Sonic the Hedgehog (Japanese:ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ) is the flagship character for video game, arcade game (and one-time home game console) company Sega, which has released a series of video games in which he either stars or plays a role. Sonic was competeing head-to-head with Nintendo's mascot Mario for over a decade until Sega went out of the home console market. He now lives on in various Nintendo and other consoles.

Sonic replaced Alex Kidd, who was Sega's mascot prior to 1990. Naoto Oshima designed the character while Yuji Naka was the main programmer. He would later become head of the Sonic Team division.

Sonic is a blue hedgehog who lives on the planet Earth (Mobius in various American sources). He has the ability to run very fast. His blue pigmentation was explained in an issue of gaming magazine Gamepro as being the result of getting caught in an explosion involving cobalt, but this is probably not canonical. There is an alternative explanation in Stay Sonic: Official Sega Handbook, a book about Sonic the Hedgehog written by Mike Pattenden. At some point it was divulged (probably from an American source) that Sonic enjoys eating chili dogs.

The premise of the games revolves around Doctor Eggman (Doctor Ivo Robotnik in the earlier releases in North America and Europe) trying to take over the world by turning the animals into robots called Badniks. Sonic is charged with saving them. In later games he is joined by Miles "Tails" Prower, Amy Rose, Knuckles the Echidna, Cream the Rabbit and a host of others.

In SatAM and Archie Comics, Sonic is in love with Princess Sally.

Interestingly, one of a class of genes involved in fruit fly embryonic development, called hedgehog genes after the name given to the first member of this class discovered, has been named sonic hedgehog after this character.

Table of contents
1 Games involving Sonic the Hedgehog
2 Games Sonic Characters have cameoed in:
3 Pirated games which are not from above starring Sonic the Hedgehog
4 Public domain
5 Television Series
6 Comic Books

Games involving Sonic the Hedgehog

Key

  • J = Japan
  • N = North America
  • E = PAL (Europe, Asia, Australia, Brazil)
  • X = PAL excluding Brazil
  • B = Brazil ONLY

For the Sega Megadrive/Sega Genesis:

For the Sega Master System:

For Sega Mega-CD/Sega CD:

For the Sega Game Gear:

  • Sonic the Hedgehog (JNX)
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (XNJ)
  • Sonic Chaos (aka Sonic & Tails) (JNX)
  • Sonic Spinball (XN)
  • Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (NX)
  • Sonic Drift (J)
  • Sonic Triple Trouble (aka Sonic & Tails 2) (JNE)
  • Sonic Drift 2 (JEN)
  • Tails' Adventures (JEN)
  • Sonic 2 In 1 (contains Sonic 2 and Sonic Spinball (Game Gear version)) (N)
  • Sonic Labryinth (EJN)
  • Tails' Skypatrol (J)
  • Sonic Blast (aka G-Sonic) (NXJ)

For the Sega Pico:

  • Sonic's Gameworld (JN)
  • Tails And The Music Maker (NJ)

For the Sega 32X:

  • Knuckles' Chaotix (aka Chaotix) (NJE)

For the Sega Saturn:

  • Sonic Jam (JNE)
  • Sonic R (NEJ)
  • Sonic 3D Blast (aka Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island) (NEJ)

For the Sega Dreamcast:

For the PC:

For SNK Neo Geo Pocket:

  • Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure (EN)

For Nintendo Game Boy Advance:

  • Sonic Advance (JNE)
  • Sonic Advance 2 (JNE)
  • Sonic Pinball Party (Coming Soon)
  • Sonic Battle (Coming Soon)

For Nintendo Gamecube:

For Sony Playstation 2:

For Xbox:

For Arcade:

  • Waku Waku Sonic Patrol Car (J)
  • Sega Sonic Cosmo Fighter Galaxy Patrol (J)
  • SegaSonic The Hedgehog (J)
  • Sonic the Fighters aka Sonic Championship (JN)

Leaked prototypes

Games Sonic Characters have cameoed in:

  • Phantasy Star Online (Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails have cameoed online numerous times.)
  • Donkey Kong Country 2 (At the end of the game, Diddy gets rated as a video game hero according to how many of the DK Coins you collect. On the screen is a trash can labeled "No Hopes" with Sonic's shoes next to it)
  • Fighters Megamix (Bark the Polarbear and Bean the Dynamite Dux are unlockable fighters)
  • Christmas NiGHTS (One of the presents is to play as Sonic in the Spring Valley Time Attack)
  • Shenmue (Sonic character dolls are available)
  • Virtua Striker 3 (A hidden team has Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Dr. Eggman, and a Chao as players, with Yuji Naka as the coach)
  • Beach Spikers (A giant inflatable Sonic floats above one of the volleyball courts)

Pirated games which are not from above starring Sonic the Hedgehog

Public domain

Television Series

Comic Books

  • Sonic Archie (US)
  • Sonic the Comic (Fleetway, UK)

Sonic Manga and Sonic Doujinshi have also been released in Japan