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I love my best friend Tails!

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Miles Prower, better known by his nickname Tails, is a character from Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series. Tails also appears in several spin-off games which he stars, comic books, cartoons, and films. He is the second character to consistently appear by Sonic's side in the series, appearing in nearly every mainline and spin-off since his debut. The name "Miles Prower" is a pun on " miles per hour", a reference to the famed speed of Sonic the Hedgehog. Miles Prower is a two-tailed fox, hence the nickname.

A mechanical genius and skilled pilot, he can fly by spinning his tails like a helicopter rotor and can be seen flying in multiple games and TV shows created by Sega. He debuted in November 1992 with the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. In the mid-1990s, he was featured as the main character in a number of spinoff games: Tails and the Music Maker for the Sega Pico, Tails Adventure and Tails' Skypatrol for the Game Gear. Tails was rated the third-most-popular character in the franchise, behind Sonic and Shadow, in an official poll from Sega in 2009.

Yasushi Yamaguchi, originally the main artist and zone designer for Sega's Sonic Team, designed Tails for an internal competition for a sidekick to the speedy hedgehog. The character was inspired by a kitsune, a creature from Japanese folklore that could over time grow multiple tails. The character was also meant to hold a "deep admiration for Sonic".

While Yamaguchi's entry won, Sega of Japan wanted to name the character "Miles Prower" (the surname being a play on "per hour"), whereas the American subsidiary Sega of America preferred the moniker "Tails". Sega of America crafted a compelling backstory for the character to convince the Japanese parent company and Sonic Team to have him named "Tails". Yamaguchi ended up with a compromise, using "Miles Prower" as the character's real name; "Tails" would be his nickname, giving the character the full name of Miles "Tails" Prower.

The character debuted as Sonic's tag-along partner in the franchise's second game and has remained an important character since. However, the character's uniqueness was not established until Sonic the Hedgehog 3, when players were given the power to control his flying (although the AI would make Tails fly when he would get off-screen).

Tails was redesigned (along with all of the other Sonic characters) by Yuji Uekawa for Sonic Adventure. His fur changed color to a more yellow shade as opposed to the orange in his early appearances, and he gained blue irises.

In the American comic book, along with the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog cartoons, he was originally dark brown, but the comic artists and cartoon artists eventually decided to change this to match his in-game appearance.

Voice portrayal

Throughout the years, Tails has been voiced by several different voice actors. In the Japanese dubs, Tails was voiced by Nariko Fujieda from 1994 to 1996, Hekiru Shiina in 1996, Kazuki Hayashi in 1998, Atsuki Murata from 2000 to 2001 and by Ryō Hirohashi since 2003.

On Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails was originally voiced by Russi Taylor in the unaired pilot, Christopher Stephen Welch would later take over and voice the character throughout the entire series, excluding the Christmas special where he was voiced by Chris Turner. He was then voiced by Bradley Pierce in Sonic the Hedgehog and then by Lainie Frasier in Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie.

Beginning in 2003 with , he was voiced by Amy Palant who would later take over the role in the video games, starting with Shadow the Hedgehog in 2005. Palant was replaced by Kate Higgins in 2010, beginning with Sonic Free Riders. She continued to voice the character until 2013, where her final role as Tails was in Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, though she reprised her role in 2021 for the Sonic Colors: Rise of the Wisps miniseries. Since 2014, Tails has been voiced by Colleen O'Shaughnessey, including in the television series and the two live-action films. In the 2022 Sonic short film, Sonic Drone Home, Tails is voiced by Alicyn Packard. In the Netflix series Sonic Prime, Tails is voiced by Ashleigh Ball.

The character of Tails is portrayed as a very gentle, comforting, and humble fox. As a longtime friend, he admires Sonic and dreams of being just like him. He wants to prove that he can be counted on, and has fought Dr. Eggman and his robots without the aid of Sonic before. He is fond of mint candy. Despite overcoming most of his fears and becoming very bold, Tails remains keraunophobic. Tails is not intended to be a selfish character and instead, is always ready and willing to help others without asking for anything in return.

Tails has been described as a mechanical prodigy who rivals Dr. Eggman but has not yet realized his full potential. Coupled with his skills as an airplane pilot, he uses a biplane nicknamed "Tornado" to assist Sonic on their adventures. Additionally, by spinning his two tails like a helicopter rotor, he has the unique ability to push himself through the air to catch up with Sonic; however, this tires him quickly, hence his use of planes. Unlike Sonic, Tails can swim. Like Sonic, he can transform into Super Tails, but he requires either the Chaos Emeralds (Sonic Mania) or the Super Emeralds (Sonic 3 and Knuckles) to transform. Also, when in this form (in Sonic 3 and Knuckles only), a swarm of Flickies circle Tails. This was seen first as what seemed to be a one-time appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles and then again in Sonic Heroes, where alongside Team Sonic members Sonic and Knuckles, would transform themselves into their super forms.

In video games

Tails debuted in November 1992 with the release of the Sonic the Hedgehog 2, playing the part of Sonic's sidekick. He was a playable character from the second controller and could be chosen as player one for the main game, though he did not possess the ability to fly. Sonic Chaos (1993), on the Game Gear/ Master System was the second game where the player could control Tails and the first time the player could control his flight, this changed some elements on gameplay. Tails also made a minor cameo in for the Sega CD, appearing in the debug mode unlock screen. Tails makes an appearance alongside Sonic in the little known arcade game, SegaSonic Popcorn Shop, a Japanese arcade game which also dispenses popcorn after playing the game.

Tails made his third major appearance in the 1994 game, , with the ability to pick up Sonic and use his tails to fly him to other areas rotating his tails like a helicopter. He also gained the ability to swim under water, something Sonic has never been able to do. This is also first time you can control tails' flight in a Sega Genesis game.

Tails has also starred in games without Sonic, such as Tails' Skypatrol, which is a side-scrolling score attack like game for the Game Gear released exclusively in Japan. This was followed by Tails Adventures later the same year, which is a -esque platformer with RPG elements. Tails is also the star of Tails and the Music Maker for the Sega Pico.

Tails was intended to appear in the Sega 32X game Knuckles' Chaotix, but was scrapped during development. Leftover data of him still remains in the game, and can be played as by using a cheat code.

In later games, Tails had roles that require unique modes of play including Sonic Adventure, where he appears as one of the six playable characters. His gameplay is based around standard platforming stages, but the goal of each stage is to get to the Chaos Emerald before Sonic, or to the missile dud in the final race against Eggman. In Sonic Adventure 2, he is featured in third-person-shooting segments, seated in his "Cyclone" mech. These stages, along with Dr. Eggman's shooting levels in the same game, were very similar to the E-102 Gamma levels of Sonic Adventure. In Sonic Adventure, he was given a theme song "Believe In Myself", of which another version appeared in Sonic Adventure 2.

Tails also appeared either as a playable character or in a supporting role in many later Sonic titles and still often resumes his role flying other characters around, such as in Sonic Heroes, where Tails appears on Team Sonic as their flight-type character, being capable of carrying both Sonic and Knuckles the Echidna.

Tails is seen in the background of Green Hill Zone along with Silver and Knuckles in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and also appears as a trophy, he makes an appearance in the game's two sequels as well. He is the third character the player unlocks in Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, where he acts as a team medic.

Tails appears in Sonic Unleashed, where he helps Sonic restore the shattered planet, largely by flying Sonic from continent to continent in the game.

Tails takes a supporting role in Sonic and the Black Knight, portrayed as a local blacksmith who helps players craft goods from the items Sonic collects.

He appears as a playable character in all of the Mario & Sonic titles, as well as in Sega Superstars Tennis, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, and Transformed. He also appears in Sonic Colors as a non-playable character.

Tails celebrates Sonic's birthday along with his friends by setting up a party in Sonic Generations, but when the Time Eater appears, it warps them through various time holes, sending Tails to Green Hill. After Sonic frees him, Tails meets his classic counterpart (Classic Tails) and concludes that they were traveling through time and space. They accompany both Sonics throughout the game, later discovering that Eggman and Robotnik are controlling the Time Eater. Both Classic and Modern Tails, along with all of Sonic's friends, help motivate the 2 Sonics to defeat the Time Eater.

The feature to play as Tails was added to the 2011 enhanced port of Sonic CD. He later appeared as a co-op character in the second episode of Sonic 4.

Tails was added as a playable character in the enhanced port of Sonic the Hedgehog released in 2013 for mobile devices. The port also has the option to play the "Sonic and Tails" mode as well.

Sonic and Tails end up facing a group of villains allied with Dr. Eggman, called the Deadly Six when they were shot down while chasing him in the Tornado in Sonic Lost World. They run into Eggman and notice him wielding a Cacophonic Conch to control the Deadly Six. Despite Tails' warnings, Sonic knocks away the conch, causing the Deadly Six to betray him. Eggman reluctantly teams up with Sonic and Tails to stop them. This causes numerous conflicts between Tails and Eggman and increases tension with his friendship with Sonic since Sonic believes Eggman is their only hope in defeating the Deadly Six. Eventually, Tails gets captured in a trap intended for Sonic, and the Deadly Six plan to use this to their advantage by turning Tails into a robot. However, Tails manages to reprogram the computer that would control his mind. The seemingly-roboticized Tails confronts Sonic at the game's final stage, but by retaining his free will, he takes the Deadly Six by surprise and attacks them. Later on, after Sonic defeats Eggman at the game's climax, Sonic apologizes to Tails for doubting him. Tails forgives him and the two return home.

He is a playable character in the video game Sonic Mania (Plus), playing like his older incarnations along with Sonic, Knuckles, Mighty and Ray.

Tails appears as a playable character in the games Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, Shattered Crystal and .

Tails was also featured in the Sonic the Hedgehog Level Pack of Lego Dimensions. He is also playable if the player uses the Tornado as Sonic to fly around the world. In the story mode for the Sonic level titled "Sonic Dimensions", Tails assists Sonic using the Tornado and his technological knowledge. In the hub world, Tails has a side quest for the player to aid him in disabling all of Eggman's roboticizers.

Tails is a supporting non-playable character in Sonic Forces, finding Classic Sonic and joining up with the resistance in opposing Dr. Eggman and Infinite.

In Sonic Frontiers, Tails along with Amy and Knuckles are trapped in Cyberspace, with Sonic releasing their digital form from cages and they help him find the Chaos Emeralds and set them free. While having a moment with Sonic, Tails expresses his self-doubt and belief that he is a burden to Sonic who is always rescuing him during crises and that his helpfulness is wildly inconsistent, but Sonic comforts him by reminding Tails of his own achievements and abilities and that needing help sometimes is part of growing up, this strengthens Tails' resolve to go solo for a while and become a hero in his own right.

He also appears as a downloadable Mii Fighter costume in the crossover fighting games Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and , as well as being featured as a Spirit in the latter.

In other media

Tails is a supporting character in the animated series Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog, and , as well as the 1996 Sonic the Hedgehog film. Tails also makes a guest appearance in the OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode "Let's Meet Sonic". Tails as well as alternative versions of him appear in Sonic Prime, all of them voiced by Ashleigh Ball, after Sonic shatters the Paradox Prism and the universe, creating alternative dimensions in the process, several alternative Tails are also created, one being Nine, who never met a Sonic and was bullied throughout his life, becoming bitter and isolated and created seven artificial tails for himself as weapons, he is initially distrustful of Sonic but eventually warms up to him, allowing Sonic to bond with him like he did with the original Tails, as such Nine provides Sonic with the gear that enables him to properly use the Prism energy that is left within him. Other versions are the feral and seemingly unintelligent Mangey and the pirate mechanic Sails. In print, he is a supporting character in the Comics-produced Sonic the Hedgehog comic series as well as the Fleetway-produced Sonic the Comic.

