(1992 - 2006)History and app.
(2007 - present)History and app. (Sonic Prime)Misc.Gallery
- This article is about the video game character. For other uses, see Miles "Tails" Prower (disambiguation).
In other media[]
Animation[]
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog[]
Tails in Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.
In the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog television series, Tails is a "four and a half"-year-old kid and the adopted younger brother of Sonic the Hedgehog. When he was just an infant, Miles stumbled across Sonic and convinced him to let him stay with him. Because Miles hated his name, Sonic gave him the nickname "Tails." In the years that followed, Tails remained at Sonic's side, becoming a Freedom Fighter, and together they would defend the citizens of Mobius from Dr. Ivo Robotnik and his lackeys Scratch and Grounder.
In this media, Tails is very innocent and naïve, leaving him susceptible to getting caught by villains. As such, Sonic often has to rescue Tails, though he is not completely helpless. Also, while not highly intelligent, he has proven himself a mechanical genius, coming up with inventions stunning even brilliant minds.
Sonic the Hedgehog (TV series)[]
Tails, from the Sonic the Hedgehog TV series.
In the Sonic the Hedgehog television series, Tails is a ten-year-old and big-hearted kid, and a close friend of the Knothole Freedom Fighters, who he views as his adopted family. He especially looks up to Sonic in every way and sees him as a big brother figure.
During the tyrannical rule of Dr. Robotnik, Tails was often left behind in Knothole while the Freedom Fighters went on missions to stop Robotnik because he was too young. Tails, however, often expressed his desire to be involved in the freedom fighting cause which would make him jump into things too fast. After Tails came up with a plan that saved the Freedom Fighters and secured them one of the revered Deep Power Stone, however, he was decreed a real Freedom Fighter by Sally.
Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie[]
Tails, from Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie.
In Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie, Tails lives on Planet Freedom, where he is one of the defenders of the Land of the Sky alongside Sonic, protecting it from Dr. Robotnik and his evil forces. He lives together with Sonic on their own private island.
One day, Tails and Sonic were unexpectedly called by Dr. Robotnik to defeat an evil robot named Metal Robotnik and save the world from utter destruction. This was, however a trick on Robotnik's behalf so the evil doctor could copy Sonic's data for his Hyper Metal Sonic robot. After the doctor's plan worked, Tails, along with their friends and allies, aided Sonic to combat the new enemy and save Planet Freedom.
Sonic X[]
Tails, from Sonic X.
In the anime series Sonic X, Tails originates from a parallel version of Earth in another dimension. While shy at times, he can be very brave and strong in his words. On his world, Tails befriended Sonic when fixing up his bi-plane. During one of their battles against Dr. Eggman however, an accidental large-scale Chaos Control send Tails, Sonic, Dr. Eggman, and their friends to the human world. After landing on this world, Tails reunited with Sonic and befriended Christopher Thorndyke and his family, especially fellow inventor Chuck Thorndyke, who he forms a close friendship with.
On this new world, Tails and his friends fought against Dr. Eggman as the doctor attempted to conquer the planet. After living with Chris for a while, Tails set out on his own and build his own lab. In the end, though, Tails and everyone else from his world were forced to return home as their presence threatened to freeze time. As such, Tails and Chuck built a portal for them to return to their own world with.
Six months after returning home, Tails and his friends teamed up again to fight the impending threat of the Metarex, an alien race of cyborgs who were a threat to the entire galaxy. Along the way, Tails found a love interest in Cosmo, a plant-like alien girl. In the final battle with the Metarex, however, Tails was forced to sacrifice Cosmo to stop them, much to his sorrow. Upon returning to their home planet, Tails rejoined Sonic as they resumed their ongoing battles with Eggman.
Sonic Boom[]
Tails, from Sonic Boom.
In the Sonic Boom franchise, Tails is the pilot, gadget specialist, strategist and overall brains of Team Sonic, a group of heroes who protects Seaside Island and the earth at large from Dr. Eggman and his legion of robots. He is Sonic's faithful friend and sidekick, with a mind furnishing with dreams of epic inventions to make life easier, though they do not always turn out as intended.
Comics[]
Sonic the Hedgehog (manga)[]
Tails, from the Corocoro Comics Special manga.
