Sonic the Hedgehog (universe): Difference between revisions

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Sonic the Hedgehog'' (universe)}}

|caption          = [[File:SonicSymbol.svg|50px|class=invert]]

|publisher        = Sega<br>THQ<br>Atari SA<br>[[Nintendo]]<br>Gameloft

|genres            = Platformer<br>Racing<br>Sports<br>Educational<br>Puzzle<br>Fighting<br>Party<br>Role-playing

|latestinstallment = ''{{iw|wikipedia|Sonic Colors: Ultimate}}'' (2021)

The '''''Sonic the Hedgehog'' universe''' ({{ja|ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ|Sonikku za Hejjihoggu}}, ''Sonic the Hedgehog'') refers to the ''Smash Bros.'' series' collection of characters, stages and properties that hail from the world famous media franchise owned by [[Sega]] and centered on its company mascot, [[Sonic the Hedgehog]]. This had been easily the most anticipated new franchise for inclusion in the Nintendo-based fighting game series and is considered the biggest "rival" franchise to {{uv|Mario}}. Its logo is a silhouette of Sonic's head, similar to the logo of Sonic Team.

By 1988, [[Sega]] had released its 16-bit successor to the Sega Master System, the Mega Drive, worldwide. It was renamed as the {{s|wikipedia|Sega Genesis}} for its North American release due to Sega's inability to secure legal rights to the Mega Drive name in the region. Nintendo's flagship {{uv|Mario}} franchise was at the height of its worldwide commercial success, with the recent release of ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' in Japan, a week before the Mega Drive's launch, and both the North American releases of Nintendo's own 16-bit system, the Super Famicom, renamed as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and one of its launch titles, ''Super Mario World'', would be released in mid-1991. Sega made a conscious effort to directly compete against Nintendo's powerful brand with a reliance on a new mascot for both the console and the company itself, one that would help sell systems and broaden its market demographic, and thus began development of its own platformer in April 1990 (two months after the North American release of ''Super Mario Bros. 3''). The game placed an emphasis on horizontally-lengthy levels that could be navigated with a player-character that could run and roll through at a high velocity, with movements that were dictated by elements of momentum-based physics. The original concept for an emphasis on speed was that most video games in the 1980s did not have save files, and thus players would often memorize level patterns and attempt to speed through them as fast as possible to make any real progress. The screen scrolled as fast as it needed to keep up; it was a very technically difficult process to create the game's graphics engine so that it could allow this speed without sacrificing graphical clarity. The end result was the worldwide debut of the eponymous character [[Sonic the Hedgehog]], whose game was released in June 23, 1991 in North America, 2 months ahead of the SNES's launch in the region.

The legendary scenario of former video game archrivals Sonic and Mario crossing over in the same game was finally realized in late 2007 with the release of a game that pit the two against each other in a very unexpected scenario: a sports-themed minigame collection titled ''Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games'', where selectable characters from both the ''Sonic'' and ''Mario'' franchises compete against each other in all of the sporting competitions associated with the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing, China. This became a subseries - developed by Sega, published by Nintendo, and officially licensed by the International Olympic Committee - that would regularly release new installments for both Nintendo's consoles and handhelds at a biennial rate to correspond to each of the subsequent Olympic seasons - the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver, British Columbia; the 2012 Summer Olympics held in London, England; the 2014 Winter Olympics held in Sochi, Russia; the 2016 Summer Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan, with a new 2D retro mode set at the Tokyo 1964 Olympics. Meanwhile, Sonic was chosen as one of the first two third-party characters to co-star alongside Mario and many other Nintendo characters in the ''{{b|Super Smash Bros.|series}}'' fighting game series, in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'', becoming a mainstay of the series ever since.

