I present to you the fastest thing in games:

Sonic The Hedgehog (Sonic The Hedgehog 1991)

Official Name: Sonic The Hedgehog

Age: 16(Timeline In Games); 35(Sonic The Hedgehog Birthplace)

Birthday: July 23, 1991

Fur

Blue

Skin

Peach

Eyes

black

Attire

Sonic's shoes, White gloves

Alignment and character traits

Alignment

Good

Likes

Fast moving things, Cool music, Speed, Making new friends, Freedom, Truth, Adventures, Breakdancing, Relaxing, Challenges, Saving the world, Showing off, Nature, Reading (especially on rainy days)

Bits: 16 Bits

Ownership and Creation

Company: Sega® (main mascot and rights holder)

Real-world Designers: Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, Hirokazu Yasuhara

Artist: Naoto Ohshima

Appearances

Cameo: Rad Mobile (1991)

First Game: Sonic The Hedgehog

Personality

Likes: Fast moving things, freedom, adventures, breaking barriers, helping friends, nature

Dislikes: Doctor Eggman, slowness, evil, oppression, pollution, being called a "rat"

Combat: Rolling into a ball to attack enemies

Navigation: Jumping and maneuvering through levels

Collection: Gathering rings for protection

Special Powers: Obtaining Chaos Emeralds to stop Doctor Robotnik

Feats

Running through Green Hill Zone

Freeing animals trapped by Badniks

Collecting Chaos Emeralds to stop Robotnik

Enemies

Doctor Ivo Robotnik (Eggman)

Badniks

Role: Manual presents him as the hedgehog who will defeat Dr. Robotnik and save captured animals (Protagonist/Main Hero)

Story: Dr. Ivo Robotnik, a mad scientist, is capturing innocent animals and turning them into evil robots. Sonic, the “super cool” hedgehog with spiky hair and special shoes that give him super speed, is the only one who can stop Robotnik, save the animals, and defeat his plans.

Physical Appearance

Concept and Creation

Sonic was created by Naoto Ohshima, Yuji Naka, and Hirokazu Yasuhara. Originally a rabbit mascot was considered but discarded. The hedgehog design was chosen for appealing spikes and speed. Early designs were tested with surveys in Central Park, New York, and the hedgehog was most popular. Sonic’s design evolved from "Mr. Hedgehog" and was influenced by classic cartoons, Felix the Cat, Mickey Mouse, and Santa Claus. He was made without swimming abilities due to a mistaken assumption. Personality emphasized "cool" and adventurer. Early concepts included fangs and a human girlfriend, later removed. Environmental themes were added to contrast him with Doctor Robotnik.

Sonic's first appearance was as a car ornament in Rad Mobile (1991), with his first major game appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog (1991). Western adaptations initially modified his design, but Japanese canon prevailed. Classic Sonic is 75 centimeters tall, with black eyes and a round torso, peach-colored muzzle and arms, and spines pointing backward.

Physical Appearance

Rabbit: The character in the image is a white rabbit with a design resembling classic 90s cartoon style. The head is large and rounded compared to the body, with slightly prominent cheeks. Two long, curved ears extend backward from the top of the head, appearing flexible. Eyes are large, black, and oval, set in a white facial mask connecting to the muzzle. He has a small black nose and a smiling expression.

Style includes large white gloves and white shoes with gray details. The body is thin and athletic, and he wears a red bow tie around the neck, adding personality to the look. The overall color is a grayish white with soft shading for depth.

Sonic The Hedgehog (Design 1.0): Same Sonic but different from modern Sonic, with more separated, backward-pointing spines. The prototype has a messier and bulkier visual.

Multiple Quills: Many sketches feature more "spikes" from the top of the head in various directions, resembling styled human hair or 80s manga characters.

Curvature: Spikes are shorter and slightly curved upward or sideways instead of following a single aerodynamic line downward.

The "Forelock": Often a small central strand slightly falls over the forehead, later removed for a cleaner face. His shoes had a golden buckle like Modern Sonic (+2001).

