Sonic the Hedgehog: a 30-Year Retrospective

Kyle looks back at a handful of fast games

- Kyle Nutland

November 2021 marks a milestone anniversary for four games in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, which has been mostly developed by Sega-owned studio Sonic Team. Everyone's favourite mascot has been spinning around our screens since 1991, accompanied by a gradually increasing pool of allies and enemies, and in an ever-increasing array of environments. Today, we'll cover the anniversary games in chronological release order, as well as some of the overall progression of the winner of "World's Bestest Blue Spiky Boi" award.

*may or may not include plumbers of the Italian variety.

Sonic first hit screens in October 1990 in Japan, in the game Rad Mobile. "Wait just a second," I hear you say. "Sonic surely appeared first in his own game, Sonic the Hedgehog!” Well, today you have learned something! Sonic the Hedgehog released in June 1991; to be fair to you though, his appearance in Rad Mobile was limited to being a simple decorative ornament.

Sonic the Hedgehog was released on the 16-bit Sega Mega Drive; it was also subsequently rereleased for the Sega Master System later that same year, with a simpler engine that the 8-bit console could support. Both versions have Sonic collecting the Chaos Emeralds and thwarting Doctor Robotnik's attempts to take over the world, a theme that continues to be the basic case for almost every entry in the franchise to date. Another theme that has persisted is the collection of gold rings, which serve as both a counter towards extra lives as well as one-time protection from damage.