'Hooked on Sonics': What Attracted You to the Series?

[Kiah]

I actually did the unthinkable and made a topic back in August but unfortunately it got lost in the reset. But thanks to me saving a draft of this OP AND being given a found cache of the original topic, I was easily able to recreate it. That said...let's try this again, shall we? 

Just as bait is used to attract fish, something we may have seen and/or heard pertaining to Sonic attracted us to the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Whether you are still a fan of the Sonic series or not is besides the point; what I am talking about is at some point we were all fans of Sonic and there was something that had to attract each and every one of us to join the fandom. This is what I wish to talk about in this topic.

Some background information first regarding myself if I may...

I was introduced to Sonic at the very beginning back in June of 1991 when I was 7 years old. I knew right then and there just from the title screen and expression on his face during the idle animation that Sonic was definitely a character with some personality and that definitely captivated the attention of 7 year old me. Within a span of 5 minutes, I knew that Sonic was a cool dude that was fast and energetic with an attitude to boot-which I liked a lot. Now while I loved the classic Sonic games (Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 at this point in time) with their fun and fast gameplay, bright and beautiful art design and outstanding music, I wasn't attached to Sonic yet. I just found his games be very enjoyable, appealing, entertaining and a lot of fun.

Then came the cartoons.

First up was Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (AoStH). Now while I really enjoyed the cartoon with the humor, characters and Sonic and Tails' bromance, to me AoStH was just a cartoon that was associated to the video games I liked. I still felt no attachment to Sonic at that point. Sonic to me was just a cool and funny dude and not much of anything else.

A few months later the second Sonic cartoon rolled around, Sonic the Hedgehog, better known as SatAM, which ended up not being not only my favorite Sonic cartoon but my favorite cartoon overall. I loved the characters and their personalities, the character interaction the change in pace from your typical comedic atmosphere to a darker and serious tone was very appreciated by me.

It was SatAM that provided the moment where I felt my deep attachment to Sonic began.  The episode that stuck out to me was "Ultra Sonic", where at the end of the episode Sonic was crying because the Freedom Fighters' efforts to save Uncle Chuck failed (Sonic cried tears of joy earlier in the episode when Uncle Chuck was able to temporarily get his mind back so Sonic actually cried twice in this episode!).

Feel free to check out that part of the episode here.

At that point, something just clicked. Me being an empathetic and sympathetic person I'm sure had a lot to do with it but seeing Sonic make a complete 180 in regards to his jovial, cocky and even obnoxious personality had a profound effect on me at that very moment. 

Considering Sonic's personality, I never, ever thought that I would see the day that Sonic would be crying in any form of media, let alone be so emotional. 

It was THAT moment that made Sonic real and balanced of a character to me and caused me to appreciate and adore him from that point on. It was also from that point on I began drawing pictures of Sonic and friends and writing plenty of fanfics about them as well as I was hooked at that point and deeply invested in the Sonic the Hedgehog series.  My deep attachment and involvement with Sonic did come to AN ABRUPT AND UNFORTUNATE END at that time but fortunately, my forced departure from Sonic turned out to be temporary as opposed to a permanent one as you can see as I'm like here and stuff .

Certainly I have experienced many more memorable moments in the series since then, but that's my story and that moment is what got me attached to the Sonic franchise. What about you? Was it a specific moment or was it something else? Something like: an ad? A commercial? A video game? An act within a video game? A cartoon? A song? An image? A comic book? A cutscene? Was it anything specific among these pieces of media that was the "trigger" to get you to liking Sonic? Whatever it was that got you on board as a Sonic fan please feel free to mention it here as I'm very curious to learn what those moments were for you. And be sure to explain why that moment was significant and relevant to your liking of Sonic.

