How did you get into Sonic the Hedgehog?

[Chaos Incarnate]

I saw a similar thread asking if you ever got out of Sonic the Hedgehog, so I thought it would be interesting to make a thread like this. Anyway, how did you get introduced to Sonic? I don't remember exactly, but I think my interest with Sonic began when I was 4-6 years old.( around 10 years ago) My mom rented a Sonic Satam VHS from Blockbuster, which is where my interest began. Around a year later, my Dad got a Dreamcast( which I no longer own that had Sonic Adventure on it, which I was awful At. I don't even think I got past Emerald Coast. I officially got into Sonic a couple years ago by playing some demos on xbox live, and later purchased Sonic Advance 2 off of amazon. Now, I'm a huge Sonic fan.  

[Tori Himemiya]

I might had said this in the past but that's the past but you may slap me when I repeat myself.

I first was exposed to Sonic via Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, and I loved that show a lot because it good ol' slapstick humor. Granted I was a kid then but I really never got into the games until Sonic Adventure 2.

So then teen me goes off and learns everything about Sonic and here I am today, talking about how I got here.

[SenEDDtor Missile]

I say that Unleashed is what got me into the franchise, but the first seeds of interest actually came from a VERY infamous game...

 

Sonic 06, which I first saw on Youtube. No, I'm dead serious. The game that is almost universally loathed by the fans and critics alike was the first major Sonic media I EVER SAW that made me take a look at Sonic.

 

Back then, I didn't really have any inkling of storytelling knowledge (or any general knowledge for that matter), so I actually thought the story wasn't too bad, if not very confusing. Of course, back then, my knowledge of computers in general was limited to playing World of Warcraft and lurking around Youtube. I didn't know anything about the various fansites back then (except maybe Pokemon, but that was mostly due to guys like Gigatitan and Uutitan).

 

As time passed on, my interest sort of waned, but then it was revived when I saw Sonic Unleashed videos, and I was awestruck by the general scale of the plot (execution disregarded back then) and the world within the game in general. I eventually took a leap and purchased Sonic Unleashed for the Wii (in retrospect it obviously wasn't a very good game, but I squeezed plenty of enjoyment out of it regardless, so I'm good), and then got Unleashed about a year later for the Xbox 360, though funnily enough, my Dad ended up getting Final Fantasy XIII because it looked interesting (don't blame him, he doesn't know about any of the previous FF games).

 

And the rest, as you say, is history.

[Nick]

I think I was about Five at the time, and I went to the video store. I just wanting to take a chance, and rent something new. And I saw a game on the shelf, with lots of colorful characters, and I thought it looked really cool. That game was SA2B,  and holy crap did I play that game. Never did I think I would love the series so much.

[Tani Coyote]

Sonic 1 was my first ever video game. Many a fond memory of staying up all day to beat it.

 

What made me into the nerd I am today is Sonic Adventure 2, however. I have continually followed the series ever since, expanded into numerous continuities, attended the Sonic Boom party, and have collected the main games.

[LATER BUDDY]

I got Sonic 2 along with a Genesis for my first video game system ever in 1994 for Christmas when I was just 4 years old. My dad wanted to pass video games on to me since he used to be an arcade junky when he was a kid, punching a hole in a quarter and tying a string to it to get free plays out of Donkey Kong. My mom was a real big animal enthusiast (we owned a bobcat for a pet, as well as many many prairie dogs and other assorted mammals) and liked the message of saving the animals.

 

So it quickly became "my thing" to play Genesis, with the blue hedgehog as my favorite little guy. I'd soon get the original game (well in the cartridge called "6-pack" with other Sega games packed inside), Sonic 3, and Sonic 3D Blast. Though after my mom passed, I kinda stopped playing Genesis. My dad would then get me a Gameboy later on to try to help with that, as well as willing to ride in a car to keep me distracted. The company shift to Nintendo would make me forget about Sonic for awhile, as my dad remarried to a bitch where she wanted me to sell my console and games in a yardsale we were having for a move. Funny thing is, Sonic 2 and The Lion King were the only two that never sold.