Tails appears in the 2020 Sonic the Hedgehog film during a mid-credits sequence, emerging from a ring portal onto Earth in search of Sonic. Early drafts for the film featured Tails in a bigger role, with some drafts featuring him as Sonic's best friend in his world, as in the games, while another draft featured him as one of the main characters in the film. However, when it was decided to center the film's storyline on Sonic being alone on Earth, the filmmakers decided to use Tails as a teaser for a sequel through a cameo in the film's mid-credits scene, a role co-writer Pat Casey compared to Nick Fury's role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Tails is featured as a main character in the sequel, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the logo of which features an orange "2" with two tails attached in homage to the character. He is voiced by Colleen O'Shaughnessey, reprising her role from the games. In the film, Tails was shunned on his home planet for having two tails, but grew to idolize Sonic after witnessing his bravery when facing off against Dr. Robotnik. He travels to the planet to warn Sonic about Knuckles hunting him down to locate the Master Emerald and teams up with his hero to find the Emerald first. He assists Sonic with his flight and various gadgets throughout their journey, culminating in them teaming up with Knuckles to stop Robotnik from conquering the universe. After they succeed, they agree to safeguard the Master Emerald as they live together with Sonic's adoptive family, the Wachowskis.

Reception to Tails has been widely positive. He was awarded "Best New Character" in Electronic Gaming Monthly's 1992 video game awards, stating "not only is he as cute as Sonic, but he actually serves a major purpose in the game." IGN editor Lucas M. Thompson listed Tails as one of the Sonic the Hedgehog characters who should be in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, citing his importance in the series and his abilities. IGN editor Levi Buchanan stated that the fan response to Tails' introduction was favorable, which led to further introductions such as Knuckles. Unlike most Sonic characters, Tails has received consistently positive opinions from the Sonic fanbase over the years.

Tails is remembered for helping Sonic 2 become the second-highest-selling game for the Genesis through allowing a second player to join the game. He has been featured on many "Top Sidekicks" lists. Maximum PC listed him as their third-greatest sidekick, Machinima.com ranked him fifth, and Maxim listed him as the eighth-most-underrated sidekick. Ranking him as the sixth-greatest, Mashable stated that Tails "pretty much embodies the definition of 'sidekick'". Sonic and Tails were together ranked as IGN's ninth-greatest gaming duo. Morgan Sleeper of NintendoLife called Tails "one of Sega's most beloved mascots".

However, IGN staff writer Levi Buchanan stated that when SEGA noticed the popularity of Tails, and, later, Knuckles, they "just kept stuffing new faces and names into the game, pulling attention away from their hero." GameDaily listed the "annoying sidekick" in their top 25 video game archetypes list, citing Tails as an example of this. GamesRadar+ listed him as number one on their list of cutesy characters they wanted to beat up, stating that while he started out as interesting, he led to the creation of other characters who "choked the life out the franchise". They cited him being a "know-it-all" in later games as to why they hate him so much. Official Nintendo Magazine listed him as the second-best Sonic character.

1. "New Sonic movie short, 'Sonic Drone Home', available to watch". May 24, 2022.

2. ^ "Sonic Prime will reportedly debut on Netflix in December". August 19, 2022.

3. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008). In-game description of the "Tails" trophy.

4. ^ "Official Popularity Poll results". sonic.sega.jp (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2009-12-15.

5. Harris, Blake J. (2014). Console wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the battle that defined a generation (First ed.). New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-227669-8.

6. "SEGA Blog - Out of the Mouths of Hedgehogs". blogs.sega.com. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06.

7. ^ "Sonic Prime will reportedly debut on Netflix in December". August 19, 2022.

8. Sega (2001). Sonic Adventure 2 instruction manual, pp. 8

9. Sega (1997). , Sega Saturn. Sonic World's Character Profiles (in English)

10. ^ Sonic Team. Sonic Adventure. Sonic: I'm just glad you're okay. What happened anyway? You're too good of a pilot to just crash like that. / Tails: That was a test run using a new prototype propulsion system. It's got a few bugs to iron out. / Sonic: Why not just use my plane, the Tornado?

11. ^ @cartoonnetwork (July 19, 2019). "GOTTA GO FAST to keep up with this legendary duo! 💥🥊 Watch the epic crossover episode of OK KO x Sonic the Hedgehog Sunday, August 4th at 4:45p (ET/PT)" (Tweet) - via Twitter.

12. ^ "Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022) - Title Announcement - Paramount Pictures". . February 10, 2021. Archived from the original on February 15, 2021.

13. ^ Workman, Robert (March 12, 2014). "15 Greatest Moments in Sonic the Hedgehog History". Prima Games. Archived from the original on March 17, 2014.

14. ^ "The 15 Greatest Video Game Sidekicks of All Time". Mashable. November 18, 2013. Archived from the original on March 22, 2014.

15. ^ "Top 7... Cutesy Characters We Want to Beat the Crap Out of". GamesRadar+. 21 April 2008. Archived from the original on 2012-10-14.

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Miles Prower, better known by his nickname Tails, is a character from Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series. Tails also appears in several spin-off games which he stars, comic books, cartoons, and films. He is the second character to consistently appear by Sonic's side in the series, appearing in nearly every mainline and spin-off since his debut.

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When I was a little girl (about 400years ago now) I used to love playing Alex the Kid on my Sega Master System.

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Nintendo Switch

A classic arcade platformer returns in SEGA AGES Alex Kidd for Nintendo Switch™.

Over three decades since its humble beginnings, Alex Kidd is back to smash rocks, collect items, and play Rock, Paper, Scissors with evil henchmen! The beloved boy martial artist must traverse the kingdom of Radaxian to face off against evil villain Janken the Great. Does he have what it takes to save the kingdom, or will all be lost to evil?

Featuring a new ranking system, AGES mode rewind option, two Time-Attack challenge modes, and more!

Read more

Genre:

Adventure, Platformer

Supported Play Modes:

TV mode

Tabletop mode

Handheld mode

ESRB Rating:

Play online, access classic Super NES™ games, and more with a Nintendo Switch Online membership.

©SEGA. All rights reserved.

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SEGA AGES Alex Kidd in Miracle World for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Game Details

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Nintendo Switch Over three decades since its humble beginnings, Alex Kidd is back to smash rocks, collect items, and play Rock, Paper, Scissors with evil henchmen! The beloved boy martial artist must traverse the kingdom of Radaxian to face off against evil villain Janken the Great.

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Luigi from Super Mario

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Kirito from Sword Art Online

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Kazuto Kirigaya is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Sword Art Online series of light novels written by Reki Kawahara. He is more commonly known by his portmanteau, Kirito, his player name in the eponymous video game which the novels are partially set in.

In the series, Kirito is depicted as a teenager who was chosen as one of 1,000 beta testers for a new state-of-the-art virtual reality MMORPG called Sword Art Online. After the game is released to the general public, he and the rest of the 10,000 players soon discover that they are unable to log out and are trapped in the simulation unless they manage to beat the game.

In the anime adaptation, Kirito is voiced in Japanese by Yoshitsugu Matsuoka and in English by Bryce Papenbrook. Due to the initial popularity of Sword Art Online, Kirito has become an extremely recognized character in the anime and manga fandom.

In an interview with series creator Reki Kawahara, when asked whether Kirito's personality and character were based off his own, the author responded that he does not usually put aspects of himself into his characters, and jokingly remarked that "but if I had to say there was a point of similarity between Kirito and myself, it is the fact that neither of us are good at forming parties. We [both] tend to play solo in these games a lot." He also added that he wrote the series to change popular opinion of online gaming; viewing it not a social ill or just an escape from real life, and thus decided to show games in a more positive light in his light novels. When fans asked him about Kirito using a sword in a gun-based game, Kawahara responded that the energy sword in can be the most powerful weapon if used properly.

Many fans have asked Reki Kawahara whether there would be an eventual crossover between Accel World and Sword Art Online, to which he answered that while he had already written a scenario where Kirito and Haruyuki Arita meet and fight, such a prospect would be difficult due to SAO taking place in 2022 and Accel World in 2046.

In an interview with Kirito's Japanese voice actor Yoshitsugu Matsuoka on the similarities between him and his character, Matsuoka opinioned that "I'm thinking about our workplaces - in both of our workplaces, there's only one chance [for success], so there's a lot of people who are putting in their all. I always think that I have to do the best acting I can for the sake of those who came to see me or watch the show. I feel like I have to pull along people with my acting. I feel like, I have to pave the way for the others."

As the main protagonist of Sword Art Online, Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya, is one of 1,000 testers in the previous closed beta of Sword Art Online ( SAO), the first ever Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (VRMMORPG) for the NerveGear, a helmet that stimulates the user's five senses via their brain, allowing players to experience and control their in-game characters with their minds. He later joins the official version of the game where he becomes one of the 10,000 players to log into SAO's mainframe cyberspace for the first time, only to discover that they are unable to log out. Kayaba appears and tells the players that they must beat all 100 floors of Aincrad, a steel castle which is the setting of SAO, if they wish to be free. Those who suffer in-game deaths or forcibly remove the NerveGear out-of-game will suffer real-life deaths.

With the advantage of previous VR gaming experience and a drive to protect other beta testers from discrimination, he isolates himself from the greater groups and plays the game alone, bearing the mantle of "beater", a portmanteau of "beta tester" and "cheater". As the players progress through the game Kirito eventually befriends a young girl named Asuna Yuuki, forming a relationship with and later marrying her in-game. After the duo discover the identity of Kayaba's secret ID, who was playing as the leader of the guild Asuna joined in, they confront and destroy him, freeing themselves and the other players from the game.

In the real world, Kazuto discovers that 300 SAO players, including Asuna, remain trapped in their NerveGear. As he goes to the hospital to see Asuna, he meets Shouzou Yuuki, Asuna's father, who is asked by an associate of his, Nobuyuki Sugou, to make a decision, which Sugou later reveals to be his marriage with Asuna, angering Kazuto. Several months later, he is informed by Agil, another SAO survivor, that a figure similar to Asuna was spotted on "The World Tree" in another VRMMORPG cyberspace called Alfheim Online ( ALO). Assisted in-game by his cousin Suguha "Leafa" Kirigaya and Yui, a navigation pixie (originally an AI from SAO), he quickly learns that the trapped players in ALO are part of a plan conceived by Sugou to perform illegal experiments on their minds. The goal is to create the perfect mind-control for financial gain and to subjugate Asuna, whom he intends to marry in the real world, to assume control of her family's corporation. Kirito eventually stops the experiment and rescues the remaining 300 SAO players, foiling Sugou's plans. Before leaving ALO to see Asuna, Kayaba, who has uploaded his mind to the Internet using an experimental and destructively high-power version of NerveGear at the cost of his life, entrusts Kirito with The Seed - a package program designed to create virtual worlds. Kazuto eventually reunites with Asuna in the real world and The Seed is released onto the Internet, reviving Aincrad as other VRMMORPGs begin to thrive.

Soon after, at the prompting of a government official investigating strange occurrences in VR, Kazuto takes on a job to investigate a series of murders involving another VRMMORPG called Gun Gale Online ( GGO), the AmuSphere (the successor of the NerveGear), and a player called Death Gun. Aided by a female player named Shino "Sinon" Asada, he participates in a gunfight tournament called the Bullet of Bullets (BoB) and discovers the truth behind the murders, which originated with a player who participated in a player-killing guild in SAO. Through his and Sinon's efforts, two suspects are captured, though the third suspect, Johnny Black, escapes.

