Sonic the Hedgehog, often called Sonic '06, is a 2006 platform game made by Sonic Team and released by Sega. It was meant to be a new beginning for the Sonic series on seventh-generation video game consoles. Players guide Sonic, Shadow, and a new character named Silver as they try to stop Solaris, an ancient evil that Doctor Eggman is trying to control. Each character has their own story, special skills, and must complete levels, explore large areas, and fight bosses to move forward in the game. In multiplayer modes, players can team up to collect Chaos Emeralds or race to finish levels quickly.
The game’s development started in early 2005, led by Yuji Naka, one of Sonic’s creators. Sonic Team wanted to make a game inspired by superhero movies like Batman Begins (2005), aiming to give the series a more realistic feel and different ways to play. Before the game was released, it received praise from video game reporters. However, problems arose when Naka left to start his own company, Prope, and the team split to work on another game, Sonic and the Secret Rings (2007). Because of this, Sonic Team hurried the final stages of development, removing many planned features and canceling plans to release the game on the Wii and Windows.
Sega wanted to release the game in time for the 2006 holiday season to celebrate the franchise’s 15th anniversary. It came out for the Xbox 360 in November 2006 and the PlayStation 3 in December 2006. The game received very poor reviews, with critics pointing out issues like long loading times, a confusing camera, weak story, poor voice acting, glitches, and unresponsive controls. It is widely seen as the worst Sonic game and hurt the franchise’s reputation. In 2010, Sega removed Sonic the Hedgehog from stores after deciding to take down all Sonic games with low Metacritic scores to improve the franchise’s value.
Gameplay
Sonic the Hedgehog is a 3D video game that combines action, adventure, and role-playing features. Similar to Sonic Adventure (1998), players explore open areas called hub worlds where they can talk to townspeople and complete missions to move the story forward. Most of the game takes place in levels that are played in order, and these levels become available as the game progresses. Three main characters—Sonic, Shadow, and Silver—each have their own storylines. A bonus storyline, where all three characters work together to finish the game, becomes available after completing the first three storylines.
Sonic’s gameplay focuses on fast-paced jumping and running, similar to earlier Sonic games. Some parts of the game require him to run quickly while avoiding obstacles or riding a snowboard. In some stages, players must protect Princess Elise, who can create a shield to help Sonic. Shadow’s sections are also fast-paced but include more combat, such as riding vehicles. Silver’s levels are slower and involve using telekinesis, or the ability to move objects with his mind, to solve puzzles and defeat enemies. In some areas, players control other characters who have special abilities.
Although all characters play through the same levels, their unique abilities allow them to access different parts of each stage and avoid certain items. Golden rings are scattered throughout levels and act as a form of health. A ring can protect a character from one hit by an enemy or obstacle, but if hit, the rings will disappear. Each character starts with a limited number of lives. Lives are lost when a character is hit by an enemy or obstacle without any rings, or when they encounter dangerous traps. The game ends when all lives are used up. Silver medals and coins are found in levels and hub worlds for players to collect. After completing certain levels, players face boss battles, where they must defeat enemies by reducing their health.
After finishing a level or mission, players receive a grade based on their performance, with an "S" rank being the highest and a "D" rank the lowest. Higher grades earn more money, which can be used to buy upgrades for the main character. Some upgrades are needed to complete the game. The game includes two multiplayer modes: "Tag," where two players work together to complete levels and collect Chaos Emeralds, and "Battle," where two players compete in races against each other.
Plot
Doctor Eggman captures Princess Elise of Soleanna to use the Flames of Disaster, a powerful force locked inside her. With the help of his friends Tails and Knuckles, Sonic tries to rescue Elise from Eggman. At the same time, Shadow, his partner Rouge, and Eggman accidentally free a dangerous creature named Mephiles. Mephiles sends Shadow and Rouge to a future where the world has been destroyed by a monstrous being called Iblis. Mephiles tricks Silver and Blaze, survivors from that future, into believing Sonic caused the destruction. He sends them to the present to attack Sonic.
