The History of Sonic the Hedgehog

by William Audureau

Celebrating over 20 years as SEGA's official mascot, The History of Sonic the Hedgehog is the ultimate guide to SEGA's spiky blue speedster! This hefty 300-page hardcover volume covers in detail every 2D and 3D Sonic game, plus spinoffs and crossovers. You'll also find character profiles, promotional artwork, rare concept art, and a detailed look at the origins of the "Blue Blur".

Genres: Gaming, Nonfiction, Art, Video Games, Reference

300 pages, Hardcover

First published October 9, 2012

Reviews

[Anna Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are a fan of Sega, or Sonic the Hedgehog (their most popular creation) at all this is definitely an interesting history of the development and evolution of Sonic over the years since his birth. I loved all the full color illustrations and diagrams, with the art from each respective video game that he was a character in. It managed to show just how much he really has changed since he began his journey as an just an idea. The scope of this book was impressive to say the least and very detailed, which was nice for a change. I was disappointed with Netgalley not having this available to be sent to my Kindle and having to download it for Adobe on my computer. This format doesn't really allow for me to actually read most of the text of the book, as I can't make it large enough to be visible. So I got the general idea, but was left with mostly only being able to see the pictures. And speaking as someone who LOVES trivia or knowledged related to the entertainment industry, or the arts this was a disappointment. Overall though, it was an enjoyable and well thought out celebration of one of my favorite video game characters ever. Well done Diamond Books, for this awesome coffee table tome! :)

VERDICT: 3.5/5 Stars

**I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book was published January 1st, 2013.*

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Initial reaction: Wow, that was a much quicker read than I anticipated. In the line of reviewing some non-fiction titles, I came across "The History of Sonic the Hedgehog" and out of it with a far more informed view of the history of Sega, the creation of the rather cool blue hedgehog that's existed for years (particularly if you're of my generation and remember quite a few of the early releases), and the boom that Sonic's impact caused in the gaming and entertainment industries. True, Sonic's undergone many transformations since I remember growing up with him as a child, but I found this book was not only a trip down memory lane, but it also gave me insights on where the character has progressed today, and I found that enlightening, alongside the reflections of Sonic's creators and respective teams. This is a rather good guide for anyone who wants to see the timeline of Sonic's journey and evolution, and it's a fascinating look into Sega's role in the gaming industry as well.

Full review:

I received "The History of Sonic the Hedgehog" as an ARC from NetGalley with the full admission of having played Sonic for quite some time, among other games, during my youth and even into my adult life. Yes I remember the Sonic toys, the ENG theme song for the Sonic CD (which was pretty epic), even remember the two animated series that premiered on TV (one of which actually had the voice of Jaleel White playing Sonic. Many may recognize White for his role as Steve Urkel in the series "Family Matters.")

It's interesting to consider just how much gaming has evolved since the 1980s and 90s, and even before that time with the invention of arcade games and their respective impact on the entertainment industry. The admission in one part of this book mentions that Sonic's creation was in the making (or at least in the light of paving the way) since the 1940s! But even looking through the sketches of a character that Sega wanted to represent their company by, looking at the way the character has evolved over time, and taking a trip down memory lane with summaries of the respective released games over the years, this book was a wonderful journey into the life and impact of one of the most endearing, cool gaming icons.

I really enjoyed this book and see it as a definite gamer's collector item, particularly for those who remember and loved Sega's respective history. It's a good compilation and chronicling of Sega's creation, and the push to shape and define Sonic's characters, adventures, environment, among other intriguing details. For me, I was very familiar with the older stuff (not that I mind my age, mind you - I still think many people who haven't been exposed to Sonic's early history are missing out!), but I definitely appreciated looking into how Sonic's evolved with the advance of 3D and across multiple gaming platforms. Though it still makes me sad to remember what happened with Sega, the Dreamcast and how the company had to change during that time.

This book has full color illustrations, game shots, character art and rendering, and a very easy to read format. It really took me about an hour to comb through this and I enjoyed the interviews, the game timeline, the attention to the environments and character design, among other dimensions. It's certainly worth taking the time to read, and I would recommend it for any Sonic fan, any Sega fan, and in general any gaming fan who wants to see the evolution of one of gaming's most iconic characters.

Overall score: 4/5

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley from the publisher Udon Entertainment.

[RetroSonic22X · Rating 5 out of 5]

AWESOME BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Parka · Rating 5 out of 5]

(More pictures on my blog)

More than 20 years have passed since Sonic made its first appearance in 1991. I still remember fondly how much I enjoyed playing the first three series of the game.

The History of Sonic Hedgehog is a befitting book that celebrates Sonic's 20th anniversary. It was originally published by Pix'N Love Editions in French and this English edition is published by Udon. It's a handsome 300-page hardcover with a nice cover. I really like the cute 2D art of Sonic on the cover as compared to the 3D version on the back cover.

The book covers roughly three main parts. The first looks at the history, the second on the games and the last part on characters and extras.

