I’m just going to be completely upfront and honest when I say, I know how corny this post looks from the start. But, if you’ll give me a few minutes to talk—I promise you it’ll make sense!

But anyways, I (like many of the other fans here-) grew up with the Meta Era of Sonic the Hedgehog. My first Sonic game was “technically” Sonic Rush: Adventure, but if we’re talking about games I remember actually playing, it’s Sonic Colors for the Nintendo Wii. And to be completely honest, even if I prefer the way Sonic’s written now, as compared to the Meta Era’s way of handling Sonic’s characterization—I still genuinely love that game, and I used to play it all the time at my Grandma’s house on her Wii when I was younger! As both the music, the gameplay, the story, and the upbeat vibes all came together to create one of my favorite Sonic games of the 2010’s! (Even if some will disagree with me, I still wholeheartedly love this game in spite of it’s flaws—)

But regardless, later on sometime in I want to say 2014, I would end up playing Shadow the Hedgehog for the GameCube. And even if that game is… ehhh in terms of quality, the music, the (albeit very edgy and over the top dialogue—) and the intro cutscene all added up to create an incredibly repayable experience for me. I didn’t beat the game until many, MANY years later due to well—me not understanding how the gameplay worked as a kid, but regardless it’s still a Sonic game I look back on fondly, even if I know it’s mediocre, I still loved it for it’s edginess, and over the top (and honestly silly—) dialogue.

Then, sometime in 2016–I would end up getting the Xbox 360 with a copy of both Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection and Sonic Generations, and I loved both of them dearly, especially Sonic Generations! (Honestly, apart from Sonic Colors—Sonic Generations is probably my favorite of the 2010’s if we’re talking about 3D entries—) As not only was I able to play the Classic Sonic games from the 90’s on modern hardware, but on top of that, I got to play one of the best Sonic games of the time! (I think I also played Sonic the Fighters during this time too—)

After that, I’d end up seeing an announcement for Sonic Mania—and I was HOOKED by the teaser trailer, or the announcement trailer. And believe me when I tell you, when I first booted up the game and played it for myself, it became my 2nd favorite game of ALL time! Everything from the music, to the gameplay, to the sprite work, all of it really pulled me into wanting to know more about Sonic the Hedgehog as a franchise, and that’s when I began to dig into both Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2 on my old HP Laptop. 💀 (And I ended up loving those too!)

Then, in June of 2017 I played Sonic Riders also on the GameCube, and I believe sometime in early 2018 I played Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) and even in spite of it’s many, MANY bugs, I also loved it too! (I know, sue me—I know I have bad taste—I loved the music though!) Then, in 2018 I’d end up getting Sonic Unleashed with an Xbox Series S for Christmas, and I ended up loving the gameplay of both the day and night levels there too!

And since then—that’s when I became what people call a “hardcore” Sonic fan. However, even if I have my preference of being both an Adventure and Dark Age fan “technically”, I still love ALL eras of Sonic for the simple fact that—well, no matter how bad some eras are (like the Sonic Boom era—I know it had a FANTASTIC TV show, but I mean in terms of overall game quality—) Sonic is a key reminder and anchor to me, in the sense that he never, ever, gives up no matter how bad or mismanaged things get! And I think that’s why he’s so relatable, at least to me. I was bullied a lot growing up for being a Sonic fan, but… in retrospect, me being “bullied” and using Sonic as an anchor to keep me grounded in reality was one of the smartest decisions of my life! As no matter how depressed, or down I get—I know Sonic will always be there to remind me of just how important living in the moment is, and honestly, without him, I wouldn’t have been inspired to create my own object character many years later! \^w\^

(Anyways, I’m sorry for my yap session—but essentially, all I’m saying is that I love Sonic for the spirit he emanates, a presence of justice, courage, and the power of not giving up on yourself! >:) ❤️ And I just wanted to say, thank you SEGA and Sonic Team, for providing me a world and characters I know I can always escape to when I feel down, or lonely in my own thoughts! \^-\^)

I just wanted to say, Sonic the Hedgehog has been one of the best things that have been in my life, fiction wise! 💎