 At the time, everything about this game was revolutionary: the  graphics, the sound, and (most importantly) the character. The idea  was to make a game that would win over the Americans, with the hopes  that this would guarantee success in Japan as well. While the game  was indeed a runaway hit in most of the Western Hemisphere, it  enjoyed only moderate success in the land of the rising sun, a trend  which is present throughout Sonics career.