Freeze

Freezing is a recurring gimmick that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It refers to a state wherein the player is incapable of moving for a brief moment.

Description
Freezing causes the player to be encased in a sheet of ice. This can have several consequences, such as lowering time bonus, damaging the player directly, or leaving them vulnerable to attack from nearby enemies.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles
In Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles, Freezing Machines exist that can freeze the player's character in a block of ice, not only stopping them in their tracks, but also harming them and causing them to lose all their Rings upon thawing out.



Sonic Rivals series
In Sonic Rivals and Sonic Rivals 2, players can obtain Power-Ups that can freeze their opponents in place temporarily. When used by the lead player, the ice will be dropped as a trap, and when used by the rear player, the ice will take the form a ball and chase down the leading player.

Sonic Unleashed
In Sonic Unleashed, the Egg Blizzards are capable of freezing Sonic the Werehog temporarily using their ice breath, leaving him vulnerable to attack by any other enemies that may be nearby.

Sonic and the Black Knight
In Sonic and the Black Knight, the blue Fish-Ones fire projectiles capable of freezing the player if hit. If this occurs, the player must move their Wii Remote in order to break free. When equipped, the Fiery Quaff and Hot Fiery Quaff are capable of decreasing the possibility of the player being frozen when being attacked by blue Fish-Ones.

Trivia

 * The Gargoyle Djinns in Sonic and the Secret Rings cause a similar status effect to befall the player, although they cause Sonic to transform into stone as opposed to being encapsulated in ice.