As Sonic entered into his awkward teenage years at the start of the 2000s,
he struggled to make the leap to the latest generation of consoles.
Following some hit-and-miss games, plus some bizarre public appearances,
perceptions of Sonic were beginning to lose momentum.
Still trying to hold onto his former glory,
our favorite hedgehog needed to switch things up.
Prepare yourself for one of the cringiest Sonic games ever
and a very surprising collaboration!
This is the evolution of Sonic the Hedgehog, part 5!
In 2004, Sonic appeared alongside characters from SuperMonkeyBall,
Virtua Fighter, and other well-known franchises in Sega Superstars.
Developed by Sonic Team exclusively for the PlayStation 2 and its EyeToy attachment,
it featured a series of games based on previous Sega titles.
Fittingly for Sonic, this was his first appearance in a game rated higher than an "E for Everyone" by the ESRB.
It was rated “T for Teens.”
Each ‘Superstar’ had their own game within the game, and
for Sonic, it involved the player using the Eyetoy camera to guide the hedgehog through a tunnel.
The aim was to collect rings and Chaos Emeralds and obtain the highest score at the end of the game.
The stages were a combination of the full pipe Special Stages from Sonic Heroes
and the Half-pipe Special Stages that were first seen in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
In Superstars, completing all three difficulties as Sonic unlocked Shadow's story,
which allowed the player to control Shadow the Hedgehog instead.
The game’s difficulty was ramped up significantly when playing as Shadow.
A sequel to Sega Superstars, Sega Superstars Tennis, was developed by Sumo Digital in March 2008 for multiple platforms,
including the Xbox 360, PS2 and PS3, the Wii, and Nintendo DS.
Fun Fact
An entertainment shopping center called the Sony Metreon created a Walk of Game in 2005 in San Francisco, California.
Based on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, it honored video game characters and gave them a customized floor tile.
Sonic was one of the first three heroes to be honored in the Walk of Game, alongside Mario and Link.
Sadly, in 2012 the area was converted to a Target store, and the walkway was removed.
2005 was a big year for Shadow the Hedgehog,
as he received his own game playable on Xbox, PlayStation 2, and the Nintendo GameCube.
With the tagline “Hero or Villain?”
gamers were invited to “Uncover the truth about Sonic's arch-rival, Shadow the Hedgehog.”
In the game, which plays similar to past 3D Sonic titles like Sonic Heroes,
Shadow goes on a quest to recover his memory, something he’s been trying to do since Sonic Heroes,
all while an evil alien race known as the Black Arms is invading Earth.
Sonic appears as a playable character in the shooter-action-platformer, but only in co-op mode.
To be honest, that probably came as a relief to Sonic as the game was a flop.
It received a score of only 51 on Metacritic and was criticized for its poor controls,
mature themes that involved swearing, and for introducing guns into Sonic-style gameplay.
Matt Helgeson of Game Informer said,
Ouch!
Thankfully, on the exact same day that Shadow the Hedgehog was released,
a Sonic game called Sonic Rush came for the Nintendo DS.
Described as a 2.5D side-scroller, it made use of the 'dual screen' aspect of the DS in clever and exciting ways.
For instance, the screens were used together as an extended vertical screen for very steep climbs and drops.
The unique handheld design also allowed players to experience Sonic in both 2D and 3D in the same game
by combining two-dimensional environments with three-dimensional models.
Appropriately, the game centered around two parallel universes colliding,
one featuring Sonic the Hedgehog and the other featuring a new character called Blaze the Cat.
In addition to battling Dr. Eggman, they also fight a new villain named Eggman Nega.
The player controls either Sonic or Blaze,
once the latter becomes available, and can make use of a new game mechanic; the "Tension Gauge."
This allows the player to utilize Super Boost or Fire Boost for Sonic or Blaze, respectively.
Once engaged, the protagonists can plow through enemies and obstacles without taking damage.
Whereas Sonic can transform into Super Sonic, Blaze’s equivalent is called Burning Blaze.
The game itself was a hot seller as around 1.3 million copies of Sonic Rush were sold.
Reviews were very positive and praised the game for having the feel of older Sonic titles,
such as those on the Sega Mega Drive.
Sonic Rush registered an impressive score of 82 on Metacritic.
A follow-up game titled ‘Sonic Rush Adventure’ hit store shelves in September 2007.
Advertised as
it took place in Blaze the Cat's dimension.
Marine the Raccoon was a new, non-playable character who made her debut in the sequel.
The game improved upon the first Sonic Rush in terms of smoother gameplay,
although many reviewers thought that the story was weaker than its predecessor.
Sonic Rush Adventure received a score of 78 on Metacritic.
To celebrate the 15th anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog,
a racing game with hoverboards was released on Xbox, PlayStation 2, and the Nintendo GameCube in 2006.
Called ‘Sonic Riders’, it pitted players against seven competitors in races across sixteen tracks,
the majority of which needed to be unlocked through progress in the story mode.
