How did you get into Sonic the Hedgehog?

[Ash Cloud]

I was about 3 or 4 and I watched my older cousins play Sonic. The first Sonic game I got to play Sonic Adventure, which I continue to play over and over till this day.   ^^

[SonicRings]

I have three older siblings, one of which (the second youngest) introduced me to Sonic.

When I was four or five, we got a GameCube for Christmas. With it came Sonic Adventure DX and Sonic Heroes. I usually watched my sister play them, but we would sit there for hours trying to beat the game.

My sister eventually grew apart from Sonic (and games in general). I never stopped loving the series though.

[kdotj24]

I found Sonic through Sonic X on 4Kids. I miss sitting down every Saturday morning with my older brother and sister to watch it. I always thought of Sonic as a cartoon character, and I stayed away from the games, thinking they were just crappy cash-ins (I was 5).

[Vectorman]

When me and my brothers first got our PS2,  the first game we got for it was sonic heroes, I remember seeing the commercial for it and really wanted the game, been playing Sonic ever since. 

[NoirSuede]

Well I first saw Sonic at April through watching Somecallmejohnny, but i didn't really liked him until i saw his Generations retrospective video 1000x (because i really like that video) which made me realize that Sonic has enough stuff on him (like momentum control) that makes him more than just a standard platformer like Mario. Then, at around May, i finished Sonic 3&K, and that game finally cemented me as a bonafide Sonic fan.

[Nintarie]

I had a friend who owned Sonic the Hedgehog 2, so we'd play it when I was at her house. Later when the Dreamcast was released I played the Sonic Adventure 2 demo to death, and finally got Sonic Adventure 2 for the Game Cube.

 

I've seen some of the TV shows, and read a bit of the comics. I'd like to definitely get into the comics more in the future!

[root08]

Played "Sonic the hedgehog" on Sega Master System (Europe version sadly) since I was around 7 at a friends house.

Sonic X made me the real fan and from there is just grew bigger.

Had to play all the games! Watch all the TV-series! Read all comics! Gotta go faaaaaaaaaaaast!

[TeamCinas]

What introduced you to the Sonic the Hedgehog series?

Was it the classic genesis games?

Was it the Dreamcast games?

Was it the infamous '06?

Was it Sonic X?

I'd love to hear your love story on how you first met Sonic!

What introduced me to Sonic were the Genesis games. I had a reproduction Genesis console with 6 games built into it: 

-Altered Beast

-Kid Chameleon

-Golden Axe

-Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine

-Flicky

...and of course, Sonic the Hedgehog.

Ever since then, I've become obsessed with everything Sonic, and here I am now.

 

Edited October 4, 2015 by Kiah
Topic merged with an existing one.

[Frosted Felix]

No joke my aunt bought me a Mega Drive and started me trying to play Sonic 1 since I was 2, I eventually started to learn at about 5. xD

[Myst]

I played a display of Sonic 1 at Toys R Us in 1991. Was in awe of the graphics, which easily surpassed the NES. The Genesis was my Red Ryder BB Gun. I was determined to get it for Christmas that year, and went nuts when i unwrapped it Christmas morning.

[Haalyle]

Last year (late to the party, I grew up with really mature games like Tomb Raider, God of War and I was into Resident Evil for quite some time), I grew bored of RE6 and decided to check out some other games to get into.

I was watching a top ten list of best Classic remixes for Sonic Generations and Rooftop Run was number one, I loved the track so much I got Sonic Generations for PS3 and that's basically where it grew. (Although I had watched the first two seasons of Sonic X before I eventually started playing the games.)

[FantasticMrRobb]

I had a friend at school who would let me borrow his GameCube games every once in a while. One day he asked if I knew who Sonic the Hedgehog was. At the time I didn't, so I said no. He told me to try out Sonic Heroes to see what I thought of the series, I was hooked from there on!

[Jaguar360]

It all started with fangames really. Ultimate Flash Sonic and Super Smash Flash 1 were my introductions into the series. My friends in middle school introduced me to them and we used to play them on the school computers almost every recess. Sonic Smash Brothers came later and was also really fun.

