There can only be one winner for the prize pack of Sonic goodies, and all you guys had to do was make a present for Sonic the Werehog. Well, we had plenty of entries, and the simple fact of the matter is having one prize made the decision-making very difficult indeed. A whole bunch of you have such great Christmas spirit, and the entries we recieved ranged from the incredibly thoughtful to the insane. All of them made us realise how talented and dedicated the Sonic fanbase truly is – we might argue about the games, but man can we get together and make some good stuff when we want to.
So this post is not just a celebration of who won this contest, but one of all our entrants, and a showcase of just how varied and wonderful our submissions have been. Hit the jump to see them all.
Text Entries
First, we’ll list those who sent in stuff via text, because they showcased some real imagination and downright absurdity in some cases. Here’s what the Werehog would have recieved from our more literary readers: Hair removal tonic/grooming kit, 200 rings, a huge Christmas tree with lots of lights and a big star, a hug, hairspray, a punching bag, a leash, a ring chew toy, clothes, flea powder, a Super Deluxe Razor and Wax Kit (Brent, you think Sonic should pimp himself a little more huh?), breath mints, a photo album of his adventures from 1991, ear plugs, “friend-attractant spray” (bringing all his friends back, “except Shadow because he’s emo and a dick” – thanks for that, miles297), God of War II, Chaos Orbs, gloves, an all-you-can-eat chili dog buffet, a lunar calendar, a rabies shot, a date with a WereAmy at a motel (o_O), Chip-shaped chocolate and a hat.
Troy Kimble’s entry was excitable at least, and certainly gave us a lot to think about:
If i could give the werehog a Christmas present…It would be my cute little ass for thanking Sega for finally making a game that didn’t make me wanna tear my eyes out and mail it to a random guy’s address so I couldn’t see the horror the Sonic team stow upon gamers everywhere and influence the world to do the same so they may stay pure as a new born baby.
Piyoko14 advertised to us the amazing De-Werehog-a-fier, a contraption that sets to remove all the hair from Sonic’s furry alter-ego. You apparently remove fur using the Fluff Liquidation Apparatus, then bring Sonic’s light blue colour back using the Azure Tincture Lotion (Tincture?), remove the fangs with the Metallic Dental Rectifier, and use the Fresh Mint Insufflator to sort his breath out. Mad, but we love it.
STULF The Hedgedog isn’t happy with one present, so decided to tell us what he would get the Werehog had he a massive sack (and we wouldn’t dare debate that). Pressies include an Action Reply to ‘cure’ the Werehog, American Werewolf in London on DVD, a guitar, custom shoes with speakers on the back for playing music, a faster way to restore the planet (doing it during Christmas must be a real drag) and a Mario practice dummy (to practice what exactly, we’re still unsure. We daren’t ask though).
Kavalier Kat created a Myspace page which includes a cool music video, and also wrote a little story for the Werehog. You can read it by clicking here.
The Pictures
Picture 1: Future submits a picture here with Sonic the Werehog recieving a toothbrush. Apparently his breath isn’t all that. Hygiene probably goes down the drain when your only instinct is to smash gooey alien things, after all.
Picture 2: Chaos Shad’s picture shows a happy Werehog as he gets a photo of all of Sonic’s friends, showing that they’ll never abandon him no matter what he looks like. Aw.
Picture 3: Ironic for someone named ‘Satan’ is this rendition of the Christian nativity taking place, with the Werehog in place of the newborn Jesus Christ. Interesting to see Sonic regress back to a baby for Christmas, but at least he gets a furry porn ray gun. And a chili dog.
Picture 4: Sonicc22 made a rather nice sprite of the Werehog for Christmas. Now he can stand alongside the other Sonic characters that have had sprites made out of them. Nice one.
Picture 5: Tails gives Sonic the Werehog a sword (probably in preparation for the Black Knight) which makes the blue fur quite happy indeed – for not quite the reason Tails expected. Great picture Nicolas the Crow!
Picture 6: SonicHOG has gotten Sonic something that he can really use – a punching bag with Eggman’s face on it! Funnily enough, you can actually purchase these in certain stores, too.
Pictures 7 + 8: Paddy made a little comic that showed off the lary present being sent his way by SEGA. Not quite in the true spirit of Christmas, we reckon, but funny nonetheless. Good effort!
Picture 9: Rachelbat’s present includes a female Werehog plushie, to keep Sonic warm on those lonely nights. Or something. Certainly not in that way, you dirty minded people. Either way, it’s a really cute plushie design, someone make one of these pronto!
Picture 10: LaZyGaMeR64 decided to give Sonic the Werehog one of the finer things in life – sobriety. While Sonic might want to down his sorrows to the bottom of a wine bottle due to his new deformed state, he can at least be safe in the knowledge that he didn’t feature in the abysmal Sonic 06 instead. Although we’re not sure if he’s ‘safe’ about that, given that he’s running the other way entirely.
Picture 11: A sprite comic by TodStar here – we’ve not seen many of these lately. Maybe we just haven’t been looking hard enough. TodStar’s present comes in the form of a picture featuring all of his friends, to remind the Werehog that he will never be alone. Doesn’t the last panel make you feel warm and fuzzy inside? Poor little Werehog.
Picture 12 + 13: Theo Rollock’s entry is awesome. After racking his brains to no avail, he discovered that, being out and punching bad guys to dust, the Werehog might love to train himself up a bit. And what better way to make the furry little git stronger (besides performance-enhancing Chaos Orbs, obviously) than good old fashioned weight training? We love the little Eggman design there. There’s also portable weights and a collar specially for Sonic. Great stuff there.