Kazuto is later recruited to assist in testing an experimental FullDive machine, Soul Translator (STL), which has an interface that is far more realistic and complex than the previous machine he had played to help develop an artificial intelligence for the Ministry of Defense (MOD) named A.L.I.C.E. He tests the STL by entering a virtual reality cyberspace created with The Seed package, named UnderWorld (UW). In the UW, the flow of time proceeds a thousand times faster than in the real world, and Kirito's memories of what happens inside are restricted. However, Black injures Kazuto with suxamethonium chloride. The MOD recovers Kazuto and places him back into the STL to preserve his mind while attempts are made to save him. Meanwhile, it is revealed that UnderWorld was created as part of an experiment to create artificial intelligence that could be used for military purposes.

Kirito makes a cameo appearance in the eighth episode of the anime series Eromanga Sensei, with Yoshitsugu Matsuoka reprising his role.

In a review, Richard Eisenbeis of Kotaku hailed Sword Art Online as the smartest series in recent years; Eisenbeis particularly noted how the romance between Kirito and Asuna is explored bringing "definition to exactly what love is like in a virtual world." However, the two characters' relationship in the second half of the novels was criticized, with Eisenbeis complaining about Asuna being deregulated to a damsel in distress stock character for Kirito to fight for, lamenting that the "strong female lead" had been "reduced to nothing but the quest item the male lead is hunting for." The love triangle between Kirito and the other female characters was also scrutinized; Eisenbeis considered it "ludicrous" that Kirito would consider abandoning Asuna, especially considering his devotion to her in the previous storyline. Nevertheless, Kirito was considered a likeable and "fun" character.

In response to criticism directed at the series that Kirito was a " Mary Sue" type character, Karen Mead of Japanator.com wrote that "I don't think we ever see enough of Kirito's weaknesses to balance out his strengths: he's pretty much a genius at video games, as well as a kind, giving person, and those are some pretty major positives." However, she praised the positive aspects of Kirito's character, and his "competent and noble" self distinguishes him from other harem protagonists in that he actually earns the girls' affection. Carly Smith of The Escapist criticized Sword Art Online II and compared it unfavourably to the original storyline, summarizing "welcome to Sword Art Online II: the show where everyone loves Kirito and nothing matters", and that the anime doesn't "start to shine" until "Kirito is pushed to the sidelines". In an interview with Bryce Papenbrook, Kirito's English voice actor, when asked whether he would pick Kirito or Eren Yeager (whom he also voiced) from Attack on Titan in a fight, Papenbrook joked that "Inside a game, obviously Kirito would win, because he has God Mode running at all times. I think in real life, Kirito is strong-willed and passionate, but I think Eren would slice him up in real life. He's just too crazy."

Kirito is one of the most popular characters in Sword Art Online. In a fan poll by anime website Charapedia, 10,000 respondents voted on their favorite couples in anime, with Kirito and Asuna topping the list. Kirito's confession to Asuna also placed third in a list of the top twenty "anime and manga love confessions" by the same website. A third Charapedia poll, where respondents ranked the "top 30 [anime] characters they'd like to work for", had Kirito placed twenty-ninth and Asuna twenty-sixth. Additionally, a Chinese website, bilibili, took a reader poll to find the most " moe" characters of 2015; Kirito placed sixth in the male top 8 and Asuna third in the female top 8. Asuna and Kirito were awarded first and second respectively in a character poll by Dengeki Bunko (the publisher of Sword Art Online) for their light novels. Asuna and Kirito once again made a list of the "[Top] 7 Couples Who Make Love and War" by Anime News Network, writing "love blossoms on the virtual battlefield and the two wed before taking on the game's creator together.

Otamart, a popular Japanese app that specializes in anime, manga and idol products, polled users in which characters look best in swimsuits and yukatas, with Kirito (as Kazuto Kirigaya) placing 11th (for swimsuits) and 13th (yukatas) respectively in the male character category. Another Otamart poll asking users to rank the anime characters they would want to give chocolates to for Valentine's Day had Kirito placed 15th on the "top 20 characters men want to give chocolates to" category. The August 2014 issue of published results of a recent character popularity poll, with Kirito placing 1st overall for male characters; Asuna placed 4th for all female characters. Another poll which would decide the characters placed on a Sword Art Online artbook had Kirito placed in fourth place. "Kazuto" (Kirito) was also fourth on a list of the "top 20 anime characters Japanese fans would name their children after"; "Asuna" placed first. Italian restaurant La Ricetta in Zama, Kanagawa features pancakes prepared with anime and video game character art, including Kirito and Asuna.

The character has received positive critical reception, and his popularity has led to him being featured in several promotional efforts and merchandise of the series. Kirito makes an appearance in an April 2015 campaign which promotes Namco gaming arcades. Fan-made replicas of Asuna's "Lambent Light" and Kirito's "Elucidator" rapiers have been built by the Man At Arms team of blacksmiths and craftsmen. There are also Kirito, Asuna, and Sinon Sword Art Online-branded perfumes for sale; "Kirito" is described as "dry citrus with a touch of brandy, meant to evoke a mature spirit. It uses green apple, apricot and lime above Muguet, Rose, Jasmine, grapefruit and a musk and brandy base." Sword Art Online glasses based on the characters had a "Kirito" model; "these matte black frames feature a cross and the excalibur on each arm [of the glasses]." A series of anime-inspired Christmas cards featured characters such as Rin Matsuoka from , Godoka from Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and Kirito. He has also appeared in several Sword Art Online-related video games. This includes Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax, in which several characters appearing under the Dengeki Bunko imprint are featured. In a costume swap between video games Sword Art Online: Lost Song and God Eater 2: Rage Burst, Lost Song received a Julius costume for Kirito and an Alisa costume for Asuna whilst Rage Burst received costumes of Kirito and Sinon. Asuna, Kirito and Leafa appeared in a campaign by the "Manga Anime Guardians" project in combating anime and manga piracy, with the project being supported by 15 anime production studios and manga publishers.

1. ^ Frye, Patrick. "'Sword Art Online' Season 2 and 3: Kawahara Reki talks SAO, 'Accel World', anime, and future plans". Inquisitr.

2. ^ "Interview with Kawahara Reki @ Sakura-Con 2013". figure.fm. Archived from the original on April 14, 2013.

3. ^ ""Eromanga Sensei" Flame On "Sword Art Online" Proves To Be Too Hot For Anime". May 30, 2017. Archived from the original on May 2, 2018.

4. ^ "Sword Art Online Is the Smartest Anime I've Seen in Years (And It's Only Half-Done)". Kotaku. 2012-09-28.

5. ^ "Sword Art Online's Second Half Isn't Quite as Brilliant as Its First". Kotaku. 2012-12-26.

6. ^ Tsubaki. "Top 20 Anime Characters Japanese Fans Would Name Their Children After". GoBoiano. Archived from the original on August 19, 2016.

7. ^ Green, Scott. "Man At Arms Forges Replica of Asuna's "Wind Fleuret" from "Sword Art Online"". Crunchyroll.

Characters at the Sword Art Online official Japanese website

Characters at the Sword Art Online official North American website

Kirito at IMDb

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Kazuto Kirigaya is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Sword Art Online series of light novels written by Reki Kawahara. He is more commonly known by his portmanteau, Kirito, his player name in the eponymous video game which the novels are partially set in.

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Alice from Alice in Wonderland

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Alice (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) - Wikipedia

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Alice is a fictional character and protagonist of Lewis Carroll's children's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass (1871). A mid- Victorian era child, Alice unintentionally goes on an underground adventure after accidentally falling down a rabbit hole into Wonderland; in the sequel, she steps through a mirror into the Looking-Glass Land.

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Roadrunner from Looney Tunes

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Road Runner's Death Valley Rally (known in Japan as Looney Tunes: Road Runner vs. Wile E. Coyote and in Europe as Looney Tunes: Road Runner)[citation needed ] is a 1992 video game developed by ICOM Simulations and published by Sunsoft for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is based on the Looney Tunes characters Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner.

Road Runner's Death Valley Rally features side-scrolling platform gameplay. The player controls Road Runner, who must avoid being eaten by Wile E. Coyote. The game consists of five different environments, with each one containing three levels and a boss battle. Coyote has a unique method of ambush for every level, ranging from the Acme Batman outfit to explosives, and for every level there is a cutscene of the contraption failing once the player crosses the finish mark.[citation needed ] After every three levels, Road Runner battles against one of Wile E. Coyote's super weapons.

Road Runner has a series of control movements useful to beating the game, including jumping and running. Road Runner can also peck his beak to kill enemies, and can eat bird seeds that give him a burst of turbo speed, allowing him to scale walls. However, turbo speed can only be used a limited number of times, as it depletes the bird seeds; additional turbo speed is gained by consuming more bird seeds. The boost also acts as an invincibility, being able to destroy enemies and resist damage from Coyote.[citation needed ] The player can also make Road Runner say "beep-beep!" and make him stick out his tongue, although neither serves a gameplay function.

Jonathan Davies of magazine gave the game a 42 percent rating and criticized it for its difficult gameplay, bad collision detection, and lack of a password feature, and wrote that the game is composed of "some absolutely fabulous animated sequences (they really are wonderful) linked by some truly appalling platform levels." Road Runner's Death Valley Rally has an aggregate score of 65.67% based on three reviews on GameRankings.

Entertainment Weekly wrote that "You, as the Road Runner, must escape the clutches of Wile E. Coyote, whose ACME-brand costumes and contraptions have been lovingly reproduced in detail from actual 1950s cartoons."

A sequel, titled Wile E's Revenge, was in development by Software Creations and was planned as a followup to Death Valley Ralley. Unlike the first game, the sequel would allow the user to control Wile E. Coyote as he chases the Road Runner. The game was cancelled because of Sunsoft's bankruptcy in 1995.

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Road Runner's Death Valley Rally (known in Japan as Looney Tunes: Road Runner vs. Wile E. Coyote and in Europe as Looney Tunes: Road Runner)[citation needed ] is a 1992 video game developed by ICOM Simulations and published by Sunsoft for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

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My favourite were Sonic the Hedgehog and Sans, but I like Sonic more!

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Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main Sonic the Hedgehog games are platformers mostly developed by Sonic Team; other games, developed by various studios, include spin-offs in the racing, fighting, party and sports genres. The franchise also incorporates printed media, animations, feature films, and merchandise.

Naka, Ohshima, and Yasuhara developed the first Sonic game, released in 1991 for the Sega Genesis, to provide Sega with a mascot to compete with Nintendo's Mario. Its success helped Sega become one of the leading video game companies during the fourth generation of video game consoles in the early 1990s. Sega Technical Institute developed the next three Sonic games, plus the spin-off Sonic Spinball (1993). A number of Sonic games were also developed for Sega's 8-bit consoles, the Master System and Game Gear. After a hiatus during the unsuccessful Saturn era, the first major 3D Sonic game, Sonic Adventure, was released in 1998 for the Dreamcast. Sega exited the console market and shifted to third-party development in 2001, continuing the series on Nintendo, Xbox, and PlayStation systems. Takashi Iizuka has been the series' producer since 2010.

