The Sonic the Hedgehog Thread

[minor muppetz]

I have all of the important Sonic games for Sega Genesis, and three of the games for Game Gear. I also have Sonic Mega Collection +, it was good to finally play Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine and some of the Game Gear games I not only hadn't played but hadn't heard of.

I remember when I first heard of Sonic, it was in a commercial which mentioned the game coming with the Genesis, and I didn't realize the Genesis was a video game system (at the time I thought the only video game systems were NES, Game Boy, and maybe Super Nintendo). I thought Sonic was a NES game (I grew up after Atari lost popularity and years before lots of non-Nintendo systems became more successful). I didn't know what the Genesis was but thought it was an adult product. I wanted to play Sonic but didn't want whatever it was it came with.

The first time I played Sonic the Hedgheog was on a Genesis on display at Target, and I then knew that it wasn't for Nintendo. Then my babysitter's household got a Sega Genesis and I was able to play the Genesis games more. Since I had the NES I didn't expect to ever get any other big consoles and didn't ask for any, but then in 1996 I not only got my own Genesis but also a Sega CD, Sonic CD being one of the few really good ones.

Before I got the Genesis I had asked for the Game Gear. I had asked for a Game Boy for Christmas, and my mom told me about the Game Gear, which I hadn't heard of. Then I saw the commercials and when I saw that Sonic games were included I decided I'd rather have the Game Gear. In fact although I'd seen the commercials I don't remember knowing Sonic's name until that time.

When I got my Game Gear for Christmas Sonic 2 was one of only two games (along with Columns) I got. At first I thought the Sonic games were exactly the same on the Genesis and Game Gear. I wanted the first Sonic game but for some reason stores were sold out of the Game Gear version for quite awhile (I would have thought the sequel would have that affect... Or maybe it was also hard to find Sonic 2 and I just didn't notice because I already had that game). My babysitter's family got their Genesis after I got my Game Gear, and it's interesting that they got Sonic 1 first but I got Sonic 2 first They had ordered a copy of Sonic 2 and had to wait, and I finally got a copy of Sonic 1 for Game Gear before they did, and was suprised to see how different it was.

I didn't watch the cartoons often. For some reason my local ABC station tended to show local news instead of saturday morning shows (though there were occasional exceptions), and I didn't like that I saw commercials for shows advertised on ABC's saturday morning line-up that I couldn't see. I occasionally caught Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and thought it was good (I think it was usually on when I had to go to school). A few years ago I started learning a bit about the two Sonic cartoons, and by coincidence (I hadn't talked about what I learend to anyone) my brother got me a copy of the complete Sonic the Hedgehog SatAM series, which was okay. Then I saw The Nostalgia Critic's review of the two shows and really wanted to see Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog... and eventually found a single-disc release of episodes for about 5 dollars. I think Adventures was a lot better.

 

[minor muppetz]

I've beaten some of the games as part of Sonic Mega Collection +, where you can save the games. Of course I didn't get all of the emeralds, which would make it debatable whether it really counts as beating the game.

But on the Sonic Mega Collection I completed Sonic 1 and 3. I made it to the last level and after playing these last few years still haven't been able to beat it (the second-to-last level is also frustratingly hard, I kept hitting "save" after each check point). I also completed Sonic CD on the iPhone.

The classic games are the best, but I've also played a good number of later games. I've played a little of Sonic Adventures 2, as well as Sonic 4, Sonic Colors, and Sonic Generations. I also have the Black Knight game on the wii, but have only played it once (I struggled to figure out the controls and such).

I've never played any of those Mario and Sonic games. Back when I was younger it would have been a bigger deal if those two appeared together (and in my head I thought it'd be cool if they met and switched moves - Mario would spin-dash, Sonic would get fire power and so on). But by the time the first one was released the pairing no longer had the impact it would have back in the early '90s. I think a lot of fans dislike those games, so it's a wonder there's been a sequel, let alone two. I guess sales were better than the ans reactions.

 

[AquaGGR]

TRU has an overload of every Sonic show EXCEPT Sonic X. I had to get the DVDs through Amazon. TRU mostly carries CookieJar DVDs, so that's probably why there's no Sonic X.

 

[AquaGGR]

I think Jason Griffith (Sonic's VA from Sonic X to Black Knight) would be able to pull of voicing Scratch. His voice he uses for Jet the Hawk sounds kinda similar.

 

[minor muppetz]

When I was younger I was scared of the music that plays whenever Sonic is about to run out of air. I would always dread playing underwater because of it, and whenever I could I'd turn the volume down all the way. At least on the game gear games the music wasn't as loud or frightening (and is it just me or is the underwater timer on the game gear games slower than on the Genesis ones?).

In Sonic Triple Trouble, Sonic can use a submarine underwater but Tails can't. It made it hard for me to decide which one to play as.... If I pick Sonic I could use the submarine and avoid the out-of-air alert (of course I can't remember if Sonic could automatically get the submarine when getting in water or if he'd have to find it) but if I pick Tails I can fly. Decisions, decisions...

I kept thinking it was odd that Sonic can't breathe under water or swim. Mario could be under water for as long as possible without running out of air (well, except for in Mario 64),

Has anybody seen the web series Sonic for Hire? It involves Sonic and Tails being unemployed and taking on many odd jobs from various video game characters. I must warn you, though, that the humor is very adult (I'd like to say it gives South Park a run for its money, but I also feel that's not quite right).

 

[AquaGGR]

There's a really weird thing that happens in Sonic CD when you access the hidden Sound Test, if you enter in a certain combination, you'll be sent to a screen filled with Sonic's wearing disturbing and bizarre faces (hollow eyes, moustaches, and mouths agape). While the sentence "Fun is infinite with SEGA Enterprisess ~ Demon" is displayed on the screen in Japanese. The boss music also plays while this is happened. Apparently, this screen would appear if you pirated the game. It gives me an uneasy feeling nothingless.

 

[Drtooth]

TRU has an overload of every Sonic show EXCEPT Sonic X. I had to get the DVDs through Amazon. TRU mostly carries CookieJar DVDs, so that's probably why there's no Sonic X.

That's because all the Sonic X DVD's are long out of print. They were made way back before 4Kids and Funimation (who distributed most of their DVD's) had a huge falling out over profits of said DVD's.. especially the uncut Yu-Gi-Oh and Shaman King DVD's, which only 2 of each were made. And since 4Kids is gone now anyway, whoever got the rights (I'm guessing Saban) would have to put these on DVD. I wonder if they're even still up on hulu.

 

[minor muppetz]

One thing that I always liked was the bonus games. Those were usually fun. Though these days I'm not as big a fan of the bonus games in Sonic 2 and play those a lot less. I think the bonus games in the first one are the best. I usually get a "d'oh!" feeling if I get passed the goal with one ring short.

 

[AquaGGR]

That's because all the Sonic X DVD's are long out of print. They were made way back before 4Kids and Funimation (who distributed most of their DVD's) had a huge falling out over profits of said DVD's.. especially the uncut Yu-Gi-Oh and Shaman King DVD's, which only 2 of each were made. And since 4Kids is gone now anyway, whoever got the rights (I'm guessing Saban) would have to put these on DVD. I wonder if they're even still up on hulu.

Oh well, at least the Sonic X DVDs are still available on Netflix and Amazon. Strangely, 4Kids official YouTube channel lets you watch complete Sonic X episodes for free.

 

[AquaGGR]

Why does a lot of people have a big problem with Sonic? Gamesradar and GameInformer act like he burned their crops, poisoned their water, and delivered a plague onto their houses.