Sonic The Hedgehog 2006 – of all the unpopular Sonic characters to make a comeback, we’d never have guessed they would show up again (pic: Sega)



A new piece of official Sonic The Hedgehog artwork features a character the franchise hasn’t acknowledged in over 15 years.



Throughout its history, the cast of Sonic The Hedgehog has got increasingly vast thanks to the games, comics, cartoons , and now the live action movies .



While some characters are less beloved than others, there is a small handful that Sega would rather forget about; those whose identities are only propagated by long-time fans.



Today, though, one of the official Sonic The Hedgehog social media accounts shared brand new artwork that has left fans reeling because it features one of the most controversial characters in the franchise’s history.



The character in question is none other than Princess Elise from the muchhated Sonic The Hedgehog 2006 (it was actually just called Sonic Of The Hedgehog but it came out in 2006, so that’s what people call it).



Even non-Sonic fans might be familiar with that game’s sordid history, as it’s a top contender for the worst Sonic game ever made. While Elise is but a part of the whole experience, her mere association with it, combined with the weird romance plot she has with Sonic, has made her a popular target of ridicule for years.



Sega has made the occasional callback to Sonic 06, such as with anniversary title Sonic Generations but, with the exception of Silver (who debuted in that game and somehow became a series regular), the company has largely avoided acknowledging it or Elise’s existence.



We have no idea what could have prompted Sega and/or Sonic Team to bring her back at all, but there now exists new artwork of Elise performing an ice skating routine with Silver.




#ソニックチャンネル に2023å¹´4月のカレンダー #異世界大喜利 を更新😎 ソレアナ城下特設スケートリンクで華麗に舞う🕺💃 シルバー🦔と女王エリス❄⛸️ 彼らの間に一体何が⁉👀 自由に予想して大喜利を楽しみましょう😆 投稿お待ちしてます✨ イラストのダウンロードは👇 https://t.co/WwHUM7a0Qy — ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ【公式】 (@SonicOfficialJP) March 24, 2023




She has a more cartoonish design compared to her original pseudo-Final Fantasy style appearance, so she doesn’t look as out of place standing next to an anthropomorphic hedgehog.



The art’s appearance on the Sonic Channel website is also accompanied by a short story of Silver helping her practice her ice skating routine.



The only thing more surprising than Sega referencing her in such an overt manner is the fan reception. A large chunk of the responses on Twitter are fans happy to see her back, complimenting her new design. Either she’s always had a passionate, if small, fanbase or people have mellowed out on her over the last 17 years.



Finally they are acknowledge Sonic 06. Don’t run from the past, LEARN from it!
— Kosen (@SonKosen) March 24, 2023



Elise looks so adorable with that redesign to fit better with the art style!
— ItsWashington The 17th (@ItsWashington17) March 24, 2023



ELISE OMG no way
— DDD707 (@DDD7073) March 24, 2023




To quote Agent Stone: SHE’S BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!
— Chris Gamer (@ThatChristian12) March 24, 2023



Y’know what? She fits so much better with this design. I really like it
— TheGreenestLink (@TheSaiyanKnight) March 24, 2023



We can’t imagine Sega will go so far as to include Elise in a new game anytime soon, but this could be part of the company’s efforts to more widely acknowledge Sonic’s entire history.



More: Gaming EA quietly lists four more games to be shut down this year Animal Crossing: New Horizons will become unplayable in 37 years Amazon has turned its boxes into Super Mario question mark blocks



Sonic Frontiers was chock full of references and callbacks to previous titles (including all the bad ones), and even mentioned characters from other media like the Sonic Boom cartoon and IDW comics.



A new DLC update has only expanded upon that by adding an in-game jukebox that lets you unlock and listen to music tracks from previous games while exploring the open zone areas.









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MORE : Sonic Frontiers to get new playable characters and modes via free DLC





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