Back in the day, you had to be a what I like to call One or the Other. In the early 90’s, there weren’t programs like Steam and Origin that have basically every game available.
Nope, in the 90’s, you had to be a One or the Other.
For the SNES heads, there was Super Mario, Donkey Kong, Megaman. For those of us who finally got SEGA Mega Drives/Genesis, it was all about Sonic the Hedgehog. (And Tails, if you were lucky enough, as player 2, to stay on the screen in the main story mode).
SEGA had some other classic games, don’t get me wrong. Some of my personal faves were Streets of Rage, Golden Axe, and The Lion King. Most of which, you can still play using a ROM.
BUT it was all about Sonic, and what better way to celebrate that than an article about Sonic toys?
1. Boom Shakes the Room of Sonic Toys, and We All Better Recognize
Source: Entertainment EarthI have a confession for you again. This time it's spiky. In the 90's, there was a Sonic the Hedgehog magazine and you bet your echidnas I had a couple of issues. I'd forgotten about it until I saw this Sonic the Hedgehog toy/statue, which makes me have all the Feelings I swear I don't have. In the magazine, see, they gave away little gifts like stickers and toys, so as well as the reading material, you could basically wreck your wardrobe door or wall with a dozen Tails stickers. Ah, those were the days.
Get this awesome Sonic statue on entertainmentearth.com
2. Super Sonic Doesn’t Approve of Coldplay’s Yellow as his Entrance Music
Source: ThinkGeekWhy? 'Cause he has taste is why. No shade to Chris Martin or his super successful band, but in the world of Sonic the Hedgehog, jokes like that get old fast. They're like jokes Robotnik came up with to make himself (and his minions) laugh. But then he stole all the cute baby animals you wind up rescuing at the end of every level, so what makes him the Jedi Master of humor? Nada. Plus, you never hear anyone singing Eiffel 65 to actual Sonic and that's waaaay more annoying.
Get this exclusive Sonic POP! on thinkgeek.com
3. An American Werehog in Paris (He’s So Soft!)
Source: AmazonWho do I apologize to for the next thing I'm gonna say, Tails? You can remind me later and I'll do it belatedly, but this plush Sonic the Werehog is, by far, the most adorable and cute and, I guess, menacing Sonic toy out there. Because of this guy, I've warmed to the idea of Sonic Unleashed, regardless of its critical reception (at least it didn't go the route of 2006's Sonic the Hedgehog?) and, equally, because of this guy, I am legitimately debating buying my dog this Sonic the Hedgehog dog costume. #SorryNotSorry ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Get the werehog Sonic plush on amazon.com
4. Is it Still Robotnik or is it Eggman Now? I Didn’t Get the Memo
Source: AmazonThe first time I heard they'd changed Robotnik's name was in 2005 when I replayed the game on my friend's X-Box. To tell Thor's honest truth, I'm still not over it. Siliconera asked SEGA what the frick the name confusion was all about, and they said that on its initial release in Japan, the character was called Eggman. Yeah. He wasn't called Robotnik until the games were ported. TIL. And I refuse to acknowledge. Good thing Takashi Iizuka combined the two, 'cause it was starting to get a little Mandela-effecty up in here.
Get this Robotnik playset on amazon.com
5. Remember When Co-Operative Gaming Only Existed if Player 2 Could Keep Up?
Source: AmazonThe good old days. My first experience with legit co-op gameplay was with Duke Nukem 64. I enjoyed having a friend to play with; a luxury that wouldn't be there a year or two after the fact. Many games followed suit and maybe there were ones that came earlier, but back in the day, your friend could pick up the second controller and, er, attempt to play as Tails. But yeah, it mostly involved the sound of spilling rings and The Dead Noise. (You know the one).
