat the robot and it explodes, damaging the Death Egg and knocking it out of orbit. Sonic falls to the ground and is saved by Tails in the Tornado. If the player has collected all of the Chaos Emeralds, Sonic, in his Super Sonic form, flies alongside it.^[2]

Gameplay[edit]

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a 2Dside-scrollingplatform game.^[3] The game stars Sonic the Hedgehog and his sidekick, Miles 'Tails' Prower, who is described as having idolized Sonic as a child and wanting to keep up with him.^[4] At the game's start, the player can select to either play as Sonic, Tails, or both. The difference between the two is purely cosmetic; the two both have identical abilities.^[5] In the latter mode, players control Sonic while Tails runs along beside him. A second player can join in at any time and control Tails separately.^[6] The game takes place over a series of levels, each divided into one, two, or three acts with a boss fight with Robotnik at the end of the last act. Certain levels have features that are unique to them; for example, Emerald Hill has corkscrew-like loops, and Chemical Plant has boost pads that instantly put Sonic at his top speed.^[4] The character can jump on enemies to defeat them; the game also introduces a new move, the 'spin dash' or 'Super Dash Attack', by which the player curls in a ball and spins while stationary, resulting in a speed boost.^[7] When the player is attacked by an enemy without rings, is crushed, falls off-screen, or exceeds the act's ten-minute limit, they lose a life and return to the most recently passed checkpoint.^[8] Dying with zero lives gives the player a game over.^[9]

When the player collects at least 50 rings and passes a checkpoint, they can warp to a 'special stage'.^[10] In these stages, the player runs through a pseudo-3Dhalf-pipe course, collecting rings and dodging bombs. A set amount of rings must be collected to pass through each of three checkpoints and in turn to obtain the emerald itself. If Sonic collides with a bomb, he loses ten rings and is immobilized momentarily. The stages rise in difficulty, and the player cannot enter any stage without passing the previous one. After finishing, the player is transported back to the star post they used to enter the special stage, with their ring-count reset to zero.^[11] When all Emeralds have been collected, Sonic can transform into Super Sonic by collecting 50 rings and jumping.^[2][10] Super Sonic is invincible to attacks, runs faster, and jumps further; however, he loses one ring per second and reverts to regular Sonic when his rings are depleted.^[2]

The game also has a competitive mode, where two players compete against each other to the finish line, as either Sonic or Tails, in a split-screen race through three of the regular levels and a special stage. After one player finishes one of the regular levels, the other player must finish the zone within 60 seconds, or the level ends instantly. In the regular levels, players are ranked in five areas (score, time, rings held at the end of the level, total rings collected, and the number of item boxes broken). The player with wins in the most number of categories wins the level. In the Special Stage, players compete to obtain the most rings. The mode ends when all stages have been completed, or if a player loses all their lives, in which their opponent will automatically win.^[12]

Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic the Hedgehog 2[edit]

Sonic & Knuckles was released in 1994, two years after Sonic 2. The Sonic & Knucklesgame cartridge features a special 'lock-on' port into which the player can insert other Genesis cartridges. Attaching Sonic 2 unlocks Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, a variation of Sonic 2 whereby the player plays as Knuckles the Echidna, a character introduced in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and not playable until Sonic & Knuckles.^[13] Though the game is largely identical to Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Knuckles is able to glide and climb walls, allowing him access to areas previously inaccessible to Sonic or Tails. However, he cannot jump as high, making some parts of the game, such as certain boss fights, more difficult. In addition, Knuckles restarts with the amount of rings he collected at checkpoints (if he loses a life), the options are unavailable, the special stages have slightly fewer rings required to collect than before (for example, ten rings fewer than in the special stages with Sonic and Tails), and the two-player mode is removed.^[13]

Development[edit]

Following the release of the original Sonic the Hedgehog, creator Yuji Naka quit Sega due to disagreements over corporate policy.^[14][15]Mark Cerny, who had recently founded Sega Technical Institute (STI) in the American state of California, met with Naka in Japan and offered him a higher salary and more creative freedom if he joined STI.^[14][15] Naka agreed, and Hirokazu Yasuhara, the lead level designer of Sonic the Hedgehog, also decided to move to STI.^[14][15] Yasuhara had been assigned to help Cerny establish STI in 1990, but the outbreak of the Gulf War delayed his move to the United States by three months, during which he joined Sonic Team and became part of the original Sonic project.^[16][17]

Development of Sonic 2 began in November 1991, two months later than Cerny had intended because Sega of America initially felt it was too soon for a sequel.^[14] STI handled development;^[14][18][19] both American and Japanese staff contributed, although, according to team member Tim Skelly, 'Everyone attached to Sonic 2 ultimately worked for Yuji Naka. I think Naka would have been much happier if he was working with an all-Japanese team, but just because of the language barrier and some cultural differences.'^[14]

