Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the most recognizable characters in video game history, spin-dashing into comic books, cartoons, and live-action movies. While Sonic is a pretty world-renowned character, it turns out that the SEGA icon isn’t as beloved in Japan as he is everywhere else.
Former SEGA developer Del Walker looked at a picture of Phil Spencer with Sonic artwork in Japan and found it amusing. During his time in SEGA, Walker reveals that the blue hedgehog isn’t actually that popular in Japan, with merchandise of the character rarely seen upfront.
Walker goes on to say that Sonic was designed to be appealing to Westerners, which makes sense since he was filled with ‘90s attitude. There are also fans who would argue that he never really grew out of that ‘90s attitude, for better or worse.
Despite this fact, things have actually gotten a bit better for the blue blur, even if he will never take Mario’s place as platformer king. Sonic Frontiers came out to decent reviews upon release, which is a bit miraculous when compared to other 3D entries in the franchise. It also recently got a free update that added a ton of content, including a new story and playable characters.
Hilariously, some fans even prefer Frontiers to Sonic Origins, a collection of the classic Genesis and Sega CD games. Aside from being a bit buggy and not retaining the great Sonic 3 music, its physical release had the gall to make the DLC a download code when all of it would have fit in the disc/cartridge.
Read More:
Sonic Frontiers and Sonic Origins are currently available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch, and PC.