Sonic the Hedgehog

First appearance: Rad Mobile (1991), Arcade (cameo), Sonic the Hedgehog (1991), Sega Genesis (playable)
Created by: Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima

Having recently established the legend of Super Mario, it seemed logical to me that his longtime rival should not be far behind. Allow me to introduce you - but of course, we all know who he is anyway - to a character marketed directly to the demographic I belonged to; whose conception and execution was so infectious, he still holds a dear place in many hearts. To be clear, I love Nintendo and I love Mario... but Sonic, he's my boy.

In the early 90s, going toe to toe with Nintendo was practically a suicide mission. Many had tried, and most had failed. Sega themselves were waning, lacking a definitive mascot and a cutting edge identity. Throwing a few ideas out there (my favourite being Theodore Roosevelt in pyjamas, which later involved into the series' antagonist), they eventually landed on this curious little blue hedgehog. Whereas Alex Kidd, the preceding company frontman, was much like any other gaming character, Sonic was in your face, and that's exactly what we wanted.

In Mario, we saw a stable everyman whose strengths included exploration and saving damsels in distress. Sonic was about speed, attitude and style. He ran loops, he span wildly about, he impatiently stamped his foot if we dared leave him idling for too long. He was refreshing, and it goes without saying, the games he featured in blew our minds. Can you remember the first time you grabbed a pair of Power Sneakers and rocketed off at speeds so fast, the screen had to take a moment to catch up? Sonic was marketing gold, and Sega now had its campaign: not only were they going to stand up against the behemoth of Nintendo, they were going to mock them and brand themselves as the new thing in gaming.

Genesis does what Nintendon't!

But we're not here for a history of the console wars. We're here for Sonic. Each game that came out introduced new allies, new abilities and new plots, but at its base, we would always seek the same thing: Dr. Robotnik had some nefarious plot that involved machines, Sonic would save the day by running like the blazes and smashing things to bits. Indeed, if you were to pinpoint some of the low points for the character over the years, you'd find a recurring theme: too much deviation from that formula. Whereas Mario's evolution to the 3D realm fit him like a glove, Sonic's strengths had to be channelled specifically: gotta go fast, right?

Sonic occasionally teeters dangerously close to irrelevance, as many other gaming mascots have before him. Bubsy was loud, witty and charismatic, which was fine for the first game. Once they built on that, the character became obnoxious and detestable. Crash Bandicoot was wacky and brash, but in the end got palmed off too many times, and lost his lustre. Spyro had to sell his soul to maintain his position, as the Skylanders brand has grown far bigger than the little dragon himself.

But the blue blur has hit his stride as of late, returning to basics and delivering on the aforementioned formula. For a while, the franchise was like an ill-fated tower reaching towards the heavens: a new layer, a new gimmick, more sidekicks and more storytelling. It seemed grand, but it was about to all come crumbling down. Once they embraced Sonic's past and focussed on simplicity, our faith was restored.

For me personally, the character maintains that same charm. I don't need too many new bells and whistles, just give me Sonic, give me Tails, give me Knuckles and give me Robotnik - and we're good.

...Oh, and Chao's. I do love me some Chao's.