''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are set in an Earth-like world populated by wildly anthropomorphized, colorful animal characters, but unlike {{uv|Star Fox}}, humans are a feature in this world as well. The main character is Sonic, a blue hedgehog with an attitude and a pair of striped shoes as his only articles of clothing, and he has the capacity to run extremely fast and curl up into a rolling sphere. In a format similar to both {{uv|Mario}} and {{uv|Mega Man}}, Sonic's most persistent adversary is a mad human scientist bent on world domination named Dr. Ivo Robotnik (most commonly called "Eggman"), and Sonic speeds his way through levels to defeat him in his various combat machines and free innocent animals that have been transformed into robots by Eggman. Powerful jewels called Chaos Emeralds are both what Eggman covets for his schemes and what Sonic must collect to temporarily transform into an invincible [[Super Sonic|Super state]] that can help him defeat his enemies. Over the chronology of the ''Sonic'' games, Sonic has encountered a vastly-expanded cast of side characters, allies, rivals, and enemies, and has battled even greater threats to the world than Eggman himself in narratives that have become increasingly involved. Meanwhile, Sonic has starred in several animated TV series, an upcoming movie series distributed by Paramount Pictures, and an expanded alternate universe for Sonic has been the focus of a long-running comic book continuity published by Archie Comics, which holds the Guinness World Record for being the longest-running comic book based on a video game character. While the comics were eventually cancelled in 2016 after running for over two decades, the series' publishing rights have been picked up by IDW Publishing, which started a brand-new series in 2018, led by the same creative team from the late Archie series.

It has been verified that nothing to do with Sonic or anything from his franchise exists in ''Melee'' at all, in spite of the infamous rumor detailed below. However, when Yuji Naka was asked if Sonic had appeared in ''Melee'' in an interview with Edge Magazine, he stated that Sonic could not be included in the game due to time constraints.<ref>[http://www.ssbwiki.com/images/2/2e/YujiNakaInterview.jpg Edge Australia, Issue 04 (p. 24)], "It was very close, but time constraints did not allow us to continue with the idea."</ref>

===[[List of rumors#Unlocking Sonic and Tails|Sonic & Tails Rumor]]===

Players have proven this rumor false both in premise and in practice. It would be highly unlikely that Sega (which, during ''Melee''{{'}}s development, was not yet a full-fledged third-party company, and thus was in competition with Nintendo) would sell its characters for use in a Nintendo game. There are no provisions to include Sonic and Tails in ''Melee''{{'}}s [[All-Star Mode]] (which showcases every playable character in the game), and an [[Notice|in-game message]] also indicates that {{SSBM|Mr. Game & Watch}} is the last unlockable character (or whoever the player unlocks last). In addition, another message tells the player that they have unlocked every trophy. As beating single-player modes with Sonic and Tails would yield new trophies, this is impossible. Along with all of this, analyzing the game data reveals absolutely nothing of Sonic or Tails existing in the game.

The ''Sonic'' franchise makes a sensational debut in the ''Smash Bros.'' series in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]''.

*[[File:SonicIcon(SSBB).png|50px|right]]'''{{SSBB|Sonic}}''' ([[Unlockable character|Unlockable]]): The eponymous star of the franchise was the most anticipated and requested third-party character for ''Brawl''. His appearance is based off of the "modern" Sonic appearance in the later ''Sonic'' games, such as ''Sonic Adventure'', ''Sonic Adventure 2'', ''Sonic Heroes'', ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' (2006) and ''Sonic Unleashed''. Seemingly as expected, he is a character who emphasizes speed, and has been compared to {{SSBM|Fox}} and {{SSBM|Falco}} in ''Melee''. His [[Final Smash]] is [[Super Sonic]], during which he utilizes the seven Chaos Emeralds to transform him and fly around the stage, ramming into opponents at high speeds.{{clr}}

*[[File:Icon-greenhillzone.gif|right]]'''[[Green Hill Zone]]''' ([[Unlockable stage|Unlockable]]): Based on the first level of ''Sonic the Hedgehog''. The stage is based almost entirely around a huge crater-like formation at the center.  The bottom areas of the dip are destructible and break away in squares.  A checkpoint Star Post appears at certain places in random intervals which can be struck to make it spin, damaging enemies who touch it, other than the one that attacked it in the first place (unless it's a team battle, where it then it applies for all teammates). Also, Tails, Silver, and Knuckles can appear as cameos in the background of the stage.

*'''[[Shadow the Hedgehog]]''': Shadow uses Chaos Control on the battlefield, which causes the movement of opponents to slow down in a more extreme way than the [[Timer]], but it lasts shorter and never backfires.

