Sonic Runners

Sonic Runners
Development staff
Developer(s)	Sonic Team
Publisher(s)	Sega
Producer(s)	Takashi Iizuka
Designer(s)	Takayuki Okada Takeshi Yamazaki Jyunpei Ootsu
Composer(s)	Tomoya Ohtani
Video game overview
Series	Sonic the Hedgehog series
Release date(s)	JP 25 February 2015 USA 10 March 2015 CAN 25 February 2015 UK 10 March 2015
Genre(s)	Auto-running platformer, action
Platform(s)	Android iOS

Sonic Runners (ソニックランナーズ, Sonikkuran'nāzu^?) is a 2015 endless runner video game for the Android and iOS mobile platforms in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, announced by publisher Sega on 28 December 2014. It was initially released as a soft launch in Japan and Canada on 25 February 2015.

Plot

The story follows Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles as they follow Dr. Eggman through different areas as he hatches various plans in succession, with the core goal of retrying his mind control cannon from Sonic Colors. Team Sonic usually runs into these situations unintentionally, finding Animals or Wisps in trouble, Orbot or Cubot carrying out orders, or robots walking around where they should not be. Along the way, the team also have several side-adventures where they help Animals, Wisps and Chao with issues or just travel new places. Another subplot involves Team Sonic going on the hunt for Master Emerald fragments after Knuckles was forced to shatter the Master Emerald to stop Eggman from stealing it.

Gameplay

Sonic Runners is a 2D side-scrolling runner with stages that can be played in a minute or two. The player can tap to perform jumps and move the characters. Using Chao, companions, items and radio controlled toys, the player's objective is to get the highest score for a level.

At the end of a majority of chapters (Unless the plot doesn't involve him like "Ring Hill", or they simply don't run into him, which usually hails an item of some kind instead.), the player also has to engage in boss battles with Dr. Eggman, who has variations on his Egg Mobile. These variations have differing weapons, but commonly involve dodging weapons centered around Spiked balls and jumping into the Yellow Ball contained in others, which will fly back into his machine and damage him.

Progressing the game's episode as Sonic will eventually unlock more playable Sonic series characters, such as Miles "Tails" Prower (Unlocked by clearing Chapter 10 and entering Chapter 11) and Knuckles the Echidna (Unlocked by Clearing Chapter 16 and entering Chapter 17:"Goodbye Greenery"). Additionally, the game will be updated to include more characters as well. Each character has their own different action and their levels can be raised using Rings collected in the stages.

The characters are best used in "Specialist Areas". While the levels are playable as any character, specific character types are more suited to exploring these levels, with more accessible areas using their abilities. The regions themselves carry specific aesthetics (Grass = Speed, Sky = Flight, Rock/Volcano = Power, etc.). An emblem next to the chapter title on the menu screen notes which type is recommended.

Characters

Playable

As of now, the upper seven characters are playable, while the others were found in the game's files, hinting at their future appearance.

Icon	Character	Type	Action	Profile
	Sonic the Hedgehog		Tap the screen while in the middle of a jump to perform a special action.	The fastest hedgehog in the world! Sonic is a free spirit with a strong sense of right and wrong. He will always rush to the aid of those in need.
	Miles "Tails" Prower		Tails is a Fly-type character. Tap and hold mid-jump, and he'll float in the air.	Tails - real name Miles Prower - is one of Sonic's best pals. He's a super-friendly fox cub with two fluffy tails that he can spin at high speed to fly through the air.
	Knuckles the Echidna		Knuckles is a Power-type character. Tap mid-jump, and he'll launch a dash attack.	Knuckles is a super-strong echidna, and one of Sonic's greatest rivals and best friends. A martial arts master, his punches can turn massive boulders into dust.
	Espio the Chameleon		Espio is a Speed/Chaotix-type character. He can perform a triple jump, and he boosts the number of Rings earned by 75%.	Espio the Chameleon is cool-headed and quiet, and is used to calming down the Chaotix Detective Agency's other members. His horn and tail make him easy to spot.
	Charmy Bee		Charmy is a Fly/Chaotix-type character. He can float after jumping, and he boosts the number of Rings earned by 75%.	Charmy is often too laid-back to notice when something is wrong. He lifts the mood at the Chaotix Detective Agency, where he is known for his helmet and flying suit.
	Vector the Crocodile		Vector is a Power/Chaotix-type character. He can perform a dash attack after jumping, and he boosts the number of Rings earned by 75%.	Vector is a kind and reliable detective, and the head of the Chaotix Detective Agency. Though he loves money, he'll never refuse to help someone in need.
	Amy Rose		Amy is a Speed/Rose-type character. She can perform a triple jump, and boosts Animal Bonus by 100%.	Amy loves Sonic, and would follow him to the ends of the Earth. Her will to win is overwhelming, and her relentless passion never fails to make Sonic run a mile...
	Cream the Rabbit	File:Sonic Runners Fly Rose.png	N/A	N/A
	Big the Cat		N/A	N/A
	Shadow the Hedgehog		N/A	N/A
	Rouge the Bat		N/A	N/A
	E-123 Omega	File:Sonic Runners Power Dark.png	N/A	N/A
	Blaze the Cat	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Silver the Hedgehog	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Metal Sonic	N/A	N/A	N/A

