I'm Sorry, I Can't Find These Characters Quiz

Answer: Sonic

... rea(SON I C)an look...

I have to say that Sonic, the blue title hedgehog of the "Sonic the Hedgehog" video game series, does not look much like a hedgehog to me. Nevertheless, that is the name given to this character, who got his first game in 1991 and has been the face of a thriving franchise ever since. The games are available on a number of platforms and include platform games, racing games, adventure games and more.

Answer: Mario

...to cal(M A RIO)t...

It's fun to realise that the little Italian plumber, Mario, started life as a carpenter named Jumpman, when he made his first appearance in the Nintendo arcade game "Donkey Kong" in 1981. He has gone on to stardom in a series of games that bear his name including "Mario Bros." and "Super Mario Bros." in the eighties, various renditions of "Mario Kart" and others, for various game systems.

We'll meet some more characters from these games, later in this quiz.

Answer: Hal

...wis(H AL)l of you...

Hal is the big-beaked bird in various iterations of "Angry Birds", who can be launched in one direction and made to double back, to sneak up on red buttons, dynamite or hidden bad piggies. He can also be hurled straight at objects, when the boomerang function isn't needed.

Answer: Bowser

... in a (BOW SER)geant...

Now, Bowser is rather a scary looking creature, like some sort of anthropomorphic turtle with spiky things on his back/shell. I'm told he is a "koopa", in fact he is King Koopa. Oh, yes, he can breathe fire! He is Mario, the plumber's main foe, and has been known to kidnap the lovely Princess Peach on more than one occasion, making it necessary for Mario to come to her rescue.

He made his first appearance in "Super Mario Bros." (1985).

Answer: Luigi

...rea(L UI GI)ves...

Luigi is the younger twin brother of Mario, and made his first appearance in "Mario Bros." (1983). Since then he has also become the main man in the "Luigi's Mansion" series, as well as appearing throughout the franchise. While Mario dresses in red and blue, with an M on his cap, Luigi is in green and blue, with an L on his hat.

Note: UI is short for Unemployment Insurance, sometimes known as "pogey" in Canada.

Answer: Pikachu

...an ook(PIK A CHU)bby toy...

Pikachu, it seems, is more than just a character in the world of "Pokemon". Pikachu is a whole species of characters and has appeared in almost every "Pokemon" game since 1996. Pikachu looks like a happy chap, often smiling, and has rather large ears and a tail. The hint about a Detective in the question refers to the Nintendo/Pokemon adventure game "Detective Pikachu", released worldwide in 2018.

An ookpik is an Inuit depiction of an owl, often rendered in fur or other fuzzy material. They were popular in Canada when I was younger, and I have a couple amongst my stuffed animal collection (plus a brooch).

Answer: Clyde

...mus(CLY DE)mon...

In "Pac-Man", Clyde is one of the four ghosts that Pac-Man tries to avoid as he gobbles his way around the board, eating dots as fast as he can. Clyde, the orange ghost, is joined by the red Blinky, pink Pinky and blue (cyan) Inky. In "Ms Pac-Man" Clyde was replaced by Sue.

Answer: Chuck

...you rea(CH UCK)field...

Chuck is another of the "Angry Birds" regulars, the yellow one, and is described as being very effective against wooden obstacles. A click of the mouse can give him extra speed and make him a bit stronger as well. In "Angry Birds Friends" (which I play on Facebook) the leaderboard includes scores for the birds Red and Chuck, as well as those of one's human friends. I always try to at least beat Chuck's score (which remains static) to avoid being in the basement.

Answer: Yoshi

...tok(YO SHI)ver...

Yoshi is a rather adorable green dinosaur, who made his first appearance in "Super Mario World" (1990) as a sidekick to Mario and Luigi. Yoshi is the main character of the "Yoshi" series of games and also appears in "Mario" spin offs like "Mario Kart" and several of the sports games in the "Mario" world.

Answer: Stella

...ripo(STE LLA)ndudno...

Stella is a pretty, delicate-looking pink bird, and is another member of the "Angry Birds" gang. Her super power is that once she's been launched and settles in position, she rises up in an enveloping bubble, taking with her any boards, pigs, rocks and so on, and then dropping everything from a height. Accurately positioned she can be very effective, but if you miss the mark she might rise up all alone and do no damage at all.