Team Sonic Battles Evil AI In New ‘Sonic The Hedgehog’ 35th Anniversary Animated Short
by Tony Thornley
Sonic The Hedgehog zipped onto our screens in 1991 in his self-titled platformer for the Sega Genesis. The Blue Blur was an instant hit, and has become one of the Millennial pop culture juggernauts.
Sonic’s 35th anniversary has been relatively chill, though. There have been no new games, TV series or movies. The celebration has primarily been through other media — with the most prominent being his ongoing IDW comic book series and multiple expansions of the smash-hit Sonic Racing Crossworlds, as well as books, toys, and even crossovers with the Justice League and Godzilla.
Sega couldn’t let the year go without a new animation project, though, even if it is a 13-ish minute animated short, titled “Memories and Beyond.”
And the plot is oddly topical for a science fiction-fantasy franchise featuring talking super-powered anthropomorphic animals. In it, Doctor Eggman has finally captured the Chaos Emeralds and needs Team Sonic (including Shadow and Rouge) to utilize them. How does he do it? Well, he uses technology no one asked for to steal Sonic’s memories, training, and abilities to train an evil AI (aka Metal Sonic).
Yep. The only thing missing is a massive data center, which you know is there, just off-screen, spewing pollution into the air.
Check out the full short above and watch for more Sonic.