Sonic Inspires the Greats

In a recent article on the role of good character design in videogames, Next Generation magazine interviewed the creators of Pac-Man, Cloud Strife, Crash Bandicoot, Sarah Bryant, Leisure Suit Larry, Duke Nukem, Mario, Lara Croft, Ryu, and of course Sonic the Hedgehog. The interviews varied, but one oft-asked question was: "Which outside characters are your favorite, and why?" As it turned out, Sonic was named more often than any other, even Mario. Here are some of the responses to that question:

Kenji Mimurao, creator of Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy VII): "I like Sonic and Bandicoot. I think they both possess characteristics that can be understood or can pass even without the game part of it. I also like the atmosphere of how it flows within the entire game."

Toby Gard, creator of Lara Croft (Tomb Raider): "...I like Sonic because he's so fast and weird. I like the lead character in NiGHTS because he moved so damn well."

These men have taste. Others who were asked the same question (Yu Suzuki, Shigeru Miyamoto, and Manabu Takemura) stuck to characters they created or were in the same game as the character in question. Brazen losers. So next time you sit down to a game of Final Fantasy VII or Tomb Raider 3, take a good, hard look at Cloud and Lara and remember that Sonic was part of the inspiration for these enduring characters. Neat, huh?

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