Sonic Heroes


 * This article is about the Sonic Heroes game. You might be looking for the Sonic Heroes (song).

"We're Sonic Heroes!"

- Quote by Sonic in the end of the game

Sonic Heroes (ソニック ヒーローズ) is a video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, developed by Sonic Team USA and released in 2003 and 2004 for multiple platforms (consoles Xbox, GameCube, PS2 and the computers PC). This game differs from other Sonic games by allowing the player to take control of one of four teams, each with three characters, who have abilities unique to them.

Gameplay
The game introduces several new gameplay elements. Unlike most Sonic games, where players control one character, three characters are available at any time to choose from, as the player may switch the party's leader freely, whilst the other two characters follow. Each character has an individual ability - speed for fast stages, power for breaking objects, or flight for reaching high platforms - and the player must use these abilities to traverse the fourteen stages. Each stage has a different layout for each team, providing different challenges for each story. Each ability is also represented in the interface by color; blue for speed, yellow for flight, and red for power. Each ability also has an element associated with it: Speed uses wind, Fly uses thunder and Power uses fire. These can be used to solve various puzzles, most notably in Team Chaotix's Mystic Mansion stage. Each team also has a Team Blast skill, which can be performed when the Team Blast meter becomes full. This can be achieved by performing such actions as destroying enemies or collecting rings.

Teams
In addition to controlling three characters, the player may select one of the four teams available to use at the beginning of the game; each team has one member capable of the aforementioned skills, but follow a different, yet intertwined, storyline. Each team also has a unique Team Blast skill.

Team Sonic

 * Speed: Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Flight: Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Power: Knuckles the Echidna
 * Head of the Team: Sonic the Hedgehog

Team Sonic is the title team of Sonic Heroes. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles receive a letter from Doctor Eggman telling them of a new ultimate weapon that will be ready within three days, challenging them to stop him. The three heroes band together once again to foil Eggman's plans. This team and associated levels are designed to be of medium difficulty, and contain high-speed sections. Their secondary missions involve reaching the goal within a time limit.

Team Blast: Sonic Overdrive/Super Sonic Power (when in Super forms):

Sonic Overdrive is Team Sonic's Team Blast from the game Sonic Heroes. The move consists of Knuckles throwing Tails, who spins to gain momentum, and throws Sonic, who attacks surrounding enemies multiple times at light speed. While the gauge is resetting, attacking while in the air with Sonic allows him to do a smaller version of the Team Blast called the Light Speed Attack. Sonic does the same thing with Tails as the leader while the gauge resets, but instead does it when Tails kicks him off with a Thunder Shoot. During the final boss, Metal Madness, under Super Transformation, the trio performs a different team blast, where all three power up, then charge Metal Sonic in a barrage of Homing Attacks.

It is possible that this attack was based from a similar attack Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles used on Metal Robotnik in Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie.


 * Team Sonic is the only team to have more than 1 victory stance (which include their normal stance, the one used in the Egg Fleet level, and the one used as team Super Sonic).
 * Team Sonic is the only team where the "Power" character is not considerably larger than the other characters.
 * Team Sonic is the only team where the three character are the same color as their type.

Team Dark
Rouge sneaks into one of Eggman's bases after hearing that Doctor Eggman is accumulating valuable treasures. Instead, she finds Shadow the Hedgehog, thought to be dead, encased in a capsule and without memory of who he is, and comes across a robot, E-123 Omega, bent on destroying Eggman's robots. Realizing that all their problems lead to Eggman, the three anti-heroes team up. This team and associated levels are designed to be of hard difficulty, requiring skill and concentration to endure heavy battle. This team's secondary missions involve wiping out 100 enemies in the stage.
 * Speed: Shadow the Hedgehog
 * Flight: Rouge the Bat
 * Power: E-123 Omega
 * Head of the Team: Rouge the Bat

Team Blast: Chaos Inferno:

The Chaos Inferno is Team Dark's Team Blast. It consists of Shadow performing Chaos Control, whilst Omega, lifted up by Rouge, rotates the top half of his body and fires large lasers from his hands. It also stops time momentarily once complete, so that all enemies, doors and switches are frozen in place. There is however a glitch that allows the Team to spin on an invisible pole. The Chaos Control wears off when the Team Blast gauge resets.


