Sonic Heroes
Webpages concerning "Sonic Heroes"
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Wikipedia-Article "Sonic Heroes"
| Sonic Heroes | |
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| Developer(s) | Sonic Team |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Designer(s) | |
| Engine | RenderWare |
| Latest version | {{{version}}} |
| Release date(s) | January 6, 2004 |
| Genre | Platformer |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Everyone (E) |
| Platform(s) | PS2, Xbox, GameCube, PC |
| Media | DVD, CD-ROM, GameCube Optical Disc |
| System requirements | |
| Input | |
Sonic Heroes is a video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is the first multiplatform game in the Sonic series, appearing on the Nintendo Gamecube, Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox, and the PC CD-ROM. The phrase "Sonic Heroes" refers to the uniting of the protagonists of the Sonic the Hedgehog series.
The game introduces several new gameplay elements. Unlike past Sonic games, which have all been single player, player are able to control three characters at a time, switching the party's leader. Each character has a unique power which it contributes to the team. There are three types of characters that are used in gameplay. One party member is a "fly" type, able to ascend short distances with the other party members. The second type is "speed." This character can move faster than the other two and has a homing attack. The final brand of hero is "power," the character who has the most strength.
This game also marked the return of the Chaotix, a group last seen in Knuckles' Chaotix on the Sega 32X (except for Espio, who became playable in Sonic the Fighters), Shadow the Hedgehog & Rouge the Bat from Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, Cream the Rabbit from Sonic Advance 2, Big the Cat from Sonic Adventure and Metal Sonic, who, prior to this game, had not played a major role in the series since the 2D-era.
Even though it is the first multiplatform Sonic game, it is least recommended for the Playstation2 because of clipping and graphics faults during gameplay. Sonic Heroes sold 2.1 million copies worldwide.
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Teams
Unlike past Sonic the Hedgehog games, Sonic Heroes for the first time allows the player to control 3 characters at once. A player will choose one of four teams to use. The four teams all have their own strengths and weaknesses as do each of the individual characters.
A team is made up of three characters, each suited for a specific task. The three types of characters are "fly," "speed," and "power." The fly type is able to ascend short distances with other party members. The speed character has the ability to move at a faster rate than the other two members of the team. Lastly, the power character is the strongest physically of the three.
Team Sonic
- Sonic the Hedgehog (Leader) - Speed
- Miles "Tails" Prower - Fly
- Knuckles the Echidna - Power
Team Sonic is the main team of Sonic Heroes. One day, Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, and Knuckles the Echidna receive a letter from the maniacal Doctor Eggman. The doc tells them of his new ultimate weapon that will be ready within three days, thereby challenging them to try and find it. The three band together to stop the mad doctor's plans as Sonic heroes.
The typical level for this team requires one to race through the levels as quickly as possible, with intermediate difficulty settings. Team Sonic's abilities are very similar to Team Dark's, with the exception of the Power character's combos (Instead of firing Gatling guns, Knuckles triggers volcanic eruptions).
The team Blast is Sonic Overdrive, in which Knuckles holds Tails, holding Sonic, spinning them around picking up speed, until Knuckles lets go and Tails launches Sonic like the Thunder Shoot. Sonic will bounce around the area, destroying all enemies and stunning bosses like the Thunder Shoot. While the Gauge restores itself, Tails can Launch Sonic in a Mini-Team Blast form at any level, and when Sonic approaches any enemy, he can activate Light Dash, allowing him to destroy any enemy within his radius; however, they may not use these once the gauge has fully restored.
Team Dark
- Shadow the Hedgehog - Speed
- Rouge the Bat (Leader) - Fly
- E-123 Omega - Power
Team Dark's common cause to find Dr. Eggman. Rouge the Bat, the founder of the team and its resident flyer, is after Eggman's hidden treasure. Shadow the Hedgehog, the speed specialist, wants to know his true identity and why he was left inside a pod. E-123 Omega, the fully-armed robot, is angry with Eggman for abandoning him and wishes to prove his power to him.
Team Dark's missions are the most fighting-oriented in the game, calling for its members to blast through large hordes of enemies to reach the goal ring. To accommodate for this, Team Dark has more powerful offensive techniques at its disposal. Shadow uses his Homing attack to blast through rows of Eggman's flunkies; Rouge, besides being able to launch her companions at airborne enemies can attack enemies with powerful kicks or ring-like bombs; Omega can launch his friends at enemies, after which he transforms his arms into formidable gatling guns to take out entire groups of foes.
