Not content to sticking to the digital domain, Sonic the Hedgehog has escaped into real world non-electronic games. There's a Sonic chess set on the way in which our beloved hedgehog and some of his friends act as the chess pieces on a board decorated with a Green Hill Zone motif.
Everyone's favorite blue hedgehog is the king, Amy is the queen, Knuckles is the bishop, Tails is the knight and the Chaos Emeralds are the rooks. Rings are used as pawns. The set will be out next Feb/March for approximately US$50.
There's just one thing wrong with this concept: a serious lack of distinct characters. Rings and Chaos Emeralds as rooks and pawns? Sonic has a dozen annoying friends, and while most of them have worn out their welcome in video games, this chess set seems like a perfectly legitimate place to use them. The pawns should be Chao creatures. The rooks need to be Big the Cat. Moreover, both players command their own Sonic team with seemingly nothing to differentiate which ring pawns are mine and which belong to my opponent. Dr. Robotnik needs to be the opposing king flanked by some of the morally gray characters from the series such as Rouge the Bat, Shadow the Hedgehog, Fang the Sniper, Metal Sonic, and E-102 Gamma. Yes, this chess set is a good idea, but it needs a little more work to become great.
(via Kotaku)
