Sonic the Fighters

Sonic the Fighters, released outside Japan as Sonic Championship, is a 1996 fighting game developed by Sega AM2 and published by Sega for their Model 2 arcade system. The game pits players in one-on-one battles with a roster of characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Sonic the Fighters was made using the fighting engine for Fighting Vipers (1995), and was the first 3D game in the Sonic series. The idea for a Sonic fighting game was conceived when a Sega AM2 programmer experimented with a 3D Sonic the Hedgehog model in Fighting Vipers, its animation impressing and convincing the Sonic Team to approve the project.