1) Hey Tim, tell us a little bit about yourself and your gaming journey so far!
Hey there! Gaming has been such a huge part of my life ever since I was very young. My dad was really into gaming and the latest tech, so we were lucky enough to have most consoles at some point in the house while I was growing up.
Being born in 1995, I was right on the cusp of 3D gaming and the 5th Gen of consoles. We just had the NES and SNES by the time I could actually really start playing them, so I’m thankful I was able to start with that before getting into the 3D world. After that I have just been collecting and trying to beat every game I own since then. Just completed a little over 1800 games in my lifetime, so you could say I enjoy them quite a bit!
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2. As a huge Sonic the Hedgehog fan, how did you get into the series?
My first ever exposure to Sonic was actually Sonic Adventure. My dad just got the Sega Dreamcast a few days after launch and bought NFL 2K, NFL Blitz 2000, Soul Calibur and Sonic Adventure.
He tried to get me into sports games, but I just couldn’t care less at the time. Then he pops in Sonic Adventure and from that opening cinematic I learned what true love meant. He didn’t seem super interested in it, but I wanted to just play around in Emerald Coast for hours. I wasn’t very good, but it was so beautiful I didn’t care.
I then got Sonic Adventure 2 for my birthday a few years later and loved it too. Then finally receiving Sonic Mega Collection, I learned of Sonic’s roots, and it cemented my love for the series.
3. Have been following your incredible Sonic Sunday quest – what a feat, especially if you view your tier list! What made you start the challenge to beat every single Sonic game?
It certainly was a quest! I started streaming on Twitch in October 2020 as like the rest of the world, I was stuck inside. I wanted to do some sort of challenge to make my stream more interesting and wanted to play my Sega Dreamcast specifically.
I then saw Sonic Shuffle on my shelf and thought how I had never beat it before. It got me thinking about all the other Sonic games I missed. Then the name “Sonic Sundays” popped into my head, and it all seemed to fit together nicely. Something people would want to watch. Although I didn’t initially plan to beat every single game. Just most of the ones I missed.
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4. Which Sonic games were your favourite to play through?
Sonic Adventure being my favorite game of all time seems like too easy of an answer here. I will say I was really surprised with my Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) playthrough. Sure, it’s a buggy mess that was taken out of the oven waaaaay too early. But for me, it just hit at a good time, and I was getting those Sonic Adventure vibes they were trying to go for, plus the glitches were fun to laugh while streaming.
Another one that really surprised me was Sonic and the Black Knight. I’m not the biggest fan of the Wii and Sonic and the Secret Rings is easily one of the worst controlling Sonic games around, so I didn’t have high hope for The Black Knight. However, it was really enjoyable, and the controls were a huge upgrade. It actually felt good (for the most part). The story itself was also one of the better Sonic ones as it was a little more mature. Seeing the characters take the role of other well-known King Arthur characters was fun to see.
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5. What Sonic the Hedgehog games were a little bit more challenging to try and beat?
Thinking back on some of the games, there are some very big outliers that make the challenge way more difficult than it should be.
The biggest hurdle had to be Sonic Free Riders. An Xbox Kinect exclusive racing game that is so broken and frustrating I was ready to call it quits. Thankfully now there’s a mod that allows you to use the controller but unfortunately for me it wasn’t out by the time I played the game. Physically that one really hurt too as the constant squatting and movement was very taxing on my gamer body.
A few other quick highlights include Sonic Shuffle for its infamous AI that was programmed to cheat and make it very challenging to win a single game. Sonic: The Dark Brotherhood is quite a mess of a game and streaming anything from the DS was difficult. My game unfortunately was glitched, so I had to replay it all over which hurt my Sonic spirit.
Finally, there are the McDonald’s LCD games which are all pretty easy quick arcade style games but for whatever reason Amy and Rogue Tennis was easily one of the most challenging Sonic games EVER. With the unrelenting skill and speed of the opponent, it took me over 6 hours across two days to beat.