Non-Playable

• Dr. Eggman
• Orbot
• Cubot
• Animal friends
  • Flicky
  • Pocky
  • Pecky
  • Cucky
  • Ricky
  • Picky
  • Rocky
• Chao
  • Hero Chao
  • Dark Chao
• Omochao
• Wisps
  • White Wisp
  • Cyan Wisp
  • Yellow Wisp
  • Indigo Wisp
• Zavok
• Zazz
• Zomom
• Master Zik
• Zeena
• Zor

Enemies

• Egg Pawn
• Moto Bug
• Buzz Bomber
• Crabmeat
• Caterkiller
• Balkiry
• Nebula
• Snail Blaster
• Spinner

Zones

Actually the game have three zones. The zones of this game are the same zones of Sonic Lost World. The zones of the game are:

Windy Hill

File:Img cap 01 l.jpg

Windy Hill is the first stage of the game.

Companions

Companions are buddies which player characters can take along during a level. Some help raise the player's score while others can enhance item effects. Just like the playable characters, the Companions have a certain attribute, meaning that their effects will be amplified when paired up with the "right" player character. Currently, there are twenty different types of them, but more are expected to be added. Like the playable character, the Companions can be leveled up.

Icon	Item	Rarity	Size	Type	Action
File:SR companion chao.jpg	Normal Chao	Normal	Small	Fly	Small bonus added to the gained score.
	Egg Chao	Rare	Small	Speed	Boosts distance run by 300%.
	Skull Chao	Rare	Small	Power	Boosts the number of Animals saved by 100%.
	Pumpkin Chao	Rare	Small	Fly	Boosts score by 40%.
	Gold Chao	Normal	Small	Fly	Boosts Rings acquired by 10%.
	Jewel Chao	Normal	Small	Speed	Boosts distance run by 75%.
	Hero Chao	Normal	Small	Speed	Boosts all score elements by 10%.
	Dark Chao	Normal	Small	Power	Boosts score for destroying enemies by 50%.
	Angel Chao	S Rare	Small	Fly	Boosts Rings acquired by 25%
	Devil Chao	Unknown	Small	Unknown	N/A
File:SR LightChao.png	Light Chao	Unknown	Small	Unknown	N/A
	Tornado	Unknown		Unknown	N/A
	Omochao	Normal	Small	Power	Boosts the number of Animals saved by 50%.
	Cameron	Unknown		Unknown	N/A
	Magic Lamp	Unknown		Unknown	N/A
	Shahra	S Rare	Medium	Fly	Activate Items.
	Erazor Djinn	Unknown		Unknown	N/A
File:Img companion chip.jpg	Chip	S Rare	Small	Speed	Produces one last 40-second dash.
File:SR DarkBat.png	Dark Bat	Unknown		Unknown	N/A
	Dark Bat Sniper	Unknown		Unknown	N/A
File:SR DarkFright.png	Dark Fright	Unknown		Unknown	N/A
	Red Fright	Unknown		Unknown	N/A
File:SR companion caliburn.jpg	Caliburn	S Rare	Large	Power	Performs 6 auto-attacks during boss battles.
	Merlina	S Rare	Medium	Fly	x1000 combos are activate a Color Power effect.
	King Arthur	Unknown		Unknown	N/A
File:SR companion yacker.jpg	Yacker	Rare	Small	Speed	All Color Power items last 15% longer.
