Container

Containers (コンテナ) are cubic-shaped boxes, which are generally seen set around of stages in the Sonic the hedgehog series. Containers are made of a plurality of different materials, which may or may not be useful and therefore, they come in different variants; there are Wooden Container, which are just breakable objects and more heavy looking ones as Unbreakable Container, which are part of the level as indestructible objects. Others like Steel Container hide item boxes or switches inside them and which the player can take advantage of by breaking them. In numerous games, several containers grant points to the player's score after breaking them.

Containers are first seen in Sonic Adventure 2, where they are separated to five different materialized types of boxes. They have since then become some of the more generally seen objects in the series, with some of the games having introduced new types of containers.

Description
There are several types of Containers that have different purposes in games. While some of them are broken easily with certain attacks, some of them are more heavy and even impossible to interact with, making them part of the level itself. There are also a few types of containers that serve different purposes or include other level objects, and can be opened by destroying certain amount of enemies (Cases). Containers can also be used against enemies by certain characters, such as Silver the Hedgehog with his Psychokinesis.

The basis appearance of the containers has remained largely the same since their debute in terms of the simple, cubic-shaped design. However, their superficial appearance has varied since Sonic Adventure 2, where all types of containers is marked with GUN logo. Since Sonic Heroes, the most common superficial appearance of the containers has replaced the GUN logo with a more colorful circle with a five-pointed white star in the middle of it, while Shadow the Hedgehog have logos of different enemy groups. Sonic Unleashed on the other hand, features simple crates with nothing on them.

Sonic Adventure 2
Containers are first time seen as major objects in Sonic Adventure 2. These boxes with the GUN-logo on them appear in five different variations, each of them serving different purposes in the game. They are commonly placed in rows or other formations in every Action Stage of the game. Some of them hide Item Boxes and other items, while others block obligatory or secret pathways. Breaking a container grants the player 20 points.

Wooden containers are the most basic Containers, and can be broken using any attack (excluding the Homing Attack and Spin Dash). Steel Containers are grey-colored and can only be broken with attacks that have been enhanced by certain Level Up Items. There are also darker, indestructible Containers that cannot be destroyed by any means. There are also Cages, which are either blocking certain pathways or have Animals imprisoned inside them. The only ways to destroy Cages are by hitting them with Missiles or a Kiki's bombs.

In addition to the regular containers, there are three Chao Containers in almost every Action Stage. These ones contain different items, such as Chao Keys, common Animals or rare local Animals.

Sonic Heroes
The Containers next appearance were in Sonic Heroes, where their appearance has changed to more colorful cubic-boxes. There are five variations of them and like in Sonic Adventure 2, Containers can hide item boxes inside them. However the player is unable to gain any points after breaking them constantly. As they are mostly blocking pathways, they are set on small two-boxed towers with different types of them occasionally.

Wooden Containers are similar like in the previous game and can easily be broken with any character. More harder Steel Containers can only break by Power Type characters, and darker Indestructible Containers cannot be broken by any means. There are also Cages, though they are more smaller in this game, and can sometimes be seen flying with a propeller in mid-air. These Cages each contain a Special Stage Key inside them, that the player has to hold onto throughout the remainder of the stage to enter the Special Stage, making the Cages very rare.

Sonic Heroes also introduces the Case, which functions as high-tech prisons that have another objects inside it, such as switches, springs or any other else, and is guarded by enemies or requires a switch. If the player defeats all enemies around the Case or activates a nearby switch, it will automatically opened and the object can be used.

Shadow the Hedgehog
In Shadow the Hedgehog, containers are seen containing weapons and guns to the playable character Shadow. Depending the logo on containers, it mostly has sort of enemy groups weapons to be used. During the game, there are four types of Containers. Wooden Containers do have weapons either from Eggman Empire or additional handguns, Steel Containers have also weapons from both Eggman Empire or GUN once again depending the logo on them, and Unbreakable Containers as well. A new type of Container presented in this game is Special Weapon Containers that have Special Weapons inside them, which only appear once the player has unlocked them while playing the game.

Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)
Containers appeared as one of main level objects in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), which features five different types of containers. If the player is using Sonic or Shadow, containers serve the same role as they did in previous games. If the player is using Silver the Hedgehog, they can utilize containers to defend themselves and throw them at enemies using Psychokinesis. Almost all containers have their appearance taken from Sonic Heroes.

Normally, containers are lying around the Action Stages, though some of them can also be found in the Town Stages and during the boss fights. Wooden containers are some of the most common, which easily break upon being thrown or attacked.

The most common containers are steel containers. These containers are resistant to getting thrown and get bounced in any direction. Silver can also make stack of containers float in the air in certain sections of the game. If the player drops a steel container in an inaccessible part of the stages, it will respawn. The game also features new, explosive containers. The first of these are explosive crates which can damage enemies more effectively with a short-ranged blast when broken. The second of these containers are blue crates which create a flash of light that paralyses surrounding enemies when destroyed.

One of the Town Missions for Sonic called The Hotel's Festival of Rings requires the player to break all wooden containers that contain rings. Another town mission for Sonic is Aristo's Challenge, where the player must figure out how many containers are set on top of each other and destroy the crate displaying the player's answer. A Town Mission for Shadow called The Mathematician's Training features wooden containers that have numbers from one to nine. The player has to destroy a certain number of these containers in a particular order that is given and destroy them in that order.

Sonic Rivals 2
Wooden containers appear as breakable obstacles in some stages of Sonic Rivals 2. The other variants of the containers (Steel, Unbreakable) appear as collectible cards.

Sonic Unleashed
Containers made another appearance In Sonic Unleashed. The Wooden Containers, which are the most common, can be found nearly everywhere the game and are mostly set on rows or other formations, while the explosive Containers can only be found in few of the Nighttime Action Stages on their own. Unbreakable containers either block paths or are used as weapons or weights by Sonic the Werehog.

