Pecha Kucha Presentation Script

Slide 1
So, I’m doing my pecha kucha on Sonic the Hedgehog. I’m going to talk through the history of Sonic
but briefly. So I’ll be looking at the games that made a big impact for Sega and Sonic Team for
developing the franchise. I’ll also be mentioning my opinions on these games, whether they’re
considered good or bad. And please be warned for spoilers.

Slide 2
It all started in 1991 with the first game called Sonic the Hedgehog. We were introduced to the
speedy hedgehog on this 2d platform scroller with a variety of different stages, to explore and dash
your way to the goal ring. Sega continued to follow through with the aim to rescue the animals and
stop Dr. Robotnik in the early generation.

Slide 3
Since the success of the first game inspired them to continue with his adventures, Sonic The
Hedgehog 2 was introduced in 1992. For the first time, we could play as an alternative character
called Miles ‘Tails’ Prower. If you play as Sonic, Tails will follow him through the stages, mimicking his
actions. Or 2 players could control both characters in all of the stages. Also, Sonic was given a speed
boost to give the player more control and flow in the gameplay.

Slide 4
Although, not much was changed for game performance in 1994, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Sonic &
Knuckles had a focus on the plot to tell a story with the addiction of Knuckles. This gullible echidna
was tricked by Robotnik to fight sonic but eventually he joined Sonic’s sides after the events of Sonic
3. This included playing as the characters that have been introduced so far, excluding Robotnik
obviously.

Slide 5
By taking a different turn, Sega wanted to take Sonic further by placing him in a 3D environment for
Sonic 3D blast. However, some people argue that the game is technically 2.5D since the gameplay
uses limited orientation around the environment. Although the top down overview gave us a
glimpse of how they could adapt their style when they had the methods of using full 3D.

Slide 6
This was majorly successful when Sega released Sonic Adventure in 1998. The first fully fledged 3D
Sonic game with a breath taking story and imaginative plot. Also, the gameplay was fast paced to
give the player the feeling of being in the blue hedgehog’s shoes. More characters were introduced
with their own style of gameplay which provided a variety of gameplay.

Slide 7
This own got better with Sonic Adventure 2 in 2001. Everything wobbly with Sonic Adventure was
improved and provided what made that game a success. We were also given the choice of playing
through the hero or dark story to see each side of the story. Each character had a different style of
gameplay like Treasure Hunting or Mech Shooting.

Slide 8
Players could either blast through stages as any playable character in Sonic Advance, whilst in Sonic
Battle you could play and fight different characters, each with their own campaign for both of these
branches of games. The gameplay was vastly improved with much more mobility and flow in the 2D
world. Also, the graphics allowed the levels to become very attractive whilst sprinting to the ring
goal or battling it out with an enemy.

Slide 9
Since teamwork has been a big part in the series, Sega released Sonic Heroes in 2004. This 3D
adventure had us working as a team in each stage with current and returning characters of Sonic.
The style of gameplay had an edge over the previous titles, since it was very risky at the time, but
turned out to be a major success.

Slide 10
After Sonic Adventure 2, all fans desperately wanted to know the backstory of the Shadow the
Hedgehog, which resulted in Sega treating fans to the self-titled game for the mysterious hedgehog
in 2005. With a very dark and quite unsettled story, we could use violence for good or evil to
determine Shadow’s path. The gameplay was unique for the character to fight his way through a
vast amount of stages.

Slide 11
The same time that year, Sega wanted to apply their 3D gameplay into their previous style 2D
platform games by releasing Sonic Rush. This introduced us to a new character called Blaze the Cat.
She had her own full campaign to playthrough. Also, the game had very fast paced mechanics with
boosting abilities and performing stunts whilst racing to the ring goal. However, critics thought the
the series was becoming too complex and absurd.

Slide 12
Things got a lot worse with the infamous Sonic The Hedgehog 2006 release. Although I enjoyed the
game myself, other fans were very disappointed with its glitchy gameplay, slow cut scenes and
complicated plotline. This was the start of when the series was under attack of receiving a lot of
negative reviews and initially where Sega started to go in the wrong direction.

Slide 13
Attempting to bring back the positivity, Sega released a new adventure called Sonic and the secret
ring in 2007. This game was based on the fairy-tale of Aladdin and the magic lamp. This had a fun
and good flow of speed with lots of actions and skills to use whilst fighting enemies and heading
through the mysterious world of the Arabian nights. This helped the series get back on their toes to
keep on producing brilliant titles.
Slide 14
Continuing in attempts to impress, Sega worked on another game in 2008 called Sonic Unleashed.
The combination of previously used styles of gameplay allowed players to boost through beautiful
parts of the Earth or with the newly added Werehog form that gave Sonic super-strength when the
sunsets. However, not all fans were happy with the changes to the sonic universe.

Slide 15
Once again, Sega went back to 2D with Sonic the Hedgehog in 2010. This had a twist of Sonic rush
and Sonic Advance, but with its own story like the very first games of the series. This game had more
easy to use control over the previous games. However, the story was seen as repetitive and not
much of a challenge since the stages were seen as too convenient for the modern sonic.

Slide 16
The same time that year, Sonic Colours was released and started to bring back the franchise. This
allowed players to use the powers of wisps to propel in enemies, dig into the ground, stick on to
walls as a spike and many more. Also, the story was well written, fresh and full of optimism for what
the series could develop in this direction and brought back a lot of fans.

Slide 17
In 2011, Sonic was celebrating his 20th birthday with the released on Sonic Generations. The party
was over when a force altered time and space in the sonic universe. This gave players the chance to
play as modern and classic sonic through all of the well-known stages in chronological order of the
titles like Green Hill Zone, Chemical Plant, Angel Island and much more.

Slide 18
The series kept on getting better with a fresh new title in 2012 called Sonic Lost World. This game
has been criticised for being closely related to Super Mario Galaxy but this didn’t disrupt fans from
enjoying the breath-taking levels as you play as Sonic to take down the Deadly Six. This had a good
impact for taking away the receptiveness of stopping Dr.Eggman from taking over the world.

Slide 19
But, this is until the series has hit rock bottom. Sonic Boom was released in 2014, as well as a new
cartoon series with the same name. This game is rated one of the worst games of 2014 and is the
worst-selling title in the Sonic History. The story was poorly written with a terrible script, the
gameplay felt slobby and boring compared to the other fast paced titles but the graphics were a
good.

Slide 20
However, this doesn’t mean that the franchise will recover from this hard fall. We can clearly see
their success and impact in gaming. To conclude, I thought this image would be appropriate with the
most beloved characters from the Sonic universal to compensate. I hope you enjoyed my
presentation and thanks for watching!