Well that's odd, because Mary is usually rendered as "メアリィ" ("Mearī") in Katakana. "マリー" is the way "Marie" is rendered in Katakana.
I found a little tidbit that's a bit of a coincidence. Eve Garnett was an author that wrote children's literature and was active during 1937-1958. She died in 1991. Again, I believe this is a coincidence and not something that Sonic Team knew about and decided to adapt in the Sonic origin story. (Her most famous book is actually pretty great, I read it in 5th grade.)
https://picclick.co.uk/Sonic-The-Hedgehog-Ultimate-Fan-Hack-20-264099735143.html You know, some day I might have to document this noise.
Yeah, first line on this page: http://info.sonicretro.org/images/2/2c/GD_Sonic1_GDC2018_History2.png Hmm. So it's "Mary Garnet" in STI's story documents and "Mary Grannet" in the SA2 Birthday Pack, but "Marie Grannet" would be a more accurate translation? I wonder if Sonic Team gave the translation team any guidance on the matter. "Marie" certainly strengthens the Maria Robotnik connection/coincidence. In both versions, the daughter's name is translated as "Sherry". But would "Shelly" also be a valid interpretation? (Sherry is a slightly more common forename, so they probably made the right choice.)
Alibaba is full of stuff like this, I got a few shonky carts - yes, including a community ROM hack - a few years back. They all use a tiny PCB with epoxy'd on 3.3v Flash. Awful stuff.
-> More proof, if it were needed, that there were at least two Sonic 1 prototypes sent to the press. The prototype Special Stage at different stages of completion. Once upon a time it was all yellow. Then it was not.
The Sonic 2 Game Gear autodemo https://archive.org/details/micomBASIC_1992-08/page/n69 Might have been at Summer CES 1992, in June, which means its build date is more comparable to the Nick Arcade version of the Mega Drive game. I can't prove it's the same build but it seems pretty likely to me.
I tried numerous online barcode identifiers/data banks, using the actual JP Chaotix UPC as a control. The sites recognized the real UPC as authentic (though it didn't show up as a recognized product in the data banks). The same resources don't recognize the title card barcode whatsoever. Not even the non-automated indexes yielded any matches as far as I could tell (though the real barcode wasn't present thereabouts, either, oddly). I think it's just nonsense meant to evoke The Designers Republic's aesthetic.
My god that episode. AoSth and OVA references to no end, amazing. And idk if those robot henchmen always act like scratch and grounder but wow. They even did the laugh.
Good gracious, that was filled to the brim with references. 1, 2, 3&K, Chaotix, Adventure 1 & 2, Archie, AoStH, SatAM, OVA, and Olympic Games. Dunno why Cream got name-dropped, but Shadow, Knuckles, and Eggman couldn't. Also, a decent action sequence. KO being a literal boot-kisser was expected, but still annoying. Overall, better than I was expecting.
I'm guessing the other 3 didnt get name dropped because they were referenced at least and are the more known series characters (Love the silly Knuckles doodle that went along with his mention, good Mania/Sonic Mega Drive/Mania Adventures reference). Cream is teetering on obscure these days.
I'm reeling from the revelation that Tails is Canadian. Also, the villain looks like an N. Gin knockoff. Jim Cummings did voice Robotnik in the test pilot, so that may be yet another allusion. Not that references and allusions are such a good thing on their own, but we're living in a reality in which Steven Spielberg directed Ready Player One.
One thing that I really like about this crossover is that it was overall very positive towards Sonic. No references to Sonic 2006, no "Gotta go fast," none of that. Just pure positive fanservice. I found myself smiling the whole time seeing and hearing all those references, and even got a little excited when I heard Darrell laugh like Scratch and of course Cumming's "I hate that hedgehog!" Tails' little talk towards KO was very nice and heartwarming. Also liked the animation at certain parts too. Overall, a great crossover. Ian posted up Sonic and Tails' model sheets on Twitter. EDIT: Also apparently Sonic referenced Ben Schwartz's "The worst." Nice.
Amazing. I lost it when they did the Light Speed Dash, and then the whole "There is only one..." bit. Wow. I think the only tiny hangup I have is how can KO not know what a chili dog is while also having vast encyclopedic knowledge of Sonic and his universe(s?).