While Sonic games often have unique game mechanics and stories, they feature recurring elements such as the ring-based health system, level locales, and fast-paced gameplay. Games typically feature Sonic setting out to stop Eggman's schemes for world domination, and the player navigates levels that include springs, slopes, bottomless pits, and vertical loops. Later games added a large cast of characters; some, such as Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, and Shadow the Hedgehog, have starred in spin-offs. The franchise has crossed over with other video game franchises in games such as Mario & Sonic, Sega All-Stars, and Super Smash Bros.

Sonic the Hedgehog is Sega's flagship franchise and one of the bestselling video game franchises, selling over 140 million units by 2016 and grossing over $5 billion as of 2014. Series sales and free-to-play mobile game downloads totaled 1.6 billion as of 2023. The Genesis Sonic games have been described as representative of the culture of the 1990s and listed among the greatest of all time. Although later games, notably the 2006 game, received poorer reviews, Sonic is influential in the video game industry and is frequently referenced in popular culture. The franchise is known for its fandom that produces unofficial media, such as fan art and fangames.

1990-1991: Conception and first game

Sonic the Hedgehog co-creators: programmer Yuji Naka (left) and artist Naoto Ohshima (right) with a costume of the titular character (center)

By 1990, the Japanese video game company Sega wanted a foothold in the video game console market with its 16-bit console, the Sega Genesis. Sega's efforts had been stymied by the dominance of Nintendo; the Genesis did not have a large install base and Nintendo did not take Sega seriously as a competitor. Sega of America CEO Michael Katz attempted to challenge Nintendo with the " Genesis does what Nintendon't" marketing campaign and by collaborating with athletes and celebrities to create games. These efforts did not break Nintendo's dominance, and Katz was replaced by Tom Kalinske, formerly of Mattel.

Sega president Hayao Nakayama decided Sega needed a flagship series and mascot to compete with Nintendo's Mario franchise. Nintendo had recently released Super Mario Bros. 3, at the time the bestselling video game ever. Sega's strategy had been based on porting its successful arcade games to the Genesis; however, Nakayama recognized that Sega needed a star character in a game that could demonstrate the power of the Genesis's hardware. An internal contest was held to determine a flagship game, with a focus on the American audience. Among the teams working on proposals were artist Naoto Ohshima and programmer Yuji Naka.: 20-33, 96-101  The gameplay of Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) originated with a tech demo created by Naka, who had developed an algorithm that allowed a sprite to move smoothly on a curve by determining its position with a dot matrix. Naka's prototype was a platform game that involved a fast-moving character rolling in a ball through a long winding tube. Sega management accepted the duo's project, and they were joined by designer Hirokazu Yasuhara.: 20-33, 96-101

The original Sonic the Hedgehog was released on June 23, 1991, for the Sega Genesis,[9] boosting Genesis sales dramatically.

After Yasuhara joined Naka and Ohshima, their focus shifted to the protagonist, who Sega hoped could become its mascot.: 20-33, 96-101  The protagonist was initially a rabbit able to grasp objects with prehensile ears, but the concept proved too complex for the hardware. The team moved on to animals that could roll into a ball, and eventually settled on Sonic, a teal hedgehog created by Ohshima. Naka's prototype was expanded with Ohshima's character design and levels conceived by Yasuhara. Sonic's color was chosen to match Sega's cobalt blue logo, and his red and white shoes were inspired by the cover of Michael Jackson's 1987 album . His personality was based on then- Governor of Arkansas Bill Clinton's "can-do" attitude. The antagonist, Doctor Eggman, was another character Ohshima had designed for the contest. The team thought the abandoned design was excellent and redesigned it as a villain. The team took the name Sonic Team for the game's release.

Sonic's first appearance came in Sega AM3's racing game (1991) five months before the release of Sonic the Hedgehog, as an ornament hanging from the driver's rearview mirror. The Sonic developers let AM3 use Sonic because they were interested in making him visible to the public. According to Mark Cerny, who worked in Tokyo as an intermediary between the Japanese and American Sega offices, the American staff felt that Sonic had no appeal. Although Katz was certain that Sonic would not be popular with American children, Kalinske arranged to place Sonic the Hedgehog as the pack-in game with the Genesis. Featuring speedy gameplay, Sonic the Hedgehog received critical acclaim. It greatly increased the popularity of the Sega Genesis in North America, credited with helping Sega gain 65% of the market share against Nintendo.

1991-1995: Genesis sequels

Hirokazu Yasuhara (pictured in 2018) designed most of the Genesis Sonic games.

Naka was dissatisfied with his treatment at Sega and felt he received little credit for his involvement in the success. He quit but was hired by Cerny to work at the US-based Sega Technical Institute (STI), with a higher salary and more creative freedom. Yasuhara also moved to STI. STI began work on Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992) in November 1991. Level artist Yasushi Yamaguchi designed Sonic's new sidekick, Tails, a flying two-tailed fox inspired by the mythological kitsune. Like its predecessor, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was a major success, but its development suffered from the language barrier and cultural differences between the Japanese and American developers. While STI developed Sonic 2, Ohshima led a team in Japan to create for the Genesis's CD-ROM accessory, the Sega CD; it began as a port of the first game but evolved into a separate project.

Once development on Sonic 2 concluded, Cerny departed and was replaced by Roger Hector. STI divided into two teams: the Japanese developers led by Naka, and the American developers. The Japanese began work on Sonic the Hedgehog 3. It was initially developed as an isometric game using the Sega Virtua Processor chip, but was restarted as a more conventional side-scrolling game after the chip was delayed. It introduced Sonic's rival Knuckles, created by artist Takashi Thomas Yuda. Due to an impending promotion with McDonald's and cartridges size constraints, the project was split in two: the first half, Sonic 3, was released in February 1994, and the second, Sonic & Knuckles, a few months later. The Sonic & Knuckles cartridge contains an adapter that allows players to connect it to Sonic 3, creating a combined game, Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, as with their predecessors, were acclaimed. To release a Sonic game in time for the 1993 holiday shopping season, Sega commissioned the American team to make a new game, the spin-off Sonic Spinball. While Spinball received mixed reviews, it sold well and helped build the reputation of its developers.

A number of Sonic games were developed for Sega's 8-bit consoles, the Master System and the handheld Game Gear. The first, an 8-bit version of the original Sonic, was developed by Ancient to promote the Game Gear and released in December 1991. Aspect Co. developed most of the subsequent 8-bit Sonic games, beginning with a version of Sonic 2. Other Sonic games released during this period include Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (1993), a Western localization of the Japanese puzzle game (1991), SegaSonic the Hedgehog (1993), an arcade game featuring isometric gameplay, and Knuckles' Chaotix (1995), a spin-off for the Genesis's 32X add-on starring Knuckles.

1995-1998: Saturn era

Few Sonic games were released for the Saturn. The cancellation of Sonic X-treme is considered a significant factor in the Saturn's commercial failure.

Following Sonic & Knuckles, Naka returned to Japan, having been offered a role as a producer. He was reunited with Ohshima and brought with him Takashi Iizuka, who had worked with Naka's team at STI. Sonic Team was officially formed as a brand, and began to work on a new intellectual property, Nights into Dreams (1996), for Sega's 32-bit Saturn console. In 1996, towards the end of the Genesis's lifecycle, Sega released Sonic 3D Blast, an isometric game based on the original Sonic 3 concept, as the system still had a large install base. It was the final Sonic game produced for the Genesis, and was developed as a swan song for the system. Since Sonic Team was preoccupied with Nights, 3D Blast was outsourced to the British studio Traveller's Tales. While 3D Blast sold well, it was criticized for its gameplay, controls, and slow pace.

Meanwhile, in America, STI worked on Sonic X-treme, a 3D Sonic game for the Saturn intended for the 1996 holiday shopping season. Development was hindered by disputes between Sega of America and Japan, Naka's reported refusal to let STI use the Nights game engine, and problems adapting the series to 3D. After two lead developers became ill, X-treme was canceled. Journalists and fans have speculated about the impact X-treme might have had if it was released, with producer Mike Wallis believing it "definitely would have been competitive" with the first 3D Mario game, Super Mario 64 (1996). Due to X-treme's cancellation, Sega ported Sonic 3D Blast to the Saturn with updated graphics and bonus levels developed by Sonic Team.

In 1997, Sega announced "Project Sonic", a promotional campaign aimed at increasing market awareness of and renewing excitement for the Sonic brand. The first Project Sonic release was , a compilation of the main Genesis Sonic games which included a 3D overworld Sonic Team used to experiment with 3D Sonic gameplay. Sonic Team and Traveller's Tales collaborated again on the second Project Sonic game, , a 3D racing game and the only original Sonic game for the Saturn. Yasuhara moved to London to assist Sonic R's development. Sonic Jam was well received, while Sonic R's reviews were more divided. The cancellation of Sonic X-treme, as well as the Saturn's general lack of Sonic games, are considered important factors in the Saturn's commercial failure. According to Nick Thorpe of Retro Gamer, "By mid-1997 Sonic had essentially been shuffled into the background... it was astonishing to see that just six years after his debut, Sonic was already retro."

1998-2005: Transition to 3D

Sonic Adventure, the first major 3D Sonic game, was released for the Dreamcast in 1998

With its Sonic Jam experiments, Sonic Team began developing a 3D Sonic platformer for the Saturn. The project stemmed from a proposal by Iizuka to develop a Sonic role-playing video game (RPG) with an emphasis on storytelling. Development moved to Sega's new console, the Dreamcast, which Naka believed would allow for the ultimate Sonic game. Sonic Adventure, directed by Iizuka and released in 1998, was one of the first sixth-generation video games. It introduced elements that became series staples, such as artist Yuji Uekawa's new character designs influenced by comics and animation. In 1999, Iizuka and 11 other Sonic Team members relocated to San Francisco and established Sonic Team USA to develop the more action-oriented Sonic Adventure 2 (2001). Between the releases, Ohshima left Sega to form Artoon. While both Adventure games were well received and the first sold over two million copies, consumer interest in the Dreamcast quickly faded, and Sega's attempts to spur sales through lower prices and cash rebates caused escalating financial losses.

In January 2001, Sega announced it was discontinuing the Dreamcast to become a third-party developer; following this, Yasuhara left to join Naughty Dog. The following December, Sega released an expanded port of Sonic Adventure 2 for Nintendo's GameCube. Afterward, Sonic Team USA developed the first multi-platform Sonic game, Sonic Heroes (2003), for the GameCube, Microsoft's Xbox, and Sony's PlayStation 2. It was designed for a broad audience, and Sonic Team revived elements not seen since the Genesis era, such as special stages and the Chaotix characters. Reviews for Sonic Heroes were mixed; while its graphics and gameplay were praised, critics felt it failed to address criticisms of previous Sonic games, such as the camera. Iizuka, who directed Heroes, later said it was the most stressful experience of his career; he lost 22 pounds (10 kg) due to the crunch conditions. Sonic Team ported Sonic Adventure with additional content to the GameCube in 2003 and Windows in 2004, to mixed reviews.

Sega continued to release 2D Sonic games. In 1999, it collaborated with SNK to produce Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure, an adaptation of Sonic 2 for the Neo Geo Pocket Color. Some SNK staff formed Dimps the following year, and developed original 2D Sonic games-Sonic Advance (2001), Sonic Advance 2 (2002), and Sonic Advance 3 (2004)-for Nintendo's Game Boy Advance (GBA). Sonic Advance was the first original Sonic game released for a Nintendo console after Sega and Nintendo's fierce rivalry in the 1990s. It was outsourced to Dimps because Sonic Team was understaffed with employees familiar with the GBA. Dimps also developed (2005) for the Nintendo DS, which uses a 2.5D perspective. Dimps's projects received generally favorable reviews. To introduce older games to new fans, Sonic Team developed two compilations, Sonic Mega Collection (2002) and Sonic Gems Collection (2005). Further spin-offs included the party game Sonic Shuffle (2000), the pinball game Sonic Pinball Party (2003) and the fighting game Sonic Battle (2003).

