Prologue
Being a life long fan of not just Sega
but especially its high speed hero with attitude, I was delighted to gain
the chance to attend this celebration of Sonic The Hedgehog. An entirely
fan run event established in 2008, full of contests, cosplay, guest
appearances and more, all in the name of the blue blur himself, located in
the heart of Westminster, London.
I could hardly contain my excitement,
great landmarks like Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and such other tourist
hotspots seemed of little interest, I had one thing and one thing only on
my mind, the event!
The Event
After proceeding past the usual ticket
inspection I was greeted with a free “Goodie Bag” Inside I found a Sonic
hat, event programme and 20th Anniversary issue of “Sonic The Comic”
Something I hadn’t read since my childhood, today was already shaping up to
be a great one. Entering the first hall I was instantly taken back by the
sea of blue that lay before me. All peoples of every age, race, colour and
creed all united for the love of one Hedgehog and his many adventures,
proudly wearing their Sonic hats!
The first hall also housed the
merchandise stall for the day, stacked high with all manner of toys, books,
clothes and accessories, I found myself returning to this often throughout
the day, as it had some rare pieces such as a limited edition “History of
Sonic” which I was determined to pick up.
The main hall housed many testing
consoles for Sonic’s upcoming adventure “Sonic Lost World” Which
unfortunately I did not get chance to play, but from what I saw looked
promising and seems Sega are building upon the success of Sonic Generations
release two years before. The main stage was also situated here, were we
would later be treated to some very special guests, back in the first hall,
two of them were being announced.
The Guests First to kick off the
appearances, an art class with Sonic the Comic writers and artists, Nigel
Dobbyn and Nigel Kitching, during which a contest open to all abilities was
held for the best Sonic fan art. The level of which was pretty outstanding
and could easily have been drawn from the masters themselves. From the main
hall the” Megadrive Band” was providing a nice backdrop with Sega classics
such as Golden Axe, Shinobi and Streets of Rage to name a few, somethi
ng
which I could whole heartedly relate too. There were also various cosplay
entries being made, including Dr. Robotnik/Eggman, Amy and Sonic, so there
was always something to keep your attention focused.
+Members+++Sonic.jpg)
Taking live Q&A
sessions where Sonic Team director Takashi Iizuka and lead art director
Kazuyuki Hoshino. Though most of the discussion was about Sega’s upcoming
release for the Nintendo Wii and 3DS, it was nice to hear their thoughts on
the 20th Anniversary since the creation of Sonic CD and its introduction of
characters, Metal Sonic and Amy. I found it especially interesting
listening to Mr Hoshino taking us through the characters first concept art
into their finished development.
After various announcements for
competition winners and yet another walk past the merchandise stand the
last of our guests was just warming up. This was the moment I had been
waiting for, being a musician and lover of the Sonic soundtracks, the
arrivial of lead sound engineer and guitarist for Sonic Teams house band
Crush 40, Jun Senoue was a real treat.
Hitting the stage and opening the
one hour set with Sky Sanctuary Zone from Sonic and Knuckles the crowd was
instantly hooked. The set would also be filled with tunes from the Sonic
Adventure games, Sonic Free Riders, Sonic heroes and many more. Also during
the set other key members that have performed on the vocal tracks for Sonic
more modern games made an appearance. The set would also end with all
members joined together for a rendition of “City Escape” from Sonic
Adventure 2.
Summary
As a gamer and fan of all things Sega, especially Sonic, it was a
real joy to see how much love and support the Hedgehog with attitude still
receives over 20 years from his original release in 1991. Seeing kids
proudly clutching their favourite characters cuddly toy and the look of
wonder on their faces took me back to my own childhood and why I became
such a big fan to begin with. As a an event the organizers achieved
everything they set out to do, to join people together from far and wide
in a celebration of Sega’s poster boy. With live performances, guest
appearances, competitions and much more, all entirely fan run, it was my
opinion a massive success. Now to catch the train home, complete with Sonic
hat of course!
Review of the event by Audio Sprite (Richard Tulk)
For more info and links:
www.gamesyouloved.com/friends/audiosprite/
More info on the event here too:
http://2013.summerofsonic.com/
Andy Hunt's novel takes you back to the beginning of the 1980s where his protagonist Mike Mayberry manages a busy arcade in Indianapolis. From the beginning of the story, the greats of gaming play a huge role in Mikes world..as the likes of Pac Man, Robotron 2084 and Joust explode on the arcade gaming scene. Hi-scores , soda, burgers, hot dogs, MTV and 80s pop culture along with the social experience of actually playing in an arcade with friends brings this story to life. 
As the story progresses into the mid 80s so do the games and the fashion, music and social culture around it. Outrun, Gauntlet, Afterburner, Golden Axe and many others are an integral part of each chapter..Even the chapters are names by classic arcade games!
+Members+++Sonic.jpg)