He races through levels, collecting rings and avoiding obstacles, as he seeks to defeat his archenemy, Doctor Eggman.

Sega sought a mascot to compete with Nintendo's Mario, and Ohshima designed Sonic based on a prototype programmed by Naka.

Sonic's design was influenced by a variety of sources, including Felix the Cat, Mickey Mouse, Michael Jackson, and Santa Claus; his pigmentation was chosen to match Sega's cobalt blue logo.

He frequently battles Eggman, a mad scientist who seeks to steal the mystical Chaos Emeralds and take over the world.

The Sonic series is one of the bestselling video game franchises and was one of the key reasons for Sega's success during the 16-bit era in the 1990s.

[11][12] Naoto Ohshima took some of these internal designs with him on a trip to New York City and sought feedback by asking random passersby at Central Park their opinions; of the designs, the spiky teal hedgehog, initially codenamed "Mr. Hedgehog" (Mr.ハリネズミ, Mr. Harinezumi),[13][c] led this informal poll, followed by Eggman and the dog character.

[14] Sonic's blue pigmentation was chosen to match Sega's cobalt blue logo, and his shoes evolved from a design inspired by both Santa Claus[15] and Michael Jackson's boots with the addition of the color red, which was inspired by the contrast of those colors on Jackson's 1987 album Bad; his personality was based on then-Governor of Arkansas and later President of the United States Bill Clinton's "Get it done" attitude.

[11][16][17][18][19] To help sell the idea to Sega's higher-ups, Ohshima pitched the concept framed by a fictional fighter pilot that had earned the name "Hedgehog" due to his spiky hair, and had decorated his plane with images of Sonic.

Yuji Naka implemented the idea of a character running inside loops with an algorithm that allowed a sprite to move smoothly on a curve by determining its position with a dot matrix.

However, a team from Sega of America, led by Madeline Schroeder, who calls herself "Sonic's mother",[11] "softened" the character up for an American audience by removing those elements.

Although Tetsu Katano acknowledged the large negative fan response to the Werehog, he believes it could return in a future game.

That version has blue-furred arms, more quills, and wears a brown neckerchief around his neck and athletic sports tape on his wrists and shoes.

[29] Smith announced on his Twitter account on January 29, 2021, that he would no longer voice Sonic, with his departure confirmed by Sega the same day.

It featured Sonic returning from vacation to find the city of Station Square under attack by a new foe named Chaos, under the control of Dr. Robotnik (now known as Dr. Eggman).

He gains strength and flexibility in exchange for his speed, and new friends including a strange creature named Chip who helps him along the way.

A sequel, Sonic and the Black Knight (2009), continued the storybook theme, this time taking place within the realm of the Arthurian legend.

Sonic makes cameos in various other games, such as Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg as a power-up, in the main hallway in Phantasy Star Universe, and in the 2008 remake of Samba de Amigo.

[55] In February 2021, Sonic Prime was announced by Netflix with a 2022 release window,[56] though the series' development was initially revealed in a deleted tweet in December 2020.

The film was written by Pat Casey and Josh Miller and produced as a joint venture between Paramount Pictures and Marza Animation Planet.

[33] The second trailer for the film was released on November 12, 2019, featuring the redesign, which drew in a far more positive response from both fans and critics alike.

According to Paramount marketing president Marc Weinstock, the negative reaction to the original design resulted in a change to how video game adaptations are handled at the company.

[63] The original design of Sonic from the first movie's initial trailer appears in Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers, voiced by Tim Robinson.

[65] Sonic's first comic appearance was in a promotional comic printed in Disney Adventures magazine (and also given away as a free pull-out with a copy of Mean Machines magazine), which established a backstory for the character involving the origin of his color and abilities and the transformation of kindly scientist Dr. Ovi Kintobor into the evil Dr. Ivo Robotnik.

According to various official materials from Sega, Sonic is described as a character who is "like the wind":[69] a drifter who lives as he wants,[70] and makes life a series of events and adventures.

[84] On the other hand, Sonic's apparent romantic relationship with Princess Elise in the 2006 video game resulted in major criticism.

[89] Sonic was featured in the cars, helmets, and their rivals McLaren used to paint a squashed hedgehog after winning races over Williams.

In 1992, according to Sega of America marketing director Al Nilsen, Sonic was found to be more recognizable than Mickey Mouse in the six-to eleven-year-old demographic, based on the character's respective Q Scores, although this claim could not be confirmed by Q Score developer Marketing Evaluations, Inc.[91][92] Nintendo Power listed Sonic as their sixth favorite hero, stating that while he was originally Mario's nemesis, he seems at home on Nintendo platforms.

[99] And he was voted 10th out of the top 50 video game characters of all time in Guinness World Records 2011 Gamers' Edition.

[102] In 2024, a poll conducted by BAFTA with around 4,000 respondents named Sonic the Hedgehog as the fourth most iconic video-game character of all time, only behind Lara Croft, Mario and Agent 47.

"[104] A Japanese team developing the Radio & Plasma Wave Investigation (RPWI) instrumentation for the upcoming Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer spacecraft, to be launched by ESA and Airbus in 2022, was able to gain Sega's approval to use Sonic as the mascot for the device.