2005-2010: Franchise struggles

Sonic Team USA was renamed Sega Studios USA after completing Sonic Heroes. Sega and Sonic Team leadership entered flux while they experimented with diverging from the Sonic formula. Sega Studios USA's first post- Heroes project was Shadow the Hedgehog (2005), a spin-off starring the popular Adventure 2 character Shadow. While Shadow retains most elements from previous Sonic games, it was aimed at a mature audience and introduced third-person shooting and nonlinear gameplay. Shadow the Hedgehog was panned for its controls, level design, and mature themes, but was a commercial success, selling at least 1.59 million copies.

In 2006, for the franchise's 15th anniversary, Sonic Team developed Sonic Riders, a GBA port of the original Sonic, and a reboot, Sonic the Hedgehog (commonly referred to as Sonic '06). With a more realistic setting than previous entries, Sonic '06 was intended to relaunch the series for seventh-generation consoles such as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The development faced serious problems; Naka, the last of the original Sonic development team, resigned as head of Sonic Team to form Prope, and the team split so work could begin on a Wii Sonic game. According to Iizuka, these incidents, coupled with stringent Sega deadlines and an unpolished game engine, forced Sonic Team to rush development. None of the 15th-anniversary Sonic games were successful critically, and Sonic '06 became regarded as the worst game in the series, panned for its bugs, camera, controls, and story. Brian Shea of Game Informer wrote that it "[became] synonymous with the struggles the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise had faced in recent years. Sonic [] was meant to be a return to the series' roots, but it ended up damning the franchise in the eyes of many."

Backbone Entertainment developed two Sonic games exclusive to the PlayStation Portable, Sonic Rivals (2006) and Sonic Rivals 2 (2007). The first Sonic game for the Wii, Sonic and the Secret Rings (2007), takes place in the world of Arabian Nights and was released instead of a port of Sonic '06. Citing lengthy development times, Sega switched plans and conceived a game that would use the motion detection of the Wii Remote. Sega released a sequel, Sonic and the Black Knight, set in the world of King Arthur, in 2009. Secret Rings and Black Knight form what is known as the Sonic Storybook sub-series. A Sonic Riders sequel, Zero Gravity (2008), was developed for the Wii and PlayStation 2. Dimps returned to the Sonic series with Sonic Rush Adventure, a sequel to Sonic Rush, in 2007, while BioWare developed the first Sonic RPG, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (2008), also for the DS.

Following Naka's departure, Akinori Nishiyama, who worked on the Sonic Advance and Rush games, became Sonic Team's general manager. Sonic Team began working on Sonic Unleashed (2008) in 2005. It was conceived as a sequel to Adventure 2, but became a standalone entry after Sonic Team introduced innovations to separate it from the Adventure games. With Unleashed, Sonic Team sought to combine the best aspects of 2D and 3D Sonic games and address criticisms of previous 3D entries, although reviews were mixed due to the addition of a beat 'em up game mode in which Sonic transforms into a werewolf-like beast. After Nishiyama was promoted in 2010, Iizuka was installed as the head of Sonic Team and became the Sonic producer.

2010-2015: Refocusing

Takashi Iizuka, who directed the first three 3D Sonic games, has been the head of Sonic Team and Sonic's producer since 2010.

Iizuka felt Sonic was struggling because it lacked unified direction, so Sonic Team refocused on more traditional side-scrolling elements and fast-paced gameplay. Sonic the Hedgehog 4, a side-scrolling episodic sequel to Sonic & Knuckles co-developed by Sonic Team and Dimps, began with in 2010, followed by in 2012. Later in 2010, Sega released Sonic Colors for the Wii and DS, which expanded on the well received aspects of Unleashed and introduced the Wisp power-ups. For the series' 20th anniversary in 2011, Sega released Sonic Generations for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Windows; a separate version was developed by Dimps for the Nintendo 3DS. Sonic Generations featured reimagined versions of levels from previous Sonic games and reintroduced the "classic" Sonic design from the Genesis era. These efforts were better received, especially in comparison to Sonic '06 and Unleashed.

In May 2013, Nintendo announced it was collaborating with Sega to produce Sonic games for its Wii U and 3DS platforms. The first game in the partnership, 2013's Sonic Lost World, was also the first Sonic game for eighth-generation hardware. Sonic Lost World was designed to be streamlined and fluid in movement and design, borrowing elements from Nintendo's Super Mario Galaxy games and the canceled X-treme. The second was Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games (2013) for the Wii U, the fourth Mario & Sonic game and a 2014 Winter Olympics tie-in (see Crossovers section). The deal was completed in 2014 with the release of Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric for the Wii U and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal for the 3DS; these games were based on the television series. Sonic Lost World polarized critics, while critics found Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games mediocre and panned the Sonic Boom games. Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice, a Shattered Crystal sequel, was released in 2016.

Sega began to release more Sonic games for mobile phones, such as iOS and Android devices. After Australian programmer Christian "Taxman" Whitehead developed a version of Sonic CD for modern consoles in 2011, he collaborated with fellow Sonic fan Simon "Stealth" Thomley to develop remakes of the original Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for iOS and Android, which were released in 2013. The remasters were developed using Whitehead's Retro Engine, an engine tailored for 2D projects, and received praise. (2013), a -style endless runner, was developed by Hardlight and downloaded over 350 million times by 2020 and received a Sonic Boom-themed sequel in 2015. Sonic Team released Sonic Runners, its first game for mobile devices, in 2015. Sonic Runners was also an endless runner, but was unsuccessful and was discontinued a year after release. Gameloft released a sequel, Sonic Runners Adventure, in 2017 to generally positive reviews.

2015-present: New directions

In a 2015 interview with , Iizuka acknowledged that contemporary Sonic games had been disappointing. He hoped, from then on, that the Sonic Team logo would stand as a "mark of quality"; he planned to release quality games and expand the Sonic brand, while retaining the modern Sonic design. Iizuka and most of Sonic Team relocated to Burbank, California to oversee the franchise with a new team. At the San Diego Comic-Con in July 2016, Sega announced two Sonic games to coincide with the series' 25th anniversary: Sonic Mania and Sonic Forces. Both were released for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Windows in 2017. Sonic Mania was developed by the independent game developers PagodaWest Games and Headcannon with a staff comprising members of the Sonic fandom; Whitehead conceived the project and served as director. The game, which emulates the gameplay and visuals of the Genesis entries, received the best reviews for a Sonic game in 15 years. Meanwhile, Sonic Team developed Sonic Forces, which revives the dual gameplay of Sonic Generations along with a third gameplay style featuring the player's custom character. Sonic Forces received mixed reviews, with criticism for its short length.

In 2019, Sega released a kart racing game, Team Sonic Racing (2019), developed by Sumo Digital. In May 2021, Sega announced several Sonic projects for the series' 30th anniversary, including a remaster of Sonic Colors, the compilation Sonic Origins, and the 2022 game Sonic Frontiers. Frontiers was the first Sonic game to feature open-world design, and Iizuka expressed hope that it would inform future games in a similar way to Sonic Adventure. Frontiers received moderately positive reviews, with critics and fans considering it a flawed but solid new direction for the series, and sold well. 2023 Sonic releases included The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog, a free visual novel, Sonic Dream Team, an Apple Arcade-exclusive 3D platformer, and Sonic Superstars, a 2.5D side-scrolling game featuring the classic Sonic design. Superstars was co-developed by Ohshima's studio Arzest and he designed a new character, his first contribution to the series since Sonic Adventure. Iizuka said the 2D and 3D Sonic games would continue independently going forward and Sonic Team would try to keep them as different as possible.

2024 Sonic media emphasized Shadow the Hedgehog as part of Sega's "Fearless: Year of Shadow" campaign. This included Shadow Generations, a short Shadow game bundled with a rerelease of Sonic Generations; Shadow-themed events in the mobile games Sonic Dash and Sonic Forces; music from Shadow the Hedgehog in the Sonic Symphony World Tour; and Shadow playing a prominent role in the film Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (see Live-action film franchise).

Characters and story

Promotional art of Sonic for Sonic X Shadow Generations (2024), depicting Ohshima's original design (left) and Uekawa's Sonic Adventure redesign (right)

The Sonic franchise is known for its large cast of characters; Sonic the Fighters (1996) producer Yu Suzuki joked that anyone who makes a Sonic game has the duty to create new characters. The first game introduced Sonic, a blue hedgehog who can run at incredible speeds, and Doctor Eggman, a rotund mad scientist. During the Genesis era, Eggman was referred to as Doctor Ivo Robotnik in Western territories. Sega of America's Dean Sitton made the change without consulting the Japanese developers, who did not want a single character to have two different names. Since Sonic Adventure, the character has been referred to as Eggman in all territories, although the Robotnik name is still acknowledged.

Sonic games traditionally follow Sonic's efforts to stop Eggman, who schemes to obtain the Chaos Emeralds-seven emeralds with mystical powers. The Emeralds can turn thoughts into power, warp time and space with a technique called Chaos Control, give energy to living things, and be used to create nuclear or laser-based weaponry. They typically act as MacGuffins in the stories. Eggman seeks the Emeralds in his quest to conquer the world, and traps animals in aggressive robots and prison capsules. Because Sonic Team was inspired by the culture of the 1990s, Sonic features environmental themes. Sonic represents "nature", while Eggman represents "machinery" and "development"-a play on the then-growing debate between environmentalists and developers.

Much of the supporting cast was introduced in the succeeding games for the Genesis and its add-ons. Sonic 2 introduced Sonic's sidekick Miles "Tails" Prower, a fox who can fly using his two tails. Sonic CD introduced Amy Rose, a pink hedgehog and Sonic's self-proclaimed girlfriend, and Metal Sonic, a robotic doppelgänger of Sonic created by Eggman. Sonic 3 introduced Sonic's rival Knuckles, a red echidna and the guardian of the Master Emerald. The Master Emerald, introduced in Sonic & Knuckles, controls the power of the Chaos Emeralds. Knuckles' Chaotix introduced the Chaotix, a group comprising Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon and Charmy Bee. Three characters introduced during this period, Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel from SegaSonic the Hedgehog and Fang the Sniper from Sonic Triple Trouble (1994), faded into obscurity, but became prominent characters again in Sonic Mania and Superstars.

During Sonic Adventure's development, Sonic Team discovered that the relatively simple character designs did not suit a 3D environment. The art style was modernized to alter the characters' proportions and make them appeal to Western audiences. Since Sonic Adventure, the series' cast has expanded. Notable characters include Big, a large cat who fishes for his pet frog Froggy; the E-100 Series of robots; Shadow, a brooding black hedgehog; Rouge, a treasure-hunting bat; Blaze, a cat from an alternate dimension; and Silver, a telekinetic hedgehog from the future. The Chao creatures function as digital pets and minor gameplay elements, and Wisp creatures function as power-ups. Flicky, the blue bird from Sega's 1984 arcade game, appears in several Sonic games, most notably 3D Blast.

