Games - Sonic the Hedgehog series

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	Games - Sonic the Hedgehog series

The Sonic the Hedgehog series is a franchise of video games released by Sega (usually developed by their Sonic Team division) and starring their mascot character Sonic the Hedgehog.

The series began in 1991 with the release of Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. An 8-bit version of the game was also released for the Master System and Game Gear formats.

Yuji Naka (who would later become head of the Sonic Team division) was the main programmer for the first game. The "game planner" was Hirokazu Yasuhara. The music of the first two Sonic the Hedgehog games on the Mega Drive and Genesis was composed by Masato Nakamura of the Japanese band Dreams Come True.

Story

The premise of the games revolves around Doctor Eggman (called Doctor Ivo Robotnik in the earlier releases in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand) trying to conquer the Earth by turning the animals into robots (often called Badniks, though this is an US/EUR term and hasn't been used since Sonic Adventure). Sonic is charged with saving them. In later games he is joined by Miles "Tails" Prower, Amy Rose, Knuckles the Echidna, Cream the Rabbit, Team Chaotix and a host of other characters. He usually collects the Chaos Emeralds (usually from the Special Stages) in order to achieve the best ending in the game, as well as become his most powerful form, Super Sonic. In this state, he is completely immune to all enemies and obstacles (although he can still be killed by falling into pits, being crushed and drowning), gains the ability of flight in certain circumstances, and the unique skill of breathing in space. However, Sonic's quest does not necessitate collecting the Emeralds himself; he must only prevent Eggman from getting them and dooming the world with their power. Sonic also has to deal with numerous other foes, such as Metal Sonic, Chaos, Fang the Sniper and Black Doom . Two of the major characters in the series are the anti-heroes Shadow the Hedgehog and Rouge the Bat. Shadow and Rouge are often rivals to Sonic, but in the end, the two help save the world.

Gameplay

2D platform games

Most Sonic titles are platform games viewed from a side-on perspective. Their controls are basic and do not deviate much from the genre standard; the selling point of the series is the sheer speed of the playable characters, who usually have the ability to run on slopes, walls, and even ceilings. Roller coaster-like loops and corkscrews are also common in Sonic games, as are giant pinball machines with flippers and bumpers which knock Sonic around like a ball. The stages are also similar to roller coasters in that many sequences involve Sonic being thrown along pre-set paths with little input from the player, which has led to criticism that the player can complete a Sonic game merely by holding the pad in one direction. However, the games also feature numerous sections involving precise jumping between platforms and avoiding of hazards, although these sections do not require "pixel-perfect" judgement and are perhaps more lenient than most platform games of the era.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Sonic the Hedgehog series ]

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