Vector the Crocodile

"Once we start a job...we finish the job! That's our policy! We're Team Chaotix!"

- Vector the Crocodile

Vector the Crocodile (ベクター・ザ・クロコダイル) is a fictional anthropomorphic crocodile from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Vector is the current leader and head honcho of the Chaotix detective team who debuted in the game Knuckles' Chaotix. Large and imposing with a kind heart beneath his scaly exterior, Vector is always ready to take jobs that pay good money, but is also always willing to help those in need for free. Vector's trademark accessory is a set of headphones which he always listens to, even during missions.

Concept and Creation
Vector was originally slated to be one of the characters in the Sonic the Hedgehog sound test which was scrapped for unknown reasons. Vector was going to be a member of Sonic's band and would have played the keyboard. In terms of game appearances, Vector is thus among the oldest characters of the series alongside Mighty, Doctor Eggman and Sonic himself.

In the sound test, Vector looks drastically different compared to his later designs, being much taller and resembling an ordinary crocodile. However, he was already wearing his headphones back then, which would later return as Vector's trademark accessory.

Knuckles' Chaotix
Vector's first actual appearance was in Knuckles' Chaotix (simply Chaotix in Japan) for the Sega 32X. The Japanese manual states that after an island rose from the ocean depths, Vector traveled there since he interpreted the island's sudden appearance as an act of God. Upon arriving, Vector was captured by Doctor Eggman, who was building his Newtrogic High Zone base on the island, and placed in the Combi-Confiner. In the American manual, he was a friend of Knuckles the Echidna who was captured when Eggman attacked Carnival Island, planning to steal its power source.

In both stories, Knuckles the Echidna arrived at the island in order to stop Doctor Eggman and to free his friends. After clearing the initial training stage, Vector becomes a playable character and can be selected as a partner character as well by picking him up in the Combi-Confiner. Vector is able to perform the Power Boost, a mid-air dash which can be used in eight possible directions. If Vector touches a wall during this move, he is also able to climb it. Being the tallest character of the game, Vector has the highest hit radius.

After defeating Doctor Eggman in all five of Newtronic High Zone's attractions, Metal Sonic suddenly took over the Stage Select machine and used its numerous dangerous weapons and traps to stop the Chaotix. Vector and the others were able to destroy the machine and damage Metal Sonic which caused him to flee back to Dr. Eggman. As a last resort, Doctor Eggman used a giant Special Ring to transform Metal Sonic into a huge, red, monstrous robot, who Vector and the other Chaotix had to destroy in order to free Carnival Island once and for all.

Sonic Heroes
The Chaotix returned in Sonic Heroes, where Vector, Espio and Charmy have opened their own detective agency. One day, Vector was listening to music and relaxing in his detective office when an excited Charmy holding a small parcel burst through the door. Charmy rammed right into Vector, forcing both of them to the floor, and a walkie-talkie fell out of the parcel right into Vector’s hands. An unknown voice asked for the Chaotix’s service, persuading Vector by promising to pay handsomely. When Espio expressed his doubts, Vector reminded him of their policy never to turn down paid work, so the group started with the investigation.

At first, the mysterious client wanted to the test the Chaotix’s abilities, asking them to collect hermit crabs in Seaside Hill and free a Chao caged in Ocean Palace. There, they were confronted by Dr. Eggman in the Egg Hawk, who was furious at the team for destroying his robot armies, which Vector stated was just part of their job. At their client’s order, they defeated the machine and Dr. Eggman fled from the scene. About to enter Eggman’s territory next, Espio asked Vector if he wanted to turn back, but Vector opposed they had to do the job for the rent payments. They were ordered to destroy Eggman’s robots in Grand Metropolis and Power Plant. In the city, however, they encountered and got into an argument with Team Dark, as Rouge thought they were after Eggman’s secret treasure. Vector wondered who that broad shouting at them was, and when Espio suggested she might be their client’s adversary, the two teams got into a fight.

