Octus

Octus (オクター), also known as Tashiya (タシヤ), is a octopus-type badnik created by Doctor Robotnik. It makes first appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Octus can float in the air and shoots energy projectiles towards its target from its small snout.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Octus in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is seen sitting on the ground at Oil Ocean Zone, mostly seen on stair sections of the zone. There can be seen one or two Octus badniks at one place as well. When it sees the player moving toward the badnik, it quickly starts moving in the air by using spinning tentacles at bottom and few seconds later it stops moving up and shoots one, small energy projectile straight ahead and lands to the same place repeats its pattern after for while.

The player has to avoid Octus and its energy projectile while moving forward, although due the fast speed, it might become challenging. Despite that, the player is able to destroy these badniks by using Spin Jump or quickly doing Spin Dash.

Tails Skypatrol
In Tails Skypatrol, a similar enemy called Tashiya shares the same appearance with Octus, but does have different pattern. These enemies would possibly serve for game's main villain Witchcart and do not contain animals inside of them at all. They can only be found at the DarkCastle Area, where they waddle along the ground and balance blue and white colored circus balls and can be mostly on the player's way at small route sections of the area. By destroying it is worth of 400 points.

Sonic Free Riders
Octus makes surprise appearance in Sonic Free Riders as an useful item. It has slightly different look as having red switch on its head, which by pressing it activates the feature. The game features few variations of Octus badniks, that can be found at item boxes and the player is holding on its hand. If a player receives an pink Octus, the other players' screens will get distorted with ink. The player must use a wiping motion to get the rid of the ink. When the player holds blue Octus, it makes its user boost in the air for while, thus getting upper areas on race tracks.

Physical Appearance
Octus as based on the octopus, has pink round shaped head, which features white eyes, small corkscrews ears on each side of the head and a tiny snout. The most known feature on Octus is having six mechanical tentacles, which these badniks can use to spin around in order to float in the air. These tentacles have small suction cups, which make Octus able to stand on the ground. These tentacles are part of the lower body which is colored yellow in the middle section and blue on the bottom.

Abilities
Octus usually can be seen sitting on the ground motionless with angry stare until the player approaches it. Once it spots the player, Octus will wide-eyed and starts floating in the air until it starts moving and shoots its small, yellow projectile out of its small snout. It then moves back to the ground and repeats the same pattern. In Tails' Skypatrol, it can be seen balancing the circus ball in the air, that is able to hurt the player. In Sonic Free Riders, Octus is seen able to shoot black ink instead of energy projectile.

Sonic the Comic
In Fleetway's Sonic the Comic, Octus has only made few brief appearances, normally being part of Dr. Robotnik's Badnik army. Octus badniks are first seen in Sonic the Poster Mag Issue 5' story, "Ocean of Horror!", where they try to take down Sonic in Oil Ocean Zone at the beginning of the story, but got easily destroyed. Octus do make appearance in issue 131' first part of "Shady Characters" story, where two modified Octus badniks are seen with extendable tentacles to grab Amy and Tekno.

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog
An Octus appears in the pilot episode of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. The Octus is in a group of Mashers and Chop-Chops that chase Sonic as he tries to stop Doctor Robotnik's attempts to drain a lake. The Mashers, Chop-Chops and Octus are all defeated when they become entangled in seaweed that whips up behind Sonic as he swims past at high speed.

This footage is reused in the episode "Untouchable Sonic", on a TV being watched by Scratch and Grounder.

Archie Comics
Octus makes appearance only one time in Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comic issue 5. In the issue, Doctor Robotnik challenges the Freedom Fighters to a challenge in his Olympic games, and an Octus is used to be Sally's challenger in the swimming competition. The Octus passes Sally and wins. This was Octus' first and only appearance in the comics, but a similar Badnik appears in the comics called Octobot.

Related Badniks

 * Unnamed octopus badnik of Gene Gadget Zone.
 * Octopus
 * Oct
 * Balloon
 * Takkon

Trivia

 * Originally Simo Wai's prototype of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 features yet another movement for Octus badnik after shooting its energy projectile, as it then starts quickly fly away horizontally if the player is approaching it. The movement has been later removed from final version of the game.
 * The Sonic X episode "The Last Resort", a similar robot appears called E-38 Octoron.