Skelly designed the appearance of the pseudo-3D special stages, based on a tech demo created by Naka.^[20] The special stages were created out of pre-rendered3D polygons, video of which was compressed and halved vertically and horizontally to fit in the game cartridge.^[21]Sonic 2 also introduced Sonic's sidekick Tails, a flying two-tailed fox, inspired by Japanese folklore about the kitsune and created by level artist Yasushi Yamaguchi. Sega of America objected to the character's name, Miles Prower (a pun on 'miles per hour'), so he was given the nickname Tails as a compromise.^[22] Masaharu Yoshii served as director. The staff increased the speed of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 compared to the first game.^[23]

Music[edit]

Sonic the Hedgehog 2's music, like the previous game, was composed by Masato Nakamura, bassist and songwriter of the J-pop band Dreams Come True. The music began early in development with only concept images for Nakamura's reference, but having a previous game meant he had experience with creating music for the Genesis and began taking a similar approach to the first game.^[24] Nakamura treated Sonic the Hedgehog 2 as a film and designed the music around the atmosphere that he felt from the images of the stages.^[25] Except for the graphics and some discussion with Sonic Team, Nakamura was given freedom, which he believes was the reason why he was able to create 'such melodic tunes and unusual rhythm patterns'.^[26] Nakamura created the music while he was recording with Dreams Come True in London, working on their fifth album The Swinging Star. As a gift to Sonic Team, Masato produced an alternate version of the ending theme with Dreams Come True, included on The Swinging Star.^[27]

In 2011, the stage music from Chemical Plant and Casino Night Zone were remixed by Sega for use in Sonic Generations.^[28] That October, a three-disc compilation of the music from Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was released in Japan.^[29] It compilation includes comments by Naka and an interview with Nakamura.^[30][31] The first disc contains original tracks from both games, and the second contains Nakamura's demo recordings produced during the games' development.^[32] The third disc contains 'Sweet Sweet Sweet' by Dreams Come True,^[29] its English-language version 'Sweet Dream', and 2006 remixes of both songs by singer Akon, used in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).^{[33][33][34][35]}

Release[edit]

Sega launched a $10 million advertising campaign for Sonic the Hedgehog 2.^[36] Sega sought a global release date to make the game available in all stores on the same day, a fairly novel concept at the time. This required Sega to reconfigure its distribution system to ensure that games were available in all major stores. The release date, Tuesday, November 24, 1992 was marketed as 'Sonic 2s day'. While the Genesis release in North America and the Mega Drive release in Europe both released the game on this day, Sega made the game available a few days before in Japan on November 21, 1992.^[37][38] 400,000 copies of Sonic 2 were sold in the first seven days after release^[36] and over 6 million in the lifespan of the console (only 180,000 of which were in Japan^[39]).^[40]

Cut content[edit]

Sonic 2 is believed to have been planned to have time travel aspects and was originally developed alongside Sonic CD as the same game,^[41] but Sonic CD eventually became a separate game.^[42] A demonstration cartridge of Sonic 2 was stolen at a New York City toy show early in 1992. The theft was attributed to a lack of security. The prototype ROM was rediscovered by fan Simon Wai on a Chinese website,^[43] and features playable sections of two cut levels: Wood Zone and Hidden Palace Zone.^[44][45][46]

Hidden Palace Zone was planned as a secret stage accessed by collecting Chaos Emeralds. According to Naka, the stage would explain where the Chaos Emeralds came from and grant Sonic his Super Sonic powers.^[47] It was removed for lack of time and cartridge space, and a different version was used in Sonic & Knuckles. The 2013 remastered iOS port includes a redesigned Hidden Palace Zone as an optional stage.^[48] Sega released mockup images of another cut level, the desert-themed Dust Hill Zone,^[49][50] and the stolen 1992 prototype features an unused level slot titled 'Genocide City'.^[43] According to Naka, the third act of Metropolis Zone was planned as a different stage, but was cut. Feeling it would be a shame to waste the finished map, the team redesigned it as an additional act for Metropolis Zone.^[51]

Other versions and rereleases[edit]

8-bit version[edit]

A separate version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was developed by Aspect and released for the 8-bit Master System and Game Gear systems. Though based on the original game, it has different level designs and a different plot.^[52]

2013 remaster[edit]

A remastered mobile port was released for iOS, Android and Windows Phone on December 12, 2013. It was developed from scratch by Christian 'Taxman' Whitehead and Simon 'Stealth' Thomley using the Retro Engine, previously used in the 2011 Sonic CD remaster. This version adds enhancements such as widescreen graphics, Knuckles as a playable character, time and boss attack modes, online multiplayer, additional multiplayer stages, Tails's flying and swimming abilities from Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the previously unreleased Hidden Palace Zone,^[48] and a post-credits scene which depicts the Death Egg crash-landing on Angel Island.^[53] Shaun Musgrave of TouchArcade declared it the 'definitive version' of the game.^[54] The iOS version was updated in 2016, adding compatibility for Apple TV.^[55]

