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The Aquis[1] (シードラ[2],Shīdora?, lit. "Seadra") is an enemy that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is a mass-produced, seahorse-based Badnik model created by Dr. Eggman, which move around in the air.
Based on seahorses, the Aquises have a yellow and white metallic body. The head section has white eyes, two sharp antennae and a small, vuvuzela-shaped snout. In the neck hole are two bolts set on each side. On the back side is a row of five back spikes. Unlike real seahorses, they also have small wing fins.
During the Lost Hexincident, the Aquises' design sported orange back spikes and cyan eyes. However, they did not have any antennae or sharp spikes on their tails.
Game appearances[]
Sonic the Hedgehog 2[]
In Sonic the Hedgehog 2, its numerous ports and remasters, and the lock-on game Knuckles in Sonic 2, the Aquises[1] (シードラ[2],Shīdora?, lit. "Seadra") appear as enemies in Oil Ocean Zone. In gameplay, Aquises will start moving closely forwards the playable character upon spotting them, before shooting a small projectile at them. After a while, they will switch their strategy by flying towards the character to hurt them.
The player is able to destroy the Aquises with a Super Spin Attack-related move when they are not shooting their projectiles. Upon their destruction, they will release an Animal and award the player with 100 points.
In the 2013 remaster of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the player can deflect the Aquises' projectiles with any of the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 shields on.
Sonic Blast[]
Aquis reappears in Blue Marine Zone from Sonic Blast. These Badniks scuttle through both above water and underwater sections of the zone and start firing projectiles. Like most Badniks in the 8-bit games, if the player destroys an Aquis by doing a Spin Jump at the right time, they don't release an Animal.
Sonic Lost World[]
In the Wii U version and PCversion of Sonic Lost World, the Aquis can be encountered in a secluded passage near the end of Frozen Factory Zone 1. However, instead of shooting oil at the player, they will swoop down from above and use a vacuum attack to steal the player's Rings. Defeating them will release the Rings they stole, along with an Animal.
In Sonic Mania, and its expansion Sonic Mania Plus, the Aquises are enemies found in both Acts of Oil Ocean Zone. In gameplay, they will start moving closely forwards the playable character upon spotting them, before shooting a small projectile at them. These projectiles can be deflected by using Shield-derived power-ups or through Mighty's Spin Attack. The player is able to destroy these Badniks by simply Spin Jumping on them when they are not shooting their projectiles. Upon their destruction, they will release an Animal and award the player with 100 points.
Powers and abilities[]
The Aquises are able to float and move in the air. When upon spotting a target, it starts shooting small black oil projectiles towards it. During the Lost Hexincident, they were given the ability to use their snout to suck up objects, including Rings.
In the Sonic the Comic series published by Fleetway Editions, the Aquises are a part of Dr. Robotnik's Badnik army. Depending on the artist, the Aquis' appearance would differ slightly between each issue. They fought Sonic a couple of times early on in the comics' run.
Trivia[]
The Aquis' name is based on a combination of the words aqua and equus, the former meaning water and the latter being the genus of the family Equidae.
In both the Nick Arcade and the Simon Wai prototypes of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the Aquises have slightly different appearance as having more of a pink color scheme as well. Unlike in the final version of the game, these Badniks also behave more erratically. The Debug Mode object list of Oil Ocean Zone shows a variation of this Badnik that seems to shoot oil balls at Sonic when approached. They are internally known as "seahorse" and "skyhorse", respectively.
The Aquis' Japanese name, Seadra, is short for "sea dragon".
Coincidentally, Seadra is the name of a Pokémon which debuted in the Pokémon series's first generation that, like the Aquis, resembles a seahorse. Although, it should be noted that the Badnik's first appearance was in 1992, 4 years before the Pokémon's.