Speaking of which, there were two main storylines in the game,
that of the Heroes featuring the familiar furry faces of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles,
and also the Babylon storyline, whose team consisted of new characters,
namely Jet the Hawk,
Wave the Swallow
and Storm the Albatross.
Additional characters could be unlocked, and while all of them played the same way, each possessed different stats,
and their character type determined their strength in three categories:
speed,
flight,
and power.
‘Extreme Gear’ was used for vehicles in-game,
which were all hovering vehicles in the forms of hoverboards, motorbikes, or rocket skates.
Each Extreme Gear varied in terms of its performance and stats, with the potential to give users an advantage.
Powered by a limited amount of Air, the player could perform jumps, steer, and brake.
However, as the Air Tank emptied, these driving abilities became much trickier.
Once the Extreme Gear had completely run out of Air, the playable character would be left running the race on foot,
at least until collecting more Air via an Air Pit or picking up an Air Item Box.
Unfortunately, Sonic Riders wasn’t exactly a big hit.
Metacritic registered a low review score of just 59.
Many criticized the confusing gameplay, and while IGN stated that at least
Frank Dry of Hyper disliked the fact that
Apparently, most fans agreed!
Fun Fact
Now one of the most recognizable mascots in all of gaming,
Sonic has not only featured in numerous different titles,
but he has also featured in the same titles that have been released and re-released over and over again!
The original Sonic the Hedgehog game has seen close to 20 official re-releases,
having been re-mastered for several consoles and included in many Sonic collections.
In the early 2000s, the Sonic Mega Collection and Mega Collection Plus both came out, as well as the Sonic Gems Collection,
though the latter did not include the original Sonic the Hedgehog game.
Riders wasn’t the only racing-based present that Sonic received for his 15th birthday.
Whereas that game was made by Sonic Team,
a different game called Sonic Rivals was made the same year by Backbone Entertainment for the PlayStation Portable.
Best described as a 2.5D side-scrolling racing platforming video game,
the gameplay in Rivals was closer to that of the earlier 2D Sonic titles.
Taking control of either Sonic, Knuckles, Shadow, or Silver,
each character had their own story in Rivals, though the actual gameplay was pretty much the same for all.
Metal Sonic could also be unlocked as a secret, playable character.
All of the Zones in Sonic Rivals featured a character racing against a rival, hence the game’s title.
To win, the player needed to reach the goal before their opponent.
In boss stages, though, the player was required to defeat the boss before their rival.
A collectible card system was one of the main features in Rivals,
with 150 cards detailing cameos from major and minor characters,
box arts, and items from past Sonic games.
Performing certain objectives in-game, such as collecting a number of rings,
hitting a rival X number of times, or getting to the goal in a prescribed time, resulted in the player being awarded a card.
Those cards could then be used to unlock other features, including character outfits.
On average, the game received a score of 64 from reviewers.
IGN awarded it a 7.4 out of 10,
highlighting the game’s replay value, graphics, and entertaining stages.
GameSpot found the level designs frustrating and tedious but enjoyed the colorful graphics and a good sense of speed.
Sonic Rivals 2 was released for the PSP three years later, with Tails, Rouge the Bat, and Espio the Chameleon joining the action.
Aside from adding more characters, though,
it failed to impress and ended up receiving an even worse score than its predecessor,
with an average score of 60.
Speaking of failing to impress, that’s an understatement for this next game.
Yeah, if you’re a Sonic fan, then you’ve probably been waiting for this one;
the infamous ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ from 2006,
otherwise known as Sonic 2006.
Ironically, this game was intended to be a rebirth of the series,
though it was lucky not to be the cause of death!
Apparently, the intention was to answer the question, "What if Sonic the Hedgehog existed in the real world?"
It was to use elements from the Sonic Adventure games, which people enjoyed,
and bring Sonic "back to his roots," hence the plain title.
Set in the city of Soleanna, Princess Elise the Third is the keeper of a dark secret known as the "Flames of Disaster,"
which involves the Chaos Emeralds.
As you’d expect, Dr. Eggman wants to kidnap Princess Elise to obtain the secrets of the Flames of Disaster,
but a blue blur soon intervenes, which of course, turns out to be Sonic.
As with previous games, the story is split into three episodes.
There’s a Sonic Episode,
a Shadow episode,
and an episode for Silver the Hedgehog.
There’s also a Last Episode,
and this game was the last to tell the story in an episodic format like this.
Similar to Sonic Adventure, the game consists of Action Stages and Town Stages.
In the Town Stages, the player can free roam within Soleanna, talk to NPCs and buy Level Up Items.
The plot is also furthered by finding the entrances to Action Stages using the Mirrors of Soleanna.
A ranking system like the one used in Sonic Rush provides the player with a grade between D and S.
In addition to Story Mode, there are 2 multiplayer modes.
Tag Mode is a co-op between Sonic, Silver, and Shadow.
