We all know Mario has had a drug problem ever since Super Mario Bros., and has continued to think so as he has hallucinations about flying from planet to planet. But, how about Sonic? He seems to be a pretty stand up gu... animal. Wrong. It may not have been as obvious as Mario's, but Sonic has a mental disorder, and it happens to be pathological gambling. Think about it: why do you think Sonic runs around areas so wildly, collecting as much rings as he can? Not because his survival depends on it, oh no, but because he has the urge to gamble.
It's no surprise, really. Take a look at some of the stages in the Sonic series, in fact, take a look at Spring Yard from the first title. With flashing lights everywhere, neon signs in the sky, and bumpers that award you with points, this may very well be the genesis of Sonic's gambling addiction. Another observation is how he'll need to collect a hefty amount of rings in order to make it to the special zone and attempt to snatch a Chaos Emerald. A gamble.
Fastforward to Sonic the Hedgehog 2, where they take it further. Actually, this may be the most extreme its been back then. An entire stage is dedicated to a casino, called Casino Night. Now, you'll probably make the argument that the only reason Sonic makes a stop here is because Dr. Robotnik has captured the place and made it his own. Well, that's partly the reason, actually. You think Sonic, out of the kindness of his heart, would go out of his way just to free a random casino from the clutchess of Dr. Robotnik? No way. It's not just any random casino: Sonic owns the casino. The evidence is plastered all over the stage, he has his image, as well as his name, put up all around the casino. He has also did the disgusting thing of getting his little kid friend, Tails, into gambling. Not because he wanted to, but because he needed to extra help with picking up all the rings. It's all starting to make sense now, doesn't it? Shoot, Sonic even owns more than one casino. The next time you play Sonic 2, take a look into the background: you'll notice a couple of casinos there with Sonic's name on it, as well as his sponsor.
On the Floating Island in Sonic 3, there may not have been any casinos to run through, but the inhabitants there managed to come close to that. Carnival Night may not be a casino, but, like Spring Yard, it has some elements from one. Flashing lights everywhere? Check. Bumpers that award you points? Check, again. You're not fooling anyone, Floating Island. They even incorporated some special areas that encourages Sonic to gamble, which are hidden inside Starposts.
It continues like this as the series goes on, like the casino that forces you to win money in order to go on to the next area in Sonic Adventure and the casino stages that rivals that from Sonic 2 in Sonic Heroes. With casinos popping up almost everywhere, I see no end in sight for Sonic's pathological gambling. I highly doubt Sonic will get any type of counseling in the near future, especially in this corrupted and greedy world that he lives in.
