In the magazine business, the Back Page is where you'd find all the weird goofs that we couldn't fit in anywhere else. Some may call it "filler"; we prefer "a whole page to make terrible jokes that are tangentially related to the content of the mag". We don't have pages on the internet, but we still love terrible jokes — so welcome to our semi-regular feature, Back Page.
Today, Ollie ponders whether or not Sonic has depth perception...
Sonic the Hedgehog fans have asked many questions of the franchise over the years. Which is the best 2D game? The best 3D one? Will the Chao ever show up again? We could go on.
Here at Nintendo Life, however, we like to ask the big questions; the ones that really keep us up at night. One query that's been puzzling us recently is something that's certainly been pondered before on this here internet, but it's one that we're itching to hear our community's thoughts on.
You know what it is already, since it's in the flippin' headline, but our question is simple: how many eyes does Sonic really have? You might be thinking, "what on earth is Nintendo Life on now, it's obviously two!", and yes, that may well be the most obvious answer. After all, he has two pupils and — at least in more modern depictions — two green (sometimes brown) irises.
There's something else that we just can't shake, however. The white part of the eye - called the sclera - effectively joins up in the middle of Sonic's face with no discernable break between the two. Indeed, the muscles above Sonic's eyes that control the movement of his eyelids, dip down into a sort of permanent scowl, yet they don't join with the fleshy-coloured facial muscles that house his nose and mouth.
We've seen rare occasions in the past where Sonic's eyes have clearly been separated, perhaps most notably in Paramount Pictures' Sonic the Hedgehog movie and its direct sequel. Here, there's a thin but unmistakable border between the two eyes, blending the blue fur with the cream-coloured fur below. Observe:
So let's settle this, then. We've put together a few potential solutions to this dire, monumental conundrum, so make your voice heard, get voting in the poll, and share your thoughts in the comments below!
Comments 59
What on earth is Nintendo Life on now, it's obviously two!
He's got two pupils therefore he's got two eyes, easy as that really.
Uh? Two eyes? Do people really see more then two? Or they don’t count the pupils as eyes? It’s just an art style choice, not that deep.
Its the one-eyed sn.....I mean hedgehog!
I voted for "what has humanity come to," but then I remembered that Yuji Naka was arrested for his Sonic crimes recently and a little faith was restored.
...wait that IS why he was arrested, right? Because he made Sonic?
You might need a drug test if you think he doesn’t have two eyes.
Can he wink? Or does he just blink? Can one pupil slide across to the other side?
One eye fer sure. One can see it with one's own two eyes.
He clearly has one cantaloupe sized eyeball that fills about 90% of his head, the rear of which is harder than bone, although you would never be able to see it as it is within the back of his head. Within the single eye ball is a fluid not unlike amniotic fluid which keeps his brain cushioned. This unique structure, combine with the dual-pupil sight is what allows Sonic to travel at super-high speeds without it all looking like a blur. Scientists, such as one Dr Robotbik, are trying to use biomimicry to create technology that copies this amazing natural miracle that will allow a spaceship to break the speed of light; however they still aren't quite sure how exactly the two pupils, one eyeball, brain safely stored within combo, actually works
I'd probably say two eyes... not because it makes sense, but because that's what I want to believe
Two eyes but with a dollop of sunscreen at the top of his nose that video games of the day didn't have the fidelity to portray, which has been misinterpreted in other media.
I'm guessing the next Back Page question will be...
Is Robotnik an Egg or a Man?
... or perhaps...
If His Friends Are Tails and Knuckles, Why Isn't Sonic Named Legs?
sonic actually has had a third eye after his psychedelic exploration phase
If a Cyclops had two pupils, would it have two eyes? What makes an eye? Eyeballs, or pupils? It is, actually, quite hard to decide! What if a person had two eyeballs, but only one pupil? How many eyes would they have?
Are you Team Pupil, or Team Eyeball?
I've been wondering about Sonic's eyes for a decade! http://brawlinthefamily.keenspot.com/comic/soniceyes/
@MatthewTaranto Fantastic!
Removed - unconstructive
@LavaTwilight I’ve always thought this, too. One can hardly call it a “theory” when the facts, as you clearly stated them, are so obvious.
He has one big eye with two blinking pupils. Clearly his eye is in a league of its own!
@LikelySatan if not Sonic himself, the special stages in the Classic Sonic games (except maybe the ones in Sonic 2) do feel like a crime for making players dizzy, and in the case of Sonic 1 having broken physics on them.
team 1 eye 2 pupils, surprised that's not in the lead
@LikelySatan I thought Yuji Naka's crimes were Dragon Quest-related?
