Fan

The Fan (ファン) is a recurring gimmick in the Sonic the Hedgehog series that first appeared in Sonic Heroes. They are large fans that lift the player into the air.

Description
The Fans, as their name implies, are mechanical fans usually embedded in a surface, more than often flat on the ground. They are quite large, up to several meters in diameter with a circular frame surrounding an impeller, though the finer details in their design differ from game to game. When active, they constantly blow out an airstream.

In gameplay, the Fans are used by the player to move through the air. By entering a Fan's airstream, the playable character is able to ride it into midair, from where the player can reach higher areas that are otherwise out of the player's reach or move across obstacles. However, each Fan has a maximum for how high the player can be risen into the air. Inside the Fans' airstream, the player can still control the playable characters' movements, though moving outside of it will cause the playable character to descend again. In some cases, they are also found in underwater sections where they create underwater currents that automatically pushes the player away from them, which either serves to automatically move the player through underwater passages or push them away.

Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)
Fans first appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog (1991), where they are featured as obstacles in Star Light Zone. These small, side-facing Fans are usually set at the end of ledges or in the middle of pathways. When the player runs behind it, it will pull the playable character through it to the other side. Logically, when the player tries to run past the Fan from the front, it keeps pushing him back.

There are also other variations of Fans, which pull the playable character on the back side instead. Unlike other Fans, these variations also turn on and off for small amount of time. Sonic is not normally able to past any Fans from the front by running through them. Howerer in Sonic Jam port and 2013 re-release of the game, the player can use Spin Dash or Super Sonic to get through.

Sonic the Hedegehog 2
In Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Oil Ocean Zone has different types of floating golden Fans. They are pointing upwards on wide gaps, which the player has to cross by using them. Fans can be tricky to use since some of them are able to turn on and off for a while. The player can only move left and right while floating above Fans. These upwards pointing Fans can be also found set below the ground and they can be barely seen behind the fence. There are also left and right pointing Fans that are usually set in front of platform elevators. The player has to wait until they turn off in order to get past them, but using Spin Dash or Super Sonic can make

In Wing Fortress Zone, there are larger, upwards pointing Fans, that can make the playable character float in the mid-air. Like ones in Oil Ocean Zone, the player is unable to jump, but is able to move left and right.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles
In Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and its add-on continuation Sonic & Knuckles, Fans are featured as gimmicks at Carnival Night Zone. They are set on bridge formations above large sections of the Zone. Some of these formations have small gaps, where single Fans move back and forth between gaps. When using Fans, they make playable characters float and move left and right.

Flying Battery Zone has platforms which are powered by Fans beneath them, but they are able to damage the player by simply touching them. In the Competition Mode of the game, Chrome Gadget also has grey fan turbines that can make the player float and reach to the higher platform.

Sonic Adventure
The Fans appeared in Sonic Adventure and its later iteration Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut. In this game, they float in midair and possess a grey frame, a net on the bottom and red propellers. They only appears in Sonic's version of Final Egg. To use it in gameplay, the player has to move over them to float and can move around with the Control Stick.

Sonic Heroes
The Fans' next appearance was in Sonic Heroes. In this game, the standard Fans are quite large with a red core connecting its blades which spin slowly and they have a red frame with blue and yellow frames below it. Additionally, there are much larger fans that are a part of the Stages' environment: in Rail Canyon and Bullet Station there are Fans encapsulated behind metal frames and in Mystic Mansion there is a Fan made of skeleton bones. All these fans are located on the ground, and if they are disabled, the player has to use Switches to activate them.

To use the Fans in gameplay, the player has to use the Triangle Dive/Umbrella Descent/Bubblegum Descent above the Fan and the player will instantly rise into the air. Simply standing over the Fans though will make the playable characters float around a few inches above it.

Shadow the Hedgehog
In Shadow the Hedgehog, the Fans have a grey frame and their impellers are encapsulated behind metal webs. In this game, Fans can be found on both the ground and the walls, allowing Shadow to move both vertically and horizontally through midair. To use the Fans in this game, the player simply has to enter the Fans' airstream.

Sonic Colors
In the Wii version of Sonic Colors, the Fans have a simple red frame but they are much smaller, only being little over a meter in diameter. They are usually seen in the game's 2.5D sections of the Acts and underwater sections, the latter where they sense the player approaching and begin generating jet streams that pushes the player back. To use them in gameplay, the player just has to step into the Fans' airsteam to be lifted up and then jumps when the Fan's created air reach it's maximum.

Sonic Generations
In Sonic Generations, Fans look just like they did in Sonic Colors. In this game, they only appear in Crisis City and Seaside Hill, where they in the latter are also found in underwater sections. To use the Fans in gameplay, the player just has to step into their airstream to get airborne and then jumps when the Fan's created air reach it's maximum.