23 Weird Things You Didn't Know About Sonic

It's the gaming industry's favourite speedy l'il hedgehog's 23rd birthday today and he's all grown up. To celebrate, we've compiled a list of 23 strange Sonic facts that delighted and, in some cases, terrified us. 

1. The Anti-Piracy Message 

Apparently, the makers of Sonic felt very strongly against the piracy of their games (as they should) but these guys took it to a whole new level with the message "fun is infinite, Sonic enterprises" appearing accompanied by a picture of Sonic that will bore into your soul and some equally disturbing tunes to go with it.

2. Sonic's Comic Career Is Seriously Underrated 

Sonic's Archie Comic series is still the longest running comic book tie-in having been running since May 1993 with 259 issues to date. The comic series was recognised in 2008 by Guinness World Records.

3. Sonic Was Nearly Never Sonic

Instead of the loveable rogue we know today, Sonic was almost "Feel the Rabbit", a star-like creature that utilised its ears to do most of the legwork we see today. This idea was thankfully scrapped and later used as inspiration for Ristar.

4. Michael Jackson's Involvement 

It's not been confirmed by Sega, but Sonic The Hedgehog 3's soundtrack may have been composed by Michael Jackson explaining the similarities seen in the game and in Jackson's music. Apparently Michael Jackson is not credited in the game because he wasn't happy with the way it turned out but Brad Buxer (Jackson's musical director) has confirmed the rumours.

5. Sonic's Original Name

Sonic's original name was Mr Needlemouse when he was but an original concept. "Project Needlemouse" was then used as the official codename for Sonic The Hedgehog 4.

6. Hidden Playable Characters in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Wii 

Hackers have found several characters such as Birdo, DK, Silver and Jet that are playable throughout certain stages of the games. Some of the characters are missing features due to being unfinished in the game's development but there are a whole host of characters to be used. 

7. He's Pretty Damn Popular 

In a poll taken in 2008, Sonic was voted the most popular video game of all time in the UK with 24% of the votes - a somewhat surprising 3% more than Mario.

8. ... But Not For Long 

In 2011, Guinness World Records placed Mario at the top of their popularity leaderboards, with Sonic falling at 10th place. 

9. Fangs 

Sonic was originally designed with fangs that were removed to soften the character's appearance for the US market, however these can still be seen if he opens his mouth. 

10. Alex Kidd 

Alex Kidd was Sega's mascot before Sonic was on the scene but he was demoted after Sega decided to seriously compete with Nintendo.

11. Doomed To Fail? 

Sega of America originally considered Sonic as a risk and thought it was doomed to fail. This was because they thought that Americans wouldn't know what a hedgehog was.

12. Recent Highest Score 

On the 17th February 2014, Matthew Felix scored 1309290 on Sonic the Hedgehog - the highest score ever recorded. 

13. Swimming Strife 

One of Sonic's biggest weakness is his inability to swim, but this flaw was based on a mistake made by Yuji Naka who assumed that hedgehogs couldn't swim. It's kind of amended though because hedgehogs can swim they just can't get out of water so I can see where he's coming from... 

14. Suicidal Sonic 

In Sonic CD, if Sonic is left idle for 3 minutes he will jump into oblivion and commit suicide - bit extreme.

15. Yuji Naka's Birthday 

To unlock the level select screen in the Sonic 2 screen test, the numbers that must be entered are 19, 65, 09 and 17. So it's no coincedence that Yuji Naka's birthday is 17th September 1965. 

16. Macy's 

Sonic was the first video game character to feature as a balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1993, the only other video game character to be featured was Pikachu 8 years later. Sonic's balloon then reappeared in the 2011 parade to celebrate Sonic's 20th anniversary and then again in 2013. 

17. Cameos 

Sonic has had cameos in various other games including The Simpsons Game, Tom and Jerry, The Incredible Hulk and Ultimate Soccer. 

18. Nintendo Rage 

Nintendo took a swipe at Sonic by including an unmistakeable pair of red shoes in one of its Donkey Kong Country 2 screens displaying video game heroes and placing a sign next to them suggesting that Sonic was a 'No Hoper' in the competition. 

19. Object Interaction 

The game was originally based around object interaction in so much as Sonic would use items around him to defeat enemies - throwing and dodging attacks using what was available to him in the game. However, this was changed due to the fact that it slowed gameplay too much for a character based around his speed. 

20. Fresh Debut 

Sonic made his debut as an air freshener in the 1991 arcade game Rad Mobile before his iconic video game series. 

