Sonic the Hedgehog has long been a household name in gaming. The games keep racing forward, and various spinoff media, along with the theatrical movies, were smashing hits. But when it comes to consistent character design, the franchise has often left fans spinning in confusion. Now, a group of passionate Sonic fans has taken matters into their own hands by releasing a full 150-page design document. They claimed it’s aimed at helping SEGA rediscover what makes Sonic, well, Sonic.
Titled The Visual Design of Sonic the Hedgehog, the guide is written and compiled by Felipe M. Marra, NERO, CyanHyprPsychic, Retro64, and other dedicated community members. The creators describe the project as an ‘accessible and concise’ reference for the ‘finer details’ of Sonic franchise characters.
It was produced to inspire fellow fans, passionate artists — and yes, even SEGA’s Sonic Team itself. One of the contributors, @MateusJorgeReal, wrote that this Sonic design guide, in particular, is dedicated to Sonic Frontier director Morio Kishimoto.
As you might expect, the entire document is impressively thorough. From the get-go, it dives into the foundational influences that made Classic Sonic’s visual style so nostalgic. It referenced everything from old Disney cartoons and Felix the Cat to Japanese city pop aesthetics and Memphis design. One segment, called ‘3D Rendering Mistakes,’ contrasts SEGA’s in-house renders with work by Marza Animation Planet, the studio behind fan-favorite Sonic Riders.
The full document is available online for free, although only in Japanese for now. Still, as fan reception has been overwhelmingly positive, @MateusJorgeReal promises he and his team will release an English version sometime soon.
“This is essentially one of the best things I’ve read to ever come out of this community,” Wrote @PatoMelo27 on @MateusJorgeReal’s X thread. “I look forward to seeing the results that will have on the series once SEGA incorporates this feedback,” @what_is_free chimed in, “I know they will.”
Nevertheless, not everyone is spindashing with excitement. “Add it to the pile of things Sonic fans think they can correct Sega about,” quipped @TwanDaMegalodon.
“alot in the character design department (especially the part of where they changed past designs) is very subjective,” added @morumbi2000, “feels like you guys trying to put your specific vision of the Sonic cast as the correct one.”
For anyone even slightly familiar with the Sonic fandom, this kind of gargantuan effort won’t come as a surprise. This is, after all, the same community that has been passionately running SAGE — the Sonic Amateur Games Expo — since 2001. I guess when official releases stumble, maybe it’s the fans who’ve stuck through every Green Hill Zone loop-de-loops who are best equipped to safeguard Sonic’s legacy.