Throughout the story, Sonic and his friends move between the past, present, and future to stop Mephiles and Iblis and protect Elise from Eggman. At first, Silver follows Sonic and tries to stop him from saving Elise. Later, Shadow tells Silver that Sonic is not responsible for the destruction in Silver’s world. Instead, Mephiles is the true cause, as he wants to change the past for his own harmful goals. They travel ten years into the past and discover that Mephiles wants to join with Iblis, who was locked inside Elise as a child. Mephiles and Iblis are two parts of Soleanna’s all-powerful god, Solaris. After Mephiles kills Sonic to make Elise cry, he breaks the seal on Iblis and merges with him using Chaos Emeralds to become Solaris. Solaris then tries to destroy time itself.
The heroes and Elise gather the power of the Chaos Emeralds to bring Sonic back to life. Sonic, Shadow, and Silver use their super forms to fight Solaris. Sonic and Elise are taken to the past, where they stop Solaris’ flame, ending the god’s existence and preventing the events from happening. After this, Sonic and Elise seem to remember parts of their experience, but only faintly.
Development
Sonic Team started planning what would become Sonic the Hedgehog after completing the 2003 games Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg and Sonic Heroes. They began designing a game with realistic physics and a serious tone. At first, this project was not connected to Sonic, but Sega asked Sonic Team to create a new Sonic game. The game was originally planned for sixth-generation consoles, but Sonic Team decided to develop it for seventh-generation systems like the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 because its release would coincide with the Sonic franchise’s 15th anniversary. Yuji Naka, who led Sonic Team at the time, said the team received details about seventh-generation consoles in late 2004 and started testing technology with software development kits in early 2005.
Naka wanted the first Sonic game for seventh-generation systems to reach many players. He noted the success of superhero movies like Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Batman Begins (2005), saying Sonic Team aimed to create a game with the same big, exciting feel. The team used the same title as the original Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) to show it was a major step forward for the series. They described the game as a "rebirth" of the franchise, which some sources call an attempt to restart the series. Shun Nakamura was the director.
Sonic Team used the Havok physics engine, which they first used in their PlayStation 2 game Astro Boy (2004). Yoshinari Amaike, a character artist, said the engine allowed them to create large, detailed levels with varied gameplay that were not possible on older consoles. It also let them test features like global illumination, a system that changes the time of day, and new abilities for Sonic, such as using ropes to jump.
Sonic Team chose a more realistic, Japan-inspired setting than previous Sonic games. They redesigned Sonic and Doctor Eggman to fit this new style: Sonic became taller with longer quills, and Eggman was made thinner with a more realistic look. Nakamura and producer Masahiro Kumono said this change was because the characters would interact more with humans, which they believed would attract older players. At one point, Sonic Team considered giving Sonic realistic fur and rubber textures.
While Sonic Team focused on improving visuals, they aimed to create a game as fun as the original Sega Genesis Sonic games. Naka said the team wanted to keep Sonic’s classic features while adding new elements to please both longtime fans and new players. They felt earlier games like Sonic Heroes (2003) and Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) had moved in different directions and wanted to return to the fast-paced style of the original games. For example, they included multiple paths in levels, similar to the Genesis games, and worked to fix problems with the camera system from earlier Sonic games.
Silver the Hedgehog’s gameplay style came from Sonic Team’s use of Havok’s capabilities. The first idea for Silver was an orange mink, but after many design changes, he became a hedgehog. Shadow’s gameplay was redesigned to avoid using firearms, which had been used in Shadow the Hedgehog (2005), and instead focused on combat. Shadow’s gameplay also included vehicles, each with its own physics engine. The CGI cutscenes were made by Blur Studio. Animation supervisor Leo Santos said the team faced challenges animating the opening scene because of the way Sonic’s mouth was positioned.
Actors from the Sonic X anime series returned to voice characters in Sonic the Hedgehog, and actress Lacey Chabert voiced Princess Elise, a new character. The music was composed by Tomoya Ohtani and others, with Ohtani serving as sound director for the first time. The main theme, "His World," was performed by Zebrahead, while Crush 40 sang Shadow’s theme and Bentley Jones sang Silver’s theme. R&B artist Akon remixed a song from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992), and Donna De Lory sang Elise’s theme.
Because Sonic the Hedgehog was the first Sonic game for seventh-generation consoles, Ohtani wanted to highlight its status as a next-generation title. Masato Nakamura, who composed music for the first two Sonic games, oversaw the soundtrack. Two albums were released in 2007: Sonic the Hedgehog Vocal Traxx: Several Wills and Sonic the Hedgehog Original Soundtrack.
