In one corner we have Nintendo’s Mario, a portly plumber hailing from the Mushroom Kingdom. His iron hard hands can bust right through bricks, and tales have been told of his legendary immune system, allowing the man to derive superhuman abilities from extremely sketchy mushrooms that would surely put even the best wilderness survivalist in a hospital bed for weeks. His innocent blue eyes conceal a long, difficult past fighting everything evil has to offer, from the darkest subterranean dungeons all the way into the furthest reaches of space. A super star athlete, Mario is proficient in every major sport, and has a jump height that blows away that of even the greatest Olympians. Depending on who you ask, he is either the ultimate alpha male or the cruel and ruthless face of years of turtle oppression. But even so, we all know Mario is the quintessential classic warrior, driven by love and fighting for the affections of a fair maiden. Mario’s dominance among his peers is without equal, and his popularity from over two hundred video game appearances knows no limits. Are you pro-Mario? Don your Mario t-shirt like a superstar and support this humble union worker’s proud legacy.

In the other corner we have SEGA’s own Sonic The Hedgehog, a blue hedgehog with an attitude that can break the sound barrier. Facing the mass robotization of all his fellow animal friends, Sonic smashed, bashed, and dashed his way into the history books by overthrowing Dr. Robotnik’s evil empire time and time again in over fifty game appearances and counting. The lean, mean answer to Mario, Sonic The Hedgehog sets his sights on saving his world from robotic oppression and collecting every piece of fine jewelry and rare metal he can get his shaking, twitching hands on. Are you a born Sonic fan? Wear your Sonic The Hedgehog t-shirt proudly and get ready to run circles around your competition.

But seriously, what gets a plumber and a hedgehog together in the same ring? This rivalry started way back in the early 90s, when SEGA debuted the Genesis to challenge Nintendo’s Super Nintendo, the industry’s top game console. Speeding onto the scene with the motto “Genesis Does What Nintendon’t”, SEGA used Sonic’s Generation X attitude and the game’s groundbreaking graphics to start a rivalry with Nintendo’s MVP that inspires debate to this day. Mario would go on to sell more games and Nintendo would ultimately overpower SEGA in the console war, but both characters leave behind a massive legacy of video games, cartoons, clothes, comics, toys, and more for our mutual entertainment pleasure! Both characters are some of the most identifiable characters in the world, and luckily for all of us the two have since resolved their differences, with SEGA now producing Sonic video games for Nintendo’s consoles and both with new, hotly anticipated games on the horizon. Everybody wins!