Sonic

Sonic the Hedgehog is the main character of the Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games as the main protagonist and has been Sega Corporation's mascot since 1991. Since the beginning of the series, Sonic has been the champion of peace, risking his life to stop the plots of a variety of violent foes, particularly Dr. Eggman, in order to establish worldwide peace. Along the way, he has been aided by many characters, including his friends Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, and occasionally Shadow the Hedgehog. Sonic's greatest asset is his ability to run at supersonic speeds. However, he is also prone to making rash decisions and dislikes being near water; he can't swim.

Sonic has currently appeared in three crossover titles alongside Mario: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, and he will be appearing in the upcoming game Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Background
Nintendo was once business rivals with Sonic's company of creation, Sega; this rivalry peaked during the 16-bit era (the era of the Super Nintendo). As such, Nintendo and Sega often attempted to put each other down through their games (thus explaining Sonic's humiliation in Donkey Kong Country 2 [elaborated on below], and possibly explaining the blue hedgehog enemies of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island). Examples of Mario mockeries in the Sonic the Hedgehog series forms of media include the emphasis on "Super" on the back of Sonic the Hedgehog's box (a reference to Super Mario Bros. and other Mario series titles beginning with "Super") and the Marxio Brothers of Sonic the Comic, a British comic book about Sonic and his friends. Their rivalry went throughout the 90's and until 2001 when Sega left as a console manufacturer and became third-party. Sonic's first game for a Nintendo system was an enhanced remake of Sonic Adventure 2 for the Nintendo GameCube, titled, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle.

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Sonic's shoes make a cameo appearance in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. In Cranky Kong's video game hero contest, contestants are ranked based on how many hidden DK Coins they could discover during the course of the game. On the pedestal of winners stands Link at #3, Yoshi at #2, and Mario at #1 until the players collects enough coins and earns a ranking with Diddy Kong. Sonic's shoes and Earthworm Jim's plasma gun can be found nearby lying next to a trash can, implying that these characters failed to rank in the contest.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
"Mario and Sonic have been respectful rivals since the early days of video games. In fact, for a long time they have been discussing the possibility of one day competing against each other. Now that they have been given the perfect opportunity to meet at the Olympic Games, we may finally learn who is actually faster, Mario or Sonic?"

- Shigeru Miyamoto

Sonic competes against Mario and others in Olympic events in the game Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. He is a Speed character, similar to Yoshi, meaning he has great speed, but low power. Interestingly, Sonic wears a life jacket during the swimming events, since he can't swim, but he is not against water entirely, which is why he is competing in these events. He still moves quite fast in water too.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
Sonic, once again, crosses over with Mario in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games. In the Adventure Tours mode for the DS version, he teams up with Mario to stop Bowser and Dr. Eggman from ruining the Winter Olympics.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Sonic is in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a character who is unlocked by completing the game's story mode. Sonic is the fastest character in the game, running faster than Captain Falcon, the fastest character from the last two Super Smash Bros. games. Several of Sonic's moves are from the original Sonic the Hedgehog game, with the exception of Homing Attack, which debuted later in the series. His Final Smash move is using the Chaos Emeralds to transform into Super Sonic and fly around the stage attacking opponents.

Sonic and Solid Snake are the only third party characters to appear playable in the game. Also, whenever Sonic wins a brawl, his victory theme will play. This is exactly the same as the stage clear theme that's played in the 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog game.

Role in the Subspace Emissary
Sonic does not appear in the Subspace Emissary until the very end, after The Great Maze. As when every fighter makes it to where Tabuu resides, he prepares his Off Waves, which would have turned every character into a trophy. As soon as he's about to release the attack, a dashing blue blur dashes past the fighters, and rams into both of Tabuu's wings; causing the Off Wave attack not to happen. As the blue blur jumps up on a "peak", he reveals himself to be Sonic. While he taunts, Tabuu's wings break apart, and then six fighters are selected to fight Tabuu in the final battle.

Solid Snake Codec Conversation

 * Snake: ...
 * Otacon: Snake, what is it?
 * Snake: Something about that hedgehog rubs me the wrong way...
 * Otacon: ...? Oh, you mean Sonic The Hedgehog? But everyone loves Sonic. He's a big star. Do you have any idea how excited people are that he's here in Brawl?
 * Snake: Yeah, yeah, I know, but there's something about him I just don't like.
 * Otacon: But...why? You must have some kind of reason.
 * Snake: ...Nope, just don't like him.

