Desperately Seeking Sonic

During the creation of the original Sonic the Hedgehog title, Sonic’s designers intended to give Sonic a human love interest named Madonna (I swear I’m not making this up), a lovesick woman who wouldn’t leave Sonic alone.

It’s uncertain whether Madonna would have appeared in the game’s action sequences or would have merely been a part of the back story, but one thing is clear: it’s a good thing a female Sega of America employee nixed the Madonna idea early on for being too bizarrely Japanese. A 2006 Sonic game featured a kiss between Sonic and a realistic human teenager, and the result still makes Sonic fans gag.

(Illustrations: Sega)