Some Sonic characters have featured in spin-off games. Eggman is the featured character of Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, a Western localization of Puyo Puyo. Sega replaced the Puyo Puyo characters with Sonic characters because it feared Puyo Puyo would not be popular with a Western audience. In 1995, Sega released the Knuckles spinoff Knuckles' Chaotix for the 32X, and two Tails spin-offs for Game Gear: Tails' Skypatrol (a scrolling shooter) and Tails Adventure (a Metroidvania game). Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) was developed in response to the Shadow character's popularity and to introduce "gun action" gameplay to the franchise. Iizuka has said that future spin-offs, such as sequels to Knuckles' Chaotix and Shadow the Hedgehog or a Big the Cat game, remain possibilities.

The Sonic series is characterized by speed-based platforming gameplay. Controlling the player character, the player navigates a series of levels at high speeds while jumping between platforms, fighting enemies and bosses, and avoiding obstacles. The series contains both 2D and 3D games. 2D entries generally feature simple, pinball-like gameplay-with jumping and attacking controlled by a single button-and branching level paths that require memorization to maintain speed. Meanwhile, 3D entries tend to be more linear in design, feature various level objectives, different movesets, and allow players to upgrade and customize the playable character. Games since Sonic Unleashed have blended 2D and 3D gameplay, with the camera shifting between side-scrolling and third-person perspectives.

One distinctive game mechanic of Sonic games are collectible golden rings spread throughout levels, which act as a form of health. Players possessing rings can survive upon sustaining damage, but the rings are scattered and the player has a short amount of time to re-collect some of them before they disappear. Collecting 100 rings usually rewards the player an extra life. Rings have other uses in certain games, such as currency in Sonic '06, restoring health bars in Sonic Unleashed, or improving statistics in Sonic Riders. Levels in Sonic games feature elements such as slopes, bottomless pits, and vertical loops. Springs, springboards, and dash panels are scattered throughout and catapult the player at high speeds in a particular direction. Players' progress in levels is saved through passing checkpoints. Checkpoints serve other uses in various games, such as entering bonus stages. Some settings, most notably Green Hill Zone, recur throughout the series.

The series contains numerous power-ups, which are held in boxes that appear throughout levels. An icon indicates what it contains, and the player releases the item by destroying the box. Common items in boxes include rings, a shield, invincibility, high speed, and extra lives. Sonic Colors introduces the Wisps, a race of extraterrestrial creatures that act as power-ups. Each Wisp has its own special ability corresponding to its color; for instance, yellow Wisps allow players to drill underground and find otherwise inaccessible areas. Since Sonic Rush, most Sonic games have featured "boosting", a mechanic that immediately propels Sonic forward at top speed when activated. While boosting, Sonic can smash through objects, destroy enemies instantly, or access different level paths. This requires players to react to forthcoming obstacles quickly; Sonic Unleashed introduced side-stepping and drifting maneuvers to allow players to maintain speed. Boosting is limited by a gauge that the player can fill with rings or Wisps.

In most Sonic games, the goal is to collect the Chaos Emeralds; the player is required to collect them all to defeat Eggman and achieve the games' good endings. Sonic games that do not feature the Chaos Emeralds, such as Sonic CD, feature different collectibles that otherwise function the same. Players find the Emeralds by entering portals, opening portals using 50 rings, or scouting them within levels themselves. Sometimes, the Emeralds are collected automatically as the story progresses. By collecting the Emeralds, players are rewarded with their characters' "Super" form and can activate it by collecting 50 rings in a stage. The Super transformations grant the player character more speed, a farther jump, and invincibility, but their ring count drains by the second; the transformation lasts until all the rings have been used. Some games require the player to collect all the Chaos Emeralds to reach the final boss.

Sonic games often share basic gameplay, but some have game mechanics that distinguish them from others. For instance, Knuckles' Chaotix is similar to previous entries in the series, but introduces a partner system whereby the player is connected to another character via a tether; the tether behaves like a rubber band and must be used to maneuver the characters. Sonic Unleashed introduces the Werehog, a beat 'em up gameplay style in which Sonic transforms into a werewolf-like beast and must fight enemies using brute strength. Both the Sonic Storybook games feature unique concepts: Secret Rings is controlled exclusively using the Wii Remote's motion detection, which Black Knight incorporates hack and slash gameplay. While some games feature Sonic as the only playable character, others feature multiple, who have alternate movesets and storylines. For instance, in Sonic & Knuckles, Knuckles goes through the same levels as Sonic, but his story is different, he explores different parts of the levels, and certain areas are more difficult.

Many Sonic games contain multiplayer and cooperative gameplay, beginning with Sonic the Hedgehog 2. In some games, if the player chooses to control Sonic and Tails together, a second player can join at any time and control Tails separately. Sonic games also feature a split-screen competitive mode in which two players race to the end of the stage.

Jun Senoue (left) and his band Crush 40 have composed music for most Sonic games since Sonic 3D Blast (1996).

For the original Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega commissioned Masato Nakamura, bassist and songwriter of the J-pop band Dreams Come True, to compose the soundtrack. Nakamura returned to compose Sonic 2's soundtrack. Dreams Come True owns the rights to Nakamura's score, which created problems when the Sonic Spinball team used his Sonic theme music without permission. For Sonic CD, two soundtracks were composed; the original, featured in the Japanese and European releases, was composed by Naofumi Hataya and Masafumi Ogata, while the North American score was composed by Spencer Nilsen, David Young, and Mark Crew.

A number of composers contributed to the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 score, including Sega sound staff and independent contractors recruited to finish the game on schedule. According to conflicting sources, American pop musician Michael Jackson, a Sonic fan, composed music for Sonic 3. Ohshima and Hector said Jackson's involvement was terminated and his music removed following the first allegations of sexual abuse against him, but composers involved with the project said his contributions remained.

Sonic 3 was the first Sonic game composer Jun Senoue worked on. Senoue has composed the music for many Sonic games since Sonic 3D Blast, often with his band Crush 40, which he formed with Hardline vocalist Johnny Gioeli. While the Genesis Sonic soundtracks were characterized by electropop, Senoue's scores typically feature funk and rock music. Tomoya Ohtani has been the series' sound director since Sonic the Hedgehog in 2006, and was the lead composer for that game, Sonic Unleashed, Sonic Colors, Sonic Lost World, Sonic Runners, and Sonic Forces. Ohtani said he attempts to "express through music the greatest features each game has", citing the diverse and energetic score of Sonic Unleashed and the more science fiction-style score of Sonic Colors as examples

Other composers who have contributed to Sonic games include Richard Jacques and Hideki Naganuma. Tee Lopes-known for releasing unofficial remixes of Sonic tracks on YouTube-was the lead composer for Sonic Mania and a contributor to Team Sonic Racing. The main theme of the 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog was performed by Ali Tabatabaee and Matty Lewis of the band Zebrahead, while Akon remixed " Sweet Sweet Sweet" for its soundtrack. Doug Robb, the lead singer of Hoobastank, performed the main theme of Sonic Forces. One of the ending themes of Sonic Frontiers, "Vandalize", was performed by the Japanese rock band One Ok Rock.

Other media

Crossovers

Outside the Sonic series, Sonic appears in other Sonic Team games as a playable character in Christmas Nights (1996), a power-up in Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg (2003), and in a cameo in the 2008 Wii version of Samba de Amigo (1999). Sonic characters also feature in the Sega All-Stars series, which includes Sega Superstars (2004), Sega Superstars Tennis (2008), and Sumo Digital's kart racing games Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (2010) and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (2012).

Since 2007, Sega has collaborated with former rival Nintendo to produce Mario & Sonic, an Olympic Games-themed crossover with the Mario franchise. The first Mario & Sonic game was released in 2007 for the Wii and in 2008 for the DS to tie in with the 2008 Summer Olympics. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, based on the 2010 Winter Olympics, was released in 2010 for the Wii and DS, and Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, based on the 2012 Summer Olympics, was released for the Wii in 2011 and the 3DS in 2012. The fourth game, 2013's Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, was exclusive to the Wii U, but the following game, Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (2016), was released on both the Wii U and 3DS. After a brief hiatus, the series made a return in 2019 with Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 for the Switch, based on the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Sonic appears as a playable character in Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. crossover fighting games, beginning with Super Smash Bros. Brawl in 2008. Alongside Solid Snake from Konami's franchise, Sonic was the first non-Nintendo character to appear in Smash. He was considered for inclusion in Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001), but the game was too close to completion so his introduction was delayed until Brawl. He returned in the sequels Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U (2014) and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018). Shadow and Knuckles appear in Smash as non-playable characters, while Tails and Knuckles costumes are available for players' Mii avatars. A Sonic amiibo figurine was released for the Smash games, and is also compatible with Mario Kart 8 (2014), Super Mario Maker (2015), and Yoshi's Woolly World (2015).

In June 2015, characters from the Angry Birds RPG Angry Birds Epic (2014) appeared as playable characters in Sonic Dash during a three-week promotion, while Sonic was added to Angry Birds Epic as a playable character the following September. Similar crossovers with the Sanrio characters Hello Kitty, Badtz-Maru, My Melody, and Chococat and the Namco game took place in December 2016 and February 2018. In November 2016, a Sonic expansion pack was released for the toys-to-life game Lego Dimensions (2015); the pack includes Sonic as a playable character, in addition to Sonic levels and vehicles. In September 2021, Sonic and Tails became playable characters in Cookie Run: Kingdom.

Jaleel White voiced Sonic in DIC Entertainment's three Sonic animated series.

In 1992, Sega approached the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) about producing two television series-"a syndicated show for the after-school audience" and a Saturday-morning cartoon-based on Sonic. Kalinske "had seen how instrumental the launch of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon series was to the success of the toyline" during his time at Mattel and believed that success could be recreated using Sonic. The two cartoons, the syndicated Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (1993) and ABC's Sonic the Hedgehog (1993-1994), were produced by DIC Entertainment. DIC also produced a Sonic Christmas special in 1996, and Sonic Underground in 1999, to promote Sonic Adventure. DIC's Sonic adaptations are generally not held in high regard.

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog comprises 65 episodes overseen by director Kent Butterworth and features slapstick humor in the vein of Looney Tunes. The 26-episode Sonic the Hedgehog (commonly called Sonic SatAM) features a bleak setting in which Eggman has conquered the world, while Sonic is a member of a resistance force that opposes him. The series was canceled after two seasons. Sonic Underground was planned to last 65 episodes, but only 40 were produced. The series follows Sonic and his siblings Manic and Sonia, who use the power of music to fight Eggman and reunite with their mother. In all three DiC series, Sonic is voiced by Family Matters star Jaleel White.

In Japan, Sega and Sonic Team collaborated with Studio Pierrot to produce a two-part original video animation (OVA), Sonic the Hedgehog, released direct-to-video in Japan in 1996. To coincide with Sonic Adventure's Western release in 1999, ADV Films released the OVA in North America as a 55-minute film, Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie. Produced with input from Naka and Ohshima, the OVA is loosely based on Sonic CD, with elements from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and 3, and recounts Sonic's efforts to stop a generator taken over by Eggman from exploding and destroying their world. Patrick Lee of 's said the OVA was "the only cartoon to adapt the look, sound, and feel of the Sonic games", with familiar scenes and music.

, an anime series produced by TMS Entertainment and overseen by Naka, ran for three seasons (78 episodes) from 2003 to 2006. While previous series' episodes feature self-contained plots, Sonic X tells a single serialized story. The Sonic cast teleports from their home planet to Earth during a scuffle with Eggman, where they meet a human boy, Chris Thorndyke. Throughout the course of the series, Sonic and his friends attempt to return to their world while fighting Eggman. The second season adapts the Sonic Adventure games and Sonic Battle, while the third season sees the friends return with Chris to their world, where they enter outer space and fight an army of aliens. Some critics enjoyed Sonic X, while others disliked it. Although it suffered from poor ratings in Japan, Sonic X consistently topped ratings for its timeslot in the US and France.