 * Named after the Dark story mode in Sonic Adventure 2, which was the first playable appearances of both Shadow and Rouge.
 * The only team in the game with a member that debuts in this game, as well as the only team with an inorganic member.
 * This is the only team who's power character isn't the oldest. Knuckles is 16, Big is 18 and Vector is 20. However, Shadow is over 50 years old (chronologically) making him older than Omega.
 * In game, Shadow suffers from amnesia. This is shown when he does not recall ever knowing Rouge, Sonic, Tails, or Knuckles by saying, "What's with that hedgehog that looks like my twin?" and shrugging when Rouge says "You don't remember anything do you?" However, in Team Dark's ending cutscene he tells Rouge, "Some things never change, do they?" when she mentions going after the Master Emerald. Neither Rouge or Knuckles mentioned the Emerald in game, showing that Shadow was making a reference to Sonic Adventure 2. He didn't remember Rouge in game so due to amnesia shouldn't have remembered her going after the Master Emerald in Sonic Adventure 2, although it could be argued that his memory was slowly returning. Proof of this is shown in the Egg Fleet level when Rouge claims that they "might even be on the edge of space", Shadow replies "Space? Did you say SPACE?"

Team Rose

 * Speed: Amy Rose
 * Flight: Cream the Rabbit and Cheese the Chao
 * Power: Big the Cat
 * Head of the Team: Amy Rose

Each character of Team Rose is trying to find someone important to them; Amy searches for Sonic and hopes that defeating Eggman herself will impress him. Big is searching for his amphibian friend, Froggy again, and Cream is seeking out Cheese's lost brother, Chocola. With a picture in the newspaper (of Froggy and Chocola being carried off by who they believe to be Sonic) as their only clue, the three join up to find their lost companions. This team and associated levels are designed for younger players, with shorter missions, which allows them to bypass the more difficult sections of many stages. This team is the only one to include the tutorial level in Story Mode. The secondary missions for this team entail the collection of 200 rings.

Team Blast: Flower Festival:

Flower Festival is the Team Blast attack used by Team Rose in the game Sonic Heroes. Big bounces Amy and Cream on top of his umbrella with Cheese showering flowers and petals over the enemies, destroying them. All three members level up by one and grants them temporary invincibility, high running speed, and a shield afterward. The invincibility wears off after the gauge resets itself.


 * The only team in the game to have 4 people (although Cheese is just a extension of Cream).
 * Ironically, despite having easier main missions, their sub missions are at times quite difficult, due to if you're hit, you lose EVERY ring, and thus, would have to start over again.
 * This is the only team which can't use the Wall Jump technique.

Team Chaotix

 * Speed: Espio the Chameleon
 * Flight: Charmy Bee
 * Power: Vector the Crocodile
 * Head of the Team: Vector the Crocodile

Team Chaotix is composed of quiet, ninja-like, and disciplined Espio the Chameleon; their headstrong music-loving leader Vector the Crocodile; and the air-headed flying ace Charmy Bee. They run their own detective agency, and receive a mysterious package with a walkie-talkie in it. A stranger gives the team instructions through this device and claims that if the job he has for them is completed, the Chaotix will be "rewarded handsomely". Espio is wary of the job, but Vector, with dollar signs in his eyes, reminds him that they "never turn down work that pays". This team and associated levels provide a different experience, as most are mission-based, and are only complete when the mission target is met. Because of this, their stages frequently loop back to the start so that players can scour the stage for anything that may have been overlooked. The missions mostly consist of collecting or destroying stage-specific items (Chao are often the target for collection). The secondary missions usually add an extra challenge to the normal goal, such as collecting or destroying twice as many targets or completing the mission without being seen by the enemies or elements inside of a level (for example, the frogs in Frog Forest). Strangely, like Team Rose, Team Chaotix bypasses most of the really challenging parts in certain stages, such as the gauntlet of lasers in Final Fortress.

Team Blast: Chaotix Recital:

Chaotix Recital is the Team Blast move used by Team Chaotix in the game Sonic Heroes. Espio, Charmy, and Vector begin singing and playing instruments badly, causing all of the surrounding enemies to explode, whilst ring bonuses are received for each enemy destroyed. While the gauge is resetting, enemies destroyed during that time drop a random amount of rings. Collecting rings also refills the gauge, potentially allowing the player to perform another Blast immediately after the first is complete, which is very useful for Robot Carnival and Storm.