21. Birthday Confusion 

Somewhat ironic is the confusion created by the Sonic comics over Sonic's actual birthday. It is assumed that his birthday is 23rd June 1991 (the reason this whole post exists in case you missed that) but the comics have cited Christmas Day and Boxing Day as Sonic's actual birthday - intriguing... 

22. He Has No Neck 

You can't unsee it - and you will always be haunted by it just as I have for an unreasonable amount of years but there's no escaping it, Sonic The Hedgehog has no neck. 

23. He's Made His Way Into Medicine 

One of the three signalling pathway proteins in mammals has been labelled Sonic Hedgehog Homolog as a nod to the iconic game series and even better, the potential inhibitor to this protein is called the Robotnikinin. 

What You Need To Know About The Sims 4

I know i'm dangerously addicted to The Sims, in fact it's not uncommon for me to create elaborate backstories that often involve countless family trees and creepily detailed memoirs for each one of my poor subjects. Yet, when the first ripples of The Sims 4 rumours began to bob towards the shores of my attention way back when in May 2013 I understood that I probably wouldn't get my hands on the software for at least five years after its release. My reasoning behind this was born out of experience as it was only last year that I managed to gather the disposable income required for The Sims 3, some 4 years after its release in 2009. My reasoning behind this was also painfully correct, as The Sims 4 has been tagged with a £70 pre-order price that is desperately out of my student reach.

I can still revel in the new features of the game however and that is just what I have done with my new-found post-exam freedom. It's certain that The Sims 4 has a lot to offer us, even if all of these new features just contribute subtly to create a game that's more realistic and therefore more immersible than ever.

We've had several exhaustive lists of all the different features of The Sims 4 but what do these features actually mean for overall gameplay? Well, reader, I give you your long awaited answer...

Create-A-Sim 
- This life-creating workshop has been given a make-over in itself with new controls that include the ability to physically drag and mould physical characteristics of Sims. Not only does this unlock a world of potential creativity but also means, sadly for those who have always struggled to make Sims that look anything like individuals in the real world <cough>, there is absolutely no excuse for Sim-you to look nothing like real-you.

Sim Individuality 
- A big focus of The Sims 4 is on the uniqueness of your individual Sims - each individual has their own set of characteristics and emotions that come out in more realistic expressions of body language and interaction with objects and people with the general physicality of Sims becoming much more life-like.

Fluidity  
- In general, socialising is a lot more streamlined alongside other activities and behaviours. This is primarily brought in through the use of the multi-tasking tool presented in the game which acts to create more fluid, less blocky gameplay. No longer will you have to hang up the phone before starting dinner, or have a lovely conversation with a friend while your mother stands still next to them staring at you in silence (but if that's how your Mum rolls i'm not judging) because now all those things can happen all at once - integrating interactions in such a way that makes gameplay look a lot more practical.
- Not only are interactions a lot more streamlined, but general movement now works on a 360° axis meaning your characters aren't going to get stuck in that obviously non-manoeuvrable space between the dining table and the wall.

Realism 
- A running theme through all of Maxis' adjustments is a higher element of realism throughout the game - it's what all these developments have led to. Having different clothes and decorations evoke different emotions and behaviours from Sims is a leap of pure genius in the way of the authenticity and coupled with longer lasting effects of traumatic incidents - divorce, death, alien abduction etc. - creates more well-rounded, engaging and independent Sims. Segregating relationship types between Sims has also taken a leap in terms of realism with a distinction made between feelings of romance and friendship making for some pretty interesting dimensions of gameplay.

A Word About Realism 
- I must admit, however, that this is where Maxis confuse me somewhat. While I appreciate that The Sims has always thrived on a balance between the painfully realistic and the nonsensical absurd I feel that with these new developments so obviously aimed at bringing more realism to the game it feels strange to have bizarre new features of gameplay such as Sims laughing themselves to death, keeping a spare rocket ship in the back garden or resorting to voodoo dolls to fulfil their wishes. To begin with I was concerned that Rachel Franklin's intent to make the game more realistic would be undercut by these new fantastical elements of the game that are considered cartoonish. However, it has since occurred to me that this is how The Sims works, and a higher level of authenticity in the game might serve these outlandish dis-realities well - creating more vivid and emotional stories based around these bizarre happenings and expressing a higher level of what can only be described as how-would-I-react-ness that will definitely be fun to play around with. 

Overall i'm trying (and failing) not to get too excited about The Sims 4 as I know the price-tag is far from my tiny reach but give it five years or so and expect to see a pretty awesome review ;) 

Click to go to Sims Globe for a comprehensive list of
all new Sims 4 developments and features