A Blue Blur of a Decade
2011 became a notable year in video games, namely for it being the 20th birthday of one of the most prolific mascots of the medium, Sonic the Hedgehog. Coincidentally, it has been a decade since the merger between SEGA and Microsoft Operations and thus, having the Blur Blur move in to become the mascot for Microsoft's line of video game consoles along with a shift in regards to the design of the game. Sonic has always had a large Western approach and following and perhaps moving him to the Xbox seemed perfect, especially as over time, they gained the sort of older sort of teenage gamer that likely grew up with him. It had a large benefit as Microsoft Ops' funds helped out with SEGA and the Xbox was able to do much better than expected in Japan thanks to SEGA games on the machine, especially games like the Yakuza franchise. However, Sonic remained the top prize within for SEGA and Microsoft and SEGA celeberated with Sonic Generations, a game celeberating the Blue Blur. While the classics were venerated like usual, the newer stuff was also given a chance to shine and people used to look back at the last 10 years since that fateful moment
Xboxes and... Cubes?
After the purchase, perhaps the strangest thing were SEGA games on Nintendo consoles. This came about due to a prior deal already establish to have some Sonic games and a couple other SEGA cames on Nintendo consoles. When SEGA merged with Microsoft Ops, the deal was maintained with the thing being used as testing grounds for when the games would be ported onto the Xbox.
The main Sonic games ported were Sonic Adventure 2 and later Sonic Adventure DX. The first would be called Sonic Adventure 2: Battle for the Gamecube while on the Xbox it would be called Sonic Adventure 2X. It was much like the original Sonic Adventure 2, though while Battle would have GBA connectivity with the Chao Garden and Sonic Advance, 2X would have boosted graphics to make the game look slicker along with sounding nicer and playing a bit smoother. The same was said for Sonic Adventure DX, a port of the original Sonic Adventure onto the Nintendo GameCube, though for the Xbox it was Sonic Adventure 1X, where it got a beefier bost in graphics, noting for makign the characters speaking look nicer. The last being Sonic Mega Collection, a compliation of classic Sonic games that was brought onto the Gamecube and Xbox to be enjoyed. The collection in question contained Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic 3, Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic CD, Knuckles Chaotix, Tails Adventure, and Tails Skypatrol. The games were chosen to give a strong selection of Sonic games for both consoles, especially since for Nintendo. Nintendo would have some games for the handhelds as well, that being the aforementioned Sonic Advance 1 and Sonic Advance 2. Both were for the Gameboy Advance though they were later called Sonic 4 and Sonic 5 when they were released on Xbox Live as they were considered to be very popular games and comparable to the original Sonic games. Cream the Rabbit was welcomed for her unique mechanics and capablities and people enjoyed playing as Amy. The Xbox versions did add more contents and tweaked level design, especially for Sonic 5, which saw reduced amount of rails and more diverse levels.
Of course, Microsoft and SEGA began showing what they can do with their first enw game for the Xbox, Sonic Heroes. The game featured 4 trios as they went to stop Eggman and actually Metal Sonic in his plan to try and take over the world. The game was quite the success with its unique mechanics and bringing back the Chaotix trio with their comical antics. Moreover came the sequel to Sonic The Fighters, Sonic Battle. It introduced a new character in Emerl, a robot known as the Gizoid that was connected to an ancient civilziation that vanished 4000 years ago before being restored and abandoned by Eggman. Sonic discovers it and bonds with the robot, trying to help discover the secrets of it with Tails. Besides Emerl and Sonic himself, the playable characters included Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, Shadow and Rouge along with some surprise such as the return of Nack the Weasel, Bean the Dynamite and Bark the Polar Bear, this time as a trio of bounty hunters though more the latter two trying to keep Nack out of trouble. Emerl copied many of their fighting styles and grew as a person in getting the Chaos Emeralds. However, the game ended in surprising tragedy as Eggman drove Emerl overloaded with powers and forced Sonic to defeat him, with Emerl terminating his program after becoming too much of a threat. The game won a surprising number of people over for the battling mechanics, the co-op mode and the storyline showing the various characters' battle styles and perspectives, especiall Nack's blaster use or Bean's explosives.
Other Sonic games included the Sonic Riders Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic GEMS Collection, which included various Sonic spin-offs within it such as Sonic R, Sonic the Fighters and Sonic Labyrinth though also with some more pleasant surprises such as a few non-Sonic SEGA games and Sonic 4 and Sonic 5 released on there for those preferring hard copies. Another was Sonic Rush, an Xbox Live game. Named because of the new "Boost" mechanic introduced, the new game had Sonic meet up with the mysterious Blaze the Cat, the Princess of the far-off land of Soleanna. As Princess, she must guard the Flame of Solaris, a powerful mystic flame said to hold unlimited power of the sun. Sonic meets her when she follows Eggman who steals it to try and power up a monstrous new machine and she grows to accept his help along with that of his friends, notably Cream the Rabbit. The player went through two routes, getting assistance from the other characters and the final batle including Blaze getting her own Super form through the Chaos Emeralds. Many found the game engaging though wished it was a main release rather than a spinoff. Many believed it was the lead-up to something bigger though...
