Sonic the Hedgehog will always be inextricably linked with Digitiser, in my mind. The first event Mr Hairs and I ever attended was the launch of Sonic 2, at Hamleys toy store in London.
On our first day on air, following the index page, the first thing on the first page of the first section was a large graphic of Sonic - an attempt to assure readers that we could be every bit as visual as print mags.
And then, of course, we upset an enormous number of Sega fans because we dared to give Sonic 3 a mere 72% score - at a time when all major releases were all supposed to receive a minimum of 90%, by law.
I even stole liberally from Doctor Robotnik when it came to finding an antagonist for Turner The Worm, the teletext cartoon strip what I wrote and drew.
By the time I stumbled into Digitiser, I was already a fan of the 'hog. I couldn't afford the game when it first came out - on this very day, 25 years ago - but I'd read about it. I'd seen the screenshots. I had a friend who'd seen it running on a stall at Wembley Market, and pumped him so hard for information that he suffered a collapsed bowel.
I kept asking whether it really was as good-looking as it had been in the magazines. And get a load of this information: it actually was.
On our first day on air, following the index page, the first thing on the first page of the first section was a large graphic of Sonic - an attempt to assure readers that we could be every bit as visual as print mags.
And then, of course, we upset an enormous number of Sega fans because we dared to give Sonic 3 a mere 72% score - at a time when all major releases were all supposed to receive a minimum of 90%, by law.
I even stole liberally from Doctor Robotnik when it came to finding an antagonist for Turner The Worm, the teletext cartoon strip what I wrote and drew.
By the time I stumbled into Digitiser, I was already a fan of the 'hog. I couldn't afford the game when it first came out - on this very day, 25 years ago - but I'd read about it. I'd seen the screenshots. I had a friend who'd seen it running on a stall at Wembley Market, and pumped him so hard for information that he suffered a collapsed bowel.
I kept asking whether it really was as good-looking as it had been in the magazines. And get a load of this information: it actually was.
CONFIDENCE IS A PREFRENCE
We weren't used to games which looked and played as good as Sonic.
There was a confidence about it, from the iconic design of the main character, to the assured way it all held together. It was a sublime example of video game design.
And for a game that was so shamelessly cartoon-y... it was cool. It subverted its own cuteseyness, with cybernetic woodland creatures, and its speed. I remember being blown away by the parallax scrolling, the big spinning 3D rings...
It's only now, looking back, that I can realise that it wasn't the individual elements of that first Sonic the Hedgehog which sold me; it was how they came together, creating a whole that few other games could compete with. It knew exactly what it was.
Furthermore, it was the game which most existing Mega Drive owners felt at last justified their purchase. Prior to that, I'd loved Revenge of Shinobi... but mostly just liked the other games I'd played on the Mega Drive. Prior to Sonic, it had spent the best part of the year just gathering dust.
We weren't used to games which looked and played as good as Sonic.
There was a confidence about it, from the iconic design of the main character, to the assured way it all held together. It was a sublime example of video game design.
And for a game that was so shamelessly cartoon-y... it was cool. It subverted its own cuteseyness, with cybernetic woodland creatures, and its speed. I remember being blown away by the parallax scrolling, the big spinning 3D rings...
It's only now, looking back, that I can realise that it wasn't the individual elements of that first Sonic the Hedgehog which sold me; it was how they came together, creating a whole that few other games could compete with. It knew exactly what it was.
Furthermore, it was the game which most existing Mega Drive owners felt at last justified their purchase. Prior to that, I'd loved Revenge of Shinobi... but mostly just liked the other games I'd played on the Mega Drive. Prior to Sonic, it had spent the best part of the year just gathering dust.
TAILS IS HERE NOW, MMM
Sega was quick to capitalise on Sonic's popularity. Sonic 2 come out less than 18 months later, with the introduction of Tails and a two-player mode. It was another massive hit, though overall sold less than its predecessor - the beginning of a downward trend for the series. It lacked the impact of its forebear.
By the time Sonic 3 was released, I was beginning to tire of the formula; we'd already had Sonic CD, which seemed more concerned with animated cut-scenes than new gameplay ideas.
Even this early in its life, the series seemed to be flailing around for purchase: Sonic 3 & Knuckles - with its bizarre "lock-on" cartridge - was released later the same year as Sonic 3, to confusion from some of the franchise's established fans.
Unlike Nintendo's approach to its flagship characters - which effectively reboot with every game - it also felt like Sonic was getting mired in story, in its own mythology.
Worse still, the franchise was beginning to be watered down. Sonic Spinball failed to be the Sonic-themed pinball game many had been clamouring for, while Sonic 3D Blast was an isometric departure too far from the established template.
When the Saturn was released, Sega failed utterly to make the most of the new technology, and severely dropped the ball by not preparing a new Sonic game upon which the console could piggyback.
The only Sonic games developed exclusively for the Saturn were Sonic R - a limp Mario Kart knock-off - and Sonic Jam, a sort of 'that'll-do' half-measure compilation. The heavily-hyped Sonic X-Treme - intended originally to be the first bona-fide 3D Sonic game, and Sega's response to Mario 64 - was, ultimately, cancelled.
