Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii)

The second instalment of our look back at gaming's favourite blue dude with attitude.

So far we've witnessed Sonic's rise from cute blue upstart to Sega's main mascot, but by 2006 it was clear that Sonic games had changed very drastically, and nowhere was that more evident than in the year's first two 'hog-related outings.

First came the debacle that was Shadow the Hedgehog, another notorious low point in the hedgehog's career. Putting a gun in the hands of a Sonic Team character was a terrible decision, and it was sadly followed up by another, with the appalling airboard racing game Sonic Riders. You'd never have had to put up with this in 1994.

2006 also saw Sonic's last hurrah on the GameBoy Advance, yet it was hardly the swansong the console deserved. Confident following the strong sales of the previous Sonic GBA games and the Gamecube compilations, Sega converted the very first Sonic the Hedgehog game to the pocket portable, which resulted in a new low point for the series. Horrendously slow compared to the original with countless bugs and glitches, this was a black name on Sonic’s revered debut. As some consolation, it wasn’t just Nintendo owners who had a bad time with Sonic games in 2006 – it also saw the infamous Sonic the Hedgehog released on Xbox 360, an even more broken game than the GBA release.

Sonic and the Secret Rings (Wii)

Reclaiming the old magic

No doubt wishing he could erase 2006 from memory, Sonic persevered into 2007 with Sonic and the Secret Rings for Nintendo Wii. Taking its cues from the Arabian Nights series of books, Sonic and the Secret Rings greatly simplified previous 3D Sonic experiences by placing him on a preset path which required the player to steer left and right, brake and jump. Such a brave decision could have gone either way, but thankfully it greatly reduced the number of accidental deaths and camera issues by always keeping Sonic on the straight and narrow. Secret Rings probably got more stick for introducing a level-up and skills system, which saw you gain experience for completing levels quickly, which was then used to unlock enhanced speed, jumping distance and other abilities.

Sonic Rush Adventure (DS)

On the one hand, making Sonic his slowest at the start of the game was probably not the most crowd-pleasing move to make, but it did let players adjust to the new style of gameplay, and allow them to improve their best times and scores by equipping higher level skills, balancing out the lack of available routes. Although the heavy-handed tutorials deterred some players, those who persevered with the game discovered one of the best-looking titles available on Wii, with unbelievable speed, huge levels and some fantastic lighting effects. It continues to sell well at its current budget price, proving very attractive to new Wii owners.

Nintendo owners undoubtedly got the two best Sonic games for many years in 2007, with DS fans receiving Sonic Rush Adventure, which took the boost-based original and added in extra touch screen-based sea navigation sections, introducing shoot ‘em up gameplay for the first time in the series. With hidden islands to explore, online multiplayer and far fewer bottomless pits, Sonic Rush Adventure was a big improvement over its prequel, though in no way perfect owing to its increased reliance on storytelling and the introduction of an raccoon named Marine, whose language is so stereotypically Antipodean you want to stick her on the barby and toast her with a few tinnies.

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (DS)

The following year Sonic showed us more of his familiar recent form with the release of Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity on Wii, a sequel to the Gamecube's poor airboard racing game that featured a new gravity mechanic, allowing players to race along walls and ceilings, creating an even more chaotic experience than its predecessor. Quite why Sega continue allowing Sonic to feature in games like Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity is a mystery to Sonic fans and gamers everywhere, although I'm sure it's something to do with making lots and lots of money.

The match-up of dreams

Then, just as we were all becoming accustomed to the idea that Sega and Nintendo were friends now, we all got a shock when their iconic mascots teamed up for the first time in Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games. M&S may have seemed a strange and frightening prospect at the time, but combining the overwhelming success of Wii Sports and the universal appeal of the two most recognisable faces in gaming gave Sega their biggest hit since Sonic Twosday all the way back in November 1992.

For all its sales – somewhere over the region of ten million units shipped worldwide – it’s easy to forget that it’s actually a fantastic game that’s as much fun for long-term gamers as it is newcomers to the cause. A great mix of speed and skills events means there’s instant gratification as well as lastability, with a particular favourite event here being the archery, which sees the player pull back the Nunchuk and attempt to line it up with the Wii Remote pointer before releasing the arrow, hopefully hitting the bull. Admittedly not all the control schemes are as intuitive, but very few events fall below a very high standard, and with Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games on the way before Christmas you can bet there’ll be even more red vs. blue sporting action finding its way into millions of homes across the world.

Sonic Unleashed (Wii)

If that was a shock, what came next must have caused heart attacks for the longest-serving Sonic fans. Sega announced they were enlisting Bioware to create a Sonic RPG for DS called Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, which saw the light of day in October 2008 to predictably mixed reviews. One thing everyone agreed on was the fantastic artwork and atmosphere Bioware created in tackling an extremely difficult property – how to turn something so fast into a slow-moving story-based game? By making the turns-based battles fully interactive with plenty of touch screen actions, of course. Bioware succeeded in creating an engaging and exciting battle system that took the best elements from classic Sega RPGs such as Skies of Arcadia and Shining the Holy Ark and mixed them with aspects from the Mario and Luigi series.

With a surprisingly complex storyline involving Knuckles’s ancient race of Echidna and the reappearance of Gizoids, a large cast of playable characters each with unique skills and plenty of side missions and objects to collect, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood is probably the best first attempt at a Sonic RPG anyone could have expected. It didn’t sell brilliantly, so the sequel that’s already been set up may never materialise, but Bioware should still be commended for creating not only a commendable Sonic game but also a great use of the DS hardware on their first handheld game.

When the night falls

Sonic and the Black Knight (Wii)

Having taken it slow for a year, Sonic broke his own speed record with Sonic Unleashed, probably the closest we’ve got on home consoles to that long-awaited return to form. Glossing over the forgettable Werehog fighting sections, the combination of 2D and 3D in the Sonic platforming sections makes for some of the most exhilarating action the old chap has seen in many years, with a brilliant pace and more implementation of actual platforms than has been seen in a 3D Sonic. The Nintendo Wii version doesn’t quite exceed the next-gen versions, lacking their 3D cities, the ability to level up Sonic and his skills and the graphics lag behind the much-hyped Hedgehog Engine. All that aside, Sonic Unleashed on Wii is still an enjoyable outing for the hedgehog that trims many of the unnecessary elements from previous games, instead focusing on what made us all fall in love with Sonic in the first place: the hedgehog at our control.

And then they went and buggered it all up with Sonic and the Black Knight, the second in the Storybook Series following Sonic and the Secret Rings. S&BK largely retains the on-rails system introduced in Secret Rings, but its big innovation is in giving the fast and spiky Sonic a large, cumbersome talking sword he must swing to dispatch countless generic enemies in the time of King Arthur. With none of the fluidity of Secret Rings or the 2D appeal of Unleashed, S&BK gives Sonic’s recovering name another good kick in the privates, prising the inauspicious title of worst Sonic game on a Nintendo console from Sonic the Hedgehog on GBA. You can check out the in-depth review of Sonic and the Black Knight right here.

To be continued?

At the moment, there are no formally announced Sonic games in development with the exception of Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games, so it seems the blue chap may be taking a little time out and considering his career options, which certainly seems like a good idea in the wake of the Sonic and the Black Knight travesty. Sega have hinted we haven’t seen the last of the Werehog, but then Sonic Team has also laid out a “wait and see” answer when asked about the possibility of using the Hedgehog Engine to create an original side-scrolling Sonic title. Whatever happens, there’s no doubt that after years of rivalry, Nintendo and Sega fans can now look forward to Sonic’s future together.

Be sure to check out the first part of our Sonic retrospective here.