Get the Tails wacky wobbler on amazon.com
6. There is a Pixel Light of Sonic the Hedgehog that Never Goes Out
Source: AmazonWe looooove Pixel Pals. There are Mario ones, DC ones, classic Nickelodeon ones AND Sonic ones. While I wasn't sure whether or not this guy counted as a Sonic toy, I figured since it would look pretty much amazing in the bedroom of a person of any age and doesn't fit into the POP sort of collections, we were good to go. Oh, not to mention it's freakin' cool. You're never too old for a night light or for a light that marks off all of your geeky checkboxes, whether you're old enough to remember 8-bit games or not!
Get the Pixel Pals Sonic on amazon.com
7. Introducing the Sassiest Sonic Statue You’ve Ever Seen
Source: AmazonModeled heavily after Sonic's pose at the beginning of the majority of his games, you'll feel both judged and inspired by this guy. Create your own narrative with however you're feeling that day (the beauty of Sonic toys as a Sonic fan) since he can either be shaking his finger with disappointment or be giving you one minute before you guys go shopping for some killer Joker shoes. YOU DECIDE. Maybe with the help of Sonic himself, maybe not. He can just sit there and look pretty instead.
Get this Nendoroid Sonic on amazon.com
8. Okay, but Legit, I Don’t Want to Call him Eggman
Source: Entertainment EarthI mean, I will, but only while I bemoan it. This guy might just be one of the coolest collector's items you'll ever see in your life (or this week, the new Infinity War action figures line looks pretty much amazing). As the world's greatest inventory and revolutionary hedgehog-hater, Ivor "Eggman" Robotnik made his mark on our lives by just showing up. How many people can say that about themselves? Just him and Ryan Gosling is the answer. Well, and maybe grumpy island Jedi Luke Skywalker...
Get this statue of the world's most revolutionary inventor on entertainmentearth.com
9. Four is Always Better than One, in Case You Were Wondering
Source: Entertainment EarthWhich four would you like? I'm a fan of the piranha, the monkey, and tails. I'm much more appreciative about the monkeys when they're not throwing coconuts at me in the Green Hill Zone. Thanks to these Sonic mini figures, I can finally appreciate how cute they are. (She says, as a coconut is thrown at her head). Also, 4-for-1 collectibles always make me want to dance. I only wish I had the moves Sonic does. Life would be so much stinkin' easier.
Get this 4-pack of Sonic the Hedgehog mini figures on entertainmentearth.com
10. Tails Went to Space and all he Got was this Weird Ladybug
Source: AmazonA fox in a cat outfit makes me think to approach the plot of Fantastic Mr. Fox and make it so it's about him. When I first saw Vulpix (and Ninetales) in Pokemon, I did want to add into their lore that they're related to Tails, thus creating kind of a Capulets vs Montagues scenario for SEGA and Nintendo. That's how my mind works, however, and Sonic toys like this just exist to make those ideas flood out of me like they do Sonic when he dies.
Get this Tails figure on amazon.com
11. Knuckles Being a Dude and Pink was the Actual Best
Source: AmazonTalk about Sonic the Hedgehog breaking gender barriers! At the time—heck, even still—it was customary to have a couple of female characters in a video game. You know, for the 0.1 gamer girls who exist in the world. Knuckles, like Tails, was pretty genderless. To some, he was she, just like for some, Tails was. Maybe it was because he was pink but that, too, only served as an awesome thing to kids like me and my friends. Kids of every gender enjoy video games and will enjoy these Sonic toys because of it!
Get this Knuckles Funko Pop! on amazon.com
12. Careful, this One Could Invoke Some Hardcore Nostalgia
Source: Entertainment EarthOkay, so I've mentioned the Green Hill Zone like fifty times already. Why? I was gearing you up for the big finale, of course. Joker-style. I have no remotes ready to blow Gotham Hospital up when Harvey Dent is inside, but I do have faith that I'm not the only geek who's gonna see this and cry out, "Why so beautiful???" Sonic 2 was a game-changer for many of us. Quite literally. And this statue honors that perfectly.
Get the Green Hill Zone Sonic statue on entertainmentearth.com
