Aero-Chaser


 * You may be looking for Aero-Cannon or Egg Chaser (Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)).

"These aerial arsenals circle around Sonic's front and let loose with laser beams and missile salvos. Sometimes, they get a little too caught up in attacking and forget to keep an eye out for obstacles behind them. Whoops!"

- Description, Sonic Unleashed

The Aero-Chaser, also known as the Egg Chaser, is an enemy in the Sonic the Hedgehog series which first appeared in Sonic Unleashed. They are a model of Badniks created by Dr. Eggman which are capable of high-speed flight and possess several destructive armaments.

Appearance
In Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Generations, the Aero-Chasers are humanoid robots with sphere-shaped torsos and a round head integrated into them. They each have three eyes and a row of green lights along their heads, resembling teeth. They have two rather small legs on the bottom of their body and a small arm on each side of their torso. On their backs, connected at their shoulders, they have a pair of large triangular jetpacks, about twice the size of their torso. They all colored cream and lime, and they have cyan eyes.

In Sonic Colors, the Aero-Chasers closely resemble Egg Pawns. They have ball-shaped torsos with a hemisphere on top of it as a head and wear blue single-lensed goggles over their eyes. They have large feet with short legs and jetplane-like wings for arms. On their backs they have large cylinder-shaped jetpacks. They are all colored lime and have black underbellies.

Personality
The Aero-Chasers tend to get so caught up in attacking their targets that they forget to keep an eye out for obstacles behind them, making them prone to hit obstacles coming up from behind them.

Powers and abilities
Due to their built-in jetpacks, the Aero-Chasers are capable of high-speed flight. They can fly at speeds rivaling that of Sonic's running speed, both when moving forward and backward.

The Aero-Chasers have a wide set of armaments built into them. They can fire two wide and powerful laser beams with incredible range, launch rockets from their jetpacks which can either home onto their target or create a wall of fire upon impact, or set up trap-like mines that will create an electrical field between them.

Sonic Unleashed
The Aero-Chasers first appeared in both the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 version and PlayStation 2/Wii version of Sonic Unleashed. In both versions, they can only be encountered in the daytime Action Stages/Stages as mini-bosses. Whenever they appear, they will move up in front of Sonic and they player will auto running for as long as they are present.

PlayStation 3/Xbox 360
On the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 version, the Aero-Chasers can be found in Savannah Citadel Act 5, Rooftop Run Act 1, 1-2 and 4, Skyscraper Scamper Act 1, 1-2, and 3, and Jungle Joyride Act 1, 1-2, and 5.

In this version, the Aero-Chasers always appear in groups of three. Their standard attack is shooting laser beams along their lane towards Sonic, though they can be dodged with a well-timed Quick Step. Additionally, they can shoot missiles into the ground to create firepits, which can be dodged with jumping or Quick Step, or set up electric fields which can be dodged by jumping. The player can only damage the Aero-Casers by knocking incoming Egg Fighters into them with the Sonic Boost which will stun them for a short while. Usually, an Aero-Chaser has to be hit twice before it is destroyed, though sometimes they destroy themselves by hitting an obstacle behind them. Once an Aero-Chaser is destroyed though, another will appear to take its place until the player leaves their section, upon where they depart.

PlayStation 2/Wii
On the PlayStation 2/Wii version, the Aero-Chasers can only be encountered in Rooftop Run's and Jungle Joyride's main Stage.

In this version, only one Aero-Chaser appears in each encounter. They attack by either shooting large laser beams along their lane towards Sonic, though they can be dodged with a well-timed Quick Step, or shooting missiles that homes onto Sonic, which can be dodged by jumping at the right time. The player can hare attack the Aero-Chasers directly with either the Homing Attack or Sonic Boost.

Sonic Colors
In the Nintendo Wii version of Sonic Colors, the Aero-Chaser were redesigned to resemble Egg Pawns and were renamed Egg Chasers. They can be found in Starlight Carnival Acts 1, 2 and 5, Planet Wisp Acts 1 and 3, and Terminal Velocity Act 1. They award the player 2000 points when destroyed.

In this game, the Aero-Chasers appear in groups of two-to-three where they will attack by shooting lasers like they did in Sonic Unleashed. Also like in Sonic Unleashed, when the Aero-Chasers appear, they get up in front of the player while the player starts to auto run until they are through the section with the Aero-Chasers. Also, the player can only damage the Aero-Chasers by knocking incoming enemies into them with the Boost, though this is only possible in rare cases. Additionally, more Aero-Chaser will only appear to replace those there are destroyed; it is only until the player leaves the section with the Aero-Chasers that they will leave.

In the Sonic Simulator, pairs of Aero-Chasers will sometimes deploy a field of electricity on the player's path (much like in Sonic Unleashed), which can be evaded by jumping.

Sonic Generations
In the console/PC version of Sonic Generations, these enemies still retain the name Egg Chasers, but have their design from Sonic Unleashed. In this game, they are encountered in both Acts of Rooftop Run.

In Rooftop Run Act 1, the Aero-Chasers will appear before Classic Sonic as stationary enemies and will attack with enclosing laser beams, though these lasers cannot penetrate walls or platforms. However, the Aero-Chasers can easily be destroyed with a Spin Jump. In Rooftop Run Act 2, the Aero-Chasers behave much like they did in Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Colors, though they only attack with their lasers like in previous titles. The player can only damage them by knocking incoming Egg Fighters into them with the Boost. However, no Aero-Chasers will come to take the destroyed ones' places.

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
In Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, the Aero-Chasers look like they did in Sonic Colors. They can be found on the race course Galactic Parade where they serve as obstacles, particularly for leading racers, by shooting lasers on one side of the stage and slowing down those they hit. However, these lasers are far apart, making it possible for the racers to drive between them.