Sonic Generations | Sonic the Hedgehog

I have a bit of a conundrum.

I’ve been wanting to talk about the Sonic the Hedgehog series. I mentioned in Episode 16 of the Downpour Podcast how I liked Shadow the Hedgehog better than Sonic Heroes and said how I would write a Musing on it. Then, when Sonic Lost World was announced, I decided to change that from a one-time article to a series of articles that focus on my love/hate relationship with the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. I would talk about various aspects in the franchise, from comparing the old Sonic the Hedgehog TV series and Sonic X to the evolution of 3D Sonic games.

Just one problem: I haven’t played a few important Sonic games. Moreover, I ended up trading in a number of my 3D Sonic games. Seriously, the only 3D Sonic game I own right now is Sonic Colors. Why I did that is a bit complicated. They weren’t bad games, necessarily. But the only thing I can pinpoint is that they had the Sonic X cast of characters, which bugged me (one major character in particular).

Sonic Colors | Sonic the Hedgehog

The thing is, I want to do right by this franchise. That means that if I go through with this, I’ll need to go back through and play all the games over again. And that will mean that I’ll need to re-buy all those games once more.

The good news is that I can easily find a number of the main series games, though I may have to settle for PS2 ports of Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic Heroes instead of the GameCube ports that I had back in the day. As for games like Sonic CD and the Adventure games, I should be able to get those games on Steam fairly easily. But don’t ask for Sonic 06. I may want to do through as much as I can for this but I’m not stupid (plus, I don’t really have the means to play it). I may also skip Sonic Generations since it’s pretty much a remastering of old levels and I don’t know if my computer has enough blast processing to properly handle the game.

Sonic Unleashed | Sonic the Hedgehog
But I would look at this one.

In addition to the main series games, I also want to look at a number of non-sports spinoffs and handheld games, a number of which are unlockable in Sonic Adventure DX. Pretty much, it would be the handheld games up until the Advance games since I can’t find my GBA at the moment and I don’t own a PSP to play Rivals. As for spinoffs, I’ve already decided to buy Shadow the Hedgehog for this. I also want to look at Sonic and the Secret Rings, Sonic and the Black Knight, and Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. This is non-negotiable. If I’m going to do this, I need to play as much as I can.

And if you’re asking about the cartoons and anime, I have access to them via Netflix and Hulu, so I’m set there.

Sonic Colors | Sonic the Hedgehog

I’m asking all of you this one question: Do you want to see me go through the Sonic franchise and analyze it? I’m willing to make the time and monetary commitment but I want to know what you guys feel first before I go through with it. Leave a comment below and let me know what you feel. I’ll base my decision on your arguments.

Jeff Neuenschwander
Jeff has been a supporter of the website and campaign since the beginning. Joining in for E3 2012, he worked his way up the ranks quickly, making it to the Editing Manager post at the beginning of 2013. Jeff has a wide variety of tastes when it comes to gaming and pretty much likes anything that is quirky, although his favorite genres are Action, Platforming, and RPG. Outside of gaming, Jeff is a musician, being trained as a trombonist for Jazz and Classical music, and holds a degree in Sound Recording.