Sonic\u2019s creators explain how the speedy scamp has kept on running through generations as an enduring avatar of \u2018attitude in the face of adversity\u2019<\/p>\n
One day in the early 1990s, I came home from university for the weekend and discovered that my dad had bought himself a Sega Mega Drive, bundled with a copy of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. I knew about Sega\u2019s mascot of course. The launch of the original Sonic the Hedgehog game in 1991 was a landmark moment for the company, massively boosting the sales of its 16bit console in the west, ripping market share from the dominant Super Nintendo. While Mario was the family favourite, Sonic with his speed, attitude and brash visual energy encapsulated the edgy spirit of the early 1990s MTV culture. That weekend, Dad and I did little else but team up for daylong Sonic sessions, the game\u2019s two-player mode letting us play cooperatively as we zoomed through those dense, beautiful play zones.<\/p>\n
Thirty-five years later, I am still a Sonic fan. There have been plenty of rough times (Sonic 06, Sonic and the Secret Rings, Sonic Free Riders \u2013 sorry, I can\u2019t go on), but there have been plenty of good ones too. (Rush, Mania and Colors, and I have a soft spot for Sonic R, a racer developed by Traveller\u2019s Tales, which went on to make the Lego games). Few people know this rollercoaster better than Takashi Iizuka, who worked on Sonic 3 as a designer and has been series producer for almost 20 years. When he joined Sega in 1992 he wanted to work for the company\u2019s arcade division, but after playing the original Sonic \u2013 especially Sonic 2 \u2013 he was seduced.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/bbce8a7a2159c62d51ddb16939925cc4a84b972b\/102_0_4473_3578\/master\/4473.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=f24b2755d58265fb9c0e9f97e3885dd4\" "\\"\u2018The")
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