Should you pay $80 for Sonic's Encyclospeedia?

Sonic the Hedgehog is celebrating its 30th Anniversary. Aside for the announcement of Sonic Frontiers, the Sonic Symphony, and the Sonic Colors: Ultimate Remaster... Sega released this HUGE 287 Page Sonic the Hedgehog Encyclopedia of the history behind the blue blur. I received the Deluxe Edition as a gift and spent the past few weeks reading through it to write this Review. Is it worth the $80 for the Mosaic Cover, Gold Foil Slipcase, and Gallery Print Folio? Should you buy the Standard Edition? Enjoy my video to find out
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Table of Contents for Sonic the Hedgehog: Encyclo-speed-ia:
• Sonic the Hedgehog (16 bit & 8 bit)
• Waku Waku Sonic Patrol Car
• SegaSonic Cosmo Fighter
• SegaSonic Arcade
• SegaSonic Popcorn Shop
• Sonic the Fighters
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16 bit & 8 bit)
• Sonic CD
• Sonic Chaos
• Sonic Spinball
• Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
• Sonic Drift & Sonic Drift 2
• Sonic the Hedgehog 3
• Sonic & Knuckles
• Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble
• Sonic the Hedgehog's Gameworld, Tails and the Music Maker, Sonic's Schoolhouse
• Knuckles' Chaotix
• Tails' Skypatrol
• Tails Adventure
• Sonic Labyrinth
• Sonic 3D Blast & Sonic Blast
• Sonic R
• Sonic Adventure & DX
• Sonic Shuffle
• Sonic Adventure 2 & Battle
• Sonic Advance Trilogy
• Sonic Heroes
• Sonic Battle
• Shadow the Hedgehog
• Sonic Rush
• Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic 2006)
• Sonic Riders
• Sonic Rivals & Sonic Rivals 2
• Sonic and the Secret Rings
• Sonic Rush Adventure
• Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
• Sonic Unleashed
• Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
• Sonic and the Black Knight
• Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, Team Sonic Racing
• Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1, 2, Metal
• Sonic Colors
• Sonic Generations
• Sonic Lost World
• Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, Shattered Crystal, Fire & Ice
• Sonic Mania
• Sonic Forces
• Sonic Jump & Sonic Jump Fever
• Sonic Dash & Dash 2: Sonic Boom
• Sonic Runners & Runners Adventure
• Sonic Forces: Speed Battle
• Sonic in the Olympic Games Series
• Sonic in the Super Smash Bros. Series
• Sonic Jam, Sonic Mega Collection, Sonic Gems Collection
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Fun Facts: My brother gave me the Sonic the Hedgehog Encyclo-speed-ia.... Sonic Encyclospeedia? (How do you write this). Basically the Deluxe version of this Sonic Encylopedia Book.... around Thanksgiving. I spent some time reading through every page and was busy helping out with other things as well, so this video could have been finished sooner. We had the book ordered back when it was first announced and I wasn't expecting such an awesome gift to arrive. As mentioned in the video, the Deluxe version contains an exclusive mosaic cover that features screenshots from what could be every Sonic the Hedgehog game released. I originally thought this was going to be an updated reprint of the History of Sonic 20th Anniversary Book that contained Lore, Behind the Scenes details, and Game Development secrets. Instead it was pretty much a quick glimpse/guide through each Sonic game between 1990 - 2020. It was still enjoyable reading through the Fun Facts, but I would have really enjoyed more Lore similar to The Complete Sonic Comic Encyclopedia... maybe one day. The Gold Foil Slipcase is pretty awesome, both front and back cover features a shiny metallic look in a giant hardcover case. It feels very sturdy with a small yellow tag to easily remove the contents inside. It would have been neat to include a bookmark tag within the Encyclospeedia as well though. I think what makes the Deluxe edition worth it though is definitely the Sonic vs Eggman Gallery Print Folio. It's a high quality image as you would expect and looks extremely nice in person (I really like the comic book style texture applied). Aside for that, I believe the Standard and Deluxe Editions should be identical. The printing and spelling errors are a shame though, even with a one month delay on orders I don't think Sega can just magically fix the blurry cover art. Even then, for a guide on Sonic's levels, enemies, bosses, and characters.... I think it does a pretty swell job at that. Hopefully there is enough information here on the history of Sonic the Hedgehog to keep every fan satisfied.
#Sonic #SonictheHedgehog #SonicMovie2 #SonicFrontiers #Sonic30th #Review #SonicEncyclospeedia #SonicAnniversary

