Cucky

Cucky (クッキー), also called as Chirps, is a small chicken and one of Sonic's animal friends. Like many of the animal friends, Cucky first appeared in the original Sonic the Hedgehog as one of the animals that had been imprisoned by Dr. Eggman inside of his capsules or has been used as energy sources for his Badnik army.

Cucky is a chicken with a round head. She has a large wattle, tiny beak and thick cheeks. Cucky also has small wings and soft feet with three toes on each foot. The name Chirps was originally given for chicken characters by Sega of America since the second draft of Sonic Bible, where she comes from a large family like other animal friends.

Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)
Cucky's first appearance was in the 16-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog. In the game, Cucky along with other animal friends on South Island had been captured by Dr. Robotnik and turned into energy sources for the doctor's Badnik army. Cucky herself can be found in Spring Yard Zone and Scrap Brain Zone where she gets released from inside of badniks that are destroyed or opened capsules.

Cucky also makes an appearance in the 8-bit version of the game with same name. During the game, Cucky can only be seen in Bridge Zone and Jungle Zone when they, along with other animals, get released from capsules.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Cucky next appearance was in the 16-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. In this game, much like in the first, the Cuckies and the other animals inhabiting Westside Island were captured Dr. Robotnik turned into energy sources for the doctor's Badnik army. In the game, Cucky can be found in Mystic Cave Zone and Sky Chase Zone. When the player clears the game as Tails, the ending sequence shows Sonic catching Tails as he falls on the Tornado's wing, while herd of Cuckies are seen flying behind them.

In the 8-bit version of the game with same name, Cucky can be found in Sky High Zone and Gimmick Mt. Zone, but like in their previous 8-bit appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog, they are only seen when releasing them from capsules.

Sonic Spinball
In Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball, Cucky is one of the animal friends that can be found in all four levels, namely Toxic Caves, Lava Powerhouse, The Machine and Showdown, when the player destroys one of the badniks or when freeing them from the animal prisons and Veg-O-Machine in The Machine.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles
Cucky once again appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and its add-on continuation Sonic & Knuckles. In these game, they reprised their role as animals kidnapped by Robotnik that were used to power his Badnik army. In Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Cucky can be found in Angel Island Zone, Marble Garden Zone and Launch Base Zone, while in Sonic & Knuckles, Cucky can be found at can be found in Mushroom Hill Zone, Sandopolis Zone, Lava Reef Zone, Sky Sanctuary Zone and Death Egg Zone.

In the beginning of Knuckles's storyline in Sonic & Knuckles, a herd of Cuckies and Rickies moving around in freedom in Mushroom Hill Zone where Knuckles was relaxing, until they ran away after EggRobo dropped an exploding bomb down in the front of Knuckles. In Sky Sanctuary Zone, Cuckies and Pockies are fearfully escaping from the light green towers as EggRobos emerge from there to attack into the player.

Sonic Gameworld
Cucky, along with Sonic, Tails, Amy and other animal friends, appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog's Gameworld. She is featured in the Concentration Memory Cards mini-game that features one pair of cards with Cucky on them.

Sonic Pocket Adventure
While Cucky doesn't reprise his role like Flicky and Ricky in Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure, several animal friends along with Cucky are included one time in the game's perfect ending.

Mario & Sonic series
In all of the Mario & Sonic games, Cuckies along with other animal friends, Egg Pawns and Chaos are seen cheering on the competitors in the audience during all sport events.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4
Cucky makes another appearance in all three episodes of Sonic the Hedgehog 4. In these games, Cucky reprises her role from earlier games as she along with other animal friends are once again being captured by Dr. Eggman and used as energy sources for his new and improved Badnik army or are imprisoned in capsules.

In Episode I, Cucky can be only found in Casino Street Zone, while in Episode II she appears at Oil Desert Zone and Sky Fortress Zone. At the end of Episode Metal, she, along with a group of other animal friends, were scared away by Metal Sonic when he arrived only to see Sonic leave.

Sonic Generations
Cucky make another appearance, along with Flicky, Pecky and Picky in the console/PC version of Sonic Generations. In this game, she and the other animal friends appear in some of the challenges, where the player must find capsules containing Cucky and the animal friends and free them from them. Additionally, a statue of Cucky and the other animal friends can be unlocked in the secret Statue Room.

Sonic Jump (2012)
Cucky appeared along with Flicky, Pocky and Picky in the 2012 remake of Sonic Jump. In the intro scene of the game, Dr. Eggman kidnaps once again them and traps them in the small prison unit of his Egg Mobile and flies away with them to the sky. Sonic however discovers the kidnapping and decides to follow him to save them.

Sonic Lost World
Cucky along with other animal friends appeared in Sonic Lost World, where they are shown to inhabit the Lost Hex. During the events of the game, Dr. Eggman, with the assistance of Deadly Six, resumed kidnapping animals, as Cucky again being among them, to use them as the energy source for his badnik army. The small group of animals, including Cucky, that managed to escape capture remained behind with Knuckles and Amy while Sonic and Tails went out to save their friends, where some of them had fun at the expense of Knuckles and even carried him around.

Cucky, along with other animals in Sonic Lost World, are collectible content used to progress with the game. Once the player has collected a set amount of Cucky and other animals, the player gain access to the fourth Zone in each area. Sonic is able to free animals from badniks, smaller capsules and even regular large ones at the end of each Zone. Cucky and animals can also be collected from Circus tents of each Zone. Cucky type of companions are featured in Windy Hill, Desert Ruins, Frozen Factory, Silent Forest, Sky Road, Lava Mountain and Hidden World.

Other Appearances

 * Chucky is featured along with other animals in the background of screensaver pictures in Sonic the Screen Saver.
 * In Sonic Jam and Sonic Gems Collection, pieces of artworks featuring animal friends and Cucky are featured on artwork museum.

Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic
Cucky along with other animal friends, appears in Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic manga. She appears in several panels in all three of the stories.

Sonic the Comic
Cucky appeared in early issues of Sonic the Comic, although it was never explicitly named.

Sonic X
Cucky made a several cameo appearances in Sonic X anime. She has given slightly taller size than how she appears in games. First glimpse of Cucky is seen episode Mean Machines and she is seen back on her home planet along with other animal friends in the episode A New Start.

Archie Comics
Chirps appeared in the Sonic:GENESIS arc of the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series. He was one of the animals imprisoned inside a Badnik. He was rescued by Sonic once the Badnik was destroyed.

Trivia

 * Before Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog animated series, DiC had plans for a much different Sonic cartoon which was never produced, but concept art was leaked. Amongst the cast of this show was a little chicken named Chirps who was part of Sonic's "Freedom Team".
 * When Cucky was originally featured on her own card in Sonic the Hedgehog Online Trading Cards, she has been misleadingly named as Ricky. Apparently, Ricky is also another animal friend's name, who's has also been misleadingly called as Pocky in the same card game.