During all of my childhood Nintendo ruled supreme. Both the NES and SNES provided some of the best gaming memories of all time. During the NES era, however, I also had a Sega Master System. I barely cared for it, even if I did play it with my sister and my cousins. Nintendo and Mario was where is at.

Then in 1994, I received a Sega Genesis as a graduation present. Why did I ask for it even though I was a huge Nintendo nerd? Because Sonic the Hedgehog 2 looked really, really good. It was the rare exception in which I wanted to play a non-Nintendo game so badly. I got the system and played the living daylights out of it. The music, the graphics, the character and the gameplay were unforgettable. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was easily the most played Sega Genesis game at my household.

But once I completed it, my interest on the Genesis quickly waned, and I went back to being a Nintendo fan 24/7. I still played the game whenever I felt nostalgic and even got to play Sonic and Knuckles thanks to a friend, but I had my fun, now it was time to go back to reality.

This would last all of junior high and high school. The Nintendo 64 was my idol and the system I supported the most, despite the harsh reality of delays and lack of software. But one day something happened that changed my fandom forever. I would no longer be a Nintendo fanboy and decided to embrace all forms of gaming. That day was when I first played the Sega Dreamcast. A video store opened a few blocks away from my high school. I had visited it and thought it was neat but nothing special. But one day the owner put up a sign that made me glee in excitement…

The owner had bought a Dreamcast and set up a huge game station for it, complete with a big screen TV and speakers. I quickly went to play it during my lunch time (as well as many other classmates). That day I witnessed the beauty of House of the Dead 2, Power Stone, Ready 2 Rumble and… Sonic Adventure. There he was, the Blue Blur, back again in full force and in beautiful 3D. I suddenly went back to 1994 when I first played Sonic the Hedgehog 2. It was the game that sold me a Dreamcast and the one game that rekindled my love for Sega and Sonic.

I saved up all of my money (which includes the winnings of a local short story contest I had entered) to buy a Dreamcast, a VMU (Visual Memory Unit) and a copy of Sonic Adventure. It didn't matter that the story was bad, that it had awful camera issues and that the Big the Cat, Amy and Knuckles levels were some of the worst things ever conceived in gaming, it was Sonic and I WAS GODDAMN HAPPY! I couldn't stop playing it, I kept replaying it even I had finished it. I showed it to family and friends! So much so that I ignored my N64 for a long while!

The bottom line here is that my love for Sonic had re-awakened after being dormant for years and he would become one of my all time favorite heroes.

But dark clouds were looming in the horizon… The imminent launch of the PlayStation 2 along with the failure of some games (like the overly ambitious Shenmue) the Dreamcast would be no more by the end of 2001. Sega then announced that they would become a third party developer. It was during this time that Sonic's games were declining in quality, ending in the unplayable mess that was Sonic the Hedgehog Next Gen. It was a hard era for me as a Sonic fan, seeing the character being tossed around like an used dirty rag with no clear purpose or direction. Where was the creativity, the magic and wit that made Sonic a hero for me?

Because of this, my interest in Sonic began to wane once more and was quick to dismiss any new game he was in. It would take one company for me to enjoy the blue blur once more… Nintendo.

A few games played a big role in my decision of accepting the Blue Blur into my fandom once more. The first was Sonic and the Secret Rings for the Wii. It was a very controversial title that received mixed reviews. But I loved the concept. I thought it was great how Sonic was sucked into the worlds of the Arabian Nights. The gameplay, while rough around the edges, was very fun and I thought it was a step in the right direction. The second game was Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games. Yet another game with a mixed reception, it was important to me because for the first time ever my two gaming heroes were appearing in the same game. So what if it was a mini-game collection? It was very surreal to see Mario share the screen with Sonic and it's a gaming event I shall never forget.

Then it was confirmed that Sonic would be a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl which sweetened the deal further. Even if Sonic isn't one of my main characters (his moves are weak and take forever to knock a player out in my honest opinion) he is still fun to play as.

The DS, of course, had its role in the story. Sonic Rush on the DS was the first Sonic title I played on the DS and I thought it was a magnificent title that came very close to achieving Sonic awesomeness. It reminded me a lot of Sonic and Knuckles due to the inclusion of Blaze the Cat. I know many gamers didn't warm up to it that much, but I still greatly enjoyed this title. I recently played Sonic Rush Adventure and while it's very fun, the extended adventure and boat building sequences lower its value, since the best thing about the original Rush was how classic it felt.

Sonic Unleashed was a mixed affair, however. I loved the day time stages due to how excellently designed they were and the fantastic sense of speed they inspired, but as cool looking as the Werehog was, his stages overpowered the game and were a huge chore.

Sonic and the Black Knight was pretty fun and I enjoyed it, though I agree that the combat feels a tad broken. As a bit of a tangent, I personally like the idea behind the Sonic Storybook series. Both Secret Rings and Black Knight took advantage of their respective settings and made the games feel more special. Maybe with all the hype going around the new Alice in Wonderland movie we could see Sonic in Wonderland someday?

Finally, I thought Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winters Games was a huge improvement over the original game due to some great Balance Board controls, much more refined Wii controls and a great selection of events to choose from.

The various Sonic collections also helped me stay in touch with the Sega franchise. Sonic Mega Collection for the GameCube was one of the first that I owned and thought it was a fantastic package. Sonic Gems Collection, however, was the one that brought me very close to the Sonic games I missed due to rarity. For the first time ever I was able to play Sonic CD and I thought it was a fantastic game. I wish Sega would use the time traveling mechanic once more. The idea of visiting the past and future by running really fast intrigued me when I first saw it. Sonic the Fighters was a neat little game, and the less said about Sonic R, the better.

So that's my Sonic fandom in a nutshell. Despite all the turmoil he suffered as a videogame mascot due to the poor decisions of his creators Sonic still means a lot to me. He, along with Mario, created a lot of great gaming memories. I still believe that Sega will once day create a game worthy of the Blue Blur's legacy (Sonic the Hedgehog 4 looks promising but I am keeping my expectations low), and when that day comes I will celebrate it!