File:SR MotherWisp.png	Mother Wisp	Unknown		Unknown	N/A
	Spring	Unknown		Unknown	N/A
	Moon Mech	Unknown		Unknown	N/A
File:SR companion balloon.jpg	RadioControl Balloon	Normal	Small	Power	Automatic success at jumping boards at a certain probability without any control inputs.
	RadioControl Fighter Jet	Unknown	Small	Unknown	N/A
	RadioControl Hovercraft	Unknown	Small	Unknown	N/A
	RadioControl Stealth Jet	Unknown	Small	Unknown	N/A
	RadioControl UFO	Rare	Medium	Fly	x400 combos save all on-screen Animals.
	RadioControl Blimp	Unknown	Small	Unknown	N/A
	RadioControl Helicopter	Unknown	Small	Unknown	N/A
	RadioControl Pinwheel	Normal	Small	Speed	Has a 40% chance of producing magnet effect during spin dashes.
	RadioControl Satellite	Unknown	Small	Unknown	N/A
	RadioControl Electromagnet	Normal	Small	Power	Magnets last 15% longer.
	RadioControl Battle Cruiser	S Rare	Massive	Power	175% more Red Star Rings appear during boss battles.
	RC Monkey	Normal	Small	Speed	Combo bonuses last 15% longer.
	Easter Bunny	Rare	Small	Power	x200 combos are boosted by 25.
	Wizard Chao	Rare	Small	Power	All items (except Color Power items and shields) last 50% longer.
	Easter Chao	Normal	Small	Speed	Has a 90% chance of producing the magnet effect when passing through Dash Rings and Rainbow Rings.
	Unknown	Unknown	Small	Unknown	N/A
	Baby Cyan Wisp	Normal	Small	Speed	The Laser effect lasts 15% longer.
	Baby Yellow Wisp	Normal	Small	Power	The Drill effect lasts 15% longer.
	Baby Indigo Wisp	Normal	Small	Fly	The Asteroid effect lasts 15% longer.
	RC Piggy Bank	Normal	Small	Fly	Restores up to 50 Rings when damaged.
File:SR companion pig.jpg	RC Golden Piggy Bank	Rare	Small	Fly	Recollects rings dispersed when players are damaged.
	Unknown	Unknown		Unknown	N/A
	RC Golden Angel	Unknown		Unknown	N/A
	RC Golden Goose	Unknown		Unknown	N/A
	Stars	Unknown		Unknown	N/A

Items

Items will players achieve better performance when equipping them. Up to three Items are available for use at a time.

Icon	Item	Class	Action
	Cyan Laser	Equippable	High speed aerial movement available after transformation. Absorbs items when the player taps.
	Yellow Drill	Equippable	High speed underground movement available. Performs jumps when the player taps.
	Indigo Asteroid	Equippable	Touching it after the transformation will enable players to float. Destroys various obstacles.
	Invincible	Equippable	Protects players from all damages, including those from enemies.
	Score Booster	Booster	Boosts the score gained as player bonus
	Spring Platforms	Booster	Prevents players from falling to the abyss when they fall from a high position by creating spring platforms.