Team Dark's attacks are generally identical to Team Sonic's. One exceptions is that when Knuckles gains power-ups, he'll use fire-quakes after his triple attack. Omega, however, at Level 1, uses his trusty gatling guns in a turning manuvour. At Level 2 he'll use two falmethrowers, and at Level 3, he'll use a couple of rocket launchers.
The Team Blast is Chaos Inferno, that once activated, Shadow will grab a Chaos Emerald from Omega (it's known not to be geniune because he'll use it even if you haven't obtained the real green one, and it's presumed that this Emerald is what powers Omega)and Rouge, sitting on Omega's head, will manually (since Shadow is using Omega's power source) have Omega use Chaos Inferno, in which he will fire two huge purple beams from his arm. The beams will destroy all nearby enemies. Also, while the gauge is being restored, time will be frozen by Chaos Control. Once the gauge is restored, everything will be normal again.
Team Rose
- Amy Rose (Leader) - Speed
- Cream the Rabbit & Cheese the Chao - Fly
- Big the Cat - Power
The characters of Team Rose are each trying to find someone important to them. Amy Rose searches for her Sonic, who likes pie and she is determined to marry despite Sonic's lack of interest in her. Big the Cat is searching for his amphibian friend Froggy. Cream the Rabbit is seeking out Cheese the Chao's brother, Chocola. With a picture in the newspaper (being carried off by who they believe to be Sonic) as their only clue, the three join up to find their lost companions.
Team Rose has the simplest levels in the game, boasting fewer enemies and longer flight times. Amy leads the speed formation, and though she's not quite as quick as Sonic, she has her handy Piko-Piko Hammer to smack enemies and smack her friends at enemies. Cream can fly her teammates over long distances, and solo she can send Cheese to attack for her. Big's weapon of choice is his trusty fishing pole, which can be swung around as his wide power move but also has a built-in parasol to help the team ride air currents over obstacles.
Their Team Blast is "Flower Festival", in which Big balances Amy and Cream onto his parasol as an explosion of flowers bursts from it. This will level-up all characters and make the team invincible for a brief period.
Team Chaotix
- Espio the Chameleon - Speed
- Charmy Bee - Fly
- Vector the Crocodile (Leader) - Power
Team Chaotix is composed of quiet, ninja-like Espio, the Chameleon; their headstrong leader Vector, the Crocodile; and the air-headed flying ace Charmy Bee. Notably missing is Mighty the Armadillo, who appears with his team in Knuckles' Chaotix.
Team Chaotix is a detective agency. One day they receive a mysterious package with a walkie talkie in it. A stranger gives the team instructions through this device and claims that if the job he has for them is completed the Chaotix crew will be handsomely rewarded. Espio is wary of the job, but Vector reminded him of Chaotix's number one rule, "We never turn down work that pays!"
In Sonic Heroes, the missions of Team Chaotix differ from the other three teams'. From collecting hermit crabs to destroying golden turtle robots, the goals these three pursue are unique. Additionally, each member has unique skills that set them apart from the other characters of his type. Espio, for instance, can render himself invisible to avoid enemy fire and pass through laser barriers. Charmy can activate special flowers to teleport the group to another flower in the level. Vector attacks by crunching enemies in his jaws, then spewing what is said to be halitosis at enemies. As Vector levels-up, he can breathe fire and the fan-dubbed "bubblegum bombs", in which Vector chucks up a load of explosive bubblegum bubbles. The bubblegum can also be used to float.
Team Chaotix's Team Blast is toast, in which Espio plucks on a samisen, Charmy bangs on a drum, and Vector wails into a microphone which destroys every enemy on-screen and produces a ring box for each.
Stages
Sonic Heroes contains 15 stages total. Depending on which of the four teams you play as, the enemies and items for each stage will be different. For more information on the subject, see the WikiBooks Entry for Sonic Heroes.
