Sonic the Hedgehog

Favorite moments from Sonic X season 1

Posted by Henry McHenry on 06/14/2023
Posted in: Movies, Sega, Sonic the Hedgehog, Videogames. Tagged: . Leave a Comment

Following up on my post about the Sonic X Japanese dub with English subtitles Blu-Ray collection.

I’m just done re watching (originally watched them in Japanese from April 2003 to March 2004) the first 52 episodes of Sonic X. I didn’t watch episodes 26 and 52 from the Blu Ray because of the missing Off Course songs, while I can understand Discotek did what they could given the circumstances, that’s not the way I remember those episodes so my OG Xbox was of great help there.

Some of my favorite moments form seaosn 1:

10. Episode 47: Cream and Tails playing Jenga.

9. Episode 2: “Shit, 行くぞ” Yup Sonic cursed.

8. Episode 9: Sonic wearing the good luck charm Amy made for him.

7. Episode 30: Tails disarming the bomb. Straight from Sonic Adventure, Tails becomes a city hero.

6. Episode 24: Amy gently blowing Sonic’s ear.

5. Episode 5: Sonic vs Knuckles. Classic Eggman tricking Knuckles into fighting Sonic.

4. Episode 35: Sonic vs Shadow at Prison Island.

3. Episode 50: Tails and Chuck good bye.

2. Episode 34: Shadow finally appears in Sonic X. Finally after months of only seeing him in the intro, the ultimate life form appears in the show.

1. Episode 52. The SonAmy scene. She was willing to wait for Sonic even if it meant reaching old age (she said baachan). If that’s not real love then I don’t know what the heck that is. Really touching. If you excuse me I think I got something in my eye.

 

 

Sonic X Blu-ray Collection

Posted by Henry McHenry on 05/29/2023
Posted in: Blu-ray, Movies, Sonic the Hedgehog, Videogames. Tagged: . Leave a Comment

 

Recently I got this collection https://amzn.to/3N2nJOI . A must have (especially) for those of us who originally watched the series in Japanese. At least for me who watched it each week back in 03/04. These would be aired in Japan each Sunday, if memory serves well, the raw was released on Monday and a two or three days later the fan subbed episode was released in all their 320×240 Real Player glory.

 

Video quality is as good as it gets, 480i SD (which looks good on a CRT TV, pictures don’t do it justice) with your choice of 2.0 or 5.1 Japanese audio with English subtitles. The idea of them releasing it in Blu-ray I guess is the convenience of only dealing with two discs. Personally I would have preferred the “inconvenience” of multiple DVDs, no biggie, just a matter of hooking up a really old Blu-ray player with composite output to my CRT TV.

A minor issue I found is related to the insert tracks (by OFF COURSE) on episodes 26 (Kotoba ni Dekinai) and 52 (Natsu no Hi and Midori no Hibi). Just today I watched episode 26, so instead of playing it from the disc I just played the original broadcast episode using my OG Xbox. When the time comes I’ll do the same, or for the sake of nostalgia will use my Win98 PC.

Other than that all is great, all 78 episodes are there plus a few extras on disc 2.

Regarding the Metarex saga, this would be the first time I watch it in Japanese in its entirety. As we know, it wasn’t originally aired in Japanese TV back in ’05. Back then, I watched it in French and I remember it being quite an exciting experience.

 

 

 

 

 

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Posted by Henry McHenry on 11/23/2022
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Some people say sequels are not as good as the original. This was one of the exceptions, as it exceeded the original. What can I say that hasn’t been said in the past 30 years? Awesome graphics, soundtrack, controls, challenge, well, awesome everything.

One more time our hero Sonic the Hedgehog is set on an adventure to defeat his nemesis Dr Robotnik and help his friends. But this time he is not alone, sidekick Miles “Tails” Prower is here to help.

Or… you could just play as Sonic or Tails alone.

Game has plenty of variety, you still have to finish it in one sitting so make sure to obtain continues. Special stages are located at checkpoints instead of at the end of each act (they kinda remind me of Stunn Runner), collect the required rings (or more) before the end of each segment and if you survive you get a chaos emerald. Not only you’ll get to see the “good” ending if you collect all 7 of them (yup more than its predecessor) but also Sonic will be able to transform in “Super Sonic” (obviously inspired from Dragon Ball Z).

Ok, that’s it for now. Thanks to everyone involved in creating such a brilliant game, game that kept us occupied for countless hours and passed the test of time. Here’s to another 30 years of Sonic and Tails.

Sonic Frontiers impresions

Posted by Henry McHenry on 11/15/2022
Posted in: PC, Sega, Sonic the Hedgehog, Videogames. Tagged: , , . Leave a Comment

The game is too elaborated for its own good. It is a good “open world” game but for some (myself included) it just doesn’t fit Sonic. Graphics are very good but wouldn’t say great. Controls are fluid but at the same time things are over complicated, too many moves to learn. The music is excellent, a work of art if you want, unfortunately some tunes are more fitting of another franchise.

After playing for about an hour and 40 minutes I don’t feel I’m making much progress, after the initial cut scene I haven’t seen Amy and Tails for example and only one Eggman cutscene has been triggered.

The game does not feel fast. The amount of collecting, searching and unlocking, some times it feels like a chore. Unfortunately the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive (like the emperor’s new clothes), I’m afraid this open world mechanic could be the future of the series, if that is the case then I’m out.

Happy Birthday Tails!

Posted by Henry McHenry on 10/16/2022
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30 years ago Sonic’s sidekick and best buddy Miles “Tails” Prower made his debut. The game was Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Sega Master in Europe and Brazil. He wasn’t playable on said game, his actual playable debut would come the following month on the Genesis. Anyways, thanks to Judy Totoya for coming up with such an awesome character, a character who has been inspiration for many. About 20+ years I made website (in spanish) in his honor here’s the link to the archived site.

Sonic 25th Anniversary Party Swag Bag

Posted by Henry McHenry on 11/15/2016
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This past July 22nd, 2016 SEGA celebrated the 25 years of Sonic the Hedgehog with an official party at the House of Blues during the San Diego Comic-con. Although I consider myself a big SEGA and Sonic fan, sadly I was unable to attend the party due to financial and scheduling reasons (mostly financial lol). For those who were able to attend, they were treated to special guests, exclusive 25th Anniversary merchandise and musical performances by Crush 40 and Hyper Potions.

Included in the swag bag are the following:

– Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary bag
– Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary coin
– Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary USB thumb stick
– Sonic: Mega Drive #1 variant comic
– Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary New Era Hat
– Sonic Plushie
– Totinos hat

Hope you guys enjoyed the share! Would love to know if any of you were able to attend the Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary party at SDCC. Feel free to share your love for SEGA, Sonic and any special moments from the event. As always, game on brothers and sisters!