Item Box

Item Boxes (アイテムボックス), also called Video Monitors in the original Sonic the Hedgehog, Monitors in earlier games and Item Capsules are destructible containers that contain various power-ups or bonuses that can be collected by the player. It first appeared in the original Sonic the Hedgehog in 1991.

In the early Sonic games and some of the later games, they took the form of grey, rectangular computer monitors with the icon of the power-up contained inside shown on the flickering screen, but in later games becoming more glass capsule looking and being usually called as item boxes. Both monitors and item boxes are not featured or mentioned in the game's storytelling, but it has been seen that objects belong to Sonic's world either as part of in-game objects or high-tech boxes with advertising.

Description
In the early Sonic games and some of the later 2D games, they took the form of grey, rectangular computer Monitors with the icon of the power-up contained inside shown on the flickering screen. Usually empty monitors spawned through cheat codes only display static. Although item boxes have replace them in later games, monitors sometimes have make appearances in recent games, such as Sonic the Hedgehog 4, Sonic Generations and Sonic Jump.

To break one of these monitors, the player should jump at it. Alternatively, the player can roll into the monitor from the side. Some Monitors can be found floating in midair in secret areas; hitting a floating Monitor from below will make it drop to the ground where it can be broken easily. If the player holds the jump button while destroying a Monitor, the bounce back is the same as that of a badnik; that is, the longer the distance the player fell onto the monitor, the higher he will bounce back up. Monitors can be hidden at some places for example in palm-trees.

While some of these items are protective against hazards, spikes and enemies, they cannot protect the player from instant death such as being crushed or falling into a bottomless pit. Also, certain item boxes are traps that can cause damage to the player instead of helping them, like the Robotnik monitor found in the earlier games.

Since Sonic Adventure, they had a redesign to look more like glass capsules with a picture of the item or power-up floating inside, and are now called Item Boxes or Item Capsules. These Item Boxes can be broken open by simply touching them (excluding Sonic Advance), as opposed to Monitors that had to be broken with an attack (breaking an Item Box by falling on it bounces the player upward). The Homing Attack will target Item Boxes the same way it will target enemies, and some chasms can be crossed by using Homing Attacks on a string of floating Item Boxes. The most of 3D Sonic games use some form of the Item Boxes until since Sonic Unleashed, as being replaced with completely different items instead of item boxes such 10 Rings and floating extra lives. Despite that, both usage of monitors and item boxes have been varied considerably at recent games in some form.

Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)
Monitors first appear in the original 16-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog, where these items were mentioned as video monitors in American instruction manual. Video monitors are illustrated as simple grey cubic televisions with static screen. In the game, the player can easily pick up power-ups by doing Spin Jump or Spin Attack. The game presented first time video monitor items being Super Rings, Shields, Power Sneakers, One-Ups and Invincibility.

Monitors also appear in 8-bit version of the game with same name, also being called video monitors in American instruction manual and having all power-ups from 16-bit counterpart. However the game introduces to Arrow Monitors, which since then replaces Star Posts in Game Gear and Master System installments.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Monitors repeat their roles in 16-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, having a same appearance and same power-ups, although being called now just Monitors in American instruction manual. Monitors are also featured in multiplayer mode of the game, where monitor's power-ups can be randomized and on-screen being just static. The multiplayer mode introduces to Teleportation monitor which only appears in this game and Robotnik monitor, which actually first appeared as an inoperable object from Debug Mode in the original Sonic the Hedgehog. In multiplayer mode, each of players can win the round depending on how much monitors are broken.

In 8-bit version of the game with same name, monitors appear generally and having same power ups, excluding the Shield, which is not featured in the game. The game also keeps featuring Arrow Monitors as well.

Sonic CD
In Sonic CD, monitors appear normally, having also appearance and all power-ups from the original Sonic the Hedgehog. In the game's Special Stages, if the player blows up one of UFOs, the player can got Rings or Power Sneakers like from monitors.

Sonic Chaos
Monitors appear generally in Sonic Chaos, having all power ups from previous titles. However the game also features Rocket Shoes, which can only be used by Sonic and found monitors with Rocket Shoes icon on the screen. The game also doesn't feature Arrow Monitors, which were widely included in Game Gear and Master System titles. This is possibly due the fact that all zones are being quickly passed in the game.

Sonic Drift
Sonic Drift features two different coloring of monitors in racing tracks. Red monitors gives burst of speed to the player and blue monitors gives invincibility to the player with a 8-bit variation of neat and familiar song.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles
In Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and its add-on continuation Sonic & Knuckles, the monitors repeat its role as having almost all power ups from previous games. However monitors now took the form of a light grey device instead of general grey cubic appearance. Monitors can pop out if the Goal plate falls down at certain spot by its own will or the player bounces it.