- Sea Gate
- Seaside Hill
- Ocean Palace
- Grand Metropolis
- Power Plant
- Casino Park
- BINGO Highway
- Rail Canyon
- Bullet Station
- Frog Forest
- Lost Jungle
- Hang Castle
- Mystic Mansion
- Egg Fleet
- Final Fortress
Reaction
Reviews for Sonic Heroes generally are positive; most professional reviewers cited the enjoyable sense of visual style the game had (which harkens back to the classic Sonic games of the mid-1990s) but also noted it's shortcomings as well, such as the poor camera system (a frequent complaint about the 3D Sonic series). Still, the majority of reviewers rated this game favorably despite the problems. Fan reaction, however, has not been so good. The majority of the complaints seem to stem from the control scheme which is either too precise or not precise enough depending on how fast you are moving. Another complaint, one that seems to be echoed throughout the entire 3D Sonic series, are bottomless pits; which when combined with poor control, contribute to the vast majority of unfair deaths in the game. One of the levels that recieved the most complaints was BINGO Highway (and to a lesser extent, Casino Park), due to extremely poor pinball physics.
Another complaint that both fans and critics alike shared was the fact that there were simply too many playable characters. This has been an ongoing complaint that started back during the original Sonic Adventure, with many stating that all these extra characters were beginning to steal the spotlight from Sonic; this complaint was amplified in Sonic Adventure 2, which forced players to play as the extra characters reguardless of wether they wanted to or not. This was compounded by Sonic Heroes, which, if you count invidvidual characters (rather than counting teams), there are a total of 12 playable characters (However, one could also say that many fans would be dissapointed if their favorite character was not playable - such was the case with Sonic Adventure 2; half the roster of playable characters were added after many complained Tails was not playable).
Easter Eggs & Trivia
- Cream the Rabbit was originally designed to first appear in Sonic Heroes, however, when 2002's Sonic Advance 2 was announced, Sonic Team decided that it would be a good idea to introduce her there first, as to make Sonic Advance 2 feel fresher.
- This is the first game Chaotix has appeared in since since 1995. Takashi Iizuka has been quoted saying he considers this new, re-designed Chaotix his creation, as the original Chaotix from 1995 was created by a different artist at Sega of America.
- Vector the Crocodile was originally slated to appear in the original Sonic the Hedgehog, on the Soundtest screen as part of a "Sonic the Hedgehog Band". Unfortunately, this animation was removed to make room for the Sega Chime at the beginning of the game.
- Although the plot for Sonic Heroes is somewhat sparce, a large portion of it is a set up for 2005's Shadow the Hedgehog.
- As characters interact, they sometimes make references to past Sonic games. For example Amy Rose remarks, "I haven't seen weather like this since that time we attacked the Egg Carrier!" Later, in Frog Forest, Knuckles remarks, "We have jungle mushrooms on my island too, but not this huge!" - A reference of Mushroom Hill Zone from Sonic and Knuckles.
- This was the first brand-new Sonic game planned to be Multi-Platform since it's inception. It was designed using Renderware technology, making porting between systems easy. Primary development was done on the Gamecube, and then ported to the Xbox and Playstation 2.
- In the opening scene of Team Chaotix's story, there are pinned papers on a notice board behind Vector, showing concept drawings of the robots used in the original Sonic game.
External links
- Official Website
- Sonic Heroes at MobyGames
- Sonic Heroes at the Internet Movie Database
- GameSpot GameSpace
- Download the PC demo
- goodcowfilms.com: farm: sega: sonic heroes (multiplatform)
- Sonic Heroes time attack records at The Sonic Center
- game overview at 1up.com
| Sonic the Hedgehog series |
|---|
| Sonic the Hedgehog | Sonic 2 | Sonic CD | Sonic 3 | Sonic & Knuckles | Sonic 3D | Sonic Adventure/DX | Sonic Adventure 2/Battle | Sonic Heroes | Sonic (2006) |
| 8-bit series |
| Sonic the Hedgehog | Sonic the Hedgehog 2 | Sonic Chaos | Sonic Triple Trouble | Sonic Blast |
| New handheld series |
| Sonic Pocket Adventure | Sonic Advance/N | Sonic Advance 2 | Sonic Advance 3 | Sonic Rush |
| Spinoffs and related titles |
| SegaSonic the Hedgehog | Sonic Spinball | Knuckles' Chaotix | Sonic Labyrinth | Sonic Drift | Tails Adventures | Tails' Skypatrol | Sonic Championship | Sonic R | Sonic Shuffle Sonic Pinball Party | Sonic Battle | Shadow the Hedgehog | Sonic Riders |
| Compilations |
| Classics | Jam | S&K Collection | Sonic Mega Collection/Plus | Sonic Gems Collection |
| Cancelled titles |
| Sonic Crackers | Sonic X-treme |