In the Sonic the Hedgehog serialized manga series published by Shogakukan, Tails is one of the main characters. Like many other incarnations, he is the sidekick of Sonic the Hedgehog as he pursues him everywhere and helps him in numerous battles against Dr. Eggman. Tails is also a good friend of Nicky (Sonic's alter-ego) and Amy. He hangs around with them in Hedgehog Town without knowing Nicky is Sonic. During his introduction in the CoroCoro comics, Tails also wears sunglasses and owns a sports car. Occasionally, Tails also gets into trouble, but Sonic is able to save him each time.
Sonic the Comic[]
Tails, from Sonic the Comic. Art by Richard Elson.
In the Sonic the Comic series published by Fleetway Editions, Tails hailed from the Nameless Zone, a region which can apparently only be accessed by a space warp. He traveled to the Emerald Hill Zone after mistakenly believing that the streets were paved with real emeralds. Once on Mobius he met and befriended Sonic, eventually becoming his sidekick. While he is self-conscious, Tails has proven time and again (and openly stated) that he is much tougher than some people may think.
Tails frequently starred in his own solo adventures, occasionally back in his native Nameless Zone or in the Chemical Plant Zone. Over time he built up an extensive rogues gallery including the brutal Trogg, the psychotic robot Nutzan Bolt, Fleabyte the bounty hunter and the gangster Max Gamble, as well as allies such as Errol Blackthorn and Morain, and Sab. He also fought many criminals after the defeat of Robotnik, defended the Casino Night Zone and its people from Commander Brutus' Badniks, and was chosen by Sonic to protect Mobius.
Archie Comics[]
Tails, from the Archie Comics.
In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-off comic series published by Archie Comics, Tails was born Miles Prower to Amadeus and Rosemary Prower on the day of Dr. Ivo Robotnik's takeover of Old Mobotropolis. While still an infant, he was spirited away to Knothole where he was looked after by Rosie Woodchuck. Starting intuitive for his young age, Miles latched onto a charismatic Sonic and dreamed of becoming a Freedom Fighter. Over time, he earned the nickname "Tails" from his mutation: a pair of tails. While Sonic and the other children became the Knothole Freedom Fighters to fight against Robotnik's tyranny, Tails was only made a junior member and was deemed too young to participate in their missions. With time and experience, however, Tails earned his position among the Freedom Fighters as both a fighter like Sonic, but also an inventor like Rotor, and became a prominent member of the team who would assist actively in the war against Robotnik and later Dr. Eggman. Throughout it all, though, he continues to be at Sonic's side through even the toughest of times. During his adventures, Tails discovered that it was his destiny to become the "Chosen One" of the Ancient Walkers meant to fulfill an ancient prophecy. Under the guiding hand of Athair, Tails has accomplished many great tasks in the fulfillment of his destiny such as stopping Mammoth Mogul and bringing forth the Great Harmony, but his true destiny has proven elusive.
Following the Super Genesis Wave, Tails was given a brand new past to more closely align with his game counterpart's.
IDW Publishing[]
Films[]
Paramount[]
Tails, from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (film).
In the Sonic the Hedgehog film series produced by Paramount Pictures, Tails is an anthropomorphic two-tailed fox who hails from another planet. After learning about Sonic the Hedgehog and his lifestyle on Earth, Tails began to admire the hedgehog. He soon learned that Knuckles the Echidna, the last of his kind, was looking for Sonic, prompting Tails to travel to Earth to warn the hedgehog of this. Tails ended up going on an adventure with Sonic to find the Master Emerald before Knuckles and Dr. Robotnik. Later teaming up with both Sonic and Knuckles, Tails helped defeat Robotnik, secure the Master Emerald, and began living with the Wachowskis on Earth.
Reception[]
Tails was awarded "Best New Character" in Electronic Gaming Monthly's 1992 video game awards, stating "not only is he as cute as Sonic, but he actually serves a major purpose in the game." He was also cited as being the second best Sonic character in the Official Nintendo magazine.[13]
According to official polls, Tails is the third most popular character in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, coming behind Sonic and Shadow.[14] According to the Sonic Jam Official Guide, Tails stimulates the maternal instinct of many female fans from all around the world thanks to his charm that contrasts Sonic's.[15]
Quotes[]
- "Full speed ahead!"
- —Tails' catchphrase
- "I did it, Sonic!"
- —Tails finishing a stage, Sonic Adventure
- "I hate it when he doesn't listen to me."
- —Tails when Sonic ignores him talking about the Egg Carrier transforming, Sonic Adventure
- "I heard the news about it on satellite TV. I still can't believe that Sonic would destroy the military buildings, or rob the bank! Wait for me, okay Sonic? I'm on my way."