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6. The Sonic series sure has its ups and downs! What do you think makes a good Sonic game?
I think a good Sonic game must have great speed. That feeling of blasting past enemies and obstacles at such fast speeds is unlike most games out there and it is always fun to do. Gameplay in general needs to be fun above all else. The music is also very much part of the DNA of a good Sonic game and makes the overall experience that much better.
7. Sonic Sunday has been such a great eye-opener for more obscure games, props to you for highlighting these lost gems! What are your thoughts on game preservation?
One thing I will say right off the bat is how dedicated some people are to preserving Sonic history. From the programs they make, to obtaining roms of Japan exclusive sonic ride games, it’s amazing what’s out there for people to find. It’s thanks to others who are passionate about saving these games.
Game preservation as a whole has certainly been better in recent years. I do not think grading games is the way to go with it. People should be able to actually play these games and see the art that’s contained within them. Emulation is a great way to experience so many hidden gems or even games lost in time, but the legality behind it all makes it messy for those who want to try out these games.
I hope someday there’s a grand digital archive of all the games out there for people to see and play like a library does for books!
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8. Speaking of collections – love seeing your game collections on stream! As a big physical collector what are your most treasured games/merch?
Phew! There are so many different items in my collection it’s always hard to answer this one.
Plus, the idea of treasured because of its value vs. the story or sentimental value I hold with it. One item I always like to share is a Hollow Knight plushie my friend Ashley made. I see it as a sort of gateway into my online journey meeting new people and building communities as we became friends after I bought it from her. Plus, I think she only ever made two of them? So quite the rare item as well!
If we are talking Sonic specific, I have a few items that were only given out during the 1998 Tokyo Game Show at the panel where the game was first unveiled. There was a goodie bag that had a bunch of cool merch and so far, I have the Pin set and a booklet showing off the game with exclusive art. One day I hope to get everything that was in the bag!
9. Aside from Sonic, what other franchises have had a big impact on your gaming journey? Are there any others you may consider as a Sunday challenge?
There’s been so many franchises that have had an impact on me. Of course, anything Nintendo!
Mario, Zelda, Star Fox helped me get a baseline of what good games should be like. Capcom had Resident Evil and Mega Man that aided in my love of horror and challenging games. I truly love any game or series that gets really wacky or outside the box with its gameplay.
It’s funny because that was always the big question I asked myself, “What was next after Sonic Sunday?” And the only one that seemed to fit the grand scale of Sonic Sunday was Mario. Truthfully there are so many Mario games, that I think it would hurt my love for the series. At least trying to beat them like I did the Sonic games.
So instead of focusing on a specific series, I’d really love to take a deep dive into the obscure and Japan exclusive titles of the PS1 and PS2 calling it “Sony Sunday”.
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10. Love your streams on Twitch! What do you enjoy most about streaming and can you tell readers about what you normally stream?
Thank you! I’ve always had a huge passion for gaming and even though I’ve met a ton of people IRL who enjoy gaming, its usually just a handful of titles and I couldn’t really connect on a deeper (gaming) level like I had hoped.
Twitch has connected me with so many awesome like-minded people that I feel like I could really connect and share my level of passion with them. So being able to build a community of so many great friends has been a major highlight of streaming.
As far as the games I stream, I take the idea of a variety streamer and run with it. Usually do a balance between retro, indie, triple AAA, or honestly anything that isn’t a sport, MMO, or real time strategy game. I also always try to beat my games too, but it’s always a revolving door so you never know what to expect!
11. Where can fellow gamers find your work?
I’m on all the major social media platforms (Instagram, Twitter/X, Tiktok) and of course Twitch is where my main focus is right now for content creation. I also have a YouTube channel that hosts my twitch vods and every Sonic Sunday stream if you wanted to see my journey!
Thanks for the interview, TeeChu!