“Removed - unconstructive” on this thread? The mind boggles.
He has one giant eyeball where the goo travels to and fro from both pupils...every now and then one of them float on over to the other side
One ball dual pupes
@ParadoxFawkes
Probably something about the article being filler. It’s usually hit or miss on those comments staying up.
Never more than 12.
are you really in doubt in regard to Sonic eyes? is obvious he have two eyes, haven't you watched a cartoon before? Sonic is a cartoony headhog, he not suposed to be a realitic headhog, go watch Betty Bop to see how eyes acts in cartoons.
@NinjaNicky He can wink, and it looks weird: the one eyelid just slides down to cover one eye, with a clear-cut edge on one side (where it meets the other eye). I forget where/when Sonic himself winks, but I recall that Amy very clearly winks like this in one of the cutscenes in Sonic Riders. (Green Forest level?)
There's also that bit in the ending of Sonic Heroes, where Sonic's pupils slide around independently of each other as he looks around, though they fortunately never cross over!
@TheHighGround Love the Kino Loy reference, though surely the obvious response would've been, "Always two there are, no more, no less."
If you've ever pushed the camera inside Sonic's head in Sonic Adventure, he does clearly have a single, giant eyeball in there. (Or 1/3 of a giant eyeball, more accurately; the rest was trimmed away to save on polygons.)
This is definitely, 100% canon. Yep.
@Nancyboy Ah, I deserve that one sadly. I feel bad now. My apologies!
To be a good sport, I will add a constructive comment in stating that Sonic has two eyes based largely on the fact that I don’t want to believe what @smoreon said, even if it is true.
idk but what about sonic front ears?
@KingMike yeah I was kidding. I don't really believe was arrested for making Sonic.
He has 3 sclera and 2 black pupils to see from...
Its a game. Don't question it.
@LavaTwilight You know, before I thought he had two eyes, but now you've convinced me he has only one!
@jaybird0922 Why aren't the worlds in most the Lego games made of Lego? Why do neckbeards cry when there are poc in medieval settings but don't mind that they're playing as a green dwarf? EXPLAIN
@BASEDSAKRI
Proof of third eye. He normally keeps it closed.
Manufacturing Sonic articles any which way you can, eh, Nintendo Life?
I really wish you guys would at least devote an op-ed or two for some other Sega IPs. Half your readers probably weren't born the last time most of Sega's catalog saw a release. Believe it or not, there are some fans of those franchises still around who would be thrilled to have an industry media site in our corner to a fraction of the degree you promote Sonic.
@LikelySatan their games too don't have to explain it
I think it's supposed to look like this:
but it kind of looks silly on a 3d model.
@jaybird0922 I know I am being a silly goose.
We've got a real obsession with eyes now, don't we? Well, my favorite Sonic is Cat-Eye Sonic, as seen in the hit Sonic the Hedgehog movie. It's not overt that he has cat eyes, but that scene where he meows-- that's because the cat eyes in his head were momentarily in control of his brain. What a movie that would have been, if Sonic hadn't wrested control of his own mind just in time.
Also this is a ridiculous discussion. Love it.
@LikelySatan close, but I like where you’re going 😂
@somnambulance I didn’t see the comment, but all good regardless. I was just messing. Have a good evening/morning where you is at and take it easy.
Doesn’t he ever wink?
My opinion is that he has one eye but two eyeballs
If it was one eye he would have polycoria. But I've always viewed it as two separate eyes. However he is from another planet... next article "Tails... fox? Vixen? Slime?"
on a separate note, does Eggman's name count as body shaming?
Iizuka was asked the same question in an interview a few months before frontiers came out, he said Sonic has two eyes but connected
If you think this is trippy, watch Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. Sometimes he blinks with eyelids, other times he winks with his pupils.
@betterman According to Frontiers, Eggman was named by Sonic as an insult, but he accepted the name to spite Sonic.
(Though I wonder what the Japanese version says, since he was named Eggman before he met Sonic.)
Peppa Pig 4 eyes vibes.
It doesn't matter what eye think. Wink 😉
... Wun can only hope.
He's the one-eyed, one-nosed, spin-dashing, blue, chili dog eater!
@AtlanteanMan I don't know about that. While some are still stuck in limbo (outside of appearances in the "Sega All-Stars Racing duology" and maybe a retro port or two), many of Sega's older franchises have seen revival games or at least remasters within the last decade, and even Nights had a sequel on the Wii.
We've seen him wink before, so that means he technically has two eyes, we just cant see the seperating border.
Tap here to load 59 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...