In 1988, when FC became popular, Sega, an old enemy, launched the 16-bit game console Mega Drive. With the superior performance of MD, Sega finally got a piece of cake in the field of home consoles, which is dominated by Nintendo, and gradually showed the momentum of crushing it. However, Nintendo was not overwhelmed by the fierce opponents. Only 2 years later, they launched their own 16-bit console SFC, and started a fierce counterattack with the "star" Mario. It took 2 years to gradually The market they controlled was swallowed up in an instant, which made Sega realize that it must have a star IP that could compete with Mario, so "Sonic Boy" Sonic was born.
“I live to make Nintendo uncomfortable”, this is the famous saying of former Sega president Hayao Nakayama, and the birth of Sonic also fully demonstrates what it means to “make Nintendo uncomfortable”.
As early as before and after the FC version of "Super Mario Bros." was born, Sega started to create its own facade character. The trio of Yuji Naka, Naoto Oshima, and Rieko Kodama teamed up to create Alex. (Alex Kidd) - Although Sega never claimed that Alex was its mascot, he often made guest appearances in other of its games and received high praise during the Sega Mark III period.
However, although Alex succeeded, he was still defeated by the powerful Mario, so the important task of developing the second generation mascot fell on the shoulders of Yuji Naka. The Eighth Software Development Department (AM8) led by him submitted more than 10 different prototypes including prototypes of lynx and rabbit. In the end, "Mr. Needle Mouse (Mr. ハリネズミ)" designed by Naoto Oshima won the most widespread recognition. recognition, and was eventually named "Sonic", and AM8 was also renamed "Sonic Team".
In the early stages of design, Sonic was designed to confront Mario head-on on the 2D scroll action battlefield. Yuji Naka has always designed the concept of Sonic based on the 1-1 levels of "Super Mario Bros." "I always reached this level as fast as possible," Yuji Naka said. "This inspired the original concept," and Sonic's sense of speed was set.
Compared to Uncle Mario, who is pot-bellied, naive, and mainly jumps slowly, Sonic is designed to be a character more in line with young people-Sonic's name is "Sonic", and he His shoe buckles are modeled after Michael Jackson, his shoes are based on the colors of Santa Claus, and his straightforward personality is inspired by Bill Clinton's "get it done" slogan. At the same time, he is free-spirited and likes eating chili dogs and sleeping... And his The character design is a very contrasting choice of a hedgehog that runs very slowly in reality... Because Yuji Naka mistakenly believed that all hedgehogs can't swim, Sonic can't swim - which instead became a widely popular idea among players. It's a rumor that spreads.
Once the first-generation game "Sonic the Hedgehog" was released, it was quickly recognized by the industry and players because of its unique character design, different sense of speed and trendy game design. Many games Everyone started to speed up - even their own target, Mario.
The speed-up trend led by Sonic in the 16-bit era finally led to a situation in the industry where Mario and Sonic were competing against each other. The two game idols, one blue and one red, allowed MD to stand firmly at the forefront of SFC. On the other side, Sega also began a series of operations around Sonic. For example, it successively gave Sonic Towers, Knuckles, Amy (ambiguous...) and many other companions, such as launching a series of animation works and movie works, and also created the "Three Sonic Brothers and Sisters" in the animation works. The concept - in short, if Mario has companions, Sonic will have companions, and if Mario has animations, Sonic will have animations - it just makes Nintendo uncomfortable.
As games enter the 3D era, Sonic has shown more powerful expressive power. Although "Super Mario 64" pioneered 3D action gameplay, 3D Sonic's parkour-like style seems to be more popular among players - compared to Mario, who is famous for his imagination and jumping, Sonic's simple and direct high-speed The style allows players to quickly secrete adrenaline. Especially in Europe and the United States where adventurous spirit and uniqueness are popular, Sonic has become a gaming idol that surpasses Mario!
Before the Dreamcast was ready to be released, SonicTeam developed the first high-speed 3D action game "Sonic Adventure". The game contains 6 different story scripts, bringing 6 unique ways to play. ——Although DC's violent death caught Sega off guard, this did not prevent "Sonic Adventure" from becoming the darling of players. Although Sega gradually withdrew from the hardware market, this classic game is still available in major next-generation games. platform.
In the days when Sega turned into a software company, Sonic could be seen on all major console platforms. Players can clearly feel that the temperament of Sonic games has changed dramatically from the 2D era. Sonic It has changed from a simple scrolling game that pursues a sense of speed to a game universe with a coherent plot. And Sonic, like his old rival Mario, began to engage in various industries-driving a racing car and playing tennis, and gradually became a versatile star with all-round skills.
The reason for the feud between Sega and Nintendo was profit. Therefore, when Sega decided to withdraw from the hardware competition, it immediately turned to a friendly cooperative relationship with Nintendo. In addition to its own games starting to be fully logged into NGC and GBA, Sony Ke has even appeared in Nintendo's first-party works as an image ambassador.
The masterpiece "Super Smash Bros.", which was born in 1999, was widely sought after by players once it was released, and became a golden signature on the N64. Since then, every generation of Nintendo consoles will be produced by Masahiro Sakurai. Make a Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In January 2008, "Super Smash Bros. Like the Konami family's Uncle Snake, Sonic's participation in "Super Smash Bros." is naturally an ambassador for Sega, officially representing the two families and turning their feud into friendship. Masahiro Sakurai did not treat Sonic badly. He perfectly restored Sonic's mobility and flexibility in the game, making him the most unique character in the game.
In 2008, the friendly cooperative relationship between the two companies was clearly revealed-Sonic made a guest appearance in "Super Smash Bros. Ou and Sonic at the Beijing Olympics". Mario and Sonic, as the idols of the two families, have been fighting against their opponents inside and outside the game for nearly 20 years, and finally had an upright contest in the game.
"Mario and Sonic have been competing against each other for a long time. In fact, they have been considering the possibility of playing together one day for a long time." Shigeru Miyamoto joked: "Now They have this great opportunity at the Olympics, and we can finally know who is faster, Mario or Sonic? "Of course Sonic is faster, but Mario is more skilled - the role positioning in the game is very consistent. Players' understanding of classic characters also allows players from both camps to get involved in the game - except that Sonic can actually participate in water sports...
Since the two parties began to cooperate, every Sonic is indispensable in the game "Super Smash Bros.", and every Olympic year the two idols will have a dream competition at the Olympics - including going to London, Rio and Tokyo together. Sonic is no longer the guy who made Nintendo uncomfortable.
Of course, in addition to the love and death with Nintendo, Sonic's own adventure continues. In addition to the new generation of Sonic games represented by "Sonic: Power", the recent independent live-action Sonic movies have also been loved by everyone. Except for some nonsensical twists and turns before the movie was released, other content has attracted Sonic fans. They are moved. For Mao Zai, the days of drooling while holding the FC and watching Sonic have become good memories. I hope that Sega can produce better Sonic games in the future for us to enjoy.