Final Version:

Sonic is an anthropomorphic hedgehog with blue fur and peach skin on arms, muzzle, and front torso. He has triangular ears with blue outside and peach inside, six quills on the back of the head, two spines on the back, a short tail, and conjoined eyes.

Gloves and Hands

White gloves cover hands entirely, classic cartoon style with four fingers, smooth back, and thick cuff at the wrist.

Shoes and Socks

Red aerodynamic shoes with a horizontal white stripe and gold buckle. Thick white socks appear rolled down over the ankles.

Color Palette

Blue body, peach muzzle and arms, white gloves and socks, red shoes with white stripe and gold buckle.

Inspiration and Culture

Sonic’s gloves inspired by classic cartoon characters for visibility on screens. Shoes inspired by Michael Jackson’s Bad album boots and Santa Claus. Personality based on contemporary American culture to appear modern and confident. Spines stylized to suggest speed and aerodynamic movement.

Sonic The Hedgehog (USA): Similar to Japanese Sonic but classic American Sonic has a large, rounded head with short, thick spines curving backward, like a serrated mohawk. Eyes are large vertical ovals, positioned separately. Muzzle is prominent and beige, with a small sideways smile. Nose is a small shiny black ellipse. Body is small, chubby, pear-shaped, with large chest and belly patch. Height is short, head nearly half the total stature. Arms thin, long, fully blue, ending in padded white gloves with folded cuffs. Legs thin and blue. Ankles have scrunched white socks over elongated red shoes with a horizontal white stripe and gold buckle on the outer side.

Personality (JP & USA)

Runs daily whenever in the mood. Free-spirited drifter who values freedom above all else. Lives by his own rules rather than societal standards, pursuing adventure and speed wherever he goes. Easygoing, honest, fearless, often acts before thinking, impatient with constraints, always on the move. Those who are all talk are the worst. Doesn’t fight for justice, only does what he likes, but never betrays friends. Hates constraints or boredom, seeks challenges like the wind, preferring action over talk. Loyal, keeps promises, stands against unfairness and evil, driven by his own sense of right rather than following orders or deep emotions.

Abilities

Super Sonic Spin Attack

Pressing down while running performs a spinning attack destroying enemies and breaking boxes.

Can jump while using Spin Attack.

Ring Protection (game mechanic, not a power).

Running at Mach 1.1 speed.

Equipment

Power Shoes

Golden Rings

Prototype and Initial Development of Sonic the Hedgehog

The game began development in 1990 by Sonic Team at Sega. Programmer Yuji Naka created a technical demo showing a character moving quickly through smooth curves, forming the gameplay base. Designer Naoto Ohshima created multiple character designs before finalizing Sonic. Initial name was "Mr. Needlemouse" before renaming to Sonic the Hedgehog. The team focused on speed and simple controls, designing levels for repeated play to improve speed and perfection. Several enemy and element concepts were discarded before final release.

Sonic in a Band and Discarded Concepts

Original idea included Sonic in a rock band called "Sonic the Hedgehog Band." Sonic and other animal characters would perform and appear in a Sound Test screen in-game. Concept discarded due to cartridge space limits and lack of necessity for gameplay. Other animal characters were planned but excluded or reused in future games.

The Character Madonna

During development, Naoto Ohshima created a human character named Madonna as Sonic’s original love interest. Designed as a motivating muse or target to rescue. Descriptions show a blonde woman in red dress, representing an adult-inspired fantasy. Team removed the concept before release, considering it inappropriate for focus and too similar to “rescue the girl” tropes.

Differences Between Prototype and Final Version

Prototypes and beta versions shown at fairs or preserved reveal considerable changes before the 1991 release:

Levels had different names (e.g., “Sparkling Zone” instead of “Spring Yard Zone”), with distinct enemy and environment placement.

Some visual elements and mechanics incomplete or absent in early versions. More technical experimentation and less refinement occurred, and mechanics were adjusted pre-release.

