Sonic the Hedgehog turns 25 today
He's grown up so fast.
Sega mascot and Mario arch-frenemy Sonic the Hedgehog has turned 25 today.
The famous blue hedgehog made his debut in the game of his namesake on Sega Mega Drive / Sega Genesis on 23rd June 1991 in North America.
He's since gone on to star in over 30 titles of varying quality. His Sega Mega Drive titles are widely regarded as classics, while he went through a dark period trying to transition into the third dimension. Dreamcast outings like Sonic Adventure and its sequel were well regarded for their time, but haven't exactly aged well.
Sonic had a bit of a comeback in 2010 with Sonic Colours, a trend that continued to its 2011 successor, Sonic Generations. Sadly, this resurgence didn't last long as 2013's Sonic Lost World was a colossal failure and the 2014 double whammy of Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal represented some of his lowest lows yet.
But that doesn't mean there isn't hope for the speedy blue hedgehog. Sonic Team, who created the series and more recently developed the respectable console versions of Sonic Colours and Sonic Generations, recently confirmed to Famitsu (via Soah City) that it's developing a new Sonic game. That could be good.
Additionally, a Sonic movie is in the works. If he shows half the spunk he's shown on Twitter lately, there could be hope yet.
In the meantime, there's a Sonic Humble Bundle available offering Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Adventure DX, Sonic 3D Blast, and Sonic CD for a mere £0.67 / $1.
Pledge more than the average (£6.44 currently $9.58) and you'll also receive Sonic the Hedgehog 4 - Episode 1, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Sonic Adventure 2 + Battle DLC.
Pay £6.73 / $10 or more and you'll also get Sonic Lost World, Sonic Generations + Casino DLC, Sonic The Hedgehog 4 - Episode 2, and Sonic All StarsRacing Transformed + DLC.
You decide how to divvy the proceeds between Sega, the Humble Bundle organisers, and charity.
To commemorate Sonic's quarter century birthday, Sega released the following video celebrating his many looks and accomplishments over the years:
For more Sonic goodness, here's comedian Christopher Florence playing through the first Sonic the Hedgehog on Easy Mode as he calmly narrates his thoughts about life in the Sonic-verse. It's all very zen.
Furthermore, comedy site Clickhole praised Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for being a progressive game starring a deaf woman.
