Can you believe that in three days time it will have been a whole 28 YEARS since the original Sonic the Hedgehog game launched on Sega Mega Drive? To celebrate, SEGA Japan is throwing a massive party at its Tokyo Joypolis arcade, on Sunday 23 June – and there will be special music events as well as awesome merchandise to collect. Take a look at what’s in store – you’ll want to check back on this page to check a livestream on the day too!
The most important thing fans will be able to do on the day is meet with the big man himself. Sonic will be wandering around (probably in that incredible royal robe) and ready for photo opportunities. There will also be a special screening area in the amusement park, dedicated to showing off special birthday messages to Sonic from fans – a message board will be available for people to scrawl their well wishes onto.
Merch hunters will go green with envy this weekend as Tokyo Joypolis will also be selling some exclusive and amazing-looking Sonic goods during the event. The theme of the art style with all of these products is ‘Sumi-e’ (墨絵) ‘Supersonic Needle’ (超音速針鼠), an ink-based style that aims to express dynamic movement. Sonic and Shadow style products are on offer, like the T-Shirts above which will cost 2,800 Yen (around £21 GBP / $26 USD) each.
If shirts aren’t your ‘bag’, then maybe these will ‘totes’ be your thing. Ahem. These tote bags will also be on sale during the event, sporting the same design in either ‘Sonic’ or ‘Shadow’ style, and will cost 1,500 Yen (around £11 GBP / $14 USD) each.
We can’t think of any funny puns to go with this image – it’s just some clear bottle containers that you can hold your favourite tipple in. And this is probably where the Sumi-e designs look their coolest, wrapped around the entirety of the bottle. These will set you back 1,600 Yen (£12 GBP / $15 USD) each.
Feeling peckish? Joypolis will also be providing food on the day, via its second-floor lounge – and as you’d expect, it’s appropriately Sonic-themed. Chili dogs to munch on, and blue fizzy pop to guzzle it all down with. Lovely. Patrons who purchase a meal set will also get a free sticker to put wherever they like (within reason).
Even Joypolis’ bog standard attractions will get the birthday treatment, with prize balloons dotted all over the place that look just like the one pictured above. You can use these balloons to wrap up any goodies you buy (or win) at Joypolis throughout the day.
And now for something REALLY cool – Sonic Team composer and producer of soundtracks such as Sonic Forces and Sonic Colours, Tomoya Ohtani, will be hosting a special 1-hour DJ set at Joypolis. This will be streamed live via SEGA’s YouTube channel. You can check back on this page later to watch the thing as it happens – the festivities start at 4.00pm JST on Sunday.
For full details of the Joypolis event, check out the official website here (Japanese).