Why Changes Occurred

Significant changes (removing the band or Madonna) happened because Sega America considered certain concepts hard to sell or less appealing to Western audiences, requesting revisions. The goal was a globally attractive mascot focused on fast gameplay and unique style, rather than relying on narrative or characters inconsistent with that vision.

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Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)

Sonic the Hedgehog is a 2D platform video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Mega Drive. It is the debut title of the Sonic the Hedgehog series and marks the official introduction of Sega’s mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog, who can run at supersonic speeds. The game follows Sonic as he foils the plans of his archenemy, Dr. Eggman, who is searching for powerful relics known as the Chaos Emeralds on South Island. The game also marked the beginning of the Death Egg Saga.

The game was originally released in North America on June 23, 1991, followed by Japan on July 26 and Europe on July 31 of the same year. At the time, it established the foundations of the series’ unique gameplay style centered around Sonic’s speed. Thanks to the Mega Drive’s 7.67 MHz Motorola 68000 processor, the console allowed faster gameplay marketed as “Blast Processing” and impressive 16-bit graphics, making it significantly more powerful than Sega’s previous console, the Master System.

Sonic the Hedgehog received critical acclaim and became a massive commercial success, greatly increasing the popularity of both the Mega Drive and Sega. Its success allowed Sega to compete directly with Nintendo, particularly with the Super Mario series, leading to an intense rivalry throughout the 1990s often referred to as the “console wars.” Since then, Sonic the Hedgehog has been ported numerous times to various consoles, with some versions featuring additional content and enhancements. One of the most notable is the 2013 mobile remaster co-developed by Christian Whitehead and Headcannon, later included in Sonic Origins.

Story

The story takes place on South Island, known for housing the Chaos Emeralds, six powerful gemstones that can energize living beings and power weapons of mass destruction. However, no one knows how to obtain these gems, as South Island is constantly in motion and the Emeralds exist within its natural distortions.

One day, danger arrives on South Island. The mad human scientist Dr. Ivo Robotnik, also known as Dr. Eggman, lands there with his minions. Having returned to his evil ways, he devises a new plan to crush his archenemy Sonic the Hedgehog using the power of science. Shortly after arriving, the scientist builds a massive fortress on one corner of the island and begins expanding it. He also starts hunting the Chaos Emeralds to harness their immense power, declaring that he will find them even if he has to dig up the entire island.

Dr. Eggman discovers the existence of the Chaos Emeralds and invades South Island to obtain them, capturing the local Animals to power his Badnik robots and constructing Scrap Brain Zone as his base of operations. His nemesis, Sonic the Hedgehog, immediately rushes to the island to stop him. He travels through various Zones, freeing the Animals and defeating Eggman multiple times while searching for the Chaos Emeralds.

Sonic eventually infiltrates Scrap Brain Zone. After several setbacks, he faces Eggman in a final battle in a chamber equipped with the Egg Crusher. After defeating the doctor, Sonic returns to Green Hill where he celebrates his victory with the Animals. A post-credits sequence plays depending on the player’s actions.

If the player fails to collect all six Chaos Emeralds, Sonic gives the player a frustrated look for not completing everything. Meanwhile, Eggman obtains the remaining Emeralds for himself; after the credits, he appears laughing on a black screen while juggling the Emeralds the player failed to collect, with the text “TRY AGAIN” displayed beneath him.

If the player collects all six Chaos Emeralds, Sonic releases them, and they vanish after filling the entire Zone with large, colorful flowers. After the credits, a frustrated Eggman appears comically jumping over the text “END.”

Gameplay

Sonic the Hedgehog is a 2D side-scrolling platform game. Sonic is the only playable character. The main objective is to pass through a series of Acts across different Zones within ten minutes each. During each Act, the player fights various enemies called Badniks and navigates different terrains filled with traps and obstacles. Level design varies significantly, with each Zone featuring unique layouts and gimmicks. Along the way, players can earn points by collecting items and defeating Badniks. To complete the first two Acts of a Zone, the player must pass a Goal Plate at the end. To complete the final Act of most Zones, the player must defeat a boss and open a Capsule at the end. After completing an Act, the player’s score is tallied and bonus points are awarded based on performance.