I recall when I made this topic the first time there was some misunderstanding as to what this topic is about. A good number posted their thoughts as if the topic was about their first exposure/introduction to Sonic which is not the case. That topic was already done per the question of the OP of ChaosIncarnate's topic here:This topic here is about what it was that made you "click" as a Sonic fan and mentioning what that "something" was. And one final thing: I understand that some are losing interest in Sonic at this point in time or have already lost it even, but this topic is meant to be a positive one so please keep it that way if you wish to participate as its intention is to focus on positive aspects that had attracted you to the Sonic series initially, thanks

[Strickerx5]

Well... I think my answer is going to be a bit off putting given that a lot of you came into the series in it's prime (classics) and may even explain my love of the boost series. For me, what really drew me in was the sense of speed and joy obtained through a good run of a level. The first sonic game I ever owned and competed was Sonic Rush so that kind of gives you the jest of it. XD It was just a feeling that no other series I had played before had and was always a feeling I had always subconsciously tried to replicate in other games I played at a time. The series, for the most part, filled that need quite well. It sort of just snow balled from there really. Add in the fact that this was around the time Unleashed was being hyped (especially since it turned out being one of my favorite games of the series) and, needless to say, I was hooked.

[Tails spin]

I will be honest and say that I do not recall my exact "bait" that hooked me to the Sonic series. The closest memories could be that the cartoon was the talk of the school and then I tried entering a Honeycomb Cereal contest that gave away a genesis with sonic 1. I was maybe 5 or 6 at the time and my handwritten was horrible so that never came to be. Then my parents got me a genesis while looking through the local newspaper classified ads but no Sonic game came with it. Instead I got the Lion King and Aladdin games. The place we lived was an army base so every weekend a lot of  houses would have garage sales .

 

So one day when I was out with my mother and a friend of hers going to one of these houses I stumbled upon a box of video games. As I skimmed through it I found a Sonic 1 box and immediately ran to my mom to purchase it. so then and there I got officially hooked to the sonic franchise to this day.

 

Then got into the comics with my attention shifting from the Sonic comics to the Knuckles comics. Then I got Sonic 2 and Sonic 3D Blast but after that I didn't follow Sonic to the other Sega systems instead I stayed with Nintendo console which I was with before the genesis   and "lost" touch with him.

 

It wasn't until I was 13 yrs old and about to purchase a pack of pokemon cards when I found a pc disk that had Sonic 3, Sonic and Knuckles and Sonic 3 and Knuckles in a collection better known as Sonic and Knuckles Collection. I was given a choice by my parents either buy the cards or the game. I couldn't have dropped those pokemon cards fast enough (forget if the rarest card was in that pack I wanted my sonic back).

 

Fast forward to the next year when I was 14 with a gamecube and was looking for games to rent and my parents found Sonic Adventure 2 battle. My I was happy to see that one of my favorite characters was finally on a system that I owned instead of getting a console only for his games. Then I got Heroes and well to this day I tried getting most of the game that come on a Nintendo system, including Shadow the Hedgehog , Sonic Riders, Sonic Colors, Generations 3DS, Lost World and Shattered Crystal.

 

edit: I was so excited to write this that I didn't finish reading the whole op.

 

I that case it would have been the shows. I liked Sonic's attitude and his snarky remarks to some situations. The localization team really got the point across with "Westernizing his personality"

[Shaddy Zaphod]

Through one way or another, Sonic was really my introduction to gaming. It's the story I've told a couple times of "Mom's friend's daughter's new house's basement's forgotten cabinet's genesis with Sonic 2 in it", followed by me buying the PC version of SADX (damn computer hardware being too new and limiting me to the Steam version these days). I'm not exactly sure how I went from Sonic to Half-Life in those few years, but I thank the series for introducing me to the medium and still providing fun titles today (well, playing them is fun). I spent so much time with SADXPC that I basically slept through the dark age, seeing as I only had a gameboy advance in terms of consoles at the time. I only got a Wii in 2011, for christsake, and by then it was over. I still had my experiences with the bad Sonic's though -- Lost World 3D and Shattered Crystal are still sitting on my bookshelf, untouched for a couple months now. My friends and I had great fun ripping on Shadow and 06, too.

 

Really, it's a schizophrenic franchise for me, but it provides lots of enjoyment, nostalgia and challenge (not in the games, per say, but that's another story), so I don't think I'll ever truly leave it behind.

[Lisbon]

Well, my dad bought me SA2 and Heroes on the Gamecube when I was little and I loved those games to pieces as a kid, and I liked that little show that aired on PBS when I was little, but that's really only my childhood. I didn't play a lot of the games until later on, and I guess doing that passively revived my interest in the series for a couple of years until I joined this site, when my interest became more active, as ironic as that may be.