Compilations[edit]

The game has been rereleased on compilations including Sonic Compilation (1995) for Genesis;^[56]Sonic Jam (1997) for Sega Saturn;^[57]Sonic Mega Collection (2002) for Nintendo GameCube;^[58]Sonic Mega Collection Plus (2004) for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC;^[59]Sega Genesis Collection (2006) for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable;^[60]Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection (2009) for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3;^[61] and Sonic Classic Collection (2010) for Nintendo DS.^[62]

Digital ports[edit]

The game was made available for download on Wii's Virtual Console on June 11, 2007,^[63]PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation Network on April 19, 2011,^[64] and Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade, the latter having enhancements such as online leaderboards, achievements, and online play.^[65] Various mobile phone versions exist as well, including the iOS release.^[66] The game was released as part of the Nintendo 3DS3D Classics line in Japan on July 22, 2015, with a release in North America and Europe initially slated for September 2015, before being pushed back to October 8.^[67][68] In 2018, Sega announced a Nintendo Switch port would be released as part of the Sega Ages product line. It includes most of the features added to the 3DS version, and added the option to use Sonic's Drop Dash ability from Sonic Mania and a time attack mode.^[69]

Reception[edit]

Due to the popularity of its predecessor, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 already had an established fanbase anticipating its release.^[3] The game received critical acclaim and was a bestseller in the UK charts for 2 months.^[95] As of 2006, the game had sold over 6 million copies,^[40] making it the second best-selling game for the Sega Genesis (after the original Sonic the Hedgehog).

Reviewers praised the large levels,^[81] colorful graphics and backgrounds,^[81][96] increased characters, enemies,^[3] and music. GameSpot stated that 'time may have eroded Sega's prominence, but it hasn't done much to diminish how sweet Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is,' and, along with other reviewers, commented on how it is still a fun game to play.^[3][81]Electronic Gaming Monthly named it the best Genesis game of 1992.^[91] In 2000, Game Informer ranked Sonic 2 number 61 on its 'Top 100 Games of All Time' list, calling it 'the most challenging and finely polished Sonic the Hedgehog title.'^[97]Mega placed the game at #36 in their 'Top Sega Mega Drive Games of All Time' list.^[98] Critics also enjoyed the faster gameplay in comparison to its predecessor, as well as its new features. Lucas Thomas of IGN praised the new 'spin dash' ability.^[99]

The main criticisms were of the two-player mode, a first for the series.^[100][96] Reviewers criticized the mode's slowdown and flickering, and the squashed play area. However, Lucas Thomas praised the innovation, quipping that 'Mario and Luigi could never run competitively through the same levels, at the same time'.^[99] William Burrill of the Toronto Star described the racing mode as the 'only part of the game that can be faulted,' as its split-screen view 'squeezes the graphics, plumps up the characters and slows down the action.'^[101]

Legacy[edit]

Sonic 2's success was a major factor in Sega catching up to Nintendo in the early-1990s console wars.^[102] It brought their market share up to 40% within six months of its release.^[81] Tails, whom Sonic the Hedgehog 2 introduced, went on to become one of the most prominent characters in the series, appearing as Sonic's sidekick in most Sonic media, including in later games such as Sonic Colors, Sonic Generations, and Sonic Lost World. Sonic the Hedgehog 2's popularity extended to various merchandise such as comic books such as Sonic the Comic,^[103] a television series,^[104] and a sequel, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which received similar acclaim.^[105]

For Sonic's 20th anniversary, Sega released Sonic Generations, which remade aspects of various past games from the franchise.^[106] The PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC versions contained a remade 'Chemical Plant' level.^[107] It also contained a remake of the final boss fight, the Death Egg Robot, as the Classic Era boss of the game.^[108] Separately, the Nintendo 3DS version of the game contained a remake of the 'Casino Night' level.^[109] A 'Casino Night' themed pinball minigame was made available for download as a pre-order bonus for the console versions at GameStop.^[110] Remade versions of Chemical Plant and Oil Ocean also appear in the 2017 game Sonic Mania.^[111]

In 2008, an unofficial, high-definition remake was announced titled Sonic the Hedgehog 2 HD, which included development members who would later work on Sonic Mania.^[112][113] In 2012, it was reported that a potential keylogger was included with an alpha build of the game, which led to the project being discontinued due to the controversy.^[114] In 2014, the project was restarted under a new development team.^[115] The final version is planned to feature additional stages and the option to play levels as Knuckles the Echidna.^[116]

Notes[edit]

1. ^Japanese: ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ2 (ツー)Hepburn: Sonikku za Hejjihoggu Tsū^?