Shared features between the two modes are downgraded graphics, making objects and enemies shaded.
The first mode, Tag Mode, is a co-op type of play where two players must work together to clear levels and collect Chaos Emeralds.
Lives are shared, meaning if one player loses a life when only one life remains, both will receive a game over.
The second game style is Battle Mode, which is essentially a race to the goal on a selected level.
Mini-games were rumored prior to release, as well as 4-player gameplay, but these were scrapped,
likely due to the rushed development.
Sonic ‘06 is notable for being the worst game of the franchise to date.
While its soundtrack was decent, the game was widely criticized for its numerous gameplay glitches,
inconsistent plot, very long loading times,
and the characters of Princess Elise and Silver.
Playable on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, this dumpster fire has landed on many ‘Worst Video Games of All Time’ lists.
It holds a score of 43 on Metacritic, categorizing it as “generally unfavorable.”
One review summed it up as being the
Man, Sonic’s 15th anniversary was a rough one!
To the relief of Sega, Sonic 2006 still sold well though,
with sales described as “strong” and “solid.”
Some sources calculate the game's total sales to be over 2 million copies.
Fun Fact
In the heyday of his youth, Sonic was credited with bringing fast-paced gaming into the ’90s.
He engaged Mario, the grandfather of side-scrollers, in a bitter rivalry epitomized by the console wars.
At one point in time, schoolyards were divided between Sonic and Mario fans,
and to this day, the debate still rages over who is the better hero.
As recently as 2021, GamesRant released an article titled “Mario Vs. Sonic The Hedgehog: Who Wins In A Fight?”
Sonic came out as the winner by the way,
“But Only Just,” thanks to his raw speed, physical force, and transformation into the invincible Super Sonic.
The intense rivalry between Sonic and Mario is why the next entry in Sonic’s evolution was truly a surprise to gamers.
In fact, most people thought it was an early April Fool’s joke
when the game was announced on 28 March 2007 by both Sega and Nintendo...
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games?!!
Yes, Sega partnered with Nintendo after years of competition,
and the latter published the game in Japan while Sega oversaw distribution in North America and Europe
for the Wii and Nintendo DS.
Now that Sega wasn’t producing its own consoles anymore, the console war was officially over,
and this title was seen by many as a truce between the mascots.
Officially licensed by the International Olympic Committee,
it was the first official video game of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games to be released.
It gave gamers the chance to assume the roles of either Sonic or Mario and compete in up to 20 various Olympic events.
Fourteen additional characters from both franchises
could compete in environments based on the official venues at the Beijing Olympics,
which were stylized to fit the aesthetics of former Mario and Sonic titles.
Each member of Team Sonic was given a match-up against someone from Team Mario.
These face-offs included Sonic vs. Mario, duhh,
Shadow vs. Luigi,
Knuckles vs. Wario,
Amy vs. Peach,
Tails vs. Yoshi,
and Dr. Eggman vs. Waluigi, among others.
Other characters like Cream the Rabbit, Toad, Espio the Chameleon, and Shy Guy could be seen as referees.
The events were organized into tournament and circuit modes and included eight classifications:
athletics,
gymnastics,
shooting,
rowing,
archery,
aquatics,
fencing, and
table tennis.
"Dream Events" were unlockable versions of four of the Olympic events in the Wii version of the game
and 5 events on the Nintendo DS.
They differed from the original events by including attributes from the Mario and Sonic video game universes.
A gallery with facts and trivia about the real-life Olympics was also included.
Five categories of trivia matched with mini-games where completion of the mini-game unlocked the trivia answer.
Classic music from both the Sonic and Mario series then became available in the gallery once all levels in a category were cleared.
A collaboration with Mario gave Sonic the boost he sorely needed,
and the Wii version of their game was awarded ‘Best Game of 2007’ on the platform at the Games Convention in Leipzig.
GameSpot only gave the game a 6 out of 10,
praising the wide variety of events but adding that many of them were too similar.
The reviewer also said that the motion controls were
On the other hand, Nintendo Life praised the controls as an alternative to button bashing and awarded a 7 out of 10.
IGN gave a 7.9 out of 10 and favored the fantasy events as well as archery, which it said ended up "stealing the show."
Fun Fact
In the aquatic events, Sonic wears an orange lifejacket since he cannot actually swim, although if you watched part 1,
you’d remember that most hedgehogs actually can swim.
Also, Peach and Daisy were originally meant to have swimsuits, but Nintendo rejected the designs.
The swimsuits did appear in later games, though.
Mario & Sonic’s collaboration for Olympic events continued with Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games in 2009,
and they covered the Winter Olympics again in Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
There has also been a Mario & Sonic game for every Summer Olympics since the pair’s inaugural meeting.
There is Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games…
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games…
and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
We’re not done yet, though...
there are still more ups and downs to come in this Sonic saga.
So, click the video onscreen
to watch the 6th episode of the Evolution of Sonic the Hedgehog.
Subtitles done by Emir Kahvecioglu