Then And Now: Sonic The Hedgehog

"Then": A shot from the first Sonic game ever.

Sonic The Hedgehog's life has been complicated. He was originally created by SEGA in an attempt to beat out Nintendo's mascot, Mario. He didn't exactly succeed in crushing his foe, but he did make a name for himself with a series of classic 2D games. Unfortunately, things didn't go well after that.

While a few of Sonic's games have been adored by fans, the 3D games were bashed by critics, and most did not sell well at all. Eventually, with the collapse of their mascot, and the growing threat of the PS2, SEGA lost. They dropped out of the game console market and resorted to becoming a developer/publisher.

However, despite the major downfall, SEGA continued to release new Sonic games, even if it was for different systems. These 3D games have become infamous, as they do not capture the original Sonic "feel". However; this may have changed. Critics have recently come around and have praised the new "Sonic Unleashed". Unfortunately, the new Sonic and The Black Knight could be a backwards move into the years where Sonic was almost universally hated.

Perhaps one day Sonic will regain his old glory. If only SEGA realized what the people want: a completely 2D Sonic game for the DS. This would introduce new levels, but be very similiar to the original Genesis games (which basically shows what I want from developers: I don't want a sequel, I want a giant expansion pack!).

"Now": The official image of Sonic from Super Smash Bros. Brawl.