Sonic the Hedgehog

While others attempted to emulate Miyamoto's platform innovations, Sonic Team brought something new to the genre with the little mascot that could. Faster and prettier than any previous platformer, Sonic also took the genre vertical and upside-down. The spiky-haired, blue hedgehog became Sega's mascot and managed to dethrone, if only for but a brief while, a seemingly invulnerable King Mario.