*'''{{SSBBMusicLink|Sonic The Hedgehog|Green Hill Zone}}''': The theme of the first level, Green Hill Zone, from ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' for the Sega Genesis. It plays on its namesake, the Green Hill Zone stage.

*'''{{SSBBMusicLink|Sonic The Hedgehog|Scrap Brain Zone}}''': The theme of the last level of ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', Scrap Brain Zone. It is used in the Green Hill Zone stage.

*'''{{SSBBMusicLink|Sonic The Hedgehog|Emerald Hill Zone}}''': The theme of the first level of ''Sonic the Hedgehog 2'', Emerald Hill Zone. It is used in the Green Hill Zone stage.

*'''{{SSBBMusicLink|Sonic The Hedgehog|Sonic Boom}}''': The main theme of the US version of ''Sonic the Hedgehog CD'', which played during the opening movie. This song is taken directly from said game, as performed by Pastiche. It is used in the Green Hill Zone stage.

*'''{{SSBBMusicLink|Sonic The Hedgehog|Super Sonic Racing}}''': The main theme taken directly from the lesser known ''Sonic'' racing game ''Sonic R'', performed by TJ Davis. It is used in the Green Hill Zone stage.

*'''{{SSBBMusicLink|Sonic The Hedgehog|Open Your Heart}}''': The main theme of ''Sonic Adventure'' written and performed by Crush 40, this is a looped version of the very same song from said game performed by Crush 40. It is used in the Green Hill Zone stage.

*'''{{SSBBMusicLink|Sonic The Hedgehog|Live & Learn}}''': The main theme of ''Sonic Adventure 2'', it was written and performed by Crush 40, the same duo who performed ''Open Your Heart''. It is used in the Green Hill Zone stage.

*'''{{SSBBMusicLink|Sonic The Hedgehog|Sonic Heroes}}''': Also written and performed by the same band as the above two songs, this was the main theme of said game. It is used in the Green Hill Zone stage.

*'''{{SSBBMusicLink|Sonic The Hedgehog|Right There, Ride On}}''': From  the Nintendo DS title ''Sonic Rush'', this is the music for the Leaf Storm level. This particular variant is the "Digital Remakin' Trax" from the game's soundtrack release. It is used in the Green Hill Zone stage.

*'''{{SSBBMusicLink|Sonic The Hedgehog|HIS WORLD (Instrumental)}}''': An instrumental version of Sonic's theme from ''Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)'', more commonly known as ''Sonic '06'', for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.  It is used in the Green Hill Zone stage. It is unlocked by playing in the Green Hill Zone stage 10 times.

*'''{{SSBBMusicLink|Sonic The Hedgehog|Seven Rings in Hand}}''': Taken directly from Sonic's first [[Wii]] title, ''Sonic and the Secret Rings'', this was the main theme of that game performed by Steve Conte. It is used in the Green Hill Zone stage. This song also plays during Sonic's Classic Mode credits.

*'''[[Victory theme#Sonic Victory Theme|Victory! Sonic]]''': Sonic's victory theme is an orchestration of the one from various ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' titles, with it originating in ''Sonic the Hedgehog 3''. This version, entitled Mission Clear, is taken directly from ''Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)'', more commonly known as ''Sonic 06'', for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, making it the only victory theme to be directly imported from another game.

*[[File:SonicIcon(SSB4-U).png|50px|right]]'''{{SSB4|Sonic}}''' ([[Starter character|Starter]]): a speedy {{s|wikipedia|freedom fighter}} who foils the plans of the nefarious {{s|wikipedia|Dr. Eggman}}. He is an iconic video game character created by {{s|wikipedia|Sega}} during the {{s|wikipedia|console wars}} to compete with [[Nintendo]]'s [[Mario]]. He was revealed in October 2013 during a Nintendo Direct highlighting a console-exclusive partnership between Nintendo and Sega. He retains his special moves from ''Brawl'', as well as his Final Smash. However, Sonic has a new down smash and his dash attack was slightly changed: for his down smash he now performs a split-kick, and for his dash attack, he now performs a scissor-kick at the end. His appearance is now based on his refined appearance that debuted in ''Sonic Unleashed'' and has been used for his "modern" design ever since. Like in his original games, Sonic's mouth is now positioned on the side of his face.