As development continued, Sonic Team faced challenges. In March 2006, Naka left Sonic Team to start his own company, Prope, because he wanted to focus on original projects. His departure was described as losing "the heart and soul of Sonic" by former Sega of America CEO Tom Kalinske.
More issues arose when Sonic Team received development kits for Nintendo’s Wii, which was less powerful than the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was originally planned for all seventh-generation consoles and Windows, but Sega thought porting it to the Wii would take too long. Sonic Team split into two teams: Nakamura led one to finish the game for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, while producer Yojiro Ogawa led another to create Sonic and the Secret Rings (2007) for the Wii.
Pressured to release the game by the 2006 holiday season, Sonic Team rushed development, ignoring control issues and bug reports. They removed features like a day-and-night cycle and online multiplayer. Producer Takashi Iizuka said the team struggled to meet deadlines as the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 launches approached. Despite finishing late, Sega released the game on time for Sonic’s 15th anniversary.
Release
Sonic the Hedgehog was introduced during a private meeting at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in May 2005. Later that year, at TGS in September, Naka shared the game's name and stated its release would align with the series' 15th anniversary. A demo version was available for testing at E3 2006. A second demo, showing a short part of Sonic's gameplay, was made available through Xbox Live in September 2006. Sega released sets of desktop wallpaper featuring characters from the game. American publisher Prima Games created an official strategy guide written by Fletcher Black. Sega also partnered with Microsoft to run advertisements in Windows Live Messenger.
The Xbox 360 version was released in North America on November 14, 2006, and in Europe on November 24. Both versions were released in Japan on December 21. The PlayStation 3 version was released in North America on January 30, 2007, and in Europe on March 23 as a launch title for the PS3, which was also released in Europe and Australia that day. Critics and fans often refer to the game using names that mention its release year, such as Sonic 2006 or Sonic '06.
In 2007, Sega released extra content that added features to the single-player game. These included a harder single-player mode and a battle mode where players fight all the bosses in a row. One addition, called "Team Attack Amigo" mode, lets players go through many levels, switching characters every two or three levels and ending with a boss fight. The PlayStation 3 version was delayed to include this content, so it launched at the same time as the additions.
Sonic the Hedgehog was made available again digitally on the Xbox Live Marketplace on April 15, 2010. In October of the same year, several Sonic games, including Sonic the Hedgehog, were removed from retailers after receiving average or low scores on Metacritic. Sega explained this was to avoid confusing customers and improve the brand's value, following positive early reactions to Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I and Sonic Colors (both 2010). Sonic the Hedgehog was added back to the Xbox 360 Marketplace in select countries on May 24, 2022.
Reception
Sonic the Hedgehog was positively received during early showings before its release. Previous games, Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog, had mixed reviews. After several well-received demos, some believed Sonic the Hedgehog might return to the series' original style. GameSpot said the game "showed a lot of promise" after a demo at E3 2006, and GameSpy praised its graphics and environments. GamesRadar described the game as looking "amazing" before its release.
However, Sonic the Hedgehog received mostly negative reviews. Metacritic reported that both versions of the game were "generally unfavorable." Sega reported strong sales, with 870,000 copies sold in the United States and Europe within 4 months. The Xbox 360 version was sold under the Platinum Hits budget line.
Critics had different opinions about the game's presentation. IGN said the graphics and audio were "decent" and that the interface worked well but lacked polish. GameSpot called the graphics "colorful" but "bland" and only slightly better than older games. Game Informer and Eurogamer noted several graphical glitches. Eurogamer also criticized the decision to continue the Sonic Adventure style of gameplay, saying Sonic Team had not learned from past feedback.
Reviewers pointed out problems with the camera system, loading times, controls, level design, and glitches. GameSpot said the camera system made level design frustrating, and Game Informer criticized the high difficulty, saying the camera caused most player deaths. Some reviewers disliked that much of the game was not played as Sonic; GameSpot found playing as Tails boring. Eurogamer called the supporting characters annoying and said the camera system was the worst they had ever seen. 1UP said the game still felt like a Sonic game despite control and design issues.
The story was criticized as confusing and too dark for the game's style. GamesRadar called it "overwrought" and "conceptually challenged," and Eurogamer said the voice acting was painful and the cutscenes were awkward. Some reviewers compared the story to anime or Final Fantasy. The romance between Sonic and Princess Elise was especially criticized; GamesTM said it showed the series had "veered into nonsense."