 * Despite Team Rose being the beginner team, and supposed to be the easiest, many find Team Chaotix the easiest team, due to Espio being able to turn invisible and run past enemies without being noticed.
 * The only team in the game that has no member who is a mammal, as Charmy is an insect and Espio and Vector are reptiles.
 * Chaotix's Sonic X debut is an episode based on their story in the game.
 * Team Chaotix are arguably the most diverse team in the game in terms of moves.
 * In the Robot Storm and Robot Carnival boss battles, Team Chaotix is considered the easiest to use since the special effect of their team blast gives them plenty of rings to immediately refill the gauge after using it, thus taking out waves of robots with ease.

Levels
This is a list of the levels in Sonic Heroes, arranged by theme. Also, three levels from this game (Seaside Hill, Casino Park, and Final Fortress) reappear in the third installment of the SEGA Superstars series, Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing.

Sea

 * Sea Gate
 * Seaside Hill
 * Ocean Palace
 * Boss: Egg Hawk

City/Future

 * Grand Metropolis
 * Power Plant
 * Boss: Team Battle

Casino/Las Vegas

 * Casino Park
 * BINGO Highway
 * Boss: Robot Carnival

Desert

 * Rail Canyon
 * Bullet Station
 * Boss: Egg Albatross

Jungle

 * Frog Forest
 * Lost Jungle
 * Boss: Team Battle

Haunted

 * Hang Castle
 * Mystic Mansion
 * Boss: Robot Storm

Eggman's Fleet

 * Egg Fleet
 * Final Fortress


 * Egg Emperor

Past References
As characters interact, they sometimes make references to past Sonic games:


 * Amy: "This weather reminds me of our last attack on the Egg Carrier!" (allusion to Sonic Adventure) in Final Fortress, though she wasn't attacking the Egg Carrier, she was imprisoned upon it.
 * Amy: "This place reminds me of Casinopolis!" (allusion to Sonic Adventure) in Casino Park, even though she never actually entered Casinopolis during the course of Sonic Adventure.
 * Knuckles: "We have jungle mushrooms on my island too, but not this huge!" (allusion to Mushroom Hill Zone from Sonic & Knuckles) in Frog Forest.
 * Shadow: "Space? Did you say SPACE?" when replying to Rouge who said, "We might even be at the edge of space." (allusion to Shadow's "fatal fall" from space or Space Colony ARK in Sonic Adventure 2) in Egg Fleet.
 * Shadow: "Some things never change, do they?" as a response to Rouge mentioning going after the Master Emerald at the end of Team Dark's story (allusion to Sonic Adventure 2).
 * Metal Sonic: "I was created for the sole purpose of destroying you," when addressing Sonic (allusion to Sonic CD, the game in which Metal Sonic made his debut) in Metal Overlord.
 * Knuckles: "The Egg Carrier is nothing compared to this!" (allusion to Sonic Adventure) in Final Fortress.
 * Big: Big's quest for Froggy is reminiscent of his story in Sonic Adventure. In addition, the giant frogs in Frog Forest and Lost Jungle resemble Froggy.
 * Rouge: "I haven't heard from The President lately." (allusion to Sonic Adventure 2) while the player stands still for a while on any stage.
 * Omega: "I couldn't even beat Gamma or Beta." (allusion to E-102 Gamma and E-101 Beta from Sonic Adventure) when the player gets an E rank as Team Dark, when you finish any stage with him.
 * Knuckles: "Maybe that was the GHOST of Shadow we saw earlier!" (allusion to how Shadow was thought to have died in Sonic Adventure 2.)
 * Knuckles: "She never gives up does she?" (allusion to Sonic Adventure 2)
 * Cream: "Amy, are you sure Mr. Sonic is here?" (allusion to Sonic Advance 2 when Cream calls Sonic Mr. Sonic.)

Reception
Reviews of Sonic Heroes were mostly average to positive, depending on the platform; Metacritic averages range from 64% for the PlayStation 2 version (based on 29 reviews) to 73% for the Xbox version (based on 28 reviews). Game Rankings averages ranged from 60% for the PC version (based on 18 reviews) to 74.5% for the GameCube version (based on 95 reviews).

Reviewers noted several positive aspects to the game. These included the gameplay style; whilst the transition to 3D has been noted as rough for the Sonic franchise, Sonic Heroes came close to the series' 2D roots. Sound design was also praised, described as "inexorably linked" to the experience and "at least very pristine" with "perfectly implemented" sound effects, running in Dolby Pro Logic II. Graphics design and environments were also highlighted, described as colorful, vibrant and cheery, with consistent art design and an exceptionally vibrant color palette. Framerate was also consistent for the Xbox, Gamecube and PC versions, although a drop in framerate in the multiplayer component was noted.

