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Sonic the Hedgehog: 20 things you never knew

To celebrate Sonic the Hedgehog turning 20, we've pulled together 20 little-known facts about this blue spiky megastar

Sonic turns 20

It’s been 20 years since Sonic the Hedgehog first hit Mega Drive consoles across the world, winning gamers over with his inexplicably blue spikes, a penchant for gold rings and the ability to move faster than the speed of sound… apparently.

While Sega has marked the anniversary by developing Sonic Generations, a new game which sees classic Sonic levels of the past 20 years rebooted in HD, we’ve pulled together 20 great facts about everyone’s favourite blue hedgehog… and we reckon some of them might just surprise you.

Sonic turns 20

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Sega

Forever 15

Sonic was 15 years old when the first Sonic game launched on 23 June 1991, and has never aged. Still, that’s pretty old for a hedgehog, no?

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Sega

Big seller

Sonic has sold more than 70 million games worldwide, and an estimated 60 million people have played at least one Sonic game.

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Sega

Mr Needlemouse

Sonic was originally named Mr Needlemouse – the literal translation of the Japanese word for hedgehog.

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Sega

Colour change

Sonic was originally teal in colour, but was changed to a deeper blue to match Sega’s logo.

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Sega

Michael Jackson (1)

Sonic’s shoes were based on the belted boots Michael Jackson wears on the Bad album cover, while the red and white colouring was inspired by the most famous character in the world - Santa Claus.

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Sega

Fangs for the memories

Sonic originally had a human girlfriend called Madonna, was in a rock band and – rather inexplicably – had fangs. His image was cleaned up and softened for the American audience.

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Sega

Rad Mobile

Sonic’s first ever video game appearance was a humble one – as a toy hanging from the rear view mirror in the arcade racer Rad Mobile.

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Sega

Keen collectors

It’s estimated that Sonic fans have collected 70 billion of the now iconic golden rings between them.

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Sega

Sonic cameos

Sonic has made cameos in various games including The Simpsons Game, The Incredible Hulk, and Tom and Jerry: The Movie. He also featured in The Simpsons show.

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Sega

New mascot

Sonic was designed to replace Alex Kidd as Sega’s mascot in an attempt to take on Nintendo’s Mario. The blue hedgehog beat more than 200 character designs, including an armadillo, a rabbit and a bear.

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Sega

Weak swimmer

The reason Sonic dies if he falls into water is that the game’s programmer, Yuji Naka, mistakenly thought hedgehogs couldn’t swim. It was only on a trip to America that he saw an image of a real hedgehog swimming and realised his mistake.

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Sega

Bigger than Mickey

At Sonic’s height of fame in the early 90s, a survey showed Sonic to be more recognisable to young children than Mickey Mouse.

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Sega

Sonic's personality

According to various official materials from Sega, Sonic is described as a character who is “like the wind”, a drifter who lives as he wants and while largely easy-going, is prone to having a short temper. His problem-solving attitude, as described by his creator Naoto Oshima, was inspired by Bill Clinton who was the American president at the time of Sonic's inception.

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Sega

Popular character

Sonic has appeared in over 65 games, including alongside his one-time nemesis Mario in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games.

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Sega

Blue genes

Sonic has a gene named after him. The sonic hedgehog is one gene in the larger hedgehog gene family, which are involved in the development of fruit fly embryos.

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Sega

Sonic the balloon

Sonic was the first video game character to have a balloon in the famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York in 1993. Pikachu is the only other, appearing in 2006.

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Sega

Fame game

Sonic, alongside Mario and Link, was one of the first characters to be inducted in the inaugural Walk of Game – gaming’s answer to the Walk of Fame. See what they did there?

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Sega

Ups and downs

Sonic isn’t just a video game star – he also starred in his own comic book series and in four animated TV series. He even has his own rollercoaster ride at Alton Towers.

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Sega

Michael Jackson (2)

It’s widely believed, and has even been confirmed by then project manager Roger Hector, that Michael Jackson wrote the soundtrack for Sonic 3. It was reportedly not used due to Jackson not being happy with the finished product, although likenesses can be heard between the singer’s Stranger in Moscow and the Sonic 3 credits.

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Sega

Super speedy

Sonic was everywhere at the 1993 European Grand Prix. He featured on the cars and helmets of the Williams Grand Prix team (which Sega sponsored) and on billboards around the circuit. Even the trophy (presented to Ayrton Senna) featured Sonic.

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Sega