Stay Sonic

Fast facts on Stay Sonic
Publisher: Fantail Publication Date: 4th January 1993 Author: Mike Pattenden (with contributions from James Wallis and Tony Takoushi) Type: Paperback ISBN: 0-14-090390-9

Stay Sonic is a guidebook to the Sonic's world that was published in the United Kingdom in 1993 by Penguin Group's "Fantail" imprint. It was primarily written by Mike Pattenden, with some contributions from James Wallis and Tony Takoushi.

Coming out on the heels of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, much of the book's content retold - with some embellishments - the "Mobius/treadmill/Kintobor origin" backstory for Sonic and Dr. Robotnik that had originally been created by Sega of America in their "Sonic Bible" documents. Apart from the 1991 Sonic promotional comic, this origin story and setting were rarely used in American Sonic tie-in products. However, Sega Europe used it extensively; after Stay Sonic's publication it was featured in UK products such as Sonic the Comic (STC's original editor told writer Nigel Kitching to purchase a copy of Stay Sonic) and the four Virgin Publishing novels written by three authors under the "Martin Adams" pseudonym.

In addition to this history lesson, the book also contained character profiles for the cast of the first two games, descriptions of the planet Mobius and its many zones, a guide to the Badniks (a section written by James Wallis) and tips on the boss fights in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit) and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8-bit) (a section contributed by Mean Machines founder and Sega Europe employee Tony Takoushi).

Contents

Introduction

Presented as if it was written by Sonic himself, the text here is similar to the equivalent section in one of the SOA "Sonic Bible" documents.

In the Beginning There Was Sonic

Again, based almost word-for-word on the content of the SOA Bible:

• Scene 1: Sonic burrows into the hidden underground laboratory of Dr. Ovi Kintobor, a kindly scientist on a mission to rid the planet Mobius of all evil using the Chaos Emeralds and his invention the Retro-Orbital Chaos Compressor. He has six Emeralds, but seeks the all-important seventh Grey Emerald.
• Scene 2: Sonic uses a Kintobor-invented treadmill called the Kinetic Gyratosphere to increase his running speed, eventually breaking the sound barrier and hitting a top speed of 761mph, triggering a sonic boom which turns Sonic blue.
• Scene 3: An unfortunate accident involving the ROCC, the evil-storing Chaos Emeralds and a rotten egg causes the thin and benevolent Dr. Kintobor to transform into the obsese and evil Dr. Robotnik. The ROCC's explosion scatters the Rings across Mobius. Robotnik hides the six Chaos Emeralds within "psychadelic Warps of Confusion", leading to the events of Sonic the Hedgehog.

Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic's backstory, including the traits he learned from his animal friends Johnny Lightfoot, Sally Acorn, and "the unfortunately named walrus" Joe Sushi.

Are you a Sonic nut?

Comedic multiple-choice personality quiz.

The Egg-O-Matic

Diagram of the Eggmobile's cockpit layout.

Badniks

Descriptions of the first two games' Badniks. Section written, according to the copyright indicia, by James Wallis (author of several Sonic Gamebooks).

Sonic 2 tips

Advice for the boss fights in both Mega Drive and Master System versions. Contributed by Tony Takoushi (who, according to this bio, was Sega Europe's European Product Manager at the time Stay Sonic was published). This section refers to the Master System's Scrambled Egg Zone boss as "Silver Sonic" and the Mega Drive's Death Egg first boss as "an evil-looking Sonic made of stone".

Sonic Celebrities

Sonic-themed interviews with Cathy Dennis, Richey Edwards of the Manic Street Preachers, Zac Foley of EMF, Richard Fairbrass of Right Said Fred (see "Wonderman" for info on that band's Sonic connection), and Tom Hingley of Inspiral Carpets.

Tails

Miles "Tails" Prower's backstory. Apparently he can fly because he's got double joints where his tails join his spine.

Breaking the Sonic Barrier

Interview with Sonic conducted by "Aseg Eporue".

The Zone Zone

The origin of the Monitors (PCs distributed around Mobius by Dr. Kintobor in the hope that citizens could help him locate the Grey Emerald), and descriptions of the Zones in Sonic 2.

Sayonara, Sonic

A brief conclusion.

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External Links

• Amazon link