Burrobot

is mole-type badnik which has been created by Dr. Robotnik. Burrobot makes its first appearance in the original Sonic the Hedgehog game. Burrobot is a digging robot which moves around on treadmills. It uses its drill-like nose to pop out from underground to surprise victims. It is vaguely based on the appearance of a mole.

Sonic the Hedgehog
Burrobot first appears in the 16-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog. Burrobots are featured in Labyrinth Zone and Act 3 of the Scrap Brain Zone which is similar to Labyrinth Zone. In the game Burrobots are variously alone or in groups and can be spotted by seeing their noses at the ground. As they start jumping from underground, the player can Spin Jump to defeat them.

In 8-bit version of the game with same name, Burrobots appear only in Labyrinth Zone, but have exact same attack pattern from 16-bit counterpart. However Burrobot along with other badniks in Game Gear and Master System titles don't have animal friend inside of them.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4
Many years later Burrobot makes its reappearance in Sonic the Hedgehog 4, it is featured in Lost Labyrinth Zone along with other badniks from Labyrinth Zone. Despite having an upgraded design, it has the same attack pattern from its first appearance.

Sonic 4 Website info

 * This Badnik prefers underground areas which are well suited for his unique talents. Be on the lookout as Burrobots have a habit of jumping out of the ground!

Physical Appearance
Burrobot would possibly as badnik loosely based on European Mole. Burrobot's mechanical body is partially blue, grey, white and yellow. Being a digging robot, Burrobot has yellow hard hat on its head, two small eyes and its nose is a white, cone-shaped drill bit that it uses to drill through the ground. Each of its ear sections have a round metal plate. Burrobot's chest is grey, its yellow shoulders are round and its arms are white with three metal blade fingers on each hand. Burrobot is able to move forward and backward with tracked wheels on each side, which runs between the two wheels; one is small and one is bigger one.

Burrobot's appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is more detailed as the metal plates on ears have red, bottom placed screws. Also its tracked feet side are replaced with two elastic bands between small and bigger wheels.

Abilities
Burrobots know how to dig, as they remain hidden beneath the enemies' feet, waiting until the enemy is close enough. Burrobots then attack to from underground with their noses facing upwards.

Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic
Burrobot appears briefly in Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic manga. At the beginning of Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic Volume 3' story Sonic Rampage!!, Burrobot and Motobug were sent by Dr. Eggman to beat down Sonic, but despite the their fierce nature, they got easily defeated.

Sonic the Comic
Burrobots also frequently appeared in early issues of Fleetway's Sonic the Comic, as members of Doctor Robotnik's badnik army. Because of different artists, Burrobots have different looks in the stories. However as Robotnik has designed new digging badnik models, Burrobots mostly have been replaced. At one time Shorty the Squirrel's friend Hopper actually turned into a Burrobot until he was freed soon after when Shorty turned against Robotnik. Also at one time Tails disguised himself as a Burrobot.

Archie Comics
Burrobot made many appearances in the early issues of the comic book series. Its most notable appearance is much later in the Sonic Quest mini series issue # 2. Dr. Robotnik released a pair of giant Burrobots on Angel Island which were eventually destroyed by Knuckles and the Chaotix.

During the Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man comic crossover event, Worlds Collide, Knuckles the Echidna was being asked if he was alright by Sonic the Hedgehog during an interesting scene where Sonic was paraphrasing the Unknown from M.E. song, which was Knuckles' theme from Sonic Adventure. A Burrobot did appear in the background fighting with a Mettaur-Chao. (WC #8)

Merchandise
The toy company TOMY has released Burrobot action figurine during the release of Sonic & Knuckles as it also includes a series of 21 Sonic figurines and these figurines came in packs of four under the Sonic & Knuckles label and were also released individually under a Sonic the Hedgehog label.

Related Badniks

 * Drillin
 * Grounder
 * Madmole
 * Mogu
 * Mole

Trivia

 * Mogura is Japanese for mole while moguri means diver.
 * In both 16-bit and 8-bit versions of Sonic the Hedgehog, some of the Burrobot's exterior armor is shown to be red, instead of yellow as shown in the artwork due to palette issues. The upgraded appearance of Burrobot in Sonic the Hedgehog 4 uses artwork colors.
 * A redesigned Burrobot or Burrobot-like badnik was considered for R2 of Sonic CD, but the enemy was not included in the final release.