- —Tails on his way to Prison Island, Sonic Adventure 2
- "What have you done to Sonic? I'll never forgive you for this!"
- —Tails after Eggman shoots Sonic into space, Sonic Adventure 2
- "Not too shabby!"
- —Tails getting a B-rank, Sonic Heroes
- "It's hard to keep up with Sonic..."
- —Tails when standing still, Sonic Heroes
- "Wooow, my head's spinning!"
- —Tails going through a loop-de-loop, Sonic Heroes
- "I'll do my best!"
- —Tails before starting a race, Sonic Riders
- "I'm gonna fly circles around you!"
- —Tails before starting a race, Sonic Rivals 2
- "It may not look like it, but I have been training with Sonic!"
- —Tails to Rouge when she asked how he caught up, Sonic Rivals 2
- "Good job to you on inventing a translator that allowed us to speak to the aliens and figure out exactly what we needed to do so we weren't running around the park looking like idiots. Oh no wait, that was me."
- —Tails speaking sarcastically when Sonic said that he didn't do anything, Sonic Colors
- "I've built a TV out of paperclips and reprogrammed a super computer using dishwashing detergent and a toothpick. So look, fixing a propeller on a bi-plane? That's about as difficult as taking a nap."
- —Tails after fixing the Tornado, Sonic Lost World
- "Heck! It's good to see ANY Sonic."
- —Tails seeing Classic Sonic again, Sonic Forces
Theme songs[]
Solo themes[]
- In Sonic Adventure, Tails' theme song is called "Believe in Myself", which is a soft rock theme.
- In Sonic Adventure 2, Tails' theme song is a remake of "Believe in Myself", which has a pop rock tune and rearranged lyrics.
- In Sonic and the Black Knight, if you go to the Blacksmith's, a short, soft instrumental version of "Believe in Myself" will play.
- In Team Sonic Racing, Tails' theme is "Team Ultimate: Tails", a remix of the Sonic Adventure 2 version of "Believe in Myself" that plays during his Team Ultimate.
- In Sonic Frontiers: The Final Horizon, Tails' theme is "Another Passage", a fast-paced, but melancholy EDM theme.
[]
- In Sonic Adventure, Tails shares "Open Your Heart" with the other main characters.
- In Sonic Heroes, Team Sonic's theme is called "We Can", and refers to Tails in the line "Tails keeps us flying high to stay out of trouble".
- In Sonic Riders, Tails' team theme, shared with Sonic and Knuckles, is an instrumental one called "High Flying Groove".
- In Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, Tails' theme is "Un-Gravitify" shared with Sonic and Knuckles.
Trivia[]
Artwork by Yasushi Yamaguchi to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Tails.
- Tails' possession of two tails is derived from the mythological kitsune (Japanese for "fox") from common Japanese folklore. The kitsune is said to be capable of growing multiple tails- nine at maximum- with it being said that the more tails it has, the more old, wise and powerful it is.
- To celebrate Tails' 25th anniversary, his original creator, Yasushi Yamaguchi, posted an artwork of the character along with several facts about him. He explained the secret image of Tails from Sonic the Hedgehog CD features a car because at the time Sonic had a specific favorite car model, that being a Lamborghini Countach. The artist decided that the fox should have a favorite car too, so he chose the Lotus Seven.[16] The same car can also be seen in an illustration used for Sega Saturn testing.
- Accordingly, Tails is stateless.[17]
- Tails and Eggman are the only characters who are addressed primarily by their nicknames, with their respective names "Miles Prower" and "Dr. Ivo Robotnik" being used far less.
- Sonic Underground is the only Sonic cartoon series in which Tails does not make an appearance.
- In Game Informer #188, Tails was given the sixth worst video game character name, mainly because of the "miles per hour" joke.[18]
- The September 2010 issue of Game Informer elected Tails as the 10th "Most Disgustingly Cute" video game character.[19]
- As seen in Sonic Colors, Tails can read binary fluently, although it was shown later that the codes were in hexadecimal.[20]
- It is strongly implied that Tails, despite his age, is a gambler, specifically a blackjack player, as well as a cheater, having been banned from Casino Park for card counting.[21]
- The Nintendo Power magazine had a poll asking which sidekick people would choose, with Tails being the second most picked.
- It would be physically impossible for Tails to fly, due to his tails having to twist. However, if one slows down footage of him spinning his tails to fly/move, they do not actually turn through morphing of the model, but actually mesh through each other. This minor inconsistency would not normally be noticeable at normal speed, though.