Sonic Boom, an animated television series produced by Sega and Genao Productions, premiered on Cartoon Network in November 2014. It features a satirical take on the Sonic mythos, and the franchise's cast was redesigned for it. According to Iizuka, Sonic Boom came about as a desire to appeal more to Western audiences, and it ran parallel with the main Sonic franchise. Sonic Boom lasted for two seasons and the last episode aired in 2017. In May 2020, Sega brand officer Ivo Gerscovich stated that no further episodes of Sonic Boom would be produced.

To promote the release of Sonic Mania Plus (2018), a five-part series of animated shorts, Sonic Mania Adventures, was released on the Sonic the Hedgehog YouTube channel between March 30 and July 17, 2018. The series depicts Sonic's return to his world following the events of Sonic Forces, teaming up with his friends to prevent Eggman and Metal Sonic from collecting the Chaos Emeralds and Master Emerald. An additional Christmas-themed episode was released on December 21, 2018. The shorts were written and directed by Tyson Hesse, who created Sonic Mania's opening cutscene. Hesse has contributed to other animated Sonic short films since, including a two-part Team Sonic Racing series and the Christmas special Chao in Space in 2019, a two-part Sonic Colors series in 2021, a Sonic Frontiers prequel in 2022, and a Sonic Superstars prequel in 2023. Sonic and Tails also appeared as guest stars in OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes in August 2019.

Sonic Prime, an animated Sonic series, began airing on Netflix in December 2022. The series was co-produced by Netflix Animation, Sega of America, WildBrain Studios, and Man of Action Entertainment, and unlike prior adaptations, it is canon to the events of the Sonic games. It follows Sonic as he is sent into a multiverse after accidentally shattering an artifact during a battle with Eggman and encounters alternate-universe counterparts of Sonic characters.

Ian Flynn has been a lead writer on Sonic the Hedgehog comics since 2006. He also contributed to other Sonic media, including the script for Sonic Frontiers (2022).

Shogakukan published a Sonic the Hedgehog manga series in its Shogaku Yonensei magazine, beginning in 1992. Written by Kenji Terada and illustrated by Sango Norimoto, it follows a sweet but cowardly young hedgehog named Nicky whose alter ego is the cocky, heroic Sonic. According to character artist Kazuyuki Hoshino, the manga was part of Sega's promotional strategy to appeal to primary school children. The Sonic design team worked with Shogakukan to create new characters; Amy Rose and Charmy Bee originated in the manga before appearing in the games.

The longest-running Sonic-based publication is the 290-issue Sonic the Hedgehog, an American comic book published by Archie Comics from 1993 until its cancellation in 2017. Archie also published a number of spin-offs, such as Knuckles the Echidna (1997-2000) and Sonic Universe (2009-2017). Archie's comic drew its premise from the Sonic the Hedgehog television series, with Sonic and a resistance force fighting the dictator Eggman. Originally written as a "straightforward lighthearted action-comedy", Sonic the Hedgehog became more dramatic after Ken Penders began writing it with issue #11. Penders remained the head writer for the following 150 issues and developed an elaborate lore unique to the series. Ian Flynn became head writer in 2006 and remained until the series' cancellation. Following a legal battle with Penders over ownership of characters he created, in 2013 the series was rebooted, leaving only characters introduced in the games or which predated Penders' run.

In 2008, Guinness World Records recognized Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog as the longest-running comic based on a video game, and by 2016 it was one of the longest-running American comics in the market. While Archie planned to publish at least four issues beyond #290, in January 2017 the series went on an abrupt hiatus, and in July, Sega announced it was ending its business relationship with Archie in favor of a new partnership with IDW Publishing. IDW's Sonic comic began in April 2018. Although the creative teams from the Archie series, such as Flynn, returned, the IDW series is set in a different continuity. Flynn said the IDW series differs from the Archie comic in that it draws from the games for stories, with the first story arc set after the events of Sonic Forces. Fans continued the Archie series unofficially, including finishing unpublished issues, while Penders is using the characters he gained ownership of for a graphic novel, The Lara-Su Chronicles.

Sonic the Comic, a British comic published by Fleetway Publications, ran for 223 issues from 1993 to 2002; contributors included Richard Elson, Nigel Kitching, Andy Diggle, and Nigel Dobbyn. It featured stories aimed at children, in addition to news and review sections. Although it adapted the stories of the games, the writers established their own lore. The final story arc was a loose adaptation of Sonic Adventure in 2000, followed by 39 issues reprinting old stories. Following the series' cancellation, fans started Sonic the Comic Online, an unofficial webcomic that continues the stories.

Live-action film franchise

In August 1994, Sega of America signed a deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and Trilogy Entertainment to produce a live-action animated film to tie in with Sonic X-treme. In May 1995, screenwriter Richard Jefferies pitched a treatment, Sonic the Hedgehog: Wonders of the World, to Sega. It saw Sonic and Eggman escape from Sonic X-treme into the real world and Sonic collaborate with a boy to stop Eggman. No agreement was reached, and the film was canceled. With permission from Sega, Jeffries pitched his treatment to DreamWorks Animation, but it was rejected.

Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

Tim Miller, the executive producer of the Sonic the Hedgehog film

In 2013, Sony Pictures Entertainment acquired the Sonic film rights. In June 2014, it announced plans to produce a Sonic film as a joint venture with Sega's Marza Animation Planet. Neal H. Moritz was attached to produce under his Original Film banner, alongside Takeshi Ito, Mie Onishi, and Toru Nakahara. In February 2016, Sega CEO Hajime Satomi said the film was scheduled for 2018. Blur Studio's Tim Miller and Jeff Fowler were hired the following October to develop the film; Fowler would make his feature directorial debut, while both would executive produce. In October 2017, Paramount Pictures acquired the rights after Sony put the film into turnaround. However, most of the production team remained unchanged, and principal photography began in September 2018 in Ladysmith, British Columbia.

The film, written by Patrick Casey and Josh Miller, follows Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) as he journeys to San Francisco with a small-town cop ( James Marsden) so he can escape Eggman ( Jim Carrey) and collect his missing rings. Additional cast members include Tika Sumpter, Adam Pally, and Neal McDonough, while Colleen O'Shaughnessey reprises her voice role as Tails from the games for a mid-credits scene cameo. Sonic was initially redesigned to be more realistic, with fur, new running shoes, separate eyes and a more humanlike physique. The design triggered a backlash; it was criticized for not resembling the game design and provoked an uncanny valley-type of repulsed response from viewers. As such, Sonic was revised to better resemble the original design.

Paramount originally scheduled Sonic the Hedgehog for a November 8, 2019, release, but delayed it to February 14, 2020, to accommodate the redesign. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who felt it exceeded the low expectations typically associated with video game-based films; Carrey's performance in particular was praised. Criticism was directed at a perceived lack of originality or ambition, and while Sonic's second redesign was praised, some felt it set a negative precedent for the film industry by giving fans the power to influence the filmmakers. With an estimated budget of $81-95 million, the film grossed over $310 million worldwide, becoming the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2020. In March, it became the highest-grossing film based on a video game in US box office history.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022)

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was announced in May 2020, and principal photography began in March 2021. It features Sonic and Tails attempting to stop Eggman, who has joined forces with Knuckles in search of the Master Emerald. Schwartz, O'Shaughnessey, Marsden, Carrey, and Sumpter reprise their roles from the first film, while Idris Elba voices Knuckles. Much of the crew, including Fowler, Casey, and Josh Miller, returned.

Sonic 2 incorporates more aspects of the Sonic games than the first film, including plot elements from Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 & Knuckles and the introduction of Shadow in the mid-credits scene. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was released on April 8, 2022. It received positive reviews and grossed over $402 million worldwide, surpassing its predecessor as the highest-grossing video game film in the US.

In February 2022, Paramount and Sega announced , a six-episode streaming television series for Paramount+. It was created by John Whittington and premiered on April 26, 2024. The story is set after the events of Sonic 2 and follows Knuckles as he trains a protégé. It was produced by the films' creative team; Elba, Pally, and Sumpter reprise their roles, while Edi Patterson, Julian Barratt, Scott Mescudi, Ellie Taylor, Cary Elwes, Stockard Channing, Christopher Lloyd, Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel portray new characters.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024)

In February 2022, Paramount and Sega announced Sonic the Hedgehog 3, scheduled for release on December 20, 2024. Principal photography began in November 2023. Fowler is directing from a script by Casey, Miller, and Whittington. Schwartz, O'Shaughnessey, Elba, Carrey, Marsden, and Sumpter are reprising their roles, while Krysten Ritter, Alyla Browne, James Wolk, Sofia Pernas, Cristo Fernández, and Jorma Taccone will play new characters. Shadow, voiced by Keanu Reeves, makes his full film debut following his mid-credits scene cameo in Sonic 2.

Merchandise

Licensed Sonic merchandise includes books, clothing, soundtracks, board games, and toys such as figures and plushes. By 2004, the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise had generated more than $1 billion in licensed merchandise sales. Sega and McDonald's collaborated for Sonic-themed Happy Meal promotions in 1994 for Sonic 3 and in 2004 for Sonic Heroes. Sonic was the first video game franchise promoted in McDonald's, and over 50 million Sonic Happy Meal toys were sold worldwide. A million pairs of Sonic trousers were sold by 1996.

First4Figures has produced a large number of vinyl and resin Sonic figures since 2008. In January 2012, Sega and RHM Solutions opened an online Sonic store, while PlayStation Gear began selling Sonic items in December 2017. Sega and The Lego Group collaborated to produce a Green Hill Zone Lego set in 2021, after it was suggested on Lego Ideas in 2019. This was followed by the launch of a full Lego Sonic the Hedgehog theme in 2023.

On June 23, 2021, to celebrate Sonic the Hedgehog's 30th anniversary, Sega presented the concert Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Symphony as a free live stream on YouTube and Twitch, starring performances of orchestral arrangements of by Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and pop rock arrangements by the Tomoya Ohtani Band and Crush 40, with Nathan Sharp as guest singer. The concert would become the start of Sonic Symphony, a tour, with its first live concert on October 12, 2022 at the 2022 Brasil Game Show and more concerts in late 2023 and 2024 as the Sonic Symphony World Tour.

Reception and legacy

I think Sega succeeded in making a good, strong character. There are lots of games that try to imitate Mario but Sega did especially well with Sonic. Despite his resemblance to Mario, there are some special points that make him different: the energy, for example. Among Mario's imitations, Sonic is a good one.

The Sonic platformers released during the 1990s were acclaimed and have been listed among the greatest video games of all time. The original Sonic was touted as a faster, cooler alternative to Nintendo's Super Mario World (1990). According to 's Zolani Stewart, Sonic's rebellious character was representative of the culture of the 1990s, "when the idea of individual rebellion seemed inextricably linked to consumer culture". Writing in The Guardian, Keith Stuart observed that Sonic the Hedgehog's emphasis on speed departed from accepted precepts of game design, requiring that players "learn through repetition rather than observation" as "the levels aren't designed to be seen or even understood in one playthrough... Sonic is incorrect game design and yet ... it's a masterpiece." Sonic 2, Sonic CD, Sonic 3, and Sonic & Knuckles were praised for building on the first game's formula; in 1996, Next Generation described them as "the zeitgeist of the 16-bit era".

