Sonic Unleashed PC port’s most-popular mod makes the famous blue hedgehog transgender

A mod for the newly released fan-made PC port of cult 2008 platform game Sonic Unleashed has made the iconic blue blur transgender.

The unofficial port of the cult-classic action-adventure title was released to rave reviews on Sunday (2 March).

Rather than emulating the 17-year-old Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and Wii game, the port uses files from the original console release to rebuild the game from the ground up for PC users – one of the first ports of its kind for a seventh-generation console title.

Just hours after the release, modder and Sonic the Hedgehog fan, Luna, better known online as Lady Lunanova, revealed the character mod Trans Fem Sonic, which redesigns the character with a more feminine appearance.

“Trans Fem Sonic comes to Unleashed,” the mod’s description reads, “and she’s looking and sounding better than ever.”

Not only does the mod redesign Sonic with a sleek red jumpsuit, but it also re-records voice lines for gameplay, cutscenes and bosses, to give Sonic a more feminine voice.

Sonic’s homing attack aura can also be replaced with a variety of selectable Pride flags.

Voice actor and contributor, LariUmbreon, said she was “very happy” to lend her voice to Sonic once again, adding: “Hope everyone loves playing with the mod, a lot of very good and hard work went into it.”

Luna, meanwhile, told PinkNews that she “couldn’t be happier” with the positive reaction the mod has seen, saying that, despite the transphobic hate, the support “far outshines it.”

“I’m incredibly proud of [voice actor] Larissa and [sound designer] Kat for helping me create it in the first place, I couldn’t have done it without them.”

The mod has become the most-liked on the port’s GameBanana modding page, with more than 1,400 downloads and 5,000 views in just a few days.

It isn’t the only trans-related mod for the Sonic Unleashed PC port, with another submission by modder DeadH0st, titled Trans Masc Sonic, giving the blue hedgehog top surgery scars.

Fans were thrilled by both submissions, with one user writing: “It’s been less than a day and these mods are already here, I love this community.”

Another wrote: “I can’t express the amount of [euphoria] I felt after hearing the new voice lines through the daytime stages. As a trans woman stuck with a transphobic family, thank you so much for making this mod.”

A similar character model was published by Lady Lunanova for 2011’s Sonic Generations, as well Sonic Frontiers in 2022.

Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.