 

So time went by, those games got the old attic treatment until around the year 2000 came around (or whenever that game released) when I saw a Sonic Adventure commercial on TV. It was weird seeing Sonic again, but it kinda stopped with that, since I already forgot who most the other characters were.

 

BUUUUT, early 2005 rolled along, and my dad divorced her after seeing her true colors (finally). Couple weeks after he took us all to go grocery shopping (something me, him, and my brother hadn't done in awhile as a family deal), where seeing "Sonic Mega Collection" at Walmart would blow my mind to bits with the hardest nostalgia stab any person could ever experience. It was on sale for 20 bucks, so I got it, went home, popped it in the gamecube, and re-experienced the feels all over again. Soon after I'd pick up SA2:Battle, get RIDICULOUSLY involved in that game, music, and the Chao, ultimately leading to my joining of the forums here (hi!) where I'd be looking for "guitar tabs" to learn how to play Sonic songs because it was the only thing to get me motivated to play the damn instrument.

 

Yada-yada-yada, 7 years past, became a staff member, met a large number of new friends and faces, learned a lot from this place, and still post on the dang thing obviously. Now an aspiring composer that wishes to make music for video games, stemming from wanting to learn how to play silly Sonic tunes.

 

What this long winded and boring story means is that I just didn't "get into Sonic the Hedgehog," my entire life is somewhat based around it, as sad as that may sound. Wouldn't trade it for the world though /sappy

[Frogging101]

What this long winded and boring story means is that I just didn't "get into Sonic the Hedgehog," my entire life is somewhat based around it, as sad as that may sound. Wouldn't trade it for the world though /sappy

Ah, I think I know exactly what you mean. And I don't think it's sad; Sonic is something that has been with you for a while and it has built up a history in your life. A lot of your experiences happened as a direct or indirect result of it (or were influenced by it) and therefore has indirectly become part of you as a person. This can happen with anything that you like and form a connection with, really.

As for my story, it's very weird but interesting. I'm too tired to tell it right now though so I'll wait 'til tomorrow.

[LATER BUDDY]

Ah, I think I know exactly what you mean. And I don't think it's sad; Sonic is something that has been with you for a while and it has built up a history in your life. A lot of your experiences happened as a direct or indirect result of it (or were influenced by it) and therefore has indirectly become part of you as a person. This can happen with anything that you like and form a connection with, really.

As for my story, it's very weird but interesting. I'm too tired to tell it right now though so I'll wait 'til tomorrow.

 

Oh I was just saying it's sad because basing your life around a jittery rodent with the personality of a 90s skater kid is kinda in the sad territory XD

[TwoTailedFox]

Late November or early December 2009 I was watching TV and saw this commercial for "Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games". Because I had always wanted to play a Mario game, I told my parents I wanted the game for Christmas. I ended up with the original summer Olympics (which was fine). But, I had never heard of Sonic at the time, so I looked it up. Since December 26th, 2009 I have been a Sonic fan <3

[Endy]

I don't really remember getting into Sonic, but I can clearly remember my first experience with Sonic being at Mcdonalds, during their Sonic Heroes promotion with those crappy little LCD games. (I still have 2 of them). They also had displays of Sonic Heroes and Sonic Adventure DX, but I didn't really bother because Heroes bored me and DX confused me with those stupid hub worlds.

 

After that I don't remember much, with the exception of Sonic X. Those were dark times....

 

I don't recall much, but back in 2008, and I saw a commercial for Sonic Unleashed, so I asked to get it for Christmas, and so I did.

 

Played that thing to a bloody pulp. After that I had to play every Sonic game I saw. I downloaded all the classics to my computer, torrented SADX, got Sonic Rush, Sonic Chronicles. I had to get Sonic plushies, wanted to listen to the music just Sonic Sonic Sonic alllll day.

 

 

And I've been a Sonic fan ever since, I guess.

