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Sonic the Hedgehog: Difference between revisions
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That's [[Sonic the Hedgehog]] in a nutshell--well, except for the pub part ([[Dissimile|and the "hell, no" part]]…[[Shadow the Hedgehog|usually]]). Created in 1991 for the then-fledgling [[Sega]] [[Sega Genesis|Genesis]] (and not-so-fledgling Sega [[Master System]]) by a group of fifteen people tasked with creating a mascot to compete with [[Super Mario|the face of video games]] (who were later to be named [[Sonic Team]]), Sonic quickly became the gaming company's mascot, immediately replacing Sega's previous mascot, the Mario-[[Captain Ersatz|derivative]] [[Alex Kidd]]. The spunky, ever-lovin' cobalt-blue insectivore grew in strength with each sequel to put its creators into a healthy competitive spot with [[Nintendo]] and other, lesser gaming companies, most notably [[Hudson Soft]] and [[SNK]] during the 16-bit [[Console Wars]].
The games were positively brilliant. The sprites were incredibly well-drawn, the levels were huge and expansive with a few alternate paths, and they incorporated many design features like loops, corkscrews, and crumbling ledges that were never seen before in any game. Many entertainment companies were given the license to produce no less than four cartoon series, seven comic series, countless books, a sunday comic strip, and even an [[Sonic the Hedgehog The Movie (Anime)|anime movie]], all to capitalize on Sonic's success. For a while, the Sonic series even overshadowed Nintendo's poster boy, [[Super Mario Bros|Mario]], due to the technical whizziness of its concept (helped by Sega dropping the meaningless term "[[Techno Babble|Blast Processing]]" into its ads) and the [[Badbutt|proto-Badass]] nature of its main character. (This was the predecessor to the eventual [[Rated "M" for Money|family-friendly versus mature games]] debate, with a hedgehog with an attitude standing in for [[Grand Theft Auto|killing beeyotches]].) And the concept was so simple: The aforementioned trio of Sonic (the hedgehog), Tails (the fox), and Knuckles (the echidna) try to thwart Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik's (the floating fat man) attempts at world domination using his army of robots and the Chaos Emeralds (the [[Green Rocks]][[hottip:*:Incidentally, [[Non-Indicative Name|despite being called "Emeralds," they are seldom green.]]). Run fast, collect rings, bash robotic critters, and it's all good.
Sonic hit a bit of a [[Dork Age]] during the run of SEGA's Saturn console, which was a good deal less successful than its predecessor. The spinoff game, ''Sonic R'' was the only noteworthy Sonic game on the console, with a much better one, ''Sonic [[Xtreme Kool Letterz|X-Treme]]'', being announced but canceled, and filled in at the 11th hour by a upgraded port of the less-than-stellar ''[[Sonic 3D Flickies Island (Video Game)|Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island]]''. The series got revived in a truly 3-Dimensional incarnation on SEGA's next console, the Dreamcast. The two ''[[Sonic Adventure (Video Game)|Sonic Adventure]]'' games are noted for their production values and ambitious plotlines, but also criticized for questionable gameplay choices and other teething problems usually found in [[Polygon Ceiling|platformers that tried to make their first jump to 3D]]. Sonic Team attempted to address these concerns with ''[[Sonic Heroes (Video Game)|Sonic Heroes]]'', yet the gameplay was arguably worsened, to say nothing of its cheesy dialogue and most of its replay value being a result of [[Fake Longevity|artificially prolonging the amount of times levels need to be played.]]
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* [[Blind Idiot Translation]]: Before the developers had settled on a name for Sonic, he was referred to as "Mr. Needlemouse". The Japanese word for "hedgehog" is "harinezumi". Guess what a literal translation of that would yield.
* [[Boss Dissonance]]: Generally, the bosses in the series are easier than the levels, save for a few [[Wake Up Call Boss|Wake Up Call Bosses]].
* [[Boss Only Level]]: A trademark of the series; first there was [[Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Game)|Final Zone]], and then it ''really'' took off after [[Sonic 3 and Knuckles (Video Game)|The Doomsday Zone]], with the final boss of every game gaining its own level, [[Eleventh
** In fact, ''[[Exaggerated Trope|every]]'' boss gained its own level around that time.
* [[Bottomless Pit]]: Relatively rare in the early ''Sonic'' games, but increasingly common as the series has gone on. Taken [[Up to Eleven]] in ''Heroes'', where every zone after Power Plant is basically a giant pit with platforms and grind rails suspended over it.
