In the 1990s the SEGA Corporation had a problem, their rival company Nintendo had a popular mascot in Mario whose games were very popular and helped establish a strong brand. SEGA considered a lot of options when developing a competitor, but decided to focus on animals that could roll into a ball. Ultimately choosing a hedgehog and taking artistic inspiration from Felix the Cat, Micky Mouse, and even Michael Jackson… Sonic was born. Combine that character with gameplay focused on speed and a simple control scheme and SEGA had a huge hit, cementing the company a major competitor to Nintendo for the rest of the decade.
The newest game in the series, Sonic Frontiers, was released last week, but why not take a spin through the one that started it all 30 years ago in the RLB library? As a bonus, if you’re interested in learning more about the SEGA and Nintendo rivalry check out the book Console Wars.