Sonic Month - An Introduction

Ah, the Sonic series. As Sega's answer to the insanely popular Mario, Sonic became an opponent to remember. Many of his earlier titles are regarded as platforming classics. The games that came out afterwards, not so much. If there is one thing that has always been made clear about the Sonic series, it's thst it is divisive as Hell. Every 3D game has its share of defenders and detractors. Some games have been struck by this debate even more, because Sega didn't seem willing to apply a stricter quality control over the games in the series (something Nintendo does with its own franchises), leading to all sorts of mishaps. We had Sonic '06, which everybody knows about by now, and more recently we had the games created for the Rebooted Sonic-verse, Sonic Boom. Dammit Sega, be careful! I've said it in 2014: Apply some goddamn quality control over your games, or else you'll become the lautghingstock of the Internet! Angry nerds will spew their rage in their videos or on their site! Critics will be negative and treat you like dirt! Comedians will resort to mentioning you when they're giving examples of bad games! IT SHOULDN'T BE COMPLICATED!

Phew. Calm down, Nic. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that I actually enjoy the Sonic series. And you can say whatever you want about it, I don't really care. What doesn't have flaws, anyway? I enjoy the series despite its flaws. It might eb because I haven't played any of the really, really bad Sonic games yet.... I like the characters, I can even try to defend some of the more hated characters. (Big the Cat? When Cream the Rabbit is around, better not hurt her, because Big is gonna send yo to the hospital. Oh, and an epic flaming flail in Sonic Heroes. Princess Elise? No main character knows who she is anymore. Why should we care? Chris Thorndyke... ...okay, you got me there.) The Sonic series has a large number of games, an even larger number of characters, and so many continuities that you'll get lost without a wiki. Wait, there was AoStH, SatAM, Underground, the anime Sonic movie, Sonic X, and now we have Sonic Boom... That's just the TV shows!

So... I own five Wii games featuring Sonic the Hedgehog. In the order I got them: Sonic and the Secret Rings, Sonic Colors, Sonic and the Black Knight, Sonic Unleashed, and Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games. This month, I will be looking at the first two Sonic games in that list. I've written a four-part review of Sonic and the Secret Rings, and a two-part review of Sonic Colors. I hope you enjoy this themed month! I sure will.