By 
Sonic the Hedgehog is 35, and Sega has marked the occasion with a brand new animated short. Memories and Beyond went up on Sega's official Sonic YouTube channel on Thursday 12 November, and it's free to watch. It's a good excuse to look at the news first, then at how a blue hedgehog with an attitude became one of the most recognisable faces in pop culture.
What is Sonic: Memories and Beyond?
The story comes from Takashi Iizuka, Ian Flynn wrote the script, and Gematsu reports that GXS Productions animated it. The video on YouTube runs for just over 13 minutes.
The plot has Sonic and his friends trying to stop Dr. Eggman from using the Chaos Emeralds to upgrade Metal Sonic into "the ultimate fighting machine", according to Sega's description. The pitch, as Anime News Network relays it, is that the gang must lean on the friendship they've built over their adventures. If you like a proper team-up, the key art alone suggests Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Rouge are all in the thick of it.
Fans can also pick up a themed Memories and Beyond shirt from the SEGA Shop.
How Sonic began
The first Sonic the Hedgehog game arrived on the Sega Genesis in North America on 23 June 1991, with the Mega Drive following in Japan and Europe the next month, as VGC notes. He'd actually shown up a few months earlier as a tiny cameo, dangling from the rear-view mirror in the arcade racer Rad Mobile.
Sega wanted a flagship character to take on Nintendo's Mario, and it was a small team that delivered, according to Wikipedia. Yuji Naka programmed the speedy movement that the game is built on, Naoto Ohshima designed Sonic and Dr. Eggman, and Hirokazu Yasuhara planned the levels. CBR adds that Alex Kidd had been Sega's mascot until Sonic took over, and that Sonic helped give the Genesis its edgier image next to Nintendo's more wholesome one.
It worked. The first game is credited with helping Sega reach a 65% share of the North American market, and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in 1992 was another big hit.
The ups and downs
Sonic's story hasn't been a straight line, which is part of why fans feel so strongly about him. Sonic Adventure brought the first major 3D outing on the Dreamcast in 1998. When Sega discontinued the Dreamcast in 2001, it became a third-party developer, and the series moved to a lot more platforms. The mid-2000s were rocky, with Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) widely regarded as the low point.
Then came a comeback. Sonic Mania in 2017 earned the best reviews a Sonic game had seen in 15 years, and Sonic Frontiers in 2022 took him open-world for the first time. Wikipedia puts series sales and free-to-play mobile downloads together at 1.77 billion as of 2024.
From the Genesis to the big screen
Sonic's reach now goes well beyond games. The live-action films have grown with every outing, with Wikipedia's film series page listing worldwide takings of about $320 million for Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), $405 million for the second film in 2022, and $492 million for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 in 2024. That's a little over $1.2 billion in total, with Ben Schwartz voicing Sonic, Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik and Idris Elba as Knuckles.
On TV, Sonic Prime premiered on Netflix in December 2022, and Anime News Network says Netflix and Sega are making a new preschool animated series. Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is scheduled for 19 March 2027, with a fifth film pencilled in for 2028.
The anniversary celebrations have covered a lot more ground than one short. Sega announced its plans in January, including live concerts, museum pop-ups and art exhibits, brand and retail partnerships, fan meet-ups and a new narrative podcast. Marcella Churchill, Sega's VP of brand marketing, said the aim was to "celebrate Sonic's legacy while bringing fans together around the world". Sega has said more will be revealed through the year.
Which Sonic era is closest to your heart: the Genesis originals, the Dreamcast days, or the new wave of films and shorts? You can watch Memories and Beyond on Sega's YouTube channel, and find more in our Film & TV and Gaming coverage.
