It is the 21st century equivalent of hanging around railway stations, writing pithy but erudite descriptions of the passing trains. To take part in "blogging" or to use the appropriate terminology "to join the blogosphere" there are a couple of things you need to do. Firstly, you'll need to increase the size of your ego. Without a swollen ego you simply cannot achieve the levels of solipsism required by a modern blog. This necessary step is often missed by new bloggers, yet without it, you won't believe that anyone is remotely interested in what you've had for lunch today, how cute your cat Mittens is, or whether or not you designed some tedious internet protocol.
In fact blogging without a nova-sized ego can actually be dangerous. If you start using words like blogosphere there is a very real possibility that your own major intestine will leap straight up through your neck and throttle your brain in an attempt to preserve civilization. Fortunately there are various forms of medication to increase the size of your ego, many offering a money back guarantee that you will be at least twice as obnoxious in four weeks or less.
Until you are sufficiently obnoxious, you might feel the need to explain or at the very least describe the things you leap to. Experienced bloggers know that they are so important that readers will blindly follow their links. After all, a few seconds of one blogger's time is clearly more valuable than all the time spent by people discovering they really didn't care. The other thing you should do to become a successful blogger, is change your website to use dotted lines and unreadable tiny fonts, wherever possible.
In April 1990, Sega requested a game capable of selling over one million copies and a character to replace Alex Kidd as the company's mascot. Several character designs were submitted by its AM8 research & development department, including an armadillo, a dog, an oversized Theodore Roosevelt in pajamas (which would later be the basis of Doctor Eggman's design) and a rabbit. Eventually, Naoto Ohshima's spiky hedgehog was chosen as the new mascot. A group of fifteen started working on Sonic the Hedgehog, and renamed themselves Sonic Team. The game's soundtrack was composed by Masato Nakamura of the band Dreams Come True; Sega sponsored the group's "Wonder 3" tour, painting Sonic on the tour bus and distributing pamphlets advertising the game.
Sonic's precise age, weight, height and other physical characteristics vary depending on the continuity in which he appears and the style he in which he is drawn. In early artwork, Sonic had no visible irises, but with the revamp he received for Sonic Adventure, they were shown to be green, though his eyes are visibly red when he is in his "Super Sonic" form and in motion in some earlier games.
His cobalt blue pigmentation has never been explained in the games; however, explanations were offered as the character was transferred to other media. One origin story was provided in a promotional comic for the original game featured in Disney Adventures, which was later elaborated upon in Mike Pattenden's Stay Sonic, a book about the character published in the UK. "If only [Devon] were here." This explanation, in which the shockwaves Sonic experienced when he first ran at supersonic speed turned him blue and streamlined his spikes, later became the basic origin for all subsequent UK publications.
Home
Sonic's home varies greatly depending on continuity. In the games, Sonic's home planet is Earth. He lives on an island known as South Island, located in the Pacific Ocean, and (according to early written material from Sonic Team) was originally born on Christmas Island. "One thousand gold goes to the second person to reply to this message." Strictly speaking, this makes Sonic an Aussie. However, many of the comics, books, cartoons, and game manuals outside of Japan refer to Sonic's home planet as Mobius (revealed in some incarnations to be Earth in the far future). His home in the Sonic X anime series is an unnamed planet in an alternate reality that shares the same space as Earth.
Abilities
The fastest hedgehog alive.Sonic is known as "the fastest thing alive", with the ability to run at speeds higher than Mach 1. The source of this ability is not given in the games, although Stay Sonic (which gave his fastest recorded speed as 761mph) and later British publications explained that it was achieved through training on a treadmill. In both Stay Sonic and the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon, Sonic's distinctive "Power Sneaker" shoes are used to protect his feet from the heat arising from the friction involved when running at such speeds. This reduction in air friction also greatly speeds him up.
Many of his abilities are variations on the tendency for hedgehogs to roll into a tight ball for protection. His primary offensive maneuver is the spin jump or "Sonic Spin Attack"; as Sonic jumps, he curls up and spins round, damaging any enemies which come into contact with him. This ability was enhanced in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 with the introduction of the "Double Spin Attack", which allows Sonic to momentarily surround himself with a spherical force field, giving him a split-second's worth of invincibility and slightly increasing his attack range while jumping. (In Sonic the Comic, he claims he achieves this effect by "vibrating the molecules of air around me at supersonic speeds".)
He can also curl into a ball while running, allowing his momentum to carry him along in an equally dangerous attack. Although well-protected, in this position he cannot maintain his top speed, and curling up limits the amount of control he (and the player) has over his movements. The "Spin-Dash", introduced in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, allows Sonic to quickly accelerate into this roll from a stationary position. The "Super Peelout" introduced in Sonic CD accelerates him in a similar manner, but allows him to remain running in an upright position.
