Sonic the Hedgehog[a] is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega.

The games typically feature Sonic setting out to stop Eggman's schemes for world domination, and the player navigates levels that include springs, slopes, bottomless pits, and vertical loops.

[6]: 20–33, 96–101  The gameplay of Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) originated with a tech demo created by Naka, who had developed an algorithm that allowed a sprite to move smoothly on a curve by determining its position with a dot matrix.

[7] Sonic's color was chosen to match Sega's cobalt blue logo, and his red and white shoes were inspired by the cover of Michael Jackson's 1987 album Bad.

Development was hindered by disputes between Sega of America and Japan, Naka's reported refusal to let STI use the Nights game engine, and problems adapting the series to 3D.

[75] While both Adventure games were well received[70] and the first sold over two million copies,[76] consumer interest in the Dreamcast quickly faded, and Sega's attempts to spur sales through lower prices and cash rebates caused escalating financial losses.

The Emeralds can turn thoughts into power,[203] warp time and space with a technique called Chaos Control,[204][205] give energy to living things, and be used to create nuclear or laser-based weaponry.

[233] 2D entries generally feature simple, pinball-like gameplay[232][234]—with jumping and attacking controlled by a single button[235]—and branching level paths that require memorization to maintain speed.

[263] Both the Sonic Storybook games feature unique concepts: Secret Rings is controlled exclusively using the Wii Remote's motion detection,[264] which Black Knight incorporates hack and slash gameplay.

[272][273] For the original Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega commissioned Masato Nakamura, bassist and songwriter of the J-pop band Dreams Come True, to compose the soundtrack.

[276][277] A number of composers contributed to the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 score, including Sega sound staff[278] and independent contractors recruited to finish the game on schedule.

[335][337][338] Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog comprises 65 episodes overseen by Ren & Stimpy director Kent Butterworth and features slapstick humor in the vein of Looney Tunes.

The series was co-produced by Netflix Animation, Sega of America, WildBrain Studios, and Man of Action Entertainment,[361][362][363] and unlike prior adaptations, it is canon to the events of the Sonic games.

Written by Kenji Terada and illustrated by Sango Norimoto, it follows a sweet but cowardly young hedgehog named Nicky whose alter ego is the cocky, heroic Sonic.

[372] Fans continued the Archie series unofficially, including finishing unpublished issues, while Penders is using the characters he gained ownership of for a graphic novel, The Lara-Su Chronicles.

[374] The partnership will begin with a five-issue limited series written by Flynn, in which Sonic characters take on the personas of Justice League heroes such as Batman and the Flash, in March 2025.

Additional cast members include Tika Sumpter, Adam Pally, and Neal McDonough,[383] while Colleen O'Shaughnessey reprises her voice role as Tails from the games for a mid-credits scene cameo.

[392][393] Sonic the Hedgehog was released in February 2020[393] to generally positive reviews from critics, who felt it exceeded the low expectations typically associated with video game-based films; Carrey's performance in particular was praised.

It was produced by the films' creative team; Elba, Pally, and Sumpter reprise their roles, while Edi Patterson, Julian Barratt, Scott Mescudi, Ellie Taylor, Cary Elwes, Stockard Channing, Christopher Lloyd, Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel portray new characters.

Schwartz, O'Shaughnessey, Elba, Carrey, Marsden, and Sumpter reprised their roles,[413][414] while Keanu Reeves voices Shadow,[415] and Krysten Ritter, Alyla Browne, James Wolk, Sofia Pernas, Cristo Fernández, and Jorma Taccone play new characters.

[446][453][234] Stewart argued that the addition of voice acting and greater focus on plot changed Sonic into "a flat, lifeless husk of a character, who spits out slogans and generally has only one personality mode, the radical attitude dude, the sad recycled image of vague '90s cultural concept".

[140] Journalists, Whitehead, and the former Sega of America marketing director Al Nilsen criticized the number of characters added to the series,[140][195] which Naka had justified as necessary to please fans.

[458][459][460] In October 2010, Sega delisted Sonic games with average or below-average scores on the review aggregator website Metacritic, to increase the value of the brand and avoid confusing customers.

[477] Matt Espineli of GameSpot said it "exceeds expectations of what a new game in the franchise can look and play like, managing to simultaneously be a charming celebration of the past and a natural progression of the series' classic 2D formula".

[23] Between October and December 1991, the Genesis outsold its chief competitor, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, by a two-to-one ratio; at its January 1992 peak Sega held 65 percent of the market for 16-bit consoles.

[23] During the 16-bit era, Sonic inspired similar platformers starring animal mascots, including the Bubsy series,[529] Aero the Acro-Bat (1993),[23] James Pond 3 (1993),[530] Earthworm Jim (1994),[531] and Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel (1994).

[538] Additionally, a Japanese team developing the Radio & Plasma Wave Investigation (RPWI) instrumentation for the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer spacecraft, to be launched by ESA and Airbus in 2023, received approval to use Sonic as the mascot.

Caty McCarthy of USGamer noted that many fans have continued to support the series in spite of poorly received games like the 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog, and she credited the fandom with helping maintain public interest in the franchise.

[240] Sanic also inspired similar memes and parodies and was described by William Moo of Syfy Wire as "perfect proof of the twisted love and appreciation many have" for Sonic.

The character stemmed from a 2017 review of Sonic Lost World by YouTube user Gregzilla, as well as fans of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds streamer Forsen, who often reference the African country Uganda.