Sonic: Difference between revisions

|first_appearance=''[[sonicretro:Rad Mobile|Rad Mobile]]'' (1991, cameo)<br>''[[sonicretro:Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic|Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic Vol. 1]]'' (1991, ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise)<br>''[[Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii)|Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games]]'' ([[Wii]]) ([[List of games by date#2007|2007]], ''Super Mario''-related media)

|latest_appearance=''[[sonicretro:The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog|The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' (2023, ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise)<br>''[[Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - Arcade Edition]]'' ([[List of games by date#2020|2020]], ''Super Mario''-related media)

'''Sonic the Hedgehog''' is the eponymous main protagonist of the ''{{wp|Sonic the Hedgehog}}'' video game franchise who has appeared in crossover titles alongside [[Mario]] in the [[Mario & Sonic (series)|''Mario & Sonic'' series]] and the [[Super Smash Bros. (series)|''Super Smash Bros.'' series]]. He has been [[Sega|Sega Corporation]]'s official mascot since June 23, 1991, when he replaced their previous mascot, Alex Kidd. Although Sonic's most iconic games have been 2D and 3D platformers, he has also appeared in a large variety of sports, racing, and party games as well.

Since the beginning of his series, Sonic has been portrayed as a champion of peace, risking his life to stop the evil schemes of a variety of violent foes, particularly [[Dr. Eggman]]. His trademark power is an ability to run at supersonic speed, hence his name. He is generally portrayed as a heroic and headstrong character, with a bit of a tendency towards cockiness and recklessness. Sonic is often aided in his adventures by a vast number of other animal characters, most commonly his close friends [[Miles "Tails" Prower]], [[Knuckles the Echidna]], [[Amy Rose]], and [[Shadow the Hedgehog]].

 

For the first two ''Mario & Sonic'' games and ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'', Sonic was voiced in English by [[sonicretro:Jason Griffith|Jason Griffith]], his at-the-time current voice actor in the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series. For the next four ''Mario & Sonic'' games as well as ''[[Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U]]'' and ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'', [[sonicretro:Roger Craig Smith|Roger Craig Smith]] succeeded Griffith as Sonic's English voice since the release of ''[[sonicretro:Sonic Free Riders|Sonic Free Riders]]'' and ''[[sonicretro:Sonic Colors|Sonic Colors]]'' since 2010. Unlike Mario, Sonic usually has full voice acting.

In April of 1990, Sega requested a game that would be capable of selling at least one million copies, compete against Nintendo's ''Super Mario'' franchise, and replace their current mascot character, Alex Kidd. Several character designs were submitted, and Sega eventually settled on spiky teal hedgehog submitted by Naoto Ohshima named "Mr. Hedgehog", later renamed Sonic. Some of the original ideas for Sonic depicted him as being in a band, as well as having a human girlfriend named Madonna who would have played a similar role to [[Princess Peach]] in ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'', though these were scrapped during development. After a few minor adjustments and redesigning, Sonic Team developed the character's first game, ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', a platformer for the {{wp|Sega Genesis|Sega Genesis / Mega Drive}}.{{ref needed}}

Nintendo and Sega were business rivals throughout the 1990s, though mostly during the competition of the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]] and the Sega Genesis. As such, Nintendo and Sega often attempted to put each other down in their games. Examples of Nintendo mocking Sega include the "No Hopers" sign in ''[[Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest]]'', and possibly the [[Harry Hedgehog]]s of ''[[Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island]]'', while examples of ''Super 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 ''Super Mario'' franchise titles beginning with "Super") and the Marxio Brothers of ''[[sonicretro:Sonic the Comic|Sonic the Comic]]'', a British comic book about Sonic and his friends. Sega's North American marketing also mocked ''Super Mario'' in television ads that negatively compared the speed of ''[[Super Mario World]]'' to the faster ''Sonic'' games on the Genesis.<ref>Power, Ed. (February 14, 2020). [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/games/sega-sonic-hedgehog-nintendo-sony-video-game-a9334771.html How Sega conquered the video games industry – and then threw it all away] ''The Independent''. Retrieved April 12, 2021.</ref>

Sonic competes against Mario and others in Olympic events in the game ''[[Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games]]''. He is a Speed character, meaning he has great speed, but low power. Sonic wears a yellow life jacket during the swimming events, since he cannot swim; however, he moves quite fast in water as well as out of it.

In the [[Adventure Tours]] mode for the [[Nintendo DS|DS]] version, [[Bowser]] and [[Dr. Eggman]] team up to ruin the 2010 Olympics. Bowser melts all of the snow at the event, and Dr. Eggman kidnaps the snow spirits to prevent any snowfall. Sonic and [[Mario]] team up in order to put a stop to Bowser and Dr. Eggman's plans and to save the snow spirits.

