The Official Sonic the Hedgehog Yearbook (1994)

The Official Sonic the Hedgehog Yearbook
Publisher: Grandreams
Type: Hardback
ISBN-10: 1858301513
ISBN-13: 978-1858301518
Release Date RRP Code Rating UK 1994 £4.99 ?
← The Official Sonic the Hedgehog Yearbook (1993)

The Official Sonic the Hedgehog Yearbook is a hardback annual that was published in the United Kingdom by Grandreams, Ltd. A paperback version was later released as The Official Sonic the Hedgehog Special. It is the second annual to be released by the publisher, containing stories focused on Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and featuring Dr. Robotnik in his Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog design.

Stories

Sonic the Hedgehog — "Sticky Problems"

In the Emerald Hill Zone, Dr. Robotnik finishes creating a concoction within a factory. A rabbit sees Robotnik applying the finishing touches and goes to tell Sonic and Tails about it, with the hedgehog speeding off to check it out. Along the way, he jumps onto a Spring, only for his feet to be stuck to it. Robotnik reveals that he coated it with the Special Instant Glue he has been making in the factory, and gets into the Drill Eggman moments later with intentions of running Sonic flat.

Tails flies off under orders from Sonic to get a spare pair of Power Sneakers for Sonic as quickly as he can while avoiding fire from Badniks. Meanwhile, Sonic jumps out of his pair of sneakers and into the new pair that Tails brings over in the nick of time. Surprised by how Sonic was able to do that, Robotnik drives off-course without looking where he is going, and off a cliff, bouncing off of a Spring at the bottom.

While the evil genius is bouncing around, the heroic duo speed off to grab a few more Rings. Tails goes back for a Ring they missed, only to end up in the way of Robotnik as he falls. Sonic saves Tails in the nick of time as the drilling machine bounces ahead and into a palm tree, catapulting Robotnik directly into his glue-making factory, with the resulting crash destroying it. Robotnik lies there in the wreckage, unable to move thanks to his Special Instant Glue. He asks for Sonic to get him out, only for him and Tails to run off and leave him there for a while.

Sonic the Hedgehog — "Tails' Tale"

Tails flies to the Casino Night Zone, seeking to become the star of his own story without Sonic anywhere to be seen. Locating a pinball table, Tails bounces off a flipper and attempts to land on the slot machine, hoping to get three Jackpots and win 150 Rings. Though he misses the slot machine the first time, he pulls off the landing on the second attempt. However, the reels stop on three Sonics, leaving the fox to feel dismayed that Sonic ended up in the story after all. Sonic himself appears in the last panel, saying that you can't keep a real hero out of a story, proclaiming that this is his Yearbook.

Sonic the Hedgehog — "Space-Hedgehog"

Dr. Robotnik builds a single-seater space rocket in the Hill Top Zone, with intentions of capturing Sonic and putting him into the rocket to send him into deep space. Nearby, Sonic encounters a Badnik ambush consisting of a Rexon and a Spiker. He avoids this ambush, only to fall into a trap hole filled with molten plastic that quickly hardens around the hedgehog. With Sonic captured, Robotnik orders his Badniks to fish him out, then proceeds to put him inside the rocket.

Though frozen in a block of plastic, Sonic locates a panel that controls the rocket's heater unit, and jostles the block to pull the lever down to its maximum setting, labelled "You've got to be joking", causing the block to begin melting. Outside, Robotnik begins the blast-off sequence, realising too late that his leg has been tied to the rocket with a piece of string, and is pulled up towards the stratosphere with the rocket. Fortunately for him, the string is incinerated by the rocket jets, sending the Doctor back down to Mobius and landing head-first on a see-saw. Sonic, who had escaped through the rocket's emergency exit after melting the plastic, destroys the Badniks and runs off to tell Tails about the adventure, leaving Robotnik to sleep on the see-saw from his concussion.

Sonic the Hedgehog — "Big Trouble"

Sonic and Tails run through the Aquatic Ruin Zone, avoiding arrow traps and collecting Rings, and encounter a giant Grounder that bursts through a wall. The duo try to destroy it with Spin Attacks, only for the attacks to be ineffective against it. Robotnik, flying in the sky in the Hammer Eggman, tells Sonic that his extra large Badnik will succeed where the smaller ones failed and plans to make many more to conquer all of Mobius with. Tails suggests running away, but Sonic has a better idea: by using a Spring and swinging platforms to climb up to a pillar, the heroes try another Spin Attack on the head, this time destroying it and releasing the animals trapped inside.

Robotnik then goes after the heroes himself and attempts to squash them flat with his hammer, but they jump off and land in the lake where they encounter a giant Chop Chop. The duo swim away from the colossal Badnik, with Robotnik attempting to ambush them in their path. However, the heroes are too fast as they split up, confusing the doctor and putting him right on a collision course with the Chop Chop. The resulting explosion leaves a smouldering Robotnik sitting on a pillar in the lake, lamenting how his giant Badnik plan wasn't such a good idea after all.

Other features

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Sega Reviews

Unlike the reviews in the previous yearbook, all the reviews in this book provide a score.

• Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Mega Drive) - 95%
• Street Fighter II': Special Champion Edition (Mega Drive) - 90%
• Disney's Aladdin (Mega Drive) - 88%
• Ecco the Dolphin (Mega-CD) - 87%
• Sonic Spinball (Mega Drive) - 82%
• Virtua Racing (Mega Drive) - 90%
• Sonic the Hedgehog CD (Mega-CD) - 88%
• Sonic Chaos (Master System) - 80%
• Jurassic Park (Mega Drive) - 82%