8

5 /5

SegaSonic the Hedgehog (often referred to as SegaSonic Arcade) is an arcade game created by Sega AM3, and released Sega System 32 arcade hardware in 1993. This is the first arcade Sonic the Hedgehog game to be released and one of the few that has never been released on a home platform in any form.

In SegaSonic the Hedgehog, players can choose from three characters: Sonic the Hedgehog, Mighty the Armadillo, or Ray the Flying Squirrel. This is Mighty's first appearance in a video game and aside from occasional references in newer titles, the only game in which Ray has appeared until the duo's reintroduction in Sonic Mania Plus. Despite appearances, all three play identically in SegaSonic the Hedgehog, and all three can be controlled on-screen at once as the cabinet supports three players.

Similar to other Sonic games, the objective of the game is to reach the end of each level without dying, however in SegaSonic there the levels are designed to have less focus on platforming and instead focuses on pressing the player forward to complete the levels as fast as possible. While there are few enemy encounters, the majority of the game involves avoiding environmental hazards including giant boulders, lava flows, rogue gears, falling stalactites, and many others.

When the player loses health it can be replenished by collecting Rings, which can be found around the arena or inside certain destructible objects. Upon completing each level, the game tallies up how many Rings were grabbed, and extra points are received if over half of the level's Rings were found. The game only has one boss, which appears midway through the game.

The characters were controlled by trackballs combined with one action button, allowing the player(s) to perform a jumping Spin Attack, while the trackball is used to move around. Each of the trackballs and their corresponding action buttons are color-coded (blue for Sonic, red for Mighty and yellow for Ray).

SegaSonic the Hedgehog is also one of the first games to give the characters voice actors, as well as on-screen dialog.