Sonic The Hedgehog was introduced as a video game character by Sega in 1991. Sonic was designed as a mascot to rival Nintendo’s character Mario. Single Player, HD (High Definition). Rocket Sonic, the fastest blue hedgehog on earth, through hair-raising loop-de-loops and dizzying dives past bubbling lava, waterfalls and on as you gather up Rings and stop Dr.Eggman’s (AKA Dr. Robotnik) schemes for world domination!
Sonic has become one of the world’s best-known video game characters, with his series having sold more than 80 million copies. In 2005, Sonic was one of the first game character inductees into the Walk of Game, alongside Mario and Link.
While many individuals at Sega had a hand in Sonic’s creation, programmer Yuji Naka and artist Naoto Ōshima are generally credited with the creation of the character,a blue 15-year-old anthropomorphic hedgehog, who has the ability to run at supersonic speeds and the ability to curl into a ball, primarily to attack enemies. This is a major part of the gameplay of the series.
Different actors have provided Sonic’s voice in his game appearances. Sonic originally had a few voice samples in Sonic CD, with Keiko Utoku providing the voice. Sonic’s first true voice actor was Takesi Kusao for the arcade game SegaSonic the Hedgehog, with Junichi Kanemaru continually voicing the role beginning with the release of Sonic Adventure. In Sonic Unleashed, Sonic was voiced by Tomokazu Seki whilst in Werehog form. Sonic’s first English voice actor was Jaleel White in the three animated series Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM) and Sonic Underground.
Sonic’s first English game voice was provided by Ryan Drummond beginning with Sonic Adventure, a role he continued until 2004, when he was replaced by Jason Anthony Griffith, who previously voiced the character in the American dub of the series Sonic X.Griffith was later replaced by Roger Craig Smith, starting with Sonic Free Riders and Sonic Colors in November 2010.