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Being the first game in the series, ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' went through many ideas and changes during the development process. What follows is a summery and collection of those items.
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{{back}}[[Category:Development]]
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Being the original game in the series, ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' went through a number of concepts and changes through its development process. What follows is a collection and summary of what that entailed.
  
==Development Process==
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==Development process==
  
[[File:Sonicguide4.jpg|thumb|190px|A collection of images of [[Sonic the Hedgehog]] drawn during the creation of the first game. From the [[Sonic the Hedgehog Material Collection]].]]
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[[File:GD Sonic 1 Yuji Naka.png|thumb|A 24-year old [[Yuji Naka]] working on what would become ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', taken for a February 1990 news report.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20180624094921/https://twitter.com/nakayuji/status/1010556110690922497|quote=Big discovery! ! Sonic the Hedgehog  initial development site.Sega R&D news footage of February 1990. Sonic's ground collision is shown on the screen. This is 24 years old Yuji Naka.}}{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20211015041542/https://twitter.com/nakayuji/status/1407614552074637314}}]]
In the mid-1980's, there was no question that Nintendo had overtaken the videogame market. With its Famicom system in Japan and the Nintendo Entertainment System in the west, the 8-bit powerhouse defined an entire generation of gamers. Though [[sega:Sega|Sega]] had received marginal success with their first mainstream videogame console, the [[sega:Sega Master System|Sega Master System]], it was unable to compete with the device that had saved the industry in America. Wanting to be known for more than just their arcade hits, Sega was not ready to give up on the console market, releasing their entry into the 16-bit wars in October of 1988 in Japan. The [[sega:Sega Mega Drivee|Sega Mega Drive]], renamed the Sega Genesis when premiering in the United States the following January, was Sega's bid to become a major player in the gaming world, in the hopes of usurping the house that Mario built. However, the executives of the company knew there was still an essential element missing from the equation that would push them beyond both the NES and its upcoming successor, the Super Nintendo.
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The year was 1990. While [[sega:Sega|Sega]] was doing well in the arcades, little ground had been gained in the home video game market. Competing with [[sega:Nintendo|Nintendo]] during the previous seven years, not even the launch of the [[sega:Sega Mega Drive|Mega Drive]] could shake the ninety percent dominance{{fileref|UltimateHistoryofVideoGames Book US.pdf|page=320|quote=Though it was a more powerful unit, Sega's Master System, marketed as
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the Mark III in Japan, had not fared well in that country, where Nintendo controlled more than 90 percent of the market.}} the Nintendo Entertainment System had. Sega's then-current mascot, [[sega:Alex Kidd|Alex Kidd]], had done little to convince the general public to invest in their hardware. Feeling it was important to have a strong mascot that not only defined Sega but could also directly compete with the ''Super Mario Bros'' series, an internal competition was held. Open to anyone who worked at the company, roughly 200 character designs were drawn up, submitted for consideration.{{fileref|SonicAVeryQuickHistory GameTap Video Part1.mp4}}
  
During the Master System's tenure, Sega had poised [[sega:Alex Kidd|Alex Kidd]] as the company's mascot, releasing a handful of games in that franchise. However, the character never gained the momentum they had hoped for. Realizing the importance of having a strong, central figure to embody what they wanted to accomplish, Sega began an internal competition across all of its branches to create the company's answer to the ''Super Mario Bros''. series. For months, numerous character designs were drawn up by an untold number of people, ranging from American wolves to overall-wearing chickens. One of the men who actively submitted characters to the contest was [[sega:Naoto Ohshima|Naoto Ohshima]], a designer who had previously worked on the ''[[sega:Phantasy Star|Phantasy Star]]'' series. Early on, Ohshima sketched up a plethora of potential headliners, including a rabbit, a mustached-man in pajamas, and a scribble of a hedgehog. The initial favorite was the rabbit, who would run through levels picking up items with his ears and throwing them at oncoming enemies.
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It was during this time that [[sega:Yuji Naka|Yuji Naka]] was looking for his next assignment within the company. After the cancellation of ''[[sega:Metal Lancer|Metal Lancer]]'', Naka wanted to program and design a racing game. Hoping to get the chance, he drafted up a list of game genres he wanted to work on, the racer taking the number one spot. Sending the memo to his boss, it was the final game on the list - "an action game to challenge Mario" - that caught the attention of Naka's superior.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20201218105427/http://shmuplations.com/sonic/}} At the same time, designer [[sega:Naoto Ohshima|Naoto Ohshima]] was busy trying to come up with his own proposal for a video game. Influenced by his time working at an advertisement company, one of Ohshima's early goals was to create a character that could "go far beyond just being a video game character."{{ref|''The History of Sonic the Hedgehog'', Pix'N Love, page 97}} One of these concepts, entitled ''Twin Stars'',{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20230121173900/https://twitter.com/NaotoOhshima/status/1616849524710068227}} featured a speedy character that could run around loops.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20230122053433/https://twitter.com/NaotoOhshima/status/1616876578339958784}}{{fileref|SonicAVeryQuickHistory GameTap Video Part1.mp4}} Showing what he had worked on to his boss, he had a hard time getting consent to work further on the proposal.{{ref|''The History of Sonic the Hedgehog'', Pix'N Love, page 97}}However, he was told that the only person at the company who might be able to program such a game was Yuji Naka.{{fileref|SonicAVeryQuickHistory GameTap Video Part1.mp4}} When Ohshima learned that Naka was free, he approached his fellow ''[[sega:Phantasy Star|Phantasy Star]]'' alumni, asking if he would work with him on the game concept.{{fileref|HistoryofSonicTheBirthofanIcon Video.mp4}}
  
After some initial discussion, Ohshima approached [[sega:Yuji Naka|Yuji Naka]] to collaborate with him on the project. An up-and-coming programmer, he had previously worked with the designer on the first two ''Phantasy Star'' titles. Having freshly come off of a robot-based game that had been cancelled early on, Naka was eager to get back to work, and soon the two men began discussing just what the game could evolve into. One of the aspects that intrigued Naka most was the inherit speed in the game's design. Even as a young child, Yuji Naka had been transfixed by fast cars including the Ferrari line, and after getting into the games industry wanted to capture that feeling, something that a platformer had not yet accomplished.
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The idea of a fast paced game intrigued Naka, and it didn't take long for him to accept. Quickly, the pair got to work. On the programming side, Naka found himself influenced by two prominent titles, the first being ''[[sega:Ghouls'n Ghosts|Ghouls'n Ghosts]]'', which Naka had recently ported to the Mega Drive. The way the player could traverse smoothly across a flowing landscape{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHkosWFNRko}} was something he wanted to capture, but at speeds far higher than what that title was able to achieve. The second game that influenced the thinking of what would become ''Sonic'' was the original ''Super Mario Bros''.
  
{{quote|1=I like fast things and I thought that it would be nice to create a game where the more skilled you become, the faster you can complete a stage. Games back then had no backup or saving system, which meant that you had to play right form the beginning every time...As a result, the very first stage would be played time and time again, making the player very skilled at it. So we thought it would be nice if this would enable the player to complete those stages faster and that's the basis of Sonic's speed. We also thought this feature would help differentiate Sonic from Mario.|2=Yuji Naka, Programmer and Project Manager of ''Sonic the Hedgehog''{{ref|1=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym2ve5_YD60}}}}
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{{quote|1=I like fast things and I thought that it would be nice to create a game where the more skilled you become, the faster you can complete a stage. Games back then had no backup or saving system, which meant that you had to play right from the beginning every time...As a result, the very first stage would be played time and time again, making the player very skilled at it. So we thought it would be nice if this would enable the player to complete those stages faster and that's the basis of Sonic's speed. We also thought this feature would help differentiate Sonic from Mario.|2=Yuji Naka, Programmer and Project Manager of ''Sonic the Hedgehog''{{fileref|HistoryofSonicTheBirthofanIcon Video.mp4}}}}
  
As the earliest form of the engine took shape, Naka realized that trying to keep the game running smoothly and maintain speed was almost impossible with the current game mechanic. Having to stop and pick up items broke the flow, especially since the team wanted to keep the controls simple, having to use only one button as opposed to Mario's two-button scheme. Luckily, they wouldn't have to tackle the problem alone, as another employee at Sega would soon join their racks, [[sega:Hirokazu Yasuhara|Hirokazu Yasuhara]].
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Initially, the game starred a cartoon rabbit, as they wanted a character that would embody the concept of speed.{{ref|''Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works'', page 278}} The design also tied into the initial attack mechanic for the game, where the rabbit would use its ears to pick up rocks or other items, then throw them at oncoming enemies. As Naka was also insistent that the game only use one action button, the game hit a wall. The constant starting and stopping interrupted the flow of gameplay, and proved to not be all that fun.{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHkosWFNRko}} It was around this time that the head of the department, [[sega:Kotaro Hayashida|Kotaro Hayashida]],{{ref|''Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works'', page 308}}, invited [[sega:Hirokazu Yasuhara|Hirokazu Yasuhara]] to help with the development of the mascot game. At the time, Yasuhara was not expecting to remain part of their group for long.
  
{{quote|1=At the time, I was supposed to go to the United States to establish a [[sega:Sega Technical Institute|new R&D team]] [at Sega of America] with [[sega:Mark Cerny|Mark Cerny]]...But then the [first] Gulf War Started, and my move to the US was postponed for three months. Work was progressing on the [new mascot] game, but Naka and Ohshima needed a full-time game designer on the project. They saw that I was free, and looked to me for help designing the game until my departure. So I officially joined the project as a game designer, planning to work on it only until I went to the US. But I ended up staying in Japan for a year until we finished the project.|2=Hirokazu Yasuhara, Director and Lead Game Designer of ''Sonic the Hedgehog''}}
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{{quote|1=I was supposed to go to the United States to establish a [[sega:Sega Technical Institute|new R&D team]] [at Sega of America] with [[sega:Mark Cerny|Mark Cerny]]...But then the [first] Gulf War Started, and my move to the US was postponed for three months. Work was progressing on the [new mascot] game, but Naka and Ohshima needed a full-time game designer on the project. They saw that I was free, and looked to me for help designing the game until my departure. So I officially joined the project as a game designer, planning to work on it only until I went to the US. But I ended up staying in Japan for a year until we finished the project.|2=Hirokazu Yasuhara, Director and Lead Game Designer of ''Sonic the Hedgehog''{{fileref|NintendoPower US 211.pdf|page=70}}}}
  
Yasuhara, who would become the Director and Game Planner of what would become ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', was no stranger to the group, having collaborated with Ohshima on the title ''[[sega:Final Labyrinth|Final Labyrinth]]''. The first problem he knew they had to tackle was the attack mechanic, realizing if only one button was at their disposal, they needed to combine the jump and attack into one swift motion. Discussing with the other two, they came to the conclusion of having the character himself become the projectile, curling into a ball and able to attack enemies from any side. The rabbit was quickly cast aside as thoughts turned back to Ohshima's other conceptual drawings. While the man with the mustache was still a favorite, it was clear he would not be appropriate for what the game called of him. Instead, they looked at an armadillo sketch and that quick scribble of a hedgehog. As the spines of a hedgehog gave off the illusion of speed, gave off a more urgent sense of attack as opposed to an armadillos shielding, and that it was humorously ironic that a slow creature could break the sound barrier, Ohshima began to rework the character into something that could be turned into the company's mascot.
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Yasuhara was quick to agree that how the game was currently meant to be played wasn't shaping up. Knowing of Naka's insistence on the simplistic control scheme, he told the team that the only way the player would be able to deal damage was by using the jump mechanic.{{ref|1=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118222352/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/132163/game_design_psychology_the_full_.php?page=5}} The trio tried to find a solution, Naka at one point saying to the group "all your ideas, anything you've been hiding, cough it up now!"{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20201215234115/http://shmuplations.com/sonicteam/}} But with nothing new, Naka relented on revealing his own secret idea, one he had come up with in high school and was hoping to keep to himself for a future, non-Sega game. That idea was a somersault attack, one that wouldn't just be the character curling up into a ball while airborne, but one that could also be used on the ground, rolling about the terrain.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20201215234115/http://shmuplations.com/sonicteam/}}{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20201218105427/http://shmuplations.com/sonic/}} While Ohshima was at first skeptical,{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20160625123544/https://www.famitsu.com/news/201606/24107383.html}} it proved to be the answer for their quandary.
  
[[File:SegaPlayersEnjoyClub Volume7.5 Summer1991 Page82.jpg|thumb|190px|An early promotional drawing of Sonic. Featured in the [[Coming Soon - Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Players Enjoy Club, Summer 1991)|Summer 1991]] issue of ''SPEC.'']]
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With this change in gameplay, the idea of a rabbit suddenly made less sense.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20201218105427/http://shmuplations.com/sonic/}} It was clear that a new protagonist would need to be designed, but what form that would take was up in the air. At the core, the team wanted to make sure the character defined Sega, something they felt had been missing from the company's previous attempt at created a mascot character.{{ref|https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1024928/Classic-Game-Postmortem-Sonic-the}} One aspect of this was the concept of "cool," not just on a superficial level, but also in their personality, wanting to fight for what they believed in but not being ordered around by others. The other aspect they wanted to be sure the character held was being a challenger, evoking the 90's sensibilities that were forming, and also reflecting on how Sega was trying to challenge Nintendo at their own game.{{ref|https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1024928/Classic-Game-Postmortem-Sonic-the}}
The character, originally called Mr. Hedgehog, was from the get-go meant to not only be a reflection of Sega, but an embodiment of the best the United States had to offer. At the time, it was believed that if a franchise was to become popular in the west, it would automatically succeed in Japan as well. Taking inspiration from classic animation with its simple curves and large, expressive eyes, "[[Mr. Needlemouse]]" was styled after the likes of Felix the Cat and Mickey Mouse, slowly morphing into "The Most Famous Hedgehog in the World." While the blue hue of the character was directly drawn from the color of the company's logo, the splash of red and white found in the shoes was inspired from one of the most famous American creations of all - Santa Claus. The physical design, buckle and all, was drawn from the look of Michael Jackson, one of the biggest pop stars of the 1980's, and his footwear visible on the ''Bad'' album cover. Finally, the "get-it-done" attitude the creators wanted reflected in the hedgehog was drawn from a rising star in U.S. politics, Bill Clinton, who was at the time Governor of Arkansas. With all these elements merging together, and receiving a name change, [[Sonic the Hedgehog]] was born.
 
  
These changes were not initially told to higher-ups at Sega, who still thought the AM8 division was working on the throwing-rabbit game. When time came for the small number of development teams to present their game proposals, no one knew exactly how Sonic would be received. It was this reason that Ohshima decided to go the extra mile to help sell the character of Sonic. Earlier, during a brief moment of relaxation, Ohshima had gone on vacation to New York City. Armed with his many conceptual drawings including the mustached man and the blue hedgehog, Naoto culled the opinions of passers-by in Central Park, asking which of the group he held they preferred. Sonic clearly being the winner, he planned to use this as proof of Sonic's appeal to a mass audience. Not content with just anecdotal evidence, the team also consulted with Sega's marketing department, producing an early Sonic the Hedgehog plush that would be used during the pitch. Showcasing Sonic's marketability, coupled with the strength of the game, AM8 was given the green light.
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[[File:GD Sonic1 Design Document Draft 2 Photo.jpg|thumb|A photograph of an early draft of the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' game design document. Called ''Wonder Dream'', it shows off what would become the [[Spin Attack]], called "Wonder Hedgehog."{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20220427231531/https://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?threads/naoto-ohshima-twin-star-wonder-hedgehog-1990-tokyo-toy-show-and-other-goodness.40767/ Beep21|quote="I recently found the second draft of the proposal for Sonic. This was created by myself and Hayashida (Kotaro, who was then chief of the planning section). For the first draft, the main characters were called Twin Star, a pair of boys who fought against nightmares. In the second draft, there are remnants of the word 'nightmare.' After that, I joined with Yuji Naka, and the character became the hedgehog called Sonic."}}]]
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Ohshima went back to the drawing board, doodling up a variety of potential character ideas. Suggestions came from a number of places, both within and outside the three person team. Naka suggested a panda, inspired by his love of Hayao Miyazaki's works.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20160625123544/https://www.famitsu.com/news/201606/24107383.html}} One of his superiors suggested coming up with an old man with a mustache, a dog like character, and something spiky like a porcupine.{{ref|https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1024928/Classic-Game-Postmortem-Sonic-the}} With the idea of the somersault attack, there was also a debate on using other animals known to curl up including an armadillo and a hedgehog.{{ref|1=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118222352/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/132163/game_design_psychology_the_full_.php?page=5}} During this internal debate, Ohshima had coincidentally booked a trip overseas, to New York City. Using the opportunity, he conducted impromptu focus testing. Sitting in Central Park, he had on a board three characters - an egg shaped human, a dog, and a spiny blue hedgehog. Out of those he spoke to, the hedgehog was the easy favorite, followed by the human character.{{ref|''The History of Sonic the Hedgehog'', Pix'N Love, page 98}} This gave Ohshima hope that the hedgehog character could appeal to everyone, regardless of race, gender, and culture.{{ref|https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1024928/Classic-Game-Postmortem-Sonic-the}}
  
Work on the game began in April of 1990, the mythology of Sonic being actively worked on in tangent with the game engine and design. Originally, Sonic was meant to be in a rock band, have a human girlfriend, and fight off monsters and a certain egg-shaped man dressed as a bumblebee. It was over time that many of these elements were streamlined or removed altogether, the team instead focusing on building the world of [[South Island]], the game's locale. Even if the world they were building was to be visually stunning, Ohshima knew that a protagonist was only as good as the villain they were fighting, something evident in the American comic books that he adored as a child. Going back to the one design that seemed to never quite make the cut, the mustached man, Ohshima began working on simplifying the design. Wanting to create an antagonist that was simple to draw for young kids, the original pajamas the character wore and even the brief bumblebee clothing was replaced by a black, red and yellow ensemble. With that, [[Dr. Eggman]] was born, set to terrorize Sonic and his animal friends.
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In the end, the team chose "Mr. Harinezumi," aka "Mr. Hedgehog," as the star of their game. The design of the character took inspiration from a variety of different sources. The hedgehog's simple curves and large, expressive eyes were styled after the early stars of American animation, Mickey Mouse and Felix the Cat.{{fileref|SonicAVeryQuickHistory GameTap Video Part1.mp4}} The "blue fireball"{{ref|https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1024928/Classic-Game-Postmortem-Sonic-the}} silhouette also served two important factors - it gave the hedgehog the spiky look they wanted, but it was also simple enough that a kid could draw the character and have it be recognizable.{{ref|https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1024928/Classic-Game-Postmortem-Sonic-the}} The hue of blue which covered the character came directly from Sega's own logo, with the added benefit of the color representing "coolness and peacefulness." The color also meant something more personal to Ohshima, symbolizing the hope that "the open sky is blue forever."{{ref|''Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works'', page 328}} The red and white of his shoes were inspired by who Ohshima felt was the most famous character in the world, Santa Claus.{{fileref|SonicAVeryQuickHistory GameTap Video Part1.mp4}} The bright red also had the added benefit of being able to stand out while the character was in motion.{{ref|''Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works'', page 328}} The physical design of the shoe, buckle and all, was drawn from Michael Jackson's footwear on the ''Bad'' album cover.{{fileref|SonicAVeryQuickHistory GameTap Video Part1.mp4}}
  
[[File:Sonicdebut.jpg|thumb|190px|The tour poster for [[Dreams Come True]] in 1990, officially unveiling Sonic the Hedgehog to the world.]]
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With the design nearing its final state, there was still one factor that hadn't been decided upon. "Mr. Hedgehog" was never meant to be the final name of the character, simply a placeholder until something better had been found. The team wanted a name that would evoke the concept of speed, and early on looked toward the word "kousoku" (speed of light) as a starting point, trying to derive a nickname from it. "Raisupi" (the portamento of the borrowed term "raito supiido,")  and "LS" were both considered and rejected.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20201218105427/http://shmuplations.com/sonic/}} Though it's unknown exactly who came up with the idea, someone suggested using "the speed of sound" instead, which naturally led to the name "Sonic." While there was some fear of using such an often-used term, they agreed it was the perfect fit for the character.{{ref|''The History of Sonic the Hedgehog'', Pix'N Love, page 99}}
Sonic's first public appearance was at the Tokyo Toy Show in June of 1990, showing off a tech demo of the earliest form of ''Sonic the Hedgehog''. After that, media for the game went quiet, Sega of Japan instead showing off the character in other ways. In the [[His Name is Sonic - Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Players Enjoy Club, November 1990)|November 1990]] issue of ''Sega Players Enjoy Club'', a brief "interview" with Sonic was published, establishing his attitude and his birthplace of Christmas Island. The feature also served as a way to introduce the musician behind the game, DREAMS COME TRUE's [[Masato Nakamura]]. Already an established and successful musical act, Nakamura was hired to compose the tracks that would pepper the game. Using the level concept art drawn by Ohshima as inspiration, Nakamura treated the score like he was composing music for a film, wanting the notes to evoke what was on screen. Though the sound chip could only produce a limited amount of channels at once, Nakamura saw this as a challenge, needing to be careful in his construction of the music, his inspiration creating the unique score that would further define the world of Sonic. Wanting to capitalize on the fact DREAMS COME TRUE was involved with their game, Sega became a primary sponsor for their 1990 tour, the image of Sonic stamped throughout the posters and tour buses the pop-group would use.
 
  
Work on the game continued nearly non-stop, the 11-month production cycle unheard of for games of the era. One of the core elements, the game engine, was continuously tweaked and altered during this time, in order to make Sonic and its momentum-based physics work, with even Sonic running through loop-de-loops becoming an algorithmic frustration. The limit of what Sonic's speed should be soon became a point of contention, Naka pushing the engine more and more until even he found himself nearly getting motion sickness from the pace the game moved at. Working diligently, Yuji Naka strived to find the right balance of motion for the character, one that would emphasize the speedy nature of the gameplay while at the same time being slow enough so anyone could pick up and play without being overwhelmed, that balance including making sure the animations for the hedgehog looked and flowed naturally.
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[[File:Sonic1 MD Plush 1990.jpg|thumb|200px|A one-of-a-kind Sonic plush, made for an internal presentation to Sega’s executives.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20200129075934/https://twitter.com/NaotoOhshima/status/847756897738412033}}]]
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Of the 200 designs that had been submitted to Sega, eight had been chosen as finalists, Sonic the Hedgehog being among them.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20160625123544/https://www.famitsu.com/news/201606/24107383.html}} As each finalist would be shown to [[sega:Hayao Nakayama|Hayao Nakayama]], the President and CEO of Sega of Japan, the team knew they had to make their presentation stand out from the rest. They were already slightly ahead of other teams, having not only a concept but the early stages of a playable build.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20160625123544/https://www.famitsu.com/news/201606/24107383.html}} However, Ohshima wanted to take it an extra step. Collaborating with the toy and stationary departments,{{ref|''The History of Sonic the Hedgehog'', Pix'N Love, page 97}} designs for possible merchandise was also created, including a fully realized Sonic the Hedgehog plush toy that could stand on its own.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20200129075934/https://twitter.com/NaotoOhshima/status/847756897738412033|quote=これは最初のテスト制作したぬいぐるみです。 1点物。彼は立っている。1990年物。It is a stuffed toy for the first test. 1 point thing. He is standing.1990 thing.}} While Sonic was not yet declared the official mascot of Sega,{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20160625123544/https://www.famitsu.com/news/201606/24107383.html}} their proposal was approved.
  
