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Revived from obscurity, it ambushes from inkwells


— Description, Sonic the Hedgehog Encyclo-speed-ia

The Splats[1] is an enemy that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is a rabbit-based Badnik model created by Dr. Eggman. Designed for the original Sonic the Hedgehog, the Splats would end up being cut from the final release of the game. Despite this, this Badnik would go on to appear in several promotional materials and comics.

Appearance[]

Based on rabbits, Splats are small dark blue robots with round heads and torsos, and have cartoony eyes and orange flappy ears. They bounce around by the means of a pogo-like red Spring on their underside.

In Sonic Mania, Splats are a paler shade of blue (or black with teal ears in Encore Mode) and their lower bodies are coated in black ink. Their springs are also replaced with metal stampers that stamp black ink wherever they bounce.

Game appearances[]

Sonic the Hedgehog (2013)[]

Splats were originally meant to appear in the 16-bit version of the original Sonic the Hedgehog, but they were removed prior to its release for unknown reasons. However, their graphical data still existed inside the coding of NTSC and PAL releases for the game.

While still not featured in the regular game, Splats appear as a functional enemy in the 2013 remaster of the game, where they are only featured as objects that can be placed in Green Hill Zone by using the game's Debug Mode. This Badnik moves at a similar pace to a Moto Bug, except it makes short hops. Like most Badniks, they can easily be destroyed by attacking their heads with a Spin Attack-related move. Doing so will release the Animal inside of them and award the player with 100 points

Sonic Mania[]

SMSplats

In Sonic Mania, and its expansion Sonic Mania Plus, Splats are enemies found predominantly in Press Garden Zone Act 1. In gameplay, they spawn from large bottles of ink and hop around in an attempt to attack the player while they cover the ground with splashes of ink. They can easily be destroyed by attacking their heads with a Spin Attack-related move, releasing the Animal inside of them and awarding the player with 100 points.

PGARDEN1-7

A Splats in Press Garden Zone Act 1, from Sonic Mania.

A few Splats, in their standard color scheme, can also be found within the various scrap piles scattered across Flying Battery Zone. Their inclusion here is likely a nod to their scrapped appearance in the original Sonic the Hedgehog. They can also be placed in Green Hill Zone using Debug Mode.

Sonic Superstars[]

SuperstarsSplatsScr

A Splats, from Sonic Superstars.

The Splats reappear in Sonic Superstars, where they can be encountered in Speed Jungle Zone, as well as Pinball Carnival Zone Act 2 (where the Splats can be seen donning ghost sheets to match with the spookier theme of the Act, though their attack pattern remains the same). In gameplay, the Splats hop from left to right in a small, preoccupied area, unlike in their previous appearances where they hop freely around. Usually, the Splats appear in groups of two or more, making avoiding them much harder to do than normally. Like most other Badniks, the Splats can be easily taken out with any attack method, causing them to release their Animal and award the player with 100 points as well.

Other game appearances[]

Sonic Speed Simulator[]

Powers and abilities[]

Possessing springs on their bottoms, the Splats are capable of making extra high jumps.

In other media[]

Books and comics[]

Sonic the Comic[]

Cyborg-Splats

A Splats, from Sonic the Comic #42. Art by Mike Hadley and John M. Burns.

In the Sonic the Comic series published by Fleetway Editions, the Splats were a part of Dr. Robotnik's Badnik army. Due to the different artists, Splats were often give a slightly different look between their appearance, though they retained their overall resemblance to their in-game sprites. Splats, along with two Moto Bugs, were the first Badniks ever to faced by Sonic. They teamed up with several Badniks multiple times to defeat Sonic afterwards, but without success and were eventually rendered obsolete.

Archie Comics[]

Main article: Splats (Archie)
Splats Profile

A Splats, from Sonic the Hedgehog #40.

In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, the Splats was one of Dr. Ivo Robotnik's Classic Badniks. Though initially used to combat the Knothole Freedom Fighters, the Splats were eventually rendered obsolete by more advanced robots and got decommissioned, the remainder being sent to the Robo Hobo Jungle and the Island of Misfit Badniks.

IDW Publishing[]

SplatsIDW

A Splats, from Sonic the Hedgehog #51.

In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by IDW Publishing, when Metal Sonic used his V. Maximum Overdrive Attack to damage Sonic, Tails, and Belle's stolen escape aircraft, a Splats was among the group of Badniks tossed aside by the crashing ship.[2]

Merchandise[]

SonicTomyFigurines

A full set of figurines from TOMY's promotional toy-line, featuring the Splats in center of the top line.

Despite their removal, the Splats has made a few official appearances in promotional merchandise, such as having their own promotional trading card after the release of the original Sonic the Hedgehog,[3] as well as a figurine produced after the release of Sonic & Knuckles by TOMY in 1994.

Trivia[]

  • Early on the game's development, the level designer Hirokazu Yasuhara nicknamed the enemy in his "Enemy Spec" document notes as うさぎ (Usagi?), directly meaning "rabbit" in Japanese.[4]
  • Yuji Naka mentioned the rabbit enemy being one of unused content from the original Sonic the Hedgehog, but he also commented about naming the Badnik "Rabbit-bus" or "Rabbit-taxi" (the former is a reference to Catbus from My Neighbor Totoro)".[5]
  • Promotional merchandise implied that Splats would use their pogo springs to crush Sonic by jumping on him.[3]
  • There has been some confusion over the true color palette of the Splats, with the most common being shared with Sonic's sprite palette (due to this Badnik being technically undefined in the game's programming). This palette is used for Splats in merchandise, both the 2013 remaster of the original Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Mania when this Badnik is placed around by using the Debug Mode, and their reappearance in Sonic Superstars. However, with the game's pre-release prototype discovered in 2021, it was shown that if you placed a Splats in Marble Zone by using Debug Mode, it will depict them with a purple and emerald green color scheme.

Gallery[]

Concept artwork[]

Screenshots[]

Sprites[]

Merchandise[]

References[]

  1. Flynn, Ian; Sega (8 December 2021). "Sonic Mania". Sonic the Hedgehog Encyclo-speed-ia. Dark Horse Books. p. 254. ISBN 978-1506719276. "Splats - Revived from obscurity it ambushes from inkwells"
  2. Sonic the Hedgehog #51, "Escaping the Empire"
  3. 3.0 3.1 Splats' promotional trading card included after the release of Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) (JPG). Sonic Retro.
  4. Hirokazu Yasuhara document notes: "Enemy Spec" - part 1.
  5. Kemps, Heidi (30 September 2005). Sega's Yuji Naka Talks!. GameSpy. Retrieved on 1 May 2015.

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