 

So...I played the games as a kid and maintained a passive interest in the series for a pretty long time? 

I also probably only even give a damn about it at this point because I like a few of the characters like Rouge, Knuckles, and Sonic. I don't even really give too much of a shit about any the rest of the cast, but I like those three enough as an incentive to keep caring and hoping for the best.

 

Namely Rouge. She rules.

[Vertekins]

When I was 6 years old way back in '94, me and my family lived in a Cul De Sac in Billesley, Birmingham. As a fairly solitary child I often played by myself in the Cul De Sac as it was rather safe and uncommonly saw cars, you know, being a Cul De Sac? I distinctly remember that my mom told me to look for my two other sisters as she was doing the washing up and watching me from the kitchen window.

 

Usually, they'd either hang-out in the other Cul De Sac's up the road or with Carla, my older sister's best friend at her house oppoite ours (We were all considered too young to go any further than those places alone) so I found both sisters at Carla's.

 

Theywere all in the bedroom,playing Sonic 1 on Carla's Master System (Her's had Sonic 1 built into the console). I totally remember with quite a bit of clarity that they were playing Bridge Zone. The gameplay, colours and music pretty much entranced me at once *_*

 

21 years on and I'm still an ardent fan Me and my sisters got a Mater System for the christmas of that year and whenever my sisters got Sonic games, they'd be possessive of them i.e My older sister got Sonic 2 MS from our father and my younger sister got Sonic Chaos.

 

Good times...

[Ripe]

I'm quite new Sonic fan and what was bait that got me? The internet. At one point, person called Juan Ortiz (Somecallmejohnny) became my favourite youtuber. As some of you know, he's longtime Sonic fan and watching his reviews made me curious. But at that point I didn't do anything. Then I watched Nostalgia Critics reviews of AOSTH and SatAm. After that I decided to watch SatAm and I really liked that. Sometime after that I found about Sonic X and comics. Sonic X was fine in japanese but the censorship of the dub was just ridiculous. Comics I found good and enjoyable (pre-reboot, I don't personally like the reboot).

Then I finally decided to play a game. I bought Sonic Generations. And I loved it. After that I have played more and more games. Currently 9 and I'm waiting the delivery of Sonic 06. I have also watched Sonic Boom in internet and found that fun (in terms of TV series, I don't like Underground and my enjoyment about AOSTH is well, questionable...).

[Gabz Girl]

The characters mostly. I loved the design of Sonic when I first saw him and Tails was great too. I mean, a two tailed fox? How cool is THAT? XP

 

I also thought the abilities each character had was cool and made them even more appealing when compared to characters from the Mario series for example.

[Kaze no Klonoa]

One Word:

 

Music.

 

 

(And the list keeps going on and on)

 

About 5 years ago, I couldn't honestly care for Sonic the Hedgehog. Sure, I guess he's in Smash Bros. Brawl (Which was somewhat another way I was introduced to the character more properly), but other than that, ehhhh

 

But one thing that did draw me in was the music. It was catchy, it was filled with energy, and was my kind of music. I'm practically a sucker for video game music, and if there's one thing that Sonic has had stayed rad throughout most of his games, it's the music. After checking out Sonic Heroes' soundtrack, later, I got a gamecube copy of both Sonic Mega Collection and Heroes, and I've been hooked ever since.

 

(Also, what's interesting is that right now, out of all Sonic games, my most favorite soundtrack is......

 

*Drum roll*

 

Sonic Before/After the Sequel. I mean sure, it's a Sonic fan game, but the music is some of the best I've heard in any video game.)

[Failinhearts]

As much as I hate to admit it, I was introduced to this series via Sonic X. I had a bad sense of quality back then okay?! Anyway, Sonic X introduced me to the series and I then got Sonic Heroes for the Xbox.

And thus, the addiction was sealed. Until 2008.

You see, as a kid, I was utterly terrified of werewolves, or anything that changes forms in some sort of creepy way. When I saw Sonic going down that route, I started hating the hedgehog due to my overreactive nature. A couple years later, after a viewing of Sonic's latest actions and watching Unleashed's cutscenes, I realized there was nothing to be afraid of and I loved him once again, with no plan of leaving anytime soon.