As the engine became solid and the visual style of the world grew, Hirokazu Yasuhara sought to create an experience that did not appeal to just one particular market. Knowing that the west was more interested in challenging obstacles while the east tended to be more casual with their mainstream gaming, Yasuhara wanted to make a game that balanced both of those qualities. Careful consideration was put into the construction of each unique zone, Yasuhara working on the level design of every act. The one level that was recreated time and time again was the [[Green Hill Zone (Sonic the Hedgehog 16-bit)|Green Hill Zone]], taking half a year until it reached a nearly complete state. As this was the player's first exposure to what ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' was to be, it was imperative that it have a careful balance of challenge and fun, also tying into Naka's philosophy of being able to better your time and skill through subsequent playthroughs.
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With production officially starting sometime around April 1990,{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20160805181730/http://www.sega-16.com/2007/06/developers-den-sega-technical-institute/}} the team went straight to work. One element they knew would be crucial was the look of the game. Inspiration came from one of the primary markets they wanted to appeal to - America, specifically the west coast. The rolling hills and blue sky of the [[Green Hill Zone]] were inspired by California.{{ref|''The History of Sonic the Hedgehog'', Pix'N Love, page 92}} The colors, however, were inspired by a piece made by Japanese artist Eizin Suzuki.{{magref|Retro Gamer|100|48}} The graphical style of the game was influenced by the computer graphics of the era, using a pixel art technique known as "ray tracing" to create the look in a 16-bit game.{{ref|''The History of Sonic the Hedgehog'', Pix'N Love, page 92}} Additionally, the background of the game's rotating special stages took inspiration from the 1990 [[sega:Sony|Sony]] promotional films ''Infinite Escher''{{ref|1=https://youtu.be/O9AZ9CGMi4k?si=9PvVJj-9dxshHmZe&t=305}} and ''Metamorphosis''{{ref|1=https://youtu.be/YW26YMe8iUQ?si=GqfLnJncYJZmpeDU&t=104}} (produced to demonstrate new technologies like surround sound and computer graphics), featuring a repeating illusion consisting of birds and fish inspired by M.C. Escher's "Metamorphosis II" and "Sky and Water".{{fileref|SonysMetamorphosis 1990 specialstage.gif}} Translating the concept art Ohshima had drawn into the pixel landscapes of Sonic's world fell on the shoulders of [[sega:Rieko Kodama|Rieko Kodama]] and [[sega:Jina Ishiwatari|Jina Ishiwatari]]. Rieko Kodama had worked previously with both Naka and Ohshima on ''Phantasy Star'',{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20200809111945/https://www.destructoid.com/stories/a-chat-with-sega-s-first-lady-of-rpgs-rieko-kodama-532348.phtml}} being responsible for such tasks on ''Sonic'' as the backgrounds of [[Labyrinth Zone]] and [[Star Light Zone]].{{fileref|Megadrive Fan 1991-07.pdf|page=75}} Jina Ishiwatari was a brand new hire to Sega, who ended up redrawing the graphics of Green Hill Zone multiple times at the request of Ohshima over the course of a year until they were perfect.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20220823032251/https://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?threads/jina-ishiwatari-tsukaharas-largely-unrecognized-contribution-to-sonic.41246/}}
  
As the 8-strong team of AM8 neared completion of the program, they dubbed themselves "[[sega:Sonic Team|Sonic Team]]," after the project that could make or break their company. Conscripting [[sega:Akira Watanabe|Akira Watanabe]] to create the distinctive pop-art inspired packaging, plus darkening the sprite of Sonic's shade of blue to better stand out from the blue skies and oceans that was integral to the look of South Island, the final product was nearly formed. A three-part mini-comic, the ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic]]'', was commissioned to help advertise the game in Japan. Showcasing the world of Sonic, the comic draws from elements during production that were either altered or removed from the final game, including prototype level names and a scene where Sonic is clearly a singer in a band.
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[[File:SonysMetamorphosis 1990 specialstage.gif|thumb|left|240px|A scene from [[Sony]]'s 1990 promotional film ''Infinite Escher'', which inspired the Special Stage.]]
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The American influence on ''Sonic'' went beyond the Green Hill Zone. When the idea of making a mascot game seized Sega in 1990, Nakayama declared they wanted "a product that will be a big hit in America!"{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20201218105427/http://shmuplations.com/sonic/}} This unofficial marching order was a major influence on the design of the characters, the world they were building, and even the "roller coaster" design of gameplay.{{ref|''High Score'' Episode 4: "This is War"}} An element of Sonic's personality was directly inspired by future president Bill Clinton. A rising star in the U.S. political landscape, his "get-it-done-now" attitude{{fileref|SonicAVeryQuickHistory GameTap Video Part1.mp4}} seemed a perfect fit for the hedgehog. At one point, the team even contemplated using the tagline "number one hit in America"{{ref|''The History of Sonic the Hedgehog'', Pix'N Love, page 94}} to sell their new game. However, ''Sonic'' had not been designed to only succeed in the west. With the belief that a successful American property would automatically be attractive in Japan,{{ref|''The History of Sonic the Hedgehog'', Pix'N Love, page 94}} Ohshima was also designing the character with the Japanese audience in mind.{{ref|''The History of Sonic the Hedgehog'', Pix'N Love, page 99}} The game's designer, Yasuhara, was acutely aware of this dichotomy, wanting to build a game that would appeal both to the western gamer seeking a challenge, and the eastern gamer who was more interested in a casual experience.{{fileref|SonicAVeryQuickHistory GameTap Video Part2.mp4}}
  
Developed entirely in Japan, the game would see release first in the west, premiering on U.S. shores on June 23rd, 1991. Some extra graphical effects and a few bugs would be polished for the Japanese release a month later, but it was with this game that the 16-bit wars truly began. Drawing critical and commercial success, ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' brought the character - and the company behind it - into the minds of the general public.
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[[File:Sonicdebut.jpg|thumb|The image of Sonic the Hedgehog that followed Dreams Come True along their November 1990 tour.]]
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Sonic's first public appearance was at the [[sega:‘90 Tokyo Toy Show|‘90 Tokyo Toy Show]], where an extremely early demo was available for attendees. Through the rest of 1990, work on the game was behind closed doors, Sega of Japan instead promoting the upcoming title in other ways. In the November 1990{{fileref|SPEC_JP_07.pdf|page=76}} issue of ''[[sega:Sega Players Enjoy Club|Sega Players Enjoy Club]]'', a brief "interview" with Sonic was published, establishing his attitude and his birthplace of Christmas Island. The feature also served as a way to introduce the musician behind the game, Dreams Come True's [[Masato Nakamura]].  
  
While there were plans to port the game to both the [[Sonic the Hedgehog (Amiga)|Amiga]] and the [[Sonic the Hedgehog 1 CD|Mega-CD]], it was decided that the game would remain on the Mega Drive for the time being, letting the cart become one of the main selling points for the system.
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When it came time to find a composer for the game, Sega director [[sega:Fujio Minegishi|Fujio Minegishi]] chose not to look inside the company, but instead offered to ask his contacts in the Japanese recording industry. At first, he suggested to the team the talents of Yuzo Kayama, who he was personal friends with.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20201215234115/http://shmuplations.com/sonicteam/}} While tempting, it was decided that his musical style wasn't the right fit for what they were going for. Instead, Masato Nakamura was offered the job. Given only conceptual artwork, the team behind ''Sonic'' explained how it was all meant to come together. Going off this information, Nakamura began to compose, wanting to treat the songs not as game music, but as a film score, hoping to tap into the success of such 80's movie soundtracks as Top Gun, Flashdance, and Dirty Dancing.{{fileref|Sonic1&2Soundtrack JP Booklet.pdf|page=8}}
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{{quote|1=I wanted 'Sonic' to come across as cinematic...I wanted melodies that the player would hum along with as they were playing, dramatic music for when the scenes were intense, climactic music for when bosses would show up, and then tie it all together with an uplifting theme for the end credits. That was what I knew I wanted it all to be like.|2=Masato Nakamura, Composer of ''Sonic the Hedgehog''{{ref|1=https://web.archive.org/web/20081223022942/https://www.sega.com/sonic/globalsonic/post_sonicteam.php?article=nakamura}}}}
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Limited to the amount of sounds he could use at the same time, Nakamura found the process inspiring, forcing him "to be smarter"{{fileref|Sonic1&2Soundtrack JP Booklet.pdf|page=10}} in the way he wrote. The relationship between Nakamura and Sega continued into Dreams Come True's next tour, meant to promote their latest album, ''Wonder 3''. Becoming one of their tour sponsors, Sega provided the band with a truck to carry their equipment in, which also had the image of Sonic plastered on the side.{{ref|1=https://web.archive.org/web/20081223022942/https://www.sega.com/sonic/globalsonic/post_sonicteam.php?article=nakamura}}
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Production on the game continued. Expanding on Sonic's world, it was clear the hedgehog needed a main villain to go up against. One of Ohshima's discarded designs for the protagonist, the large mustached man, was repurposed to become the main antagonist of the game, his round shape also fitting the idea of keeping the characters simple enough for kids to draw.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/19961220020409/http://www.sega.com/features/allsonic/creator/naka04.html}}. The villain, now named [[Dr. Eggman]], helped set up a nature vs technology dynamic, tying into the era's growing popularity of environmentalism.{{ref|https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1024928/Classic-Game-Postmortem-Sonic-the}} As the zone visuals continued to be refined, Sonic's shade of blue also had to be darkened so his sprites could stand out from the blues of Green Hill Zone's background.{{ref|1=http://web.archive.org/web/20141017130701/https://www.sega-16.com/2006/12/interview-mark-cerny/|quote=One much smaller Sonic inside story: the character’s color was changed just prior to release. Sonic had been a lighter blue, but he was very hard to see against the ocean backgrounds, so his color was darkened at the last moment.}}{{ref|''The History of Sonic the Hedgehog'', Pix'N Love, page 92}}
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Approaching the level design, Yasuhara wanted to capture the feeling of an amusement park ride, that Sonic was leading the player on an experience that let them enjoy the world in a way ''Mario'' and other similar platformers were unable to.{{ref|https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1024928/Classic-Game-Postmortem-Sonic-the}} Starting with quick sketches of gimmicks and obstacles, Yasuhara would consult with Naka, seeing what ideas should be prioritized, and which would be more difficult to program. However, some ideas that the team initially discarded were able to be reintroduced, such as the moving platforms in the jagged pathways of [[Scrap Brain Zone]].{{ref|https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1024928/Classic-Game-Postmortem-Sonic-the}}
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[[File:SPEC JP 075.pdf|page=61|thumb|190px|An early promotional drawing of Sonic. Featured in the Summer 1991 issue of ''[[sega:SPEC|SPEC]]''.]]
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The engine was meant to not only be the framework for a fun game, but also show off the technical capabilities of the hardware, though Naka felt the Mega Drive was not quite up to snuff with what he wanted to accomplish.{{fileref|HistoryofSonicTheBirthofanIcon Video.mp4}} One of the main goals to help clearly separate the zones of ''Sonic'' from ''Mario'' was to step away from the blocky terrain that 8-bit platformers were built in. Developing a way to create smooth maps,{{fileref|HistoryofSonicTheBirthofanIcon Video.mp4}} the task of creating working loops in Green Hill proved more difficult. When Sonic would try to run around the loop, his speed would cause him to break out of it completely.{{fileref|HistoryofSonicTheBirthofanIcon Video.mp4}} Even if the sprite remained in the loop, the visual would look blocky, not at all like the smooth flow the team wanted to capture. When the problem was solved, Naka couldn't help but get excited.{{ref|''The History of Sonic the Hedgehog'', Pix'N Love, page 91}} Another early issue with the game was trying to find the right speed in which Sonic would run. Pushing the power of the system, Naka's first thought was to make Sonic go as fast as possible, but this proved to be an issue with those who would try out early builds, even Naka feeling motion sickness as he played the game.{{fileref|SonicAVeryQuickHistory GameTap Video Part2.mp4}} Slowing down the character was the only solution.
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With more of the game put together, Naka would invite people to come and play early versions, watching how they would handle ''Sonic the Hedgehog''. Expecting people to take things slow, he was surprised that everyone would immediately run at full speed. He assumed that a first time player would take time to explore until they learned the levels, only going faster in subsequent playthroughs. However, no one who took a turn actually played it that way. These observations led to the creation of the ring system, which allowed even the most reckless player the ability to continue.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20201218105427/http://shmuplations.com/sonic/}} This also gave the team another excuse to show off the technical prowess of the Mega Drive, having the rings shoot out of Sonic in a visually dynamic display whenever he would get hit by an enemy.{{ref|1=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118222352/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/132163/game_design_psychology_the_full_.php?page=5}}
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The core team would not always agree on how a level should be laid out. On more than one occasion, Naka or Ohshima would remove a difficult trap from a zone, thinking it was interrupting the flow of a level, only for Yasuhara to put it right back in. The back and forth was not one Ohshima begrudged, finding it an enjoyable experience that resulted in a balanced game.{{ref|''Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works'', page 329}} Naka also found the dynamic unique, as it was the first time he felt that he was working as part of a team, as opposed to just carrying out the orders of a single person.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20201215234115/http://shmuplations.com/sonicteam/}}
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By the time development was nearing its end, the small group within the employ of [[sega:Sega CS|Sega CS R&D]] decided to call themselves "[[Sonic Team]]," after the project they had spent over a year working on. In May of 1991, during Japan's "Golden Week," the game was finally complete.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20201218105427/http://shmuplations.com/sonic/}} This first version was released in the United States on June 11th, 1991.{{magref|vgce|29|32}} It would be a month until the game was for sale in Japan, the extra time allowing the team to polish a handful of bugs and add in some extra graphical effects.
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After the game was complete, there was some consideration to release ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (Mega-CD)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' to the [[sega:Sega Mega-CD|Mega-CD]]. Though a single prototype was made,{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/19970215172729/http://www.sega.co.jp/nights/sonic/esonic.html}} it ultimately did not see release.
  
 
==Westernization==
 
==Westernization==
  
[[File:GregMartinSonicSketch-PromotionalCover.jpg|thumb|190px|The original pencil sketch for the westernized look of Sonic the Hedgehog, Dr. Eggman, and the Green Hill Zone. From the [[Sonic the Hedgehog (promotional comic)|American promotional comic]].]]
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[[File:GregMartinSonicSketch-PromotionalCover.jpg|thumb|190px|A pencil sketch featuring the westernized look of Sonic the Hedgehog, Dr. Eggman, and the Green Hill Zone. The final version would be used as the cover for the [[Sonic the Hedgehog (promotional comic)|American promotional comic]].]]
While in hindsight its easy to see why the game was a huge success, originally the higher-ups at Sega of America were weary of the concept of Sonic as a character. Though hedgehogs were well known in Japan, at the time hardly anyone had even heard the word in the United States. [[sega:Michael Katz|Michael Katz]], the CEO of Sega of America at the time, reacted quite negatively at the initial concepts faxed to his office. Right off the bat, he constructed a list of ten reasons why Sonic would never get off the ground in the west, sending it to [[sega:Shinobu Toyoda|Shinobu Toyoda]], Executive Vice President of SOA with the intent of having it forwarded to Japanese headquarters. Setting off the western marketing department into full panic mode, they scrambled to correct what they felt was a disastrous decision, quickly contacting another designer whom they thought would be best suited to create a character for an American audience.{{ref|[[Mark Cerny interview by Sega-16 (December 5, 2006)]]}}
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In early 1990, the head of the brand new [[sega:Sega Technical Institute|Sega Technical Institute]], [[Mark Cerny|Mark Cerny]], was visiting Sega of Japan on business. While there, Naoto Ohshima, still working on potential designs for the mascot game, showed Cerny what he had come up with. Cerny, saying he was just "a random American,"{{ref|https://segaretro.org/Interview:_Mark_Cerny_(2006-12-05)_by_Sega-16}} felt the opinions of Sega of America's marketing department would be better suited to give feedback on a character that was meant to appeal to western audiences. Making copies of the illustrations, he returned to the United States, handing them off.{{ref|https://segaretro.org/Interview:_Mark_Cerny_(2006-12-05)_by_Sega-16}}
  
Whatever plans Michael Katz had were quickly squashed as a shake-up at SOA had him out of a job, replaced by former Matell CEO [[sega:Tom Kalinske|Tom Kalinske]]. While acclimating himself to the games industry, he was also faxed the earliest concepts of Sonic, the rock band, and his girlfriend Madonna. Just like Katz, he was put off by the feisty, fang-toothed character, but instead of trying to stop it from happening entirely, Tom looked towards his staff to slightly retool the blue hedgehog. Put in charge of being product manager for the Sonic brand was [[sega:Madeline Schroeder|Madeline Schroeder]], whom the offices at SOA affectionately referred to as "the mother of Sonic."
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Sega of America's initial response was not positive. When CEO [[sega:Michael Katz|Michael Katz]] learned of Sonic's existence, he "thought it was nuts."{{ref|https://segaretro.org/Interview:_Michael_Katz_(2006-04-28)_by_Sega-16}} Having to ask what a hedgehog even was, he had little faith in the character, not knowing how to market a cartoon based on an animal no one in the United States had heard of. Quickly, he jotted down a top ten list of reasons ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' would fail,{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juoaAoXz1AU}} sending the memo to [[sega:Shinobu Toyoda|Shinobu Toyoda]], who was not only Executive Vice President of SOA but served as a conduit between SOA and Sega of Japan.{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxrvZK3mUcE}}
  
Immediately, the first task Madeline and her crew set about tackling was the alteration of the visual style for the characters, all in an attempt to maximize market appeal. Artist [[sega:Greg Martin|Greg Martin]] was tasked with creating the definitive American Sonic, tweaking the hedgehog while still maintaining a certain level of attitude. The fangs of early concept art were completely removed, the curves of Sonic's proportions becoming softer, more akin to the visual style of late 1980's cartoons. Eggman also received an overhaul, looking far more sinister than what Ohshima's art suggested. This change in tone was reflected further with his renaming to Dr. Robotnik.
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Katz was not the only one initially confused by the character. [[sega:Al Nilsen|Al Nilsen]], Director of Marketing at SOA, was shown concept art of two different games the Japanese branch was working on.
  
Next, she cast aside the fiction the offices of Sonic Team had come up with, [[Sonic the Hedgehog Bible|writing a draft]] with Director of Marketing [[sega:Al Nilsen|Al Nilsen]] for an alternate scenario to explain how the character came to be. In it, Sonic was born Sonny, a small brown hedgehog whose incredible speed made him somewhat famous in the Nebraskan town he lived. One day, when he should have been preparing to hibernate, Sonny instead decided to continue training in the hopes of one day being good enough for the Olympics, but his natural instincts take over, causing the hedgehog to fall asleep right above the underground laboratory of a crazed yet benevolent scientist. It would be after this meeting that Sonny would become Sonic The Hedgehog, his middle name literally being "The," an idea Al had thinking that it could be turned into an interesting story one day.
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{{quote|1="[Toyoda] opened this manila envelope and pulled out two drawings and the first one was kind of, very much Japanese animation derived and they were like these little eggs that were animated...and while I understood how they would work in the Japanese marketplace, in the US they would just come off as very preschool and so not something that would have broad appeal. The second one was a hedgehog."|2=Al Nilsen, Director of Marketing, Sega of America{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxrvZK3mUcE}}}}
  
It was neither Madeline nor Al who came up with many of the western names for the various creatures and creations that would populate the game, however. Game tester and Sega help line employee [[Dean Sitton]] was the one responsible for coming up with many of these names, including such [[Badnik|badniks]] as [[Buzzbomber]] and [[Ball Hog]] (called Beeton and Ton-ton in the original Japanese version, respectively). However, his greatest contribution to the westernization of the franchise was penning the name Dr. Ivo Robotnik.
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The concept art had a fanged version of Sonic, complete with human girlfriend and a backing band. Asked which of the two concepts he thought would appeal to American gamers, Nilsen chose the "least of two evils," going with the hedgehog.{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxrvZK3mUcE}}
  
{{quote|1=The producer of the US version would be in Japan and call in for updates. Like how many rings for a free man...how many rings for a continue etc.. I got to play the game for a week or so and I submitted a document that showed the characters in the game that I could see and a few names for each of them. Dr. Badvibes and many other names were not chosen.
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Fearing the character "unsalvageable,"{{ref|https://segaretro.org/Interview:_Mark_Cerny_(2006-12-05)_by_Sega-16}} SOA felt they needed to create their own concept for the perfect mascot. Looking to hire an outside designer, SOA were seeking to either hire Will Vinton, the designer of [[wikipedia:The California Raisins|The California Raisins]], or find someone who would be inspired by Vinton's style.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20230126160604/https://www.timeextension.com/features/playstation-5-lead-architect-mark-cerny-talks-sega-michael-jackson-and-yuji-naka}} It was believed this individual could create something tailored to American sensibilities.{{ref|https://segaretro.org/Interview:_Mark_Cerny_(2006-12-05)_by_Sega-16}} For unknown reasons, these plans quickly fell through.
  
I named Ivo Robotnik, Ballhog, and 3-4 more from that game. I helped to flesh out the fiction for Greenhill and Sally/Sandy/Amy? whatever the girls name is now... with a guy named Jamie Wojik... usually producers of games have only to fill in the blanks..it doesn't always matter how the blanks get filled in.|2=Dean Sitton, Sega of America Game Tester{{ref|1={{LinkRetro|title=Dr Badvibes|topic=6657}}}}}}
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A couple months after seeing the initial concept art, Al Nilsen found himself in Japan, visiting the Sega offices. It was there that, for the first time, he saw ''Sonic'' in action. Not yet at a point where the team felt comfortable with others playing, Al watched the character move on a black and white display, zipping along and rolling about. Shown the in-progress backgrounds separately, he finally saw the potential the game possessed. He just needed to play it himself to know for sure.{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxrvZK3mUcE}}
  
While Robotnik was the final name for the character, Sitton had thrown out a handful of other names that could have been used for the antagonist.
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Back at Sega of America, Michael Katz's time with the company was coming to an end. Unhappy with how things were going stateside, Hayao Nakayama reached out to former Mattel CEO [[sega:Tom Kalinske|Tom Kalinske]], courting him to take over as CEO of Sega of America in July of 1990.{{ref|''Console Wars'', CBS All Access}} Unlike Katz, Kalinske's first impression of Sonic was relatively neutral. While he found certain aspects of the concept odd, he also knew that sometimes it was the wildest of ideas that would end up being successful.{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73abjrBD3NU}} He did agree with Al Nilsen and the Project Manager for ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', [[sega:Madeline Schroeder|Madeline Schroeder]], that there needed to be some changes if the character was going to work stateside.
  
{{quote|1=[As] far as the change, its as if someone held up an object and said "what do you call this"? ... meaning I didn't create the object... I just named it...[O]ther Robotnik names were, Doctor X, Doctor Gloom, Dr. What.|2=Dean Sitton, Sega of America Game Tester}}
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Returning to Japan, Kalinske gave a presentation to Nakayama and the board, getting into detail on how he felt they could best compete against Nintendo. At the center of this plan was ''Sonic''. Having finally seen the game in action, he believed it had the chance to define the 16-bit era.{{ref|''Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works'', page 23}} Kalinske told them that not only did the price of the Mega Drive (known as Genesis in America) need to drop, but that Sonic had to be packed in with the system. Once Kalinske's presentation was over, the members of the board started talking amongst themselves, clearly displeased with the proposal. Hayao Nakayama stood up, kicking aside his chair, and stormed towards the door, telling Kalinske that everyone thought his plan was crazy. Before leaving, he told Kalinske that he had hired him to do what he thought was best in America, and if his proposal was the way to go about it, to go ahead.{{fileref|SonicAVeryQuickHistory GameTap Video Part2.mp4}}
  
 
[[File:Toon eggman2.png|thumb|190px|A westernized version of Dr. Eggman, renamed Dr. Ivo Robotnik.]]
 
[[File:Toon eggman2.png|thumb|190px|A westernized version of Dr. Eggman, renamed Dr. Ivo Robotnik.]]
Also thrown about were the names "Mister Badwrench," "Mr. Bad Year" and "Fatty Lobotnik." Even the first name, "Ivo," was suggested by Sitton, pronouncing the name with a soft "I" to make the it sound closer to the world "evil."
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It was during this time that Madeline Schroeder, whom those at SOA would refer to as "the mother of Sonic,"{{fileref|SonicAVeryQuickHistory GameTap Video Part2.mp4}} went to work on best positioning ''Sonic'' for success. One of the first things she felt needed to change was the visual look of the character.{{fileref|HistoryofSonicTheBirthofanIcon Video.mp4}} Hiring the creative agency Michael Patrick Partners, artist Greg Wray went to work softening the look of Sonic the Hedgehog, eventually drawing the image that would be on the front of every copy of the game sold in the U.S.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20180314015643/https://michaelpatrickpartners.com/identity-design-sonic-the-hedgehog}} When Sonic Team learned of the redesign, they did little to hide their displeasure. Madeline Schroeder was forced to fly out to Japan and speak with the team herself, explaining that the changes were necessary if the game was going to succeed in the west. During the meeting, Sonic Team remained resolute in their dislike of the American redesign.{{fileref|HistoryofSonicTheBirthofanIcon Video.mp4}} It was only later that the U.S. side of things was assured they could continue on as they saw fit.{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxrvZK3mUcE}}
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{{quote|1=In those days, I hated the American change to the look and feel, and I didn't know how the consumers would perceive it. But looking back, that's one of the reasons that it succeeded.|2=Yuji Naka, Programmer and Project Manger of ''Sonic the Hedgehog|ref={{fileref|SonicAVeryQuickHistory GameTap Video Part2.mp4}}}}
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The look of Sonic was not the only factor the SOA team needed to consider. Tom Kalinske, during his time at Mattel, knew the importance of creating strong characters and building the fiction of the world around them, as he had done with the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe franchise.{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73abjrBD3NU}} Quickly, Madeline and Al began work on an internal "[[Sonic the Hedgehog Bible|Sonic Bible]]," a document meant to explain Sonic's history and define the character's personality. The original draft{{fileref|SonicBible Document.pdf}} placed Sonic as a native of Hardly, Nebraska. Born "Sonny," the brown hedgehog ran into a kindly, if eccentric, scientist named Dr. Kintobor. Through a series of events, Sonic turned blue, was gifted his red and white sneakers, and Dr. Kintobor was accidentally transformed into the evil Dr. Robotnik. Further revisions{{fileref|SonicBibleDraft1 Document.pdf}} changed Sonic's home to the world of "[[Mobius]]." However, it wasn't the corporate team at SOA that came up with the name Robotnik.
  