Most of the Containers in this game can easily be broken by using any of Sonic's offensive moves, both in his normal form and as Sonic the Werehog. Their appearance can differ between which continent they are located on.

Sonic Colors
There are two types of Containers made appearance in the Wii version of Sonic Colors. Like in Sonic Unleashed, Wooden Containers are easily breakable by doing any possible attacks. White Steel Containers are also seen in the game, which can be break by stomping on them, but there are occasions, when Steel Containers work much differently than in previous appearances. The player is unable to break them normally on narrow routes, but is able to move them left or right by pushing them.

Sonic Generations
Both Wooden and Steel Containers have made appearances in both versions of Sonic Generations, where they work like they did in Sonic Colors. However even Steel Containers can be normally broken through by stomping into them. When the player enters into City Escape, numerous containers share the same look with G.U.N. logos on them from their first appearance.

Wooden Container
Wooden Container (木製コンテナ) is the standard variant of Containers, and which has appeared in most games. It is the most easily breakable of all Containers, as it can be broken with any normal attack the playable character have. They usually also hide item boxes like other breakable Containers do.

In Sonic Adventure 2, the Wooden Containers are simple wooden craters with a black GUN logo on it. In Sonic Heroes and Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), the logo has been replaced with dark red center with white five-pointed star on it. In Shadow the Hedgehog, the logo on the Wooden Containers varies depending which enemy group's weapons are inside it, which can either be the Eggman Empire's logo, or a pistol or GUN icon on it, which only have regular handgun weapons inside them. From Sonic Unleashed and onwards, the Wooden Containers have appeared as regular crates without having any specific hallmarks on them.

Steel Container
Steel Container (アイアンコンテナ) is another common variant of Containers. These Containers are mostly made of steel or iron, which the player is unable to break under normal circumstances, unless by performing more specific attacks while sometimes possessing a certain Level Up Item. Like other Containers, the Steel Containers can also hide item boxes inside them.

In Sonic Adventure 2, the Steel Containers appear as grey heavy crates with GUN logo on them,  and can only be destroyed with attacks enhanced by an Level Up Item, which the player can earn with his/her playable characters. In Sonic Heroes, Steel Containers are colored white and red with a round logo with white five-pointed star in the blue center on them. The only way to destroy them in this game is to use Power-Type character's attacks.

In Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), the Steel Containers' appearance is the same as it was in Sonic Heroes, though the player is only able to break them by using upgraded attacks. Silver can also use them continually to attack enemies, while also being able to respawn after disappearing. In Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations, Steel Containers are solid, heavy white crates, that can be pushed to left or right, but can be destroyed by stomping into them.

Unbreakable Container
Unbreakable Containers (ブラックコンテナ) are the heaviest variant of Containers and are virtually indestructible obstacles. These Containers are resistant to any possible attacks from both playable characters and enemies alike, meaning they cannot be destroyed by any of the player's means (they can be broken in Sonic Heroes using the Cannon). They are mostly set on the bottom of Container stacks.

In Sonic Adventure 2, the Unbreakable Containers are dark colored crates with full-colored GUN logos on them. In Sonic Heroes, they are colored dark grey and red with white round in the middle of it with grey five-pointed star at the center. Depending on the Stage in Shadow the Hedgehog, Unbreakable Containers are either yellow, grey and red colored with the Eggman Empire logo on it, or grey and brown with the GUN logo on them.

Cage
Cages (ケージ) are another variants of Containers, which are cubic shaped boxes and made of bars. These Containers usually have objects inside them that can be collected by the player, but can normally only be broken under special circumstances.

Special Weapon Container
The Special Weapon Container is a variant of wooden containers that appear exclusively in Shadow the Hedgehog. They are distinguished from regular wooden containers by the icon of Shadow the Hedgehog on each of its faces. These containers hold special-class Weapons which are far more powerful and versatile than normal ones.

Blue Crate
The blue crate is a special variant of containers that has only appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). Like the wooden containers, the Blue Crates can be destroyed by any normal attack that the playable character can have. When destroyed though, they releases a light that temporarily paralyzes all nearby enemies. In some cases, they also contain items and can even destroy enemies with their light.

Explosive Crate
The explosive crate is a special variant of containers that first appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). Like the wooden containers, the explosive crates can be destroyed by any normal attack that the playable character can have. When destroyed though, they create an explosion of fire that deals one hit worth of damage to nearby enemies.

Chao Container
Chao Container (チャオコンテナ) is a unique variant of Containers that has only appeared in Sonic Adventure 2. These Containers can contain Chao Keys and Animal friends, both regular and rare.

These Containers are less numerable than the other variants of Containers in the game, as there are only three Chao Containers within each Action Stage, each of them features different item; the first contains the Chao Key, the second five random animals of the stage, and the third the rarest animal found in the level.

Case
Cases (入れ物) are loose variants of Containers that only appears in Sonic Heroes, Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). It is slightly larger than normal Container, as it is high tech cage with either a switch, spring or other objects inside, that the player has to use to progress in the Stage. It is surrounded by numerous enemies, which the player has to destroy in order to open it.

Spike Block
The Spike Block is a variant of the unbreakable Containers that only appears in the console/PC version of Sonic Generations. It has a pink coloration with a metallic and crystalline-like structure. In gameplay, they cannot be destroyed by anything except the Pink Spikes.

Black Mound
The Black Mound is a variant of the unbreakable Containers that only appears in the Wii version of Sonic Colors. They are composed of black metal and are aligned with white lines and a bright core. In gameplay, they can only be destroyed by certain Color Powers and Super Sonic.