[Moppsy]

My first introduction to Sonic was through my Aunt who had a Genesis and Sonic 1.  I was 5 in '96 when I first played it and remember enjoying it a lot...until I got to Marble Zone... Anyway, time goes by and I get the N64 as my first home console so I missed out on the CD, Saturn, and Dreamcast games.  I was too busy playing OoT, Mario Kart, and the other great 64 games that I hadn't payed too much attention to the blue blur.  It wasn't until I played the Gamecube demo of Sonic Adventure 1 that I became a huge fan of the series.  It brought back some memories of the times I'd spent at my Aunt's house playing Sonic 1 and I found myself enjoying it more than any Mario game I had played.  I liked the characters, the villain, the music, and the speed.  Sometimes I wish I was born just a few years earlier to experience Sonic at his very beginnings, but even now, I'm happy I joined at the time that I did.  The first two Sonic games I ever played was the first 2D Sonic game and the first 3D sonic game. 

[azoo]

Introduced via Sonic 2 on my step-cousin's Genesis in 1999.

 

First baby steps in via S3K Collection, 3D Blast, R, and CD on PC (they were all in a bundle). Also saw a friend play Adventure at his house. Both in 2000.

 

After getting the Gamecube, SA2B and Mega Collection made me a permanent resident. :v

[TCB]

I think what attracted me into the series had to be the design and character of the blue blur himself. Never bound to the ground that he runs on, rather he takes off like the wind; drifting to wherever life takes him. I gotten to become attached to what Sonic stood for, thanks in part to elements of shonen traits Sonic's character has been known to incorporate. He was like the person I wanted to be like as a kid, so I looked up to him as a role model of sorts. I kinda still do, but with a different mindset now that I'm adult. 

 

What also attracted me to the series was the world he and his friends and enemies lived in. It's expansive; from the green hills of, well, Green Hill to the futuristic highrises of Grand Metropolis to even the perilous bases Eggman call home. The vibrant, expansive and exotic nature of his world really got me into the games; I wanted to play through these places and envision myself to be just like Sonic, having a blast trekking through them all.

 

I guess that's it, really.

[GamerGirl54321]

I thought the logo of Sonic '06 was a banana split.

To be fair, I was 6 at the time.

[MightyRay]

I won't lie I got into sonic through the sonic X english dub. Yeah it was junk compared to the Japanese dub but I did love it. I tried a few games but to be honest the comics kept me going through thick and thin. 

 

Been around for the blue blur ever since then.

[Polkadi~☆]

Sonic Adventure 2 was the second ever video game I have played, and it was tons better then the first game I ever played (Gran Turismo 4) because there were characters with personality, characters who worked with one another, characters who I saw as the best thing I've seen. Sonic ran fast and free, without nothing to stop him, until after the first frickin' boss where we got captured. I spent a week trying to beat that boss for this? The series never actually clicked with me with that one game, I just saw Sonic as a cool dude.

Then I went to my cousin's place, and he had Sonic Heroes. It was an awesome experience, and Sonic ran fast and free again, while his friends caught up, making him look slower than he actually is. The series still stuck with me, I could apprieciate it.

Then I had a PSP and got Sonic Rivals. I mainly spent my time on the PSP playing Ratchet & Clank, but by that time, Sonic was one of the main games I played. I played Sonic Rivals and it was good, but Sonic still felt slow. And he WAS slow. Damn, Sonic Rivals could be simply described as not-shit-but-is-shit.

Then, at last, I got Sonic Mega PC Collection, which had FOUR Sonic games. Sonic Riders, Sonic Heroes, Sonic Mega Collection Plus, and last of all, the game that finally clicked my love for Sonic, Sonic Adventure DX. I loved that game. Sonic was actually fast. I even 100% the game, and still played it. One day, I lost the disc which was required to play the game (Can you believe we all had to put up with this shit years ago? Thank the Lord for Steam) and I actually CRIED! Young me was devastated that he couldn't play SADX anymore. But after that game, my love for Sonic stuck. I played any Sonic game I could get my hands on, didn't care if they were bad. Anything Sonic-related had my topmost attention.

That's how I'm here.

