List of items in the Sonic the Hedgehog series

There have been many items featured in the Sonic the Hedgehog series.

Common Items
These items have appeared most frequently in the Sonic series.

Rings
Golden rings that float around the air, which can also be found in monitors in amounts of 10 (later games have varying values). As long as Sonic has one ring, he can be protected against attacks (with the exception of being crushed, falling off the screen, drowning or running out of time.) When Sonic is hit, he'll drop the rings he's collected, and has a short amount of time to recollect them before they disappear. If Sonic is hit without holding any rings, he will lose a life. Collecting 100 rings will earn Sonic an extra life.

Speed Shoes
Breaking open a monitor with Sonic's shoe gives Sonic a boost in speed for a short time. This was represented by an increase of the stage's tempo in the 16 bit games, but recently it is accompanied with a different song, most likely due to the disk format.

Invincibility
Breaking open a monitor with sparkles on it grants Sonic invincibility. Whilst invincible, Sonic can't be hurt, with the exception of being crushed, falling off the screen, drowning or running out of time, and can attack any enemy he touches. His status is represented by sparkles twinkling around him.

Shields
Breaking open a monitor with a shield icon on it gives Sonic a barrier. Whilst a shield is surrounding him, he can take one hit from an enemy without losing his rings. In Sonic 3, specific types of shield were introduced that had added protection and gives Sonic different abilities. Note: Tails and Knuckles did not get any additional moves from these abilities.


 * Fire Shield - Protects from Fire attacks and allows Sonic to burst forward. Is destroyed on contact with water.
 * Bubble Shield - Allows player to stay underwater without drowning and allows Sonic to perform a Bubble Bounce attack.
 * Electric/Magnet Shield - Protects against electrical attacks, attracts rings to the player and allows Sonic to perform a double jump. Is destroyed in water, but destroys all on-screen enemies whilst doing so. Later games have a Magnet Shield that uses the Electric Shield's ring magnetism ability.

Extra Life
Opening a monitor with the characters head on it gives the player another life. In Sonic the Hedgehog 2 's versus mode, breaking open an extra life monitor with your opponents face on it would give your opponent an extra life.

Chaos Emeralds
Gems of great power. With a few exceptions, there are generally 7 Chaos Emeralds. The majority of 2D Sonic games require the player to earn these via the Special Stage, but recent 3D titles incorporate the gathering of the emeralds into the storyline. All emeralds generally need to be gathered to see the game's true ending. When all emeralds are collected, Sonic can transform into Super Sonic. In Sonic 2, 3 and 3 & Knuckles, Sonic could transform by collecting 50 rings and performing a double jump. Whilst transformed, he would have the same effect as having Speed Shoes and Invincibility. His ring count would start to drain, the transformation being lost when it reached 0. In recent games, however, Super Sonic's transformation has been restricted to the Final stages of the game, requiring him to fly through space against a giant robot/creature. Variations of the Chaos Emeralds include the Time Stones from Sonic CD, the Sol Emeralds from Sonic Rush and the World Rings from Sonic and the Secret of the Rings.

End Panel
A panel that signifies the end of the stage. This generally has Robotnik's face on it, and spinning it would turn it into the player's face. In the 8-bit titles, the picture it depicted would represent if the player got a bonus. For example, a ring would add 10 more rings to the final tally. In Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, the panel would come down spinning. Players could then jump into it to keep it spinning in the air. The stage would end once it reached the ground, although on some occasions, it would bounce off the ground and leave a monitor behind.

Checkpoints/Star Posts
Touching one of these in a stage would allow the player to restart the level from that point if he loses a life. In Sonic 2, Star Posts were featured. When a player had 50 rings and touched a checkpoint, a circle of stars would shortly appear around the post. If the player jumps into it, they'll reach the Special Stage. In Sonic 3, Star Posts led players to the vending machine Bonus Stage, whilst in Sonic & Knuckles, players could enter the Slot Machine and Magnetic Spheres Bonus Stages with only 20 rings. In the 8-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog, checkpoints were represented by a monitor with an arrow on it. A checkpoint also appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as part of the Green Hill Zone stage. Attacking the top will activate it and make it spin around, hurting any fighters it touches.

Warp Ring
In Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic CD, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles, entering one of these would take you to the Special Stage. In Sonic 1 and CD, the Warp Ring appeared at the end of Acts 1 and 2 of a level if a player had collected 50 rings or more. In Sonic 3, Knuckles and 3 & Knuckles, the warp rings were hidden in certain areas of each level. Also, if the player had already collected all 7 emeralds (14 in 3 & Knuckles), they would be given an instant 50 rings. In games since Sonic Adventure 2, a large ring simply represented the end of the level in place of the End Panel.

Robotnik
First appearing in the VS Mode of Sonic 2, and also appearing in Sonic 3, hitting this has the same effect as being attacked by an enemy.

Teleport
Features in the VS Mode of Sonic 2, this swaps the current positions of Sonic and Tails, which can be advantageous or hindering depending on the position.

Golden Shield
Featured in Sonic 3D, this shield gave Sonic a homing attack, which could be performed by performing a double jump near an enemy. This move was later incorporated as a standard in Sonic's moveset in 3D games.

Jet shoes
Featured in Sonic Chaos, this gave Sonic the ability to zoom across the sky for a short period of time.

Pearls
Featured in Sonic and the Secret Rings, these provided power for Sonic to perform Speed Break and Time Break.

Power cells
Found in mechs in the Sonic Adventure games, these could transferred along with rescued animals to the Chao Garden, and handed over to a Chao to enhance its attributes.

Flickies
In most Sonic games, Flickies were one of the animals that could be rescued by defeating badniks, or smashing open the animal container at the end of a zone. In Sonic 3D, Sonic had to round up the Flickies, and bring them to a Warp Ring to progress through the level. There were four types of Flicky, each behaving differently when in the released state (before Sonic comes into contact with them.)

Transport
Some Sonic games, particularly the 8-bit titles, have had vehicles or devices Sonic could use.

Mine Cart
Appearing in the Underground Zone of Sonic 2 (8-bit), Sonic could jump into a minecart and instantly ride on until he jumped out or the cart crashed. The cart would also destroy any spikes it ran into.

Hang Glider
Appearing in the Sky High Zone of Sonic 2 (8-bit), this allowed Sonic to glide across large gaps, giving the right wind, speed and angle.

Giant Bubble
In the Aqua Lake Zone of Sonic 2 (8-bit), Sonic could enter large air bubbles that rose up, until it hit the ceiling or comes into contact with an enemy or obstacle.

Kart (Sonic Heroes)
In some sections of Sonic Heroes, there is a vehicle which the team would combine to make work. It would move fast and could move left and right to collect items.