The history of Sonic is intermingled with the story of SEGA, before it was even known as SEGA (it was called "Service Games"). It's an interesting flashback to the creation of the Sonic through the accounts of the developers, and to the rise and fall of SEGA as a console maker, and the transformation into a multi-platform publisher.

The pages are beautifully laid out with wonderful photos and screenshots. There are photos of consoles I never knew existed. Three lengthy interviews included are with the creators Yuji Naka the programmer, graphic designer Naoto Oshima and producer Takashi Iizuka of Sonic Generations (2011).

The second part focuses on the games. There are eight 2D games, ten 3D games, sixteen handheld ones and 23 spin-offs over the span of two decades. I only played the first three games so I'm reading about the rest for the first time. Each game has a short but informative writeup. The screenshots are a bit small though. I wished there were more and bigger. Stage designs for the games are gorgeous.

The last section has all the main characters and their profiles. The interesting bits are the Sonic cameos in other games.

This book is a nostalgic trip into the history of Sonic and SEGA.

Highly recommended for fans of the game.

[Kaoru · Rating 3 out of 5]

A somewhat disappointing coffee table book. It starts out interesting enough with the story of the early years of SEGA: The search for a mascot character, the slight failure of Alex Kidd to catch on with the public, the development of the first Sonic game and the struggles to get it right... All told in depth and accompanied with photos and rare sketch designs, interviews with the people who were there... and then, shortly after we passed the second or third Sonic game, it just breezes through all the rest. The text becomes less informative, photos and sketches get replaced by screenshots... and everything starts to feel a bit slight.

Sure, you still get a fair amount of trivia, but unfortunately less than you get from Wikipedia pages. And when a textbox tells you that there are unused characters in a game's data that can be viewed when you're skimming through it, you wonder why the pages in this book won't show them.

What I really appreciated though was that Audureau wasn't bigging everything up in this book, despite it celebrating a 20 year anniversary of SEGA's mascot. Bad games get called out as such, and even "Sonic '06" (probably one of the most infamous ever made) gets more flak than you would have expected from such a type of book.

But still, after you finish it you wonder if there couldn't have been done more with this book. The first 50 pages or so are proof enough that it would have been possible.

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full of tons of info on the video game series...lots of art, screencaptures and interviews. However, as a coffee table book...not suitable for a collection. The binding broke on me the first time I opened it up to look through it (on the hardcover). The paperback version may fare better as a collectible piece. But if you're a Sonic game fan, I highly recommend this book!

[Elaine Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty fun coffee table book about the history of the Sonic game series. I really enjoyed reading the interviews with Yuji Naka, Naoto Oshima and Takashi Iizuka, as well as the extremely in-depth development history of the character and his very first game. The rest of the book is a bit of a mixed bag. I'm not sure that we really needed character profiles, and it's pretty hilarious that some of these profiles refer to Sonic 4: Episode Metal, when that game was never even released! I also would have liked to have seen sections on the comics and cartoons, although I understand why they would want to focus mostly on the games.
One inaccuracy I noticed: under Trivia for the obscure 32X game Knuckles' Chaotix, it's asserted that Amy Rose and "the mysterious Wechnia" were originally planned to be playable characters in the game, but were scrapped. Amy Rose is actually an Easter egg on the sound test screen and was never planned as a playable character, and "the mysterious Wechnia" is just a name given by fans to a glitched character thought to be the remains of Tails. (Yup, I'm a huuuuuge nerd!)

[sayguh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, the author really wen't deep on this one!

Lots of awesome information about the origins of Sonic and the ups and downs of his 25 year video game career :).

I'll always have a soft spot for Sonic.

[Sophia Gonzalez Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Sonic because he's fast and iconic, despite having his downs with Sonic 06. Sonic is a icon in many people's minds. He is a direct answer to Mario and Nintendo, but are not enemies anymore, they 're best friends.

[Roger Leonhardt · Rating 5 out of 5]

To review a book about Sonic the Hedgehog, is is out of my norm, but I could not resist.

Sonic has always been a favorite. My son and I have been gamers for years. It started with Mario 64 and kept growing from there. Anyone who loved Mario would sooner or later fall for Sonic.

I really enjoyed this book. It is a 300 page celebration of Sonic's 20th birthday. Each chapter shows graphics from different games and discusses how the games developed. It is packed with many antidotes and stories about how the games came to fruition and some that did not.

We see the struggles developers had with each other and the way it added to the final game development. It is very interesting to read about the glitches they had to deal with.

Even though I already knew a lot about Sonic, I learned much more. Here are a few spoilers.

During development, the original game was so fast it mad you sick.
They had trouble with sonic crashing through the loops instead of spinning around them.
Originally Sonic had a girlfriend named Madonna (yes she was named after the singer)

The last half of the book includes interviews with the developers and their thoughts on how Sonic has changed over the years. There are hundreds of great pictures and even glimpses of games that never made it.

If you are a Sonic fan or just curious about his history, I highly recommend this book.

Read it, then go out and buy a game and enjoy.

I give it 5 out of 5 stars.


*I received this book, free of charge, from Udon Entertainment and NetGallery in exchange for an honest review.

[Cortenator112]

Very interesting, so much we don't know about sonic, but now we do.