[@Vantoxify]

Thanks for the review man, I was hoping that they would included more but it’s not something to lose sleep over since most fans including myself know the timeline and story. Would be cool to see an official timeline though

[@SlovakMountainMan]

Not having finished through every Sonic game, most of this information was new to me eitherway but Thank You for enjoying my video. I'm not sure how an official Sonic Story Timeline could work without being confusing, but if Zelda can to it than I'm sure so can Sega.

[@SilverPhantomX]

So I just got this today. Is there any difference between this (the book itself) and the regular 30th anniversary book (which is $30ish)? Mostly content and if the deluxe one have anything new?

[@SlovakMountainMan]

I don't have the regular edition of this Encyclospeedia to confirm myself..... but if I had to guess, then the only difference with both versions of th is book would probably be the cover itself

[@ivanelugo]

But the book doesn't say something about the lore? Like Sonic's world name? Or a official map? And what happened with the humans and G.U.N. on the post-colors games?

[@SlovakMountainMan]

Not from what I noticed but if there's information from a certain game you want me to recheck in the book, then I can. I tried to be as detailed in my Review as possible so what you see is pretty much what you get. The closest example of "lore" would probably be some of the Story Summaries or Level/Enemy/Character descriptions but it all seems like stuff you would normally find by playing the games. If you mean Mobius then nothing comes to mind, but I could be wrong. No map, just a level guide of each game and Timeline at the end. G.U.N. is brought up in the Shadow the Hedgehog section but I think that might be it.

[@ivanelugo]

@@SlovakMountainMan the thing is that the book it wasn't like the Hyrule Historia, it doesn't connect the games one with the other, luckily it doesn't take the two worlds thing, but it doesn't explain what happens with humans after Sonic Colors, why is the moon full again, why Elise had the chaos emerald all this time, what happened with the super emeralds, the timeline they show is the order of the games were released but not a chronological order inside the games

[@SlovakMountainMan]

@@ivanelugo ​ I'm not sure if the 25th Anniversary "History of Sonic" goes into more lore but the Zelda Book Trilogy is a perfect example of what I was expecting (I'll make a video on those eventually). I haven't played every Sonic game so I'm not familiar with all of the theories or lose ends. What do you mean by Elise having the Chaos Emeralds though? Is she in any other Sonic games aside for '06? I actually bring it up around 17:55 , the ending of Sonic 06 involves every character searching for the Chaos Emeralds while stuck in the "Dark Realm" (whatever its called) to bring Sonic back. Aside for the "Games Released Timeline", then no there wasn't a "Story Timeline" found in this book connecting each game together. In some of the fun facts... characters, concepts, and even the cartoon are brought up that do say they might be connected in some way. But aside for that, nothing huge really

[@ivanelugo]

@@SlovakMountainMan no, that was her only appearance, but when she was a children her dad gives her a chaos emerald in a necklace or something like that before he dies, the thing is if she had that emerald since she was a child, how Sonic gets that emerald on every game before Sonic 06? the thing about Sonic Adventure, Eggman mentioned that stone about Chaos when he give chaos the first chaos emerald, you can find that stone at the end of "Lost World" stage, it's a drawn of Perfect Chaos destroying everything, also the stone appears in the intro too, but it's like for one second

[@SlovakMountainMan]

@@ivanelugo My guess is that each Sonic game is its own universe kind of like Zelda otherwise trying to connect each Story might become confusing. Eitherway, I probably have to play more of the games from the series

[@MerGrazzini]

Thanks a lot for this video! It looks interesting, but tbh I was expecting more of an artbook, or at least to have art gallery of something. Instead, it looks a lot more focused on information, while images are left to a second place. Also cool video, it was super fun :D :D

[@SlovakMountainMan]

Thank You for watching, I'm glad so many people are enjoying my video here. If you're looking for something more Art related, then I think Sega actually did release the "Official Sonic The Hedgehog Art & Design Book " - www.amazon.com/Official-Sonic-Design-2019-Book/dp/9082457687 . Apparently it's a reprint of the Artbook released for the 25th Anniversary.