Despite having no normal shield, the game introduces three elemental shields, which are fire, water and lightning types. As the player enters to first and second Bonus Stages, many elemental shields and rings can be collected from multiable colored floating orbs. Both games also features Eggman monitors which are visible at some sections of the zones, where the player would not like to face them.

Sonic 3's Competition Mode features different kinds of items, having only rings and power sneakers being familiar ones. Competition Mode doesn't have monitors in it, as they are collected from small bubbles.

Sonic Triple Trouble
Monitors are featured in Sonic Triple Trouble, having appearance and power ups from earlier games. As featuring Rocket Shoes once again, there are monitors having power up which can make the player fly forward at high speeds. It can be only used by Tails.

The game also features Pogo Springs at Meta Junglira Zone, Jet Boards at Robotnik Winter Zone and Propeller Shoes at Tidal Plant Zone as the last two can only be used by Sonic. To enter Special Stages, the player has to find emerald monitors which are hidden in every first and second acts of zones. In Special Stages with platforming, there are also time monitors, which helps the player to reach to the end of the Special Stages.

Sonic Drift 2
There are different colored monitors lying at tracks once again in Sonic Drift 2. As red and blue ones repeat roles, the game features yellow monitor which bounces the player. It has also to do at proper time by pressing up. There are also black monitors which feature mines and can be activated by pressing up as slinging it onto the track, it makes the others or the player rotate and stop for few seconds. Blue monitor's invincibility jingle in the game is one from Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

Knuckles' Chaotix
Monitors appear normally at Knuckles' Chaotix as with rings, shields, power sneakers and invisibility, the game also has even more obscure features. New monitor features are Combine Ring which obviously combines all collected rings to blue one if the player lose it, the one that changes to other character to another, swap monitor which swaps characters or making the second character big or small.

Sonic 3D
Monitors are now featured at isometric perspective in Sonic 3D Blast (also known as Sonic 3D: Flickies Island), despite that having same role from previous games. As having rings, invincibility, power sneakers, 1-UP and shield, the game has two shields. Red Shield is like Fire Shield from Sonic the Hedgehog 3, although without quick jump dash and Gold Shield, that allows the player to perform Blast Attack.

Sonic Blast
Monitors also appear in Sonic Blast as there are 8 different power ups in the game. As giving rings, shield, power sneakers, invincibility and arrow monitors, there are now separate 1-UP monitors for Sonic and Knuckles, which do nothing, if the player has different character to collect 1-UP of another character. There are also Eggman monitor and monitor with question mark, which gives randomly one of eight power ups.

Sonic Jam
Monitors appear briefly in compilation Sonic Jam as hiding in Sonic World. Monitors included cheat codes and major information from games which are featured at compilation.

Sonic Adventure
Monitors are featured in Sonic Adventure as since this game, these objects are renamed as item-boxes. Instead of gray cubic design, item-boxes look more glass capsule with icon of power up floating inside of it which later is showed the screen below after braking the item box. If the player has Sonic, there are also easier to hit with Homing Attack.

Sonic Adventure features basic power-ups such as Power Sneakers, Invisibility, Shield, Magnetic Shield which acutally is Thunder Shield from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 without double jump and extra life. However the game introduces concept of different set of rings, as there would be 5 or 10. There is also one with question mark, which could possibly give 1, 5, 10, 15, 20 or even 40 rings. There's also Bomb power-up which destroys all enemies nearby.

Sonic Pocket Adventure
Item Boxes appear in Sonic Pocket Adventure, where item boxes have the original grey television design but were called with new name in game's instruction manual. The game has all five basic power ups from previous games.

Sonic Adventure 2
Item Boxes make another appearance in Sonic Adventure 2 where Item Boxes have slightly same look from Sonic Adventure. Power ups are almost same from the previous game, however there are also 20 rings alone and health power ups from Tails and Eggman. Sonic Adventure 2 introduces to item box balloons (see below). Also many item boxes are seen floating in the air without footrests as well.

Sonic Advance games
Item Boxes appear in Sonic Advance games, including all basic power ups from Sonic Adventure. In Sonic Advance Item Boxes have a slightly different shape as its glass section is more cubic, but in Sonic Advance 2 and Sonic Advance 3 Item Boxes are more round-shaped. Sonic Advance 2 introduces gimmick of braking Item Boxes by simply touching them.

Sonic Heroes
Item Boxes and its balloon variants appear in Sonic Heroes as normal item box's look is triangular prism shaped. It is more of mix of the original monitor from earlier games and item boxes from Sonic Adventure as having three screens of showing power up, but also having able to hover at one point. Item boxes can also found inside of small cages, that power-type character can break.

