Sonic has appeared on quite a few magazine covers over the past 35 years, but apparently there was still at least one left to check off the list.
Ohta Publishing has revealed CONTINUE Vol.90, and for the first time in the magazine’s history, Sonic the Hedgehog will appear on its cover as part of a substantial feature celebrating the Blue Blur’s 35th anniversary. The issue will be released in Japan on September 28, 2026, priced at 1,980 yen including tax.
The cover is only the beginning, though.
At the center of the issue is what CONTINUE describes as a special long-form roundtable between Takashi Iizuka, Kazuyuki Hoshino and Jun Senoue, bringing together three longtime figures whose work stretches across major eras of Sonic’s history.
Exactly what the trio will discuss has not yet been detailed, so we are not going to start manufacturing revelations a month before anyone has actually read the thing. Still, putting Iizuka, Hoshino and Senoue together for an extended conversation specifically built around Sonic’s 35th anniversary certainly gives this issue plenty of potential for some interesting franchise history and development stories.
Senoue has already spent part of the anniversary looking back at Sonic’s musical history. Sonic City previously covered his discussion with Yuunosuke about the musical DNA carried through the series, including the influence of the early Mega Drive soundtracks and the evolution toward the guitar-driven identity associated with the Sonic Adventure era. The upcoming CONTINUE roundtable should provide another opportunity to hear from him alongside two colleagues whose own Sonic careers span decades.
There is also a completely separate interview that may be just as interesting for anyone obsessed with Sonic music.
CONTINUE Vol.90 will feature Masato Nakamura of DREAMS COME TRUE in a special interview titled roughly “Masato Nakamura Talks About Sonic and Music.” Nakamura composed the music for the original Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, giving him a particularly important place at the very beginning of Sonic’s musical identity. DREAMS COME TRUE’s own official discography continues to credit Nakamura with the game music for both titles.
That makes his inclusion especially fitting for a 35th-anniversary retrospective. Long before vocal themes, Crush 40, orchestral boss tracks or Sonic Frontiers turning Titan battles into full-blown concerts, Nakamura was helping establish what Sonic sounded like on the Mega Drive.
And CONTINUE is not limiting the celebration to interviews.
The magazine will also include “Historical Sonic Masterpiece Reviews,” looking back across notable games from Sonic’s 35-year history. Ohta Publishing describes the entire package as a high-speed feature dedicated to SEGA fans, with Sonic receiving the main cover and primary feature for the issue.
The magazine itself runs 120 pages in a modified B5 format and carries the ISBN 9784778341473. A digital edition is also scheduled for September 28.
Sonic will not be the only SEGA series celebrating 35 years inside, either. Puyo Puyo will take over the back cover and serve as the issue’s second major anniversary feature, meaning CONTINUE Vol.90 is shaping up to be something of a double birthday party for two of SEGA’s longest-running franchises.
For Sonic fans, though, the interview lineup is the real reason to keep this one on the radar. An extended conversation between Iizuka, Hoshino and Senoue, followed by Nakamura discussing Sonic and music, gives CONTINUE access to people connected to very different stages of the franchise’s history.
We’ll be particularly interested to see what they have to say once the full issue is actually in readers’ hands.
CONTINUE Vol.90 releases in Japan on September 28, 2026 for 1,980 yen.
Stay tuned to Sonic City for more Sonic 35th Anniversary News and Updates!
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