Sonic Wiki Zone

Know something we don't about Sonic? Don't hesitate in signing up today! It's fast, free, and easy, and you will get a wealth of new abilities, and it also hides your IP address from public view. We are in need of content, and everyone has something to contribute!

If you have an account, please log in.

READ MORE

Sonic Wiki Zone
Register
Advertisement
Sonic Wiki Zone

The Orbinauts return as one of Sonic's most challenging Badnicks![sic] Pay close attention, you only have a split second to defeat them.


— Profile, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I website[10]

The Unidasu[1] (ウニダス[2] Unidasu?), is an enemy that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is a mass-produced sea urchin-based Badnik created by Dr. Eggman, as well as one of the primary Orbinaut models.

Appearance[]

As part of the sea urchin-like Orbinaut series, Unidasus resemble their other variations, such as Uni Uni. They have a spherical body with wide eyes and four red spiked balls orbiting their body. Usually, their body is blue when in their neutral state, but when spotting an enemy, their body turns red. They also usually have black eyes, but had cyan eyes in Sonic Lost World.

In Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2, the Unidasus' bodies were colored black with cyan eyes. They were also given a grey bottom plate and small motors on their back. Orbiting them are four black explosive orbs with white spikes on them.

Game appearances[]

Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)[]

Unidus

In the 16-bit version of the original Sonic the Hedgehog, the Unidasus (ウニダス[2] Unidasu?) appear in Labyrinth Zone and Scrap Brain Zone Act 3. In the case of the latter, they are normally found in the underwater sections where they are cramped inside narrow passages, thus obstructing the player's path.

In gameplay, the Unidasus hover around very slowly. They are orbited by four red spiked balls which they fling off in rapid succession upon being approached. It is a dangerous assault, but once it is done, the Unidasu is completely open to attack. Upon their destruction, they release an Animal.

In the 8-bit version of the original Sonic the Hedgehog, the Unidasus once again appear in Labyrinth Zone. In this version, they have a light blue body instead. That aside, they behave like their 16-bit counterparts. Like other Badniks in the game, they also do not have any Animals powering them.

Sonic Adventure[]

Spiky Spinner artwork

The Spiky Spinner, from Sonic Adventure.

In Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut, the Unidasu is referred to as the Spiky Spinner[9] (ウニダス[3][11] Unidasu?, lit. "Unidus") and Unidus.[12] In this game, they were given a slight redesign, making them look more mechanized. They appear in the following Action Stages for each character:

Character Action Stage
Sonic Speed Highway, Sky Deck
Tails Sky Deck, Speed Highway
Knuckles Speed Highway, Sky Deck

In gameplay, Spiky Spinners hover back and forth. They start attacking should the player get close enough and will use one of two attack patterns: they either throw their explosive spiked balls at the player or rotate their spiked balls over a wider radius for a sweeping attack. After losing their spiked balls, the Spiky Spinners will still follow the player, but are now wide open to attacks. When destroyed, they release a collectible Animal.

Sonic Adventure 2[]

Sa2 unidus

An Unidus approaching Knuckles, from Sonic Adventure 2.

In Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, the Unidasu is named Unidus[4] (ウニダス[5] Unidasu?). They feature the same design they had in Sonic Adventure. The Unidus appear in the following Action Stages for each character:

Character Action Stage
Tails Hidden Base
Knuckles Death Chamber

In gameplay, Unidus use their attack pattern from Sonic Adventure where they rotate their spiked balls over a wider radius for a sweeping attack. However, they will not launch their spiked balls at the player, similar to their Uni Uni relatives. Defeating an Unidus rewards the player with one hundred points and releases a collectible Animal inside it.

Sonic Rivals 2[]

In Sonic Rivals 2, the Unidus from Sonic Adventure 2 appears as a collectible card. Their card is collected by getting the high score in the boss duel for Neon Palace Zone.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I[]

Orbinaut in Sonic 4 - Episode 1

The Unidasu, from Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I.

In Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I, the Unidasus (referred to here as Spike Spinners[8]) appear in Lost Labyrinth Zone with a slightly upgraded design. Despite that, they have the same attack patterns from previous games. However, Unidasus' bodies are in this game constantly red instead of changing color when spotting Sonic.

Sonic Lost World[]

Mad-Unidasu-Sonic-Lost-World

A mad Unidasu, from the Wii U version of Sonic Lost World.

In the Wii U version, PC version and Nintendo 3DS version of Sonic Lost World, the Unidasus appear as enemies. During the games' events, the Deadly Six hijacked all of Dr. Eggman's Unidasus.

In the Wii U/PC version of the game, Unidasus can be found in Frozen Factory Zone 4 and Sky Road Zones 1, 4 and ?. They also retain their coloration change from blue to red when spotting the player. In the 2.5D side scrolling sections, Unidasus hover around while their spiked balls orbit them laterally. They are here often stacked with Uni Unis to create huge enemy walls. In the 3D sections of the game, their spikes orbit them horizontally instead. When noticing Sonic, their spiked balls freeze in their position and are launched laterally at the player one by one rather fast.

In the Nintendo 3DS version of the game, Unidasus appears only in the 3D sections of Sky Road Zone 2. Unlike the Wii U/PC version, Unidasus never fire their spiked balls or turn red when spotting the player, and instead hover around with their spiked balls like in Sonic Adventure 2. The player has to avoid hitting their spike balls by targeting their bodies from above.

When a Unidasu is destroyed in any of the versions of Sonic Lost World, it will release an Animal.