Although the changes weren't as dramatic as some other Japanese properties marketed for the United States have over the years, the original Sonic Team was quite unhappy when they saw what Sega of America was doing to their work. Years later, Ohshima would go on record saying he was baffled as to why they felt the need to redraw his artwork and come up with concepts that had nothing to do with the game, especially as it had been originally designed with a western audience in mind. To address their concerns, Madeline Schroeder flew out to the land of the rising sun to discuss with the development team why these changes were being done. During the meeting, the Japanese offered a compromise - that there simply be two Sonic's, with the west promoting their version and the east maintaining their vastly different one. However, the representatives of SOA disagreed, stating that if Sonic was to become a global icon, there had to be a degree of unity.
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[[Dean Sitton]] was both a Sega help line employee and a game tester. Being invited into meetings from time to time,{{ref|https://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?posts/115309}} he had the chance to try out an early version of Sonic the Hedgehog. Afterwards, he was asked to submit potential names for both the robot enemies and the main antagonist of the game. For the latter, he put together a robust list. Dr. Robotnik{{ref|https://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?posts/115309}} became the favorite, but others considered were Dr. Badvibes,{{ref|https://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?posts/115309}} Doctor X, Doctor Gloom, Dr. What,{{ref|https://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?posts/268696/}} and Nasty McRotten.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20240205064700/https://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?threads/deansatan-enters-the-fray.13659/page-6#post-268804}} Sitton also came up with the first name, Ivo, wanting it pronounced with a soft "I" to make it closer to the word "evil."{{ref|https://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?posts/268012/}} A handful of badnik names, including Ball Hog, Caterkiller, and Buzz Bomber{{ref|https://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?posts/267965/}} were suggested by Sitton as well.
  
Returning back to the United States, Madeline wasn't sure just what would happen, but over time it was clear that the elements they had the most trouble with were dropped from the game. The rock band disappeared, but even still the simplistic fiction of South Island found in the Japanese manual was replaced. Although there was still a slight divide between how Sonic would be portrayed in both the east and west, it was nothing compared to what could have been. Years later, Yuji Naka would reflect on these events more levelheaded than how he reacted back in 1990:
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With the pieces falling into place, newer builds of the game were sent over stateside, the employees of STI even fighting over who would be able to play during downtime.{{ref|''Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works'', page 21}} Al Nilsen was happy that attitude was now taking precedence over aggressiveness,{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxrvZK3mUcE}} even the idle animation of Sonic tapping his foot tying into how they wanted to market Sonic.{{ref|{{fileref|HistoryofSonicTheBirthofanIcon Video.mp4}}}} He was sure the game would be a hit, but Tom Kalinske wanted some sort of empirical evidence to seal the deal. With an imported copy of ''Super Mario World'', Al Nilsen went around the country, gathering secret focus groups to try out both ''World'' and ''Sonic the Hedgehog''. The results were clear - eighty percent of those who tried both preferred ''Sonic''.{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxrvZK3mUcE}}
  
{{quote|1=In those days, I hated the American change to the look and feel, and I didn't know how the consumers would perceive it. But looking back, that's one of the reasons that it succeeded.|2=Yuji Naka, Programmer and Project Manger of ''Sonic the Hedgehog}}
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[[File:SonicSummerCES.jpg|thumb|''Sonic the Hedgehog'' going head-to-head with ''Super Mario World'' during the 1991 Summer Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago.]]
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''Sonic the Hedgehog'' would make its first public appearance in the United States during the [[sega:Winter CES 1991|Winter Consumer Electronics Show]] in January, 1991.{{magref|cvg|112|11}} This wouldn't be treated as ''Sonic'''s official coming out party, as Sega of America wanted to keep the game a relative secret{{fileref|HistoryofSonicTheBirthofanIcon Video.mp4}} until the Super Nintendo was officially showed off in the west. The time came at [[sega:Summer CES 1991|Summer CES 1991]], where the SNES and its lineup of games were revealed to the press. After Nintendo's presentation, the show floor was open, the Sega booth doing something unexpected - having both ''Mario'' and ''Sonic'' playing side by side.
  
Come time for release, the layout and graphics of ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' would be constant across all corners of the globe, the only physical differences being the art each package portrayed. Even still, Naka remained blissfully unaware of the alternate storyline until years later, when it was no longer being referred to in any external media.
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{{quote|1=The doors to CES opened, and about two minutes after that a reporter...came up to me and said "Super Nintendo has 32,768 colors. You've only got 512. What are you going to do about it?" So silently I just motioned for him to follow me, and walked over to a place in our booth where we had two large tv monitors. One had Sonic the Hedgehog, and one had the new 16-bit Super Mario. And I said "which one has more colors? It's not how many colors you have, it's what you do with them." Immediately, he saw the difference.|2=Al Nilsen, Director of Marketing, Sega of America{{fileref|HistoryofSonicTheBirthofanIcon Video.mp4}}}}
  
As the game began to take form, the doubts of whether or not ''Sonic'' would be a hit began to dissipate, Tom Kalinske wanting to poise the cartridge as the central pillar of their strategy. Meeting with the President of Sega of Japan, [[sega:Hayao Nakayama|Hayao Nakayama]], Tom introduced his four point plan to the board of directors, mapping out how they could catapult the Genesis into the consciousness of America. Among the ideas were to lower the price of the system and focus more on games being developed exclusively for a western audience, but the most controversial point was to have ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' replace ''[[sega:Altered Beast|Altered Beast]]'' as the pack-in title for the system. At first, Nakayama was nothing less than furious, baffled at how having a core title packed in from nearly day one was going to benefit them, since they were already hitting a loss which each hardware unit sold, making it up in software sales. Kicking his chair to the ground, Nakayama began to storm out, but before he left the room, he turned back to Kalinske and stated that if he felt this was the only way to beat Nintendo, to go ahead.
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This direct comparison between the two games continued in both a mall tour{{ref|''Console Wars'', CBS All Access}} and television advertising.{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK0OFsWWzu4}}
  
Because of the backstock of ''Altered Beast''-branded Genesis units, the plan was to initially have any new adopters of the system, starting July 1st, 1991, to be able to get a free copy of ''Sonic the Hedgehog''. This would continue until September, when the only Genesis units on the shelves would be those already packed in with the game. Before they'd be ready to roll out, however, Sega of America knew that they'd need a strong advertising campaign close to launch. Holding back on releasing too much media, Sega of America asked their Japanese brethren to also resist showing off too much of Sonic too early, in the fear that if you gave away all your best cards months in advance, people would forget about it by the time the cartridge was on store shelves. Instead, they wanted to begin pushing Sonic only weeks before, having his blue mug plastered on as many videogame magazines as possible.
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By September 15th, 1991, the Sega Genesis was being sold exclusively with ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' as the pack-in title, those who had purchased the system between July and September able to get a free copy of the game.{{ref|''Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle That Defined a Generation,'' Blake J. Harris, page 150}} The move had paid off, and after the Christmas season, the Sega Genesis had overtaken the Super Nintendo with an estimated 57.8 percent of the market share.{{ref|Marinucci, Carla (1992-01-12). "Sega shows Nintendo it knows how to play, too." ''San Francisco Examiner'', B1}}
  
[[File:SonicSummerCES.jpg|thumb|190px|''Sonic the Hedgehog'' going head-to-head with ''Super Mario World'' during the 1991 Summer Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago.]]
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==Fictional character origin==
Though briefly demoed at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show in January of 1991, Sonic's real showing in an American trade show wasn't until the Summer CES in Chicago. With the Super Nintendo's release date only three months away, Al Nilsen came up with a way to show off the game, the natural progression of the aggressive marketing the company had done with their "Genesis Does What Nintendon't" campaign. Gaming journalists and industry insiders alike were not only presented with the full version of ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', but had the game demoed side by side with Nintendo's flagship franchise{{fileref|Zero UK 22.pdf|page=12}}. Introducing a game that was not yet available in the west, Sega wanted to show that Sonic was not a Super Mario clone, but something new, a colorfully vibrant, roller coaster ride that ''Super Mario World'' could only wish it was. Receiving positive press, marketing wanted to emulate the game's showing at the Summer CES on a nationwide scale. Sega of America began a full-on publicity tour in September, dubbed the "Sega World Tour '91," where a mobile unit went to twenty-five shopping malls across the country, having players being able to play both ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' and ''Super Mario World'', comparing them side by side.{{ref|1=http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19910913&slug=1305301}} This stark comparison even made its way into television advertisement, a commercial with a salesmen trying to pitch ''Super Mario World'' to a consumer who is far more interested in the game playing on the television next to Mario.{{ref|1=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAyxBm_NWhA}}
 
  
Similar to Japan's 3-part manga, a [[Sonic the Hedgehog (promotional comic)|promotional comic]] was commissioned to be published in the west, featuring the [[Dr. Ovi Kintobor|Dr. Kintobor]] story that Madeline Schroeder had helped create. Streamlined from the original draft, the Nebraska elements were completely removed, instead focusing on the chance encounter between a kindly scientist and a brown hedgehog, who would soon become blue. That same scientist, Dr. Ovi Kintobor, would be transformed into the villain of the piece due to an accident involving the [[Chaos Emeralds]] and his invention, the [[R.O.C.C.]] Though the backstory would be used as the inspiration for subsequent media including the U.K. published ''[[Sonic the Comic]]'', the main focus of the advertising campaign would be on the character of Sonic himself, and how he differed from the accepted standard, Super Mario.
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While developing Sonic the Hedgehog as a character, Sonic Team was acutely aware of what elements they wanted him to embody. Among those elements was a sense of history and nostalgia. Looking at characters from successful brands such as Disney, Marvel, and Sanrio, what seemed to be true across all of them was history and familiarity. Icons that not only stood the test of time, but seemed like they had always existed, and had a fleshed out world for their stories to be told in.{{ref|https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1024928/Classic-Game-Postmortem-Sonic-the}}
  
With all the pieces in place, and ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' being packed in with each new Genesis unit, Sega of America's share in the market began to steadily grow. By 1992, the Sonic brand had helped, for the first time ever, to have a company not only compete head to head with Nintendo, but have market share that for a time overtook the gaming behemoth.
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As Sonic was being built from the ground up, there was no built in history for the character. Instead, the team began exploring the idea of a "fictional history" for Sonic, not just in-universe but also in the real world. At the time, Naoto Ohshima had a keen interest in leather jackets, emblems, and airplane nose art. Coincidentally, the era from when airplane nose art was at its height was the same era in which Sega first came into being, back when it was [[sega:Service Games|Service Games]]. Working with Ohshima, Hirokazu Yasuhara ended up writing a backstory for the character that tied into that same historical period.{{ref|https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1024928/Classic-Game-Postmortem-Sonic-the}}
  
==Concept Art==
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The story begins in 1947 America, where an unnamed fighter pilot was nicknamed "hedgehog," due to the way his hair would stand up on end when he took off his flight helmet. His wife, Marie Granette, who was an author of children's books, was inspired to create a character based on her husband's nickname. Calling this character "Sonic," she would also tell these stories to their daughter. Designing a blue hedgehog, it ended up on the back of the pilot's leather jacket, the story of the hedgehog spreading even if no one could recall the pilot's name.
  
===Rejected Character Designs===
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On one fateful day, two test pilots took part in an experiment - to be the first human able to break the speed of sound. While Chuck Yeager successfully crossed that barrier with no problem, the man known as "hedgehog" unfortunately did not, his plane exploding the moment he hit the speed of sound.
The following is a collection of images drawn by a variety of people within Sega during the internal competition to come up with a new mascot for the company. Among the selection is the rabbit image, for which served as the original inspiration for the gameplay. While the throwing dynamic was removed from the final product, it was fleshed out for the 1995 Sega game ''[[sega:Ristar|Ristar]]'' which contained a handful of members that worked on some of the Sonic titles. The mechanic would eventually be put into ''[[Sonic Adventure]]'' and ''[[Sonic Adventure 2]]'', though it was never a focus of the gameplay and didn't need to be used to finish any of the levels. The concept was also echoed in the much-later character [[Cream the Rabbit]], who would "throw" her [[Chao]] at enemies in ''[[Sonic Advance 2]]''.  
 
  
<gallery widths="148px" heights="148px" >
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Jumping ahead to the 1980's, a freelance photographer named Meg happened to find a leather jacket with an image of Sonic the Hedgehog on the back. Recognizing the character from stories she heard as a child, she purchased the jacket, wearing it to work. While photographing an air show, an accident occurred overhead, causing one of the planes to crash. Rushing to cover this breaking story, a second plane crashed next to her, trapping Meg in a circle of flames. Suddenly, a gloved hand reached out, rushing her to safety as she lost consciousness. Waking up in a hospital bed, she could only guess what had happened, the charred jacket no longer having Sonic. When developing the photos she took on the day of the accident, she was shocked to see a familiar pair of red shoes in one of the shots.
GD Sonic1 Concept Sonic 01.png|A Sonic-esque rabbit.
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File:Sonic1-Rabbit2.png
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[[Original Story|The story]] would be adapted in the third volume of ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic]]'' as a prose piece, with some details changed. The original text would not be shown to the public until ''[[Sonic Jam Official Guide]]'' was published in Japan, showcasing all three episodes.{{fileref|SonicJamOfficialGuide_Book_JP.pdf|page=7}} The first episode would later be reprinted in both Japanese and English in the ''[[Sonic Adventure 2 Birthday Pack]]'' history book.{{fileref|SonicAdventure2_DC_JP_historybook.pdf|page=13}}
File:sonic1-rabbit.png|
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File:s1concept-WARRIOR.png|Warrior design with two outfits.
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<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
File:s1concept-WARRIOR2.png|A third design for the elder warrior.
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GD Sonic1 GDC2018 History1.png|An introduction page, describing the three episodes - the "fairy tale" episode, the 1947 episode, and the 1980's episode. The opening paragraph also sets up how the stories could be adapted into other mediums, such as film.
File:s1concept-CLOWNNWOLFBOY.png|Clown and a young warrior wearing head of a animal.
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GD Sonic1 GDC2018 History2.png|Episodes 1 and 2, with illustrations of the pilot and his family.
File:s1concept-Human.png|Human character with Bart Simpson-like hair.
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GD Sonic1 GDC2018 History3.png|Episode 3, with an illustration of Meg wearing the Sonic emblem jacket.
File:s1concept-WINDUPROBOTROOK.png|Robot character and two other characters.
 
File:S1concept-LargeNosedCharacter.png|An animal of some sort in clothing.
 
File:S1concept-RandomCharacters.png|A collection of doodles.
 
File:s1concept-WEIRDCREATURE.png|A small porcupine.
 
File:s1concept-Chick.png|Chicken with an attitude.
 
GD Sonic1 Concept Sonic 02.png|Chicken with more attitude.
 
File:Sonic1_DogEarlyConcept.jpg|Wolf wearing an American flag t-shirt.
 
File:s1concept-WOLF.png|Colored version.
 
File:s1concept-BULLDOG.png|Bulldog character.
 
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
===Sonic the Hedgehog/Dr. Eggman===
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==Logo design==
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The distinctive "ribbon, ring, and stars"-styled title screen used in the first ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' and subsequent installments was something of a theme in early Sega games. While difficult to prove, inspiration likely came from the title screen from the 1988 Sega arcade game ''[[sega:Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair|Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair]]'', which bears similarities to that of the 1986 Sega arcade game ''[[sega:Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars|Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars]]''.
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<center>[[Image:AlexKiddLostStars title.png]] [[Image:WB3ML Title.png]] [[Image:Sonic1_title.png]]</center>
  
<gallery widths="148px" heights="148px" >
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The addition of "wings" hearkens back to Ohshima's interest in aviation emblems,{{ref|https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1024928/Classic-Game-Postmortem-Sonic-the}} being a feature of medals awarded to American air force service personnel since the second World War.
File:s1concept-MRHEDGEHOG.png|Side by side comparison of Ohshima's early Sonic sketch with [[Yasushi Yamaguchi]]'s alternate hedgehog design with more human-like features. The duo ended up coincidentally coming up with the same idea for a hedgehog.
 
File:s1concept-MRHEDGEHOG2.png|Another shot of the human-like hedgehog.
 
File:S1concept-Needlemouse.jpg|Sonic art, the text translates to "Mr. Hedgehog" or "[[Mr. Needlemouse]]."
 
GD Sonic1 Concept Sonic 03.png
 
File:Sonic1_SonicConceptArt1.jpg|
 
File:S1concept-HEDGEHOG.png|A color sketch of Sonic, moving closer to the finished product.
 
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Hedgehog.png
 
File:S1concept-FinalSonic.png|A colored image of the final form of Sonic the Hedgehog.
 
GD Sonic1 Concept Robotnik 01.png|The initial drawing of what would become Dr. Eggman.
 
GD Sonic1 Concept Robotnik 02.png|The initial drawing of what would become Dr. Eggman.
 
File:Sonic1_EggmanConcept.jpg|Alternate scan.
 
File:EggmanConceptArt.png|Later concept art of Dr. Eggman, originally envisioned as the protagonist.
 
File:S1concept-FinalEggman.png|Dr. Eggman in his final form.
 
S1concept-SCENE.png|
 
SonicGemsCollection Gallery ClassicSonic ConceptArt.png|A collection of various logos associated with Sonic the Hedgehog.
 
SonicGemsCollection Gallery ClassicSonic ConceptArt2.png|Various artworks of Sonic the Hedgehog intended for promotional use.
 
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Logo.png|Another early logo for Sonic. This was used on various merchandise to promote the game.
 
Sonic 1 Concept 12.jpg|In colour
 
File:Sonic 1 Concept 09.jpg|An early sketch of Sonic the Hedgehog, intended for promotional material.
 
File:Sonic 1 Concept 05.jpg|An early illustration featuring Sonic, Dr. Eggman, and animal friends, for use on tags attached to merchandise.
 
File:Sonic 1 Concept 03.jpg|Concept art of Sonic illustrating his run cycle and speed.
 
File:Sonic 1 Concept 11.jpg|Promotional art featuring Sonic, Flicky, Pocky, and Pecky.
 
File:Sonic 1 Concept 01.jpg|An early sketch of Sonic that will later become used for the Japanese Box Art cover.
 
File:Sonic 1 Concept 04.jpg|A humorous sketch featuring Sonic, Dr. Eggman, animal friends, and badniks such as Caterkiller running through Green Hill Zone. This is a sketch illustrating the ending cutscene of the game.
 
File:Sonic 1 Concept 06.jpg|An early sketch of Sonic doing his ending pose that he does at the end of the game.
 
File:Sonic 1 Concept 07.jpg|Another variation of Sonic's ending pose. You can see Sonic's band friends jumping and cheering for him in the background.
 
File:Sonic 1 Concept 08.jpg|Color Sheet.
 
File:Sonic 1 Concept 10.jpg|Flyer Concept. The headline says "ill weeds grow apace".
 
File:Sonic 1 Concept 02.jpg|Letterhead Concept. The headline says "let's throw away crappy games and love that has vanished in tears".
 
File:Sonic1_PromotionalArt_Concept1.jpg|Concept art for reference.
 
File:Sonic1_PromotionalArtwork_Concept2.jpg|Concept art for reference.
 
File:Sonic 1 Concept 13.jpg|Original illustrations used for the Mega Drive precautions in the Japanese manual.
 
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Animations1.png|Concept art for various in-game sprite animations.
 
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Animations2.png|Concept art for various in-game sprite animations.
 
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Animations3.png|Concept art for unused in-game dancing animations.
 
</gallery>
 
  
===Madonna/Unnamed Enemies===
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The "SONIC" text is attempting to emulate the "chrome" design seen across numerous logos across the 1980s and early 1990s (including the Mega Drive console itself). This trend is usually attributed to the 1979 film, ''[[wikipedia:Mad Max|Mad Max]]''.
[[File:Sonic_Gems_300.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Sonic, Madonna, and Eggman dressed in a bee-like outfit. Also pictured are various enemy concepts that were ultimately not used.]]
 
A concept that was toyed around with but ultimately dropped from the final product was the character Madonna. Intended to be a love interest for Sonic, it is unknown just how the dynamic between the two characters would have been if placed in-game. According to Naoto Ohshima, Madonna was meant to be a "male fantasy" by chasing Sonic about{{ref|1=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkhjBAYL2Hs&feature=player_detailpage#t=98s}}, though it is unknown if she was meant to follow Sonic in the game or simply be a subtle plot point relegated to promotional material.
 
  
The concept art for the character was featured in the compilation title ''[[Sonic Gems Collection]]'', although artwork had been on the Internet prior to the game's release. The project manager of ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' for Sega of America, Madeline Schroeder, later made the claim that she was responsible for the removal of the character in an attempt to make the game an easier sell in western markets{{ref|1=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkhjBAYL2Hs&feature=player_detailpage#t=130s}}. However, this was later contradicted by Yuji Naka, who, when recalling the development process, explained that Madonna never went beyond the concept stage primarily because of the stark comparison her presence would have made between ''Sonic'' and the ''Super Mario Bros''. series. Having a heroine who would be kidnapped and subsequently rescued by the hero of the game was such a cliche at that point that Sonic Team wanted to focus on the battle between Sonic and Eggman. The idea of a hedgehog/human romance was eventually pursued in the game ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)]]'' through the character of [[Princess Elise]], with less than stellar results.
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==Concept art==
  
At the same time the idea for Madonna was on the drawing board, the team also briefly considered having a slew of various living beings fight against Sonic, ranging from a six-fingered hand to a demon-like entity. In the earliest demo for the game shown off at the 1990 Tokyo Toy Show, it is known that the large-jawed enemy went as far as being made into sprite form, with the light-blue Sonic able to attack him the same as any other enemy. In the end, however, everyone agreed that the mustached-fellow was still the best of the lot, and far closer to what they wanted to accomplish with the game, only Sonic and Eggman being fully fleshed out and placed into the final product.
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===''Twin Stars'' proposal===
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In 1989,{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20230122061707/https://twitter.com/NaotoOhshima/status/1616853153324097536}} Naoto Ohshima began conceptual work on a game with the working title ''Twin Stars''.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20230121173900/https://twitter.com/NaotoOhshima/status/1616849524710068227}} The premise of the game featured a pair of twin brothers from the Dream World defending it against the boss of the Nightmare World, "[[Thirteen]]."{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20230121173900/https://twitter.com/NaotoOhshima/status/1616849524710068227}} An action game with smooth terrain, it was also to feature loops that the characters would run through. While the gameplay concept was approved by Ohshima's superiors, the characters were not,{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20230122053433/https://twitter.com/NaotoOhshima/status/1616876578339958784}} leaving Ohshima to come up with a new protagonist.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20230121231441/https://twitter.com/NaotoOhshima/status/1616883045889609728}} The concept of a Nightmare World and Thirteen would continue to exist as a temporary enemy after Sonic the Hedgehog was created until the world of ''Sonic'' was further developed.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20230122055719/https://twitter.com/NaotoOhshima/status/1616891760919326720}}
  
<gallery widths="148px" heights="148px" >
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<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
File:S1concept-Madonna.jpg|Sonic and Madonna.
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GD Sonic1 Concept Art Twin Stars 1.jpg|The unnamed protagonists of ''Twin Stars'', in front of a tropical, loop-covered area. The fanged visage of Thirteen hangs above.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20230121173900/https://twitter.com/NaotoOhshima/status/1616849524710068227}}
File:SonicGems299.jpg|Madonna in various poses daydreaming of a certain blue hedgehog.
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GD Sonic1 Concept Art Twin Stars 2.jpg|The twin brothers, along with a number of enemy concepts. Some of these would be reused once development began on ''Sonic the Hedgehog''.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20230121173900/https://twitter.com/NaotoOhshima/status/1616849524710068227}}
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GD Sonic1 Twin Stars Design Document 1.jpg|Pages 1 through 12 of the original design document, with the working title ''Twins Special''.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20230123232325/https://twitter.com/tetsu_skytree/status/1617535599459848193}}
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GD Sonic1 Twin Stars Design Document 2.jpg|Pages 13 through 22.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20230123232325/https://twitter.com/tetsu_skytree/status/1617535599459848193}}
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GD Sonic1 Concept Art Twin Stars 3.jpg|A close-up of page 15, showing a possible title screen concept.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20230121230100/https://twitter.com/tetsu_skytree/status/1616894357931692033}}
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GD Sonic1 Concept Art Twin Stars 4.jpg|A close-up of page 17.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20230121230100/https://twitter.com/tetsu_skytree/status/1616894357931692033}}
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GD Sonic1 Concept Art Twin Stars Page 22 Translated.jpg|Page 22 of the design document, machine translated into English.{{ref|https://ghostarchive.org/archive/fQGY7 }}
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
===Sonic the Hedgehog Band===
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===Character concept art===
[[File:Sonicband.jpg|right|thumb|220px|The Sonic the Hedgehog Band.]]
 
