Happy Birthday Sonic (it all started 20 years ago)
It is a story that we have known before we could form words in our mouths. 1991 was the year when SEGA decided to release their iconic figure into the public. A blue chubby little hedgehog with spikes and red shoes. With SEGA releasing their prized mascot on June 23rd of 1991, Super Mario had a rival. Nintendo mascot had a fight on his hands with his adventures within the 8-bit world. SEGA's blue mascot had a greater edge than Mario during that time era as he introduced gamers to a better system with superior graphics and a faster engine. But no matter the impact Sonic had on the industry, he had a far greater impact on the childhood of millions of gamers. With his very first game on the shelves, what child or teenager didn't want their own SEGA Genesis? Waking up on Christmas mourning with a huge genesis box with Sonic on the side.
Sonic fans stick closer to each other because of the impact Sonic had on our lives. It's had a huge impact that some people dress as characters at conventions, collect figurines, buy every game, and watch every cartoon with his face on it. We've grown to love this creature and those kids who experienced that time of grace have now grown up. turning into adults can still reminisce on the series and the impact it will always have! YU2 and his companions have had one of the greatest impacts on the game world. Even stronger than Miyamoto's Super Mario. But times change, and sometimes that road can get a lil' bumpy when you decide to traverse a certain path.
The world of SEGA still resonates today, each person who picks up a controller or a handheld enter the worlds and vast locations of South Island, Mobius, Green Hill zone, the toxic power plant of Chemical Plant zone, the Angel Island, the Death Egg and even Earth! For what could have been just a mere itch in the game world decided to spread and last for 10 years, it seems that itch didn't want to go away. Sonic continued and introduced more gamers into the franchise. New gamers picking up the controller and running in a vast lush 3D environment trying to reach the end of a stage. Unaware of the core elements that made SEGA and Sonic the team they are. Some people can't even fathom the devices that were created by the industry. Some have never seen a SEGA PicoDrive or even a SEGA GameGear. These devices will live on. But these young fans are still apart of the fanbase and most of them can't even tell the difference between the western and canon parts of the franchise. Whether Sonic's eyes are blue, green yellow or even violet, this is Sonic the Hedgehog. His eye color doesn't determine who he. SEGA could have pulled a "Crash Bandicoot" on Sonic and made him look extremely hideous and "hijacking robots". (you blew it Bandicoot, you had a fan and you lost one after your last decent tile Wrath of Cortex)
the 10th Anniversary marked the Hedgehog's biggest highlight in his life, he was going strong and runnin' wild in 3d environments in a series known as Sonic Adventure. Two games which provided the hedgehog with different platforming elements. With Sonic Adventure 2 on the rise of that time period, SEGA release quite a few products on the market suck as a commemorative coin, a CD soundtrack with the best music of the series and even some sort of coin. A recreation of Green hill Zone was included in the game which tributes the original game by letting a player explore the very first level known to man in a Sonic game.
The 15th anniversary marked Sonic's first appearance in HD. Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 gave us a game that looked promising. But was it truly going to be glorious? Afraid not Sonic fans, this game was by far the worst in the series with its broken level design and glitches worst than a trojan virus. The graphics were decent but the trailers we seen from SEGA were false. We were suppose to be granted with Sonic racing through fantastic realms, battling AWESOME enemies! but overall we were presented with an unfinished game. SONIC THE HEDGEHOG had GREAT potential but overall it failed miserable and SEGA should have been ashamed to call that an anniversary game. From hear on end, most of the titles began to suffer from mediocre gameplay and storylines.
When it comes to the gameplay,we've seen a lot of retarded ideas:
The series needs to focus on speed! NO! This eliminates platforming
They should make the levels linear and design them like race tracks!! GODDAMN NO!
Robotnik needs to summon an ancient monster to defeat Sonic. NOOO! This is common boring factor you see in an average anime.
