PixlBit

Come celebrate Sonic's anniversary by sharing your memories of the series alongside the PixlBit staff!

Esteban Cuevas' Memories

Sonic the Hedgehog is the reason I'm a gamer. The second game on the Genesis is the first game I ever played. I remember going to my mother's cousin's house and in one of the rooms, a black box was connected to the TV and this blue thing was running across the screen in this dark cave. I asked to try what they were doing and soon, I was trying this electronic game out. It was Sonic the Hedgehog 2 multiplayer and I beat all of them on my first try. Although I was a Nintendo fan during the 16-bit generation, Sonic always remained my favorite video game mascot. The Genesis series of games are some of my favorite games of all time, with my favorite being Sonic the Hedgehog 3 locked onto Sonic & Knuckles. The final level on that game is probably the best last level of any game ever! When Sonic Adventure came out, it was one of my favorite games for the Dreamcast and although it hasn't aged well (I blame the shoddy ports), I still enjoy that game a lot.

However, as a big Sonic fan, I am aware that Sonic has seen better times. Sonic Heroes started to make me question the franchise and by Shadow the Hedgehog, I knew that the series needed revitalization. I thought it would come in the form of the 2006 game Sonic the Hedgehog. I bought that game at launch and I was so severely burned by it, I finally gave up on the series. Aside from Sonic and the Secret Rings, I didn't play any more Sonic games up until this year. On a whim, I tried Sonic and Sega's All-Stars Racing and loved it. Doing more research, I found out about Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 and Sonic Colors and I really want to try those games. I've been keeping up with the previews and trailers for the new Sonic Generations and this is the first time in five years I've been excited for a Sonic game.

Sonic is the face of gaming for me. He's why I'm into this culture. He's also a great example of my taste in games. Sonic was always the alternative to Mario. That says a great deal. I too always look for alternatives. Eveyone wants to play Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3. I want to play Resistance 3. When I first got into RPGs, instead of diving into Final Fantasy games, I went for SaGa Frontier. While others dug Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, I also enjoyed Fatal Fury, Samurai Shodown and World Heroes. Sonic was the cool guy with a different attitude. You could say that's a characteristic of the 90s -- and maybe a little bit of my younger self.