Sega's UK press agency sent out a Sonic and the Secret Rings press release on Monday, reminding us all in its email heading that the hedgehog is now 15 years old. While most pundits credit Sony with the ambiguous achievement of making games cool, arguably Sonic got there first, bringing in the hyper-accelerated aesthetic of anime, the series' brash primary colours, trill, rippling sound effects and unrelenting speed re-defining the sense of what it was to play a videogame.
Sonic was the first next-gen game. It was 2D, yes, but it used space in a way designers would later use polygonal landscapes - multi-directional, multi-layered, with lots of hidden spaces to discover and explore. Previously, especially in the arch-rival Mario series, gamers were encouraged to ponder, to look before they made pixel-precise leaps. Sonic demanded that players let go, pinging around the screen, more-often-than-not , spraying golden rings everywhere as unseen enemies provided unsuitable landing platforms. To be good at Sonic meant multi-tasking at speeds previously unknown outside the field of advanced aeronautics.
But Sonic was so astonishingly fast and fun, being good or bad didn't really matter that much to many people. My dad bought a Mega Drive so he could play Sonic. He never really got far.
Since the original two games, the character has had a mixed history. Like Mario he has made the odd ill-advised foray into other genres. Like Mario he has toyed with 3D non-linear landscapes. Recently, his games have been slightly over-shadowed by Sega's desire to surround its icon with peripheral characters - Sonic Heroes the prime example. Interestingly, in the forthcoming Wii outing, The Secret Rings, Sonic will be alone again.
Another big change is the interface - the player able to tilt the controller to avoid enemies, and thrust it forward to attack. With all games there is a worry this system will be airy and indefinite. In the crisp, twitchy world of Sonic that worry is tenfold. But this is Sonic so whatever happens it will be an experience.
Anyway, what have been your favourite Sonic moments from the last fifteen years? Let's compile a list of the best five Sonic titles. I'll let you go first...