Both of boxes and balloons have same power ups from Sonic Adventure 2. The game also features power cores which can be collectible by destroying item boxes and enemies, Team Blast, Rings and Fly Change, which is only available for fly-type characters which fills immediately flight meter fully. The game also features spin targets, that only appear in this game.

Sonic Rush games
Item Boxes appear in Sonic Rush games, as appearance of item box is different in two games. Power ups in both games are generally 5 rings, question mark one which gives 1, 5, 10, 30 or 50 rings, normal shield, magnetic shield, speed up, invisibility and extra life. Both games introduce to Tension Bonus which raises the tension gauge to one level and Max Tension Bonus, which raises tension gauge to fully.

In Sonic Rush item boxes has slightly similar Item Boxes from Sonic Heroes and having balloon versions of item boxes as well. However in Sonic Rush Adventure Item Boxes has different look with bubbles having power up inside of them, which can also hover in the air and are fitting to the Sol Dimension.

The multiplayer mode in both games features random ring bonus, the power up, which can slow down another player, Max Tension Bonus, Confusion which reserved controls of another player for while and Attract which brings another player to place where other is.

Shadow the Hedgehog
In Shadow the Hedgehog, item boxes have similar appearance from Sonic Heroes and having same power ups from Sonic Adventure 2. Many item boxes are also seen to be floating indirectly in the air. The game also features Heat Barrier that damages surrounded enemies and Damage Recover, which as the names says, recovers the health of the vehicle.

Sonic Riders games
All three Sonic Riders games features item boxes in tracks with different power ups that take advantages of the board's features. Item boxes have slightly similar appearance from Sonic Adventure 2. There are mostly 8 item boxes in the row and all of them are shown to be randomized items with question mark icon on the item boxes.

Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)
Item Boxes appear in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), where look of them is more detailed and at same time similar for ones in Sonic Adventure. Also power ups are almost same. After getting item box with extra life and losing a life, these particular item boxes are completely empty.

Although the game features Gauge Up power up, which replenish the Action Gauge. Because the game's unfinished, it has no effect when it is picked up by Sonic. Tails also got ability to throw fake item boxes to enemies which then explode with dummy rings popping out of them.

Mario & Sonic series
Item boxes (especially balloon item boxes) are featured in dream events of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games and Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Power ups in these games are such as bombs, shields and speed shoes. There are also extra items from Mario games such as Super Stars, Mega Mushrooms, green and red shells.

Sonic Unleashed
Since Sonic Unleashed, Item boxes seem to be completely replaced by other items. The Super Ring Item Box is replaced by a ring with 10 written in it. Extra Life is replaced by a square with Sonic's head symbol in it. They can't be targeted by a Homing Attack, and no other items remain in Modern Sonic's gameplay.

However unlike the PS3/360 game, the Wii/PS2 versions of Sonic Unleashed feature item boxes being called as Item Capsules. They are dispersed throughout the stages and puzzles in the Gaia Temples, and when broken, give Sonic an item. These items are extras like movies, hints, music, and pictures, but also sometimes give the player a permanent extra life. In the night stages, many item boxes contain Gaia Force which helps the Werehog build up his strength for Unleashed mode or contribute to the total at the end of the level.

Sonic & All-Stars Racing series
In Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, item boxes appear throughout the tracks. When collected, the player can get weapons, power-ups, or if they are lucky, an All-Star Move.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4
Monitors make reappearance in both episodes of Sonic the Hedgehog 4. In both episodes, monitors have given different design, but still having small resemble to original design from earlier games. Despite the appearance, the power ups are all similar to ones from original Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 games.

However in episode II, there are some of monitors that hover in the air without footrest. There is also one special power up at golden monitors, which include Combo Attack with Sonic and Tails that can be activated by destroying golden monitor with icon of it in Oil Desert Zone and Sky Fortress Zone.

Sonic Colors
Like in Sonic Unleashed, Wii version of Sonic Colors doesn't feature item boxes. However, this is the opposite in the Nintendo DS version of Sonic Colors, as there are item boxes and they can also been opened by using homing attack that works for Wisp Capsules. Its appearance is similar to ones from Sonic Advance 2 and Sonic Advance 3.

In Nintendo DS version of Sonic Colors, there are ring, shield, thunder shield, life and invincibility capsules in the levels, but in versus mode, there's different capsules that the player can use to throw obstacles at the other player or reduce their speed. those obstacles are springs, spike balls and egg balloons.

Sonic Generarions
Monitors return in Sonic Generations as objects for Classic Sonic's acts, having similar appearance from earlier games. All power ups appear in the game such as rings, invisibility, power sneakers and extra life, although normal shield has to buy from store. The game also marks return of elemental shields, which only appears at item boxes in few challenges, but are only found at store like other items and features. Classic Sonic also has feature to use Skateboard, which can be found from monitor in City Escape.