Edited January 21, 2013 by Enderwoman

[Tracker_TD]

16th of March 2001, around 12 years ago-it was my fourth birthday, and lo and behold I got a Gamecube, my second gaming system, my first being the Playstation. Along with it, I got a few games, such as one Mario game (Sunshine I think? That or Double Dash!!) and so played on those for bit. Then I took a look at the other game, Sonic Adventure 2 Battle.

 

I put that fucker in the GCN, and it was awesome. 

 

I was relatively new to games,as whenever I played the PS1, I was more passive than anything. But Sonic actually gripped my attention, with a flashy opening cutscene, City Escapes street-boarding, and THE TRUCK.

 

When that truck first sprung out, I literally ran out of the room. It was the most mindblowing thing I'd seen in a game up to that point, and, given I was 4, it genuinely terrified me. Eventually though, I got further in the game, but by the time I reached Security Hall, I thought, fuck it, and just went out and bought more Sonic games.

 

...Skip to 12 years or so later, and I still love Sonic games, though I sadly don't have the original game(s) that got me into Sonic anymore- I donated my entire GCN collection to charity. 

 

...That being said, I do have a rather nice Sonic collection nowadays, along with a SEGA system collection for all the games-not to mention I eventually did get back SA2, granted the DC original. Though hey, I got it signed by Yuji Naka, my dream since I played Sonic for the first time, so that was fine by me! 

[Crash]

I got into the series when Heroes came out. I was about 4 when I played it, I was pretty good. Next, I played Mega Collection Plus, it introduced me to the best games in the series. I also got Shadow The Hedgehog when I was 7. I loved it (I don't any more.). A couple of months later I got Sonic 06, I liked it because I didn't know when a game was bad at the time. When I got the Wii I played Secret Rings and played the Adventure games through backwards compatibility I loved Sonic Adventure but I disliked Adventure 2 (still do.).When I was 8 I played Unleashed it was one of favourites at the time and got me into the series even more.

 

That is how I became a Sonic fan. I don't play Sonic as much now. I do play every new release to 100% and enjoy them though. 

[-Mark-]

I think there may have been a topic like this before, so I'll keep it relatively short;

 

AoStH led to Sonic the Comic led to the games, and then it all basically rolled from there.

 

My first exposure to the games was via playing Sonic 2 on my cousin's and various friends' Mega Drives as well as the 8-Bit ones on their Game Gears. I got a Master System myself shortly after. 

 

But yeah, as for that initial first contact, it was definitely AoStH.

 

Fun fact; Before i actually saw the show, from the TV spots I thought Sonic was a franchise aimed at annoying American teenagers who spouted lame early-90s buzzwords a lot. You know, like Bill & Ted or something. D:

 

 

EDIT: Also, oh man. Seeing all these people who only got into the franchise post-SA2 is making me feel old.

Edited January 21, 2013 by -Mark-

[Solly]

Played Sonic the Hedgehog at my daycare center when I was little. The first game I owned was Sonic 2, but I later got Sonic 1 from a garage sale, with a huge "Not for Resale" sticker on it. 

Kind of like this one, except it I don't remember it blocking the title. 

 

I also remember my grandmother giving me the local newspaper that had an ad for Sonic 3 in it. It showed Sonic and Tails in Marble Zone doing the air lift, and my brother and I thought that was the coolest thing ever. 

[TheOcelot]

My parents bought a Sega Mega Drive for my sister, although I effectively adopted the console as I played it the most. The console came with a copy of the original Sonic 1. That was the first time I had even heard of Sonic, and the game was bloody hard back then. Getting used to the speed of Sonic, badniks, gimmicks and bosses was quite the challenge.

 

It wasn't so much seeing Sonic role fast round loop de loops or down hills that got me interested. It was simple actions of being able to dodge quickly out of the way of an enemy attack, to get out of trouble. In other words using the speed to my advantage.

 

After that my interest grew, and I if remember right I saw a bit of the AOSTH and SatAM cartoons. I was then hooked.

 

I remember that I borrowed a copy of Sonic 2 off of someone. I completed that game, but the final egg robot boss took me forever to beat. It was so hard to defeat with no rings to protect you.

