Posted on February 18th, 2009 By theredeye

GameTap Premieres Four-Part Sonic Retrospective

GameTap is excited to premiere a four-part retrospective on the making of Sonic the Hedgehog via our YouTube Channel. The documentary clocks in over 24 minutes, is available in 720p HD, and speaks to an unprescedented eleven developers, executives and marketing personnel involved in the creation of Sonic and his games.

In addition to these interviews, “Sonic: A Very Quick History” also includes rare vintage video footage, never before seen concept art (look out for Sonic’s original girlfriend, Madonna!) and original SEGA commercials from the 1990s. It also features candid discussion on the origins of the character, including how artist Naoto Ohshima was inspired by a combination of Michael Jackson, Bill Clinton and Santa Claus.

I am an unapologetic Sonic and SEGA fanboy, and though I admit to some bias, this retrospective gets two enthusiastic thumbs up from me. Hit the jump for links & more info.

The video is split into four parts, watch them here:

Sonic the Hedgehog GameTap Retrospective Pt. 1/4
Sonic the Hedgehog GameTap Retrospective Pt. 2/4
Sonic the Hedgehog GameTap Retrospective Pt. 3/4
Sonic the Hedgehog GameTap Retrospective Pt. 4/4

If you’re a huge nerd like me and want to know more about the people we interviewed for this retrospective, here are some helpful links:

Naoto Ohshima, Illustrator, Sonic the Hedgehog

Yuji Naka, Programmer, Sonic the Hedgehog

Hirokazu Yasuhara, Level Designer, Sonic the Hedgehog

Shinobu Toyoda, Executive Vice President, SEGA

Madeline Schroeder, Product Manager, Sonic the Hedgehog

Al Nilsen, Director of Marketing, SEGA

Roger Hector, GM, Sega Technical Institute

Takashi Yuda, Illustrator, “Knuckles”

Akinori Nishiyama, GM. Sonic Team - Japan