Having all of these redundant ideas don't help the series. The monstrosity of Sonic Unleashed had hope but need to realize that running through linear paths and holding the forward button IS NOT what Sonic the Hedgehog is all about. Sonic the Hedgehog games are about platforming, exploration and running at fast speeds in certain pints of your gameplay experience. The inclusion of Sonic becoming a werehog was by far the dumbest shit SEGA could have though of. (were you watching a Scooby-Doo episode during development, Iizuka? So what's the big secret, you're not wearing pants? hmmm) Players are introduced to a Ratchet & Clank mock up of battling hoards of enemies with bogus moves and slow framerate. As Ratchet And Clank games are known for battling constant groups of alien beings and giant monsters which over powered weapons, the game's framrate REFUSED to drop since those segments contain at least over 20 enemies sometimes. (Oh yeah, I dare you to slow down on me, when I'm in the process of blowin' shit up with my Negotiaor!) SEGA tries to mock this with Wolf Sonic constantly encountering Gaia monsters which FORCES you to fight them with button mashing segments and super COOL COMBOS! The night segments were the epitomize the platforming side of the game. Fans are satisfied with 50% of this games and Some LOVE it completely.
Most fans believe Sonic's linear paths are what the series should focus on. So then if this is true, then were is the platforming elements that allow you to think and provide exploration? Ultimately, the future games correct this as demonstrated in Sonic Colors. A game which ultimately brings Sonic back to to gamers and most fans giving them hope for a brighter future.
Now, here we are at the dawning of a new era. Sonic's 20th birthday. Sonic has been through a rough time involving mediocre games, fans who nitpick over his eye color and even those who will ignore a Sonic title because his eyes are green. Having some of the best games and by far the worst ones, Sonic Generations looks to be a celebration for all Sonic Fans. Looking at the Green Hill zone in vibrant and exquisite visuals, this game looks to be one hell of a birthday gift for it's fans and Sonic himself! We can reminisce on the good times we've experienced with our controllers and the defeats we suffered hoping a new Sonic game would provide us with satisfaction. I mean, last I checked Sonic's model being called "Modern Sonic" sounds so ignorant. Last, I remember Sonic the Hedgehog WAS a classic. Do you hear Nintendo fans calling Mario "Classic Mario"? Or mixing him with his ugly 1985 alter ego? No, because deep inside no matter how Sonic or Mario will look, deep within the core of those characters ARE Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario. (*coughs* best game ever made)
The Sonic series has always been one hell of a road for us fans and we will continue to follow down that path and hope for the best. So today, if you have a SEGA Genesis or even a Saturn and play some Sonic today. Don't pull a Todd and play MarioKart Wii! Sonic Colors seems to be the breaking point of the redundant war path we had to fight against. Sonic Generations will bring the peace and a gameplay experience will will never forget. Nothing will ever stop Sonic. NO ONE CAN STOP SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!...except for this guy.
Happy Birthday Sonic.
Image Elements
The reason why I choose Daisy AGAIN was because I can't draw Sonic. with the way the fanbase exploits itself, it is hard form me to enjoy Sonic games. when I seen the Sonic Genesis reboot comic cover I saw how modernized and beautiful the cover was drawn. It was glorious! I had to do the same thing. I added more Green hill elements onto the image with the inclusion of the flower models and even a broken newt robot. So with that said, m friend gave me an Ampharos image she randomly came across and I sketched it from my TV. I've been doing mos of my artwork on my TV since I can blow up images or things I need and I sketch it on my dresser.
It was a fun experience. I like the Mareep evolution as well so substituting Jazmin with Daisy was easy. Drawing Daisy's features are already imbedded mentally since I've don't it for quite sometime now. So here I present Daisy with another fully evolved Pokemon. Ampharos is a Pokemon of the electric element. The sparks of electricity surrounding Daisy and Ampharos just shows how powerful it is. And of course, Daisy's shorts can barely stay on her. Look at that...black panties! Victoria Secret, Spring Catalog, page 27...girl got class!
In conclusion this is my image to show my appreciation towards the series. It's modeled to mimic the Genesis boxart in a way and I used a font style from a classic game. What game is that from?
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