Edited June 14, 2013 by Metal Gear -Bender-

[Dizcrybe]

I got into Sonic mainly from playing Sonic 1 on the Sega Smash Pack for the Dreamcast (don't make fun, that thing just died on me yesterday ). I only ever got to Marble Zone once, but I still played it regularly. I think it was on that very disc that I first saw the first stage of Sonic 3 & Knuckles. I had no idea what it was, just that it looked cool and interesting.

 

After largely forgetting about Sonic for most of the mid-00's, my mom bought me Sonic Mega Collection+ for the PS2 (I may have seen some footage of Labyrinth Zone before then. I shocked to find there were more levels in the game). So I start playing Sonic 1 and I'm surprisingly good at it. I got through Green Hill Zone with no problem! I was actually able to complete the game.

 

Then I play Sonic 3 & Knuckles and - hey, there's that intro sequence! So THAT'S where that's from!

 

So basically, I got into Sonic through the classics.

Edited January 21, 2013 by thapoint09 (temp)

[Mogtaki]

Sonic 1 for Master System was my first and foremost way of getting into the series, all the way back when it first came out, all the way back when I was 3 or something. I can remember playing it well, even my mum played it (although she liked Alex Kidd more). Stuck with Sonic since. I guess it can be said he's been my friend as I grew up with him, so it was very easy to forgive the terrible games and go 'it wasn't his fault' because it was the creator's fault for putting him through that. I loved the stupid cartoons, loved the games and enjoyed his friend's company too.

 

I guess I could say Sonic is my friend with troubled parents, so I got into Sonic the Hedgehog by my desire to have a friend in my life. 

 

Mario wasn't there for me, the bastard, Link and Zelda are like my cousins though.

 

What the hell am I doing with my life.

[MizukiMoon]

*Tells the story for about the millionth time* 

 

It was 1998 and I was 6. My Dad came home from work one day with a Master System and a selection of games, I distinctly remember Wonderboy. I was far from impressed with any of them. I always remember my Mum saying go out and buy her a decent game! Which he did, and came back with Sonic 1, I loved it, and it kinda went on from there. 

[Supaidaman]

I was 4 and a older cousin of mine had a Mega Drive and Sonic 1. From the first time I saw it, I wanted to play it but he wouldn't let me. So, screw him.

 

In 96, on my birthday I got my own MD with Sonic 2 and after that I just hunted and played every Sonic game I could find. I still have my Sonic 2 cartridge and my weird pirate copies of Sonic 1 (a cartridge with 4 games, Sonic 1, Streets Of Rage, Golden Axe 2 and The Flintstones) and Sonic & Knuckles (the cartridge label says Sonic 4 lol).

[Diz]

As I mentioned in the other topic, I was at my friend's in his basement, and he had this old kind of Sega system with Sonic on it. The gameplay just appealed to me somehow. This hedgehog which is running really fast, never dying as long as he has rings, spinning downhill and gaining speed extremely fast and crushing anything in its path, and then flying off far into the air.

 

Later, at some point, I tried out Sonic games on a Sega Genesis emulator, and it was about the best fun I had up to that point in a video game. The music was epic, to add to that, and music always plays a very important role in games to me.

 

Before I knew it, I was addicted.

[Da Blu Hedgie]

It all started when my friend rented sonic heroes on the ps2, I was 9 years, we played a little bit of multiplayer but not much else, then I bought my own copy and loved it. I would check every single gaming site I could think of for the next sonic game, then shadow the hedgehog came along, l still loved that game. To sum it up I was a sonic fan as soon as I played Sonic Heroes.

[Dark Flame Master]

Way back when I was little (can't remember the exact year), my brother had a Sega Genesis and Dreamcast with both Adventures and Sonic Spinball. It couldn't have been much long after SA2's release.

Anyway, I would always watch him play both Adventures and I was just so amazed by it. And sometimes, I even got to PLAY! How 'bout that, right?

