It seems you can’t take a step these days without tumbling through a multiverse or two. The latest to careen between the facets of what is, was, and could have been is that spikey blue blur, Sonic the Hedgehog, in Sonic Prime.
Recently, in non-game related media, Sonic is having somewhat of a boom. The live-action Sonic the Hedgehog films were at the level of ‘actually pretty good really’, and this latest animated offering blends together the key elements in a fresh enough mix to cook up some fun.
What is Sonic Prime About?
Our plot important dohicky is the Paradox Prism: a mysterious and powerful artifact coveted by the evil Dr Eggman because of its mystery and power.
Except – despite protestations of caution shouted by the gang of goodies (Knuckles, Amy Rose, Tails, Rouge) – Sonic only goes and barges in headfirst resulting in a shattered Prism and smashed up reality.
Thus the rest of the show flits between flashbacks from before the Prism was shattered, and the ‘present’ where Sonic finds himself in a series of strange alternative realities populated by removed versions of his friends three steps removed from the familiar.
Such a plot device is key to keeping things fresh in Sonic Prime, considering the heartbeat of the show is pretty similar each episode.
Sonic barges in, takes a while to get acclimatised, and solves the issue by the power of speed, spin dashes, and heartfelt appeals to camaraderie.
That he then will slip away into another corner of the multiverse to gather another scattered crystal shard means for a shuffle of setting and alternate versions of the cast to spin the wheel again.
Sonic Prime Official Trailer
Is Sonic Prime Worth Watching?
Sonic Prime delivers such repetition with commendable energy. In the dystopian New Yoke City, where a bitter Tails who never met Sonic is mechanically augmented, Knuckles and Amy are resistance fighters, and the many stages of Eggman preside over an authoritarian regime, a good chunk of change is spent on Sonic smashing up robots. The setting adds flavour to the meal, even if the mouthful is the same.
Complaining, even if mildly, about repetition though is beside the point. Clearly, Sonic Prime is a children’s show where such reliable revolutions add to the excitement: don’t worry kids, another burst of super sonic speed is never far away!
The voice cast imbue their multiple personas with warmth, and it’s always fun to see what incarnation they’ll turn up as next, with pirates or mega-jungle scavengers not far away.
This first season consists of 8 episodes, and with a fetch quest plot device chugging along clearly the road is laid out for more.
This does make the denouement rather abrupt as multiple multiverse wibbly appearances of Shadow portending doom reach a finger pointing zenith as a placeholder. But Sonic swerves its typical trip points by not being overly irritating nor forgetting the ‘fun’ aspect of ‘fun speedy guys’.
As for adult viewers? Well, all of the above, plus a soundboard of original game sound effects to jingle jangle the old nostalgia dopamine. Bling!!!!
Words by Mike Record