- The 1992 guidebook Stay Sonic explains this by stating that Tails has double joints at the base of his spine which allow his Tails to rotate like propellers. However, due to the guidebook being written within the early Sonic canon, this explanation is most likely non-canonical.
- Tails has had the most voice actors out of all of the characters, with nine English voice actors (counting his TV show and movie appearances). Often, Tails was cast with young boy voice actors to provide a genuine youthful male voice for the role, although this would always cause the need for recasting once the voice actor's voice matured too far to continuing voicing him. In recent years, Tails has been voiced by women in order to avoid this issue.
Tails having ice cream, with sandals on.
- A bonus wallpaper, accessed from inserting the Dreamcast version of Sonic Adventure into a computer, shows Tails out of his trademark white-and-red shoes, and instead wearing sandals. This also reveals the shape of his feet.
- In Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, Tails and Sonic are the only characters in the game that can carry on different conversations via selecting different speech bubbles with the stylus.
- Ironically, even though Tails is Sonic's best friend, foxes are predators of hedgehogs in real life.
- Despite being a fox, Tails has been mistaken for a squirrel; during Nintendo Power's run, the magazine would occasionally refer to the character as such, although this was usually for humorous purposes.
- So far, Tails is the only Sonic character to have the most spinoff games, in which he is the main character, with a total of three games; Tails' Skypatrol, Tails Adventure and Tails and the Music Maker.
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog official Twitter. Retrieved on 2014-26-02. "Sonic the Hedgehog: We would like to express our gratitude to Kate Higgins for her many years of service as the voice of Tails. / Uncle Festive: So, is Kate no longer voicing Tails in the main series either? / Sonic the Hedgehog: Yes, Colleen Villard is the voice of Tails moving forward for all Sonic the Hedgehog titles."
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sonic Channel (Japanese). Characters: Tails. Sega. Archived from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved on 3 July 2015.
- ↑ オレの自慢の仲間たちだ！on TikTok. TikTok (November 29, 2021). Retrieved on April 3, 2024.
- ↑ TailsTube #1 (feat. Sonic). YouTube. Sonic the Hedgehog (24 March 2022). Retrieved on 24 March 2022.
- ↑ Sonic Advance 2 (Game Boy Advance) United States instruction booklet, pg. 4.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sega Mega Drive) Japanese instruction manual, pg. 42-43.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 media:Sonic Jam.png
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Devra Newberger Speregen (2016). Sonic: The Ultimate Character Guide. Scholastic. p. 11. ISBN 978-1338033243.
- ↑ Sonic Advance (Game Boy Advance) United States instruction booklet, pg. 3.
- ↑ Act: 002. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved on 9 August 2016.
- ↑ Sonic Team (18 June 2001). Sonic Adventure 2. Dreamcast. Sega. Area/Level: Mission Street. "Tails: I hate earthquakes."
- ↑ Sonic Team (6 February 2004). Sonic Heroes. PlayStation 2. Sega. Area/Level: [[]]. "Tails: I hate that black frog."
- ↑ Nintendo Feature: The best and worst Sonic characters. Official Nintendo Magazine. Retrieved on 4 May 2014.
- ↑ Sonic Channel (23 June 2006). Official Popularity Poll results (Japanese). Sega. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013.
- ↑ (in Japanese) ソニックジャム オフィシャルガイド. SoftBank. 2 October 1997. pp. 101–102. ISBN 978-4797303377.
- ↑ Yasushi Yamaguchi on Pixiv (Japanese). Pixiv (1 January 2018). "TOTOYA: 今ではなかったことになっている設定で愛車がロータス・スーパーセブンというのもソニックの愛車はカウンタックということを内部的に聞かされていたので彼にも愛車を設定しました。"
- ↑ Sonic Team (23 June 2001). Sonic Adventure 2. Dreamcast. Sega. Area/level: Mission Street. "Wanted sign: Nationality: None"
- ↑ "Top Ten: Worst Character Names". Game Informer (188). December 2008.
- ↑ "Top Ten: Disgustingly Cute Characters". Game Informer (209). September 2010.
- ↑ Shadzter (10 September 2010). SONIC COLOURS: ORBOT & CUBOT ART AND MORE INFO. Sonic Stadium.
- ↑ Sumo Digital (May 21, 2019). Team Sonic Racing. PlayStation 4. Sega. Area/level: Pinball Highway. "Tails: I'm banned from this place for counting cards."