I remember saying funny things like whenever a 1-UP would come on screen I would be like "Ooh get the Sonic head! Get the Sonic head!" and when Chaos Drives would come from the bots I would say "Get the crayon!" I also remember bugging him to play the Kart racing section with me, which is pretty funny now since I've realized that they aren't anything close to be amazed with.
I tried playing Spinball but always found it so difficult when I was young and could never beat the first level, or even get to the boss.

 

And I liked Sonic for a good while when I was a little kid, but eventually forgot about it for some reason.

However, when I was in the 5th grade, I was looking up some videos for a stupid online game I was enthralled with at the time. And, for some reason, the Sonic Heroes music was in the related videos section on Youtube. So I thought "Hey, I remember Sonic!" Then I listened to a good amount of the music which eventually led me to look up a ton of videos from SA and SA2. 

Literally, later that night, I ordered a Dreamcast lot and SA2 off of eBay. I remember that SA2 came before the actual console and how anxious I was. Then I came home one day and found it sitting in the dining room, waiting for me.

Once I had gotten it in 5th grade, I played almost every day after school for hours. I eventually bought SA1 from a friend of my brothers who still owned it and re-experienced that as well.

 

Good times, good times...

[Spin Attaxx]

I first learnt about Sonic the Hedgehog by playing a flash game called Ultimate Flash Sonic. I was in primary school back then and I LOVED it (the music was great, the graphics looked cool and it just appealed to me).

 

I also saw a bit of Sonic X (I thought it was good... and still kinda do...), saw ads of Shadow the Hedgehog (I didn't get it due to not having a Gamecube/PS2/Xbox, and I thought it was the best game ever - boy oh boy how wrong I was) and saw a brief preview of Sonic Rush in a magazine (I also saw Blaze the Cat - then untainted by plotholes and having rehashes for her archenemies - there, and I loved her for her cool design, and she's been my favorite Sonic character to date).

 

However, I didn't play an official Sonic game until the PS2 version of Sonic Unleashed. I didn't like the Werehog, but then I hear that the 360 version is far superior.

[Tani Coyote]

However, I didn't play an official Sonic game until the PS2 version of Sonic Unleashed. I didn't like the Werehog, but then I hear that the 360 version is far superior.

 

I always get a bit amused when I find out people were exposed to the series through one of the more controversial titles. At least you actually delved in deeper; most people see a single meh title and assume it's the same for the entire series...

 

This is why I don't discuss Sonic with most of my friends, naturally. Bashing of Sonic makes me quite irate.

[MamboCat]

I pretty much grew up with Sonic.

 

I played Sonic 1 on my friend's Mega Drive back in 1991. Later I played Sonic 2 on the MS at another friend's house. At the time my mum was dead against me having a games console as she thought they weren't educational, but I was instantly hooked! I watched the AoSTH cartoon and some of SatAM but tbh at the time I was a bit miffed that it replaced AoSTH which I had got quite attached to(!), I had loads of Sonic books, posters, cuddly toys and all that crap. As for the games, my mum finally caved into my constant babbling about these awesome games I play at my friends' houses - and for Christmas in 1992 I got a Mega Drive with Sonic 2 (and Mega Games II but that's another story.). From there I guess my obsession with the franchise escalated. I was drawing the then much smaller Sonic cast pretty much constantly, drawing the STC cast... writing my own terrible, terrible fanfics... uh, the less I say about those the better, I've forgotten pretty much all of them anyway.

 

By the time I was an older teenager, and the Mega Drive was past its prime I kinda went off the franchise a little. I didn't have a 32X, Saturn or Dreamcast - instead I got a PSX when they first came out. But now I'm playing the games again, and most of what I have played I kinda like. I'm not the crazy obsessed Sonic fan like I was in the 90s, but I still find the games fun and I really like what the guys at STCO are doing. Archie's not too bad either right now.

 

So there's my rather pathetic story - but I am kinda glad I grew up with this particular mascot. Sonic always meant a lot to me as a kid and I guess the nostalgia value that goes with things like Generations work well on me! XD

Edited January 21, 2013 by MamboCat