I got my first official Sonic game when my mom bought me Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for the DS out of nowhere, knowing that I liked Mario spin-off games a lot (plus my mom was actually a low-key Sonic fan o_O). As I played the game, I started to wonder about the backgrounds of the characters, as I didn't know if Knuckles was a good guy or not or what Shadow's relationship was to Sonic and did a bit of research to find out.

One day, I saw Sonic Rush for $15 and my mom let me get it. I recognized Blaze from the olympics game and thought the game would be a good way to learn more about her. Needless to say, I really enjoyed the game and loved the groovy feel that it had. Soon after this, I discovered Sonic Wiki and learned a ton about Sonic's history, games and that Sonic music was awesome.

So essentially: fangames > Olympics > Sonic Rush > Sonic Wiki/Internet > other games like Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic Advance 2 and Sonic Heroes

Edited October 23, 2015 by Jaguar360

[Bolt]

When I was a kid, I watched AoStH sometimes while getting ready for achool (this was early 2000s reruns on Toon Disney, when it existed) and that was all I knew of the series then, it was okay, though I didn't play a Sonic game until 2004, when I got Sonic Advance 3, played it a lot, found it fun, borrowed (and eventually ended up with an extra copy of) Sonic Nattle from someone at school, my first time seeing Shadow and Rogue. Later that year, I got Sonic Heroes (after mistaking Sonic Adventure DX for it in a Gamestop...) for PS2, and Sonic Mega Collection Plus, also for PS2, my first exposure to Sonic history. Somehow though, despite enjoying all of those games, I didn't truly get into Sonic until a couple years later, in 2006, when I got a copy of Sonic Adventure DX along with a Gamecube, somehow that game struck something in me that made me go off online and read up info for literal months on various fansites, wikis, and forums, (From Sonic Retro, to Sonic Cult, to this site, to more...) absorbing as much knowledge of the Sonic series as I could, which lead me to getting more games, finding out about the insane amounts of merch on Sonic Gear, and it only continued from there.

Somehow I always found Sonic to be annoying, but I always liked Tails and Shadow a lot more, and still do. Some things never change. :]

[Kaotic Kanine]

For me, it all started with Sonic 3. My older brother was apparently a SEGA kid during the days of the Genesis and he had all four of the main Sonic games for that console. Sadly, I was born in 95 so I couldn't truly experience Sonic during his "glory days" but once me and my sister became old enough to play video games, we tried out my brother's Genesis and of all the Sonic games on that console we played, Sonic 3 was our favorite. Once we started up that game, we were hooked: everything about it was just oozing with awesome from our (or at least my) POV. The characters were all awesome, the graphics were a joy to look at, the gameplay was very fun, and it was a platformer with co-op (our favorite game genre were platformers and we like to play together rather than share one controller). I honestly can't count how many times we played that game. Course, we never made it far due to our young age making us play video games very badly (seriously, we were lucky to get past Marble Garden Zone and that fucking barrel in Carnival Night Zone made sure we would go no further ) but we had a ton of fun regardless.

[Marmitecashews]

I discovered the cartoons first it was early 90's. I woke up very early in the morning just before 5:00am I think. I randomly started wondering what was on tv at that time. So I went down stairs and put the tv on and turned the tv to channel 4 where only teletext was on. I watched that for what seemed ages until cartoons came on. Eventually either Sonic the Hedgehog or Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog came on. 

I immediately loved the sonic cartoons it was almost like Destiny that I was to discover them. Then I discovered that sonic games were on the Megadrive so I wanted that console. In about 1994-1995 I got one for my birthday it came with sonic 1 and 2 plus many more games about 50 altogether. It was second hand the older version and I still have it. My love of sonic continues to this day.

Edited November 1, 2015 by Marmitecashews

[sonicDX]

I first met him in the Sonic X series, and the McDonald's toys. Then I started looking after him on the internet, and I playes some flash games...

