By 1999, it had been some times since a cartoon based on Sonic the Hedgehog had been on the airwaves. With the impending launch of Sonic Adventure on the horizon, there was certainly appetite for more of the world’s most famous hedgehog, who was still enjoying popularity around the world. Sonic Underground would be the cartoon which brought Sonic back to the air, at least for a short while, but it would not be without controversy.

Sonic Underground is regarded by many fans as the “least good” of the Sonic cartoons (and that’s putting it as politely as possible). It is, without question, a radical departure from what the series had looked like in any iteration up to that point. The biggest change comes in the fact Sonic is now one of a trio of triplets (alongside brother Manic and sister Sonia) and, more than that, all three hedgehog siblings are of royal blood. The series sees the trio’s attempts to bring down Doctor Robotnik’s empire and reunite with their lost mother, Queen Aleena. To this end, the three hedgehogs must use the power of music.

Music is a key part of Sonic Underground as each episode features a musical number. Considering this was the very impetus behind the series’ creation, it’s regrettable these are usually the weakest part of a given episode, ordinarily feeling like a handy way to fill a few minutes of run time and almost never leaving a lasting impression once the last note is played. Nevertheless, despite the fact it’s almost certainly the strangest adaptation of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Underground does command a following of loyal fans who still hold hope that one day the prophecy will come true and Sonic and his siblings’ mother will be found.

The following table lists each Sonic Underground episode in order of their original France airdate. The episodes’ production order is identical to the air order, aside from The Deepest Fear and Who Do You Think You Are being switched. Also included here is the order in which the episodes appear on modern home video releases. The latter is arguably the most sensible way to watch the series, as it keeps most episodes in their original order, but moves the two three-part stories to a more logical place in the running and actually groups them together- unbelievably, they alternated between the two unrelated stories in the original airing.

ENTRY	ORIGINAL AIRDATE	HOME VIDEO ORDER	KINTOBOR COMPUTER REVIEW RANK
Wedding Bell Blues	6/1/99	4
To Catch a Queen	10/1/99	5
Mobodoon	13/1/99	6
The Price of Freedom	17/1/99	7
Underground Masquerade	20/1/99	8
Tangled Webs	24/1/99	9
The Deepest Fear	27/1/99	10
Who Do You Think You Are	31/1/99	11
The Last Resort	3/2/99	12
Come Out Wherever You Are	7/2/99	13
Winner Fakes All	10/2/99	14
A Hedgehog’s Home Is Her Castle	14/2/99	15
Artifact	17/2/99	16
Bug!	21/2/99	17
Sonic Tonic	24/2/99	18
Friend or Foe?	28/2/99	19
Head Games	3/3/99	20
When in Rome…	7/3/99	21
The Jewel in the Crown	10/3/99	22
Three Hedgehogs and a Baby	14/3/99	23
Dunes Day	17/3/99	24
Mummy Dearest	21/3/99	25
Hedgehog in the Iron Mask	24/3/99	26
Six Is a Crowd	28/3/99	27
Flying Fortress	31/3/99	28
Beginnings	4/4/99	1
No Hedgehog Is an Island	7/4/99	29
Getting to Know You	11/4/99	2
New Echidna in Town	14/4/99	30
Harmony or Something	18/4/99	3
Country Crisis	21/4/99	31
Haircraft in Space	25/4/99	32
Healer	28/4/99	33
Sonia’s Choice	2/5/99	34
The Big Melt	5/5/99	35
Sleepers	9/5/99	36
Bartleby the Prisoner	12/5/99	37
The ART of Destruction	16/5/99	38
The Pendant	19/5/99	39
Virtual Danger	23/5/99	40