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The Power Core[1] (パワーコア[2] Pawā Koa?) is an object that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is a form of energy cores for machines that can be used to upgrade the skills of the playable characters.

Description[]

Appearance[]

Power Cores take the form of solid orbs that have some form of transparent casing around them. They come in three different colors: blue, yellow and red.

Powers and traits[]

The Power Cores serve as a form of energizing core for Badniks. However, they can also be harnessed by other robots and organic beings. When absorbed by those with an affinity for them, the Power Cores can amplify the physical attributes of the being in question, resulting in stronger attacks and abilities.

Game appearances[]

Sonic Heroes[]

The Power Cores made their debut in Sonic Heroes. In gameplay, Power Cores are used to upgrade the skills of the player's playable characters. The color of each Power Core indicate which playable character on the player's team that will level up with it. The blue Power Cores level up the team's Speed Type member, the yellow Power Cores level up the Fly Type member, and the red Power Cores level up the Power Type member. The maximum number of Power Cores a playable character can level up with is three. Whenever a playable character obtains a Power Core, they will say "Level up!" Regardless of which character collects it, it will go to its assigned character (e.g. if a Speed Type character collects a red Power Core, it will be given to the Power Type character).

There are a multitude of ways for the player to obtain Power Cores:

  • Opening Floating Item Boxes and certain Item Boxes containing the Power Core power-up. While Item Boxes usually give one Power Core each, some Item Boxes and Floating Item Boxes (particularly those in some 2P Play stages) may give two or three Power Cores each instead.
  • For every fifth enemy the player destroys, a random Power Core that is not of the formation leader's type will be dropped by the destroyed enemy. However, enemies like the Egg Hammer, Heavy-Egg Hammer, and the E-2000R will always drop one random Power that does not match the formation leader's type when destroyed.
  • From Check Points[3] or completing Bobsled/Trolley sections successfully. In these instances, depending on which character is the leader, the appropriate Power Core will be given to that leader.
  • When playing as Team Rose, performing the Flower Festival Team Blast will grant each member a Power Core.
  • When using the three-reel slot machines, if the player matches three of the same character icons or a single character and the game's logo icon while having all three characters inside, the player will receive the character icon's corresponding Power Core (Sonic, Tails and Knuckles gives Speed, Fly and Power respectively) in addition to Rings.
SHeroesPowerCores

Item Boxes with the Power Core power-up, from Sonic Heroes.

Obtaining Power Cores will alter and empower the playable character's attribute. These include the following parameters and attacks:

The Power Cores abilities are not permanent and will reset with each new stage the player plays through. Also, if the player loses a try during a stage, the playable characters' Power Core levels will all be reset as well.

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games[]

Power-Core-M&S-at-The-London-2012-Olympic-Games

In the Wii version of Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, only red Power Cores appear.[4] In this game, they are featured exclusively in the Dream Fencing event.

In gameplay, destroying the Egg Pawns and Flappers that appear in the arena will occasionally drop a Power Core when destroyed. Alternatively, the playable characters will automatically receive a Power Core upon returning to the arena after being knocked off it. When obtaining a Power Core, the playable character can perform an extra powerful Special Thrust once by pressing WiiDSA + WiiB/Button1 + Snnwii2buttondisco at the same time.

Variants[]

Tricore[]

Main article: Tricore
TricoreProfile

The Tricore, from Sonic the Hedgehog: Bad Guys #2.

The Tricore is a newly-developed Power Core created by Dr. Starline. It combines the three different Power Cores, thereby allowing the user to amplify their speed, agility, and strength with just one core. In addition, it can be used repeatedly hundreds of times, unlike the Power Cores, which can only be used once. However, the user can only access one power at a time, which can be exploited by their opponents. Additionally, while capable of frequent use, the Tricore’s power will be completely depleted if the user utilizes a powerful attack called the Tricore Blast.

In other media[]

Books and comics[]

IDW Publishing[]

PowerCoreIDW

Power Cores, from Sonic the Hedgehog: Bad Guys #3.

In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by IDW Publishing, the Power Cores are objects used by the Eggman Empire. After several being hijacked by Dr. Starline, the latter convinced Zavok, Mimic, Rough, and Tumble that they would need Power Cores in order to carry out the next phase of Starline's grand plan, which was invading an Eggnet hub. To keep his allies from getting too powerful with the Power Cores however, Starline lied that they would need special adapters to harness the Power Cores. To this end, the villains attacked one of Dr. Eggman's bases and stole crates full of Power Cores. In the meantime, Zavok acquired a red Power Core for himself, realizing Starline’s deceit. Upon returning to Dr. Starline's Repository, Starline combined three different Power Cores to create a Tricore for himself.[5] Later, on the day of the crew's invasion of the Eggnet hub, Starline gave everyone their Core Gear with a Power Core attached; Rough got a blue one, Mimic a yellow one, and Zavok and Tumble a red one each. Using the Power Cores, the villains defeated the hub's Badnik guards and made their way to the hub's central computer.[6]

After Starline's allies turned on him, Tumble failed to use his Power Core to attack Starline. Rough then used his Power Core to catch up to Starline, but Starline launched a surprise attack on him and and paralyzed him with a toxin. Soon after, Rough and Tumble exhausted the power of their Power Core. Later, Zavok used his Power Core to protect himself from the collapse of the building he was in as Dr. Eggman bombarded it, although the effort exhausted his Power Core.[7]

Trivia[]

  • In IDW Publishing, Eggman’s containers for storing the Power Cores resemble gumball machines.[5]

References[]

  1. Sonic Heroes (Nintendo GameCube) United States instruction booklet, pg. 25.
  2. Sonic Heroes (PlayStation 2) Japanese instruction booklet, pg. 11.
  3. Sonic Team (30 December 2003). Sonic Heroes. Xbox. Sega. Area/level: Seaside Hill (Team Sonic). "Sonic: When you lose a life, you can restart from the last checkpoint you've touched. The leader's level also increases too."
  4. Sega CS2, Sonic Team, Racjin (15 November 2011). Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Wii. Sega. Area/level: Dream Fencing menu. "Power Core info: Grab a power core, and you power up automatically! Press WiiDSA + WiiB together for a Special Thrust."
  5. 5.0 5.1 Sonic the Hedgehog: Bad Guys #2, "Smash & Grab"
  6. Sonic the Hedgehog: Bad Guys #3, "Trust Issues"
  7. Sonic the Hedgehog: Bad Guys #4, "No Honor Among Thieves"

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