Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog is the name of a video game series as well as the eponymous protagonist of the series. Created by Japanese developer Yuji Naka, the first game in the series, Sonic the Hedgehog, was released in 1991 for the Sega Genesis gaming system. The character himself, who is an anthropomorphic blue and beige hedgehog, has since become the official mascot for the Sega gaming projects, even though the franchise has expanded to include games playable on the Nintendo GameCube, the Nintendo Wii and the PlayStation 3 game consoles.

Additionally, the franchise has been adapted into two animated television projects; one was a regular TV series released in 1993, which ran for two seasons, totaling twenty-six episodes, and the other was a one-hour mini-movie released in 1996. In 1993, Archie Comics began publication of a Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series, which started off as a three-issue mini-series, but branched off into a regular series. There was also a one-shot comic book special published by Sega in 1991.

The premise of the franchise is that Sonic, who lives in a lush environment populated by other anthropomorphic animals, must try to save his fuzzy friends from the ambitious schemes of would-be world conqueror Doctor Robotnik. To accomplish this, Sonic must race throughout various environments including grassy hills, caves, underground warrens, etc., collecting golden rings, which he can then use to free his friends whom Robotnik has captured. Each level of the original game ends with Robotnik himself as the Boss figure, though he too has various evil cohorts helping him to achieve his ends.