Sonic the Hedgehog Probably Won't Be Kissing Humans Again

Over the last 30 years, Sega's Sonic franchise has had a few low points, but none are lower than 2006's Sonic the Hedgehog. The game is widely considered one of the worst Sonic games ever made, and fans in general would prefer to forget the whole thing entirely. However, there's one moment that frequently comes back up, and it involves a kiss between Sonic and a human character named Princess Elise. The whole thing remains pretty embarrassing, both for fans and for Sega. In an interview with Axios, Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka made it clear that kissing between humans and hedgehogs is a thing of past.

"I don't think we'll be doing that again," Iizuka told Axios.

It's been more than 15 years since Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and the game clearly remains a sore spot for Sega; while several Sonic games for Xbox 360 are playable on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S through backwards compatibility, Sonic 2006 remains one of the few exceptions. Princess Elise debuted in that game, and has yet to appear in another one since. Given the controversy surrounding Elise and her relationship with Sonic, it's a safe bet that few fans have any interest in seeing her return to the series. Fortunately, it doesn't seem that Sonic will be kissing any other humans in future series entries!

While Sonic 2006 is now considered a flop, there was a lot of hype surrounding the game at one point. Sega was hoping that Sonic 2006 would be a new beginning for the franchise. Clearly that did not prove to be the case, but Sega is clearly hoping for just that with Sonic Frontiers. The game looks like a big leap forward for the franchise, and Sonic Team is clearly looking to find new ways to push Sonic forward. Hopefully the game will find a lot more success in that regard than Sonic 2006 did!

Did you play Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)? Are you glad we won't see Sonic kiss another human? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!

[H/T: IGN]