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It copies Sonic's rolling attack and ambushes him on slopes


— Description, Sonic the Hedgehog Encyclo-speed-ia[1]

The Roller[2] (アルマ[3] Aruma?, lit. "Arma") is an enemy that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is a mass-produced, armadillo-based Badnik created by Dr. Robotnik.

Appearance[]

Arma

Rollers are round, blue Badniks with a red V-shaped horn above their eyes. Their body is a sphere which is open along the middle like a hatch, revealing a pair of black eyes and small gray three-fingered hands. They also have two mechanical feet and a sharp tail. All their limbs hide inside their body when they assume their spherical form.

Game appearances[]

Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)[]

In the 16-bit version of the original Sonic the Hedgehog, the Rollers are found in Spring Yard Zone. In gameplay, the Rollers tumble faster than Sonic runs, so leap to avoid being steamrolled. At the bottom of the hill, Rollers pause and briefly open up its casing to check the surroundings: this is the player's only chance to attack. They can also be defeated with a Spin Attack whilst moving (albeit with some difficulty).

Rollers have a tendency to plow through Sonic when the player least expects it, but the player should be particularly wary when crossing areas with steep hills as these places are where Rollers are more common.

Sonic Heroes[]

In Sonic Heroes, a picture of a Roller (alongside other Badniks) can be seen in the Chaotix Detective Agency office during the opening of Team Chaotix's campaign. The picture of the Roller reuses their artwork from the original Sonic the Hedgehog.

Personality[]

While built to serve as work drones, the Rollers possess a degree of sentience and personality traits. These traits include fawning over Dr. Eggman and celebrating his birthday on their own volition.[4]

Powers and abilities[]

The Rollers can curl into a ball, similar to the Spin Attack, and travel at high speeds with the intention of plowing through their prey.

Variants[]

Roller Mk. II[]

Main article: Roller Mark II

The Roller Mk. II is a second version of the standard Rollers, with a similar attack pattern. The only differences are that these new models are crimson instead of blue, and they can also change their direction to chase after their opponent.

In other media[]

Animation[]

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog[]

Roller AoStH

Roller, from "Untouchable Sonic".

In the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog television series, Roller has a more humanoid design and wears a business suit. Also, instead of curling into a ball, he turns into a bowling ball. In this media, Roller and his partner Ball Hog were a part of Dr. Robotnik's "Or Else" Protection Service, who bullied mobians into paying them to not destroy their business, but they were eventually destroyed by Sonic. Later, Tails converted their remains into a waiter for Bert's Diner.

Books and comics[]

Archie Comics[]

Main article: Roller (Archie)

In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, the Rollers were among the first generation of Badniks produced by Dr. Robotnik. One briefly appeared to fight Sonic, but was easily defeated.

Sonic the Comic[]

Roller STC

A Roller, from Sonic the Comic #75. Art by Richard Elson.

In the Sonic the Comic series published by Fleetway Editions, the Rollers are a part of the first generation of Badnik in Dr. Robotnik's army, making them some of the doctor's oldest troopers. Also, a kind-hearted Roller (named simply "Badnik") once befriended a young boy named Smokey, who convinced Sonic to spare it.

IDW Publishing[]

RollerClassicIDW

The Roller, from Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Special.

In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by IDW Publishing, a Roller would help the other Badniks throw a birthday party for Dr. Eggman, which he did not enjoy.[4]

Merchandise[]

Tomy Sonic & Knuckles pack 2

The toy company Tomy released a Roller figurine during the release of Sonic & Knuckles in a pack with three other figurines.

Trivia[]

  • The Roller had a purple color scheme instead of a blue blue in early magazine screenshots showcasing the original Sonic the Hedgehog.
  • Rollers bear some similarities to Sonic himself; both have a blue and red coloration, are able to curl into balls, and can move at high speeds.
  • It can be noticed that the Roller has similar-looking legs as the Ball Hog and Bomb in artwork illustration.
  • The Roller is one of the Badniks (along with the Batbrain) that does not make an appearance in the 8-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog. Unlike the Batbrain, none of the Roller's sprites are not found from the game's data.
Keep glitching guys

Glitched Roller graphics.

  • In the original Genesis release of Sonic the Hedgehog, one of the Roller's sprites are corrupted with graphics from the Caterkiller. This happens if the player keeps following it for a while. This is because the data for the Caterkiller still exists for the zone when Caterkiller was originally intended to appear in Spring Yard Zone, but was never removed and ends up overlapping with the Roller's data. This was fixed in the 2013 remake.
  • In Sonic Mania, a similar, gray-colored Badnik can be found amongst the scrap during the battle against the Big Squeeze in Flying Battery Zone Act 1. Since the Rollers and Rollers Mk. II look identical to each other apart from the color, it is unknown which of either this robot references.

Gallery[]

Artwork[]

Gallery

Sprites[]

Screenshots[]

Gallery

References[]

  1. Flynn, Ian; Sega (December 8, 2021). "Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)". Sonic the Hedgehog Encyclo-speed-ia. Dark Horse Books. p. 12. ISBN 978-1506719276.
  2. Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Genesis) United States instruction booklet, pg. 11.
  3. Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Mega Drive) Japanese instruction booklet, pg. 39.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Special, "Dr. Eggman's Birthday"

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