Aside from the animals he saves, no friends join Sonic during his exploits in the first game. This was not always the case, however, with multiple characters (in addition to Madonna mentioned above) being drawn up by Naoto Ohshima and others.
 
  
Sonic was at one point set to front a music band as the lead vocalist, visible as part of a fully-fledged sound test selected from the title screen, where Sonic would break-dance to the music. Due to time constraints, the concept was scrapped, with a no-frills alternative becoming part of the hidden level select screen as a replacement. The extra space designated for these sound test graphics was given to the "SEGA" jingle heard in the beginning of the game (which had been used in Sega TV advertising since 1983), which took up nearly an eighth of the cartridge space{{ref|http://xbox.gamespy.com/articles/654/654750p5.html}}.
+
====Unused character art====
 +
The following is a collection of images drawn by a variety of Sega employees during the internal competition to create a new mascot for the company. The majority of these images come from the [[Sonic History Video]], a promotional VHS tape made available to those who preordered ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 3]]'' in Japan.
  
Sonic's band consisted of four other members who have seen various degrees of success in other media:
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<gallery widths="148px" heights="148px" >
 +
GD Sonic1 Concept Sonic 01.png|The original rabbit design by Ohshima. This character would be playable in the earliest test builds of the game.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20230121233915/https://twitter.com/NaotoOhshima/status/1616883109861150721}}
 +
Sonic1 MD Development Rabbit.png|
 +
Sonic1-Rabbit2.png|A slightly cleaned up version.{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_25hXDmbyc}}
 +
sonic1-rabbit.png|Alternate scan.
 +
GD Sonic 1 Concept Rabbit Alternate.png|A different rabbit design, sporting a full outfit with belt and sneakers.{{ref|''The Blue Blur: Origins of Sonic''}}
 +
GD Sonic1 Concept Sonic 02.png|A bird character. Predecessor to Sharps the Parakeet/Max the Parrot. By Ohshima.
 +
Sonic1 MD Development WolfParrot.png
 +
Sonic1_DogEarlyConcept.jpg|Wolf wearing an American flag t-shirt. By Ohshima.
 +
s1concept-WOLF.png|Colored version.{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_25hXDmbyc}}
 +
s1concept-BULLDOG.png|Bulldog character. By Ohshima.{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_25hXDmbyc}}
 +
s1concept-Human.png|Human character with Bart Simpson-like hair. By Ohshima.{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_25hXDmbyc}}
 +
S1concept-LargeNosedCharacter.png|An animal of some sort in clothing. By [[sega:Yasushi Yamaguchi|Yasushi Yamaguchi]].{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_25hXDmbyc}}
 +
s1concept-WARRIOR2.png|An elder warrior ready for battle. By Yamaguchi.{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_25hXDmbyc}}
 +
s1concept-WARRIOR.png|Two additional outfits for the elder. By Yamaguchi.{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_25hXDmbyc}}
 +
s1concept-CLOWNNWOLFBOY.png|Clown and a young warrior wearing head of a animal.{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_25hXDmbyc}}
 +
s1concept-WINDUPROBOTROOK.png|Assorted designs, including a robot character.{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_25hXDmbyc}}
 +
S1concept-RandomCharacters.png|A collection of doodles.{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_25hXDmbyc}}
 +
s1concept-WEIRDCREATURE.png|A small porcupine.{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_25hXDmbyc}}
 +
s1concept-Chick.png|Chicken with an attitude.{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_25hXDmbyc}}
 +
</gallery>
  
*[[Mach the Rabbit]] (on drums) was left on the cutting room floor, and while rabbit characters have been added to the series since, none have taken inspiration from Mach.
+
====Sonic the Hedgehog & Dr. Eggman====
*[[Max the Monkey]] (on bass guitar) was never seen again.
+
<gallery widths="148px" heights="148px" >
*[[Sharps the Parakeet]] (on lead guitar) is thought to have morphed from an earlier scrapped design of Sonic. Development on a bird character continued until around 1994 (after the release of ''[[SegaSonic the Hedgehog]]'' but before ''[[Chaotix]]''), but not as a musician.
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S1concept-Needlemouse.jpg|The original sketches for what would become Sonic. The text translates to "Mr. Hedgehog."
*[[Vector the Crocodile]] (on keyboards) is the only "successful" band member. His design was refined for use in the serialised ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (manga)|Sonic the Hedgehog manga]]'' in 1992/1993, and became playable in ''Chaotix'', before returing to the series in 2003 with ''[[Sonic Heroes]]''.
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GD Sonic1 Concept Art Harinezumi2.png|An alternate angle of the four early doodles.{{ref|https://archive.org/details/bad_influence_se1ep4}}
 +
Sonic1 MD Development Armadillo.png
 +
s1concept-MRHEDGEHOG.png|Comparison between Ohshima's early Sonic sketch and a hedgehog design by [[Yasushi Yamaguchi]].
 +
s1concept-MRHEDGEHOG2.png|It was coincidence that Ohshima and Yamaguchi had come up with the idea of making a hedgehog character.{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_25hXDmbyc}}
 +
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Hedgehog.png|Line art of the early refining of the character.
 +
GD Sonic1 Concept Sonic 03.png|An early colored version of Sonic, next to a doodle.
 +
Sonic1_SonicConceptArt1.jpg|
 +
S1concept-HEDGEHOG.png|The final colored version of the preceding Sonic design.
 +
GD Sonic1 Concept Robotnik 01.png|Early line art of Dr. Eggman, back when he was still in the running as a protagonist.
 +
Sonic1_EggmanConcept.jpg|A full color version of the polka dot pajamas.
 +
GD Sonic1 Concept Robotnik 02.png|An alternate scan, including two smaller images of Eggman.
 +
File:EggmanConceptArt.png|Later concept art of Dr. Eggman, donning familiar clothing.
 +
Sonic1 MD Development Banners1.png|Artwork of Sonic the Hedgehog intended for promotional use at the ‘90 Tokyo Toy Show.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20160625123544/https://www.famitsu.com/news/201606/24107383.html}}
 +
Sonic1 MD Development Banners2.png|"My name is Sonic."
 +
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Logo.png|An early version of the ring and wings logo. The text below mentions the 1947 test pilot origin.
 +
Sonic 1 Concept 12.jpg|In color. Was used on assorted merchandise to promote the game.
 +
Sonic 1 Concept 01.jpg|An early sketch of Sonic.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20210118030408/https://twitter.com/NaotoOhshima/status/850292613504577536}} It was eventually cleaned up and featured on the Japanese and European box art.
 +
Sonic 1 Concept 08.jpg|Color Sheet.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20210118031946/https://twitter.com/NaotoOhshima/status/855082418683891713}}
 +
Sonic 1 Concept 10.jpg|Flyer Concept "plan 2."{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20210124235933/https://twitter.com/NaotoOhshima/status/856011701551902720}} The headline says "ill weeds grow apace".
 +
Sonic 1 Concept 02.jpg|Letterhead Concept.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20200530040501/https://twitter.com/NaotoOhshima/status/849838840269258752}} The headline says "let's throw away crappy games and love that has vanished in tears".
 +
Sonic 1 Concept 06.jpg|A rough draft of Sonic's victory pose at the end of ''Sonic the Hedgehog''.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20210118031534/https://twitter.com/NaotoOhshima/status/850712004507467777}}
 +
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Animations1.png|Concept art for various in-game Sonic sprite animations.
 +
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Animations2.png|Concept art for various in-game Eggman sprite animations.
 +
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Animations3.png|Sketched frames for an unused dancing sequence, presumably intended for the sound test.
 +
Sonic 1 Concept 04.jpg|A humorous doodle drawn during ''Sonic the Hedgehog'''s development in 1990.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20210118030948/https://twitter.com/NaotoOhshima/status/854605381569363972}}
 +
Sonic 1 Concept 11.jpg|Promotional art featuring Sonic, Flicky, Pocky, and Pecky.
 +
Sonic 1 Concept 03.jpg|Art of Sonic illustrating his run cycle and speed. "In the old days, I used to sketch all animation patterns and draw dots."{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20210118051643/https://twitter.com/NaotoOhshima/status/849660107042430976}}
 +
Sonic1_PromotionalArt_Concept1.jpg|Finalized art of Sonic. Also used for reference.
 +
Sonic1_PromotionalArtwork_Concept2.jpg|Finalized art of Sonic. Also used for reference.
 +
S1concept-FinalSonic.png|A colored, finalized drawing of Sonic the Hedgehog.
 +
Sonic1 MD Model 1990.jpg|Physical 3D model of Sonic used as a reference for animators. It was also the basis for the ''[[Sonic CD]]'' title screen. Sculpted by [[sega:Taku Makino|Taku Makino]]{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20180518223430if_/https://twitter.com/NaotoOhshima/status/847104354020552706}}
 +
S1concept-FinalEggman.png|Dr. Eggman sitting in his Eggmobile.
 +
Sonic 1 Concept 09.jpg|Lineart of Sonic the Hedgehog, intended for promotional material.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20210118052038/https://twitter.com/NaotoOhshima/status/855301360756981762}}
 +
Sonic 1 Concept 13.jpg|Original illustrations used for the Mega Drive precautions in the Japanese manual.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20210118052206/https://twitter.com/NaotoOhshima/status/924929650848972800}}
 +
Sonic 1 Concept 05.jpg|An early illustration featuring Sonic, Dr. Eggman, and animal friends, for use on tags attached to merchandise.
 +
</gallery>
  
Members of the band did appear (in various colours) in early promotional material and the first volume of ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic]]''{{fileref|MegaDriveFan JP 19910701 f.pdf|page=9}}, albeit alongside many other unnamed characters and the later (smaller) animal friends. Later editions of the [[Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie comics)|''Sonic the Hedgehog'' archie comics series]] have also referenced Sharp, Mach and Max, though this was many years after the concepts came to light.
+
====Madonna & unnamed enemies====
 +
[[File:Sonic1 MD Development Characters.png|right|thumb|320px|Sonic & Madonna. Also pictured is Eggman dressed in a bee-like outfit, plus various enemy concepts that went unused.]]
 +
Among the original concept of ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' was a character named Madonna. Inspired in part by the singer of the same name,{{ref|''Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works'', Page 155}} she was intended to be a love interest for Sonic. When Naoto Ohshima first showed off Sonic’s design, many of his colleagues thought that the character was "cute" and "a child," but in Ohshima’s mind Sonic was a bit older and mature.{{fileref|HistoryofSonicTheBirthofanIcon Video.mp4}} To make this clearer, he created an adult woman in a red dress who would be his girlfriend.{{ref|''The History of Sonic the Hedgehog'', Pix'N Love, page 99}} She was meant to be "like a male fantasy," chasing the hedgehog about.{{fileref|SonicAVeryQuickHistory GameTap Video Part2.mp4}} Whether or not she was meant to literally follow him in the game at any point is unknown, though it is likely she was to chase him only in promotional material.
  
While the band were scrapped, early material still has Sonic get behind a microphone, most notably the credits to the [[Sonic the Hedgehog (8-bit)|Master System and Game Gear versions of the game]].
+
Sega of America's project manager for ''Sonic'', Madeline Schroeder, stated that she was responsible for the removal of the character in an attempt to make the game an easier sell in western markets{{fileref|SonicAVeryQuickHistory GameTap Video Part2.mp4}}. However, this was later contradicted by Yuji Naka during an interview at [[Summer of Sonic]] 2011. When recalling the development process, Naka explained that Madonna never went beyond the concept stage primarily due to the stark comparison her presence would have made between ''Sonic'' and the ''Super Mario Bros''. series. Having a heroine who would be kidnapped and subsequently rescued by the hero of the game had become a cliché, and the team decided they should focus on Sonic just fighting the main villain.{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9B8Isv7EY0}}
  
<gallery>
+
One of the initial pieces of concept art featuring Madonna also included a variety of potential enemies Sonic would be forced to fight. When responding to an email from a fan, Naoto Oshima stated:
Sonic1_BandConcept.jpg
+
{{quote|Thanks for your mail. I drew that. Why is the boss of that drawing a monster? Is that a fantasy world? The world in the drawing is a nightmare world. Since I've got nothing to do, I'll write the reason on Twitter. This was Sonic's original concept before it became what it is now.|[[Naoto Oshima]]{{ref|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHI4NCsPuBw}}}}
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Band.png
+
In the first ever public demo of ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', a large-jawed enemy was visible, technically being the first sprite Sonic ever had to face off against. As the concept for ''Sonic'' was refined, this enemy was completely removed. In the end, the only antagonist that survived was the bumblebee-clad man, who would eventually become Dr. Eggman.
 +
 
 +
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
 +
SonicGems299.jpg|Madonna in various poses daydreaming of a certain blue hedgehog.
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
==Pilot mascot==
+
====Sonic the Hedgehog Band====
The comic also features a side-story in the final volume about an American author from the 1940's who wrote a series of children books staring Sonic the Hedgehog, inspired by her husband. A pilot, he was part of the project to have a human being break the sound barrier for the first time, which unfortunately ended in tragedy. The legend of the man who wore the Sonic-branded jacket faded away until the embodiment of Sonic appears to save a woman caught in an airshow accident in the 1980's. Though interviews with the game creators only a couple months before its release mentions this alternate story while clearly defining it as fictional, the Chuck Yeager-inspired tale was never incorporated into the gameplay, or even mentioned in its accompanying manual.
+
[[File:Sonicband.jpg|right|thumb|320px|The Sonic the Hedgehog Band, in full color.]]
<gallery>
+
During the development process, Sonic was at one point meant to front a musical group, serving as lead singer. The other members of the band were [[Max the Monkey]] on bass guitar, [[Mach the Rabbit]] on drums, [[Sharps the Parakeet]] on lead guitar, and [[Vector the Crocodile]] on keyboards. In storyboards that were part of the original ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' design document,{{ref|''Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works'', Page 182}} the various members of the band were meant to be a part of the story, needing rescue by Sonic after having been captured by Dr. Eggman. They were also meant to bookend the game, featured not only in the ending but also seen when the Sega logo appeared.
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 History1.png
+
 
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 History2.png
+
Though it is currently unknown if they were ever realized in an early prototype of the main game, the band was also planned to be used in a separate sound test screen. Wanting to do something special for the music, an elaborate animated sequence was conceived, featuring Sonic the Hedgehog moonwalking and breakdancing along to the music his band would perform.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20060619194711/http://xbox.gamespy.com/articles/654/654750p5.html}}
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 History3.png
 
</gallery>
 
  
==Logo design==
+
Two disparate accounts exist regarding why the band was completely removed. Madeline Schroeder, among others, have stated that it was a decision from Sega of America to cut the band from ''Sonic'', in their effort to soften the character and his world for an American audience.{{fileref|SonicAVeryQuickHistory GameTap Video Part2.mp4}} However, Yuji Naka claimed that the reason for the band's removal was far more benign, an unfortunate victim of time constraints. With the sound test relegated to the hidden level select, the freed up memory in the program was instead used to house the "SEGA" chime that was used in Japanese advertisements of the time. The sound clip ended up using an eighth of the cartridge space.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20060619194711/http://xbox.gamespy.com/articles/654/654750p5.html}} Naka would later say his epiphany to use the sound was "a very good decision."{{ref|''Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works'', Page 279}}
The distinctive "ribbon, ring, and stars"-styled title screen used in the first ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' and subsequent installments was something of a theme in early Sega games. While difficult to prove, inspiration likely came from the title screen from the 1988 Sega arcade game ''[[sega:Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair|Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair]]'', which bears similarities to that of the 1986 Sega arcade game ''[[sega:Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars|Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars]]''.
 
  
<center>[[Image:AlexKiddLostStars title.png]] [[Image:WB3ML Title.png]] [[Image:Sonic1_title.png]]</center>
+
Removed from the final product, the band characters would be used in a limited capacity for promotion of the game, including a handful of color illustrations and a cameo appearance in the first volume{{fileref|MegaDriveFan_JP_19910701_f.pdf|page=9}} of ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic]]''. While a character similar to Sharps named Max the Parrot{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20210118200130/https://twitter.com/NaotoOhshima/status/975790031632719873}} would be conceptualized in 1992,{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20210118195322/https://twitter.com/NaotoOhshima/status/988052494126235648}} Vector would end up being the only character from the band to become a member of the game cast.
  
The "wings" may hark back to Ohshima's insterest in aviation emblems, being a feature of medals awarded to American air force service personnel since the second World War.
+
The visual of Sonic holding a microphone was featured in the credits of the 8-bit version of ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (8-bit)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'', though it is unknown if the sprite art used was based on any sprite intended for the removed 16-bit sound test, or simply inspired by concept art.
  
The "SONIC" text is attempting to emulate the "chrome" design seen across numerous logos across the 1980s and early 1990s (including the Mega Drive console itself). This trend is usually attributed to the 1979 film, ''[[wikipedia:Mad Max|Mad Max]]''.
+
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
 +
Sonic1_BandConcept.jpg|Original line art
 +
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Band.png|Alternate line art
 +
</gallery>
  
==Game concept art==
+
===Game concept art===
===[[Naoto Ohshima]]===
+
====Naoto Ohshima====
====Levels====
+
=====Levels=====
The following is a collection of images drawn up by Naoto Ohshima during the production of ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' during the zone creation process.
+
The following is a collection of images drawn by Naoto Ohshima during the production of ''Sonic the Hedgehog'''s Zone creation process. It is possible that two of these pieces are meant to represent the unmade levels "Gold World" and "Chinese World."{{ref|''Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works'', page 329}}
 
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
 
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
File:S1concept1.JPG|Text Translation: Metallic kind of stage... The background is styled like south-east Asia, golden country, (...) (are) gold colored plating.
+
TomPaynePapers Binder Clip 5 (Sonic the Hedgehog 1 Level Concepts) image1581.jpg|Translation: "1. Metallic stage... A gleaming, gold plated landscape with a Southeast Asian feel."{{ref|''Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works'', Page 180}}
File:S1concept-Loops.jpg|Alternate scan of the stylized loop art not used in final.
+
S1concept-Loops.jpg|Alternate scan. This image would inspire the loops present in [[Golden Capital Zone]], from ''[[Sonic Superstars]]'''.
File:S1concept2.JPG|Concept art of a [[Green Hill Zone (Sonic the Hedgehog 16-bit)|Green Hill Zone]]-esque area. Text Translation: CG styled stage... Blue skies and green(ery) are the basis, nothing till now, CG styled background
+
TomPaynePapers Binder Clip 5 (Sonic the Hedgehog 1 Level Concepts) image1582.jpg|Concept art of an early [[Green Hill Zone (Sonic the Hedgehog 16-bit)|Green Hill Zone]]. Translation: "2. CG style stage... The background consists of a blue sky and green hills, rendered in a CG style never seen before."{{ref|''Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works'', Page 180}}
File:S1concept3.JPG|Text Translation: Rocky mountain and underwater stage... Japanese styled rocky mountain stage, with underwater scene. In the map, spin (jump) and you can cross the water, but various techniques make it possible to (...) the course.
+
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ.png|Alternate scan.
 +
TomPaynePapers Binder Clip 5 (Sonic the Hedgehog 1 Level Concepts) image1583.jpg|Concept art showing multiple paths, using a move that isn’t in the final game. Translation: "3. Sonic mountain/underwater stage ... Japanese style rocky hills with underwater sections. The illustration shows how the character can spin to move across the surface of the water. There will be various courses to choose from, dependent on skill."{{ref|''Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works'', Page 181}}
 
File:S1concept-WaterArt.jpg|Alternate scan.
 
File:S1concept-WaterArt.jpg|Alternate scan.
File:S1concept4.JPG|Concept art of a [[Marble Zone]]-esque area. Text Translation: Stage where the land shakes... The underground has an amoeba shape and the ground shakes. The amoeba shaped terrain (...) with canals. Can also dive into the ground.
+
TomPaynePapers Binder Clip 5 (Sonic the Hedgehog 1 Level Concepts) image1584.jpg|Concept art of a [[Marble Zone]]-esque area. Translation: "Quaking landform stage... The ground is made from a primordial material which shakes and trembles. The character can burrow through the landscape."{{ref|''Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works'', Page 181}}
 
File:S1concept-MarbleZone.jpg|Alternate scan.
 
File:S1concept-MarbleZone.jpg|Alternate scan.
File:S1concept-Marble.jpg|Another piece of concept art resembling another area of Marble Zone.
+
File:S1concept-Marble.jpg|Further concept art of a ruins area, identified as Marble Zone.  
File:Sonic_1_concept_sparkling.png|[[Spring Yard Zone]]
+
File:Sonic_1_concept_sparkling.png|A conceptual [[Spring Yard Zone]], complete with the unused hand enemy, using its original name Sparkling Zone.{{ref|''Sonic the Hedgehog Art & Design Book'', Cook & Becker, page 32-33}}
File:S1concept-labyrinth.jpg|Concept art of what appears to be [[Labyrinth Zone]].
+
File:S1concept-labyrinth.jpg|Concept art of [[Labyrinth Zone]].{{ref|''Sonic the Hedgehog Art & Design Book'', Cook & Becker, page 32}}
 
File:S1concept-Starlight.jpg|Concept art marked as belonging to [[Star Light Zone]].
 
File:S1concept-Starlight.jpg|Concept art marked as belonging to [[Star Light Zone]].
File:S1concept5.JPG|
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TomPaynePapers Binder Clip 5 (Sonic the Hedgehog 1 Level Concepts) image1585.jpg|Rough translation: "5. space themed stage ..... your jump height will increase. in the image there is a two player mode in the concept."{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20210119234955/https://twitter.com/SNick_WT/status/1338511357000503297}}
File:S1concept6.JPG|
+
Sonic1 MD Development SLZ.png|Alternate scan.
 +
TomPaynePapers Binder Clip 5 (Sonic the Hedgehog 1 Level Concepts) image1586.jpg|Rough translation: "6. Great spirit world themed stage ..... based off of china like place."{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20210119234730/https://twitter.com/SNick_WT/status/1338511317444014087}}
 
File:Sonic1_Concept_6Ver2.jpg|Alternate scan.
 
File:Sonic1_Concept_6Ver2.jpg|Alternate scan.
File:S1concept7.JPG|
+
TomPaynePapers Binder Clip 5 (Sonic the Hedgehog 1 Level Concepts) image1587.jpg|Rough translation: "7. Laboratory instrument like stage .....placing the pipe to spin through it."{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20210119235404/https://twitter.com/SNick_WT/status/1338511800090955778}}
 
File:Sonic1_Concept_TubeArt2.jpg|Alternate scan.
 
File:Sonic1_Concept_TubeArt2.jpg|Alternate scan.
 
File:S1concept-TubeArt.jpg|Alternate scan of previous two images.
 
File:S1concept-TubeArt.jpg|Alternate scan of previous two images.
File:S1concept8.JPG|Concept art of a [[Scrap Brain Zone]]-esque area.
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TomPaynePapers Binder Clip 5 (Sonic the Hedgehog 1 Level Concepts) image1588.jpg|Concept art of a [[Scrap Brain Zone]]-esque area. Rough translation: "8. Megalopolis stage ..... going through tricky gimmicks to advance."{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20210120000058/https://twitter.com/SNick_WT/status/1338512712033325061}}
 +
Sonic1 MD Development SBZ.png
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
====Animated Sequences====
+
=====Animated Sequences=====
The following is a collection of concepts for various animated sequences and cutscenes drawn by Naoto Ohshima in 1990.
+
The following is a collection of conceptual storyboards for various animated sequences and cutscenes drawn by Naoto Ohshima in 1990.
 
