This is the oldest known Japanese Sonic Plush. It was made in 1991. You can note some key differences right off with this plush, first, it has only 1 spike on the back, plus his tail. Then, the nose is very snout-like with a large black dot for the end. The mouth is centered instead of off to one side, the eye-shape is more square and there are no 'shine-spots' like all future plushes have. The proportions are pretty good though, with long legs, big shoes and large gloves. It's interesting to see his head spikes are pretty much "right" in that they stayed about the same. Other early plush didn't see/use this pattern as sometimes you'd see him with only 1 spike row, only 2 head spikes or the spikes as flat felt strips...depending on who produced the plush. This is a very interesting item!