[Super Sonic Speed]

Sonic the hedgehog 2 on the megadrive when I was little actually hooked me instantly. I'm pretty sure this is where I first started to love sonic because I actually would play sonic the hedgehog 2 on the megadrive over anything else. That was practically what I played more so than anything else. I looked forwards to playing sonic also. I guess the aspects that hooked me was that I loved the levels, music and Sonic's determined expression and tails was adorable.XP I liked it better than Mario. I've always liked animals.

 

It's really hard for me not to think of when I first came into sonic because I'm a bit of a first impression type person. The best memories are actually when I first enter because they're when I'm most attached to the characters and the biggest fan.

 

I was like that with Pokemon and other franchises aswell.

 

However if I have a dip or leave the franchise for a while, there's a second cycle of getting hooked again yet it's usually a bit slower. Not sure why the 2nd run through is always slower. It may have something to do with the changes in the franchise and adjusting to them. Sonic's case I didn't play any sonic game after the megadrive until I got sonic rush. However Sonic rush wasn't the game that made me a huge fan again.

 

The cartoon SatAM was what made me a massive fan again. I got it on DVD and was hooked.

It reminds me of the cartoons i use to watch which makes sense considering the era it was made in was the same time as those cartoons I remember. I'm not entirely sure how I missed this sonic series as a kid though.

I like the character interactions and personalities of the characters. It's a shame most of the characters in the freedom fighters were Dic only characters. I like sonic best in this series aswell. I find him fun to watch but has his emotional moments.

 

I bought all the games I missed afterwards and even every cartoon series and marathoned the cartoon.

 

I'm still attached to the megadrive games. There's a certain charm to them that I like really.

 

I think my most memorable moment with the megadrive games was when i was a kid. Got stuck in an odd place in chemical plant zone and couldn't get out. My whole family joined in trying to get him out of there. It was hilarious.XP

Chemical plant zone also use to scare me with the drowning music.lol

Now that zone is my most favourite zone. Too many memories.=)

[baba_944]

"Sonic The Hedgehog" for my dad's "Genesis". He said he forgot where he got it from. It wasn't bundled in. Also, "Sonic X" (English dub. Japanese dub sucks. I'm watching it right now). My first 3D Sonic game was "Sonic Adventure" for the DC demos. Then again for the PC (demo). Then my first real 3D sonic game was Heroes. I was hyped that "Shadow The Hedgehog" came out thanks to the commercial (I love that game). Then I played the "Sonic 3D" PC demo and I loved it. Then played the fan game "Sonic Ultra", "Sonic & Knuckles Flickies Panic" and it's sequel, "Sonic & Knuckles Double Panic" by "LionSoft". My dad pirated me "Sonic & Knuckles Collection" via "Aries" torrent. Then I bought the comics.

 

I'm a long time and permanent Sonic fan.

[Agie]

Sonic Adventure 2: Battle. My brother bought himself a copy and let me and my sister play it.

 

Started playing it, having no clue what to expect, though at the time, I thought that if my brother played it, it had to be good.

 

It was immensely fun, and I've been a fan ever since then. I still enjoy most of the games, even the newer ones.

[Sai Start Marker]

Biscuits.

 

Not joking. The way I got into Sonic at the age of 8 (or so) was by eating biscuits. Specifically, these biscuits:

 

 

I have a vague memory of seeing Sonic 3 at Toys 'R Us, but I think it all started with the biscuits. I got these, then I graduated to Sonic the Comic, and then I got a Mega Drive II with Sonic 2 when I was 9 year old.

 

 

[Drawloverlala]

Biscuits.

 

Not joking. The way I got into Sonic at the age of 8 (or so) was by eating biscuits. Specifically, these biscuits:

 

 

I have a vague memory of seeing Sonic 3 at Toys 'R Us, but I think it all started with the biscuits. I got these, then I graduated to Sonic the Comic, and then I got a Mega Drive II with Sonic 2 when I was 9 year old.

 

heheh sorry i say this, but that's so cute Xd

 

-.-.-.-.-..-.

i think i already said the reason why i got stuck on Sonic franchise. all because Sonic Generations..and then thanks to Sonic 3 and Knuckles...

 

but to give a plus to that.. i think Sonic's music  its a good fact that made me stay.. this franchise has very nice and delicious soundtracks....

also the general plots on this franchise its a mix between science fiction and magic.. wich i really like so much..