It also attracted several negative criticisms. Often cited were the game's camera control system, described as "uncooperative" and "terrible". Camera control compounded an additional problem regarding the controls relative to the camera's position, such that pushing forward may or may not move the character in the same direction the camera is facing. Falling from the level's platforms into the deep pits below was also criticized. The game's voice acting also came in for criticism, described as "horrendous" and "the biggest misstep in the sound design" such as the infamous line "What are we gonna do Sonic?" and Tails' helpless personality.

In addition, the PlayStation 2 version received lower average scores. Clipping and graphic faults were cited, whilst the framerate was also lower than the other versions.

In 2004, Sonic Heroes was the sixth bestselling game in the United Kingdom overall, and a full year after its release, was still at number eight in the all-price chart. The game ultimately sold well enough to enter all three consoles' "best-sellers" lists: Greatest Hits/Platinum for the PlayStation 2, Platinum Hits for the Xbox, and Player's Choice for the GameCube. The game was also released in a package with Super Monkey Ball Deluxe on Xbox.

Development
The game uses the RenderWare engine so that the game could be programmed and ported easily to the Nintendo GameCube, Sony Play Station 2, Microsoft Xbox, and PC CD-ROM.

The game's designer, Takashi Iizuka, stated that he did not want to make Sonic Heroes another Sonic Adventure title, as he was worried only core gamers would buy the title, instead preferring to create a game for general users to adapt to.

Voice actors
Sonic Heroes is notable for being the second to last Sonic game in which the English voice actors from the Sonic Adventure games recorded their voices. These English Voice Actors, along with their Japanese counterparts, are shown below.

Music
The soundtrack for this game was released as the album Sonic Heroes: Triple Threat.

Trivia

 * This game marks the first appearance of E-123 Omega as well as Sonic's first appearance on the PS2.
 * Team Chaotix is the only team without a hedgehog or even any kind of mammal on the team.
 * In the 2008 edition of Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition, Sonic Heroes is awarded for most playable characters in a platform game.
 * Knuckles is the only power character who uses two hands to operate a pull switch.
 * Knuckles is the smallest power character
 * While selecting Shadow or Omega to be the leader in Team Dark, if the player uses the first-person camera to look at Rouge, she will occasionally turn her head in your direction and wink at the player.
 * In the PS2 version, the menu actions of X and O are switched; normally X would be select and O would be a back button, but this isn't the case. This is because all Japanese Playstation games do this, and the American Sonic Heroes didn't switch X and O for the menus, making it one of the few games released in America to have this quirk.
 * During the Off-Panel for Archie Sonic Universe Issue 2, Sonic jokes that Archie might make a comic adaptation for Sonic Heroes in 2010 since they made an adaptation for Sonic Adventure 2 in 2009 and the game was released in 2001.
 * Whether you have a female in your team or not, Eggman/Metal Sonic will say after Robot Carnival/Storm "Don't get too excited, boys! Those were the easy ones!"
 * When entering Final Fortress as Team Sonic, Sonic will say "This must be Eggman's headquarters!" however the subtitles make a typo and miss out the 'be' (reading "This must Eggman's headquarters!").
 * This is the first Sonic game to be in multi-consoles of different franchises.
 * The game's sound test classes some of the levels as 'zones' i.e Casino Park.
 * The game was developed on a RenderWare engine so that the game could be programmed and ported easily for the multi-platform release.
 * In the opening scene of Team Chaotix's story, there are pinned papers on a notice board behind Vector, showing concept drawings of the robots used in Sonic the Hedgehog 1.
 * This is one of the only two games to not play the main theme during the final boss, the other being Sonic and the Black Knight; but a short section of Sonic Heroes plays when Sonic is transforming into Super Sonic.
 * In Seaside Hill as Team Chaotix, when you see Eggman's robots at one point, Espio will say, "Are those Eggman's robots?". However, the subtitles say, "Are those Eggman's assasins?"

Metal Heroes
Use this cheat to become metal versions of your team in 2-Player Mode.


 * Gamecube: Hold A+Y after you select a level in 2-Player Mode.
 * Xbox: Hold A+Y after you select a level in 2-Player Mode.
 * PlayStation 2: Hold X+Triangle after you select a level in 2-Player Mode.
 * PC: For Player 1 hold A+Y and for Player 2 hold End+Insert after selecting a level in 2-Player Mode.