360 Revolution
The introduction of the Xbox 360 brought the beast up and nearly dominated the console war of that era, narrowly losing to the Nintendo Wii with its motion graphics. However, it still outcompeted well against the Playstation 3. The first game to come out on the 360 for Sonic was another Xbox Live game, Sonic Rivals. It was a racing game and done as a bit of a test to see if it would be good to try and do that into the swing of things. The racers were Sonic, Shadow, Blaze, Knuckles and Metal Sonic. The heroes can race across various tracks to claim the various prizes at the end, whether it be Chaos Emeralds or pieces of the Master Emerald, with the plot being instigated by the Eggrobo, who rebuilt himself and used the races as a distraction to try and take over Eggman's robots and uses the power of the Chaos Emeralds.
However, aroud 2006, would be the 15th Birthday game, Sonic the Hedgehog Revolution. It was a massive transition for the series as it took the elements of the previous Adventure games and brought them to the peak. A love letter to the franchise, players chose Sonic, Tails, Knuckles or Amy going through various unique stages tailored to unique playstyles. The plot was relatively simple in comparison, but still memorable in its exceution. Dr. Eggman has acquired all the Chaos Emeralds and used them to begin powering up his largest army as robot-building centers powered by them were built and implemented to try ad grow. The story has Sonic and his friends travel across the world to reclaim the Chaos Emeralds and liberate the areas, all while Eggman awaits them in his official fortress, the one that has been foreshadowed since Sonic Adventure I... Eggmanland. Many fans adored the execellent execution of the games' mechanics and a return to form after the questionable decisions of last year's Shadow the Hedgehog. They praised the mechanics and level design along with the character interactions as they reminscence on stopping Eggman. The stages were wide and expansive, being heavily inspired by past Sonic stages. However, the variety of characters meant that there many ways for each character to go through the same stage though with different routes or even redesigns of the stages. Many have called it "classic 2D Sonic game in three dimensions.) Each one of them possessing unique abilities to traverse the level and solve certain unique levels to them.
Of course, this was not the only fun to be had on the Xbox 360. Sonic Riders Zero Gravity, sequel to Sonic Riders, was enjoyed even more by simplifying some of the game aspects while given more links to how Eggman earns his funds, through corporations as fronts in constructing robots for all sorts of purposes. Another Xbox live game was a sequel to Sonic Rush, with the return and expansion of the new "Boost" mechanic, Sonic Rush II. Blaze the Cat returns and tries to stop Captain Whiskers and his band of robotic pirates who have been targeted the Cane of Jewels, a magical artifact that helps control the seas. When Whiskers breakts it, it sends the land into chaos, causing Soleanna to split into smaller islands. Blaze is saved by Marine the Raccoon, a sailor who fishes her out of the water and upon seeing the state of her land, she travels to recruit Sonic for his help against Whiskers alongside Tails (who Marine gains an admiration for.) It's revealed that Eggman built Whiskers and his robot pirates to try and claim the Cane of Jewels to understand its power with Tails finding out by comparising the designs. Another game was a sequel to Sonic Rivals with Sonic Rivals 2. Of course, Sonic appeared in other games such as SEGA Tennis Superstars and more notably in Super Smash Bros Brawl for the Nintendo Wii. However, yet another game, albeit a bit controversial was Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. Another Xbox Live game, it was known for being a remarkably fascinating Sonic RPG that built on the cosmos of the world along with several shoutouts to the Archie comic. This would land the game in some trouble regarding the comics though when Microsoft began shifting their weight around, the whole ordeal ended quick though it did lead to some rammifications in the future. However, the RPG was still good as players controlled various Sonic characters exploring the Twilight Cage, a mysterious zone where powerful alien races were exiled, including the long-gone rivals to the Knuckles clan, including Shade, one who joins up. It's later revealed that they were the ones who created Emerl as their ultimate Gizoid and it's implied that its power was the final straw to get them kicked out.
