SegaSonic the Hedgehog

SegaSonic the Hedgehog is a rare 1992 keychain mini LCD game distributed exclusively in Japan as a promotional item. They where released in three different editions varying in color and artwork.

Sonic must move LEFT and RIGHT to avoid the barrage of missiles headed his way. Score 10 points for every missile avoided. A miss is scored if Sonic is hit by a missile at any time. Score 3 misses and the game is over.

For every round of 1000 points the speed of the missiles will increase before slowing back down at the start of the next round of 1000 points. Within each round Sonic gets two chances to earn bonus points.

After the first 500 points in a round is scored, Tails appears on the left side of the screen. If Sonic moves all the way to the LEFT he can play a rings mini-game. As the rings cycle press LEFT and they'll come to a stop after a short while. The more rings visible when they stop the more bonus points scored.

After the second 500 points in a round is scored, the speed of the missiles will slow down temporarily allowing Sonic to move all the way to the right side of the screen at which point Dr. Robotnik himself will appear. Press RIGHT to perform a spin attack on Dr. Robotnik and earn bonus points.

Later rounds get more difficult when the number of missiles coming towards Sonic increases.

For a short period in Japan the Sonic the Hedgehog series was referred to in merchandising as "SegaSonic the Hedgehog" in order to overcome a trademark dispute with Taito and its 1990 release of the arcade game Sonic Blast Man.

"SegaSonic the Hedgehog" was used in Japan for games, merchandise and advertising for the series until the mid 1990s, when the "Sega" was dropped, presumably because the dispute was resolved.