The Hill Is Always Greener

With CyberLink's voice temporarily out of commission, we're joined by voice actor, writer, and fanfiction connoisseur Marin M. Miller as we flex our creative muscles and improvise yet another fanfic! In this world unique & beyond what you know from the Sega games, Vector and Jewel are two hopeless college students just looking to graduate, but when a chance encounter brings them together, they...

It's time to go back. Back before Mega Man crossovers, before echidnas turning green, before even cheap character deaths. No, we're going back to where it all began as we revisit Sonic Firsts, a graphic novel compiling some of the earliest Archie adventures! From the first comic ever printed to Bunnie's big break, from a Super Sonic spotlight to a red rival's reveal, this mega collection of early...

The sun is out, the water is cool, and it's time to get away from it all and enjoy the summer! The only question is...where? That's what The Hill Is Always Greener plans to settle today, as we try to create a list of the top 10 summer vacation destinations in Sonic's world. Is it better to be near civilization or out roughing it? What kind of activities does each spot offer? And is a beach still a...

Knock knock! It's time for the gang to take a long, hard look at Knuckles, the TV spin-off of the Sonic Cinematic Universe! Since its release, the show has proved INCREDIBLY controversial with Sonic fans, largely eschewing a traditional Sonic adventure in favor of a lighthearted sendup to classic sports comedies. Are the escapades of Wade Whipple and his furry red sidekick truly the harbinger of d...

Sonic Movie: It's Cool! Special guest KaiserNeko joins us to take a look back at Sonic's live action theatrical debut. We reminisce about the long road to its 2020 release, talk about everything we thought did and didn't work, and discuss whether live action as a medium can ever truly hope to capture the essence of Sonic the Hedgehog. Plus, a brief look back at some of the bizarre movie treatments...

Giga gigloo! Special guest Jolene joins us as we do a deep dive on Sonic Adventures: Dans Les Griffes de Robotnik, a one-off French comic from the early 90s! It's a very different take on Sonic and Tails' escapades on Angel Island, full of charming art, nonsensical phrases, incredibly dated stereotypes, and so much more. By the name of a sailed egg, you won't want to miss this! (0:00:00) Intro (0:...

They say big things come in small packages, and nowhere is that more true than today's subject, as the gang takes a look back at Sonic Pocket Adventure! Developed by SNK, this pseudo-remix of Sonic 2 has been left to the wayside, with Sega not even acknowledging it exists, but does it really deserve to be forgotten? Join us as we rediscover this hidden NeoGeo gem and the surprising influence it ha...

Have no fear! Amy Rose is here! Prismaeya returns to the podcast for a discussion about the female face of our favorite franchise. Amy's a character that's changed a lot over the years, running the gamut from starry-eyed fangirl to confident girlboss, and people are VERY vocal about their own preferences. Follow me and listen as we look back at this pink hedgehog's storied career, and try to hamme...

Welcome to a world unique and beyond what you know from the Sega games! A world where black is white, up is down, and everyone's favorite blue hedgehog is...EVIL?! That's right, the gang is getting creative again today as they craft their own take on a mirror Sonic universe that we're calling "Scattered Rings"! What catastrophe could have left the world in such a state? What threat do our former h...

It's our second anniversary, and we're ready for another year of talking about everyone's favorite hedgehog! So why don't we kick off year three by talking about...well, Sonic himself? That's right, all of...er, MOST of the gang are diving deep today into what really drives Sonic as a character. What are his the core aspects of his personality? How about his greatest flaws? Why do so many people b...

Hoo boy, folks. Our journey through Sonic Prime has finally come to an end, as heroes and villains from across the Shatterverse come together for one final showdown against an emotionally compromised child and his robot army. Is it the grand finale we were all hoping for? Or would this ending have been better left banished to the darkest corners of the void? Tune in to find out! (0:00:00) Intro (0...

Get ready... GO! It's time for a new episode of The Wood Village is Always Greener, as we hop in our cars, hovercrafts, and planes, traveling back to the late '90s so we can reminisce on a beloved classic kart racer, Diddy Kong Racing. We take a DEEP dive looking back at everything this game has to offer, from its colorful cast, to its many scenic circuits, to all the attempted follow-ups that nev...

