Released date: 6/23/1991 (USA, EU), 7/26/1991 (JP)
Original System: Sega Genesis / Mega Drive
Developed by: Sonic Team
Published by: Sega
Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis (Mega Drive in Europe and Japan)
was the very first game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series.
Developed by programmer Yuji Naka, artsist Naoto Ohshima and level designer
Hirokazu Yasuhara, the game's flagship design and style would go on to
define the Sonic series into the modern day and set the precedent for
console games of the era.
The game featured cutting edge graphics for the time, showcasing the bright
and full color palette of the 16-bit Sega Genesis. The Sega Genesis hardware
was based on the Sega-16 arcade system and the artists took full advantage of
the graphical prowess the system posessed to make the characters really pop.
Some areas, like the secret special stages, featured pseudo 3D rendered graphics
which were just entering into mainstream media at the time.
Technical capabilities were on full display here too, with the game focusing on
showing off the processing speed of the Sega Genesis. Sonic was able to sprint through
levels, speed through loop-de-loops and roll into a ball to fling himself off ledges
at enemies.
Sega wanted to go all out with Sonic's debut title, hiring musician Masata Nakamura
from Japanese pop band Dreams Come True. He composed catchy, pop style tunes that took
advantage of the advanced sound capabilities of the Sega Genesis to deliver a soundtrack
with fully synthesized instrumental sections. Many of the themes he wrote, like the Green
Hill Zone theme, would go on to define the sound of the series for decades.
Sonic's very first appearance in public media was not his game, in fact. He was first featured
on a playbill for the band Dreams Come True to announce their new tour, using Sonic as their
de-facto mascot almost a year before Sega would officialy reveal him.
This being Sonic's first outing, Sonic Team went through many different changes before
landing on the final design for Sonic. Concept drawings were passed around featuring different
animal and human characters.A hedgehog was chosen for its ability to roll into a ball and he
was made blue to match Sega's logo.
At different points during development, Sonic was going to have a human girlfriend named
Madonna and he was even going to play guitar in a rock band with other animal characters.
Sega decided those concepts were too intense for a kids game in American and were cut from
development.
Overall, Sonic the Hedgehog was a huge hit, selling over 2 million copies worldwide by the end of 1991. The game went on to influence a plethora of other mascot style platformers and helped Sega gain an edge over Nintendo who had all but captured the home video game market. It became so successful that Sega decided to package it for free with the Sega Genesis knowing consumers would buy the whole console just to get their hands on Sonic.