I never played any Sonic game (well, actually I think I played it once at a friend of mine's, on a Saturn, but whatever), but Sonic was still one of my favourite characters in my childhood, because of the cartoons. I remember watching them on Jetix (is that still a thing???) lol, and I liked how he was badass, and kind yet playful, and sometimes a bit too cocky for his own good, which gave him a lovely knack if getting into trouble, which just made me love him even more. Couple that with the fact that Tails is just amazingly cute and awesome, Sonic X (I think that's what it was called) was my favourite show during my childhood.