Arriving in Casino Park next, Vector fancied the place and was assigned a test of luck. After collecting 10 V.I.P. chips in Bingo Highway, they were able to enter Dr. Eggman’s next hideout, where the mad scientists awaited Team Chaotix to unleash the Robot Carnival on them. After dealing with the masses of robots, they infiltrated the terminal station of Rail Canyon, eventually ending up in Eggman’s base in Bullet Station, where their client ordered them to destroy capsules withholding secret weapons developed by the Doctor. There, they came across the Egg Albatross. Vector and his team were able to destroy it before it could reach the canyon, but afterwards, as they walked to the defeated scientist lying on the floor, Eggman turned out to be a fake. Their client claimed this was obvious and urged them to head to Frog Forest. As Espio and Charmy went ahead and wondered about their client knowing Dr. Eggman pretty well, Vector looked behind to the fake Eggman, starting to realize the client’s true identity.

After collecting the Chao of Lost Jungle, Team Chaotix encountered Team Rose. Vector politely tried to ask Amy a question, but she turned him down. Vector sparked with anger and called Amy a little brat, and Espio asked them to hand over Cheese. Team Rose thus believed Team Chaotix to be the kidnappers of Chocola and a fight ensued. In Hang Castle, they discussed the misunderstanding with Team Rose, with Charmy blaming Vector for making fools out of themselves, but Vector opposed it was the bee jumping at the chance of a battle. Their client interrupted the argument by telling them to find the keys to enter Mystic Mansion. Once inside the mysterious castle, they had to find a way out of it by blowing out all the red torches. Outside the castle, they once again met Dr. Eggman who planned to get rid of the team with his Robot Storm. Upon seeing Eggman, Vector insulted him as a moustache moron, much to the dismay of the client. Before taking out another horde of robots, Vector stated he would account him extra for that.

Team Chaotix finally managed to get on board of the Egg Fleet, where Vector stated another one of his policies, always to finish a job once it is started, and infiltrated the battleship with his colleagues without being detected by Eggman’s henchmen. This led them to the Final Fortress, where the client was revealed to be held captive. After finding the keys to his cell, the Chaotix were confronted by Dr. Eggman one last time in his Egg Emperor, and Vector warned his colleagues not to take their victory for granted. After defeating the Egg Emperor, the Doctor disappeared in a metallic liquid, and Vector concluded he really must have been a fake the whole time. Afterwards, Vector walked to the cell and smacked down its doors, confirming their client to be the real Dr. Eggman. The Doctor asked if Vector knew it all along, and the crocodile answered it to be all part of being a good detective. Team Chaotix was angry at Dr. Eggman for misleading them, and when he tried to comfort them by promising to pay as soon as he would conquer the world, Vector had enough of false promises and prepared to teach the Doctor a lesson.

As the final story opened, Vector interrogated Dr. Eggman and demanded to know who locked him up in his own battleship. Just as the Doctor prepared to answer, the scene changed to Metal Sonic who revealed himself to the other three teams. Team Chaotix and Dr. Eggman joined them in time to watch his transformation to Metal Madness, and Vector’s team agreed to buy Team Sonic some time by distracting the metallic monstrosity. After Team Rose, they attacked Metal Madness from the left side, handing things to Team Dark afterwards but even after their efforts, Metal Madness was able to complete its transformation into Metal Overlord. During the final battle, Vector advised Knuckles to counter the battleships thrown by Metal Overlord with his powerful punches. After the heroes' victory, Vector was about to close their case when Charmy reminded him of their outstanding payment. Vector angrily spotted Dr. Eggman just as he tried to sneak away and ran after him, calling him a slime ball.

Shadow the Hedgehog
In Shadow the Hedgehog, Vector and the Chaotix were working on a big case, but Vector was not willing to share any of its details to anyone outside of his team. Besides his role in the story, he appears as a hero ally for the stage Cosmic Fall and its following two boss fights where he is playable in the Playstation 2 and Gamecube version by using a second controller. He defeats enemies easily by biting them with his powerful jaws, but cannot attack by using the Spin Jump. He can harm enemies by using the Jump Dash, however.