Levels

• Episode 1: It's Doctor Eggman, the evil scientist! The evil genius Dr. Eggman is back to sow chaos in Sonic and the Animals' peaceful world.
• Episode 2: Save the Animals! Sonic and friends drove Dr. Eggman away, but he won't give up, and is kidnapping Animals again!
• Episode 3: Dr. Eggman's Dirty Tricks Sonic and friends foiled Eggman's plan to turn Animals into robots, but just what WAS he planning?
• Episode 4: Little Chao Lost Sonic and friends come across a lost chao, and decide to help it get home safely!
• Episode 5: A Not-So-Heavy-Load Dr. Eggman had ordered Cubot to collect items [to get] ready for his big comeback. But can Cubot deliver...?
• Episode 6: Evening Patrol Sonic and friends hear some Animals calling out in fright. Better find out what's up...
• Episode 6: Evening Patrol 2 Sonic and friends are on their way to fetch a translation unit so they can talk to the White Wisp.
• Episode 7: Earthquake Island Pinky says there have been a lot of earthquakes lately, and asks Sonic and friends to investigate...
• Episode 8: The Mysterious Light Ricky and his friend get a fright from a mysterious light on the way home. Find out the truth behind it!
• Episode 9: Disaster Zone The Friends find the remains of a great disaster, and are asked by the local Animals for help...
• Episode 10: Dr. Eggman's Robot Army Attacks! Eggman's robot army attacked an Animal village! Invade Dr.Eggman's base and save the Animals!
• Episode 11: Chasing our Tails Having managed to drive Dr.Eggman away, the gang follow Tails as he guides them to an all-new area!
• Episode 11: Chasing our Tails 2 Tails leads the way as the gang investigate an all-new area - home to one of Dr.Eggman's bases!
• Episode 12: Picky's Pig-Out Sonic and co. bump into Picky, and the poor pig's real hungry! They'd better find him some food!
• Episode 13: Little Pocky Lost Pocky's crying because he's lost his mother. It's up to Sonic and co. to reunite them!
• Episode 14: Ricky's Request Dr.Eggman has built a factory right next to Ricky's home, and it's polluting the water! Do something!
• Episode 15: Ring Hill Knuckles remembers a rumor about a place called Ring Hill, and the gang decide to go check it out!
• Episode 16: Dr. Eggman's Secret Experiment Sonic and friends hear a rumor that Dr.Eggman is conducting a secret experiment. Time to investigate!
• Episode 16: Dr. Eggman's Secret Experiment 2 Sonic and friends have found Dr.Eggman's base. Now it's time to find out what he's up to!
• Episode 17: Goodbye Greenery Pocky needs help! All the greenery is disappearing from the hills where he lives!
• Episode 18: Damsel in Distress Rocky's girlfriend has gone missing. Help him to find her!
• Episode 19: The Animals Fight Back The gang visit the Animals' village, but there are no Animals to be found! Where have they all gone?!
• Episode 19: The Animals Fight Back 2 Sonic and co. have agreed to help the Animals with their plan - but just what ARE they planning?
• Episode 20: Sonic the Villain The animals are suddenly scared of Sonic, and won't come near him... What on earth is going on?

Events

Several events have launched for Sonic Runners, each time announced and advertised by in-game notifications as well as on the game's official website.

Facebook Campaign

File:B-wZU4RW4AAPGkm.png

Amy Rose offered in the Facebook Campaign.

One of the unlimited events, offering the player 10 Red Star Rings for each friend that signs up for Sonic Runners after sending him an invitation via Facebook. Additionally, Amy Rose will be unlocked if ten Facebook friends start playing the game.

The Chaotix Detective Agency Premium Roulette

File:IMG 00471-750x563.png

The first notification announcing the Chaotix.

An event which started on March 5, 2015 and added Vector, Espio and Charmy as playable characters for the first time. By hitting the Character Egg on the Premium Roulette or the Special Roulette, players were able to unlock one of these three. It was possible to unlock the same character more than once, which would be compensated with 50 Red Star Rings, 3 Special Eggs and 10000 Rings. The campaign was at first scheduled to end on March 15, 2015, but was later extended due to popular demand, eventually ending on March 22, 2015.

Animal Rescue Event

An event which ran from March 13, 2015 to March 15, 2015. During this time, players were able to gain several rewards by collecting a certain amount of Animals in the stages, among them the Companion RC Monkey, first introduced in the game during this event.

Windy Hill in Spring Event

File:10300001 en.png

Merlina introduced in the event's notification.

The Easter event for Sonic Runners, introducing the first Special Stage in the game called "Windy Hill in Spring", available from March 30, 2015 to April 6, 2015. By collecting Easter Eggs in this stage, players are able to climb up the rankings, unlock several prizes and proceed in new Story Events along the way. The event also introduced three new Companions: Merlina, Easter Bunny and Easter Chao. While the former can be unlocked and leveled up by proceeding in the event, the latter two are only available through the Premium Roulette.