[@mechajay3358]

Great review. Honestly while the book is pretty neat, I don't think it is shelling out that much cash for it. You're much better off getting the Sonic the Hedgehog Art Book.

[@SlovakMountainMan]

As long as you are enjoying whatever it is you bought, then that is what matters

[@polocatfan]

I got it for $35 which I think is a fair price.

[@BRoboto1]

Thank you so much for going through the trouble of making this vid and going so in-depth. I’m a total cheapskate, so I was never gonna drop that money on a lavish book with a bunch of material that I can find through a google search. This really is the type of thing one would enjoy most if you’re like desperately obsessed with a particular sonic game or character & just HAD to know how Ian Flynn described them. P.S. my favorite Sonic memory is renting both the Sonic OVA and Sonic Heroes (via Blockbuster) on the way back home from school and proceeding to have one of the best weekends of my childhood.

[@SlovakMountainMan]

Well Thank You as well for enjoying my video here, I'm glad it was able to help in some way. (It's ok, I don't have those big bucks either.... yet). This was actually a gift I was excited to read through eversince it was announced... last year, I think?. Fun Fact: I actually didn't (and still don't) really know who Ian Flynn was until it was revealed that he is writing for Sonic Frontiers. As for your story, that's awesome. By Sonic OVA I'm guessing you mean the original Sonic movie right? I actually watched that for the first time right before the live action Sonic was released, it's pretty awesome and you can't go wrong with the "Classic Sonic" design. Sonic Heroes I will probably review eventually (when I can afford an upscaler)... I will say though, that Sonic Heroes theme song is one of the catchiest sonic tunes I've heard (I couldn't help and sing along during the 30th Anniversary Symphony).

[@BRoboto1]

@@SlovakMountainMan Yeah, I probably should have specified it as the 1996 OVA or 1996 movie XD. Cheers.

[@JESmith]

@@SlovakMountainMan Ian’s been the head writer for the Sonic comics for 15 years, and before then he was a huge Sonic fan and used to write fanfics and fan comics. Frontiers will be the first time he’s written for the games.

[@SlovakMountainMan]

@@JESmith That's awesome, I didn't know but thank you for sharing. I was about to ask but it seems that Ian was also behind "The Complete Sonic Comic Encyclopedia", I didn't even think to check that before recording my video. My guess then is that having Ian work on Frontiers is a huge deal right?

[@JESmith]

@@SlovakMountainMan yeah it is for people who have been fans of Ian’s stuff and have been wanting to see him do the game stories. I should mention that the Complete Comic Encyclopedia was written in 2012 so it only goes to about issue 241 but since it was five months before the reboot happened it still serves a near complete collection of info on the comics pre-reboot. It’s just missing those last five months.

[@benceszarvas5464]

They left out Sonic Pocket Adventure completely.(NTSC/PAL/NTSC-J) Not even the Sonic Cafe mobile games presented here. That's not every Sonic game then. Also not even mention or at least one page / sonic cartoons/animes. I preordered this and now am disappointed.

[@SlovakMountainMan]

It seems most mainline Sonic games or media were included, I think one of the first pages brings up how everything wasn't able to fit I believe. I'm glad my video was able to help you at least. Not an entire page but I do remember there were a few "quick facts" mentioning SatAM and SonicX

[@cowciumchloride5702]

Also not included is "Sonic Free Riders."