Vector first was mentioned by Charmy in Prison Island who was signed up by his boss to locate five top-secret discs owned by GUN. Vector himself then appeared in Doctor Eggman’s base in the cutscene after Prison Island and before Mad Matrix. Unwilling to waste the whole day, the crocodile rushed an unsuccessful Espio to hack into Doctor Eggman’s computer and silenced a bugging Charmy when suddenly, Shadow entered the base. Vector asked the black hedgehog for support, having been informed about the hedgehog's former dealings with the Doctor. Thanks to Shadow chopping the computer, the portal to Mad Matrix finally opened and an excited Vector ordered Espio to follow him into the database, staying behind together with Charmy. In Mad Matrix, Espio stated that Vector informed him about the terminals which contained the data the Chaotix were searching for beforehand.

A bit later, while the ARK was being damaged heavily because of the Black Arms’ attack, Vector himself was searching for the main computer room of the crumbling space colony. In Cosmic Fall, which is one of the five final stages, Shadow coincidentally ran into the detective needing some assistance to find said computer room before the ARK would collapse altogether. It is the player’s decision if Shadow helps Vector or if he works for Doom’s Eye instead.

When Shadow helped Vector, they together managed to find the computer room, located on a solid point of the ARK. Upon entering, however, they were confronted by Black Doom, who manipulated Shadow into thinking that he was an evil experiment created with his own blood by Doctor Gerald. Vector told Shadow not to believe Black Doom and focus on defeating him instead, aiding Shadow in the following fight. They eventually managed to beat him, but Shadow was depressed, feeling responsible for the death of the numerous victims of the ARK incident. Vector felt sorry for the hedgehog and tried to comfort him, believing there might be more to the story, but eventually gave up when Shadow walked away lost in his thoughts. When Shadow helped Black Doom to locate the Chaos Emerald on the space colony instead of helping Vector, he was attacked by Doctor Eggman in his Egg Dealer who wanted the Chaos Emeralds for himself. During the fight, Vector came by to support Shadow, but did not appear in the cutscenes before or after the fight.

Both of these finales, however, are only two of ten possible endings and are not canon to the storyline. In the real last story, Vector was once again on the ARK’s main computer room, this time with Espio and Charmy, trying to hack into its computer. Worried about losing the already recovered data, he asked Espio to focus and kept Charmy away from disturbing him. However, Charmy eventually lost his patience and rammed his stinger into the computer, despite Vector trying to hold him back. This resulted in the Chaotix getting access to a video by Gerald Robotnik which played all around the world and gave Shadow the determination to break free of Black Doom's control and defeat him once and for all.

Vector also contacted Shadow during his special training in Expert Mode in the stages Prison Island, Final Haunt (along with Espio and Charmy), and The Last Way (along with every other character in the game). In Prison Island, Vector motivated Shadow to go on with his training despite it being tough and in The Last Way, he told Shadow to give it all for his final mission. In Final Haunt, he wanted to know how the hedgehog’s training was going but was interrupted when Charmy started singing during their conversation. Vector ordered the bee to sit down and be quiet, but Charmy asked Vector to leave him alone, saying he found out Vector ate his pudding and that he would owe him for that. An angry Vector then surrendered and told Charmy to do whatever he desired.

Sonic Rivals 2
In Sonic Rivals 2, Vector appears as a hologram in two cutscenes. At the beginning, he ordered Espio to tail Silver the Hedgehog, who Vector suspected to be responsible for the Chao disappearances, and wanted him to find some evidence. When Silver himself showed up first, Vector hanged up to let Espio do his job. He reappeared at the end of the story to ask if Silver was indeed behind the Chao disappearances, which Espio confirmed. However, Vector was mad at him for not having any evidence, as he already spent their client's money for rental payments for their office, and furiously yelled at Espio, who decided not to listen to his boss and left.

