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| Series | Sonic the Hedgehog (“SatAM”), ABC |
| Season | Season 2 (1994) |
| Episode | Season 2, episode 1 (guide and DVD order) · aired 1st · WildBrain no. 202 |
| First aired (US) | 10 September 1994 · ABC · season premiere |
| Written by | Ben Hurst & Pat Allee |
| Directed by | Ron Myrick |
| Story editor | Len Janson; associate story editors Ben Hurst and Pat Allee |
| Opening theme | “Sonic the Hedgehog” main title – Noisy Neighbors Productions |
| Previous episode | Sonic Past Cool (S01E13) |
| Next episode | Sonic Conversion (S02E02) |
Season premiereAriThe King’s list
Game Guy is episode 1 of Season 2 of Sonic the Hedgehog, the ABC cartoon fans call SatAM, in the order of our original episode guide and the Shout! Factory DVDs. It was the first Season 2 episode to air, on 10 September 1994. It was written by Ben Hurst & Pat Allee and directed by Ron Myrick.
Synopsis
On a raid in Robotropolis the Freedom Fighters rescue a swashbuckling ram named Ari from a SWATbot squad. Ari says he leads his own band of Freedom Fighters, now Robotnik’s prisoners, and asks for help to set them free. Sonic is happy to oblige. Sally, for reasons she can’t quite name, doesn’t trust him.
Her instincts are right. Ari leads Sonic into an ancient pyramid, and as Sally arrives on Dulcy the door slams shut and the pyramid turns into a Robotnik fortress. Inside, Robotnik challenges Sonic to a virtual-reality game of pinball: win, and he walks free; lose, and he is banished to the Void, the dimension where the King is imprisoned. Ari, it turns out, has made a deal with Robotnik – who has no intention of keeping it.
Sonic plays his way out with a Power Ring, and a repentant Ari comes back to help him. As the fortress is pulled into a vortex to the Void, Ari is swept in, but not before telling Sonic about a list kept by Sally’s father that names the other Freedom Fighter groups. Back in Knothole the search for the list begins – and Sonic fries his quills on one of Sally’s gadgets.
Sonic and Sally encounter a mysterious person who claims to be a fellow freedom fighter, and Sonic is lured into a trap after trusting him, against Sally’s advice. Sonic is then placed in a giant pinball machine where he must fight Robotnik in score to win (and regain his freedom) or lose (and be sucked into the Void, forever). Will Sonic make it out of this alive?
— From Luke’s original SatAM episode guide on Sonic Scene
Key Moments
- Ari, a ram who claims to lead his own Freedom Fighter band, makes his debut.
- Robotnik’s virtual-reality pinball game, with the Void as the price of losing.
- First mention of the King’s list of Freedom Fighter groups.
Trivia
- The Season 2 premiere, on 10 September 1994, although its production code and WildBrain’s numbering (202) put it second behind Sonic Conversion.
- Dulcy is part of the team from the start of the season’s broadcast run.
- On NCircle’s 2010 DVD Doomsday Project.
Watch the Episode
The full episode, uploaded by WildBrain’s official Sonic The Hedgehog – WildBrain channel (checked 5 November 2026).
Part of our SatAM Season 2 guide. See the SatAM series page for the show’s history, cast and credits.
Sources: air date, writer and director from Sonic Retro (Wayback copies), Wikipedia and Sonic Wiki Zone, cross-checked; synopsis written for Sonic Scene from the episode and the official DiC description; title card and screenshots via Sonic Wiki Zone, copied to our media library.