Sega was quick to capitalise on Sonic's popularity. Sonic 2 come out less than 18 months later, with the introduction of Tails and a two-player mode. It was another massive hit, though overall sold less than its predecessor - the beginning of a downward trend for the series. It lacked the impact of its forebear.
By the time Sonic 3 was released, I was beginning to tire of the formula; we'd already had Sonic CD, which seemed more concerned with animated cut-scenes than new gameplay ideas.
Even this early in its life, the series seemed to be flailing around for purchase: Sonic 3 & Knuckles - with its bizarre "lock-on" cartridge - was released later the same year as Sonic 3, to confusion from some of the franchise's established fans.
Unlike Nintendo's approach to its flagship characters - which effectively reboot with every game - it also felt like Sonic was getting mired in story, in its own mythology.
Worse still, the franchise was beginning to be watered down. Sonic Spinball failed to be the Sonic-themed pinball game many had been clamouring for, while Sonic 3D Blast was an isometric departure too far from the established template.
When the Saturn was released, Sega failed utterly to make the most of the new technology, and severely dropped the ball by not preparing a new Sonic game upon which the console could piggyback.
The only Sonic games developed exclusively for the Saturn were Sonic R - a limp Mario Kart knock-off - and Sonic Jam, a sort of 'that'll-do' half-measure compilation. The heavily-hyped Sonic X-Treme - intended originally to be the first bona-fide 3D Sonic game, and Sega's response to Mario 64 - was, ultimately, cancelled.
SKIP IT
Sonic effectively skipped a generation, finally dragging himself back into the spotlight, aboard Sega's well-intentioned, if ultimately doomed, Dreamcast.
By the time Sonic Adventure appeared - though becoming the best-selling game for the poorly-selling folly - Sonic's capital had been all but expended. It didn't help that the game was far from the Mario 64-esque Sonic epic most people thought it should've been.
I found it dripping in extraneous story and characters, with weird fishing mini games, RPG elements, a glitchy camera, and a discordant mix of the series' stylised characters with a more grounded aesthetic. It was all over the place, and while its sequel - released in 1999 - was more focused, the two Adventure games failed to stop the wholesale throttling of Sega's hardware horse.
From then on, Sonic was a corporate mascot without a home of his own. He seemed to drift, never quite knowing what he was for. The games over the past 15 years have veered from what are essentially on-rails endless running games, to side-on nostalgia blasts; none of them have come close to recapturing the profound confidence of the original.
Sonic effectively skipped a generation, finally dragging himself back into the spotlight, aboard Sega's well-intentioned, if ultimately doomed, Dreamcast.
By the time Sonic Adventure appeared - though becoming the best-selling game for the poorly-selling folly - Sonic's capital had been all but expended. It didn't help that the game was far from the Mario 64-esque Sonic epic most people thought it should've been.
I found it dripping in extraneous story and characters, with weird fishing mini games, RPG elements, a glitchy camera, and a discordant mix of the series' stylised characters with a more grounded aesthetic. It was all over the place, and while its sequel - released in 1999 - was more focused, the two Adventure games failed to stop the wholesale throttling of Sega's hardware horse.
From then on, Sonic was a corporate mascot without a home of his own. He seemed to drift, never quite knowing what he was for. The games over the past 15 years have veered from what are essentially on-rails endless running games, to side-on nostalgia blasts; none of them have come close to recapturing the profound confidence of the original.
IsCON'T SEE YOU
And it's not just the games which seem to be ploughing a disappointing furrow. Sonic himself seems like a bit of a dick these days - just look at his baffling, self-aggrandising, official Twitter account if you want proof.
That hipster scarf he now wears, those desperate bandage wraps around his hands and feet... Though he still has his fans - over 300,000 people follow him on Twitter - his once-refreshing attitude now feels as woefully anachronistic as Arthur Scargill scuttling around an Apple Store, while wearing a pair of deelyboppers.
And yet... Sonic remains an icon, a testament to the design of the character, and how beloved those first few games were. It's telling that the industry has produced precious few icons, in the 25 years since that first Sonic game, which come anywhere close to matching the sort of awareness people have of Sonic.
And for that, I suppose I can be persuaded to raise a begrudging toast to Sonic the Hedgehog: here's to another 25 years of dickishness and disappointment!
And it's not just the games which seem to be ploughing a disappointing furrow. Sonic himself seems like a bit of a dick these days - just look at his baffling, self-aggrandising, official Twitter account if you want proof.
That hipster scarf he now wears, those desperate bandage wraps around his hands and feet... Though he still has his fans - over 300,000 people follow him on Twitter - his once-refreshing attitude now feels as woefully anachronistic as Arthur Scargill scuttling around an Apple Store, while wearing a pair of deelyboppers.
And yet... Sonic remains an icon, a testament to the design of the character, and how beloved those first few games were. It's telling that the industry has produced precious few icons, in the 25 years since that first Sonic game, which come anywhere close to matching the sort of awareness people have of Sonic.
And for that, I suppose I can be persuaded to raise a begrudging toast to Sonic the Hedgehog: here's to another 25 years of dickishness and disappointment!
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