We're getting multicultural on this episode as we do a deep dive on the different ways Sonic has been portrayed between Japan and the West. We all know how Sega of America started making changes right from the jump, with their Robotniks and their Mobiuses and their Hardly, Nebraskas...OK, maybe not so much that last one. But the 30+ years that followed have seen a strange back-and-forth of each side borrowing from one another and slowly reintegrating Sonic into one cohesive vision...unless you're an annoying person on social media, in which case the two portrayals couldn't be further from one another, even to this day. Are Japanese and western Sonic really so separate? Did any of the changes end up being to the franchise's benefit in the long run? Or are they forever destined to be two different worlds? Not like the "two worlds" thing that briefly described the setting, but like, as in...you know what, just listen to the episode, you'll get what we mean.

(0:00:00) Intro/Main topic: Japanese Sonic vs. Western Sonic

Amie Waters on Linktree

Windii on YouTube

We're off the starting line at high speed as we prepare for the release of Sonic's newest racer by taking a look back at some of his earliest! First up, we pop some fresh batteries in our Game Gears to check out the Sonic Drift duology, a flawed but unique attempt to bring the fun of kart racing on the go. Then we stay on track and don’t look back as we continue on to Sonic R, the equally beloved and maligned on-foot racer with a legacy all its own. So join us as we feel the sunshine, dodged some lightning strikes, and hopefully answer the question once and for all... Why the hell is he in a car?

0:00:00 Intro/Our recent Sonic-y stuff

Amie Waters on Linktree

Sonic R Updater

Sonic R Improvement Mod

ARK in Radiant Emerald

It takes two to tango, but it takes 12 for an all out brawl! The gang looks back at Treasure Team Tango, the Sonic Universe arc that gave Blaze and Cream their first real spotlights in the original Archie continuity! When the princess of the Sol Dimension comes looking for a missing emerald, she's going to have to team up with a couple of female freedom fighters to find it, especially when three other teams all have their eyes on the same prize. It's the ultimate game of keep away in this madcap adventure, and we're here to dig back into it page by page!

(0:00:00) Intro/Main topic: Treasure Team Tango

Amie Waters on Linktree

Hey, boomers! It's time to take a look back at the Sega-sational world of the UK in the 1990s! Special guest Chris McFeely of Sonic the Comic the Podcast joins us for a recap of Sonic the Hedgehog Beats the Badniks, a compilation of STC's first four Sonic strips. From the spikeball's speedy start to a clash with a cyborg chum, and from saving Sally's sibling to an encounter with an inorganic imposter, we look back at the comic's earliest days to see how they set the stage for the stories to come.

(0:00:00) Intro

Amie Waters on Twitter

Sonic The Comic The Podcast

Chris McFeely on YouTube

Grab your sports tape and pump up those muscles, because it's time for our first real deep dive on the Sonic Boom cartoon! This episode, we're looking back at "Robots from the Sky", the four part epic from the show's second season. Sonic and crew get an unexpected visit from some mechanical heroes, starting a chain of events that will take them all the way to a floating utopia under siege! It's a high stakes battle with robots on all sides and our heroes caught in the crossfire, so you’ll definitely want to tune in... Or, you know, we can just hypnotize you into listening; that works too.

(0:00:00) Intro

Amie Waters on Linktree

Robots from the Sky (Parts 1 and 2)

Robots form the Sky (Parts 3 and 4)

Welcome to the next level in 32X World! The gang is taking a little detour to Sega's ill-fated add-on and reaching into the Combi-Catcher to pull out the bizarre little side story that is Knuckles' Chaotix. With its unique ring band gameplay system, it is genuinely unlike any other Sonic game...but is that necessarily a good thing? Join us in the Newtrogic High Zone to find out! Don't worry, the bee should carry you most of the way.

(0:00:00) Intro/Main topic: Knuckles' Chaotix

Amie Waters on Linktree

Knuckles' Chaotix is Fundamentally Flawed

It's our third birthday! So to celebrate it, we're going to be facilitating a different sort of birthday. That's right, for the first time ever, the gang is going to create their own fan character! What kind of animal are they? What's their personality like? Do they have any special powers? Are they a snappy dresser? If they see a guy getting beaten up by an Egg Pawn in a bodega, will they actually do something about it? All these questions and more will be determined as we work together to give life to the newest (unofficial) face of the Sonic The Hedgehog franchise!

(0:00:00) Intro/main topic: Let's create an OC!

Amie Waters on Linktree

Other artists' takes on the finished character (Part 1/Part 2)

We need your help, listener! Andross has declared...that it's time for The Toad Is Always Slippier, our long running Star Fox podcast that we've totally been doing this whole time is ready to cover the granddaddy of them all, Star Fox 64! This seminal space shooter remains a favorite of N64 players everywhere, and it's time we gave it its due with an extensive deep dive on everything that makes the story of this fox in space an adventure we can't help going back to again and again.

(0:00:00) Intro/Main topic: Star Fox 64

Amie Waters on Linktree

BONUS CONTENT: We commentate over the Star Fox 64 promo VHS

Boss B Metal Cover by RichaadEB

Corneria Theme Re-imagined by Tee Lopes (feat Andy Gillion)

Star Wolf theme by warinside

Learning Control remix by Rukunetsu

A Fox in Space

Starship

Starship mods

Ulala-ko [NSFW]

tzarVOLVER [NSFW]

bayboyzone [NSFW]

It's Shadow the Hedgehog, baby! Special guest Abby Denton joins us as we go on another character deep dive, this time on everyone's favorite ultimate life form. In his almost 25 years, Shadow's easily become one of the series' biggest faces, but what exactly makes him who he am? Join us as we explore his past, ponder his future, and...spend a really long time talking about Gogurt for some reason.

(0:00:00) Intro

Amie Waters on Linktree

Gamer Mom: The Mom Who Games on Kickstarter

Remember that sense of delight and wonder you'd get when you'd force your parents to stop off at a fast food restaurant, reach into a bag containing foods that would slowly come to destroy your body over the intervening decades, and pull out a tiny plastic symbol of the power mass consumerism held over the youth of a generation? Well we do, and we're excited to talk about it! That's right, The Hill Is Always Greener is looking back at the history of Sonic the Hedgehog fast food toys! From Sonic 3 the game to Sonic 3 the movie, and from windups to LCD games to "here's some cardboard, make it yourself", we cover the breadth of Sonic's kids meal collectables over the last 30 years! (Warning: this episode may present a choking hazard to children under 3 years of age.)

(0:00:00) Intro/Main topic: Sonic fast food toys

Amie Waters on Linktree

Sonic McOrigins Plus