<gallery widths="300px" heights="428px">
 
<gallery widths="300px" heights="428px">
File:GMDCollectedWorksConcepts1.png|Concept art for an unused title sequence which featured members of Sonic's Band.
+
File:GMDCollectedWorksConcepts1.png|An unused "SEGA" sequence which featured members of Sonic's Band.{{ref|''Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works'', Page 182}}
File:GMDCollectedWorksConcepts2.png|
+
File:GMDCollectedWorksConcepts2.png|The title screen, lowering from above.{{ref|''Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works'', Page 182}}
File:GMDCollectedWorksConcepts3.png|Concept art for the Continue screen, Game Over Screen, and a cut item collection mechanic.
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File:GMDCollectedWorksConcepts3.png|Concept art for the Continue screen, Game Over screen, and a cut item collection mechanic.{{ref|''Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works'', Page 182}}
File:GMDCollectedWorksConcepts4.png|Concept Art for a Mid Boss, Zone Clear sequence, and Stage Clear sequence. The Mid Boss would be further developed into the [[Green Hill Zone boss]] and may have inspired minibosses in [[Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles]].
+
File:GMDCollectedWorksConcepts4.png|Concept Art for a Mid Boss, Zone Clear sequence, and Stage Clear sequence. The Mid Boss seen here would be further developed into the [[Green Hill Zone boss]].{{ref|''Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works'', Page 182}}
File:GMDCollectedWorksConcepts5.png|Concept Art for an alternate Final Boss. Elements of this concept may have been implemented and later cut from the final boss of the [[Sonic the Hedgehog (8-bit)/Hidden_content#Art|8-bit version of the game]] as evidenced by left over turret sprites in the Master System version.
+
File:GMDCollectedWorksConcepts5.png|Concept art for the final boss. Elements of this concept may have been implemented at one point in the [[Sonic the Hedgehog (8-bit)|8-bit version]], evidenced by [[Sonic the Hedgehog (8-bit)/Hidden_content#Art|left over turret sprites]] in the Master System version.{{ref|''Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works'', Page 183}}
File:GMDCollectedWorksConcepts6.png|
+
File:GMDCollectedWorksConcepts6.png|Storyboards for the original ending sequence.{{ref|''Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works'', Page 183}}
File:GMDCollectedWorksConcepts7.png|Concept Art for an early version of the ending sequence. The concept of Sonic falling from the sky and being saved mid-air would be reused in the ending of [[Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit)|Sonic the Hedgehog 2]].
+
File:GMDCollectedWorksConcepts7.png|Storyboards for the original ending sequence. The concept of Sonic falling from the sky and being saved mid-air would be reused in the ending of ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit)|Sonic the Hedgehog 2]]''.{{ref|''Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works'', Page 183}}
File:GMDCollectedWorksConcepts8.png| The only surviving part of this sequence is Sonic's victory pose.
+
File:GMDCollectedWorksConcepts8.png|Storyboards for the original ending sequence. The only surviving element is Sonic's victory pose.{{ref|''Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works'', Page 183}}
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
====Enemies====
+
=====Enemies=====
The following are early drawings of various Badniks in the game.  
+
The following are early drawings of various Badniks in ''Sonic the Hedgehog.''
 
<gallery>
 
<gallery>
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Beeton.png
+
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Beeton.png|[[Buzz Bomber|Beeton]]
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 GaniGani.png
+
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 GaniGani.png|[[Crabmeat|Ganigani]]
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Motora.png
+
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Motora.png|[[Moto Bug|Motora]]
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Nal.png| Nal ([[Caterkiller]]) has two more body segments than the final version.
+
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Nal.png|[[Caterkiller|Nal]], featuring two more body segments than the final version.
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Yadrin.png
+
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Yadrin.png|[[Spikes|Yadrin]]
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
===Hirokazu Yasuhara sketches===
+
====Hirokazu Yasuhara sketches====
[[Hirokazu Yasuhara]] was the lead designer (or "planner" in Sega terms) for ''Sonic the Hedgehog''. He created many of the game's level layouts and invented many of the obstacles Sonic encounters during the game. Here are some of his concept sketches:
+
[[Hirokazu Yasuhara]] was the lead game designer on ''Sonic the Hedgehog''. Below are a number of his sketches showcasing layout and zone obstacles, some of which would not make it into the final version of the game.
 
<gallery>
 
<gallery>
Sonic 1 Level Gimmicks 02.jpg
+
Sonic 1 Level Gimmicks 02.jpg|Zone 1 Map Idea 001. Rough translation: "Bridge. It doesn’t fall when it’s running. It falls when it rolls. Dropped, bridge, rolled, accumulated. The door doesn't matter."
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Bridges.png
+
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Bridges.png|Alternate scan.
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Spinning.png
+
Sonic 1 Level Gimmicks 03.png|Zone 1 Map Idea 002.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20210120021700/https://twitter.com/Yasuharah/status/868232462320586752}}
Sonic 1 Level Gimmicks 03.png
+
Sonic 1 Level Gimmicks 01.jpg|Zone 1 Map Idea 003.
Sonic 1 Level Gimmicks 01.jpg
+
GD Sonic1 Spring2.jpg|Zone 1 Map Idea 005, Part 1. "Speed and height are good friends."{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20200824033720/https://twitter.com/Yasuharah/status/870394123857018880}}
Sonic 1 Green Hill Level Map.jpg
+
GD Sonic1 Spring1.jpg|Zone 1 Map Idea 005, Part 2. "Springs carry you to hidden paths."{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20210125003724/https://twitter.com/Yasuharah/status/871154657392906240}}
GD Sonic1 WaterConcept.jpg
+
GD Sonic1 Spring4.png|Zone 1 Map Idea 005, Part 3.{{ref|''High Score'' Episode 4: "This is War"}}
GD Sonic1 WaterConcept2.jpg
+
GD Sonic1 Spring3.jpg|Further concept sketches of the spring gimmick.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20210120034221/https://twitter.com/Yasuharah/status/869658072234328064}}
GD Sonic1 Swamp.jpg
+
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Spinning.png|Concepts for obstacles that could slow speed, such as water and dirt.
GD Sonic1 Bombs.jpg
+
GD Sonic1 WaterConcept.jpg|"This is also a gimmick which related with water."{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20210123192151/https://twitter.com/Yasuharah/status/893629024169213952}}
GD Sonic1 Spikes.jpg
+
GD Sonic1 WaterConcept2.jpg|"This was an idea for water-level. Character has to prepare floating platform in a certain time."{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20210123191915/https://twitter.com/Yasuharah/status/889960568882208768}}
GD Sonic1 Icicles.jpg
+
GD Sonic1 Swamp.jpg|"Bottomless swamp makes the character slow down. Player has to tap jump button rapidly to let him escape from there."{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20210123191559/https://twitter.com/Yasuharah/status/881046330176446464}}
GD Sonic1 Spring1.jpg
+
GD Sonic1 Bombs.jpg|Concept for opening alternate paths with bombs. "This idea didn't adopt for the game. Because Sonic runs too fast to see this sort of gimmicks."{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20210121190958/https://twitter.com/Yasuharah/status/877734429040365568}}
GD Sonic1 Spring2.jpg
+
Because Sonic runs too fast to see this sort of gimmicks."{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20210121190958/https://twitter.com/Yasuharah/status/877734429040365568}}
GD Sonic1 Spring3.jpg
+
GD Sonic1 Spikes.jpg|"I'd been looking for the reason why player has to let the hero perform 'rolling.'"{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20210120191555/https://twitter.com/Yasuharah/status/874482224925622272}}
 +
GD Sonic1 Icicles.jpg|"Level Environment would be also changed its behavior by the difference of character-form."{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20210125003843/https://twitter.com/Yasuharah/status/872569578211074050}}
 
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Zone1.png|"Zone 1"
 
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Zone1.png|"Zone 1"
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 GHZScreenMap.png
+
Sonic 1 Green Hill Level Map.jpg|Map of Green Hill Zone Act 1.{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-3avMBqJ9s}}
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 GHZMap2.png
+
GD Sonic1 Green Hill Partial Level Map.jpg|A cleaner scan of a portion of the zone.
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 GHZLoop.png
+
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 GHZMap2.png|Segment of Green Hill Zone Act 1.
 +
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 GHZLoop.png|Segment of Green Hill Zone Act 1.
 +
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 GHZScreenMap.png|Level chunks used for Green Hill Zone Act 1.
 
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Zone3.png|"Zone 3"
 
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Zone3.png|"Zone 3"
 
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Zone6 1.png|"Zone 6"
 
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Zone6 1.png|"Zone 6"
 
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Zone6 2.png|"Zone 6" part 2
 
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Zone6 2.png|"Zone 6" part 2
 
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Enemies1.png|"Enemy Spec" part 1
 
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Enemies1.png|"Enemy Spec" part 1
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Enemies2.png|part 2
+
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Enemies2.png|"Enemy Spec" part 2
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Enemies3.png|part 3
+
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Enemies3.png|"Enemy Spec" part 3
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Enemies5.png|part 5
+
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Enemies5.png|"Enemy Spec" part 5
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Enemies6.png|part 6
+
GD Sonic1 GDC2018 Enemies6.png|"Enemy Spec" part 6
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
===Others===
+
=='90 Tokyo Toy Show==
<gallery widths="200px">
+
===Sonic the Hedgehog demo===
File:Sega Players Enjoy Club Sonic Concept art.jpg|Published in ''[[SPEC]]'', this concept art shares similar features to the early Green Hill Zone demonstration at the 1990 Tokyo Toy Show, including the trees in the foreground, the blocky area underneath the mountains, and even Sonic's pose.
+
''Sonic the Hedgehog'' was officially revealed to the world at the [[sega:'90 Tokyo Toy Show|'90 Tokyo Toy Show]] which took place during the second week of June, 1990. Shown off early in the development process, not even the loops of Green Hill Zone existed, Sonic only able to "run at high speed on a slightly wavy track."{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20160625123544/https://www.famitsu.com/news/201606/24107383.html}} As so little was done at the time, the team wanted to try and "bluff" their way through the demo,{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20160625123544/https://www.famitsu.com/news/201606/24107383.html}} making the game look far more polished than it actually was. The draw was the seven layers of parallax scrolling, with trees and rock formations in the foreground moving independently from clouds and other objects in the background.
  
</gallery>
+
Lacking a promotional budget for the show, Naoto Ohshima ended up making a number of signs and posters by hand, having them set up in and around Sega's booth.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20160625123544/https://www.famitsu.com/news/201606/24107383.html}}
  
==Tokyo Toy Show 1990==
+
Years later, during the development of ''[[Sonic Mega Collection]]'', Naka wanted to include this specific prototype in the game compilation.{{ref|https://info.sonicretro.org/Yuji_Naka_interview_by_Games_Radar_(June_27,_2011)}} Unfortunately, he was unable to find the ROM in Sonic Team's archives.
[[File:S1TitleBlack.png|right|thumb|320px|The title screen from the Tokyo Toy Show demo. Similar to the final, it lacks a background, making it appear more like the [[Sonic the Hedgehog (8-bit)|8-bit version]] of the game.]]
 
  
The first glimpse of ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' in video game form was at the Tokyo Toy Show in June of 1990, which also happened to be the first time the game could be played by the general public. In [[Yuji Naka interview by Games Radar (June 27, 2011)|a retrospective interview]] with Yuji Naka, it was revealed that the original Sonic Team put together a small, playable technical demo for the show featuring Sonic in an early version of the [[Green Hill Zone (Sonic the Hedgehog 16-bit)|Green Hill Zone]]. Though development had just begun, this first known build has some advantages over the final version of the game, possessing seven layers of parallax scrolling, with trees and rocks in the foreground being independent from the clouds and other objects in the background, all separate from the scrolling of Sonic the Hedgehog as he ran through the hilled terrain.
+
====Title screen====
 +
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
 +
GD Sonic1 TTS90 Title Screen 1.jpg|An explosion effect, appearing during the Sega logo.{{ref|https://archive.ph/wC0uq}}
 +
GD Sonic1 TTS90 Title Screen 2.jpg|Another frame, the Sega logo visible.{{ref|https://archive.ph/wC0uq}}
 +
GD Sonic1 TTS90 Title Screen 3.jpg|The title screen from the Tokyo Toy Show demo. Similar to the final, it lacks a background, making it appear more like the [[Sonic the Hedgehog (8-bit)|8-bit version]] of the game.{{ref|https://archive.ph/wC0uq}}
 +
GD Sonic1 TTS90 Title Screen 4.jpg|{{ref|https://archive.ph/wC0uq}}
 +
GD Sonic1 TTS90 Title Screen 5.jpg|{{ref|https://archive.ph/wC0uq}}
 +
GD Sonic1 TTS90 Title Screen 6.jpg|{{ref|https://archive.ph/wC0uq}}
 +
Sonic_1_TTS-90-3_zpsdlnyy46o.jpg|{{fileref|EGM US 013.pdf|page=88}}
 +
GD Sonic1 TTS90 Title Screen 7.jpg|{{ref|https://archive.ph/wC0uq}}
 +
S1TitleBlack.png|
 +
</gallery>
  
Being the earliest representation of the Green Hill Zone, it is also reflective of what was found in early materials used both internally and in promotional articles. One of the most prominent differences between this version and the final are the strange blue structures in the background, though it is unknown if they are meant to represent a city or are simply a natural yet surreal rock formation. With both trees and giant rocks in the foreground which presumably had layers of scrolling independent of each other, the entire style was indicative of what was to come. Though foreground items were not found in the final, the rocks would be modified and used in the released layouts of the game, transformed into downsized, colored purple obstacles in the final release. The clouds of this early pre-release are also bigger, seemingly appearing with less frequency than in the mainstream product.
+
====Green Hill Zone====
 +
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
 +
GD Sonic1 TTS90 GHZ Image 1.jpg|The likely starting point of the stage. A blue structure is noticeable in the background, missing from the final game.{{ref|https://archive.ph/wC0uq}}
 +
GHZ-DarkBG.jpg|The same location, but with the clouds in a different position, implying automatic scrolling.{{fileref|EGM US 013.pdf|page=88}}
 +
Sonic1 MD TTS90 01.jpg|Walking along.{{magref|famitsu|105|187}}
 +
GD Sonic1 TTS90 GHZ Image 2.jpg|Sonic faces an enemy as it jumps over him.{{ref|https://archive.ph/wC0uq}}
 +
Sonic_1_TTS-90-1_zpsek8fvqhv.jpg|The enemy arcs over Sonic as he runs forward.
 +
Beep sonic GHZ1.jpg|The enemy, unused in the final game, did appear in early concept art.
 +
Sonic1 MD TTS90 02.jpg|Sonic jumping, uncurled, over another unnamed enemy.{{magref|famitsu|105|187}}
 +
File:Sonic_1_TTS-90-2_zpstjkvvyl1.jpg|Another sprite for the unnamed enemy is visible here.
 +
GD Sonic1 TTS90 GHZ Image 3.jpg|Sonic nearly goes off scren.{{ref|https://archive.ph/wC0uq}}
 +
GD Sonic1 TTS90 GHZ Image 4.jpg|A sign known only to exist in this build. It says "You Are Welcome" and "Never Open."{{ref|https://archive.ph/wC0uq}}
 +
File:GHZ-WelcomeSign.png|Sonic in front of the sign. Based on the background, it seems to be in another location than the previous one.{{magref|famitsu|105|187}}{{fileref|EGM US 016.pdf|page=12}}.
 +
GD Sonic1 TTS90 GHZ Image 5.jpg|A message in Japanese appears over Sonic. Translates to "debut approaching".{{ref|https://archive.ph/wC0uq}}
 +
Beep sonic GHZ2.jpg|The message stays on screen as Sonic continues to run, presumably at the end of the demo.
 +
Sonic_1_TTS-90-4_zpsz1fvwzmo.jpg|A close-up of an early Sonic. His sprites are completely different to the final game.
 +
GD Sonic1 TTS90 GHZ Enemy Cropped.jpg|A close up of the unnamed enemy. Facing towards the right, it possibly turned to look at Sonic, who avoided it.{{ref|https://archive.ph/wC0uq}}
 +
</gallery>
  
Of note is that in the interview, Naka claims that this tech demo was planned at one stage to be included in ''[[Sonic Mega Collection]]'', but was never in any build as the ROM has since been lost internally at Sega.
+
====Other====
 +
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
 +
GD Sonic1 90TGS Photograph.jpg|The game on display at the show, visible in the column of monitors second from left.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20220427231531/https://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?threads/naoto-ohshima-twin-star-wonder-hedgehog-1990-tokyo-toy-show-and-other-goodness.40767/ Beep21}}
 +
</gallery>
  
 +
===Rotation tech demo===
 +
Separately at the Tokyo Toy Show, Sega had a brief technical demonstration of the Mega Drive hardware, showing real-time rotation and scaling. The graphics used in the demo featured various Sega properties, including ''Alex Kidd'', ''Phantasy Star'' and the brand new ''Sonic the Hedgehog''. In the demo, a single image of Sonic, Madonna and the game's logo is shown scaling in real time over a background of Sega logos. A sped-up version of the Green Hill Zone music is played during the sequence{{ref|1=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsbaDltkfTc}}.
 
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
 
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
File:GHZ-DarkBG.jpg|An area which is presumably the start of the stage. Sonic's standing pose is also different to that seen in the final game.
+
S1concept-Madonna.jpg|A screenshot of Sonic and Madonna as they appeared in the tech demo.
File:GHZ-WelcomeSign.png|A peculiar "Welcome" sign is spotted, though the poor quality photograph renders it unreadable. It is thought to say "You Are Welcome Sega Sonic," and has a picture of a palm tree in the top right hand corner.
 
File:Beep sonic GHZ1.jpg|A unused enemy can be seen here. It appears to be the purple enemy with a large jaw seen in early concept art for the game.
 
File:Beep sonic GHZ2.jpg|Japanese message in the background. Translates to "debut approaching".
 
File:Sonic_1_TTS-90-1_zpsek8fvqhv.jpg|A higher quality screen of the concept enemy.
 
File:Sonic_1_TTS-90-2_zpstjkvvyl1.jpg|Sonic in midair with his running sprite. It is unclear whether Sonic is jumping or was hit by the enemy.
 
File:Sonic_1_TTS-90-4_zpsz1fvwzmo.jpg|A close-up of an early Sonic.
 
File:Sonic_1_TTS-90-3_zpsdlnyy46o.jpg|The early title screen.
 
 
 
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
Line 307: Line 384:
 
[[File:GHZ-CES91-1.jpg|right|thumb|320px|A still from the playable demo of ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' from CES 1991. Visible are the flashing Eggman monitor and a decidedly different version of the Ton-ton.]]
 
[[File:GHZ-CES91-1.jpg|right|thumb|320px|A still from the playable demo of ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' from CES 1991. Visible are the flashing Eggman monitor and a decidedly different version of the Ton-ton.]]
  
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9H3edAcnZ4 These] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l4IPW6fkJw two] short clips uncovered by community member [[User:Drx|drx]] feature footage taken at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas during January of 1991. The footage recorded features numerous differences even in the first level of the game. Among that which is noticeable are the flowers in the level being purple instead of green, the word "RING" instead of "RINGS" in the HUD, and the brief appearance of an Eggman [[monitor]] which goes unused in the final game. A higher-quality version of this footage, lacking the frame blending present in the original, later surfaced [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtaM0Xme21k here] - this version has been slowed down to half speed to allow easier analysis.
+
On March 12, 1991, an episode of ''Computer Chronicles''{{ref|https://archive.org/details/ces_2}} focused on the 1991 Winter Consumer Electronics Show. The show happened to include footage of an early build of ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', which was playable on the show floor. Numerous differences from the final game can be seen even in the short glimpse of Green Hill Zone. Among that which is noticeable are the flowers in the level being purple instead of green, the word "RING" instead of "RINGS" in the HUD, and the brief appearance of an Eggman [[monitor]] which goes unused in the final game.
 +
 
 +
The monitors seen in this footage{{ref|1=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtaM0Xme21k}} seem to be cycling through different power-up icons - in the footage available, the first monitor which appears can be seen to change between an Eggman icon and a Sonic icon, and the second monitor cycles through the first and second frames of static, and finally to the Eggman icon just as it disappears off-screen. Each frame seems to be displayed for around half a second before changing to the next in sequence - as the player doesn't break either monitor, it's unknown whether the effect of the monitor was intended to be dependent on which icon was displayed when it was broken, or if the programming for the monitors had yet to be finalized and this was simply a test routine for displaying the various different power-up icons.
 +
 
 +
There are also examples of an earlier [[Ball Hog (Sonic the Hedgehog 16-bit)|Ball Hog]] enemy that attacks in a similar fashion to the [[Crabmeat (Sonic the Hedgehog 16-bit)|Crabmeat]] found in the final version of the Green Hill Zone, throwing a projectile on either side as opposed to the single shot they fire in Scrap Brain Zone. Concept art for this variation of the Ball Hog can be seen within the Japanese ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' manual{{fileref|Sonic1 MD JP manual.pdf|page=43}}. Coding for this Ball Hog exists within the [[Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit) (prototype)|dumped prototype]], where it drops projectiles directly downward.
 +
 
 +
Also of note is that a form of the debug mode is active in the clips, the numbers in the lower right hand corner corresponding to debug values. Sonic's position is represented differently by the debug mode in the final game.
  
The monitors seen in this footage seem to be cycling through different power-up icons - in the footage available, the first monitor which appears can be seen to change between an Eggman icon and a Sonic icon, and the second monitor cycles through the first and second frames of static, and finally to the Eggman icon just as it disappears off-screen. Each frame seems to be displayed for around half a second before changing to the next in sequence - as the player doesn't break either monitor, it's unknown whether the effect of the monitor was intended to be dependent on which icon was displayed when it was broken, or if the programming for the monitors had yet to be finalized and this was simply a test routine for displaying the various different power-up icons.
+
While visually the Green Hill Zone is slightly different from the final version of the level, elements such as the purple flowers and the strikingly close shades of blue in the background did make their way in the finished version. The flowers make an appearance in the ending sequence, while the original Green Hill Zone background appears on the title screen.
  
There are also examples of an earlier Ton-ton enemy that attacks in a similar fashion to the [[Crabmeat|Ganiganis]] found in the final version of the Green Hill Zone, throwing a projectile on either side as opposed to the single shot they fire in Scrap Brain Zone. Concept art for this variation of the Ton-ton can be seen within the Japanese ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' manual{{fileref|Sonic1 MD JP manual.pdf|page=43}}.
+
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
 +
GHZ-CES91-2.jpg|A still from the brief video footage of the early ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', containing a monitor displaying one of the two static frames and the early version of the Ball Hog Badnik.
 +
GD Sonic1 GHZ 1.jpg|A magazine screenshot of this build. The differences are less evident here, though debug mode is turned on.{{fileref|Zero UK 22.pdf|page=64}}{{fileref|GameZone UK 01.pdf|page=97}}
 +
GHZ-loop.jpg|{{fileref|SegaVisions US 04.pdf|page=17}}
 +
GHZ-Debug.jpg|{{fileref|SegaVisions US 04.pdf|page=16}}
 +
</gallery>
 +
 
 +
==Promotional screenshots==
 +
The following is a collection of images published in a variety of sources used to advertise ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' and to comment on its progress. Many of these screenshots can be sourced from the [[Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit) (prototype)|dumped prototype]], though a few screenshots may have come from earlier/later builds before the final release.
 +
 
 +
===CES-like builds===
 +
====Title screen====
 +
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
 +
S1StageSelect.jpg|An early level select. The zones are placed in their original order. Final Zone is not listed and Xs are listed after some levels. The "Press Start Button" text is also visible.{{fileref|VideoGames DE 1991-02.pdf|page=86}}
 +
</gallery>
 +
 
 +
====Green Hill Zone====
 +
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
 +
GHZ-PinkFlowers.jpg|{{fileref|VideoGames DE 1991-02.pdf|page=86}}
 +
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 03.jpg|{{fileref|VideoGames DE 1991-02.pdf|page=86}}
 +
GHZ-Hurted.jpg|After being hit, Sonic gets knocked back more than in final.{{fileref|SegaVisions US 04.pdf|page=17}}
 +
GD Sonic1 GHZ Loop.jpg|In the final game, every loop in Green Hill Zone has a monitor on top. This one doesn't.{{fileref|Mdfan JP 1991-06.pdf|page=2}}
 +
</gallery>
  
Also of note is that a form of the debug mode is active in the clips, the numbers in the lower right hand corner corresponding to debug values. Sonic's position is represented differently by the debug mode in the final game. The full video from which these clips are from can be viewed [http://www.archive.org/details/ces_2 here].
+
====Marble Zone====
 +
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
 +
MZ-Tiles3.jpg|An early Marble Zone featuring graphical work not seen in the final game. Possibly a mock-up.{{fileref|GameZone UK 01.pdf|page=70}}
 +
MZ-Tiles2.png|Same image but from a different source, with noticeable TV scanlines.
 +
MZ-Tiles.jpg|Same image but from a different source, printed in reverse.
 +
MZ-UFO2.png|A newer build, now with red UFOs adorning the sky.{{fileref|MegaForce FR 01.pdf|page=84}}
 +
Sonic1 MD Development MZ 02.jpg|Alternative scan.{{fileref|Joystick FR 015.pdf|page=88}}
 +
MZ-UFODebug.jpg|Different lava graphics from final, but final debug mode HUD position.{{fileref|VideoGames DE 1991-02.pdf|page=86}}
 +
MZ-Lava.jpg|The green pillars haven't been installed in this early build. The background torch is also not lit and the lava graphics are different.{{fileref|VideoGames DE 1991-02.pdf|page=86}}
 +
MZ-Mashers.jpg|This different build sees the addition of the pillars, but the torch is still unlit.{{fileref|SegaVisions US 04.pdf|page=16}}
 +
MZ-Spikes.jpg|The infamous "sideways spikes." They were replaced with moving blocks in the final game. The code and graphics for these objects still exist within the final release, but are unused. The background torch is still unlit.{{fileref|SegaVisions US 04.pdf|page=17}}
 +
</gallery>
  
An interesting aside is that while visually the Green Hill Zone is slightly different from the final version of the level, elements such as the purple flowers and the strikingly close water/sky shades of blue in this build did make their way in the finished version. The flowers make an appearance in the final moments of the game after the player has fought the final boss, while the similar shades of blue in the sky and water appear in the title screen.
+
====Sparkling Zone====
 +
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
 +
Sonic1 MD Development SYZ 04.jpg|Start of Act 1.{{fileref|Joystick FR 015.pdf|page=89}}
 +
Sonic1 MD Development SYZ 03.jpg|{{fileref|Joystick FR 015.pdf|page=88}}
 +
SYZ-Fall.jpg|{{fileref|VideoGames DE 1991-02.pdf|page=86}}
 +
SYZ-Sparkling4.jpg|A [[Moto Bug]] (found only in Green Hill Zone in the final game) and a purple [[Roller]].{{fileref|SegaVisions US 04.pdf|page=16}}
 +
SYZ-Sparkling10.jpg|{{fileref|Megadrive Fan 1991-03.pdf|page=84}}
 +
</gallery>
  
 +
====Labyrinth Zone====
 
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
 
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
GHZ-CES91-2.jpg|A still from the brief video footage of the early ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', containing a monitor displaying one of the two static frames and the early version of the Ton-ton badnik.
+
LZ-BlueBG.jpg|A blue background. This might be before a background was implemented into the zone.{{fileref|VideoGames DE 1991-02.pdf|page=86}}
GD Sonic1 GHZ 1.jpg|A magazine screenshot of this build. The differences are less evident here, though debug mode is turned on.{{fileref|Zero UK 22.pdf|page=64}}
 
GHZ-loop.jpg
 
GHZ-Debug.jpg
 
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
==Promotional Screenshots==
+
====Clock Work Zone====
The following is a collection of images published in a variety of sources used to advertise ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' and to comment on its progress. Though it is unknown at what point these shots were taken during the development process, each come from a point before the final release.
 
