Interview with Yuji Naka: the creator of Sonic the Hedgehog

I found this interview with Yuji Naka in Sega Visions Issue 9. Sonic 2 hadn't come out yet, and this guy was at the height of his powers.

Sonic the Hedgehog

I was 7 years old when Sonic the Hedgehog launched in North America. Vividly, I remember playing the game for the first time in KB Toys on a display TV.

I was blown away.

Never had I played a game with such amazing graphics. In my mind, the Super Nintendo games didn't even come close to match the cool, futuristic look of Sonic. The music as well, like Mega Man, hinted at the great electronic music that would proliferate over the next 20 years.

Specifically, I noticed how the several different background layers created a 3D effect that I'd never before seen (Super Mario World, by comparison, features 1 parallax background; Sonic has up to 4 depending on the level.

But Sonic didn't even have levels, it had zones and acts. It didn't have enemies, it had little bunnies inside robots. It had rings, which were like coins, but they were also Sonic's HP. Sega did everything they could to distance their mascot from Nintendo's--and it worked. I also remember, at 7 years old, having serious discussions with my friends over who was cooler: Sonic or Mario. While we all grew up playing Mario, the consensus was, of course, that Sonic ruled.

It had to be the speed. Mario created good hop-n-bop game play, but nothing as extreme as Sonic had yet existed. Mario requires that the player actively hold B to run; Sonic doesn't need to. Sonic doesn't even need more than 1 button, and the player cannot hide behind any sort of projectile-powerup.

But, the graphics and environment probably had something to do with it. The world of Sonic teems with movement. Environmental effects, spinning thorn bridges, falling terrain, bumpers, springs, swings, loops, and lava. The flowers spin; the backgrounds flash. The sun reflects off the water in Green Hill Zone--the place shimmers with fun. Sonic felt like the future.

I was equally impressed with Sonic 2, 3 and Knuckles, but, unfortunately, watched the series degenerate just like everyone else after that--with only the occasional title being playable (Sonic Rush, anyone? Sonic Rush was amazing). But despite the awesome co-op and great music, I still feel like Sonic 1 remains the best game in the series because it focuses on platforming more than the other titles. Real dedication was put into every level, and each level has multiple paths. While Sonic 2 continued this trend, the levels never felt quite as big as they did in the original. Eventually, it was all about the loops and going ridiculously fast. Somehow, Sonic 2, 3, Knuckles, and Rush pull this off okay, but at some point the loops simply failed to impress me even slightly.

Additionally, all the cool Sonic zones (watery ruins, pinball bumpers, green hills, big cities) were set in the first game--everything else is, to an extent, a rehash. Not that I don't love Hill Top, Chemical Plant, and Oil Ocean, but those ideas came out of (were inspired by?) Sonic the Hedgehog.

Sonic 2, admittedly, fixed many problems with its predessor: better bonus stage, co-op gameplay (several modes), spin-dashing, and a cool new sidekick. But while these improvements were welcome at the time, in retrospect they can't hold up to the absolute brilliance of the original.

I didn't own Sonic when it was new; but I did finally get a Sega Genesis 1997, when my neighbors grew bored with their old system in favor of their N64 and PSX. Excitement made my hands shake as I hooked up my new Sega Genesis: I could finally play Sonic anytime I wanted! And I basically never stopped.