Homing Attack


Homing Attack is Sonic's standard special move in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It is made to copy the Homing Attack move from several Sonic the Hedgehog games. If Sonic uses this attack on the ground, he will begin charging up in a ball, slowly elevating himself above the ground. When he gets high enough, he then charges at an opposing player by homing into him/her. After hitting or missing another player, Sonic will get out of his ball form and into his normal fighting stance, but he can use the Homing Attack again shortly after. If used in mid-air, Sonic will begin charging, but will launch himself at his opponent quicker than when used on the ground. Although the attack is called the Homing Attack, it can miss sometimes, and its possible to block the attack. Kirby can use the Homing Attack if he copies Sonic's powers.

Spin Dash


Spin Dash is an attack used by Sonic in the game, Super Smash Bros. Brawl. This move will act as Sonic's Side Special Move, and has three effects. Firstly, Sonic will curl into a supersonic ball, and start rolling around the stage at high speeds. Charging up the move first can speed the attack up, similarly to Jigglypuff's Rollout attack. When Sonic hits a player, he will cause damage on him/her, possibly doing more damage the faster the attack. Sonic can also jump while using this move, meaning he can avoid falling off edges easier. Then, he can exit the attack and do another attack to push his opponent further away from the stage. Then, he can use exactly the same move again to get back onto the stage from afar. The move can also be used in mid-air. A similar attack is the Spin Charge.

Spring Jump


Spring Jump is the name of Sonic's Up Special Move in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. When used, Sonic will pull a spring from the original Sonic the Hedgehog, and use it to bounce really high in the air. He can use this both on the ground and in mid-air. If he uses it on the ground, it will stay on the ground, allowing other players to bounce on in as well. Sonic cannot do damage when using the spring, however he can still use some of his aerial moves (but no Special Moves) afterwards (one of very few Up Special Moves that can do so). When the Spring falls in Mid-Air and hits an opponent it sends them straight downwards and deals some minor damage. Sonic can also use this move to recover from getting knocked off the edge of a stage.

Spin Charge


Spin Charge is an attack in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which is Sonic's Down Special Move. If Sonic uses this attack, the player can tap the special move button to charge the attack even further. Charging it up gives it a huge power and speed boost, more so than the Spin Dash's charge. The attack is very similar to Jigglypuff's Rollout attack.

Super Sonic


Super Sonic is Sonic's super form, found in almost every mainstream Sonic the Hedgehog game. Super Sonic also appears in the game Super Smash Bros. Brawl, acting as his Final Smash move. When the Smash Ball is broken open, Sonic gets circled by the seven Chaos Emeralds, and then transforms into Super Sonic. He is able to fly around the stage at free will in this form, injuring any character he touches, comparable to Volt Tackle.

However, his control is terrible, and he has huge inertia, but his speed is incredible; faster than Sonic himself. This, however, can be his biggest downfall, as if he unwisely boosts his speed at the wrong time, he will end up running straight past his opponents, as they can dodge him easily if he's going too fast. As such, the player has to gain good control over Super Sonic's speed in order to use this move properly. However, if used properly, it can be one of the most devastating, KO-inducing Final Smashes in the game. Fortunately, Sonic can't self-destruct himself while using this Final Smash, but he does risk self-destruction if the Final Smash ends at a bad spot.

Profile
''The fastest hedgehog in the world, this little blue speed demon often gets going so fast, he appears to be just a whirling blur. He'll usually be found in front of any of the speed-based events in these Olympic Games, and will be very difficult to catch in any of the short-distance sprints.''

Trivia

 * Sonic's Final Smash trophy is the only Final Smash trophy to have game information other than just Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
 * Sonic's Trophy is one of the few trophies that isn't restricted to a Nintendo Console.
 * In Sonic's appearance in Sonic and the Black Knight, before the player starts a mission Sonic can be seen posing in a picture frame, Sonic's pose in that game is the same pose he used in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
 * Sonic, along with Jigglypuff, Squirtle, Toon Link, Wolf, and Zero Suit Samus, are the only characters that are never seen as trophies in The Subspace Emissary.
 * When Solid Snake talks about Sonic on his codec with Otacon, he mentions a dislike for the hedgehog, but denies having a specific reason. This is likely a reference to how Snake and Sonic are the only third-party characters to appear in the game, and Snake has to share that spotlight - which, before Sonic's inclusion, when Snake is alone - with Sonic. It may also allude to how hedgehogs are common snake predators in real life, as their spines prevent snakes from being able to eat them, leaving the snakes vulnerable.