 
===Title Screen===
 
 
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
 
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
S1Title2.jpg|A near final title screen with "Press Start Button" text on-screen.
+
SBZ-Pic5.jpg|{{fileref|VideoGames DE 1991-02.pdf|page=86}}
S1StageSelect.jpg|An earlier level select. The levels are placed in their original order. Final zone is not listed and Xs are listed after some levels. The "Press Start Button" text is visible once again.{{fileref|VideoGames DE 1991-02.pdf|page=82}}
 
Sonic1 MD Development LevelSelect.jpg|A later build? The palette matches the final game.{{fileref|Console XS UK 01.pdf|page=105}}
 
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
===Green Hill Zone===
+
====Special Stage====
====Act 1====
 
 
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
 
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 16.jpg| This screenshot is from a later version. The HUD still reads "RING" and the flowers are still purple, while the background layout is different. The level is also named "ACT. 1" rather than "ACT 1".{{fileref|EGM US 022.pdf|page=81}}
+
Sonic1 MD Development SS 02.jpg|Early Special Stage screenshots feature a layout not seen in the final game. All the bricks are yellow and there appears to be no objects.{{fileref|EGM US 021.pdf|page=46}}
 +
S1SpecialStage7a.png|{{fileref|Megadrive_Fan_1991-04.pdf|page=113}}
 +
S1SpecialStage8a.png|The fish background.{{fileref|Megadrive_Fan_1991-05.pdf|page=132}}
 +
S1SpecialStage8b.png|Screenshots in ''[[sega:Mega Drive Fan|Mega Drive Fan]]'' suggest the stage rotates clockwise. (1){{fileref|Megadrive_Fan_1991-05.pdf|page=132}}
 +
S1SpecialStage8c.png|(2){{fileref|Megadrive_Fan_1991-05.pdf|page=132}}
 +
S1SpecialStage8d.png|(3){{fileref|Megadrive_Fan_1991-05.pdf|page=132}}
 +
S1SpecialStage8e.png|(4){{fileref|Megadrive_Fan_1991-05.pdf|page=132}}
 +
Sonic1 MD Development SS 01.jpg|A screenshot printed on the Mega Drive Brazilian box, distributed by [[Tectoy]].
 +
S1SpecialStage6.jpg|In this shot, it almost looks as if bricks have been placed at random.
 +
</gallery>
 +
 
 +
===Dumped prototype===
 +
These screenshots line up with [[Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit) (prototype)|the dumped prototype]]:
 +
 
 +
===="Official" screenshots====
 +
These screenshots were produced by Sega themselves for promotional material:
 +
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px">
 +
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 02.jpg
 +
GHZ-Loop.jpg
 +
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 01.jpg|Seen on the back of the US game cover.
 +
MZ-UFOx.png|{{fileref|SegaVisions US 05.pdf|page=25}}
 +
Sonic1 MD Development MZ 01.jpg|Seen on the back of the US game cover.
 +
GD Sonic MZ 15.jpg|{{fileref|SegaVisions US 05.pdf|page=24}}
 +
Sonic1 MD Development SYZ 01.jpg|
 +
SLZ-pic.JPG|{{fileref|SegaVisions US 05.pdf|page=24}}
 +
GD Sonic SLZ 08.jpg|Loop.{{fileref|Zero UK 22.pdf|page=64}}{{fileref|SegaVisions US 05.pdf|page=24}}{{fileref|User GR 17.pdf|page=14}}
 +
</gallery>
 +
 
 +
====Title screen====
 +
<gallery>
 +
S1Title2.jpg|"Press Start Button" text on-screen.{{fileref|MeanMachines UK 08.pdf|page=94}}
 +
Sonic1 MD Development LevelSelect.jpg|{{fileref|Console XS UK 01.pdf|page=105}}
 +
</gallery>
 +
 
 +
====Green Hill Zone====
 +
=====Act 1=====
 +
<gallery>
 +
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 16.jpg|{{fileref|EGM US 022.pdf|page=81}}
 
GD Sonic1 GHZ PushMonitor.jpg|[[Moto Bug]] badniks are present.{{fileref|SegaPower UK 20.pdf|page=22}}
 
GD Sonic1 GHZ PushMonitor.jpg|[[Moto Bug]] badniks are present.{{fileref|SegaPower UK 20.pdf|page=22}}
GHZ-PinkFlowers.jpg|{{fileref|VideoGames DE 1991-02.pdf|page=82}}
 
 
GHZ proto debugmode.jpg|[[Debug mode]], with the player transformed into a ring.
 
GHZ proto debugmode.jpg|[[Debug mode]], with the player transformed into a ring.
GHZ-Ball.jpg|A rolling ball. This can still be found in debug mode but is not placeable. The sprite was reused for the zone's boss.
+
GHZ-Ball.jpg|A rolling ball. This can still be found in debug mode but can not be placed. The sprite was used for the Zone's boss.
 
GHZ-Ball4.jpg|Sonic giving the rolling ball a push.
 
GHZ-Ball4.jpg|Sonic giving the rolling ball a push.
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 04.jpg|Seems you could balance on it.{{fileref|SegaPro UK 01.pdf|page=6}}
+
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 04.jpg|{{fileref|SegaPro UK 01.pdf|page=6}}
GHZ-Ball2.jpg|The ball again. The accompanying caption claims it can be pushed, but can also kill the player{{fileref|GPSG US 0203.pdf|page=26}}.
+
GHZ-Ball3.JPG|The ball again, this time in the air.
GHZ-Ball3.JPG|The ball again, but this time it is in the air.
+
GHZ-Ball3a.jpg|Alternative scan{{fileref|TheCompleteGuideToSega UK.pdf|page=7}}.
GHZ-Ball3a.jpg|Alternative version of the above image.
+
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 06.jpg|More spikes here than in the final game.{{fileref|GamePro US 023.pdf|page=44}}
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 06.jpg|More spikes here than in the final game.
 
 
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 07.jpg|{{fileref|PlayerOne FR 008.pdf|page=8}}
 
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 07.jpg|{{fileref|PlayerOne FR 008.pdf|page=8}}
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 02.jpg|The upper path.
 
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 01.jpg|From the back of the US game cover. You will never find an invincibility monitor on top of a loop in the final game.
 
 
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 17.jpg|{{fileref|TheCompleteGuideToSega UK.pdf|page=118}}
 
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 17.jpg|{{fileref|TheCompleteGuideToSega UK.pdf|page=118}}
 
GD Sonic1 GHZ Tunnel.jpg|A tunnel.{{fileref|SegaPower UK 20.pdf|page=23}}
 
GD Sonic1 GHZ Tunnel.jpg|A tunnel.{{fileref|SegaPower UK 20.pdf|page=23}}
 
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 13.jpg|
 
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 13.jpg|
GD Sonic1 GHZ Act1End.jpg|Sonic punching the air after completing the act as an early end level celebration. The sprites, though unused in the final game, still exist within the ROM.{{fileref|SegaPower UK 20.pdf|page=23}}
+
GD Sonic1 GHZ Act1End.jpg|Sonic posing as he jumps, an early end level celebration.{{fileref|SegaPower UK 20.pdf|page=23}}
 
 
 
GHZ map.png|A prototype map.{{fileref|ConsoleMania IT 001.pdf|page=34}}
 
GHZ map.png|A prototype map.{{fileref|ConsoleMania IT 001.pdf|page=34}}
GHZ-map.JPG|Another map, complete with rolling ball.
+
GHZ-map.JPG|Another map, complete with rolling ball.{{fileref|VideoGame BR 05.pdf|page=51}}
 
GHZ map2.png|The layout is otherwise identical to the final game.{{fileref|ConsoleMania IT 001.pdf|page=35}}
 
GHZ map2.png|The layout is otherwise identical to the final game.{{fileref|ConsoleMania IT 001.pdf|page=35}}
 
 
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
====Act 2====
+
=====Act 2=====
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
+
<gallery>
GHZ-Loop.jpg|A loop.
+
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 15.jpg|{{fileref|EGM US 022.pdf|page=80}}
 
GHZ-JumpPunch.jpg|End of Act 2.
 
GHZ-JumpPunch.jpg|End of Act 2.
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
====Act 3====
+
=====Act 3=====
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
+
<gallery>
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 03.jpg|{{fileref|VideoGames DE 1991-02.pdf|page=82}}
 
 
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 12.jpg|{{fileref|Joystick FR 015.pdf|page=89}}
 
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 12.jpg|{{fileref|Joystick FR 015.pdf|page=89}}
 
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 11.jpg|{{fileref|Joystick FR 015.pdf|page=89}}
 
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 11.jpg|{{fileref|Joystick FR 015.pdf|page=89}}
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 08.jpg|{{fileref|Joystick FR 015.pdf|page=88}}
+
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 08.jpg|{{fileref|Joystick FR 015.pdf|page=88}}{{fileref|MegaForce FR 01.pdf|page=85}}
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 15.jpg|{{fileref|EGM US 022.pdf|page=80}}
+
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 10.jpg|A loop, now with a monitor on top.{{fileref|Joystick FR 015.pdf|page=89}}
GHZ-Hurted.jpg|After being hit, Sonic gets knocked back more than in final.
+
GHZ-Monitor.jpg|This shield monitor is not here in final.{{fileref|VideoGame BR 05.pdf|page=51}}
GD Sonic1 GHZ Loop.jpg|In the final game, every loop in Green Hill Zone has a monitor on top. This one doesn't.{{fileref|Mdfan JP 1991-06.pdf|page=2}}
 
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 10.jpg|Assuming this is still act 3, this later build ''does'' have a monitor on top.{{fileref|Joystick FR 015.pdf|page=89}}
 
GHZ-Monitor.jpg|This shield monitor is not here in final.
 
 
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 09.jpg|{{fileref|Joystick FR 015.pdf|page=88}}
 
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 09.jpg|{{fileref|Joystick FR 015.pdf|page=88}}
 
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 14.jpg|Eggman turns up.{{fileref|EGM US 022.pdf|page=80}}
 
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 14.jpg|Eggman turns up.{{fileref|EGM US 022.pdf|page=80}}
 
GD Sonic1 GHZ3 Eggman 1.jpg|{{fileref|Zero UK 22.pdf|page=64}}
 
GD Sonic1 GHZ3 Eggman 1.jpg|{{fileref|Zero UK 22.pdf|page=64}}
 
GD Sonic1 GHZ3 Eggman 2.jpg|{{fileref|Zero UK 22.pdf|page=64}}
 
GD Sonic1 GHZ3 Eggman 2.jpg|{{fileref|Zero UK 22.pdf|page=64}}
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 05.jpg
+
Sonic1 MD Development GHZ 05.jpg|{{fileref|GamePro US 023.pdf|page=45}}
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
===Marble Zone===
+
====Marble Zone====
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
+
<gallery>
MZ-Tiles3.jpg|An extremely early Marble Zone featuring strange level graphics and falling tiles which can be balanced on. This is almost certainly a mock-up.
+
GD Sonic1 MZ Act1Start.jpg|{{fileref|SegaPower UK 20.pdf|page=22}}
MZ-Tiles2.png|Same image but from a different source, plus noticeable TV scanlines.
+
Wayne'sWorldMZ.png|Footage of the UFOs rotating can be seen in the film ''Wayne's World'' during a promotion for "Noah's Arcade." Early lava graphics can also be made out.{{ref|1=https://web.archive.org/web/20140929111752/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z9mzA-Q828}}
MZ-Tiles.jpg|This magazine printed it the other way around. While likely a mistake, we can't say for sure what the correct orientation is.
+
MZ-UFO4.JPG|{{fileref|CVG UK 115.pdf|page=123}}
GD Sonic1 MZ Act1Start.jpg|One of the main features of the prototype Marble Zone was the existence of rotating UFOs in the background. All traces of these graphics are removed in the final game (though a single frame appeared in the [[Game Secrets:Sonic the Hedgehog Mobile|mobile phone port of Sonic 1]]).{{fileref|SegaPower UK 20.pdf|page=22}}
+
MZ ufo again.png|More UFOs and Spikes Badnik.{{fileref|ConsoleMania IT 001.pdf|page=34}}
MZ-UFO2.png
 
Sonic1 MD Development MZ 02.jpg|Alternative scan.{{fileref|Joystick FR 015.pdf|page=88}}
 
MZ-UFOx.png|[[Spikes]] badniks used to roam Marble Zone, but were later replaced with [[Caterkiller]]s. They can still be placed in the level via debug mode. [[Picky]] also doesn't appear in this level in the final version.
 
MZ-UFODebug.jpg|Different lava, but final debug mode HUD position.{{fileref|VideoGames DE 1991-02.pdf|page=82}}
 
Wayne'sWorldMZ.png|Footage of the UFOs rotating can be seen in the film [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z9mzA-Q828 Wayne's World] during a promotion for "Noah's Arcade." Also the lava in the bottom right is similar to that of the mock-up screenshot earlier.
 
MZ-UFO4.JPG|The UFOs would eventually make their way back as a bonus in the debug mode for the [[Sonic the Hedgehog (2013 game)|2013 mobile remake]].
 
Sonic1 MD Development MZ 01.jpg|Seen on the back of the US game cover.
 
MZ ufo again.png|More UFOs and Spikes badnik.{{fileref|ConsoleMania IT 001.pdf|page=34}}
 
 
MZ Map.png|A stitched-together map.{{fileref|ConsoleMania IT 001.pdf|page=35}}
 
MZ Map.png|A stitched-together map.{{fileref|ConsoleMania IT 001.pdf|page=35}}
MZ-Lava.jpg|Inside we find that the green pillars haven't been installed in this early build. The background torch is also not lit and the lava graphics are different.{{fileref|VideoGames DE 1991-02.pdf|page=82}}
+
MZ-Tunnel.jpg|The first switch of Act 2 is missing on the right hand side. While it is possible to trigger Sonic's balancing animations here in the final game, Sonic will be positioned a few more pixels to the left.{{fileref|TheCompleteGuideToSega UK.pdf|page=6}}
MZ-Mashers.jpg|This different build sees the addition of pillars, but the torch is still unlit.
+
GD Sonic MZ 16.jpg|{{fileref|SegaVisions US 05.pdf|page=25}}
GD Sonic MZ 15.jpg
+
MZ-NewRoom.jpg|A lit background torch, but a room that doesn't exist in the final game.{{fileref|VideoGame BR 05.pdf|page=52}}
MZ-Spikes.jpg|These infamous "sideways spikes" appear in a lot of ''Sonic'' promotional material, but were replaced with moving blocks in the final game. The code and graphics for these objects still exist within the ROM, but they're a awkward to navigate and lack any assoicated sound effects. The background torch is still unlit.
 
MZ-Tunnel.jpg|The first switch of act 2 is missing on the right hand side. While it is possible to trigger Sonic's balancing animations here in the final game, Sonic will be positioned a few more pixels to the left.
 
GD Sonic MZ 16.jpg
 
MZ-NewRoom.jpg|A lit background torch, but a room that doesn't exist in the final game.
 
 
Sonic1 MD Development MZ 03.jpg|Finishing Act 1. The left of Sonic's punching the air sprite can be seen.{{fileref|EGM US 022.pdf|page=80}}
 
Sonic1 MD Development MZ 03.jpg|Finishing Act 1. The left of Sonic's punching the air sprite can be seen.{{fileref|EGM US 022.pdf|page=80}}
 
Sonic1 MD Development MZ 04.jpg|{{fileref|EGM US 022.pdf|page=81}}
 
Sonic1 MD Development MZ 04.jpg|{{fileref|EGM US 022.pdf|page=81}}
GD Sonic1 MZ Spikes.jpg|Spikes and Picky must have been removed late in development, as despite now having a final HUD, they're still roaming around here in act 2.
 
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
===Spring Yard Zone===
+
====Sparkling Zone====
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
+
<gallery>
File:SYZ-Sparkling.png|Originally called "Sparkling Zone," this shot shows off the original background to the level. The sign behind the HUD says "good luck".{{fileref|EGM US 022.pdf|page=81}}
+
SYZ-Sparkling.png|{{fileref|EGM US 022.pdf|page=81}}
File:SYZ-Sparkling6.jpg|Same again. The sign on the right says "GOGO".
+
File:SYZ-Sparkling6.jpg|The sign on the right says "GOGO".{{fileref|VideoGame BR 05.pdf|page=53}}
File:SYZ-Sparkling9.JPG|At one point there was a giant set of rotating spikes in this area, most likely removed due to the difficulty of avoiding them.
+
File:SYZ-Sparkling9.JPG|The giant set of rotating spikes.{{fileref|CVG UK 117.pdf|page=19}}
File:SYZ-Sparkling12.jpg|Spikes still visibly implemented in a late build of Spring Yard (note "RINGS" instead of "RING"), from page 3 of the [[Sonic the Hedgehog (flyer)]].
+
File:SYZ-Sparkling2a.jpg|{{fileref|EGM US 022.pdf|page=81}}
File:SYZ-Sparkling2a.jpg|You can see the buildings are merely made up of colorful horizontal lines.{{fileref|EGM US 022.pdf|page=81}}
+
File:SYZ-Sparkling7.jpg|{{fileref|Supergame BR 01.pdf|page=15}}
File:SYZ-Sparkling7.jpg|There appears to be a "Goodbye" sign too.
 
 
GD Sonic1 SYZ Bumpers.jpg|{{fileref|SegaPower UK 20.pdf|page=22}}
 
GD Sonic1 SYZ Bumpers.jpg|{{fileref|SegaPower UK 20.pdf|page=22}}
Sonic1 MD Development SYZ 01.jpg|The stage is clearly "sparkling" - rotating palettes seem to be in effect.
+
File:SYZ-Sparkling8.JPG|{{fileref|CVG UK 115.pdf|page=123}}
File:SYZ-Sparkling10.jpg|Sparkles are present.
+
File:SYZ-Sparkling3.jpg|More of the background.{{fileref|VideoGame BR 05.pdf|page=53}}
File:SYZ-Sparkling8.JPG|Strange sign with Kanji written on it.
+
File:SYZ-Sparkling11.jpg|{{fileref|TheCompleteGuideToSega UK.pdf|page=1}}
File:SYZ-Sparkling3.jpg|More of the background.
+
File:SYZ-Sparkling5.jpg|{{fileref|GamePro US 023.pdf|page=45}}
File:SYZ-Sparkling11.jpg|There's more to the background buildings than just horizontal lines.
+
File:SYZ A.png|A heavily edited screenshot containing signs found in this early build.{{fileref|ConsoleMania IT 001.pdf|page=34}}
File:SYZ-Fall.jpg|An unknown area, though judging from the time counter, it might be near the start of Act 2 or 3. A sparkle can be seen over the "good luck sign" indicating the sparkles moved around and weren't part of the background.{{fileref|VideoGames DE 1991-02.pdf|page=82}}
 
File:SYZ-Sparkling4.jpg|A [[Moto Bug]] (found only in Green Hill Zone in the final game) and a purple [[Roller]].
 
File:SYZ-Sparkling5.jpg|Sparkles are present.
 
File:SYZ A.png|A heavily edited screenshot containing the signs found in this early build.{{fileref|ConsoleMania IT 001.pdf|page=34}}
 
 
File:SYZ B.png|Some odd ring placements.{{fileref|ConsoleMania IT 001.pdf|page=35}}
 
File:SYZ B.png|Some odd ring placements.{{fileref|ConsoleMania IT 001.pdf|page=35}}
 
File:SYZ C.png|{{fileref|ConsoleMania IT 001.pdf|page=36}}
 
File:SYZ C.png|{{fileref|ConsoleMania IT 001.pdf|page=36}}
File:Syz yadrin tunnel.jpg|
+
File:Syz yadrin tunnel.jpg|{{fileref|SegaVisions US 05.pdf|page=25}}
 
GD Sonic1 SYZ 01.png
 
GD Sonic1 SYZ 01.png
Sonic1 MD Development SYZ 02.jpg
+
Sonic1 MD Development SYZ 02.jpg|{{fileref|MeanMachines UK 08.pdf|page=93}}
Sonic1 MD Development SYZ 03.jpg|{{fileref|Joystick FR 015.pdf|page=88}}
 
Sonic1 MD Development SYZ 04.jpg|{{fileref|Joystick FR 015.pdf|page=89}}
 
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
===Labyrinth Zone===
+
====Labyrinth Zone====
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
+
<gallery>
LZ-BlackBG.png|Labyrinth Zone once had a completely black background and was littered with different, smaller crystals.{{fileref|EGM US 022.pdf|page=81}}
+
LZ-NewBG3.jpg|{{fileref|VideoGame BR 05.pdf|page=52}}
LZ-BlueBG.jpg|This may be the underwater version of the black background. Sonic's palette is the same as above water.{{fileref|VideoGames DE 1991-02.pdf|page=82}}
 
LZ-NewBG3.jpg|The intro to Act 1, sporting a later "rocky" background. There is no water to be seen and the crystals are different.
 
 
LZ-NewBG.png|Water has yet to be placed on this slide.{{fileref|EGM US 022.pdf|page=81}}
 
LZ-NewBG.png|Water has yet to be placed on this slide.{{fileref|EGM US 022.pdf|page=81}}
LZ-NewBG2.jpg|More of the rocky background. In the final game this area has water and a spike on a chain, but it's largely empty here.
+
LZ-NewBG2.jpg|Early background is clearly visible.{{fileref|GamePro US 023.pdf|page=44}}
GD Sonic1 LZ Balance.jpg|Even more of the rock background.{{fileref|SegaPower UK 20.pdf|page=22}}
+
GD Sonic1 LZ Balance.jpg|{{fileref|SegaPower UK 20.pdf|page=22}}
LZ-NewBG4.jpg|Balancing further up. The ceiling crystals were removed in the final game.
+
LZ-NewBG4.jpg|{{fileref|VideoGame BR 05.pdf|page=52}}
 
LZ NewBG 5.png
 
LZ NewBG 5.png
 +
LZ-BlackBG.png|Background is missing.{{fileref|EGM US 022.pdf|page=81}}
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
===Star Light Zone===
+
====Star Light Zone====
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
+
<gallery>
File:SLZ-Pic2.jpg|Star Light Act 1 has 3 rings missing from the start of the level.
+
File:SLZ-Pic2.jpg|Star Light Act 1.{{fileref|VideoGame BR 05.pdf|page=52}}
File:SLZ-pic.JPG|This layout is different to the final game.
 
File:SLZ-Pic3.png|The top row of springs here are missing in final.
 
 
File:SLZ Pic 4.png|Debug mode appears to be active.{{fileref|ConsoleMania IT 001.pdf|page=34}}
 
File:SLZ Pic 4.png|Debug mode appears to be active.{{fileref|ConsoleMania IT 001.pdf|page=34}}
File:SLZ Pic 6.png|All is fairly normal here, apart from the "RING" in the HUD.
+
File:SLZ Pic 6.png|Resembles the final, apart from the "RING" in the HUD.
 