*'''[[Shadow the Hedgehog]]''': Sonic's rival from ''{{s|wikipedia|Sonic Adventure 2}}'' and the second most popular ''Sonic'' character. When summoned, Shadow harnesses the power of a Chaos Emerald to perform Chaos Control, which slows down all opponents in battle. He cannot be attacked and he does not slowdown the summoner.

*{{GameIcon|SSBB}}'''{{SSB4MusicLink|Sonic The Hedgehog|Angel Island Zone}}''': an arrangement of "Angel Island Act 1" and "Angel Island Act 2" from ''{{s|wikipedia|Sonic the Hedgehog 3}}''  [[wikipedia:lead instrument|led]] by an {{s|wikipedia|electric guitar}}. It plays on Windy Hill Zone.

The ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise is still well represented in ''Ultimate'' and received a slight boost in representation from the post-''Sonic Lost World'' titles, with one new Assist Trophy, several new music tracks ported from other games, several Spirits, and both stages from past games returning, making the ''Sonic'' series one of the only third-party franchises with multiple stages in one ''Super Smash Bros.'' installment along with {{uv|Final Fantasy}} (after version 10.0.0).

*38. [[File:SonicIcon(SSBU).png|50px|right]]'''{{SSBU|Sonic}}''' ([[Unlockable character|Unlockable]]): The iconic Blue Blur returns as an unlockable fighter after being a starter in ''Smash 4''. He is considerably more expressive this time and many of his attacks and animations have been reworked, such as his jab, dash attack, and [[Homing Attack]], he also has a new dash attack, a flying lunge kick. He retains his Final Smash, Super Sonic, but it now has altered functionality; the player has very little control over the movement of the attack, similar to both Pikachu and Diddy Kong’s reworked Final Smashes and Pichu's new Final Smash.{{clr}}

*'''[[Shadow the Hedgehog]]''': Sonic's rival from ''Sonic Adventure 2'' and the second most popular ''Sonic'' character. When summoned, Shadow harnesses the power of a Chaos Emerald to perform Chaos Control, which slows down all opponents in battle with a second phase that completely stops the opponents. He cannot be attacked and he does not slow down the summoner.

*'''''[[Knuckles the Echidna]]''''': Sonic’s hotheaded friendly rival since ''Sonic the Hedgehog 3'' and ''Sonic & Knuckles''. He attacks opponents using the Homing Attack and his fists, and he can also dig into the ground, attacking with a rising uppercut. He can be damaged and KO’d. He cannot be summoned on Green Hill Zone due to appearing as a background character on the stage.

The following Mii costumes returned as [[downloadable content (SSBU)|downloadable content]] as part of version 3.0.0, within the first wave of Mii Fighter outfits and separate from Challenger Pack 1.

*{{Head|Mii Gunner|g=SSBU|s=24x24px}} '''[[Tails|Tails Outfit]]''' ([[DLC]])

*{{Head|Mii Brawler|g=SSBU|s=24x24px}} '''[[Knuckles|Knuckles Outfit]]''' ([[DLC]])

*'''[[Tails|Tails Hat]]''' ([[DLC]])

*'''[[Knuckles|Knuckles Hat]]''' ([[DLC]])

===''{{iw|wikipedia|Sonic the Hedgehog|1991 video game}}''===

 

===''{{iw|wikipedia|Sonic the Hedgehog 2|8-bit video game}}'' (8-bit)===

**{{gameIcon|SSB4}} The cuffs on Sonic's purple costume in ''Smash 4'' and ''Ultimate'' resemble the purple [https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Chaos_Emerald Chaos Emerald], which first appeared in this game.

*Stage Elements:

**{{gameIcon|SSBB}} Tails, who originated in this title, appears in the background of Green Hill Zone.

**{{gameIcon|SSBB}} Tails appears as a trophy in ''Brawl'' and ''Smash 4''.

**{{gameIcon|SSBB}} Tails appears as a sticker.

 

**{{gameIcon|SSBB}} The cuffs on Sonic's Red and Green costumes are based on the thumbs up that appears in this game and its add-on when locked onto ''Sonic & Knuckles'', ''[https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Knuckles_the_Echidna_in_Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2 Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic the Hedgehog 2]''{{'}} s special stages respectively.

