Aero-Chaser

"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. It is a model of Eggman's robots. They are capable of flying at super speeds and possess a variety of destructive armaments.

Sonic Unleashed
The Aero-Chasers first appeared in the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 version and PlayStation 2/Nintendo Wii version of Sonic Unleashed. In both versions, they can only be encountered in the daytime Action Stages/Stages in sections with auto running. On the PS3/Xbox 360 version, they 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. On the PS2/Wii version, however, the can only be encountered in Rooftop Run's and Jungle Joyride's main Stage. In all of their appearances, the serve as mini-bosses, where they will move up in front of Sonic to use their attacks.

In the PS3/Xbox 360 version of Sonic Unleashed, the Aero-Chasers always appear groups of three. They will attack the player by either firing lasers along the tracks, which can be dodged with Quick Step, shooting missiles into the ground to create firepits, which can be dodged with jumping or Quick Step, or setting up traps that create electric fields along the ground, 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. After taking damage, an Aero-Chaser cannot attack for a short while. Usually, an Aero-Chaser has to be hit twice before it is destroyed, though sometimes they will destroy themselves instantly by hitting a pillar or wall behind them. Once an Aero-Chaser is destroyed though, another will appear to take its place; it is only until the player leaves the section with the Aero-Chasers that they will leave or stop appearing.

In the PS2/Wii version of Sonic Unleashed, the Aero-Chasers appear on their own in each encounter. They will attack the player by either firing lasers, which can be dodged with Quick Step, or shooting missiles that will home onto Sonic, which can be dodged by jumping. In this version, the player can attack the Aero-Chasers directly either by using the Homing Attack or the Sonic Boost.

Sonic Colors
The Aero-Chasers reappeared in the Nintendo Wii version of Sonic Colors, where they were given a design resembling that of the Egg Pawns. They can be found in Starlight Carnival Acts 1, 2 and 5, Planet Wisp Acts 1 and 3, and Terminal Velocity Act 1.

In this game, the Aero-Chasers appear in groups of two to three in sections of the acts with auto running. Here, they will fly up in front of Sonic and attack by firing laser along the tracks, which can be dodged with Quick Step, like they did in Sonic Unleashed. Also like in Sonic Unleashed, the player can only damage the Aero-Chasers by knocking incoming enemies into them with the Boost, though this it is only possible in rare cases. Also, like in Sonic Unleashed, more Aero-Chaser will appear to replace those destroyed, and it is only until the player leaves the section with the Aero-Chasers that they will leave or stop appearing.

Sonic Generations
The Aero-Chasers reappeared in the console/PC version of Sonic Generations, where they are renamed Egg Chasers and look like they did in Sonic Unleashed. In this game, they can only be 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 continuous laser beams that will close in on the player, 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 the did in Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Colors, where a large group of them will fly in front of Modern Sonic in the only auto running section and attack by shooting lasers along the track which can be dodged with Quick Step. Also, like in Sonic Colors and Sonic Unleashed, the player can only damage them by knocking incoming Egg Fighters on the tracks into them with the Boost. Here, however, no Aero-Chasers will come to take the destroyed ones' places.

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
The Aero-Chasers make a return in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed in the race course Galactic Parade where they look like they did in Sonic Colors. They serve as race obstacles particularly to the leading player by shooting lasers at one side of the stage, slowing those down they hit with them. However, these lasers are wide distances apart, making it possible for the racers to avoid them by driving between them.

Physical Appearance
In Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Generations, the Aero-Chasers are humanoid robots with sphere-shaped torsos and a round head integrated into their torsos. 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 come in the colors cream and lime, and they have cyan eyes.

In Sonic Colors, the Aero-Chasers closely resembles Egg Pawns in overall appearance. 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.

Behavior
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 flight and can move at speeds in mid-air rivaling that of Sonic's running speed, both when moving forward and backward. However, they cannot see what is behind them when moving backward.

The Aero-Chasers possess a wide set of weaponry built into them. They are able to fire two wide and powerful laser beams with incredible range, which serve as their signature attack, launch rockets from their jetpacks which can either home onto their target or create a wall of fire when impacting the ground, or set up electrical traps that when set up parallel with another will create an electrical field between them.