Monitors repeat its role in Sonic Generations for Nintendo 3DS, where also Modern Sonic can find Ring and Life monitors through the Classic and the Dreamcast Era.

Sonic Jump (2012)
Monitors appear yet again in 2012 remake of Sonic Jump. Monitors have many familiar power ups from previous games, but which also includes magnets, bombs and different set of shields.

Sonic Dash
Item boxes are featured in Sonic Dash, as the player runs towards it, they contain 10 rings or magnets, that are similar to ones from Sonic Jump. The look of item boxes are identical to ones in Sonic & All-Stars Racing. Item boxes can be found at normally at corners, but also behind of walls, totem poles or any other obstacles as well.

Balloons
There is one alternative form of item boxes: the balloons or floating item boxes in Sonic Rush. These balloons are red and they have a white and blue circles with a star on them. They act like capsules, except that they are always in the air. Since they don't have a picture, there is no telling what each one contains. Balloons sometimes contain special bonuses that do not appear in item boxes, like the wing, which gives Knuckles an extra boost into the air as he glides. They first appeared in Sonic Adventure 2, continued on Sonic Heroes and been used only in spin-offs such as Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games since.

Spin Targets
Spin targets are one of variants of item boxes that only appear in Sonic Heroes. Spin Targets are round-shaped, flat plates that float in the air. Spin target has red background, white and blue circles with a star on it. If the player tries to fly forward it, the player only goes through it.

The flight-type character has to throw the another character through to make it spin around and thus earning the power up after the spin target disappears after spinning an while. Spin targets usually contains power cores, rings or shield. Sometimes spin targets has to make spinning to activate Pole being set.

Item Boxes
Key: SA1 = Sonic Adventure, SA2 = Sonic Adventure 2, SH = Sonic Heroes, ShTH = Shadow the Hedgehog, STH = Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), SR = Sonic Riders, SRZG = Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity

Stay Sonic
Monitors have given sort of back story in Stay Sonic. As planning to use his Retro Orbital Chaos Compressor to contain all the negative energy of the planet within six emeralds, Doctor Ovi Kintobor required a seventh gem to stabilize the process, but could not locate one himself. To broaden his search, he set up a network of monitors across the entire planet that served as an interlinked communications system, allowing the people of Mobius to pass along any information to him that they could about the final emerald's potential whereabouts.

Sonic the Comic
Monitors also appear in Fleetway's Sonic the Comic, as sharing the same kind of background from Stay Sonic. The another one of Kintobor's creations was an artificial duplicate of Sonic known as an Extra Life, which was stored within one of the planet's many monitors.

Unfortunately, the Extra Life was never needed and so remained trapped in its monitor for years, slowly becoming corrupted and bent on revenge, until it duped Tails into freeing it by pretending to be the real Sonic. After besmirching Sonic's name by causing chaos in the Emerald Hill Zone, the Extra Life was sucked back into its monitor by Tails, and the box was then kicked into space by the real Sonic.

Archie Comics
In Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comics, monitors or item boxes hasn't been seen until one item box has been seen to being developed in Sonic Universe issue 38, which has been created by Hope Kintobor and possibly GUN. It was originally invented to be device to help E-123 Omega during combat battles.

However Snively teleported himself to the GUN laboratory and tries pleasing Hope being part of their family and rule the world with him and Regina. Hope disagrees to join him after the conversation and activates the item box which has Flame Shield in it, forces the Snively to leave him and activates the alarm. Snively leaves the place and Hope has been seen crying alone with Flame Shield still on it at the laboratory where later Omega finds him.

Trivia

 * Monitors from original Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic CD are based on basic CRT monitors, while Monitors in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles bear resemble to Apple's Macintosh from mid 1980's. Later on Monitors in Sonic the Hedgehog 4 seem to loosely based on modern flat-panel LCD TV, while Sonic Generations brings back the original CRT design.
 * In earlier games, when the player has both Sonic and Tails, Tails couldn't destroy monitors as his own. This was although possible in early prototypes of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, as Tails was copy paste programmed character of the main playable character.
 * There are certain monitors at above sections that can't be reached with Sonic or Tails in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. However, with lock-on technology of Knuckles in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Knuckles can reach these sections that have those monitors.
 * Although monitors don't appear at Competition Mode of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, one monitor can be seen at options menu of Competition Mode as items can be set on and off.
 * The same way, Tails Adventure doesn't feature monitors, although one can be seen upper left corner of gameplay hud, showing the amount of the rings that player has.
 * As it can be seen above, City Escape has advertises of different things in Sonic Adventure 2 as one of them being item-boxes with 10 rings and various other power-ups.
 * In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, an extra-life monitor can be seen at top of loop in Green Hill stage (unless the player is using the Pokèmon trainer character, who will sit in this reserved area instead).