References[edit]

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94. ^GamePro, issue 44 (March 1993), pages 22-24
95. ^'Official Gallup UK Mega Drive Sales Chart'. Mega (6). March 1993.
96. ^ ^ab'Game Zero's Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Review'. Game Zero. 1993.
97. ^'Top 100 Games of All Time'. Game Informer. Vol. 11 no. 100. August 2001. p. 28.
98. ^Mega. No. 26. Maverick Magazines. November 1994. p. 74.Missing or empty |title= (help)
99. ^ ^abThomas, Lucas (June 11, 2007). 'Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Review'. IGN. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
100. ^Dotson, Carter. 'Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Gets the Remastering Treatment, With the Long-Lost Hidden Palace Level Restored'. 148Apps. Steel Media Ventures. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
101. ^Burrill, William (December 12, 1992). 'This Sonic is super, too'. Toronto Star. p. F4.
102. ^Claiborn, Samuel. '21 Crazy Facts About Sonic And The Console War He Started'. IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
103. ^Allan Sugarbaker (September 24, 2001). 'Interviews: James Wallis'. OgreCave.com. Retrieved January 22, 2012. I teamed up with Carl Sargent and Marc Gascoigne to produce four more Sonic books, novels this time, for Virgin Publishing, under the pseudonym of 'Martin Adams'.
104. ^'FCC 398 Children's Television Programming Report'. Licensing.FCC.gov. March 24, 2005. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
105. ^'Sonic the Hedgehog 3'. GameRankings. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
106. ^'Sonic Generations overview'. IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
107. ^Kollar, Phil. 'See Sonic's Classic Chemical Plant Zone From Two Perspectives'. Game Informer. GameStop. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
108. ^'NYCC 11: Death Egg Robot Boss'. GameTrailers. DFY Media. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
109. ^Newton, James. 'Sonic Generations Shots Show Casino Night Action'. NintendoLife. GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
110. ^Good, Owen. 'Sonic's Casino Night Pinball Comes to PC on Dec. 26'. Kotaku. Gawker Media. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
111. ^Bailey, Kat. 'Sonic Mania Brings Back the Best Sonic Level Ever'. USgamer. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
112. ^McWhertor, Micheal (September 16, 2008). 'Sonic 2 HD tech demo released, requires serious blast processing'. Kotaku. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
113. ^@PagodaWestGames (July 29, 2016). 'Jared and Tom, formerly a part of S2HD are in charge of level design/art and @teelopesmusic is doing the music' (Tweet) – via Twitter.
114. ^Plunkett, Luke (April 10, 2012). 'Sonic 2 HD contains keylogger, delete immediately'. Kotaku. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
115. ^Prell, S (June 6, 2017). 'Fan-crafted Sonic 2 HD project pokes its nose out once more'. Engadget. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
116. ^Ray Corriea, Alexa. 'The Sonic the Hedgehog 2 HD fan project is back from the dead (correction)'. Polygon. Retrieved October 9, 2017.

External links[edit]

• Official Sega webpage(in Japanese)

Sonic the Hedgehog^[a][b] (commonly referred to as Sonic ’06) is a 2006 platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. It was produced in commemoration of the Sonic series' 15th anniversary, and intended as a reboot for the seventh generation video game consoles. Players control Sonic, Shadow, and new character Silver, who battle Solaris, an ancient evil pursued by Doctor Eggman. Each playable character has his own campaign and abilities, and must complete levels, explore hub worlds and fight bosses to advance the story. In multiplayer modes, players can work cooperatively to collect Chaos Emeralds or race to the end of a level.

Development began in 2004, led by Sonic co-creator Yuji Naka. Sonic Team sought to create an appealing game in the vein of superhero films like Batman Begins, hoping it would advance the series with a realistic tone and multiple gameplay styles. Problems developed after Naka resigned to form his own company, Prope. The team split to work on the Wii game Sonic and the Secret Rings (2007), resulting in Sonic the Hedgehog being rushed for the holiday season. It was released for Xbox 360 in November 2006 and for PlayStation 3 the following month. Versions for Wii and Windows were canceled. Downloadable content featuring new single-player modes was released in 2007.

Sonic the Hedgehog received praise in prerelease showings, as journalists believed it could return to the series' roots after years of mixed reviews. However, it was a critical failure. Reviewers criticized its loading times, camera system, story, stability, and controls. It has been frequently described as one of the worst games in the series. In 2010, Sega delisted Sonic the Hedgehog from retailers, following its decision to remove all Sonic games with below-average Metacritic scores to increase the value of the brand. Its failure led to a rethinking of the series' direction; future games ignored its tone and most characters.