Afterwards there was the long-awaited Sonic Adventure III. The plot had Eggman awaken the dark spirit of the land, Dark Gaia to rein havoc on the world by draining the Chaos Emeralds of power in order to bolster his forces and plan to coerce the world nations to bow to him to stop the madness. The game also followed in its predecessor games to have multiple characters in dealing with the Gaia Crisis in differing approaches with help fro Sonic's new friend, Chip, later revealed to be Light Gaia. The eight playable characters being Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Shadows, E-123 Omega, Rogue and surprisingly Blaze the Cat in her full 3D view. The game has four different play styles between the 8 characters with subtle differences between the two for comparisons. Sonic and Shadow play much like they do in Sonic Adventure 2 though with a couple of differing tricks. Tails returns in his Cyclone walker with his and Omega's levels being run-and-gun levels. Knuckles and Rouge focused on exploration and treasure-hunting in expansive levels while Amy and Blaze meanwhile have platforming levels using their unique tricks to navigate like Amy and her hammer or Blaze's fire powers. The characters' stories are different, depending on their goals. Sonic and Shadow (the latter by order of GUN) are trying to reach the Gaia Temples to activate them, Tails and Omega are assisting by combating Eggman's robots and gathering intel, Knuckles and Rouge go to investigate (Knuckles because of how the Master Emerald detected the awakening and Rouge by GUN as well) and find out more on the Manuscripts while Amy and Blaze go out to help out (Blaze goes because her nation got endangered by Dark Gaia while Amy goes to save Sonic.) Other aspects included a day and night cycle which affected the levels in navigation. Like its prequel, it also had some fun mini-games and racing.
And of course, as the twilight is coming, there were other games like Sonic All-Stars Racing, Sonic Free Riders and more notably, Dance Central Sonic Style. Said to be inspired from the Nintendo GameCube's Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix, it was done as a fun dancing game using the Xbox360 Kinect for people to enjoy dancing too and having alot of fun. And of course, there is Sonic Colors, which show a more classic return to form and returning a greater sense of humor between them and focusing on Sonic and Tails against Eggman while introducing the Wisps as new alien allies and power-ups for them to use to stop Eggman's plans along with running into plans. Most of all is of course, Sonic Generations, the game released for the 20th anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog. After the end of Colors, Eggman ended up in a place beyond time and space and would end up coming across some sort of "Time Eater" which he managed to get under his control with his past self. However, a mysterious figure is introduced to stop him, Silver the Hedgehog. A powerful psychic and watcher over time, he is flung into the past and meets up with Sonic on his birthday. The two alongside Sonic's younger counterpart work to try and navigate through the "Timeless Zone" to various aspects of the past to rescue Sonic's friends. It also sprinkled hints on Silver's backstory such as the reveal that he used to guard the Time Stones on Little Planet before using them to deal with the Time Eater With their defeat and Sonic celeberating his birthday, Silver decides to return to his duty of watching voer time, but promising to come buy every now and then. Alot of people had fun with Classic Sonic's 2D levels and Modern Sonic's levels though the real fun was with Silver, who many wished to see be playable in the future with his psychic powers.
Beyond the Consoles
Of course, Sonic's reach was far outside of video games and Microsoft for the most part did have some influence in the affairs of Sonic beyond video games. First and foremost was in television. The three Sonic the hedgehog television series did pretty well so why not another one? This led to the creation of Sonic X, a Sonic anime though having both Japanese and American influences. While Microsoft did not handle much of the affairs, they did have the American offices have more influence on it, especially in what would make them appealing to Western audiences. It was a pretty good success, all things considered. Sonic X was in essence, an animated adaptation of many of the classic Sonic games though expanded upon for greater characterization and world-building. Overall, it became a fondly remembered show for its mix of zany action and surprising heartwarming moments.
Of course, beyond the silver screen, there was the comics, which was a bit more controversial. While a Sonic manga was released that functioned like Sonic X (being a retelling of the classic Sonic games albeit with more references to the Japanese material and more obscure source material such as the Tails standalone games), the Sonic Archie comics were among the big surprising point. Or rather namely because of the Penders lawsuit that occurred after the release of Sonic Chronicles: Dark Brotherhood due to the similarity of certain characters introduced there to the ones in the comics. However, when Microsoft began flexing their legal muscles regarding an artist trying to claim his fan-based creations and the growing widespread condemnation of Penders over threatening the Archie comics, he settled out of court. One final event was written and controversy rose when Archie ended their deal with SEGA and they headed to IDW to publish the new stuff. However, people were assured that favorites like Sally Acorn and the others of SatAM would be coming back. The Sonic IDW run began in was viewed as a spiritual sequel though as while it did contain elements of the SatAM cartoon, it also contained reimaginings of charactrs from the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and of course, characters introduced from the video games. While there was a good deal of hesitation and reluctance, the IDW has built up a good following for reintroducing or reinventing some of the characters.
What Lies Ahead
Sonic has been doing surprisingly well since moving in with Microsoft and many wonder what the future holds. There is of course the next main Sonic game coming onto the Xbox 360's successor coming out in 2013 and rumors are circulating whether if Sonic will be in the next Smash game or if it was a one time thing. Other rumors have been HD remasterings of Sonic Adventure 1X and 2X for the next consoles. Of course, whatever the future will hold, it looks like it will be pretty great, all things considered.