**{{gameIcon|SSBB}} "'''{{SSBBMusicLink|Sonic The Hedgehog|Emerald Hill Zone}}'''": The theme of the first zone, [https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Emerald_Hill_Zone Emerald Hill Zone], sourced from this game.

 

===''{{iw|wikipedia|Sonic CD}}''===

**{{gameIcon|SSBB}} Sonic's down special move, [[Spin Charge]] is similar to the Spin Dash from this game.

**{{gameIcon|SSBB}} The [https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Super_Peel_Out Super Peel Out] serves as Sonic's running animation, as well as his side taunt.

 

 

 

**{{gameIcon|SSB4-3ds}} [[Eggrobo]] appears as an enemy in [[Smash Run]].

 

===''{{iw|wikipedia|Knuckles' Chaotix}}''===

 

 

 

 

**{{gameIcon|SSBB}} Sonic's neutral special move, [[Homing Attack]], originated in this game, though it shares similarity with the one from ''Sonic 3D Blast''.

**{{gameIcon|SSBB}} Several [https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Chao Chao] appear as a trophy in ''Brawl'' and ''Smash 4''.

 

 

**{{gameIcon|SSB4}} One of Sonic's [[Character customization|custom moves]] for the Spin Dash, Burning Spin Dash, resembles the [https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Fire_Somersault Fire Somersault] technique from this game.

**{{gameIcon|SSBB}} Shadow appears as a trophy in ''Brawl'' and ''Smash 4''.

**{{gameIcon|SSB4-3DS}} [https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Rouge_the_Bat Rouge the Bat] appears as a trophy.

**{{gameIcon|SSBB}} "'''{{SSBBMusicLink|Sonic The Hedgehog|Live & Learn}}'''": The main theme, written and performed by Crush 40, sourced from this game.

 

**{{gameIcon|SSBB}} [https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Cream_the_Rabbit Cream the Rabbit] & [https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Cheese Cheese] appear as a trophy in ''Brawl'' and ''Smash 4''.

 

 

 

**{{gameIcon|SSBB}} One of Sonic's Japanese victory quotes originates from this game.

 

 

 

 

 

**{{gameIcon|SSBB}} Sonic’s design in ''Brawl'' is sourced from this game.

**{{gameIcon|SSBB}} "'''{{SSBBMusicLink|Sonic The Hedgehog|His World (Theme of Sonic the Hedgehog - 2006 E3 Version)}}'''": The main theme and Sonic's theme, taken from this game's E3 2006 trailer.

 

===''{{iw|wikipedia|Sonic Rivals}}''===

 

**{{gameIcon|SSBU}} The Homing Attack in ''Ultimate'' includes a reticle, a feature which was introduced in this game.

 

**{{gameIcon|SSB4}} The cuffs on Sonic's White costume in ''Smash 4'' and ''Ultimate'' resemble the [https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Ark_of_the_Cosmos Arks of the Cosmos] from this game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**{{gameIcon|SSBU}} "'''{{SSBUMusicLink|Sonic The Hedgehog|Lights, Camera, Action! (Studiopolis Zone - Act 1)}}'''": The theme of the first act of the third zone, [https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Studiopolis_Zone Studiopolis Zone], sourced from this game.

 

**{{gameIcon|SSBU}} "'''{{SSBUMusicLink|Sonic The Hedgehog|Sunset Heights}}'''": The theme of the [https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Sunset_Heights Sunset Heights] stage, sourced from this game.

**This is a similar case to how ''SSB4'' and ''Ultimate'' refer to the {{uv|Final Fantasy}} universe completely in capital letters as well, in both the trophies gallery and in the stage builder music selection.

**Along with the {{uv|Pac-Man}} universe, ''Sonic'' and  ''Final Fantasy'' are the only three third-party universes to have more than one stage.

*''Sonic'' and {{uv|Zelda}} are the only universes to have music originating from video game trailers which did not appear in the games themselves. {{uv|Kirby}}, {{uv|Pikmin}}, and {{uv|Final Fantasy}} share this distinction when considering music originating from non-gaming media.

*Article on the [https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_series Sonic Wiki].

[[Category:Third Party Series]]