After 23 years, the news has finally landed that a live-action/CGI hybrid Sonic the Hedgehog movie is going into production.

It may have taken longer than it really should have, but the news has been met with big smiles from the fans of the world’s fastest hedgehog. So, let’s look at some facts about Sonic the Hedgehog that you may not have known.

1. The sound of people saying ‘SEGA’ took up 1/8th of the original game

It may have seemed like a cute little way to kick off Sonic the Hedgehog, but the white screen and Sega logo with the loud ‘SEGA’ chant took up a huge chunk of the game’s memory. In fact, it was so large that it took up more space than an actual level!




2. Archie’s Sonic the Hedgehog is the longest running comic based on a video game

Written by Ian Flynn, Archie Comic’s Sonic the Hedgehog first started in 1992 with the official on-going series kicking off in 1993 – and it’s still going today. The comic series has had an on-going spin-off in Sonic Universe and it has even crossed over with Mega Man.

3. Sonic drowns because Sega didn’t think hedgehogs can swim

If only the development team had done a bit more research, that Labyrinth Zone level wouldn’t have been so frustrating. Anyone who has screamed in fury while drowning in the original Sonic the Hedgehog will be annoyed to know that the development team genuinely thought that hedgehogs couldn’t swim and would therefore drown underwater.

Which, of course, is not true.

4. Michael Jackson was hired to score the music for Sonic 3

The King of Pop did have a meeting with Sega about putting together the music for Sonic 3 and, by all accounts, he did put together composures for the soundtrack. However, because of his controversies in the news, the music was scrapped.

Or was it?

This video below has some great examples of Jackson’s influence on the soundtrack for Sonic 3.

5. Dr. Eggman was the original name of Dr. Robotnik

To Western audiences, Sonic’s arch nemesis was called Dr. Robotnik, the former Dr. Ovi Kintabor who went mad with power and rotten eggs. However, he has always been known as Dr. Eggman in Japan.

The Eggman moniker was then given to Western gamers in 1999’s Sonic Adventure on the Sega Dreamcast.

6. Sonic was a lab accident

According to the British publication Sonic the Comic, in issue #8 it was revealed that Sonic was a regular hedgehog who went to see his friend Ovi Kintabor and used his power sneakers on the Kinetic Gyratosphere and broke the sound barrier – turning him blue in the process.

7. Sonic first debuted as an air freshener in Rad Mobile

Like Mario, Sonic’s first game appearance was not his solo game. Although oddly in this scenario, Sonic’s first appearance was an air freshener in the Sega arcade game Rad Mobile, released in 1991.

8. Sonic had an arcade game

And not a very good one. The weirdly titled SegaSonic the Hedgehog (not a typo) was an isometric platformer that supported three players using trackballs to move the characters.



The game never saw a port to a home console, but it did mark the first appearance of Mighty the Armadillo who would go on to feature in Archie’s Sonic comic series and Knuckles Chaotix on the Sega CD.

9. He was a replacement mascot for Alex Kidd

Sega had been desperate for a mascot for their brand just as Nintendo had with Mario. Their first attempt was Alex Kidd who had a series of games on the Sega Master System, but he was pushed to the side when Sonic showed up.

10. If you leave him long enough in Sonic CD, he’ll commit suicide

In the original games, if you waited for an extended period of time Sonic would tap his foot impatiently until you moved. However in Sonic CD on the Sega CD if you wait for long enough, Sonic will leap to his death. Kinda dark don’t you think?

11. Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles were originally the same game

When Sonic and Knuckles was released, there was a lot of buzz about it for being compatiable with Sonic 3 (and Sonic 2) meaning you could play through the game with the anti-hero Knuckles. However, it was all a bit of scam.

Sonic 3 and Knuckles was all supposed to be one game but the cartridge memory couldn’t quite handle it. So by putting the two cartridges together via the link technology, each cart acted as each half of the game. This also explains why the game isn’t compatible with any other Sega titles.