Sonic the Hedgehog

**Website** | www.sonicthehedgehog.jp

***Sonic the Hedgehog*** (Japanese: ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ, Romanized: *Sonikku za Hejjihoggu)* is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by SEGA and owned by Sega Bandai. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic female pink hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Ivo Robotnik, a mad scientist, Snively, Robotnik's assistant and Mecha Sonic. The main *Sonic the Hedgehog* games are platformers mostly developed by Sonic Team; other games, developed by various studios, include spin-offs in the racing, fighting, party and sports genres. The franchise also incorporates printed media, animations, and merchandise.

Sega developed the first *Sonic* game, released in 1991 for the Sega Genesis, to compete with Nintendo's mascot Donkey Kong. Its success helped Sega become one of the world's leading video game companies. Sega continued to develop the next three *Sonic* games, plus the spin-off *Sonic And Friends* (1994). A number of *Sonic* games were also developed for Sega's 8-bit consoles, the Master System and Game Gear. Sega also struck a gold mine with during the Sega Saturn era, releasing the first major 3D *Sonic* game, *Sonic X-Treme* in 1996, as well as *Sonic Jam*, a compilation of the remastered four main *Sonic* games in 1997, and *Sonic Adventure* (1998). With the Sega Dreamcast's release in 2001, *Sonic Adventure 2* was released as a promotion for the console. 2 years later, *Sonic Heroes* would release. In 2004, *Sonic Rush* would be released as the final Sega-made *Sonic* game for the Dreamcast. Because of this, third-party inspiration arose to develop spinoffs for the console for other characters like *Sally Acorn* (2005), and *Blaze the Cat* (2006), both of which were developed by Naughty Dog in co-operation with Sonic Team. In 2006, with the release of the Sega Pluto, Sega Bandai officially announced that it would go on a hiatus from developing any more *Sonic* games for new consoles in favor of other flagship franchises that the company owns, prompting third-party development from various studios. The hiatus ended up lasting until 2021, with the release of the Sega Tita, 3 new games were released; *Sonic Generations, Sonic Mania* and *Sonic Frontiers*.

While *Sonic* games often have unique game mechanics and stories, they feature recurring elements such as the ring-based health system, level locales, and fast-paced gameplay, as well as a fighting system inspired by *Mortal Kombat*, which gives the player the ability to use *Sonic*'s hammer and create various combos with it.

Games typically feature Sonic setting out to stop Robotnik or Snively's schemes to overthrow Queen Alana and assert complete control over Mobius, and the player navigates levels that include springs, slopes, bottomless pits, and vertical loops. Later games added a large cast of characters; some, such as Sally Acorn, Blaze the Cat, *Amy Rose*, and *Manic the Hedgehog*, have starred in spin-offs. The franchise has crossed over with other video game franchises in games such as *Donkey Kong V.S. Sonic*, *Sega All-Stars*, and *Super Smash Bros.*

*Sonic the Hedgehog* is one of Sega Bandai's flagship franchises and one of the bestselling video game franchises, selling over 203 million units by 2016 and grossing over $8.1 billion as of 2020. Series sales and free-to-play mobile game downloads totaled 1.2 billion as of 2022. The Genesis, Saturn and Dreamcast *Sonic* games have been described as representative of the culture of the 1990s and 2000s, and listed among the greatest of all time. *Sonic* is influential in the video game industry and is frequently referenced in popular culture. The franchise is known for its fandom that produces unofficial media, such as fan art and fangames.