• 3Development

Gameplay[edit]

Sonic the Hedgehog is a 3D platformer with action-adventure and role-playing elements.^[1] Like Sonic Adventure, the single-player navigates through open-ended hub worlds where they can converse with townspeople and perform missions to advance the story.^[2] The main gameplay takes place in linear levels that become accessible as the game progresses. The main playable characters are three hedgehogs: Sonic, Shadow, and Silver, who feature in separate campaigns titled 'episodes'.^[3] A bonus 'Last Episode', which involves all three hedgehogs and concludes the storyline, is unlocked upon completing the first three.^[4][5]

Sonic's story focuses on the speed-based platforming seen in previous Sonic games, with some sections having him run at full speed while dodging obstacles or riding a snowboard.^[3] Another character, Princess Elise, must be escorted in some stages, and she can use a special barrier to guard Sonic.^[6]:13 Shadow's sections are similarly speedy, albeit more combat-oriented, with some segments having him ride vehicles.^[1] In contrast, Silver's levels are slower and revolve around his use of telekinesis to defeat enemies and solve puzzles. In certain areas, control is switched to one of several friend characters,^[c] with their own abilities.^[3][7][8][9]

Although each character traverses the same levels, their unique abilities allow the player to access different areas of each stage and prevent them from accessing certain items. Scattered through each level are golden rings, which serve as a form of health. The rings can protect a character from a single hit by an enemy or obstacle, at which point they will be scattered and blink before disappearing. The game begins with Sonic, Shadow, and Silver each assigned a limited number of lives. These lives are successively lost whenever, with no rings in their possession, the characters are hit by an enemy or obstacle or encounter other fatal hazard. The game ends when the player exhausts the characters' lives.^[3][8][9] Every few levels, players will encounter a boss stage; to proceed, they must defeat the boss by depleting its health meter.^[10]

Upon completion of a level or mission, players are given a grade depending on their performance, with an 'S' rank being the best and a 'D' rank being the worst. Players are given money for completing missions; more money is given to higher ranks. This money can be used to buy upgrades for the player character. Certain upgrades are required to complete the game.^[6]:8–11 The game also features two multiplayer modes: 'Tag', a cooperative mode where two players must work together to clear levels and collect Chaos Emeralds, and 'Battle', a player versus player mode where two players race against each other.^[3]

Plot[edit]

Doctor Eggman kidnaps Princess Elise of Soleanna in the hopes of harnessing the Flames of Disaster, a destructive power sealed within her. Aided by his friends Tails and Knuckles, Sonic works to protect Elise from Eggman. Meanwhile, Shadow and his fellow agent Rouge accidentally release an evil spirit, Mephiles. The spirit transports them to a post-apocalyptic future ravaged by a demonic monster, Iblis. When Mephiles meets survivors Silver and Blaze, he fools them into thinking Sonic is the cause of this destruction and sends them to the present to kill him.

Throughout the story, Sonic and friends travel between the past, present, and future in their efforts to stop Mephiles and Iblis and protect Elise from Doctor Eggman. Though at first Silver stalks Sonic and impedes his attempts to save Elise, Shadow reveals to him that Sonic is not the cause of his world's suffering but rather Mephiles, who is trying to change the past for his own evil purposes. They learn that Mephiles seeks to bond with Iblis, who was sealed within Elise as a child, as they are the two halves of Soleanna's omnipotent god, Solaris. Mephiles eventually succeeds after killing Sonic to make Elise cry over his death, releasing her seal on Iblis and merging with him to become Solaris, who then attempts to consume time itself. The heroes use the power of the Chaos Emeralds to revive Sonic, and he, Shadow, and Silver transform into their super forms to defeat Solaris. Sonic and Elise are brought to the past and extinguish Solaris's flame, removing the god from existence and preventing the previous events from ever occurring.^[11]

Development[edit]

After finishing Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg (2003),^[12]Sonic Team began to plan its next project. Among the ideas the team was considering was a game with a realistic tone and an advanced physics engine. When Sega reassigned the team to start working on a new game in the bestselling Sonic series, they decided to retain the realistic approach.^[13]Sonic the Hedgehog was conceived for sixth generation consoles, but Sonic Team realized its release would coincide with the series' 15th anniversary and decided to develop it for seventh generation consoles such as the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.^[14] Series co-creator and team lead Yuji Naka wanted the first Sonic game for seventh generation systems to be a reboot of the franchise. Naka noted the success of superhero films such as Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Batman Begins (2005)—which reached an audience far beyond fans of the comics those films were based on—and wanted to mimic this success.^[15] Thus, development of Sonic the Hedgehog began in late 2004.^[16] Sonic Team decided to use the same title as the original 1991 game^[17] that had launched the franchise to indicate that it would be a major advance from the previous games.^[12]