In the [[Nintendo 3DS]] [[Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Nintendo 3DS)|version]], Sonic is included in the Heroes group, meaning that he is only playable in certain events. In the Story Mode, Sonic arrives in [[London]] with Tails, where they find and clear up the red [[Phantasmal Fog]] at the [[Tower of London]], concluding that Bowser is involved. The next day, Sonic and Tails head to [[Tower Bridge]], where they find more Phantasmal Fog, and clear it up with the help of [[Yoshi]], Shadow, [[Silver the Hedgehog|Silver]] and [[Jet the Hawk|Jet]], fiding out from [[Bowser Jr.]] that Dr. Eggman is also partially responsible for the fog in the process. Sonic and Tails then move on to the [[British Museum]], where they team up with Mario, [[Luigi]] and [[Toad]] to clear the fog from the area and find out more about the fog. After gaining some more information, the group splits up, and Sonic heads to [[Horse Guards Parade]], where he finds Knuckles and [[Vector the Crocodile|Vector]] who help him fend off Bowser and clear the area of fog. Sonic then returns to the [[Main Stadium]] to meet up with the others, and helps save [[Cream the Rabbit|Cream]] and [[Cheese (character)|Cheese]] from some [[imposter]]s when the fog returns. Sonic then heads to [[Stonehenge]] with Mario, Luigi, Toad, Tails and [[E-123 Omega|Omega]], where he defeats [[Magikoopa]] in an Event, and after Omega recovers some memory, the group head to Big Ben to confront Bowser and Dr. Eggman. Toad and Omega head back to the Main Stadium, and the remaining four confront Bowser and Dr. Eggman, with Mario and Sonic challenging the pair. When they are defeated, Sonic helps Mario seal away the Phantasmal Fog, and then accompanies Bowser and Dr. Eggman to the Main Stadium so that they can sign up for the games, and later appears at the opening ceremony. A [[List of badges in Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Nintendo 3DS)|badge]] of Sonic can also be obtained from the badge machine.

Sonic reappears in ''[[Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020]]'' as a playable Speed-type character. Like many other characters in the game, Sonic wears appropriate clothing depending on the event. In addition to being playable in the Tokyo 2020 events, he is one of the eight characters that are playable in the Tokyo 1964 events, using his appearance from ''[[sonicretro:Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]''. In the game's Story Mode, Sonic gets sucked into the [[Tokyo '64]] game system along with Mario, Toad, Bowser, and Dr. Eggman, and decides to compete in the Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games.

Sonic was [[List of Super Smash Bros. Melee pre-release and unused content#Characters|originally]] requested to be a playable character in the [[Super Smash Bros. Melee| previous installment]], but the idea got scrapped due to time constraints. However, He makes his Smash Bros. debut as an unlockable playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'', and, alongside [[Solid Snake]], is one of the first two non-Nintendo characters to appear as playable characters in the series. He can be unlocked by playing 300 Brawl matches, completing Classic with ten characters, playing ten hours of Brawl matches, or by having Sonic join the party in The Subspace Emissary; with any of the first three methods, the player must then defeat Sonic on [[Green Hill Zone]]. Sonic was not originally planned to appear in the game; he was included during development in 2007, making him the final character created from the ground up to be added into the game.<ref>PushDustIn (July 24, 2016). [https://web.archive.org/web/20180306210721/http://sourcegaming.info/2016/07/24/sonic-the-hedgehog-joins-the-battle/ Sonic the Hedgehog Joins the Battle!!]. Source Gaming. Retrieved July 25, 2016.</ref>

Sonic is the fastest character in the game, with fast attacks and movements. Several of Sonic's moves are based on those he uses in his games. His standard special is the [[#Homing Attack|Homing Attack]], which involves him flying right into opponents, his down special and side special are [[#Spin Dash|Spin Dash]] and [[#Spin Charge|Spin Charge]], respectively, which both involve him curling into a ball and ramming into opponents, and his up special is [[#Spring Jump|Spring Jump]], which involves him leaping up off of a spring from the ''Sonic'' series. His [[Final Smash]] move is using the [[Chaos Emerald]]s to transform into [[#Super Sonic|Super Sonic]], allowing him to fly around the stage to attack.

Sonic does not appear in the Subspace Emissary until the very end, after [[The Great Maze]]. As 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 blue blur dashes past the fighters, and rams into both of Tabuu's wings, causing the Off-Wave attack to fail. 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. Sonic, along with [[Jigglypuff]], [[Squirtle]], [[Toon Link]], [[Wolf O'Donnell]], and [[Zero Suit Samus]], is one of the only characters that are never seen as trophies in The Subspace Emissary.

One of his alternate colors in this game seems to be based off [[Silver the Hedgehog]]. Along with Sonic himself, a stage based on [[Windy Hill Zone]] from ''[[sonicretro:Sonic Lost World|Sonic Lost World]]'' makes an appearance in ''Super Smash Bros. for Wii U'' as well as the returning Green Hill Zone appearing in ''Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS''.

|[[Fox McCloud|Fox]]

In ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'', crosshairs briefly appear on Sonic's target when the Homing Attack is used. The move is also used by [[Knuckles the Echidna|Knuckles]] when he is summoned from an [[Assist Trophy]].

