Sonic The Hedgehog

Released in 1991, Sonic the Hedgehog is the popular face of his self titled video game series. Due to the huge popularity of this animated character, a variety of spin-off comics, animated shows, and original video animations have been created. Sonic made his debut in 1991. Sega had hoped that Sonic would be the perfect mascot for their company, one that would rival Mario, Nintendo's flagship character. Since the release, Sonic the Hedgehog has become one of the world's best known video game characters and it is this popularity that has spawned a long line of video games. Initially released for the Sega Genesis, players first experienced Sonic in games titled Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3. There was also Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball which was a pinball simulation modeled after the spring yard and casino night zones in the first two games. Sega also released Sonic & Knuckles, that could be combined with the third Sonic game, which allowed Sonic fans to play the games as they were originally intended. Then there was Sonic 3D Blast which featured Sonic running through 3D like environments while trying to rescue Flickies from Doctor Robotnik. There were two games released specifically for Japan which were Sonic Chaos/Sonic and Tails, and its sequel Sonic Tripe Trouble/Sonic and Tails 2. Other markets saw the release of Sonic Labyrinth, Sonic Drift and Sonic Drift 2. The late 90's saw more releases for the Sega Saturn which included Sonic Jam, Sonic R and Sonic X-treme. Since it had been years since the first release of Sonic, Sega decided to revive the original Sonic the Hedgehog for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. It was followed by Sonic Unleashed for the Wii, PS2, PS3, and Xbox 360 consoles. More recent releases include Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II, and Sonic Colours. The video game series is still going strong, ensuring that fans of the hedgehog will be able to get their fix for years to come.