Normally a flagship product isn't changed very much to avoid alienating fans, but when players raved about the pinball levels in the original Sonic games Sega listened. Sega was also unusual in their ability to cross genres with their mascot. Significant changes were made to the third Sonic, making him cuter and rounder, like the MegaDrive Sonic 3 sprite. The first two Sonics were identical except for the colour of Sonic's shoes. Sonic 1 - MD (Left), Sonic 1 - SMS (Right) Sega was unique in their ability to maintain continued success with two generations of hardware at the same time. It is unusual for a manufacturer to support two different generations of hardware at the same time, and if it does happen, it doesn't happen for long. His cheeks appear rounder, and there's now the suggestion of a mouth, where there never was before. Previous iterations had him thrusting his chest forward with his arms back, but now he appears more relaxed. Sonic was given much larger hands, and because of their placement Sonic almost looks chubby. The adjustment from the second to third games is much more extreme. Except for some widening of the eyes in Sonic 2, giving Sonic a less angry appearance, the sprites are identical. The standing position saw fewer changes than the running one, at least between the first and second games. Left to Right: Sonic 1, 2, 3 and Sonic Spinball - MD/Gen Hedgehogs are known for their unusual gait, but this might have been too unusual for Sega: Sonic's feet were snapped into place fron the second game onwards. The feet on the first generation Sonic tended to orient the soles inward.

If you look carefully you can see how Sonic's running skills have straightened out his feet too. Sonic's shoes, perversely, seemed to get cleaner as time went on - by the third game they were gleaming, and they seemed to be much rounder. The first Sonic had very skinny arms and legs, but by Sonic 3 they were quite a bit more muscular in appearance. There was a steady progression in Sonic's limbs. Sonic was initially a less vivid shade of blue, something that changed in Sonic 2 to help Sonic stand out against the background, and stayed that way for the rest of the series. The Sonic sprites below show a clear progression, and it's easy to see how Sega's artists refined their mascot's image. There were only five Sonic games on the MegaDrive, ignoring games that re-used sprites (Sonic & Knuckles, Knuckles' Chaotix & Sonic CD).

Sonic 1 game gear sprites