The Havok physics engine, previously used in their PlayStation 2 game Astro Boy (2004),^[18] allowed Sonic Team to create expansive levels previously impossible on earlier sixth generation consoles and experiment with multiple play-styles.^[13] In addition, the engine also enabled Sonic Team to experiment with aspects such as global illumination, a night-and day system, and giving Sonic new abilities like using ropes to leap into the air. Director Shun Nakamura demonstrated the engine during their stage shows at the Tokyo Game Show (TGS) in 2005.^[19] As the hardware of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 was more powerful compared to the prior generation's consoles,^[9][15] the design team was able to create a more realistic setting than those of previous Sonic games.^[20][21] Sonic and Doctor Eggman were redesigned to better suit this updated environment: Sonic was made taller, with longer quills, and Eggman was made slimmer and given a more realistic appearance.^[21] Nakamura and producer Masahiro Kumono reasoned this was because the characters would be interacting with more humans, and felt it would make the game more appealing to older players.^[14] At one point, Sonic Team considered giving Sonic realistic fur and rubber textures.^[19]

While Sonic Team had a major focus on the visuals, they considered their primary challenge creating a game that was as appealing as the original Sega GenesisSonic games.^[21] They felt the preceding titles Sonic Heroes (2003) and Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) had veered into different directions and wanted to return the series to its speed-based roots in new ways. For example, they wanted to include multiple paths in levels, like the Genesis games had, a goal the realistic environments helped achieve. Sonic Team sought to 'aggressively' address problems with the virtual camera system from earlier Sonic games, something they had received many complaints about.^[14]

Silver the Hedgehog's gameplay style was born out of Sonic Team's desire to take advantage of Havok's realistic physics capabilities. The first design concept for Silver's character was an orange mink; he attained his final hedgehog look after over 50 design iterations.^[13] In designing Shadow's gameplay, the developers abandoned the concept of firearms previously used in Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) in favor of combat elements to differentiate him from the other characters. Shadow's gameplay was further fleshed out with the addition of vehicles; each vehicle uses its own physical engine.^[22] The game also features several CGI cutscenes produced by Blur Studio. Animation supervisor Leo Santos said Blur faced challenges animating the opening scene due to the placement of Sonic's mouth.^[23]

As development progressed, Sonic Team faced serious problems, starting with Naka's resignation as head of Sonic Team to form his own company, Prope.^[24][25] Naka has said he resigned because he did not want to continue making Sonic games and instead wished to focus on original properties.^[26] With his departure, 'the heart and soul of Sonic' was gone, according to former Sega of America CEO Tom Kalinske.^[15]Sonic the Hedgehog was originally intended for release on all major seventh generation consoles as well as Windows,^[27] but Sega was presented with development kits for Nintendo's less powerful Wii console. Sega believed porting the game to Wii would take too long, and so conceived a Sonic game that would use the motion detection function of its controller.^[28]

Therefore, the team was split in two:^[25] Nakamura led one team to finish Sonic the Hedgehog for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 while producer Yojiro Ogawa led the other to begin work on Sonic and the Secret Rings for the Wii.^[29][28] The split left an unusually small team to work on Sonic the Hedgehog. Sega pressured the team to finish the game in time for the 2006 holiday shopping season, so with the deadline quickly approaching, Sonic Team rushed the final stages of development, ignoring bug reports from Sega's quality assurance department and control problems.^{[2][25][15][30]} In retrospect, Ogawa noted that the final period proved to be a large challenge for the team. Not only was the Xbox 360 release imminent, but the PlayStation 3 launch was scheduled not long afterwards. This put tremendous pressure on the team to develop for both systems.^[30] Producer Takashi Iizuka similarly recalled, 'we didn't have any time to polish and we were just churning out content as quick as we could.'^[15]

Audio[edit]

The cast of the Sonic X anime series reprised their voice roles for Sonic the Hedgehog, and actress Lacey Chabert supplied the voice of series newcomer and damsel in distress, Princess Elise.^[31] The score for the game was primarily composed by Tomoya Ohtani along with Hideaki Kobayashi, Mariko Nanba, Taihei Sato, and Takahito Eguchi.^[32][33] It was the first Sonic game that Ohtani, who had previously contributed to Sonic Heroes (2003) and Shadow the Hedgehog, worked on as sound director.^[32] The main theme for the game, the fantasy-rap song 'His World', was performed by Ali Tabatabaee and Matty Lewis of the band Zebrahead.^[34][35]Crush 40 performed Shadow's theme, 'All Hail Shadow', while vocalist Lee Brotherton sang Silver's theme, 'Dreams of an Absolution'.^[36]R&B artist Akon performed a remix of the Dreams Come True song 'Sweet Sweet Sweet', a song previously used as the ending theme to Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992).^[37][34]

