In 33 years, the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise has somehow spawned just one official RPG, and it didn't even come from the Sonic Team mothership. That was Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, a BioWare game released on the Nintendo DS in 2008, and while you're recovering from the psychic damage of that information, have some more: Sonic Team lead Takashi Iizuka hopes to make a Sonic RPG of his own before he retires.
Iizuka discussed this particular dream in a recent interview with Good Vibes Gaming (thanks, Eurogamer), affirming that he's a big fan of RPGs and can't help but wonder, "'Why haven't we done a Sonic RPG in all this time? How have we gotten to 30 years with no RPGs?!'"
"I'd like to hopefully work on a Sonic RPG at some point before I retire from Sega," Iizuka adds. "But you know, that's just a dream right now... There are no concrete plans at this point."
Now that Iizuka has said it out loud, it is surprising that we haven't gotten any Sonic RPGs outside of fan games, especially given Sonic Team's experience with various Phantasy Star RPGs. I don't know think the Sonic tapestry would be a great fit for Phantasy Star's approach specifically, but the hedgehog's large and colorful roster of friends, the many memorable item pickups seen throughout the games, and the series' collection of stunning environments and music could certainly become the foundation for a compelling RPG. I'm picturing something turn-based with combat bonuses tied to precise button inputs, maybe with a tag-team system like Super Mario RPG meets Trails.
