Random Sonic The Hedgehog Creator Explains Why The Sega Mascot Can't Swim

Over the last few months, Yuji Naka has been using his Twitter account to answer questions from Sonic the Hedgehog fans and set certain things straight. And now, thanks to a question from a Twitter user called @TeeChuDesigns, the former Sonic Team leader has given us a bit more info about why the famous blue hedgehog can't swim.

The story that is regularly shared online is that the Sega mascot hates water because Yuji Naka didn't realize at the time that real hedgehogs could swim. It's a fact that often appears on Sonic listicles and infographics, but where an original source is hardly ever included, so @TeeChuDesigns took to Twitter to ask the creator about this fact and whether it was actually true. And, as it turns out, it is.

Naka wrote in his reply to @TeeChuDesigns:

"Yes, I did not know that. I first learned that hedgehogs could swim when I visited a hedgehog shelter in Germany. But Sonic can't swim because I thought it would be better for him to have something he is not good at as a character."

Naka followed this up shortly after with some more information, explaining how in 2005, he finally learned the truth when a staff member at a hedgehog rescue facility in Leipzig told him they had built a ramp to help the hedgehogs get to shore.

After a small bit of detective work, we were able to find what we believe is the original source for all those previous articles. The fact originally comes courtesy of the UK video game site VideoGamer, who spoke to Yuji Naka in 2009 through a translator at a Sega event. It's an interview that's well worth revisiting today, with Naka also expressing his profound love for DMA Design's Lemmings games.

Are there any other Sonic facts you think need to be fact-checked? Let us know in the comments and we'll try our best!