After the uneventful Saturn era, the series found renewed popularity during the sixth generation of video game consoles. Sonic Adventure, though criticized for its glitches and camera system, was acclaimed for its visuals, spectacle, and varied gameplay; Sonic Adventure 2 was met with similar praise. However, journalists began to feel the series was straying from its roots, with some commenting that Sonic Adventure failed to reinvent Sonic for the 3D era as Super Mario 64 had for Mario. Stewart argued that the addition of voice acting and greater focus on plot changed Sonic into "a flat, lifeless husk of a character, who spits out slogans and generally has only one personality mode, the radical attitude dude, the sad recycled image of vague '90s cultural concept". Edwin Evans-Thirlwell of agreed, writing that Mario's "plucky earnestness and whimsy will always enjoy a longer shelf-life than [Sonic's] over-compensatory edginess".

After the Dreamcast, the series' critical standing declined. Evans-Thirlwell summarized further 3D Sonic games as "20-odd years of slowly accumulating bullshit". Although reviews for Sonic Heroes were mostly favorable, Stewart said this was when the focus on story and cutscenes became unbearable. Shadow the Hedgehog was widely criticized as a misguided attempt to bring a sense of maturity to the franchise, and Sonic '06 was critically panned. The Sonic Mania developer Christian Whitehead said that the changes to the Sonic formula "stemmed from a - perhaps misplaced - desire to continue to push Sonic as a AAA brand". Journalists, Whitehead, and the former Sega of America marketing director Al Nilsen criticized the number of characters added to the series, which Naka had justified as necessary to please fans. Evans-Thirlwell argued that Sonic Team had never successfully translated the momentum-based gameplay of the Genesis games to 3D, and that unlike Mario, Sonic never had a 3D "transcendental hit". Simon Parkin of The Guardian noted that whereas the Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto reviews every Mario game prior to release, the individuals who had shaped Sonic (Naka, Ohshima, and Cerny) left Sega.

Despite the critical decline, Dimps' side-scrolling Sonic games for the GBA and DS were consistently praised. Writing for Destructoid, Jim Sterling said: "Hyperbole states that we haven't had a good Sonic game since Sonic Adventure, which really betrays how much we gamers ignore the handheld market... Sonic Advance and the Sonic Rush games have often ranged from decent to superb, which makes one wonder why Dimps is the 'B' team and the inferior Sonic Team is the 'A' team." In the wake of the 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog, Brett Elston of GamesRadar+ said that Sonic Rush Adventure had "managed to keep the [series'] spirit alive". Sonic Unleashed was criticized for its addition of beat 'em up gameplay, which 's Hilary Goldstein felt had "nothing to do with Sonic whatsoever". Critics suggested that Unleashed would have been better received if it had focused on its speed-based platforming levels, which were widely praised.

In October 2010, Sega delisted Sonic games with average or below-average scores on the review aggregator website Metacritic, to increase the value of the brand and avoid confusing customers. That month, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I was released to general praise, with Goldstein describing it as "short but sweet and well worth downloading". Sonic Colors, released shortly afterward, was hailed as a return to form, as was 2011's Sonic Generations. Though Evans-Thirlwell considered Sonic Generations the best 3D Sonic game, he called it "an admission of defeat" for depicting the 2D and 3D incarnations of Sonic "together only to remind us of their profound differences". Sonic Lost World was released in 2013 to more mixed reviews, with some critics considering it a fresh take on the Sonic formula and others a poorly designed mess. The two Sonic Boom games received negative reviews and sold only 490,000 copies combined by February 2015, making them the worst-selling Sonic games. That year, Iizuka admitted that Sonic Team had prioritized shipping games over quality and did not have enough involvement in third-party Sonic games such as Sonic Boom. The Sega CEO, Haruki Satomi, acknowledged that Sega in general had "partially betrayed" the trust of the longtime fans and hoped to focus on quality over quantity.

In June 2015, the Sonic public relations manager Aaron Webber took charge of the series' Twitter account. Under Webber, the account, @sonic_hedgehog, became renowned for posting internet memes and making self-deprecating comments about the Sonic franchise's critical decline. According to Allegra Frank of , Webber "had an important effect on the franchise, cultivating a new persona for the character, one that has created a renewed sense of hope". The announcement of Sonic Mania in 2016 brought further hope for the Sonic franchise's future. Journalists described it as a true continuation of the Genesis games, succeeding where previous Sonic games-such as Sonic Rush and Sonic 4-had failed. Released in August 2017, it became the best-reviewed Sonic game in 15 years . Matt Espineli of said it "exceeds expectations of what a new game in the franchise can look and play like, managing to simultaneously be a charming celebration of the past and a natural progression of the series' classic 2D formula". Many called it one of the best games in the series and expressed excitement for Sonic's future, although Sonic Forces, released a few months later, received mixed reviews.

Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the bestselling video game franchises. The series' cumulative sales reached 89million units by March 2011 and over 140 million by 2016. The Mario & Sonic series alone sold over 19million units as of 2011. The Sonic the Hedgehog games had grossed over $5 billion in sales by 2014. Series sales and free-to-play mobile game downloads totaled 920 million units by 2019, more than 1.14 billion units by 2020 and over 1.6 billion units by 2023. In 1993, Sonic tied with Mario as the highest-earning entertainment personality of the year, each generating $500 million ($1,050 million adjusted for inflation) in digital game sales that year. In the United Kingdom, Sonic was the sixth-bestselling game franchise between 1996 and 2012.

Individual Sonic games have been bestsellers as well. The original game is the bestselling Genesis game, while Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is the bestselling Game Gear game, Sonic CD is the bestselling Sega CD game, and Sonic Adventure is the bestselling Dreamcast game. Sonic Adventure 2 is the eighth- bestselling GameCube game in the US and the bestselling GameCube game that was not published by Nintendo. Upon release, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 set records for being the fastest-selling game, selling out 3.2 million copies worldwide within two weeks in 1992. The original Sonic the Hedgehog earned over $400 million by 1997 ($890 million adjusted for inflation). Sonic the Hedgehog 2 grossed $450 million in 1992 ($980 million adjusted for inflation), becoming the year's highest-grossing home entertainment product.

Effect on the industry

Primarily because of its Genesis bundling, Sonic the Hedgehog contributed greatly to the console's popularity in North America. Between October and December 1991, the Genesis outsold its chief competitor, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, by a two-to-one ratio; at its January 1992 peak Sega held 65 percent of the market for 16-bit consoles. Although Nintendo eventually reclaimed the number-one position, it was the first time since December 1985 that Nintendo had not led the console market. credited Sonic for "turning the course" of the 16-bit console wars, helping make Sega a dominant player and industry giant.

During the 16-bit era, Sonic inspired similar platformers starring animal mascots, including the series, Aero the Acro-Bat (1993), James Pond 3 (1993), Earthworm Jim (1994), and Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel (1994). "Animal with attitude" games carried over to the 3D era, with the developers of (1995) and Crash Bandicoot (1996) citing Sonic as a major inspiration. According to Levi Buchanan of IGN, " Sonic inspired so many of these copycats that they practically became an entire subgenre for the platformer." Thorpe wrote that "it's hard to keep track of how many programmers have cited [ Sonic the Hedgehog] as a bar against which they have measured their own work", while Phil Hornshaw of noted that few animal mascot characters achieved the same success as Sonic. Regarding the series' influence, Thorpe wrote:

Every E3 conference dig can be traced back to the console war that truly fired up when Sonic and Mario were put side by side. Every time console games have pushed to obtain an older target age group, that's something that Sonic was on the leading edge of - and broadening demographics has been important to the growth of the games industry, whether for reasons of content... or appeal... Five years prior to the co-ordinated international launch of Sonic 2, your gaming experience depended heavily on where you lived... These days, with same-day global launches and region-free consoles, that seems like a lifetime ago. And of course, every time you buy DLC, you might want to spare a thought for Sonic & Knuckles. And, of course, all of that is to say nothing of the legion of mascot platform games that came in the wake of the Sonic series.

Computer and Video Games credited Sonic the Hedgehog with helping to popularize console video games in the United Kingdom, where home computers previously dominated the home video game market. Frank Cifaldi, a video game preservationist and the founder of the Video Game History Foundation (VGHF), said Sonic fans' documentation of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 prototypes influenced how video game history is studied, and that the VGHF has roots in his interest in Sonic 2's development.

Cultural impact

Sonic was the first video game character to have a balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which occurred in 1993. In the above time lapse of the 2012 parade, the balloon can be seen at the 46-second mark.

One of the world's most popular video game characters, by 1992 Sonic was more recognizable to children ages 6 to 11 than Disney's Mickey Mouse. In 1993, Sonic became the first video game character to have a balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and he was one of the four characters inducted on the Walk of Game in 2005, alongside Mario, Link, and Master Chief. Additionally, a Japanese team developing the Radio & Plasma Wave Investigation (RPWI) instrumentation for the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer spacecraft, to be launched by ESA and Airbus in 2023, received approval to use Sonic as the mascot. Sonic and Eggman appear as minor characters in the Walt Disney Animation Studios films Wreck-It Ralph (2012) and Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018), while Sonic makes cameos in Ready Player One (2018) and Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022).

The franchise is known for its eccentric and passionate fandom, which produces unofficial media, including fangames, fan fiction, modifications and ROM hacks of existing games, fan films, and fan art. Caty McCarthy of noted that many fans have continued to support the series in spite of poorly received games like the 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog, and she credited the fandom with helping maintain public interest in the franchise. Notable Sonic fangames include Sonic After the Sequel (2013), set between the events of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and 3, and Sonic Dreams Collection (2015), which satirizes the series' fandom. Sonic Mania's development team included individuals who had worked on Sonic ROM hacks and fangames, while Iizuka said the character customization system in Sonic Forces was influenced by the Sonic community's tendency to create original characters. Summer of Sonic, an annual fan convention dedicated to the Sonic series and hosted in the United Kingdom, was founded by Svend Joscelyne and Adam Tuff and first held in 2008.

Sonic has inspired various internet memes, which have been acknowledged by Sega and referenced in games. "Sanic hegehog", a crude Sonic drawn in Microsoft Paint, originated in 2010; typically, the meme uses one of Sonic's catchphrases but with poor grammar. The Sonic Twitter account has made numerous references to it, and it appeared in official downloadable content for Sonic Forces on in-game shirts and as a visual gag in the Sonic the Hedgehog film. Sanic also inspired similar memes and parodies and was described by William Moo of as "perfect proof of the twisted love and appreciation many have" for Sonic. In January 2018, players flooded the virtual reality game with avatars depicting "Ugandan Knuckles", a deformed version of Knuckles the Echidna. The character stemmed from a 2017 review of Sonic Lost World by YouTube user Gregzilla, as well as fans of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds streamer Forsen, who often reference the African country Uganda. The Ugandan Knuckles meme was controversial for its perceived racial insensitivity, and the creator of the avatar expressed regret over how it was used. In response, the Sonic Twitter account encouraged players to respect others and donate to a Ugandan charity through GlobalGiving.

The sonic hedgehog gene, first identified for its role in fruit fly embryonic development, was named after Sonic. Robert Riddle, then a postdoctoral fellow at the Tabin Lab, came up with the name after his wife bought a magazine containing an advert for Sonic. A mutation in the gene causes fly larvae to bear spiky denticles, reminiscent of Sonic.

References

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Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist.