SONIC Designer Naoto Ohshima Shows the Blue Hedgehog Was Originally Twins Boys With Spiky Hair

Who doesn’t recognize the famous blue blur, Sonic the Hedgehog? He’s the mascot for SEGA, has had countless games and animated series, and some very well-received live-action films. However, it turns out that the single hedgehog wasn’t always planned to be just that.

Naoto Ohshima who designed Sonic and his nemesis Dr. Eggman recently shared a fun tidbit on Twitter. In short, he originally planned an action game that would feature a pair of twins with spiky hair looking to save a world and this concept eventually evolved into the Sonic we all know and love.

I made a draft of the game. An action game about twin brothers who protect the dream world from Nightmare World's boss "Thirteen". It evolved into Sonic.
私はゲーム原案書を作った。 ナイトメア世界のボス「サーティーン」から夢の世界を守る双子のアクションゲーム。 ソニックに進化した pic.twitter.com/nJECKnsI4w

— Naoto Ohshima (@NaotoOhshima) January 21, 2023

In the art shared, we can see that the iconic loops from Green Hill Zone seem to have always been an idea. It’s also interesting that the twins had blue hair and red hair which reminds me of Sonic and his echidna pal Knuckles. It looks like the original game was going to be called Twin Stars as well. This is a pretty cool bit of gaming history. What do you think of the original designs for various characters?

Via: GamesRadar