The retro keyboards commemorate some of Sega’s most memorable brands, including Sonic the Hedgehog, the official mascot. When you are a beloved blue eulipotyphus with the speed of a racing car, all the gold rings of the multiverse, a friend like Tails and even a couple of blockbusters, you start to feel as if I could do anything. This includes typing on a truncated mechanical keyboard with no letters, numbers, or other legends written on the top of the keys.
Higrounda firm known for gaming equipment, is today releasing a trio of 65% layout mechanical keyboards made in collaboration with Sega, as noted by Nintendo Wire, as well as other Sega-centric equipment, including keycaps and mousepads.
The brand images show a trio of keyboards coming to life with colorful details that deliver nostalgic visuals everywhere, depending on the keyboard, from the loops and rings of the Green Hill Zone in 1991’s Sonic the Hedgehog, to the contrasting profiles of Sonic and Knuckles from 2001’s Sonic Adventure 2, rainbow colored arrow keys mimicking console controller buttons in homage to Sega’s latest globally released console, the Dreamcast.
The sublimated (5x) PBT keycaps on the keyboard are 1.5mm thick, according to Higround, and ditch the informational legends on the top in favor of an artistic look when looking at the keyboard from top to bottom. But from a typical sitting position, you should be able to see the legends printed on the side on the front of the keycaps.
Sonic the Hedgehog gotta go fast!
You don’t have to be a touch typist to use Sega keyboards, but if you aren’t, they will be more difficult to use at first than the typical keyboard. Sonic has to go fast, so it’s only fitting that keyboards use TTC’s Speed Silver Linear Mechanical Switches. They are structured for a total travel of approximately 3.4mm, with an activation point of 1.08mm and 45 grams of force for activation (if you’re not sure what that means, check out our keyboard guide mechanics).
These switches with a shorter stroke, are faster to operate and touch the bottom than the common Cherry MX Red switch (4mm / 2mm / 45gf); though, Higround could have been even faster with low-profile mechanical switches to fit the speed theme even more. If you’re looking for a quick way to complete those spreadsheets, Sega keyboards aren’t a win-win, sadly because they lack a numeric keypad.
Ultimately, it takes a combination of Sega and linear typing fandom and the ability to work without a numeric keypad (even some tactile typing skills wouldn’t hurt) for these keyboards to be something that can help you improve your productivity, rather than just alone an interesting collector’s item.
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