Nintendo does Sonic a solid and puts him in a bona fide classic

Poor Sonic the Hedgehog doesn't have the reputation he had back when he was competing with Nintendo's moustachioed plumber, Mario. The two mascots pushed each other to great new heights in the '90s, giving us some of the best 2D platformer games ever made. Then the revolution of 3D graphics occurred, and Sonic never quite got his footing the way Mario did. Now, Sonic is being given a second chance - and it's all thanks to his longtime rival.

Mario Maker will allow players to create their own Super Mario Bros. courses, and those who have the Sonic amiibo can blaze through those DIY levels as the heroic blue hedgehog. Simply place the amiibo onto the GamePad and a mushroom, which transforms Mario into that amiibo character, can be dropped into the level. So if you were to, say, change the mushroom in a faithful version of World 1-1, Sonic would become part of the original Super Mario Bros. - unquestionably a classic work, now given a new twist.

Sam Prell

Sam is a former News Editor here at GamesRadar. His expert words have appeared on many of the web's well-known gaming sites, including Joystiq, Penny Arcade, Destructoid, and G4 Media, among others. Sam has a serious soft spot for MOBAs, MMOs, and emo music. Forever a farm boy, forever a '90s kid.