Powers and abilities[]

As an Orbinaut, Unidasus are capable of levitation. However, their main skill lies in their spiked balls which they can hold in orbit around them to act as both weapons and a shield. Alternatively, they can throw these spiked balls at enemies from a distance, albeit slowly. Unidasus are completely defenseless after throwing all of their spiked balls, however.

In most of their appearances, the Unidasu's spiked balls are thick obstacles, while in Sonic Adventure, their spiked balls are explosive and will explode after they come in contact with their targets.

In other media[]

Archie Comics[]

The way how fan comunnity reacts to Sonic the Hedgehog 4

A group of Orbinauts, from the Archie Comics.

In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, the Unidasus' name is never mentioned and are instead referred to as Orbinauts. They were among the first generation of Badniks produced by Dr. Robotnik. Over time though, the Orbinauts were rendered obsolete by more advanced robots and got decommissioned.

Following the events of Worlds Collide, the Orbinauts' history became nearly identical to that of their game counterparts.

IDW Publishing[]

UnidasuIDW

A Unidasu, from Sonic the Hedgehog #51.

In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by IDW Publishing, during their escape from the Eggperial City, Sonic, Tails, and Belle were pursued by the Badnik Horde, with a Unidasu being among them.[13]

Trivia[]

  • In 2013 re-release of Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit), by using the Debug Mode in Star Light Zone reveals Unidasu as an unused Badnik to be placed anywhere on the Zone. Their color palette is corrupt with yellow color scheme instead of red when they are about to fire their spiked balls.
  • Inside the Sonic Heroes game's data, there are unused models of the Unidus from Sonic Adventure 2 (see image gallery on the right side). This leads to uncertain speculation of whether the Unidus would have actually appeared in the game.
  • Unidasu's name is derived from uni and dasu, meaning "sea urchin" and "to send" in Japanese.

Gallery[]

Artwork[]

Gallery

Sprites[]

Models[]

Screenshots[]

Gallery

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 One of artworks showcasing Uni Uni and Unidasu from the Sonic World feature of Sonic Jam.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Mega Drive) Japanese instruction manual pg. 44.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Sonic Adventure (Dreamcast) Japanese instruction booklet, pg. 34.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Prima Development (20 June 2001). "Enemies" (in English). Sonic Adventure 2: Prima's Official Strategy Guide. Prima Games. p. 18. ISBN 978-0761536147. "Be careful when you're close to Unidus. Smaller spike balls circle a larger spike ball and will hurt you (surprise) if you touch them. You can't hurt the circling spike balls, so attack the central one as it move around on the ground. Hit its center, and the Unidus is history."
  5. 5.0 5.1 "Enemies" (in Japanese). Sonic Adventure 2 Hero/Dark Manual. SoftBank. 16 July 2001. pp. 24. ISBN 978-4797317152.
  6. Pattenden, Mike (4 January 1993). "Robotnik's Badniks". Stay Sonic. Fantail. p. 36. ISBN 978-0140903904. "Orbinauts are extraordinary creatures. Part animal, part machine, all nasty, they can be found underwater in the Labyrinth Zone, on dry land in the Star Light Zone and in the Hilltop Zone in Sonic II. They come in all colours, some of them throw four spiky missiles, some have missiles but don't throw them, and some don't even have missiles (Sonic's careful of those ones because they can't be killed) but they all have a middle bit with big eyes, and they are all slow-moving. If Sonic sees an Orbinaut, back away from it. Jump over the missiles, then attack. If they don't throw their missiles, Sonic jumps over them."
  7. "Additional Characters". Sonic the Hedgehog Classic Style Guide. p. 29.
  8. 8.0 8.1 "A new series of Sea Urchin type robots which were developed based on the "Orbinauts" & "Spike Spinners" featured in Episode I. The blasting flames of the burners are certainly dangerous, but those fires will spread widely in oily places. Take extra care." — Flamer's profile from Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode II website.
  9. 9.0 9.1 Sonic Adventure (Dreamcast) United States instruction booklet, pg. 31.
  10. Sega . Sonic the Hedgehog 4 :: Episode I. Badniks: Orbinaut. Sega. Archived from the original on 27 May 2013. Retrieved on 27 October 2017.
  11. "敵キャラクター紹介" (in Japanese). ソニックアドベンチャー オペレーションガイド. SoftBank. January 1999. p. 149. ISBN 978-4757203006.
  12. Flynn, Ian; Sega (8 December 2021). Sonic the Hedgehog Encyclo-speed-ia. Dark Horse Books. p. 102. ISBN 978-1506719276. "Unidus - Also known as an Orbinaut, it protects itself with spiked projectiles."
  13. Sonic the Hedgehog #51, "Escaping the Empire"
Navigation templates to Unidasu


Main article (Blue Sphere) · Staff · Manuals · Glitches · Beta elements · Gallery · Pre-releases (prototype) · Re-releases (2001, 2005, mobile, GBA, iPod, 2013, 3D, Sega Ages)

Main article · Scripts (Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Big, Gamma, Super Sonic) · Story Screens (Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Big, Gamma) · Credits · Glitches · Beta elements · Gallery · Pre-releases (Limited Edition, DX Demo Version) · Re-releases (DX, 2010)

Main article · Scripts (Hero, Dark, Last) · Staff · Manuals · Glitches · Beta elements · Gallery · Pre-releases (The Trial, Preview, TRIAL Version) · Re-releases (Battle, 2012)


Main article · Script · Beta elements · Credits · Glitches · Gallery · Re-releases (PC)

Main article | Script | Staff | Glitches | Gallery
Advertisement