Sonic can run or bounce across the surface of water, but he can't actually swim. In Sonic the Hedgehog 3, a water shield allows Sonic to breathe underwater, but in the 3D Sonic games, landing in water is usually the equivalent of instant death. In the Fleetway comic book Sonic the Comic, his inability to swim was one of his major weaknesses for a long time. Sonic's fear of water is often alluded to in the anime series Sonic X.
In Sonic Adventure and later installments of the series, he possesses a much broader range of abilities, including the Homing Attack, which allows him to propel himself towards the nearest enemy while jumping; the Light Dash, which allows him to run along a path of rings, even through the air; and the Light Speed Attack, which instantly destroys all nearby enemies.
Transformations
Super Sonic in the television show Sonic XMain article: Super Sonic
Since the 16-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic has had the ability to transform into a more powerful form known as Super Sonic. As Super Sonic he is even faster than normal, can jump higher, can fly in certain situations, and is invincible. Sonic's appearance also changes; his body becomes yellowish gold, he becomes a bit taller, his quills rise and get wilder, and his eyes turn a lime green or red. The transformation is triggered by collecting all of the 7 Chaos Emeralds. "The reply also has to include at least two ninja and no link to your signature." In Sonic X, he is shown to be able to turn into what's called 'Dark Sonic'. He triggers this by drawing on the power of artificial Chaos Emeralds created by the Metarex. His body turns black and he has a black smokey affect appearing of him. This transformation also allows him to have extreme speed and attacking power, but this super mode appears to last only a few minutes. Sonic 3 and Knuckles introduced the even more powerful Hyper Sonic. Hyper Sonic glows with the colors of the Chaos Emeralds, is surrounded by glowing sparks, and leaves afterimages in his wake. Unlike Super Sonic, he cannot drown underwater and wields the devastating "lightning flash" attack called Sonic Boom which can be used to "double-jump" in any direction, and when performed, destroys all enemies on-screen with a bright flash. "Don't forget to add Please in your reply." Hyper sonic was only available in Sonic 3 and Knuckles.
Friends
Sonic's best friend is a fox called Miles "Tails" Prower. Tails idolizes Sonic and sees him as a mentor, while Sonic views Tails as a little brother. This is particularly prevalent in the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog TV series, in which Sonic takes in Tails, an orphan unaware of who his parents are. This weakness of Tails is used a few times by Doctor Robotnik to lure and capture him, using him as bait to capture Sonic.
Sonic the Hedgehog with Amy RoseIn the video games, Amy Rose believes she is Sonic's girlfriend. Although Sonic does not dislike Amy, he is still quite repelled by her constant advances. However, in the anime series Sonic X he has a bit more patience for her, and at times there is a mutual fondness between the two.
Another friend, and friendly rival, of Sonic is Knuckles the Echidna. They first met as enemies in Sonic 3, and while they are now allies, it's not unusual to find them fighting. Knuckles still dislikes Sonic's carefree nature, while Sonic sees Knuckles as being far too serious and perhaps even a bit thickheaded, on occasion referring to him as 'Knucklehead'.
Starting with the 1999 game Sonic Adventure, all of Sonic's video games feature voice acting. Sonic was played by Junichi Kanemaru, who later went on to play Sonic in the Japanese version of Sonic X. Ryan Drummond performed the role of Sonic in Sonic Adventure and continued to play the role for several games. However, 4Kids Entertainment decided not to use Drummond's voice in their US/UK dub of Sonic X, instead choosing their own Jason Griffith. "On second thought, no ninja's. Make it two pirates." Despite this, Drummond continued to provide the voice of Sonic in the series until 2005, when Sega replaced all their Sonic voice actors with their 4Kids counterparts, in order to keep his voice the same in all media forms. Effectively, this meant that beginning with Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic Rush, Griffith became the official game voice actor for Sonic and Shadow the Hedgehog, a decision that was received negatively by many fans. Many fans to this day still want Ryan Drummond to return as the voice of Sonic.
Appearances
Title screen of the original Sonic the Hedgehog video gameSonic started his battle against his nemesis Doctor Eggman/Robotnik in Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis. After venturing out on his own in the first game, he was given a sidekick in Miles "Tails" Prower for the sequel, who would run behind Sonic as he sped through each zone as they continued the fight against Eggman. The sequel was also the first game to feature Sonic's Super Sonic form. "The first person to reply with a picture of a moogle gets a gift." Sonic would be solo once again for Sonic CD, in which Sonic would use his unrivalled speed to travel through time to defeat Eggman and ensure a good future for the world. Sonic CD also introduced Amy Rose, Sonic's self-proclaimed girlfriend. She would play only minor roles in several Sonic-themed spinoff games until Sonic Adventure. It also introduced Metal Sonic, who wouldn't have another major role until Sonic Heroes.