Because it was the first Sonic game for seventh generation consoles, Ohtani 'aimed to emphasise that it was a epic next-generation title.'^[32] Two soundtrack albums were released on January 10, 2007, under Sega's Wave Master label: Sonic the Hedgehog Vocal Traxx: Several Wills and Sonic the Hedgehog Original Soundtrack.^[34][38]Vocal Traxx: Several Wills contains seven songs; four are from the game, while the remaining three are remixes, including a version of 'His World' performed by Crush 40.^[39]Original Soundtrack includes all 93 tracks featured in Sonic the Hedgehog, spanning three discs.^[36]

Release[edit]

Sonic the Hedgehog was announced in a closed-doors presentation at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in May 2005.^[40] Later that year, at TGS in September, Naka revealed the game's title and said its release would correspond with the series' 15th anniversary.^[17] A demo version of the game was playable at E3 2006.^[21] A second demo, featuring a short section of Sonic's gameplay, was released via Xbox Live in September 2006.^[41] Sega released several packages of desktop wallpaper featuring characters from the game,^[34] and American publisher Prima Games published an official strategy guide, written by Fletcher Black.^[5] Sega also made a deal with Microsoft to run advertisements for the game in Windows Live Messenger.^[42]

The Xbox 360 version of Sonic the Hedgehog was released in North America on November 14, 2006,^[43] followed by a European release on November 24, 2006.^[44] Both versions were released in Japan on December 21, 2006.^[45][46] The PlayStation 3 version was released in North America on January 30, 2007,^[47] and in Europe on March 23, 2007.^[44] The game is often referred to by critics and fans with colloquial terms that reference its year of release, such as Sonic 2006 or Sonic '06.^[48][49]

In 2007, Sega released several packages of downloadable content that added features to single-player gameplay.^[10] These include a more difficult single-player mode and a continuous battle mode with all of the game's bosses back-to-back.^[10][50] One downloadable addition, 'Team Attack Amigo' mode, sends players through a multitude of levels, changing to a different character every two or three levels and culminating in a boss fight.^[10] The PlayStation3 version was delayed to allow more time to incorporate the downloadable content, and thus launched alongside it.^[51]

The game was digitally rereleased via the Xbox Live Marketplace on April 15, 2010.^[52] The following October, various Sonic games with average or below average scores on the review aggregator website Metacritic, including Sonic the Hedgehog, were delisted from retailers. Sega reasoned this was to avoid confusing customers and increase the value of the brand, following positive prerelease responses to Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I and Sonic Colors (both 2010).^[53]

Reception[edit]

Sonic the Hedgehog was well-received during prerelease showings.^[67][68] Reception to prior games Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog had been mixed; after a number of well-received showings and demos, some felt Sonic the Hedgehog could be a return to the series' roots.^[67]GameSpot said the game 'showed a considerable amount of promise' after playing a demo at E3 2006,^[21] and GameSpy praised its graphics and environments.^[68] In 2008 GamesRadar said that it had looked 'amazing' before its release.^[67]

At the time of release, the game received widespread negative reviews.^[69][15][70] Metacritic classified both versions' reception as 'generally unfavorable'.^[54][55] Sega reported that the game sold strongly, with 870,000 units sold in the United States and Europe within six months.^[71] The Xbox 360 version was branded under the Platinum Hits budget line.^[72]

Critics were divided on the game's presentation.^[7][3]IGN called its graphics and audio 'decent' and felt its interface and menu system worked well but lacked polish,^[7] but GameSpot said the graphics, while colorful, were bland and only a small improvement over sixth-generation games,^[3] a sentiment echoed by 1UP.com.^[1]Game Informer and Eurogamer noted several graphical glitches.^[15][9]Eurogamer also criticized the decision to continue the Sonic Adventure (1998) style of gameplay, believing that Sonic Team had learned nothing from the criticisms of past games.^[9]

Reviewers singled out the game's camera system, loading times, controls, level designs, and glitches.^[7][9]GameSpot said the level design was worsened by the frustrating camera system,^[3] and Game Informer criticized the game's high difficulty, citing the camera as causing most deaths.^[4] Some reviewers were unhappy that the majority of the game was not spent playing as Sonic; playing as Tails, GameSpot wrote, made a level boring.^[3] Similar criticism was offered by Eurogamer, finding that the supporting cast annoyed rather than fleshing the game out; they considered the camera system to be the worst they had ever seen in a video game.^[9] On the positive side, 1UP felt that despite the control and level design problems, the game still played like a Sonic game.^[1]