Sonic’s most basic ability is running, which can reach impressive speeds as momentum builds, allowing him to loop through circular paths or launch into the air from ramps. For offensive maneuvers, Sonic uses a full-body spinning move called the Super Sonic Spin Attack and a spinning jump called the Super Sonic Spin Jump, which allow him to destroy breakable objects and enemies.

The game operates on a lives system. Sonic takes damage when touching a Badnik or hazard, or when attacked by a boss. Rings are scattered throughout each Act and can be collected by touching them. Rings grant an extra life after collecting 100 or 200, provide points, and protect the player from taking damage. If Sonic is hit, he drops all his Rings, though some can be recollected before they disappear. Taking damage without any Rings costs a life. Sonic also loses a life regardless of Ring count if he stays underwater too long without replenishing air, falls into a bottomless pit, is crushed, or runs out of time. Losing a life sends the player back to the last Star Post touched or to the beginning of the Act. Losing the last life results in a Game Over. Video Monitors containing beneficial power-ups are also scattered throughout each Act.

If the player has at least fifty Rings at the end of the first or second Act of a Zone, a Giant Ring appears above the Goal Plate, allowing access to one of six Special Stages. After all six Special Stages have been completed, Giant Rings no longer appear. If Sonic does not jump before the Goal Plate stops spinning, he automatically runs off-screen, preventing entry into the Special Stage. At the end of each Act, the player can also jump during the score tally to find invisible Secret Bonuses added to the total.

In addition to the main objective, players can collect the Chaos Emeralds by completing Special Stages. Collecting all six Emeralds and finishing Final Zone unlocks the good ending cinematic.

Controls

Left and Right move Sonic. Up makes him look up. Down makes him look down or crouch. Pressing A, B, or C performs the Super Sonic Spin Jump. Pressing Left or Right together with Down performs the Super Sonic Spin Attack. Pressing Start pauses the game.

Characters

Playable character is Sonic the Hedgehog.

Non-playable characters include Dr. Eggman and the Animals, including Cucky, Flicky, Pecky, Picky, Pocky, Ricky, and Rocky.

Enemies include Ball Hog, Batbrain, Bomb, Burrobot, Buzz Bomber, Caterkiller, Chopper, Crabmeat, Jaws, Moto Bug, Newtron, Orbinaut, Unidasu, Uni Uni, Roller, and Spikes.

Zones

Sonic the Hedgehog features seven Zones. The first six Zones contain three full Acts each, with a boss at the end of the third Act. Final Zone consists only of the final boss fight.

The Zones are Green Hill Zone, Marble Zone, Spring Yard Zone, Labyrinth Zone, Star Light Zone, Scrap Brain Zone, and Final Zone.

Special Stages

If Sonic finishes the first or second Act of any of the first five Zones with at least fifty Rings, a large spinning ring appears. Jumping into it grants access to a Special Stage, which hides one of the six Chaos Emeralds. In these stages, Sonic, in ball form, falls through rotating maze-like structures.

If the player avoids the “GOAL” spheres embedded in the walls, they eventually reach the Chaos Emerald encased in colored diamonds. Touching the diamonds repeatedly changes their color from blue to green to yellow to pink before they disappear, allowing access to the Emerald. The stage ends when Sonic touches the Emerald or hits a “GOAL” sign. Collecting fifty Rings within a Special Stage grants a Continue, indicated by a brief change in the melody.

There are ten total opportunities to obtain the Chaos Emeralds, meaning the player can fail up to four times if all six are collected before the end of the game. Scrap Brain Zone does not feature a Giant Ring at the end of its Acts even if finished with fifty Rings. If a stage is failed, it is skipped and later returned after the sixth and final Special Stage attempt.

