8 Emotional Video Game Deaths (We Couldn't Help Laughing At)

7. Sonic (Sonic '06)

Sonic 06 Sonic DIES
SEGA

Now we can argue until we're blue in the spikes about just how emotional the death and then resurrection of a six foot tall anthropomorphic hedgehog with a penchant for corn dogs and gold rings is, given the wider context of Sonic making his passing utterly ludicrous, but it was at least the intention.

Towards the end of the still-derided '06 instalment of Sonic The Hedgehog, players were hit with a genuinely surprising twist: their beloved hero was brown bread. Killed by the title's villain, everyone gathers around to mourn Sonic and his massive shoes.

This, on the face of it, isn't too bad. It's melodramatic, sure, but not too shocking. Then, though, the (very human, remember that for later) princess claims to have felt Sonic's presence floating like a turd in the wind, and the surviving gang sets out to find the chaos emeralds.

They do, and in the weirdest resurrection scene, the (again, very human) princess begs for Sonic to come back, kisses his dead body, light shines from their mouths and Sonic jolts back to life, now transformed into a super saiyan.

Contributor

Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.

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Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.