Sonic the Hedgehog

ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ (Sonikku za Hejjihoggu)Genesis, Arcade, Game Boy Advance, Windows +71991

  1. JP1991
  2. NA1991
  3. EU1991
  4. RUDendy

Sonic the Hedgehog kept its name worldwide, though its villain is Dr. Eggman in Japan and Dr. Robotnik in the original Western releases; in South Korea the game came out as Baramdori Sonic. Today the easiest legal way to play it is Sonic Origins on PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch, which includes the original in its Classic mode.

Sonic the Hedgehog is a platform game for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, made by a small Sega team that became Sonic Team, with Yuji Naka as programmer, Naoto Ohshima as character designer and Hirokazu Yasuhara as lead designer. The music was composed by Masato Nakamura, bassist of the J-pop band Dreams Come True. The game came out in North America in June 1991 and in Japan on 26 July 1991, about a month later.

From November 1991 Sega of America bundled the game with the Genesis, replacing Altered Beast as the pack-in, and it sold over 15 million copies on that console. The Japanese and Western versions differ in the villain's name: Dr. Eggman in Japan, Dr. Robotnik in the West. A prototype cartridge from about two months before release surfaced in 2020, showing Scrap Brain Zone still named Clock Work Zone.

A different 8-bit game with the same title was made by Ancient for the Master System and Game Gear in late 1991. The original was later remade for mobile in 2013 and included in Sonic Origins (2022). It is not part of the Nintendo Switch Online SEGA Mega Drive library, which offers Sonic the Hedgehog 2 instead.12345

Names and releases

RegionTitle on the boxPlatformDatePublisherSrc
NA Sonic the HedgehogExact day disputed: TCRF lists 11 June 1991, other sources 23 June 1991. Became the Genesis pack-in from November 1991 Genesis June 1991 Sega 1
NA —Game Boy Advance port Game Boy Advance Nov 14, 2006 Sega 1
EU Sonic the HedgehogTCRF lists 23 June 1991 Genesis June 1991 Sega 1
JP ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグSonikku za Hejjihoggu Genesis Jul 26, 1991 Sega 2
BR Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis September 1991 Tec Toy 6
WW Sonic the HedgehogArcade release of the Mega Drive game Arcade 1991 Sega 1
KR Baramdori Sonic Genesis 1991 Samsung 6
WW Sonic The HedgehogSteam; no longer sold on Steam Windows Oct 26, 2010 Sega 7
JP 3D Sonic the Hedgehog3D Classics Nintendo 3DS May 15, 2013 Sega 1
WW Sonic the Hedgehog2013 remake Android May 16, 2013 Sega 1
WW 3D Sonic the Hedgehog3D Classics Nintendo 3DS Dec 5, 2013 Sega 1
WW Sega Ages Sonic the HedgehogSega Ages line, emulation by M2 Switch Sep 20, 2018 Sega 1
WW Sonic OriginsCompilation with Sonic 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles and Sonic CD; Classic and Anniversary modes. Also on PS4/PS5 and Xbox Windows Jun 22, 2022 Sega 8
WW Sonic OriginsSonic Origins Plus followed on 23 June 2023 Switch Jun 23, 2022 Sega 9

Also known as: ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ JP2Sonikku za Hejjihoggu JP2Baramdori Sonic KR63D Sonic the Hedgehog WW1

Box art by region

  • Sonic the Hedgehog box art, North America release
    NA Sonic the Hedgehog
  • ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ box art, Japan release
    JP ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ

Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.

Version differences

  • TextJPNA/EU

    The villain is called Dr. Eggman in Japan and Dr. Robotnik in the West; Sega of America also wrote its own backstory and had Sonic's color lightened late in development.1

  • TextJP

    Hidden staff credits can be displayed only on the Japanese version or on Japanese hardware; a coding error also hides the "Press Start Button" text, which reappears on Japanese systems after the hidden credits.6

  • TextMega Games 10 (BR)

    The Brazilian Mega Games 10 compilation restores the "Press Start Button" text that the original cartridge never shows.6

All differences (6)

Translations

  • Spanish Official

    Sega2022Switch · Sonic OriginsReleased

    Sonic Origins lists Spanish among its supported languages.9

  • Russian Official

    Sega2022Switch · Sonic OriginsReleased

    Sonic Origins lists Russian among its supported languages on the Nintendo eShop; Steam marks it as interface-only.9

Where to play legally today

  • Nintendo eShop Purchase

    Sonic Origins

    Classic and Anniversary modes

    Checked: 2026-10-139nintendo.com

  • PlayStation Store Purchase

    Sonic Origins PS4 & PS5

    Classic and Anniversary modes

    Checked: 2026-10-1310store.playstation.com

  • Steam Purchase

    Sonic Origins

    Classic mode (original game) and Anniversary mode

    Checked: 2026-10-138store.steampowered.com

  • Microsoft Store (Xbox) Purchase

    Sonic Origins

    Classic and Anniversary modes

    Checked: 2026-10-1311xbox.com

Reception

Sonic the Hedgehog sold over 15 million copies on the Genesis, mostly as the console's pack-in game; Wikipedia gives figures from 33.5 million to more than 40 million across all platforms.1

Sources

  1. 1en.wikipedia.org
  2. 2famitsu.com
  3. 3dtf.ru
  4. 4en.wikipedia.org
  5. 5ec.nintendo.com
  6. 6tcrf.net
  7. 7store.steampowered.com
  8. 8store.steampowered.com
  9. 9nintendo.com
  10. 10store.playstation.com
  11. 11xbox.com
  12. 12ja.wikipedia.org

Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13

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