PixlBit

I channel my inner '90s mascot attitude and explore a recent troubling trend.

At last year’s PAX East I attended a panel hosted by one of the marketing magicians for Sega of America in the '90s, Al Nilson. At that panel I got up to ask a question about the NEMO project he worked on in the late '80s, but before I did I told this quick story about the time I borrowed the first Sonic the Hedgehog game off my friend when it was first released:  While I was at home being blown away by the technical achievement of Sonic Team’s new baby, my friend called me and said his mother was mad he lent out his new game and was making him come by in a couple hours to pick it up. Since my time was now limited to how much of this amazing new game I was going to be able to play,  I decided to hunker down and try to beat the game before he came to get it. I focused and played as carefully as I could. I ended up beating the game without continuing and with all the Chaos Emeralds. I had the honor of telling Al Nilson it was one of the best "Gaming Zen" moments of my life. He appreciated my story and my love for Sonic.

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Yes, Tails is in this game and no, he doesn't talk.

Sonic the Hedgehog has had a sketchy period for some time now. Many would say that titles released this generation have been mediocre at best, with only Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations recently being exceptions. If you want to enjoy a good Sonic game, the majority of fans would point you back to the early 90s when Sonic stood toe to toe with Mario with titles like Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic CD and Sonic & Knuckles.

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It only took two years…

Sega has dropped the potential release date for Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2: May 16, 2012.  The throwback sequel to Sonic 3 will appear as a downloadable title on Xbox Live Arcade and the Playstation Network.  As previously reported, Team Sonic has no plans for additional episodes in this series, so this very well could be Sonic 4’s final episode as well.  The title is also slated to appear on PC, iOS, Android, and Windows Phone devices.  You can check out the game’s reunion trailer here.

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You know you want to hear “Sonic Boom” again.

I love Sonic the Hedgehog. That is probably the understatement of the year, as I’ve made my love of the blue hedgehog well known and I know all of the Sonic games front to back. Well, most of them anyway. I didn’t own a Sega CD back in the day so one of the exceptions is Sonic CD. Since its initial release in 1993, diehard fans have sworn by the game’s quality, going so far as to call it the greatest Sonic game ever. Two ports have been released on the PC and as part of the Sonic Gems Collection on the GameCube, but this latest port is the most attractive release of the title. Does it still hold up 18 years later?

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