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** Tails - [[Shock and Awe]]
** Knuckles - [[Playing With Fire]] / [[Dishing Out Dirt]]
** Amy - [[Heart Beat
** Shadow - [[Time Master]]
** Rogue - [[Casting a Shadow]]
** Blaze - [[Playing With Fire]]
** Silver - [[Psychic Powers]]
* [[Eleventh
* [[Enemy Mine]]: ''Sonic Adventure 2's'' memorable Cannon's Core level.
** Sonic and Eggman have teamed up on multiple occasions when they've had a common enemy: ''[[Sonic Adventure 2 (Video Game)|Sonic Adventure 2]]'' against The Biolizard, ''[[Sonic Advance 3]]'' against Gemerl. Generally it's because Eggman wants to take over the world, not destroy it, and he can't take over the world if there's no world to take over, so generally if someone (or something) wants to destroy the world Eggman will usually fight against them, either with Sonic or without. The fat scientist makes this point almost verbatim in ''[[Shadow the Hedgehog]]'' as he watches the Black Arms wreck up Westopolis.
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* [[Meaningful Name]]: Practically everyone has one. Sonic is faster than sound, Knuckles has spikes on his fists, etc.
** "Robotnik" is derived from [[Bilingual Bonus|the Czech word for "servitude"]]. Guess what Eggman tries to do in every game.
** "Eggman" with his [http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090925135428/sonic/images/a/aa/Robotnik_43.png Classic Era Jumpsuit], designed to make him [[The Beatles|to look like a Walrus]], it doubles as a [[Shout
** Tails has ''two''. His nickname, Tails (for obvious reasons), and his [[Punny Name]], Miles Prower.
* [[Made of Iron]]: ''Everyone'' is, it seems to be a part of the way creatures function in-universe,[[Strong Flesh Weak Steel|few machines can compete with their durability]].
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* [[Reconstruction]]: Since the flop of [[Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 (Video Game)|Sonic '06]], the games seem to be trying to go back to the original Platforming and Speed outlook of the Genesis series.
* [[Recurring Riff]]: In many Sonic games, the main theme of a particular game can be heard throughout the game.
* [[Red Eyes, Take Warning]]: Super Sonic ([[Sonic Adventure (Video Game)|Sonic Adventure]] onwards) and Shadow.
* [[Ret Canon]]:
** The clear use of [[Mecha Mooks|SWAT]][[Sonic Sat AM (Animation)|Bots]] and roboticized animals in ''[[Sonic Chronicles]]''.
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** Supposedly, on the day that Nintendo unveiled the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Which was also the same day SEGA unveiled the original Sonic game), a reporter went to a SEGA Rep & touted the increased graphical capabilities of the SNES over the Mega Drive; specifically citing the vast increase in the number of colors the system was capable of. The SEGA Rep's response was to take him to a curtained off area, and show him screenshots of Sonic & the latest Mario game, before asking "[[Badass Boast|Who has more colors?]]"
* [[Sealed Evil in A Can]]: It started with Chaos in ''Sonic Adventure'' and has become increasingly more evil, more sealed, and more canny from there.
* [[Shout
** Also see the examples of [[Lawyer-Friendly Cameo]], which have been present since ''Sonic the Hedgehog 2''.
** ''Sonic Chronicles'' includes Swat Bots, based on the [[Mooks]] from the SatAM show. Sonic also mentions chili dogs, a reference to his [[Trademark Favourite Food]] in the US shows. It also has the resident [[Killer Robot]] [[Knights of the Old Republic|refer to the organic characters as "Meatbags".]] (Not surprising given [[Bio Ware|the developer.]])
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** One of the bosses in ''Sonic Unleashed'' had a drill.
** Sonic Colors also has the yellow wisps which turn Sonic into a drill.
* [[Three
** [[Sonic Unleashed (Video Game)|Chip]] subverts this multiple times at first, but finally manages a perfect landing just before the final level.
* [[Took a Level In Badass]]: Tails has a noticeable one between ''Sonic Adventure'' and ''SA2'', he builds himself a mech and is actually useful, and is somewhat able to think for himself.
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[[Category:Sonic The Hedgehog]]
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