After much teasing, the gang is finally beginning their journey through the UK Sonic novels written by Martin Adams, who is totally a real person that exists, we swear. First up is Sonic in Robotnik's Laboratory, as Sonic and Tails race to rescue their friends from Robotnik's FAROUT machine, a device that is anything but. It's a tale filled romance, betrayal, fast food, rats, toasters, obscure loc...

People don't always say what they mean, and things are not always what they seem. For example, we could say "the Sonic Underground episode 'Friend or Foe', Knuckles' first appearance in a western Sonic cartoon, is terrible and nobody should watch it." But what we actually mean is "we and special guest Green Bones Dommy watched this terrible episode, and had a blast laughing at its ridiculous anima...

We've locked on and locked in for the second half of our Sonic 3 & Knuckles retrospective! And this week, it's all about the "& Knuckles" part, as Sonic continues to clash with Robotic and his new red-dreaded rival across mushrooms, deserts, lava, and even space, in the conclusion to this epic Mega Drive duology. (0:00:00) Intro/Main topic: Sonic & Knuckles (0:03:07) Mushroom Hill Zone...

Happy anniversary to us! To celebrate 50 episodes of The Hill Is Always Greener, we're taking a look back at a game currently celebrating its own milestone anniversary, Sonic the Hedgehog 3! The capstone to the original trilogy provides for endless discussion, including how a whole separate game was made because of McDonald's, the *multiple* renditions of many music tracks, and the ongoing debate...

I've heard of killing a franchise, but this is ridiculous! Sonic has been found dead, and everyone is under suspicion! To figure out just whodunit, it's going to take our crack team of podcast detectives, joined by special guest and visual novel creator Gospel, to find all the clues, interrogate all the suspects, and discover the truth behind what makes this free game from the Sega social media te...

We've once again reached that strange point where we have to talk about a new game released post-podcast, and this time, Sega is playing the classics once again with Sonic Superstars. Multiple playable characters, giant levels, Emerald powers... It's a whole lot, but the real question is: is it good? Well, that's what we're hopefully going to find out in today's exciting episode. (0:00:00) Intro/M...

We're heading back to South Island and Westside Island to take in the local sounds! Special guest CyberneticPinkeye joins us to look back at the soundtracks for the first two Sonic the Hedgehog games, along with the original demos for each track by composer Masato Nakamura. Listen in as we try to get more insight on two collections of music that really made our dreams come true. (0:00:00) Intro (0...

'Tis the season for nostalgia, fa-la-la-la-la, la-la la la! As a special holiday treat, we're getting a little more personal and going back 15 years to look at "How Metal Sonic Stole Christmas", a fan radio play written by GameBuddy that most of us participated in. This was the first project that we and much of the Sonic F cast worked on together, so in the spirit of the season, we'd like to share...

This is the unabridged How Metal Sonic Stole Christmas radio play, written and produced by GameBuddy in 2008. It is fully unaltered from its original presentation, save for the removal of one piece of copyrighted music. If you want to hear our commentary, please listen to episode 46 of The Hill Is Always Greener. Thank you so much, and happy holidays. (00:00) How Metal Sonic Stole Christmas (18:18...

We've equipped all our best skill cards and are ready for a new episode all about one of Sonic's more unique spinoffs, Sonic Battle! This GBA fighting game starring an adorable robot OC had a surprisingly extensive single-player campaign that gave a lot of characters some much-needed time in the spotlight...though for one character, that's not really a good thing. Does the story still hold up? Is...

It's still thinking, and 25 years later, we still wanna talk about it! To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Japanese Dreamcast launch, we're joined by former game journalist Ryan MacDonald to talk about our memories of Sega's final home console, including Ryan's time covering it on the press side for GameSpot. Join us as we revisit the highs of its launch, the lows of its discontinuation, an...

How do you follow up a game that changed gaming and created an entertainment icon? ...I dunno, but they did it. The gang is joined by VTuber Boomba to reminisce on the 1992 classic, Sonic the Hedgehog 2! Sonic Team's sophomore outing changed things up significantly from the original, not least of which through its introduction of a little two-tailed pal for our fast-footed hero! Does this speedy s...

Don't. Turn. Around. On this most frightening of nights, The Hill Is Always Greener looks back at the bizarre phenomenon that is the Tails Doll. From its seemingly innocent origins to its horrifying legacy birthed by the Sonic fandom, we peer deep into the soul of this little ball of fluff until we too can...feel...the...sunshine... (0:00:00) Intro/Main topic: The Tails Doll (0:04:02) The origin (...