If you’ve stuck with this set so far, you’ll know about my winding journey to play Sonic games. But that’s only half the story. You see, as a child of the 1990s, Sonic was everywhere. No, the Jim Carrey movie was not the start of Sonic Mania. Far from it.
Back in the 1990s my Nan allowed us one magazine each. My Dad suggested The Tree of Knowledge, and for a few years the monthly encyclopedia was what I got. But it was noticed that these magazines were mostly only skimmed. I wanted Sonic the Comic.
This ran from 1993 to 2002. Though I only followed the earlier years, it adapted stories from the Sonic games — including the elusive Sonic CD. This is how I learned about characters like Tails, Knuckles, and Amy well before ever playing those games.
Well, there and Channel 4. Because much like Super Mario before him (yes, I also loved The Super Mario Super Show), Sonic and Tails were granted their own TV show: The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. I didn’t like it as much as the Mario shows — that whine of “I’m waiting” was a bit much even for a kid — but I still watched it religiously.
I still vividly remember Dr. Robotnik going into hibernation in Sonic the Comic. He was inside a big egg. The story was to be continued in the next issue… only to find that this was all a way for Sonic the Comic to adopt the same Robotnik design as the TV series. Some of the letters to the comic slated that change, but for me it was my first real experience with a cliffhanger in a comic story.
This might all sound like I was a bit obsessed with these games. I thought I was — in only the way a child can be. Then 2022 rolled around. It was announced that the games were returning, rebuilt for modern platforms. In the form of Sonic Origins, I finally got to play those four Mega Drive greats… and Sonic CD, a game I had wanted to get my hands on for some time.
I sidelined whatever big RPG I was playing at the time. Because I could now play some Sonic.