My first real Sonic game was Mega Collection Plus, which introduced me to the original Sonic games. I think it is a lucky thing, because I couldn't play the classic Sonic games in their time.

[cjmoore25]

Hey everyone! It's my very first post on this forum (had to switch to something that's hopefully more positive than the official SEGA forum), and I felt like this would be the best place for it.

I've already explained how I got into this series on ClementJ642's Why I Like Sonic video, so I'll just post what I typed there.

Be warned, it's long:

It was sometime in middle school. The only experience I had on Sonic was seeing him on commercials i saw at a very young age. At the time, I wasn't as big a gamer as I am now, but my love of cartoons was as strong as ever. A habit of mine was watching really bad cartoons on Netflix and riffing over them MST3K-style. I had previously done so with The Super Mario Bros. Super Show (which gave me a LOT of material), and decided to do the same to another video-game based cartoon, Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. To my surprise, the show wasn't as bad as I expected; and while it didn't get me hooked on the franchise, it certainly piqued my interest, mostly towards some of the other cartoons that starred the character. I checked out Underground, which is one of the worst cartoons ever made in my eyes, I saw a few episodes of SatAM before losing interest as it wasn't really my thing, and I eventually even managed to play Sonic 2 at the house of my dad's friend who had it downloaded on his Wii; I made it Chemical Plant Zone then gave up.

Soon after, as I was browsing the shows on Hulu, I came across a series I didn't see on Netflix: Sonic X. I watched the first episode, and then something inside me changed. The very beginning of the very first episode had some of the coolest action I had ever seen in a cartoon (I wasn't really big on action shows, I prefered sticking to comedy). The fast-paced action, the robots attacking, new characters that seemed way cooler than the ones on the previous shows, the obviously presented macguffins that were the Chaos emeralds, it was an absolute thrill ride. Not only was I seeing Sonic, Tails, and Eggman (and yes, him being called that and not Robotnik confused me) in a new light, but I was being introduced to Amy, Knuckles, Cream and Cheese (who I thought looked like a cereal mascot at the time), who seemed like likable characters enough that I felt like knowing more about them. And as I continued to watch the series, I was introduced to other characters like Big, the Chaotix, Rouge, and Shadow who all had such interesting personalities that I fell in love with them, moreso than others (fuck you, Chris Thorndyke).

It got to the point where I wanted to know more about these characters, I wanted to experience the kind of action and adventure that was presented in the show, this here green-eyed incarnation of Sonic was something I had never seen before from the character, he was smart, determined, headstrong, independant, and completely unafraid to take on any challenge no matter the risk (unless it involved water) but was also kind, friendly, and willing to help anyone with any problem whether big or small, and he still retained his previous attributes of being a wisecracking, cocky goofball with attitude, but did so without coming off as completely incompetant as I had felt from his SatAM or Underground incarnations, the Sonic X Sonic felt like a born leader, adventurer, hero, and friend. In other words, my very definition of a "cool guy". I wanted to be him! I wanted to join him on more adventures even after I finished the series. I wanted to go back to his world of colorful characters, awesome fast-paced action, and incredible adventure around every corner. The simple solution to that? Play the games.

I looked up the series on Wikipedia, looked at each individual game, determined which ones to play and which would be best to avoid (one in particular), and felt like I had a firm grasp on the franchise and was ready to dive in. Soon after, I went to Gamestop and had my choice of four non-racing Sonic games for Wii, including ones I wanted to try regardless of the the less-than-stellar reception they recieved. In the end, I went home with Sonic Colors, popped it in, beat it in a day, and it became the greatest game I ever played in my life.

Nearly everything I loved about the Sonic X incarnation was present from the character's personality which I grew to love, the speedy action that gave me absolute adreneline, the funny dialogue, the bright colors, all presented in a level of fun that non-interactive media couldn't give. It was at that point that I was hooked. I was a fan. I wanted more.