Bosses

Egg Wrecker in Green Hill Zone. Egg Scorcher in Marble Zone. Egg Stinger in Spring Yard Zone. Egg Mobile in Labyrinth Zone. Egg Spiker in Star Light Zone. Egg Crusher in Final Zone.

Soundtrack

With connections to the music industry, Sega director Fujio Minegishi suggested his friend Yūzō Kayama compose the soundtrack. However, Sonic Team felt Kayama’s music was not suitable, so they commissioned Masato Nakamura, bassist and composer of the J-pop band Dreams Come True. Nakamura was surprised, as he had just started with the band, but accepted because he was inspired by the team’s desire to surpass Nintendo. He stated that the most difficult part was working within the limited number of simultaneous sound channels, restricted to four. Despite this, he composed the soundtrack alongside the band’s album Million Kisses. Nakamura recorded his compositions on cassette while accounting for audio channel limits before sending them to Sega, where Hiroshi Kubota and Yukifumi Makino digitized them for the Mega Drive hardware using an Atari ST and the Notator program. Makino finalized the tracks and contributed iconic jingles such as the Extra Life and drowning countdown themes.

The main theme heard on the title screen was reused in later Sonic games and became a signature of the series. The Green Hill Zone theme also became one of the franchise’s most recognizable pieces, frequently reused and remixed.

On October 19, 2011, a three-disc compilation titled Sonic the Hedgehog 1&2 Soundtrack was released in Japan, featuring music from Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The first disc contained original tracks from both games, the second included Nakamura’s demo recordings before programming, and the third featured songs by Dreams Come True and Akon remixes used in Sonic ’06.

Reception

The original version of Sonic the Hedgehog was highly praised, earning 90.14 percent on GameRankings. It was an instant success that established Sega as a major competitor in the video game industry and a strong rival to Nintendo’s Super Mario franchise. Critics praised its gameplay, audio, and graphics.

IGN reviewer Lucas M. Thomas gave it an 8 out of 10, praising the simple yet fast gameplay and soundtrack, noting the technical achievement of creating Sonic’s high-speed engine in 1991. GameSpot reviewer Greg Kasavin gave it a 7.3 out of 10, praising the soundtrack, sound effects, responsive platforming, and colorful graphics, though he found later levels frustrating. Mean Machines called it the best Mega Drive platform game, and Sega Power awarded it 97 percent, its highest score in September 1991.

Trivia

The game has two versions, with the Japanese version being a revised edition released worldwide in smaller quantities. It featured minor programming adjustments and visual enhancements such as scrolling clouds in Green Hill Zone and water ripple effects in Labyrinth Zone. It also corrected the Zone order in Level Select. This version was used in most later releases.

Although most of the soundtrack was composed by Masato Nakamura, three jingles were composed by Yukifumi Makino: Extra Life, Drowning, and Chaos Emerald.

Originally, Sonic the Hedgehog featured only six Chaos Emeralds. The seventh Emerald was introduced in the sequel, so the Super transformation did not officially exist in the original version. In the 2013 remaster and Sonic Origins, the seventh Emerald was added, allowing Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles to transform into their Super forms. However, Sonic Origins confirmed that canonically Sonic only found six Emeralds in this game.

The original cartridge version had no age rating, as it predates Sega’s Videogame Rating Council and PEGI. Later re-releases included a PEGI 3 rating.

The original American manual incorrectly implied that Sonic’s speed came from “Power Sneakers,” despite no evidence in the games supporting this. Sonic Team confirmed that Sonic was born with his speed as a natural ability.

A common misconception claims Sonic’s early design was named “Mr. Needlemouse,” but Yuji Naka clarified this was an overly literal translation of the Japanese word for hedgehog, Harinezumi, and that the original name was effectively “Mr. Hedgehog.”

Portuguese player Rui Sousa holds the world record score for Sonic the Hedgehog with 1,559,180 points, achieved on March 21, 2015.

This remains the Sonic game with the most ports and re-releases, exceeding a dozen.

In the first 1991 Japanese and American Sonic games, Sonic is mute, not speaking, only communicating through actions, gestures, or signals.