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
In Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, Vector was hired by G.U.N. to gather clues about the Marauders and to help finding out where they imprisoned Knuckles. The Commander stated that Vector and his team were instrumental in pinning down four hideouts where Knuckles could be held hostage. In person, Vector only appeared in one cutscene in Central City at the beginning of the second chapter of the game. He greeted Sonic over G.U.N.'s channel and told him it was about time he returned. When Sonic asked about information regarding Shade, Vector promised to do some more digging.

Sonic Free Riders
Vector appears as a playable character in Sonic Free Riders, in which he has his first overall appearance in the Sonic Riders series. He races on his Extreme Gear Hard-Boiled and is one of the two characters who can only use Bike Gear, the other being Dr. Eggman.

He also appeared in the Grand Prix Mode alongside Amy and Cream as a member of Team Rose, having accepted Amy's offer to join them and get half of the prize money, which Vector urgently needed. They appeared almost too late to sign in, because Amy hired him only half an hour before the opening ceremony, but they were lucky enough to be entered anyway. During the Grand Prix, he kept arguing with Amy as she bossed him around a lot, but in the end, they won the Grand Prix and came to an equal number of victories with the other teams. However, as it turned out in the ending ceremony, the Grand Prix was all a trap set by Dr. Eggman to collect the data of the riders and there was no prize money to begin with, and Vector was depressed to find out all his work was for free and that he had to go home broke. Cream felt sorry for him, but Amy said he should be thankful since it would not be every day one was able to race with two cuties like them.

Sonic Colors
Vector appears as a mission character in the Nintendo DS version of Sonic Colors, where the Chaotix were sent to Planet Wisp to investigate Doctor Eggman's Interstellar Amusement Park, their primary target being finding Dr. Eggman. Sonic and Tails first encountered Vector on the third mission of Planet Wisp, waiting for Espio and Charmy, whom he had sent on patrol. As soon as he caught sight of Sonic and Tails, he asked them to scram due to him being busy, but Sonic teased him by saying he never thought the Chaotix ever got busy. Before Vector was able to voice his indignation, however, the argument was interrupted when Charmy finally arrived to report one spot that seemed fishy to him. Although Vector worried the Chaotix would not be allowed to collect the bounty if they indeed found the Doctor with his help, he allowed Sonic to check the ride out. After clearing the mission, however, it became clear Charmy's lead brought them nowhere near Doctor Eggman, a result Vector did not seem surprised about, who instead wondered about Espio's whereabouts. The chameleon immediately reported to his boss, stating he was with them all the time. As it turned out they all ignored him, and Vector laughed at his colleague's inconspicuousness.

When Sonic returned to Planet Wisp some time later, he encountered Vector again on the same spot. Not very optimistic about finding Dr. Eggman on Planet Wisp, he asked if Sonic was there to offer him a job. Sonic instead revisited the ride and cleared the mission once again, causing Vector to make a compliment to the hedgehog for being "something else". However, he added that he wished Sonic could learn to shut his big mouth, and Sonic pointed out Vector himself was the one with the big mouth. Vector however felt falsely accused, stating he was a crocodile after all.

When Sonic managed to clear the mission with a S-Rank, Vector offered to let him join the Chaotix Detective Agency, claiming it to be an occupation full of thrills, suspense and mystique where every day would be another adventure, but Sonic declined.

"Vector" is also one of the default save file names in the Nintendo Wii version of the game.

Sonic Generations
In the console/PC version of Sonic Generations, Vector and the Chaotix attended and helped preparing Sonic’s surprise birthday party. After Vector had hanged some balloons on a tree, Tails told them that Sonic was coming, and Vector and the rest welcomed Sonic as he arrived, with Vector proudly showcasing the birthday cake to Sonic. As the party began, Vector gobbled three Chili Dogs at once by letting Charmy throw them into his mouth. While talking with his two colleagues, however, Vector and the others were caught off guard when the Time Eater appeared. Vector was then sucked into one of the Time Eater's Time Holes, thrown through time, and the crocodile ended up at Rooftop Run in the White Space, where he was turned into a colorless statue due to the Time Eater's effects.