[Osmium]

I basically got introduced to the series through Sonic 3 & Knuckles. That game completely blew my fucking mind the first time I fully played it, and its still my favourite game to this day. 

[Starturbo]

Technically, the first Sonic game I've ever played was the demo of Sonic's Schoolhouse (not even joking) on an old Sega Demo Disc. I've posted a picture of it and a description on DeviantArt, in case anyone's interested. I believe the first real Sonic games I owned were Sonic 1 & 2 on the Sega Genesis Collection for PSP, once I was about 11. You see, I really liked Sonic as a kid and I started playing video games when I was very young, but I never owned a Sonic game until I was older. Most of the games I had when I were little were educational games, movie-based games, and sports games, with the exception of a few others such as Pac-Man World 2 & 3, and Crash Team Racing. I grew up having a PS1 and then a PS2 and didn't get any other consoles until I was a bit older. My parents actually played a Sega Genesis before I was born with Sonic 1 & 2, as well as several other games, but I haven't gotten to use it to this day. My first memory of Sonic was actually when McDonald's had Sonic Heroes toys. I remember getting a Shadow hockey game, which I no longer have. I then remember vaguely seeing a commercial (I believe it was for Sonic 06 actually) and I thought it looked so cool. I wondered if Sonic on the Genesis was like that and my parents said it wasn't. They explained to me that it was 2D and I think I started to wonder if Sonic 1 & 2 were even that good. After finally playing Sonic 06 more recently, I thought it was okay, not very good, but not as bad as people say. I also remember trying out Sonic Unleashed at a store, when I was younger. Then, I finally got the Sega Genesis Collection for my new PSP. I believe Sonic 1 was the first game I tried. I couldn't believe what I had missed. I remember having trouble beating Green Hill Zone at first, but I still thought it was amazing. I actually beat Sonic 2 before I beat Sonic 1 and I didn't even know you could spin dash the entire first time. I eventually beat Sonic 1 as well. I didn't even know there was a Sonic 3 yet, until I found out after researching it. I then searched Sonic 4, and it came up with Sonic 4: Episode 1. I was a bit confused because it said it just came out, I'm sure some other people were too. When I first saw footage of Sonic 3, I actually thought Knuckles was a girl. I then watched Sonic X and felt like an idiot. Now, I own most of the Sonic games in some way. I still haven't played some of them, such as Shadow the Hedgehog (I actually own it, I just haven't played it yet). So yeah, that's pretty much how I got into Sonic. I could explain my discovery of the fan base, but I'll save that for another time.

[skull902]

To put it simply: YouTube.

 

To put it in a way that sets this post within the confines of the rules: In 2006 I gained an interest in Sonic. I didn't have Internet access really so I couldn't look into the franchise and learn about it. Then in Spring of the following year, my family got a computer and it was pretty neat. I don't know exactly the sequence of events but I got into Sonic videos and along the way I met this amazing friend who taught me all the basics, or maybe it was the other way around, I'm not sure. But anyway, meeting the aforementioned friend: that's when I got hooked, that's when I became a fan of Sonic the Hedgehog. And it's been a pretty cool ride ever since. There's been ups-and-downs of course but I'm in it for the long-haul.

[Harley Quinn]

I got into the series because my dad and mom had played the series a ton in the 90s (especially Sonic 2) when they were dating. So when I was reeeeally little (like 3 or 4) my dad had purchased SA2:B for the Gamecube. I liked watching him play. I tried playing, but, well, I wasn't really good at games when I was three, haha. My dad would buy every Sonic game for the Gamecube, so I was exposed to a lot of the games through that. We kept up the tradition of buying every Sonic game throughout the console generations - Wii, Xbox, WiiU, etc.

 

Then Sonic X came around and I used to watch it all the time. Obsessively.

 

So it was sort of a combination of inheriting the gaming love from my parents and television. I think the music also drew me in, too, especially during elementary school. For some reason, I was into Sonic Underground's music the most (they played a lot of reruns of that show when I was a kid right when I got home from school). 

 

I sort of had a fallout when I was eleven/twelve and was really into Twilight, but I've always been drawn back into Sonic. It's the character designs, their personalities, the music, and just...having a lot of fun playing the Gamecube games I still own, I guess. Probably some other things, too, but I can't exactly name them. *shrug*