Music & Video
We have had plenty of songs and videos created especially for Sonic the Werehog this Christmas. Sonicchic1 sent us an mp3 that features a chat between herself and the Werehog, before singing to the tune of Earthbound about what a friend is for. It’s great stuff, you can listen to it here, and read the script here.
Another song, this time by MK Skillz, is called “Where Are You Sonic?” and is a memento to the good games past and where the hedgehog is going in the future. The lyrics are really nice, it captures the feelings of the average Sonic fan really well. Sung to Faith Hill’s “Where Are You Christmas?”, it sets it objective as a “Sonic inspired Christmas song with an uplifting message”. Good stuff.
Whiplash the Hedgehog shows off his fearsome piano skills in this original song, called “You’re Still The Same”. It’s a tune for the Werehog to let him know that, even though Sonic’s appearance is altered with the fur and all that werewolf stuff going down, he’s still the same old Sonic on the inside. This is a well made song and bonus points for putting the line “your stretchy arms are made of win” in there somewhere.
Gareth Spriggs submits his own musical entry, and it’s pretty funny stuff. It’s a song “about the Sonic franchise as it stands today, and I think the werehog would like it as it explains a possible way to improve the franchise”, according to Gareth. Although one could have picked a somewhat more… diplomatic title than “Mediocre Games”. I mean, you are singing this to Sonic after all. He’d probably pound your head in. It’s a great effort, especially as Gareth’s got some true balls-to-the-wall attitude to singing. As in, he doesn’t care that he can’t sing. At all. We love it though.
Sonicboom7 also got lyrical this Christmas, with a special song for the Werehog courtesy of Dr. Eggman. It’s an awesome song, and full of festive cheer that only Eggman could muster. Kyle sings the song himself but Eggman can be heard throughout the track. Listen to it by clicking here (WMA format), and read the lyrics here.
Rounding off the videos is an entry by SonicFanGuy, who approaches Sonic the Werehog on his own and gives him a shaver as a present. Naturally, the Werehog’s not too impressed by the lack of effort put into his Christmas gift, so goes medieval on his ass. It’s stop-motion animation and rather crude, but it’s all good nonetheless. We like the emotion laid by SonicFanGuy when he’s punched in the balls. Very nice acting there. Watch the video here.
Other Creations
#1: EYZ went above and beyond the call of duty and made a shoe! This very nearly won the contest, just because of the sheer amount of effort that must have gone into making it. It was a tall order asking people to make things in a week, but to have a real shoe made of cardboard, socks and fabric as well as a comic detailing it is mind blowing. Awesome work! You can see more pictures of the shoe at EYZ’s photobucket gallery here.
#2 + #3: Chili Dogs. It had to be done, and SuperSaiyanNeo made it happen. We’re quite impressed that the time was found to make all those hot dogs as well, and man they do look rather good. I’m sure the Werehog will love them… if Chip doesn’t get to them first! Well done!
#4 + #5: Now this is cool. Tabby Weaver created a special framed picture of Sonic and friends to give to the Werehog. This isn’t an ordinary frame though, it’s designed to be like a Power Ring, with Chaos Emeralds that can be pressed down in order to hear classic Christmas themes. The Purple one plays Silent Night, Green will play Joy to the World, etc. “No matter what he looks like, we will always love Sonic and that’s why I
wanted to give him such a special gift”, says Tabby. Too right, and an awesome gift you’ve made here!
The Winner
Amy Mitchell presented us with a simply fantastic present for Sonic the Werehog, and all in the short space of a week! Above is a Christmas Card to the Werehog that wishes him a Happy Holiday, according to Amy “what’s a present without a card?”. Good point. As great as the card above is though, that isn’t the present for Sonic the Werehog. That, is below.
The present is an absolutely wicked mini-plushie of Chip. A phenomenal amount of time and effort must have gone into stitching and creating this little toy, and it’s just perfect as a present for Sonic the Werehog. In making friends with Chip, it makes sense that the most meaningful gift is something that reminds him of his closest pal during his latest adventure. Amy tells us that she made Chip because the two are good friends in Sonic Unleashed, and says “what’s a better thing to get than a friend? Even if it is stuffed”.
Congratulations Amy, I’m sure Sonic will love it. Your prize pack of Sonic X shoes, Sonic Chronicles T-Shirt, M&S pinbadge, Summer of Sonic 2008 T-Shirt, Zero Gravity T-Shirt, Unleashed Hoodie, Werehog Keyring, Rush Adventure Compass, Zero Gravity Stickers, Sonic Rivals 2 PSP, Chronicles DS Tin and Stylus Pack, Rouge Keyring and “I Love SEGA” sweetie (breathes) will be on its way to you very shortly!
Finally, a big shout out to everyone who took part, and a Merry Christmas to them: Henshin, Josh P, Michelle Palmer, Glen Petty, Brent, F1Krazy, miles297, Paul Henderson, Majinbilly291, Marcus Kemp, danday352, Angel C, The Elf Tamer, Christophe, BlastedPinata, Troy Kimble, Piyoko14, STULF The Hedgedog, Kavalier Kat, Joseph Sehwani, nam1018, Future, Chaos Shad, Satan, Sonicc22, Nicolas the Crow, SonicHOG, Paddy, sonicchic1, MK Skillz, Gareth Spriggs, Theo Rollock, Todstar, LaZyGaMeR64, Rachelbat, Sonicboom7, SonicFanGuy, Tabby Weaver, SuperSaiyanNeo, EYZ and our winner Amy Mitchell.
And a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of our readers!