Eventually, Vector was restored to normal by Classic Sonic and Modern Sonic when they restored Rooftop Run. Relieved to be back, Vector thanked Sonic and warned him about the possibility of someone controlling the Time Eater, confident that someone was behind the monster.

When Classic and Modern Sonic confronted the Time Eater, which was revealed to be controlled by Modern Eggman and Classic Eggman, in the Center of Time, Vector arrived at the scene of the battle in the Center of Time with the others and cheered on both Sonics when they were knocked out, allowing them both to transform into Super Sonic. As the Super Sonics fought the Time Eater, Vector and the others remained behind and helped the Sonics by telling them of incoming dangers.

After the Sonics' victory, Vector and everyone else were sent back to the present where they continued with the celebration. After having a talk with Charmy and Espio, Vector later waved goodbye to Classic Sonic and Classic Tails as they returned to their own time.

Sonic Gems Collection
In Sonic Gems Collection, Vector appears in various screenshots from Sonic Heroes, as well as in artwork from Knuckles' Chaotix that can be looked at in the Museum section of the game.

Sonic Rivals
Vector appears on two collectable cards in Sonic Rivals.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Vector appears as a collectable sticker in Super Smash Bros Brawl.

Sonic and the Black Knight
"Vector" is one of the default save file names in Sonic and the Black Knight.

Sonic Jump
In the iOS/Android game Sonic Jump, Vector holds a record of 2150m in every single stage of Arcade Mode, placing third on the local leaderboards.

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Vector appears on a collectable sticker called Race Leader which is also featured as an achievement for the Xbox 360 version and as a trophy for the Playstation 3 and Playstation Vita versions of the game. It is unlocked by winning a Matchmaking game.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
"Rough-and-tumble Vector is a crocodile that loves money, which means he wants that gold medal more than anything. With incredible power skills, he'll perform well in the throwing events and, given his unique swimming stroke, can excel in the pool as well."

- Vector's profile from the game's official website

Vector appears as a a playable Power Type character in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. His main rival is Bowser, whom Vector has to face in his final mission in the DS' Mission Mode in Table Tennis, and in the Wii’s Mission Mode in Rowing – Single Sculls.

He has an unique swimming stroke, the Crocodile Paddle, and uses an attack resembling his Hammer Down ability from Sonic Heroes as his special attack for Dream Table Tennis.

In the Mission mode of both the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS versions of the game, Vector has to beat a set of five missions, which will unlock a final mission. Clearing all six missions will award the player with the Vector Emblem.

Vector's missions in the Nintendo Wii version:
 * 100m Freestyle: Aim for the specified time! - Finish with a time between 48 and 51 sec.!
 * Single Sculls: Beat your rival! - Finish before Bowser! (Your overall place doesn't matter.)
 * 4x100m Freestyle: Finish in the specified placing! - Finish in 2nd place!
 * Dream Table Tennis: Beat your rival! - Defeat Yoshi!
 * Skeet: Shoot the fast targets! - Shoot down 3 or more targets that are flying at high speed!
 * Final: Dream Race: Finish in the specified placing! - Finish in 2nd place!

Vector's missions in the Nintendo DS version:
 * 100m Freestyle: Finish in 2nd place, within 50 seconds!
 * Hammer Throw: Perform a GREAT throw!
 * Trampoline: Earn GOOD ratings 8 times in your performance!
 * Fencing - Individual epée: Overcome a 5-point handicap and win!
 * Dream Canoe: Use items on all of your opponents.
 * Final: Dream Table Tennis: Beat Bowser when he's in top condition!

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
"Vector the Crocodile is large and strong, and heads the Chaotix Detective Agency. Vector's Head Slide ability on the Wii and DS, and Gum Balloon ability on the DS will put him toe-to-toe with the other contestants as he goes for #1!"

