SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 28th ANNIVERSARY

It's hard to take in that yet another Anniversary for one of the most iconic video game characters has arrived.  It's moments like this that I feel nostalgic and reminded of why I became of this character and his games.

Titles like Sonic The Hedgehog 3 and Sonic Adventure are great examples of what this Franchise can offer for great gameplay experiences.

Yes, there have been "some" games that we like to pretend didn't happen down the years.  It happens, it's like bad movies that occur once or so often that almost shut down a Franchise or stop it altogether.
However, Sonic seems to be one of the few examples that learns from his mistakes.  The only 3 major disaster that I can think are Sonic Spinball, Sonic 360 and Sonic Forces.  

Spinball I can't stand because I just didn't enjoy the mechanics of that game even though it's supposed to be tied with SatAM as the characters do make cameos during some stages.  360 was panned critically by fans and critics alike for a lack of Beta testing, buggy programming and a story that could have done with a rewrite.

Forces I feel like the only aspect they got wrong was the programming as the story was fine and the voice acting is the best that I've ever heard for a Sonic game.

And now at his 28th with Sonic Team Racing seemingly doing well and with the Movie on the Horizon for next Valentine's day as it would have been for this November, but due to the negative backlash from the trailer below.

That the Studio decided to take Sonic's design back to the drawing board.  Even the Director acknowledged this via his twitter.

Thank you for the support. And the criticism. The message is loud and clear... you aren't happy with the design & you want changes. It's going to happen. Everyone at Paramount & Sega are fully committed to making this character the BEST he can be... #sonicmovie #gottafixfast □✌️

— Jeff Fowler (@fowltown) May 2, 2019

I'm not gonna lie, but that is really humble and gracious to be able to admit that there is a problem and that they'll make the design the best Sonic that he can be.

Now if only more Studios would take that approach in looking to appease the fans rather than just disrespect them.  The fans are the Studios bread and butter, and the fact that Paramount are going to redesign Sonic so that his look is more like the games, but still within a real-word aesthetic.

Taking a little more time to make Sonic just right.#novfxartistswereharmedinthemakingofthismovie pic.twitter.com/gxhu9lhU76

— Jeff Fowler (@fowltown) May 24, 2019

And the fact that they included Sonic's gloves as opposed to his fans having white fur was a nice touch.

Sonic has stood the test of time since 1991 and has only gotten more resilient.  Sure, you could make the argument that his heyday was the 16-bit Era, but there are plenty of fans that have enjoyed the Dreamcast and Modern Eras respectively from the iconic Sonic Adventure to Sonic Generations 8 years ago that marked 20 years of the Hedgehog with Attitude.

I think a nice payoff at the end credits for SG was seeing the ending credits of 20 years of Sonic games.  As someone who grew up playing the original games and seeing his evolution through the Dreamcast to then moving to a multi-console performer was something special.

Since 2011, when I made the first Sonic The Hedgehog Retrospective "Blue Reflections" I have asked the question "where will he be in 20 years from now?"

I think it's safe to say, that since he made it passed his 20th Birthday just fine to finding resurgence with his 25th Anniversary with the release of the critically acclaimed Sonic Mania then I think he will be around for many years to come.

He is an Icon and Legend that has been enjoyed by many Generations of fans from 8 to 80. 

If he made this long without fading away, then you can rest assure that he still be around for many years to come.

Happy 28th Anniversary, Sonic.

Thank you for defining a Generation of Gaming.