I then went on to play Heroes, Unleashed (both versions), the Genesis games, CD, the Adventure games, Black Knight, the Riders games, the Rush games, the Rivals games, the Advance games, the All-Star Racing games, I even played and enjoyed Secret Rings and Shadow. I can safely say that I had so much fun with this series that I was at a loss trying to figure out why this franchise was getting so much scorn when the amount of good and decent games clearly outweighed the bad ones. I wanted to say I had high hopes for the series here on out, but I still had one game left to play. It was the most recent in the main series, and it felt like the perfect way to cap off my getting caught up with the franchise: Generations. Needless to say, it felt like the perfect tribute to the Blue Blur after 20 years and a well-deserved legacy. Sonic became my favorite gaming series and character. I played the games, watched the shows, listened to the music, I didn't read the comics because up until the reboot I thought they were crap, but nevertheless, I left my mark as a fan. And I could not wait for the next installment of this amazing series.

Then Lost World came out which I thought was... okay.

Then Rise of Lyric came out which was... oh god.

Yeah, I'm one to admit that Sonic and his fans aren't in the brightest place right now (you won't believe how many people on the SEGA forums are calling for Warren Graff and Ken Pontac's heads right now), and of course, the Sonic Boom games haven't done the hedgehog's reputation any favors (if I ever meet that lying sonuvabitch Stephen Frost, it won't be pretty). To the general internet public, things may look grim. But I've always been an optimist, and with the series' 25th anniversary next year, I'm willing to wager that Sonic Team will pull through and make the next game one of the best. If not, it'll be a bummer, but it certainly won't be the end of things.

If there's anything I've learned from this franchise, it's that no matter how low things can get, there will always be someone there to pick Sonic and his friends up when things look their bleakest. Why? Because that's the kind of character SEGA birthed back in 1991. Over the years, Sonic has become an icon much like Mickey Mouse, Batman, the Ninja Turtles, and other characters that grew into something bigger than how they started out. Sonic is so loved that the people who love him won't let him die on any low note. Even if the next game is so bad it puts Sonic Team out of business, Sonic's legacy will remain. And it will be that legacy that will cause someone else to pick up the franchise and make it great again. Because I imagine that even those who don't like the modern games, I like to think that most of them at least want Sonic to appeal to them more, as opposed to him go away all together. As for me, whatever comes, I hold hope. No character so iconic has ever let such drawbacks as failed turning points in their careers, if you'll pardon the expression, slow them down. A reputation won't last if you let it. But a legacy? That's forever.

And that's how I became/why I am a Sonic fan.

 

[Jaguar360]

Hey everyone! It's my very first post on this forum (had to switch to something that's hopefully more positive than the official SEGA forum), and I felt like this would be the best place for it.

I've already explained how I got into this series on ClementJ642's Why I Like Sonic video, so I'll just post what I typed there.

Be warned, it's long:

 

I also switched here from the Sega forums to get away from the negativity. Welcome!

Forgot to mention in my post that Sonic X also played a bit of a role with getting me into Sonic. That show was one of my resources for getting to know characters like Tails, Knuckles, Cream, Amy and Shadow. I would try to watch it each Saturday on 4Kids. Good times.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

I guess I'll try to sum this up quickly.

I first got into the series with Sonic Heroes, Sonic Mega Collection Plus, Shadow the Hedgehog, and I think Sonic Rush, and while I liked the series, I stopped playing the games after 06, mainly because I didn't have a next gen console at the time. I think the game that truly got me into the series was Sonic Unleashed on PS2 (Which I found decent first time playing through it). After that, I played Colours when it released, and that's what definitely got me into the series, and also why I hold such a high regard for both Unleashed and Colours (Don't worry, Unleashed HD is vastly superior than the PS2 port). 

[KillaMaaki]

I'm sort of a newbie to the franchise.

I started with Generations, which was on sale on Steam at the time. It was awesome, one of the most fun games I've played IMHO.

I'm currently playing through the PS2 version of Unleashed (contrary to what most people say, I don't think the Night stages are THAT bad - although the controls could stand to be more responsive IMHO). I'm also playing SA2:B on Steam currently.