GameSpot called the game "a mess from top to bottom" and said only the most loyal fans could enjoy it. IGN said the game had some good parts but failed to improve the series. Eurogamer said the mistakes would have been noticed even if the game had been released in 1996.
Game Informer and Dave Halverson of Play Magazine defended the game. Game Informer called it ambitious and praised the graphics, story, content, and replay value but said only Sonic fans would enjoy it. Halverson initially gave the Xbox 360 version 9.5/10, praising controls and calling it the best 3D Sonic game yet. Later, he lowered his score to 8.5/10 after learning the glitches in his copy might be fixed. In a later review of the PlayStation 3 version, Halverson said problems remained and gave it 5.5/10. The A.V. Club noted in 2016 that the game's soundtrack had some "genuine rippers."
Legacy
In 2006, Sonic the Hedgehog was criticized by several gaming websites, including GameTrailers, GamesRadar, and GamesTM. GamesTM ranked the Sonic franchise as the worst among "Video Game Franchises That Lost Their Way." The A.V. Club, Kotaku, Game Informer, and USgamer called it the worst game in the Sonic series, and GamesRadar listed it among the worst video games of all time. Despite its poor reception, the game remains popular in "Let's Play" videos, where players demonstrate its glitches. In 2019, a video by SnapCube's Real-Time Fandub became popular, as voice actors performed a nonsensical, improvised storyline about video game culture in a single take. The official Sonic Twitter account also jokes about the game.
The game's poor performance affected the Sonic franchise. After its release, "Sonic Team struggled to create a consistent vision for Sonic," according to Hardcore Gamer, leading to games with very different ideas. To avoid the game's serious tone, Sonic Team shifted direction with Sonic Unleashed (2008). Later, The A.V. Club noted that Sonic Colors (2010) helped the series return to its original, playful style.
Sonic the Hedgehog introduced new characters: Silver the Hedgehog, Princess Elise, Mephiles, and Iblis. While most of these characters appeared only occasionally, Silver became a recurring character. He was playable in Sonic Rivals (2006), Sonic Rivals 2 (2007), Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity (2008), Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (2009) and its sequels, and Team Sonic Racing (2019). Silver also appeared in the Nintendo DS version of Sonic Colors (2010) and Sonic Forces (2017). He is a minor character in Archie Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog series. In a 2025 poll by Dengeki Online, Silver and Mephiles were ranked as the third and twelfth most popular Sonic characters, respectively.
The main theme of Sonic the Hedgehog, titled "His World," was used in Drake's 2017 song "KMT."
To celebrate the Sonic franchise's 20th anniversary in 2011, Sega released Sonic Generations, which recreated parts of earlier Sonic games. The PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows versions included a remake of the "Crisis City" level from Sonic the Hedgehog, and all versions, including the Nintendo 3DS version, featured a reimagined boss battle with Silver. Critics, including James Stephanie Sterling of Destructoid, criticized the inclusion of Sonic the Hedgehog's stages and bosses, calling the Silver boss fight a weakness in an otherwise strong game.
In 2015, a fan group called Gistix began creating a remake of Sonic the Hedgehog for Windows using the Unity engine. A demo was released in January 2017 and received positive reviews. A second demo, released in late 2017, was described by Eurogamer as ambitious. Another fan team, led by ChaosX, started a separate PC remake called Sonic P-06, releasing multiple demos from 2019 onward.
The game was referenced in the television series Knuckles, which is part of the Sonic film series' continuity. In the fourth episode, "The Flames of Disaster," Knuckles' backstory is shown in a low-budget rock opera. In the series, Knuckles fights and defeats a creature resembling Iblis, and the Flames of Disaster is depicted as a power that makes his fists burst into flames, rather than being a name for Iblis as in the game.
In 2022, the game was relisted on the Xbox 360 Marketplace and remained available until the marketplace shut down.
In the 2024 video game Shadow Generations, a level from Sonic the Hedgehog, Kingdom Valley, reappears. Mephiles returns as a boss fought by Shadow, who has no memory of him due to the game's events being erased from the timeline. Mephiles tries to use a time rift to return to the timeline but is defeated by Shadow.