In ''[[Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS]]'' / ''[[Super Smash Bros. for Wii U|Wii U]]'', the Homing Attack is given two custom variants. The first is '''Stomp''', another move from the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series that causes Sonic to slam directly downward into opponents and [[meteor smash]] them. The second move is '''Surprise Attack''', which is faster, but Sonic stays in place while charging and the attack sends Sonic into the air a little, giving the move less range.

The '''[[sonicretro:Spin Dash|Spin Dash]]''' is Sonic's side special move, based on the move that he has had in the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series since ''[[sonicretro:Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit)|Sonic the Hedgehog 2]]''. Rather than rapidly pressing the button like in the ''Sonic'' games, the Spin Dash in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series instead charges by holding down the special attack button. Sonic curls up into a ball as the move charges, and when the button is released Sonic charges forward, damaging any enemies in his path while doing a small hop at the beginning. The player can change the direction of the dash by tilting the control stick in the other direction. Players can also jump while dashing by pressing any button.

The '''Spin Charge''' is Sonic's down special move. It is a ''Sonic'' technique that originated from ''Sonic the Hedgehog 2''. The attack is very similar to the Spin Dash, but it has the potential to move faster. If Sonic uses this attack, the player must tap the special move button repeatedly to charge the attack even further. It also lacks a hop at the start, unlike Spin Dash. Charging it up gives it a huge power and speed boost, more so than the Spin Dash's charge. When the player taps the special move button but does not keep tapping it, Sonic will stop spinning, which could fake out the opponents. The attack is also very similar to [[Jigglypuff]]'s [[Jigglypuff#Rollout|Rollout]] attack.

{{quote|Super Sonic style!|Sonic the Hedgehog|Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U}}

'''[[sonicretro:Super Sonic|Super Sonic]]''' is a form that is taken by Sonic when he collects the seven [[Chaos Emerald]]s that appears in many installments in the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series, first appearing in ''Sonic the Hedgehog 2'', and also appears as his [[Final Smash]]. When activated, the Chaos Emeralds appear around Sonic and transform him into Super Sonic, allowing him to freely fly around at high speed, ramming into opponents to deal damage. After some time, the transformation ends and Sonic returns to normal. The player cannot self-destruct while using this Final Smash, as Super Sonic cannot fly past the stage's blast lines.

[[File:Mii Racing Suit Sonic.png|75px|thumb|Sonic suit in ''Mario Kart 8'']]

Sonic appears as one of the [[Mystery Mushroom]] [[Costume Mario#87|costumes]] available in ''[[Super Mario Maker]]''. The costume can be unlocked by clearing 100 Mario Challenge on Expert difficulty or by tapping Sonic's [[amiibo]] onto the Wii U GamePad, and can only be used with the ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' style. The sprite used for Sonic is 16-bit, being based on his sprites in the original {{wp|Sega Genesis|Sega Genesis / Mega Drive}} ''{{wp|Sonic the Hedgehog (1991 video game)|Sonic the Hedgehog}}'' game. Collecting the Mystery Mushroom giving the player this costume plays the 1-Up tune from the 1991 game ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', and all of Sonic's sound effects are taken from the original games. Pressing {{button|wii|padup}} causes Sonic to look up while playing the Ring-collecting sound. Finally, Sonic's "course clear" and "lose a life" fanfare are the course clear and game over fanfare, respectively, from ''Sonic the Hedgehog 3''.

==Crossover game appearances==

{|class=sortable cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 border=1 align=center width=100% style="border-collapse:collapse; font-family:Arial"

|''[[Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games]]

|Nintendo DS, Wii

|Playable Character

{|class="wikitable sortable"

!rowspan=2|Sonic the Hedgehog

|align=center|''SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2'' || rowspan=2 | ''Sonic's Final Smash. The Chaos Emeralds give energy to all living things, and Sonic's gathered all seven of them, then used their power to transform into Super Sonic. His abilities in this form far surpass his normal ones, and he's even able to fly. He uses a lot of energy in this form, so he can only remain in it for a short time.''

{|border=1 cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 style="text-align:center" width=100%

!rowspan=2|Sonic the Hedgehog<br><small>Sonic</small>

|rowspan=2 bgcolor="lightblue" align=center|''Sonic The Hedgehog'' (06/1991)<br>'''Wii U''' ''Sonic Lost World'' (10/2013)

|bgcolor="lightblue" align=center|''Sonic The Hedgehog'' (06/1991)<br>'''Wii U''' ''Sonic Lost World'' (10/2013)

|Gold [[Sonic the Hedgehog|Sonic]]

|description1=Sonic performing his Final Smash. (Jun-ichi Kanemaru, 2008)

*[[sonicretro:Jun'ichi Kanemaru|Jun-ichi Kanemaru]] (Japanese; 1998-present)

|Fra=Sonic le hérisson

|FraM=Sonic the Hedgehog

*{{fandom|sonic|Sonic the Hedgehog|Sonic the Hedgehog on Sonic News Network}}

 

[[Category:Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020]]