File:SLZ Pic 7.png|A small map, showing one of the loops.{{fileref|ConsoleMania IT 001.pdf|page=36}}
 
File:SLZ Pic 7.png|A small map, showing one of the loops.{{fileref|ConsoleMania IT 001.pdf|page=36}}
GD Sonic SLZ 08.jpg|Loop.{{fileref|Zero UK 22.pdf|page=64}}
+
Sonic1 MD Development SLZ 02.jpg|{{fileref|GamePro US 023.pdf|page=44}}
Sonic1 MD Development SLZ 02.jpg
 
 
GD Sonic1 SLZ Loop.jpg|{{fileref|SegaPower UK 20.pdf|page=22}}
 
GD Sonic1 SLZ Loop.jpg|{{fileref|SegaPower UK 20.pdf|page=22}}
 
Sonic1 MD Development SLZ 01.jpg
 
Sonic1 MD Development SLZ 01.jpg
Line 468: Line 585:
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
===Scrap Brain Zone===
+
====Clock Work Zone====
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
+
<gallery>
File:ClockOrkTitle.jpg|Originally known as "Clock Work Zone", the title card at the beginning of the zone displays erroneously as "Clock ork Zone" due to the lack of a "W" character in the font used.  
+
ClockOrkTitle.jpg|{{fileref|VideoGame BR 05.pdf|page=53}}
 
Sonic1 MD Development SBZ 04.jpg|Alternative screenshot.{{fileref|EGM US 022.pdf|page=81}}
 
Sonic1 MD Development SBZ 04.jpg|Alternative screenshot.{{fileref|EGM US 022.pdf|page=81}}
Sonic1 MD Development SBZ 02.jpg|This initial platform is similar to the final game, but there's one big issue - the background is the same as the foreground.
+
Sonic1 MD Development SBZ 02.jpg|
SBZ-Pic4.png|The level appears to be devoid of objects, and it doesn't take long to find differences in the layout.
+
SBZ-Pic4.png|{{fileref|CVG UK 118.pdf|page=75}}
File:SBZ-Pic5.jpg|In fact, very little of this layout is similar to the final game. The starting area turns up a lot in these screenshots, suggesting the level was quite short at this stage of development.{{fileref|VideoGames DE 1991-02.pdf|page=82}}
+
SBZ-Pic3.jpg|{{fileref|GamePro US 023.pdf|page=45}}
File:SBZ-Pic3.jpg|This area isn't in the final game and may just be here for demonstration purposes. In the top right you can see...
+
SBZ-Pic1.png|Diagonal conveyor belts.{{fileref|EGM US 022.pdf|page=81}}
File:SBZ-Pic1.png|...diagonal conveyor belts. Though horizontal ones made it to the final game, the diagonal ones are absent.{{fileref|EGM US 022.pdf|page=81}}
+
SBZPic7.png|Diagonal belts again.{{fileref|ConsoleMania IT 001.pdf|page=36}}
File:SBZPic7.png|Diagonal belts again. The closest to these in the final game are the conveyors with spinning platforms.{{fileref|ConsoleMania IT 001.pdf|page=36}}
+
Sonic1 MD Development SBZ 01.jpg|Tile placement is unfinished.{{fileref|SegaPro UK 01.pdf|page=6}}
Sonic1 MD Development SBZ 01.jpg|Tile placement is clearly unfinished.{{fileref|SegaPro UK 01.pdf|page=6}}
+
Sonic1 MD Development SBZ 03.jpg|{{fileref|Joystick FR 015.pdf|page=89}}
Sonic1 MD Development SBZ 03.jpg|...and yet magazines kept showing it anyway.{{fileref|Joystick FR 015.pdf|page=89}}
 
 
GD Sonic1 SBZ Tunnels.jpg|{{fileref|SegaPower UK 20.pdf|page=22}}
 
GD Sonic1 SBZ Tunnels.jpg|{{fileref|SegaPower UK 20.pdf|page=22}}
File:SBZ-Pic2.jpg|A zig-zag tunnel with debug mode enabled.
+
SBZ-Pic2.jpg|The zig-zag tunnel.{{fileref|VideoGame BR 05.pdf|page=53}}
File:SBZ-Pic6.JPG|Sonic emerges from a tunnel.
+
SBZ-Pic6.JPG|Sonic emerges from a tunnel.{{fileref|CVG UK 115.pdf|page=123}}
File:SBZ Pic 8.png|2 minutes and 6 seconds down the line and Sonic has yet to receive any points or rings. Also the background does not appear to be scrolling that much (if at all).{{fileref|ConsoleMania IT 001.pdf|page=35}}
+
SBZ Pic 8.png|{{fileref|ConsoleMania IT 001.pdf|page=35}}
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
===Special Stage===
+
====Special Stage====
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
+
<gallery>
Sonic1 MD Development SS 02.jpg|Early Special Stage screenshots feature a layout not seen in the final game. All the bricks are yellow and there appears to be no objects.{{fileref|EGM US 021.pdf|page=46}}
+
S1SpecialStage.png|
S1SpecialStage7a.png|{{fileref|Megadrive_Fan_1991-04.pdf|page=113}}
 
S1SpecialStage8a.png|The background is animating though.{{fileref|Megadrive_Fan_1991-05.pdf|page=132}}
 
S1SpecialStage8b.png|Screenshots in ''[[Mega Drive Fan]]'' suggest the stage rotates clockwise (1){{fileref|Megadrive_Fan_1991-05.pdf|page=132}}
 
S1SpecialStage8c.png|(2){{fileref|Megadrive_Fan_1991-05.pdf|page=132}}
 
S1SpecialStage8d.png|(3){{fileref|Megadrive_Fan_1991-05.pdf|page=132}}
 
S1SpecialStage8e.png|(4){{fileref|Megadrive_Fan_1991-05.pdf|page=132}}
 
Sonic1 MD Development SS 01.jpg|[[Tectoy]] decided to print this version on the back of the Brazillian box.
 
File:S1SpecialStage6.jpg|In this shot, it almost looks as if bricks have been placed at random. Has Sonic left the stage boundaries?
 
File:S1SpecialStage.png|Later builds add some colour, and these goal blocks.
 
 
GD Sonic1 SS 01.jpg|UP, DOWN and bumpers.{{fileref|ActionStation UK 01.pdf|page=2}}
 
GD Sonic1 SS 01.jpg|UP, DOWN and bumpers.{{fileref|ActionStation UK 01.pdf|page=2}}
 
GD Sonic1 SS 03.jpg|{{fileref|SegaPower UK 20.pdf|page=223}}
 
GD Sonic1 SS 03.jpg|{{fileref|SegaPower UK 20.pdf|page=223}}
Line 503: Line 610:
 
Sonic1 MD Development SS 04.jpg|{{fileref|EGM US 022.pdf|page=80}}
 
Sonic1 MD Development SS 04.jpg|{{fileref|EGM US 022.pdf|page=80}}
 
GD Sonic1 SS 02.jpg|{{fileref|ActionStation UK 01.pdf|page=3}}
 
GD Sonic1 SS 02.jpg|{{fileref|ActionStation UK 01.pdf|page=3}}
S1SpecialStage2.JPG|Magazine staff seem to have struggled with this stage. Numerous publications had access to this prototype, and yet almost all of them printed parts of the initial section.
+
S1SpecialStage2.JPG|{{fileref|CVG UK 115.pdf|page=122}}
 
S1SpecialStage5.png|Almost out...
 
S1SpecialStage5.png|Almost out...
 
GD Sonic1 SS 05.jpg|...nearly...{{fileref|Mdfan JP 1991-06.pdf|page=11}}
 
GD Sonic1 SS 05.jpg|...nearly...{{fileref|Mdfan JP 1991-06.pdf|page=11}}
Line 509: Line 616:
 
Sonic1 MD Development SS 05.jpg|{{fileref|Console XS UK 01.pdf|page=105}}
 
Sonic1 MD Development SS 05.jpg|{{fileref|Console XS UK 01.pdf|page=105}}
 
Sonic1 MD Development SS 06.jpg|{{fileref|TheCompleteGuideToSega UK.pdf|page=118}}
 
Sonic1 MD Development SS 06.jpg|{{fileref|TheCompleteGuideToSega UK.pdf|page=118}}
Sonic1 MD Development SS 03.jpg|Further along, a big wall of red circles.{{fileref|EGM US 022.pdf|page=80}}
+
Sonic1 MD Development SS 03.jpg|Further along, the big wall of red circles.{{fileref|EGM US 022.pdf|page=80}}
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
==Television advertisements==
+
===Late RING builds and Early RINGS builds===
In France, television advertisements for ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', aired around the time of release, show extra graphics that are not present in the retail game. It remains a mystery whether these were added by marketing or genuinely come from a ''Sonic'' prototype. Translations were also created for Portugal.
+
<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px" >
 
+
GHZ-Ball2.jpg|The checkered ball is still present, but sunflowers are now green.{{fileref|GPSG US 0203.pdf|page=26}}.
===Green Hill Zone boss===
+
GD Sonic1 MZ Spikes.jpg|Spikes and Picky must have been removed late in development, as despite now having a final HUD, they're still roaming around Marble Zone Act 2.
[[File:GHZ bossball.JPG|right|320px]]
+
File:SYZ-Sparkling12.jpg|Spikes still visibly implemented in a late build of Spring Yard.{{intref|Sonic the Hedgehog (flyer)}}
One advert shows a wrecking ball for the Green Hill Zone boss, but its animation appears to be much more advanced, with an added sparkle that circles around the ball giving it a greater sense of movement.
+
File:SLZ-Pic3.png|The top row of springs here are missing in final.{{fileref|GPSG US 0203.pdf|page=27}}
 
+
</gallery>
====Translation====
 
{{quote|Mega Drive by Sega.<br>
 
''Infernal Machine''.<br>
 
Stereo sound.<br>
 
Incredible colors!<br>
 
16-bit micro-processor.<br>
 
Mega Drive by Sega.<br>
 
Now also with two controllers and 4 spectacular games, including Sonic!<br>
 
Sega, it's stronger than you.<br>
 
Mega Drive, the 16-bit console with most worldwide sales.}}
 
 
 
===Spring===
 
[[File:LZ Spring.JPG|right|320px]]
 
Another advert showcases an unseen behavior of the spring in Marble Zone, seemingly extra long when used, and when bumped into the two blocks behind it disappear.
 
 
 
====Translation====
 
{{quote|Well... are you angry?<br>
 
It's me, master Sega. So you're choosing Sonic. Let's go.<br>
 
Humbabbabbaba humbabababa.<br>
 
Arrrrrrrhhh.<br>
 
Boing.<br>
 
And you're gonna laugh, because you're not even at the half of the game.}}
 
 
 
==External Links==
 
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D9h-4vQUHM Sonic the Hedgehog Retrospective] - A four-part documentary covering the history of Sonic the Hedgehog, featuring interviews from the many key players behind the creation of the character and the self-titled game. For the subsequent installments, click [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkhjBAYL2Hs here], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mFs2v7XM4o here], and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qbu4TEE1_pE here]. (Not viewable in US)
 
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
Line 549: Line 631:
  
 
{{S1MDOmni}}
 
{{S1MDOmni}}
 
[[Category:Development]]
 

Latest revision as of 05:16, 21 March 2024

Back to: Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit).

Being the original game in the series, Sonic the Hedgehog went through a number of concepts and changes through its development process. What follows is a collection and summary of what that entailed.

Development process

A 24-year old Yuji Naka working on what would become Sonic the Hedgehog, taken for a February 1990 news report.[1][2]

The year was 1990. While Sega was doing well in the arcades, little ground had been gained in the home video game market. Competing with Nintendo during the previous seven years, not even the launch of the Mega Drive could shake the ninety percent dominance[3] the Nintendo Entertainment System had. Sega's then-current mascot, Alex Kidd, had done little to convince the general public to invest in their hardware. Feeling it was important to have a strong mascot that not only defined Sega but could also directly compete with the Super Mario Bros series, an internal competition was held. Open to anyone who worked at the company, roughly 200 character designs were drawn up, submitted for consideration.[4]

It was during this time that Yuji Naka was looking for his next assignment within the company. After the cancellation of Metal Lancer, Naka wanted to program and design a racing game. Hoping to get the chance, he drafted up a list of game genres he wanted to work on, the racer taking the number one spot. Sending the memo to his boss, it was the final game on the list - "an action game to challenge Mario" - that caught the attention of Naka's superior.[5] At the same time, designer Naoto Ohshima was busy trying to come up with his own proposal for a video game. Influenced by his time working at an advertisement company, one of Ohshima's early goals was to create a character that could "go far beyond just being a video game character."[6] One of these concepts, entitled Twin Stars,[7] featured a speedy character that could run around loops.[8][4] Showing what he had worked on to his boss, he had a hard time getting consent to work further on the proposal.[6]However, he was told that the only person at the company who might be able to program such a game was Yuji Naka.[4] When Ohshima learned that Naka was free, he approached his fellow Phantasy Star alumni, asking if he would work with him on the game concept.[9]

The idea of a fast paced game intrigued Naka, and it didn't take long for him to accept. Quickly, the pair got to work. On the programming side, Naka found himself influenced by two prominent titles, the first being Ghouls'n Ghosts, which Naka had recently ported to the Mega Drive. The way the player could traverse smoothly across a flowing landscape[10] was something he wanted to capture, but at speeds far higher than what that title was able to achieve. The second game that influenced the thinking of what would become Sonic was the original Super Mario Bros.

I like fast things and I thought that it would be nice to create a game where the more skilled you become, the faster you can complete a stage. Games back then had no backup or saving system, which meant that you had to play right from the beginning every time...As a result, the very first stage would be played time and time again, making the player very skilled at it. So we thought it would be nice if this would enable the player to complete those stages faster and that's the basis of Sonic's speed. We also thought this feature would help differentiate Sonic from Mario.

— Yuji Naka, Programmer and Project Manager of Sonic the Hedgehog[9]

Initially, the game starred a cartoon rabbit, as they wanted a character that would embody the concept of speed.[11] The design also tied into the initial attack mechanic for the game, where the rabbit would use its ears to pick up rocks or other items, then throw them at oncoming enemies. As Naka was also insistent that the game only use one action button, the game hit a wall. The constant starting and stopping interrupted the flow of gameplay, and proved to not be all that fun.[10] It was around this time that the head of the department, Kotaro Hayashida,[12], invited Hirokazu Yasuhara to help with the development of the mascot game. At the time, Yasuhara was not expecting to remain part of their group for long.

I was supposed to go to the United States to establish a new R&D team [at Sega of America] with Mark Cerny...But then the [first] Gulf War Started, and my move to the US was postponed for three months. Work was progressing on the [new mascot] game, but Naka and Ohshima needed a full-time game designer on the project. They saw that I was free, and looked to me for help designing the game until my departure. So I officially joined the project as a game designer, planning to work on it only until I went to the US. But I ended up staying in Japan for a year until we finished the project.

— Hirokazu Yasuhara, Director and Lead Game Designer of Sonic the Hedgehog[13]

Yasuhara was quick to agree that how the game was currently meant to be played wasn't shaping up. Knowing of Naka's insistence on the simplistic control scheme, he told the team that the only way the player would be able to deal damage was by using the jump mechanic.[14] The trio tried to find a solution, Naka at one point saying to the group "all your ideas, anything you've been hiding, cough it up now!"[15] But with nothing new, Naka relented on revealing his own secret idea, one he had come up with in high school and was hoping to keep to himself for a future, non-Sega game. That idea was a somersault attack, one that wouldn't just be the character curling up into a ball while airborne, but one that could also be used on the ground, rolling about the terrain.[15][5] While Ohshima was at first skeptical,[16] it proved to be the answer for their quandary.

With this change in gameplay, the idea of a rabbit suddenly made less sense.[5] It was clear that a new protagonist would need to be designed, but what form that would take was up in the air. At the core, the team wanted to make sure the character defined Sega, something they felt had been missing from the company's previous attempt at created a mascot character.[17] One aspect of this was the concept of "cool," not just on a superficial level, but also in their personality, wanting to fight for what they believed in but not being ordered around by others. The other aspect they wanted to be sure the character held was being a challenger, evoking the 90's sensibilities that were forming, and also reflecting on how Sega was trying to challenge Nintendo at their own game.[17]

A photograph of an early draft of the Sonic the Hedgehog game design document. Called Wonder Dream, it shows off what would become the Spin Attack, called "Wonder Hedgehog."[18]

Ohshima went back to the drawing board, doodling up a variety of potential character ideas. Suggestions came from a number of places, both within and outside the three person team. Naka suggested a panda, inspired by his love of Hayao Miyazaki's works.[16] One of his superiors suggested coming up with an old man with a mustache, a dog like character, and something spiky like a porcupine.[17] With the idea of the somersault attack, there was also a debate on using other animals known to curl up including an armadillo and a hedgehog.[14] During this internal debate, Ohshima had coincidentally booked a trip overseas, to New York City. Using the opportunity, he conducted impromptu focus testing. Sitting in Central Park, he had on a board three characters - an egg shaped human, a dog, and a spiny blue hedgehog. Out of those he spoke to, the hedgehog was the easy favorite, followed by the human character.[19] This gave Ohshima hope that the hedgehog character could appeal to everyone, regardless of race, gender, and culture.[17]

In the end, the team chose "Mr. Harinezumi," aka "Mr. Hedgehog," as the star of their game. The design of the character took inspiration from a variety of different sources. The hedgehog's simple curves and large, expressive eyes were styled after the early stars of American animation, Mickey Mouse and Felix the Cat.[4] The "blue fireball"[17] silhouette also served two important factors - it gave the hedgehog the spiky look they wanted, but it was also simple enough that a kid could draw the character and have it be recognizable.[17] The hue of blue which covered the character came directly from Sega's own logo, with the added benefit of the color representing "coolness and peacefulness." The color also meant something more personal to Ohshima, symbolizing the hope that "the open sky is blue forever."[20] The red and white of his shoes were inspired by who Ohshima felt was the most famous character in the world, Santa Claus.[4] The bright red also had the added benefit of being able to stand out while the character was in motion.[20] The physical design of the shoe, buckle and all, was drawn from Michael Jackson's footwear on the Bad album cover.[4]

With the design nearing its final state, there was still one factor that hadn't been decided upon. "Mr. Hedgehog" was never meant to be the final name of the character, simply a placeholder until something better had been found. The team wanted a name that would evoke the concept of speed, and early on looked toward the word "kousoku" (speed of light) as a starting point, trying to derive a nickname from it. "Raisupi" (the portamento of the borrowed term "raito supiido,") and "LS" were both considered and rejected.[5] Though it's unknown exactly who came up with the idea, someone suggested using "the speed of sound" instead, which naturally led to the name "Sonic." While there was some fear of using such an often-used term, they agreed it was the perfect fit for the character.[21]

A one-of-a-kind Sonic plush, made for an internal presentation to Sega’s executives.[22]

Of the 200 designs that had been submitted to Sega, eight had been chosen as finalists, Sonic the Hedgehog being among them.[16] As each finalist would be shown to Hayao Nakayama, the President and CEO of Sega of Japan, the team knew they had to make their presentation stand out from the rest. They were already slightly ahead of other teams, having not only a concept but the early stages of a playable build.[16] However, Ohshima wanted to take it an extra step. Collaborating with the toy and stationary departments,[6] designs for possible merchandise was also created, including a fully realized Sonic the Hedgehog plush toy that could stand on its own.[23] While Sonic was not yet declared the official mascot of Sega,[16] their proposal was approved.

With production officially starting sometime around April 1990,[24] the team went straight to work. One element they knew would be crucial was the look of the game. Inspiration came from one of the primary markets they wanted to appeal to - America, specifically the west coast. The rolling hills and blue sky of the Green Hill Zone were inspired by California.[25] The colors, however, were inspired by a piece made by Japanese artist Eizin Suzuki.[26] The graphical style of the game was influenced by the computer graphics of the era, using a pixel art technique known as "ray tracing" to create the look in a 16-bit game.[25] Additionally, the background of the game's rotating special stages took inspiration from the 1990 Sony promotional films Infinite Escher[27] and Metamorphosis[28] (produced to demonstrate new technologies like surround sound and computer graphics), featuring a repeating illusion consisting of birds and fish inspired by M.C. Escher's "Metamorphosis II" and "Sky and Water".Media:SonysMetamorphosis 1990 specialstage.gif[29] Translating the concept art Ohshima had drawn into the pixel landscapes of Sonic's world fell on the shoulders of Rieko Kodama and Jina Ishiwatari. Rieko Kodama had worked previously with both Naka and Ohshima on Phantasy Star,[30] being responsible for such tasks on Sonic as the backgrounds of Labyrinth Zone and Star Light Zone.[31] Jina Ishiwatari was a brand new hire to Sega, who ended up redrawing the graphics of Green Hill Zone multiple times at the request of Ohshima over the course of a year until they were perfect.[32]

A scene from Sony's 1990 promotional film Infinite Escher, which inspired the Special Stage.

The American influence on Sonic went beyond the Green Hill Zone. When the idea of making a mascot game seized Sega in 1990, Nakayama declared they wanted "a product that will be a big hit in America!"[5] This unofficial marching order was a major influence on the design of the characters, the world they were building, and even the "roller coaster" design of gameplay.[33] An element of Sonic's personality was directly inspired by future president Bill Clinton. A rising star in the U.S. political landscape, his "get-it-done-now" attitude[4] seemed a perfect fit for the hedgehog. At one point, the team even contemplated using the tagline "number one hit in America"[34] to sell their new game. However, Sonic had not been designed to only succeed in the west. With the belief that a successful American property would automatically be attractive in Japan,[34] Ohshima was also designing the character with the Japanese audience in mind.[21] The game's designer, Yasuhara, was acutely aware of this dichotomy, wanting to build a game that would appeal both to the western gamer seeking a challenge, and the eastern gamer who was more interested in a casual experience.[35]

The image of Sonic the Hedgehog that followed Dreams Come True along their November 1990 tour.

Sonic's first public appearance was at the ‘90 Tokyo Toy Show, where an extremely early demo was available for attendees. Through the rest of 1990, work on the game was behind closed doors, Sega of Japan instead promoting the upcoming title in other ways. In the November 1990[36] issue of Sega Players Enjoy Club, a brief "interview" with Sonic was published, establishing his attitude and his birthplace of Christmas Island. The feature also served as a way to introduce the musician behind the game, Dreams Come True's Masato Nakamura.

When it came time to find a composer for the game, Sega director Fujio Minegishi chose not to look inside the company, but instead offered to ask his contacts in the Japanese recording industry. At first, he suggested to the team the talents of Yuzo Kayama, who he was personal friends with.[15] While tempting, it was decided that his musical style wasn't the right fit for what they were going for. Instead, Masato Nakamura was offered the job. Given only conceptual artwork, the team behind Sonic explained how it was all meant to come together. Going off this information, Nakamura began to compose, wanting to treat the songs not as game music, but as a film score, hoping to tap into the success of such 80's movie soundtracks as Top Gun, Flashdance, and Dirty Dancing.Media:Sonic1&2Soundtrack JP Booklet.pdf[37]

I wanted 'Sonic' to come across as cinematic...I wanted melodies that the player would hum along with as they were playing, dramatic music for when the scenes were intense, climactic music for when bosses would show up, and then tie it all together with an uplifting theme for the end credits. That was what I knew I wanted it all to be like.

— Masato Nakamura, Composer of Sonic the Hedgehog[38]

Limited to the amount of sounds he could use at the same time, Nakamura found the process inspiring, forcing him "to be smarter"Media:Sonic1&2Soundtrack JP Booklet.pdf[39] in the way he wrote. The relationship between Nakamura and Sega continued into Dreams Come True's next tour, meant to promote their latest album, Wonder 3. Becoming one of their tour sponsors, Sega provided the band with a truck to carry their equipment in, which also had the image of Sonic plastered on the side.[38]

Production on the game continued. Expanding on Sonic's world, it was clear the hedgehog needed a main villain to go up against. One of Ohshima's discarded designs for the protagonist, the large mustached man, was repurposed to become the main antagonist of the game, his round shape also fitting the idea of keeping the characters simple enough for kids to draw.[40]. The villain, now named Dr. Eggman, helped set up a nature vs technology dynamic, tying into the era's growing popularity of environmentalism.[17] As the zone visuals continued to be refined, Sonic's shade of blue also had to be darkened so his sprites could stand out from the blues of Green Hill Zone's background.[41][25]

Approaching the level design, Yasuhara wanted to capture the feeling of an amusement park ride, that Sonic was leading the player on an experience that let them enjoy the world in a way Mario and other similar platformers were unable to.[17] Starting with quick sketches of gimmicks and obstacles, Yasuhara would consult with Naka, seeing what ideas should be prioritized, and which would be more difficult to program. However, some ideas that the team initially discarded were able to be reintroduced, such as the moving platforms in the jagged pathways of Scrap Brain Zone.[17]

File:SPEC JP 075.pdf The engine was meant to not only be the framework for a fun game, but also show off the technical capabilities of the hardware, though Naka felt the Mega Drive was not quite up to snuff with what he wanted to accomplish.[9] One of the main goals to help clearly separate the zones of Sonic from Mario was to step away from the blocky terrain that 8-bit platformers were built in. Developing a way to create smooth maps,[9] the task of creating working loops in Green Hill proved more difficult. When Sonic would try to run around the loop, his speed would cause him to break out of it completely.[9] Even if the sprite remained in the loop, the visual would look blocky, not at all like the smooth flow the team wanted to capture. When the problem was solved, Naka couldn't help but get excited.[42] Another early issue with the game was trying to find the right speed in which Sonic would run. Pushing the power of the system, Naka's first thought was to make Sonic go as fast as possible, but this proved to be an issue with those who would try out early builds, even Naka feeling motion sickness as he played the game.[35] Slowing down the character was the only solution.

