Sonic the Hedgehog
1990s Era Game
Class of 2017 Inductee
Sonic the Hedgehog is a 1991 platform game developed and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis.
Players control Sonic the Hedgehog, who can run at supersonic speeds.
Sonic sets out on a quest to defeat Dr. Robotnik, a scientist who has imprisoned animals in robots and seeks the powerful Chaos Emeralds.
The gameplay involves collecting rings as a form of health, and a simple control scheme, with jumping and attacking controlled by a single button.
Development began in 1990 when Sega ordered its developers to create a game featuring a mascot for the company. The developers chose a blue hedgehog designed by Naoto Ohshima after he won an internal character design contest, and named themselves Sonic Team to match their character. It uses a novel technique that allows Sonic’s sprite to roll along curved scenery which was based on a concept by Oshima from 1989. Sonic the Hedgehog, designed for fast gameplay, was influenced by games by the Mario creator, Shigeru Miyamoto. The music was composed by Masato Nakamura, bassist of the J-pop band Dreams Come True.
Sonic the Hedgehog received positive reviews for its visuals, audio and gameplay and is widely considered one of the greatest video games. It sold over 40 million copies across all platforms, becoming one of the best-selling video games. On the Genesis, which it was bundled with, it sold over 15 million copies, making it the best-selling Genesis game. It established the Genesis as a key player in the 16-bit era and made it competitive with the Super NES. It has been ported to multiple systems and inspired several clones, a successful franchise, and adaptations into other media.
Primary Credits:
Developer: Sonic Team
Publisher: Sega
Designer: Hirokazu Yasuhara
Programmer: Yuji Naka
Artists: Naoto Ohshima, Jina Ishiwatari, Rieko Kodama
Composer: Masato Nakamura
Review Scores:
ACE 925/1000
Beep! MegaDrive 37/40
Computer and Video Games 94%
Dragon 5/5
Electronic Gaming Monthly 36/40
GamePro 24/25
Génération 4 97%
HobbyConsolas 95%
Joystick 98%
Player One 96%
Raze 95%
Entertainment Weekly A+
Mean Machines 92%
Sega Power 97%
International Video Game Hall of Fame Class of 2017 Induction: