Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog wasn't just a game: it was a weapon in the Sega-Nintendo war. Yuji Naka and Naoto Ohshima created a character that was Mario's antithesis — angular, brash, blue instead of red, fast instead of methodical. Green Hill Zone with its rolling hills and loops is one of history's most iconic levels. Design exploited the Motorola 68000 processor's speed: backgrounds scrolled with NES-impossible parallax. Pack-in with Genesis in North America was the move that outsold Nintendo for the first time. Sonic wasn't a game: it was a cultural identity.