With more of the game put together, Naka would invite people to come and play early versions, watching how they would handle Sonic the Hedgehog. Expecting people to take things slow, he was surprised that everyone would immediately run at full speed. He assumed that a first time player would take time to explore until they learned the levels, only going faster in subsequent playthroughs. However, no one who took a turn actually played it that way. These observations led to the creation of the ring system, which allowed even the most reckless player the ability to continue.[5] This also gave the team another excuse to show off the technical prowess of the Mega Drive, having the rings shoot out of Sonic in a visually dynamic display whenever he would get hit by an enemy.[14]

The core team would not always agree on how a level should be laid out. On more than one occasion, Naka or Ohshima would remove a difficult trap from a zone, thinking it was interrupting the flow of a level, only for Yasuhara to put it right back in. The back and forth was not one Ohshima begrudged, finding it an enjoyable experience that resulted in a balanced game.[43] Naka also found the dynamic unique, as it was the first time he felt that he was working as part of a team, as opposed to just carrying out the orders of a single person.[15]

By the time development was nearing its end, the small group within the employ of Sega CS R&D decided to call themselves "Sonic Team," after the project they had spent over a year working on. In May of 1991, during Japan's "Golden Week," the game was finally complete.[5] This first version was released in the United States on June 11th, 1991.[44] It would be a month until the game was for sale in Japan, the extra time allowing the team to polish a handful of bugs and add in some extra graphical effects.

After the game was complete, there was some consideration to release Sonic the Hedgehog to the Mega-CD. Though a single prototype was made,[45] it ultimately did not see release.

Westernization

A pencil sketch featuring the westernized look of Sonic the Hedgehog, Dr. Eggman, and the Green Hill Zone. The final version would be used as the cover for the American promotional comic.

In early 1990, the head of the brand new Sega Technical Institute, Mark Cerny, was visiting Sega of Japan on business. While there, Naoto Ohshima, still working on potential designs for the mascot game, showed Cerny what he had come up with. Cerny, saying he was just "a random American,"[46] felt the opinions of Sega of America's marketing department would be better suited to give feedback on a character that was meant to appeal to western audiences. Making copies of the illustrations, he returned to the United States, handing them off.[46]

Sega of America's initial response was not positive. When CEO Michael Katz learned of Sonic's existence, he "thought it was nuts."[47] Having to ask what a hedgehog even was, he had little faith in the character, not knowing how to market a cartoon based on an animal no one in the United States had heard of. Quickly, he jotted down a top ten list of reasons Sonic the Hedgehog would fail,[48] sending the memo to Shinobu Toyoda, who was not only Executive Vice President of SOA but served as a conduit between SOA and Sega of Japan.[49]

Katz was not the only one initially confused by the character. Al Nilsen, Director of Marketing at SOA, was shown concept art of two different games the Japanese branch was working on.

"[Toyoda] opened this manila envelope and pulled out two drawings and the first one was kind of, very much Japanese animation derived and they were like these little eggs that were animated...and while I understood how they would work in the Japanese marketplace, in the US they would just come off as very preschool and so not something that would have broad appeal. The second one was a hedgehog."

— Al Nilsen, Director of Marketing, Sega of America[49]

The concept art had a fanged version of Sonic, complete with human girlfriend and a backing band. Asked which of the two concepts he thought would appeal to American gamers, Nilsen chose the "least of two evils," going with the hedgehog.[49]

Fearing the character "unsalvageable,"[46] SOA felt they needed to create their own concept for the perfect mascot. Looking to hire an outside designer, SOA were seeking to either hire Will Vinton, the designer of The California Raisins, or find someone who would be inspired by Vinton's style.[50] It was believed this individual could create something tailored to American sensibilities.[46] For unknown reasons, these plans quickly fell through.

A couple months after seeing the initial concept art, Al Nilsen found himself in Japan, visiting the Sega offices. It was there that, for the first time, he saw Sonic in action. Not yet at a point where the team felt comfortable with others playing, Al watched the character move on a black and white display, zipping along and rolling about. Shown the in-progress backgrounds separately, he finally saw the potential the game possessed. He just needed to play it himself to know for sure.[49]

Back at Sega of America, Michael Katz's time with the company was coming to an end. Unhappy with how things were going stateside, Hayao Nakayama reached out to former Mattel CEO Tom Kalinske, courting him to take over as CEO of Sega of America in July of 1990.[51] Unlike Katz, Kalinske's first impression of Sonic was relatively neutral. While he found certain aspects of the concept odd, he also knew that sometimes it was the wildest of ideas that would end up being successful.[52] He did agree with Al Nilsen and the Project Manager for Sonic the Hedgehog, Madeline Schroeder, that there needed to be some changes if the character was going to work stateside.

Returning to Japan, Kalinske gave a presentation to Nakayama and the board, getting into detail on how he felt they could best compete against Nintendo. At the center of this plan was Sonic. Having finally seen the game in action, he believed it had the chance to define the 16-bit era.[53] Kalinske told them that not only did the price of the Mega Drive (known as Genesis in America) need to drop, but that Sonic had to be packed in with the system. Once Kalinske's presentation was over, the members of the board started talking amongst themselves, clearly displeased with the proposal. Hayao Nakayama stood up, kicking aside his chair, and stormed towards the door, telling Kalinske that everyone thought his plan was crazy. Before leaving, he told Kalinske that he had hired him to do what he thought was best in America, and if his proposal was the way to go about it, to go ahead.[35]

A westernized version of Dr. Eggman, renamed Dr. Ivo Robotnik.

It was during this time that Madeline Schroeder, whom those at SOA would refer to as "the mother of Sonic,"[35] went to work on best positioning Sonic for success. One of the first things she felt needed to change was the visual look of the character.[9] Hiring the creative agency Michael Patrick Partners, artist Greg Wray went to work softening the look of Sonic the Hedgehog, eventually drawing the image that would be on the front of every copy of the game sold in the U.S.[54] When Sonic Team learned of the redesign, they did little to hide their displeasure. Madeline Schroeder was forced to fly out to Japan and speak with the team herself, explaining that the changes were necessary if the game was going to succeed in the west. During the meeting, Sonic Team remained resolute in their dislike of the American redesign.[9] It was only later that the U.S. side of things was assured they could continue on as they saw fit.[49]

In those days, I hated the American change to the look and feel, and I didn't know how the consumers would perceive it. But looking back, that's one of the reasons that it succeeded.

— Yuji Naka, Programmer and Project Manger of Sonic the Hedgehog[35]

The look of Sonic was not the only factor the SOA team needed to consider. Tom Kalinske, during his time at Mattel, knew the importance of creating strong characters and building the fiction of the world around them, as he had done with the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe franchise.[52] Quickly, Madeline and Al began work on an internal "Sonic Bible," a document meant to explain Sonic's history and define the character's personality. The original draftMedia:SonicBible Document.pdf[55] placed Sonic as a native of Hardly, Nebraska. Born "Sonny," the brown hedgehog ran into a kindly, if eccentric, scientist named Dr. Kintobor. Through a series of events, Sonic turned blue, was gifted his red and white sneakers, and Dr. Kintobor was accidentally transformed into the evil Dr. Robotnik. Further revisionsMedia:SonicBibleDraft1 Document.pdf[56] changed Sonic's home to the world of "Mobius." However, it wasn't the corporate team at SOA that came up with the name Robotnik.

Dean Sitton was both a Sega help line employee and a game tester. Being invited into meetings from time to time,[57] he had the chance to try out an early version of Sonic the Hedgehog. Afterwards, he was asked to submit potential names for both the robot enemies and the main antagonist of the game. For the latter, he put together a robust list. Dr. Robotnik[57] became the favorite, but others considered were Dr. Badvibes,[57] Doctor X, Doctor Gloom, Dr. What,[58] and Nasty McRotten.[59] Sitton also came up with the first name, Ivo, wanting it pronounced with a soft "I" to make it closer to the word "evil."[60] A handful of badnik names, including Ball Hog, Caterkiller, and Buzz Bomber[61] were suggested by Sitton as well.

With the pieces falling into place, newer builds of the game were sent over stateside, the employees of STI even fighting over who would be able to play during downtime.[62] Al Nilsen was happy that attitude was now taking precedence over aggressiveness,[49] even the idle animation of Sonic tapping his foot tying into how they wanted to market Sonic.[63] He was sure the game would be a hit, but Tom Kalinske wanted some sort of empirical evidence to seal the deal. With an imported copy of Super Mario World, Al Nilsen went around the country, gathering secret focus groups to try out both World and Sonic the Hedgehog. The results were clear - eighty percent of those who tried both preferred Sonic.[49]

Sonic the Hedgehog going head-to-head with Super Mario World during the 1991 Summer Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago.

Sonic the Hedgehog would make its first public appearance in the United States during the Winter Consumer Electronics Show in January, 1991.[64] This wouldn't be treated as Sonic's official coming out party, as Sega of America wanted to keep the game a relative secret[9] until the Super Nintendo was officially showed off in the west. The time came at Summer CES 1991, where the SNES and its lineup of games were revealed to the press. After Nintendo's presentation, the show floor was open, the Sega booth doing something unexpected - having both Mario and Sonic playing side by side.

The doors to CES opened, and about two minutes after that a reporter...came up to me and said "Super Nintendo has 32,768 colors. You've only got 512. What are you going to do about it?" So silently I just motioned for him to follow me, and walked over to a place in our booth where we had two large tv monitors. One had Sonic the Hedgehog, and one had the new 16-bit Super Mario. And I said "which one has more colors? It's not how many colors you have, it's what you do with them." Immediately, he saw the difference.

— Al Nilsen, Director of Marketing, Sega of America[9]

This direct comparison between the two games continued in both a mall tour[51] and television advertising.[65]

By September 15th, 1991, the Sega Genesis was being sold exclusively with Sonic the Hedgehog as the pack-in title, those who had purchased the system between July and September able to get a free copy of the game.[66] The move had paid off, and after the Christmas season, the Sega Genesis had overtaken the Super Nintendo with an estimated 57.8 percent of the market share.[67]

Fictional character origin

While developing Sonic the Hedgehog as a character, Sonic Team was acutely aware of what elements they wanted him to embody. Among those elements was a sense of history and nostalgia. Looking at characters from successful brands such as Disney, Marvel, and Sanrio, what seemed to be true across all of them was history and familiarity. Icons that not only stood the test of time, but seemed like they had always existed, and had a fleshed out world for their stories to be told in.[17]

As Sonic was being built from the ground up, there was no built in history for the character. Instead, the team began exploring the idea of a "fictional history" for Sonic, not just in-universe but also in the real world. At the time, Naoto Ohshima had a keen interest in leather jackets, emblems, and airplane nose art. Coincidentally, the era from when airplane nose art was at its height was the same era in which Sega first came into being, back when it was Service Games. Working with Ohshima, Hirokazu Yasuhara ended up writing a backstory for the character that tied into that same historical period.[17]

The story begins in 1947 America, where an unnamed fighter pilot was nicknamed "hedgehog," due to the way his hair would stand up on end when he took off his flight helmet. His wife, Marie Granette, who was an author of children's books, was inspired to create a character based on her husband's nickname. Calling this character "Sonic," she would also tell these stories to their daughter. Designing a blue hedgehog, it ended up on the back of the pilot's leather jacket, the story of the hedgehog spreading even if no one could recall the pilot's name.

On one fateful day, two test pilots took part in an experiment - to be the first human able to break the speed of sound. While Chuck Yeager successfully crossed that barrier with no problem, the man known as "hedgehog" unfortunately did not, his plane exploding the moment he hit the speed of sound.

Jumping ahead to the 1980's, a freelance photographer named Meg happened to find a leather jacket with an image of Sonic the Hedgehog on the back. Recognizing the character from stories she heard as a child, she purchased the jacket, wearing it to work. While photographing an air show, an accident occurred overhead, causing one of the planes to crash. Rushing to cover this breaking story, a second plane crashed next to her, trapping Meg in a circle of flames. Suddenly, a gloved hand reached out, rushing her to safety as she lost consciousness. Waking up in a hospital bed, she could only guess what had happened, the charred jacket no longer having Sonic. When developing the photos she took on the day of the accident, she was shocked to see a familiar pair of red shoes in one of the shots.

The story would be adapted in the third volume of Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic as a prose piece, with some details changed. The original text would not be shown to the public until Sonic Jam Official Guide was published in Japan, showcasing all three episodes.[68] The first episode would later be reprinted in both Japanese and English in the Sonic Adventure 2 Birthday Pack history book.Media:SonicAdventure2_DC_JP_historybook.pdf[69]

Logo design

The distinctive "ribbon, ring, and stars"-styled title screen used in the first Sonic the Hedgehog and subsequent installments was something of a theme in early Sega games. While difficult to prove, inspiration likely came from the title screen from the 1988 Sega arcade game Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair, which bears similarities to that of the 1986 Sega arcade game Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars.

AlexKiddLostStars title.png WB3ML Title.png Sonic1 title.png

The addition of "wings" hearkens back to Ohshima's interest in aviation emblems,[17] being a feature of medals awarded to American air force service personnel since the second World War.

The "SONIC" text is attempting to emulate the "chrome" design seen across numerous logos across the 1980s and early 1990s (including the Mega Drive console itself). This trend is usually attributed to the 1979 film, Mad Max.

Concept art

Twin Stars proposal

In 1989,[70] Naoto Ohshima began conceptual work on a game with the working title Twin Stars.[7] The premise of the game featured a pair of twin brothers from the Dream World defending it against the boss of the Nightmare World, "Thirteen."[7] An action game with smooth terrain, it was also to feature loops that the characters would run through. While the gameplay concept was approved by Ohshima's superiors, the characters were not,[8] leaving Ohshima to come up with a new protagonist.[71] The concept of a Nightmare World and Thirteen would continue to exist as a temporary enemy after Sonic the Hedgehog was created until the world of Sonic was further developed.[72]

Character concept art

Unused character art

The following is a collection of images drawn by a variety of Sega employees during the internal competition to create a new mascot for the company. The majority of these images come from the Sonic History Video, a promotional VHS tape made available to those who preordered Sonic the Hedgehog 3 in Japan.

Sonic the Hedgehog & Dr. Eggman

Madonna & unnamed enemies

Sonic & Madonna. Also pictured is Eggman dressed in a bee-like outfit, plus various enemy concepts that went unused.

Among the original concept of Sonic the Hedgehog was a character named Madonna. Inspired in part by the singer of the same name,[90] she was intended to be a love interest for Sonic. When Naoto Ohshima first showed off Sonic’s design, many of his colleagues thought that the character was "cute" and "a child," but in Ohshima’s mind Sonic was a bit older and mature.[9] To make this clearer, he created an adult woman in a red dress who would be his girlfriend.[21] She was meant to be "like a male fantasy," chasing the hedgehog about.[35] Whether or not she was meant to literally follow him in the game at any point is unknown, though it is likely she was to chase him only in promotional material.

Sega of America's project manager for Sonic, Madeline Schroeder, stated that she was responsible for the removal of the character in an attempt to make the game an easier sell in western markets[35]. However, this was later contradicted by Yuji Naka during an interview at Summer of Sonic 2011. When recalling the development process, Naka explained that Madonna never went beyond the concept stage primarily due to the stark comparison her presence would have made between Sonic and the Super Mario Bros. series. Having a heroine who would be kidnapped and subsequently rescued by the hero of the game had become a cliché, and the team decided they should focus on Sonic just fighting the main villain.[91]

One of the initial pieces of concept art featuring Madonna also included a variety of potential enemies Sonic would be forced to fight. When responding to an email from a fan, Naoto Oshima stated:

Thanks for your mail. I drew that. Why is the boss of that drawing a monster? Is that a fantasy world? The world in the drawing is a nightmare world. Since I've got nothing to do, I'll write the reason on Twitter. This was Sonic's original concept before it became what it is now.

Naoto Oshima[92]

In the first ever public demo of Sonic the Hedgehog, a large-jawed enemy was visible, technically being the first sprite Sonic ever had to face off against. As the concept for Sonic was refined, this enemy was completely removed. In the end, the only antagonist that survived was the bumblebee-clad man, who would eventually become Dr. Eggman.

Sonic the Hedgehog Band

The Sonic the Hedgehog Band, in full color.

During the development process, Sonic was at one point meant to front a musical group, serving as lead singer. The other members of the band were Max the Monkey on bass guitar, Mach the Rabbit on drums, Sharps the Parakeet on lead guitar, and Vector the Crocodile on keyboards. In storyboards that were part of the original Sonic the Hedgehog design document,[93] the various members of the band were meant to be a part of the story, needing rescue by Sonic after having been captured by Dr. Eggman. They were also meant to bookend the game, featured not only in the ending but also seen when the Sega logo appeared.

Though it is currently unknown if they were ever realized in an early prototype of the main game, the band was also planned to be used in a separate sound test screen. Wanting to do something special for the music, an elaborate animated sequence was conceived, featuring Sonic the Hedgehog moonwalking and breakdancing along to the music his band would perform.[94]

Two disparate accounts exist regarding why the band was completely removed. Madeline Schroeder, among others, have stated that it was a decision from Sega of America to cut the band from Sonic, in their effort to soften the character and his world for an American audience.[35] However, Yuji Naka claimed that the reason for the band's removal was far more benign, an unfortunate victim of time constraints. With the sound test relegated to the hidden level select, the freed up memory in the program was instead used to house the "SEGA" chime that was used in Japanese advertisements of the time. The sound clip ended up using an eighth of the cartridge space.[94] Naka would later say his epiphany to use the sound was "a very good decision."[95]

Removed from the final product, the band characters would be used in a limited capacity for promotion of the game, including a handful of color illustrations and a cameo appearance in the first volume[96] of Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic. While a character similar to Sharps named Max the Parrot[97] would be conceptualized in 1992,[98] Vector would end up being the only character from the band to become a member of the game cast.

The visual of Sonic holding a microphone was featured in the credits of the 8-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog, though it is unknown if the sprite art used was based on any sprite intended for the removed 16-bit sound test, or simply inspired by concept art.

Game concept art

Naoto Ohshima

Levels

The following is a collection of images drawn by Naoto Ohshima during the production of Sonic the Hedgehog's Zone creation process. It is possible that two of these pieces are meant to represent the unmade levels "Gold World" and "Chinese World."[43]

Animated Sequences

The following is a collection of conceptual storyboards for various animated sequences and cutscenes drawn by Naoto Ohshima in 1990.

Enemies

The following are early drawings of various Badniks in Sonic the Hedgehog.

Hirokazu Yasuhara sketches

Hirokazu Yasuhara was the lead game designer on Sonic the Hedgehog. Below are a number of his sketches showcasing layout and zone obstacles, some of which would not make it into the final version of the game.

'90 Tokyo Toy Show

Sonic the Hedgehog demo

Sonic the Hedgehog was officially revealed to the world at the '90 Tokyo Toy Show which took place during the second week of June, 1990. Shown off early in the development process, not even the loops of Green Hill Zone existed, Sonic only able to "run at high speed on a slightly wavy track."[16] As so little was done at the time, the team wanted to try and "bluff" their way through the demo,[16] making the game look far more polished than it actually was. The draw was the seven layers of parallax scrolling, with trees and rock formations in the foreground moving independently from clouds and other objects in the background.

Lacking a promotional budget for the show, Naoto Ohshima ended up making a number of signs and posters by hand, having them set up in and around Sega's booth.[16]

Years later, during the development of Sonic Mega Collection, Naka wanted to include this specific prototype in the game compilation.[119] Unfortunately, he was unable to find the ROM in Sonic Team's archives.

Title screen

Green Hill Zone

Other

Rotation tech demo

Separately at the Tokyo Toy Show, Sega had a brief technical demonstration of the Mega Drive hardware, showing real-time rotation and scaling. The graphics used in the demo featured various Sega properties, including Alex Kidd, Phantasy Star and the brand new Sonic the Hedgehog. In the demo, a single image of Sonic, Madonna and the game's logo is shown scaling in real time over a background of Sega logos. A sped-up version of the Green Hill Zone music is played during the sequence[125].

Winter Consumer Electronics Show 1991

A still from the playable demo of Sonic the Hedgehog from CES 1991. Visible are the flashing Eggman monitor and a decidedly different version of the Ton-ton.

On March 12, 1991, an episode of Computer Chronicles[126] focused on the 1991 Winter Consumer Electronics Show. The show happened to include footage of an early build of Sonic the Hedgehog, which was playable on the show floor. Numerous differences from the final game can be seen even in the short glimpse of Green Hill Zone. Among that which is noticeable are the flowers in the level being purple instead of green, the word "RING" instead of "RINGS" in the HUD, and the brief appearance of an Eggman monitor which goes unused in the final game.

The monitors seen in this footage[127] seem to be cycling through different power-up icons - in the footage available, the first monitor which appears can be seen to change between an Eggman icon and a Sonic icon, and the second monitor cycles through the first and second frames of static, and finally to the Eggman icon just as it disappears off-screen. Each frame seems to be displayed for around half a second before changing to the next in sequence - as the player doesn't break either monitor, it's unknown whether the effect of the monitor was intended to be dependent on which icon was displayed when it was broken, or if the programming for the monitors had yet to be finalized and this was simply a test routine for displaying the various different power-up icons.

There are also examples of an earlier Ball Hog enemy that attacks in a similar fashion to the Crabmeat found in the final version of the Green Hill Zone, throwing a projectile on either side as opposed to the single shot they fire in Scrap Brain Zone. Concept art for this variation of the Ball Hog can be seen within the Japanese Sonic the Hedgehog manualMedia:Sonic1 MD JP manual.pdf[128]. Coding for this Ball Hog exists within the dumped prototype, where it drops projectiles directly downward.

Also of note is that a form of the debug mode is active in the clips, the numbers in the lower right hand corner corresponding to debug values. Sonic's position is represented differently by the debug mode in the final game.

While visually the Green Hill Zone is slightly different from the final version of the level, elements such as the purple flowers and the strikingly close shades of blue in the background did make their way in the finished version. The flowers make an appearance in the ending sequence, while the original Green Hill Zone background appears on the title screen.

Promotional screenshots

The following is a collection of images published in a variety of sources used to advertise Sonic the Hedgehog and to comment on its progress. Many of these screenshots can be sourced from the dumped prototype, though a few screenshots may have come from earlier/later builds before the final release.

CES-like builds

Title screen

Green Hill Zone

Marble Zone

Sparkling Zone

Labyrinth Zone

Clock Work Zone

Special Stage

Dumped prototype

These screenshots line up with the dumped prototype:

"Official" screenshots

These screenshots were produced by Sega themselves for promotional material:

Title screen

Green Hill Zone

Act 1
Act 2
Act 3

Marble Zone

Sparkling Zone

Labyrinth Zone

Star Light Zone

Clock Work Zone

Special Stage

Late RING builds and Early RINGS builds

References

  1. "Big discovery! ! Sonic the Hedgehog initial development site.Sega R&D news footage of February 1990. Sonic's ground collision is shown on the screen. This is 24 years old Yuji Naka.", @nakayuji on Twitter (Wayback Machine: 2018-06-24 09:49)
  2. @nakayuji on Twitter (Wayback Machine: 2021-10-15 04:15)
  3. "Though it was a more powerful unit, Sega's Master System, marketed as the Mark III in Japan, had not fared well in that country, where Nintendo controlled more than 90 percent of the market.", File:UltimateHistoryofVideoGames Book US.pdf, page 320
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 File:SonicAVeryQuickHistory GameTap Video Part1.mp4
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  18. ""I recently found the second draft of the proposal for Sonic. This was created by myself and Hayashida (Kotaro, who was then chief of the planning section). For the first draft, the main characters were called Twin Star, a pair of boys who fought against nightmares. In the second draft, there are remnants of the word 'nightmare.' After that, I joined with Yuji Naka, and the character became the hedgehog called Sonic."", Beep21 https://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?threads/naoto-ohshima-twin-star-wonder-hedgehog-1990-tokyo-toy-show-and-other-goodness.40767/ Beep21 (Wayback Machine: 2022-04-27 23:15)
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Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)
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