Development

In February 2014, a poster hosted at a German toy fair announced a 2015 Sonic game for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Wii U, as well as the Sonic Boom games, a feature film, and Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. This information circulated on the Internet, especially concerning the unannounced Sonic game, but Sega quickly asserted that the information on the supposed new title was false. Later in 2014, however, rumors of a smartphone game titled Sonic Runners began to circulate online; Sega had registered the domain name sonicrunners.com in July of that year. On 28 December 2014, Sonic Runners was eventually announced by Sega during the annual “Sonic Fan Thanksgiving” event at one of their Joypolis amusement parks. At the event, Takashi Iizuka personally revealed that Sonic Team’s next project was “Sonic Runners“ on the mobile. He promised that more information about the game would be revealed sequentially, starting in January 2015, but nothing was released during that month. Its gameplay style was quickly speculated by fan to be an endless runner, like Sonic Dash, which is also a smartphone game.

A small teaser and more details about the game were revealed on 3 February 2015. According to Takashi Iizuka, the game will be a "2D side-scrolling runner with stages that can be played in a minute or two." On 3 February 2015, Tomoya Ohtani announced on Twitter that he will be composing the musical score for the game.

Release

Sonic Runners received a sudden soft-launch on 26 February 2015 and is only currently available in the Japanese and Canadian App Store and Play Store app marketplaces. It does have an American page in the Play Store, but has an expected "This Item is not available in your country." banner. It is available for free on recent iOS and Android devices, and contains in-app purchases.

Trivia

• Not counting their co-production credits in Sonic the Hedgehog 4, this game marks the first time Sonic Team themselves have ever published a mobile game.
• This is the second game to feature every main character aside from Eggman Nega and the Babylon Rogues, the first was Sonic Generations.
  • However, in Sonic Generations, Big the Cat and E-123 Omega only appeared as statues, and Metal Sonic appeared in his Classic form.
• This game marks the first time in twelve years that Charmy Bee has been playable since Sonic Heroes.
  • This is also the first game to feature Charmy with a running animation rather than just a flying animation.
• When performing a Spin Dash, Espio and Vector do not curl into a ball.
• Amy's triple jump ability may be a nod to the move of the same name used by Amy Rose in Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, though it might also be a coincidence considering every Speed Type character is able to perform it in the game.
  • It could also be a nod at how Team Rose is the team with the easiest difficulty in Sonic Heroes.
• The Ring Boost aquired by using Chaotix Type characters may be a nod to their Team Blast Chaotix Recital from Sonic Heroes which awarded them with rings for every enemy destroyed during and shortly after using the ability.
  • Similarly the double animal score boost that the Team Rose characters have is a shout-out to the fact that Big's main story in his to playable appearances in main games have been saving his buddy Froggy.
• Vector's Dash Attack is equal to his Head Slide ability introduced in the Mario & Sonic series, which is not surprising considering several developers from Sega Sport R&D, the developers behind said series, are listed in the credits for Sonic Runners.
• This is the first game since Shadow the Hedgehog to use profanity; Knuckles says "damn" on a few occasions.
• Though Sonic Runners' canonicity appears to be dubious at best due to Sonic Team being the developers, it appears to specifically follow the canon of the handheld versions of multi-platform Sonic games. This is evident several times, such as as Mother Wisp being mentioned; Sonic and Tails only encountering her in the DS version of Sonic Colors. However, the game is equally evident in being non-canon due to some companions being characters from certain games that endings imply Sonic will never meet again, such as Chip, and Sonic not knowing who Merlina is, despite his encounter with her in Sonic and the Black Knight (which a comment made by Sonic in Generations implies it canon).
• Sonic Runners makes numerous grammatical errors; the most prominent being that the word "get" is used in place of "go" (e.g. Sonic exclaiming, "Let's get after them!", instead of "Let's go after them!")
• The game appears to overall be heavily based on Adventure 2, Heroes, Colors, and Lost World, in terms of plots, characters, gameplay, and zones.
• Not counting their cameo in Eggman's flashback in Sonic Generations, this is the first time Metal Sonic, Orbot and Cubot appeared in the same game. However, they have yet to be seen interacting in any of the current episodes.

Gallery

Template:Gallery box

Videos

• Official trailer
• Gameplay trailer

File:『ソニック ランナーズ』ティザートレーラー

File:Sonic Runners Gameplay Trailer-2

External links

• Official website

Sonic the Hedgehog handheld games

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