The plot was criticized as confusing and inappropriately dark.^[3][69][70]GamesRadar considered it overwrought^[73] and 'conceptually challenged',^[74] and Eurogamer found its voice acting painful and its cutscenes cringeworthy.^[9] Some reviewers unfavorably compared the story to that of an anime or Final Fantasy.^[3][75] The romance between Sonic and the human Princess Elise was especially criticized;^{[69][73][74][76][77]} for GamesTM, it marked the point 'the [Sonic] series had veered off into absolute nonsense.'^[69]

'This ... is a mess from top to bottom', wrote GameSpot, that 'only the most blindly reverent Sonic the Hedgehog fan could possibly squeeze any enjoyment out of'.^[3]IGN said that the game had some redeeming qualities, with brief segments of gameplay that demonstrated how a next-generation Sonic game could work, but found it 'rips them away as soon as it shows them' and concluded that the game failed to reinvent the series.^[7]Eurogamer believed that Sonic the Hedgehog's mistakes would have been noticed even if the game had been released in 1996.^[9]

Despite the mostly negative reception, Game Informer and Dave Halverson of Play Magazine defended the game.^[4][8]Game Informer described it as ambitious and praised the graphics, story, amount of content, and replay value, but believed only Sonic fans would enjoy the game.^[4] Halverson initially gave the Xbox360 version a 9.5/10, praising each character's controls and abilities and calling it the best 3D Sonic game yet. In the following issue, Halverson reassessed it as 8.5/10, writing that he had been told that the load times and glitches in his review copy would not be in the final version of the game.^[8] In a later review of the PlayStation3 version, Halverson was frustrated that the problems had still not been corrected and that the performance was worse despite the extra development time; Halverson gave this version a 5.5/10.^[63]The A.V. Club said in 2016 that despite its poor quality, the soundtrack has some 'genuine rippers'.^[2]

Legacy[edit]

GameTrailers and GamesRadar considered Sonic the Hedgehog one of the most disappointing games of 2006.^[73][78]GamesTM singled out the game when it ranked the Sonic franchise at the top of their list of 'Video Game Franchises That Lost Their Way'.^[69]The A.V. Club,^[2]Kotaku,^[25]Game Informer,^[48] and USgamer called the game the worst in the Sonic series,^[79] and the staff of GamesRadar named it among the worst video games of all time.^[70] The game remains popular for 'Let's Play' walkthroughs, with players showing off its glitches.^[2][79] The official SonicTwitter account also mocks the game.^[2] The failure of Sonic the Hedgehog led to the direction of the series being rethought. The next main Sonic game, 2008's Unleashed, ignored the gritty and realistic tone of its predecessor. With Unleashed's sequel Sonic Colors (2010), The A.V. Club wrote, 'the series rediscovered its strength for whimsical tales with light tones.'^[2]

Sonic the Hedgehog introduced Silver the Hedgehog, Princess Elise, Mephiles, and Iblis to the franchise;^[75][80][81] most have made few appearances since.^[76][80] Silver is a playable character in Sonic Rivals (2006) and its sequel,^[82] in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity (2007),^[83] and in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games and its sequels,^[84] and is a minor character in the Nintendo DS version of Sonic Colors (2010) and Sonic Forces (2017).^[85][86] He also appeared in the Sonic the Hedgehogcomic book series published by Archie Comics.^[87] The main theme of Sonic the Hedgehog, 'His World', was sampled in Drake's 2017 song 'KMT'.^[88]

To celebrate the Sonic franchise's 20th anniversary in 2011, Sega released Sonic Generations, which remade aspects of past Sonic games. The PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows versions feature a remake of Sonic the Hedgehog's 'Crisis City' level,^[89] and every version, including the Nintendo 3DS version, includes a reimagined version of the boss battle with Silver. The decision to include Sonic the Hedgehog stages and bosses in Sonic Generations was criticized by critics and fans of the series; Jim Sterling of Destructoid referred to the Silver boss fight as the 'catch' of the otherwise high-quality game.^[90][91]

In 2015, a fan group, Gistix, began developing a remake for Windows using the Unity engine.^[92] A demo was released in January 2017, and was positively received by journalists.^[93][94] A second demo was released in late 2017, which Eurogamer called ambitious.^[95] A second team of fans, led by ChaosX, began developing a separate PC remake in Unity under the codename 'Project 06', releasing a demo in early 2019.^[96]

Notes[edit]

1. ^Japanese: ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグHepburn: Sonikku za Hejjihoggu^?
2. ^stylized as SONIC THE HEDGEHOG
3. ^The friend characters include Tails or Knuckles the Echidna for Sonic, Rouge the Bat or E-123 Omega for Shadow, and Amy Rose or Blaze the Cat for Silver.

References[edit]

Sonic The Hedgehog Ps3 Iso

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Sonic The Hedgehog 2006 Rom

External links[edit]

• Official website(in Japanese)
• Sonic the Hedgehog (2006 game) on Sonic Retro, for character stats and additional plot details