Characters of Sonic the Hedgehog
The series features three fictional species, in order of appearance: Chao, which have usually functioned as digital pets and minor gameplay and plot elements; Wisps, which have been used as power-ups; and Koco, which when collected grant new abilities for Sonic, among other things.
Developed as a replacement for their existing Alex Kidd mascot, as well as Sega's response to Mario, his first appearance was in the arcade game Rad Mobile as a cameo, before making his official debut in Sonic the Hedgehog (1991).
Debuting in the first game of the series, Sonic the Hedgehog, he was shown attempting to collect the Chaos Emeralds and turn all of the animals inhabiting the land into robots.
[8] When Sega had petitioned its research and development department to create a character who would replace Alex Kidd as its company mascot, a caricature of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt was among the proposed designs.
The Electronic Gaming Monthly staff found her pink coloring and tendency to run from danger to be stereotypical and common in Japanese-created female characters,[38] while feminist blogger Anita Sarkeesian cites Amy as an example of the "Ms.
[43] GameDaily placed Metal Sonic 13th on their "Top 25 Video Game Robots" list, describing him as Dr. Robotnik's "greatest creation" and praising the strength of his abilities.
First introduced in the Genesis game Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Knuckles lives on Angel Island, which hovers in the sky due to the power of the Master Emerald.
[47] His strength and mastery of martial arts, specializing in punches, enables him to perform feats such as shattering boulders with his fists, while he can trap air underneath his dreadlocks in order to glide for short distances.
His long period of absence was alluded to in Sonic Generations, in which he is shown on a missing persons poster alongside fellow SegaSonic character Ray the Flying Squirrel.
[72] His long period of absence was alluded to in Sonic Generations, in which he is shown on a missing persons poster during the City Escape level alongside fellow SegaSonic character Mighty the Armadillo.
[90] Iizuka stated in an interview with video game publication 1UP.com that Chao were incorporated into Sonic Adventure "so that new players would be forced to go out, explore the action sections, and find Flickies and things.
"[108] In a review of Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, GameSpot's Shiva Stella praised the level of strategy that the game's Chao system added.
[38] Gamma turns against his master after a heartfelt conversation with Amy Rose, who becomes his friend, and destroys the other E-100 Series robots to free the trapped animals inside them before ultimately doing the same to himself.
Omega has an array of destructive weapons concealed in his arms, including machine guns, flamethrowers, missile launchers, beam cannons and rocket-propelled drills.
[146] Rouge was created by Kazuyuki Hoshino as a "slightly sexy" character, which he noted had not been done in the series before and required substantial trial and error due to her deforume appearance.
Fifty years before the main series, he constructed the Space Colony ARK and researched immortality for the United Federation in an attempt to create the "Ultimate Life Form", hoping that it could help cure Maria's illness, leading to the creation of Shadow the Hedgehog.
[148] However, the failure of an earlier prototype led the United Federation to shut down the project and cover up its existence, with the military organization GUN leading a violent raid on the ARK during which Maria was killed.
Fueled by anger over his granddaughter's death and becoming resentful of humanity's increasingly callous nature, Gerald converted the ARK into a doomsday weapon and brainwashed Shadow before being executed, hoping the hedgehog would destroy the world in retribution.
[171] GamesRadar writer Jim Sterling ranked her as their second worst, stating that she "represents perhaps everything that's wrong with Sonic the Hedgehog characters", particularly finding her name to be random.
His individual episode revolves around him traveling back in time with Blaze the Cat to find and slay Sonic the Hedgehog, who they were tricked into believing is the cause of their world being destroyed in the future.
Additionally, Silver was one of a few Sega characters to make a cameo in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, in the background of Sonic's Green Hill Zone stage,[221] and as a trophy and sticker.
[236][237] Wisps are composed of an energy force called "Hyper-go-ons",[238] which they can use to phase into the body of playable protagonist Sonic and give him temporary elemental powers.
[263] Iizuka stated in an interview that the Wisps were added to Colors to "expand and strengthen the platform action gameplay" without forcing the player to switch to other playable characters.
[229][242] Nintendo Power's Steve Thomason identified them as "a truly interesting addition to the Sonic formula" amidst a series of missteps, and praised their "cleverly designed" variety.
[276] Their exact origins are unknown, but prior to the events of Sonic Lost World, Dr. Eggman had taken control of the group in order to capture animals to create Badniks.
[293][294] Scratch, Grounder, and Coconuts (voiced by Phil Hayes, Garry Chalk, and Ian James Corlett respectively[295]) are recurring dimwitted Badniks created by Doctor Robotnik in the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog series.
[299] Scratch, Grounder, and Coconuts have received mixed reception; while the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog series proved polarizing to critics,[296] the Badniks themselves have gone on to earn a cult following.
[301] Christopher Thorndyke (voiced by Sanae Kobayashi in Japanese and Suzanne Goldish in English), usually called Chris, is the main human protagonist of the Sonic X animated series.
He encounters and befriends Sonic shortly after his arrival in Chris' world and invites him and his friends to stay in his home, joining them on their adventures to find the Chaos Emeralds and stop Eggman's robots.
She is described as "infantile" by Scott Thompson of IGN[304] and an "unlikeable idiot" by Becky Cunningham of GamesRadar,[305] albeit a "nice addition" by Chris Carter of Destructoid.
