Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series released by Sega starring and named after its mascot character, Sonic the Hedgehog. The series began in 1991 with the release of Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, which was responsible for turning Sega into a leading video game company during the 16-bit era.
The Sega division responsible for the first game in the series was called Sonic Team, and the group has since developed many titles in the franchise. Prominent members of its initial staff included programmer Yuji Naka, designer Naoto Ohshima and game planner Hirokazu Yasuhara. Other developers of Sonic games have included the American Sega Technical Institute, Japanese Dimps, Canadian BioWare, and British Traveller's Tales. While the first games in the series were platform games, the series has expanded into other genres such as action-adventure, fighting
Nearly all games in the series feature a blue hedgehog named Sonic as the central player character and protagonist. The games detail Sonic's attempts to save the world from various threats, primarily the evil genius Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, the main antagonist of the series. Robotnik's aim is to rule the Earth; to achieve this, he usually attempts to eliminate Sonic and to acquire the powerful Chaos Emeralds.
Sega Mega Drive and add-on systems (1991-1996)
Green Hill Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)
The first Sonic game, titled Sonic the Hedgehog, was a platform game released in 1991that featured protagonist Sonic running through the game's levels in order to foil Doctor Robotnik's attempt to take over the world The game focused Sonic's ability to run and to jump at high speeds with the use of springs, slopes, and loop-the-loops.[2] Its sequel, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, a platform game released in 1992, increased the overall size and speed of the series' gameplay and was the best selling Genesis game of all time. The game introduced Sonic's sidekick, Miles "Tails" Prower, who followed Sonic throughout the game, and the "spin dash" maneuver, which allowed Sonic to boost forwards quickly when stopped. The next sequel, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, was a third platform game in the Sonic series released in 1994.The game introduced a temporary shield maneuver, added new shield types to the series, and allowed Tails to fly under a player's control It also introduced a new character, Knuckles the Echidna, who served as an additional antagonist with Doctor Robotnik for the game. Sonic & Knuckles, another platform game in the Sonic series, was released later in 1994. The game introduced Knuckles as a playable character with gliding and wall climbing abilities and allowed gamers to plug in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 to the top of the Sonic and Knuckles cartridge as part of the game's "lock on" functionality. This allowed gamers to play the game as it was originally intended; the games were intended to be one title, but were split due to space and time constraints.
There were several Sonic games for the Mega Drive that were not 2D platform games. Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball, released in 1993, was a pinball simulation modeled after the Spring Yard and Casino Night Zones from the first two Sonic games.The game, unlike general pinball simulations, had an overall goal of collecting all the Chaos Emeralds in each level and defeating the levels' bosses. It was one of the few video games that had elements from the cartoons Sonic the Hedgehog and Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. The references are visual only. Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine was a puzzle game similar to Puyo that was set in the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog universe Sonic 3D Blast, an isometric, 2.5D platform game released in 1996 and developed by Traveller's Tales, featured Sonic running through pseudo-3D environments while trying to rescue Flickies from Doctor Robotnik.
The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis had "add-on" systems that incorporated Sonic titles. Sonic CD, released for the Mega-CD/Sega CD, was a 2D platform game released in 1993. The game introduced the character Amy Rose[ and featured levels that differed depending upon whether Sonic was in the past, present, or future time frames. Knuckles Chaotix, a spin-off released in 1995 for the Sega 32x, featured Knuckles and a new group named Chaotix fighting against Dr. Robotnik.The game featured a two-player cooperative system in which the on-screen characters were connected by magic rings. There was also Sonic Eraser, a puzzle game released exclusively on Meganet, which required the use of the system's modem.
