Sonic The Hedgehog first entered our lives back in 1991 and to celebrate Sega has announced that 2021 will be dedicated to Sonic’s 30th Anniversary with the release of the amazingly named Sonic Encyclo-speed-ia, a huge merchandise drop and most importantly, new games.

After Sonic appeared to embark on a three year vacation after Sonic Forces, we’ll be very welcome to welcome the blue blur back onto our consoles. Sure, we’ve had the Sonic movie, but frankly we’re still recovering from the trauma of seeing the original Sonic design. Also, no matter how many side projects Sega throw our way to keep us sweet, there’s nothing as enjoyable as a great Sonic game.

So while we wait for the news to arrive we’ve decided to look back on Sonic’s legacy the most entertaining way we can think of, through memes.

10 Dream On

This meme pokes fun at Dreamworks’ Turbo which sees Ryan Reynolds voice a speed-obsessed snail. While Turbo may have ambitions to be a speedster we all know Sonic is the true speed champion. After all Sonic didn’t get his nickname, the blue blur, for nothing.

After 30 years of racing through levels chasing his nemesis Sonic is more than a match for anyone who wants to take his crown as the fastest anthropomorphic animal.

9 Trash Talking

At this point Sonic is so skilled at defeating his nemesis that it hardly even takes any effort anymore. The casually and non plussed look on his face perfectly sums up the feeling of “here we go again” that he must surely have at this point.

Dr. Robotnik/Eggman has been around as long as Sonic and yet he’s still failing to enact his evil plans. Stopping him is just a slight distraction for Sonic at this point, he may as well have fun with it.

8 Sonic’s Racing Handicap

Team Sonic Racing is Sega’s version of Mario Kart or Crash Team Racing. Fifteeen characters from the games face off a series of races where they perform tricks and drifts as they power round tracks competing for first place.

The main issue is that Sonic in a racing car just doesn’t make sense. Surely it hinders his progress? We think it may actually be a handicap to ensure he doesn’t just win every race.

7 Sonic’s Lengthy Legs

Here we can see how Sonic’s legs have gradually become longer over the years. In 1991 they were just 11.7% of his height, increasing to 15.5% in 1999 and then 27.9 in 2014. At this rate we agree that the extraordinary long legs in the final picture are the likely outcome.

So, is the increased leg span the reason Sonic can keep his speed? Did he perform some kind of leg stretching magic so he could drive his car? We’ll never know but we are reassured by the fact that mega long leg Sonic still looks better than original movie Sonic.

6 Kids Today Don’t Know How Good Their Movies Are

While we’re still recovering from the trauma of the original Sonic live action movie design, we should all take a minute to remember that we got lucky. As you can see in the meme above Sonic ended up looking awesome. Kids back in the day weren’t so lucky.

For those too young to have been affected by the image, the bottom photo is a Koopa from the incredibly bad 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie. It scores less than 30% from both critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes and this image tells you why. We still remember the nightmares.

5 Damn You Tails!

This is another familiar conundrum for those Sonic fans who remember the olden days back in the early ’90s. The early Genesis games were marked by the familiar and harrowing music that heralds Sonic’s last moments of life before he drowns. At this point you have few options.

Often the way to stop drowning was to grap an airbubble from those drifying up from the seabed at random intervals during those terrifying underwater levels. However, it wasn’t always that simple. Often air was in short supply and then you had to compete with Tails. We faced this situation more than once in our time.

4 Always

This meme argues that Sonic Heroes is and always has been the best Sonic game. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if every Sonic game is on someone’s version of this meme.

From those who loved Sonic Forces, or Sonic Advance to people who want to see Sonic Mania 2, there’s a game for everyone and we all have our favorites. Heck, maybe there’s even someone who loves Sonic Boom.

3 Breaking News

For many who saw the Sonic Movie, the news that Jim Carrey carried it won’t come as a surprise. The zany actor has a knack for playing characters exactly like Dr Robotnik/Eggman. Honestly, it would have been a crime if this part was played by anyone else.

Still, we do hope he recovers. Especially since he’ll need his back in good shape for when the sequel comes out.

2 What People Think

This meme about our perceptions of Sonic is incredibly accurate. What gamer hasn’t felt like Sonic is asleep when you pressed a button and got no response? Likewise we’re sure the internet thinks of him as meme fodder, while Amy thinks he dreams only of her.

The traditional blue blue pose under society is as accurate as the emerald zone next to it. However, the truest image and the one that hurts most is the fact that what Sonic actually does is continually have games sat in development.

1 Too True

Speaking of heartbreakingly true this meme speaks to us of the past year. The year 2020 really has been on a mission to try and kill us. With a worldwide pandemic and numerous other crisis around the globe it’s been relentless. We really felt like Sonic whenever we caught a brief break.

Still, we have 2021 to look forward to now. With the end of the pandemic in sight at last and a year of celebrating Sonic things are looking up and we’re here for it.

NEXT: 10 Things You Never Knew About Sonic The Hedgehog’s Characters