Sonic the Hedgehog turns 16

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jun 23rd 2007 at 10:30AM }

Today is Sonic the Hedgehog's 16th birthday. He was cute as a baby and burst into the world with the delightful Sonic the Hedgehog. As of late though, he has certainly been experiencing the highs (Sonic Rush) and lows (Sonic on Xbox 360) of being a teenager. However, like a 16-year-old, Sonic may finally be coming into his own after Sega said that their mascot is going on a blue ambition reinvention tour.

The most shocking news of Sonic's reinvention isn't even his pairing with Mario for an Olympics game. Something that we might have cared about and made our head explode in the the early '90s. Nope, the most shocking news came two days ago when BioWare (Mass Effect, Knights of the Old Republic) announced that they were working on a Sonic RPG for the Nintendo DS, the game is expected in 2008. Who knows, maybe when Sonic turns 18 he'll be cool again. And then he can go pick up a pack of smokes from the corner store, fly to Europe, and party to the point where he forgets everything between the late '90s and now. Happy birthday Sonic!

Tags: birthday, sega, sonic the hedgehog, SonicTheHedgehog

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Louis S. @ Jun 23rd 2007 10:40AM

From Awesome to Crap in 10 Years: The Sonic the Hedgehog Story.

Rob Accomando @ Jun 23rd 2007 10:50AM

How about a "Paper Sonic"? :o)

Llenlleawg @ Jun 23rd 2007 11:21AM

Its asplode, not explode...

Charron @ Jun 23rd 2007 11:37AM

@Rob

That was the best thing Jack of No Trades ever said (a while back, can't remember what article), and the idea has just been fermenting for me ever since. If they actually get the Paper Mario writers involved, and just make fun of all the lousy Sonic games they made over the years, you'd have a damn funny game. And I guess we'll see soon how well a Sonic RPG works out, so maybe gameplay wouldn't be a problem either....

Kuuma @ Jun 23rd 2007 11:39AM

Oh great, now Sonic can drive fast too.

Snipermike @ Jun 23rd 2007 11:42AM

I hope he gets his license now and drives into a brick wall.Sonic games account for some of the biggest pieces of shat out there just let him die

karmaghost @ Jun 23rd 2007 11:47AM

Does Sonic-style gameplay really have a place in this, or any future, generation of games? I think the way games are made now makes Sonic a poor choice; Sonic tends to be this "genre" rather than merely a character.

Dustin @ Jun 23rd 2007 1:46PM

Happy birthday old friend :)

Covarr @ Jun 23rd 2007 2:38PM

I hope Sonic's 16th birthday brings something good. Not like his 15th birthday, which brought Sonic The Hedgehog Genesis for the GBA, which may very well be the worst port of any game ever made in the history of ports.

deaftly @ Jun 23rd 2007 3:27PM

16 and already time to retire

Para @ Jun 23rd 2007 4:03PM

People who are playing PHANTASY STAR UNIVERSE are celebrating Sonic's birthday right now. There's an ingame event where you can get a piece of Sonic for your room as a large room decoration statue.

As well the lobbies are decorated with Sonic related statues and theme.

Mr Khan @ Jun 23rd 2007 4:09PM

@ Para

I remember when Sega did that for Sonic's 10th with Phantasy Star Online Ver 2 for Dreamcast

good times

Para @ Jun 23rd 2007 4:13PM

lol yeah.

there are also rare monsters dressed up as sonic that drop event items right now.

Sega Sammy Intern @ Jun 23rd 2007 4:37PM

Its funny, because i bet if all the past Sonic games that came out (The 3-D ones) were actually good. Then no one would be talking about Sonic retiring or Sonic not fitting into this generations style of gaming making.

I would much rather have Sonic games, then FPS games.

Eric B @ Jun 23rd 2007 5:21PM

Yay, he's legal!!!

Uh...I mean... *runs away*

REUYL @ Jun 23rd 2007 8:14PM

Sonic turns 16, but he's been dead for at least 8 years now.

Zach Braff is not straight nor bi nor asexual @ Jun 23rd 2007 8:46PM

Three cheers for Sonic who got a raw deal from angry Nintendo fanboy critics in the past, and gets a raw deal from misanthropic Milky-esque reviewers in the future. Except for the last three Sonic games, which were perversely awful.

Angelo @ Jun 24th 2007 12:03AM

Phantasy Star Universe spam celebration:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JorLbPa_0WQ

Also, Sonic 2K6 is the only recent Sonic game that was genuinely crap, as it was rushed out the door and buggy as hell. Heroes, Riders and Shadow were... mediocre. Shadow, of course, was aesthetically atrocious. Heroes too, but only because it fell on the complete opposite of the spectrum. Sonic Rush was excellent, but let's try and forget about the Sonic Advance series. Sonic and the Secret Rings was... okay.

As for all 3D games being horrid, that's just not true. Sonic Adventure 1 was excellent--heck, I'd consider Speed Highway to be a stage on par with the classics.

Covarr @ Jun 24th 2007 5:04PM

#18: Did you play Sonic The Hedgehog Genesis? It was about as buggy as Sonic 2K6, but with a bit more lag, physics that didn't even remotely match the original that it was a port of, and audio that would make even a deaf person cringe.

I've noticed a trend in mainstream Sonic games (not side-games such as Riders or Shuffle) from Adventure on of having only one or two major problems that bring the quality way down. In Sonic Adventure, it was the annoying adventure fields. In Sonic Adventure 2, it was the excess of Knux/Rouge levels and the scarcity of the superior Sonic/Shadow levels. In Sonic Heroes, it was the fights between teams and the slow pacing caused by constant switch puzzles. In Shadow the Hedgehog, it was the mere presence of his gun, which drastically changed the gameplay in a way that didn't work. In Sonic 2K6 it was the numerous glitches and terrible story. I haven't played Sonic and the Secret Rings yet, but I assume it follows the pattern.

The handheld ones have also had one or two glaring problems in each game: All of the Sonic Advance games had too many blind jumps (where you can't possibly see how far you need to jump) and no personality. Sonic Rush had new moves that aren't explained in-game, requiring the player to read the instruction manual, and not to have Knuckles or Tails as playable in favor of the less interesting Blaze.

Combining various aspects of each Sonic game released this past decade could potentially create the best Sonic game ever, but Sega has been more interested in rushing the games out as quickly as possible instead, knowing full well that people still buy them no matter how much effort is put in.

Mr Khan @ Jun 24th 2007 5:39PM

@ Covarr

The thing that hurts Sonic Rings is the fact that they gimp the controls at the start of the game, and as you play through you "unlock" tighter controls as it were. I had a tough time with that game at the start, but now, being a very high level (50), its awesome

I felt that the Tails/Eggman stages were what dragged Adventure 2 down, though, i loved me some of those treasure hunting stages, even if nobody else did

I also happen to think that Sonic Heroes and Rings are mostly flawless, though, so many people will take my opinion with a grain of salt