[@SlovakMountainMan]

@@cowciumchloride5702 We don't talk about Free Riders

[@ThePreciseClimber]

9:50 That's totally what happens in SA1, though! :P Eggman mentions reading some stone tablets about Chaos, the Knuckles & Big stories show the other events. The only event that was kinda vague in the game was the shattering of the Master Emerald. I guess it must've been Eggman since Chaos couldn't free himself.

[@SlovakMountainMan]

You are correct. After making this video, I was curious and actually have been playing through the original Sonic Adventure for the first time on my Twitch channel. I'm surprised to find out that even though it sounds like some strange Sonic fanfiction.... the book was in fact correct. Even then it's still hard to believe

[@SlovakMountainMan]

Consider supporting my Channel. The more viewers that help, the easier it will be to create more videos: Patreon: www.patreon.com/Jakub72 Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/jakub72 Is anyone buying this? Also, what are your favorite memories with the Sonic franchise?

[@Gaia_Channel001]

In my country not yet ;(

[@SlovakMountainMan]

@@Gaia_Channel001 Hopefully soon then, I noticed the book might have been delayed to 2022.

[@Gaia_Channel001]

@@SlovakMountainMan in my country (Italy), there are two types of data relases, I choose the one coming out 18 December :3

[@SlovakMountainMan]

@@Gaia_Channel001 That's awesome, enjoy the book and feel free to share what you thought about it after

[@Gaia_Channel001]

@@SlovakMountainMan thanks man! Can't wait to have it!!🤩👏🏻

[@asdf9640]

Standard edition printing has very questionable quality, which smells really bad. I wonder if Deluxe edition print quality better? It could explain price difference also.

[@PhilipAJones]

I got a used basic version for $15 on eBay.

[@cliffturbo2146]

I kinda thought they would not include Sonic 06.

[@SlovakMountainMan]

I agree, it was surprising to hear Sonic 06 in the Anniversary Symphony as well

[@danaefl8215]

I think Sonic 06 isn't considered as bad as it used to be anymore... With all the mess of Sonic Forces and Lost World, people have changed their mind XD

[@SlovakMountainMan]

@@danaefl8215 I don't know, it seems people still don't like it and for valid reasons. I always heard Lost World was one of the "good Sonic games"

[@ChronosGermanius]

yeah l still wish l grew up with sega instead of nintendo

[@SlovakMountainMan]

As long as you grew up enjoying the games you had then I don't think it's that important

[@ChronosGermanius]

@@SlovakMountainMan yeah l guess you're right

[@mechashadow]

Eyy, I have that comic encyclopedia lol

[@SlovakMountainMan]

That's awesome (if you don't need it then feel free to send it over) COUGH

[@mechashadow]

@@SlovakMountainMan I appreciate you warning me cos I nearly went for this book but nah can't still a Sonic fan.

[@DarkstarArchangel]

I heard that this book was filled with spelling errors and erroneous statements.

[@SlovakMountainMan]

Throughout the video, I mentioned quite a few of the spelling errors that I found

[@DarkstarArchangel]

@@SlovakMountainMan Yeah because it was made by Ian Flynn, a guy who never actually worked on any game until Frontiers, which didn't exist when this book was released.

[@SlovakMountainMan]

@@DarkstarArchangel That's spiffy, I still need to finish through Sonic Frontiers

[@boykingelias]

I have the sonic comic encyclopedia!!! It's a really interesting book so you should definitely check it out

[@milkman3214]

No it’s not worth 80 but it’s on sale on Amazon for like 40 right now and That’s definitely worth

[@SlovakMountainMan]

It must have gone down in price since my Review then, that's awesome

[@YouTubeAndchill]

Love the hat dude keep up the good work 🙂

[@Serious5GamingS5G]

I only got the regular version of the book for $27 from school when a book fair event was going on, way cheaper than the deluxe and the deluxe just has a different book cover and just pictures of Sonic and eggman, so I don't think the deluxe would be worth it lol

[@SlovakMountainMan]

It's been dropping in price since the release of my video but I hope you enjoy reading about the Sonc games.

[@Serious5GamingS5G]

@@SlovakMountainMan oh ok