- Vector's profile from the game's official website

"Crocodile who heads the Chaotix Detective Agency with an upbeat attitude. Physically strong and quick to speak his mind, he is a surprisingly clear thinker."

- Vector's profile from the Sonic Series Character Book

Vector reappears in the sequel, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games. Once again classed as a Power Type character, Vector has a full Power gauge in the Nintendo Wii version and a full Stamina gauge in the Nintendo DS version

He uses an ability resembling Hammer Down in the Dream Ice Hockey and the Fever Hockey event, known as the Hammer Shot. In the Rocket Ski Jump event, he accelerates by blowing up the Gum Balloon. This ability is very similar to the Bubblegum Descent from Sonic Heroes. He also gains a completely new ability, the Head Slide, a boost used in many different events. In this game, his main rival is Donkey Kong, who he quickly befriends in Adventure Tours.

In the DS version's Adventure Tours, Vector was first mentioned by Charmy who was guarding a gate in Cubyrinth from behind and refused to open it to anyone else than his boss. Vector himself appeared in Icepeaks, standing next to a mission sign. Toad wondered how unusual it was to see a crocodile in such a cold place and called for him loudly, and a terrified Vector told him not to shout like that. He greeted Sonic and the rest of the gang, but quickly became curious about the 'big fella’. After a short conversation about music, Vector challenged Donkey Kong to a Short Track race in honor of their first meeting. After Donkey Kong’s victory, Vector admitted the Chaotix came to investigate Whistones, but he skipped out on work as he preferred to practice for the Short Track event. To have an excuse in front of Espio and Charmy for interrupting his own investigation, he joined Mario and Sonic on their adventure.

When Toad recalled how somebody asked for him earlier, Vector shamefully remembered having abandoned Charmy in Cubyrinth, so he asked the group to head there next. On the way they met Espio, whom Toad unintenionally informed about how Vector was skipping out on work. Espio was angry at him for neglecting his duties, but was willing to finish their research alone.

Back in Cubyrinth, Charmy did not believe it was the real Vector talking to him and refused to open the gate, much to Vector's annoyance. Charmy demanded to know the password, but Vector remembered they actually agreed on the password being a quiz about the Olympic Games. After answering five questions right in Vector's minigame Quiz Time, Charmy finally opened the gate and was relieved to see his friend again.

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games
Vector is a playable Power type character in the series’ third entry, Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Like in the first game, he has an unique swimming stroke, this time called Alligator Style, and once again uses Head Slide in various events. His special attack resembling Hammer Down from Sonic Heroes also returns, this time used in the Olympic Table Tennis event.

In the Wii version's London Party mode, Vector can be met as a NPC character on two different occasions, provided that Vector is none of the participants. In the first occasion, he is angry at a recent client for paying the Chaotix in stickers. To take his mind off things, he offers them to the winner of a Point-Based Shell Showdown minigame. After watching the contest, Vector states it was so much fun that he would like to hand out a cash prize. He adds, however, that in this instance he would have definitely participated himself. On the second occasion, Vector stumbles across a famous stone tablet from the British Museum, probably the Rosetta Stone. Hoping for a big fat reward, he offers the participants to help him bring it back to the British Museum. However, when everyone starts fighting over the stone tablet, a 2-on-2 Tablet Tussle begins. Afterwards, just as he decides to split the reward with the winner of the minigame, he realizes the stone tablet is merely a replica. However, the winner will still be awarded with two Vector stickers.

In the 3DS version, Vector is part of the Wild Ones, a group consisting of Knuckles, Bowser, Donkey Kong and Vector himself. In the story mode, Vector and Knuckles took on Bowser, who provided a trap for Sonic, and together destroyed the fog machine on the Beach Volleyball Court.

Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games
"With a love of all things gold, this crafty croc will use his impressive strength to snag as many Gold Medals as possible."

- Vector's profile from the game's official website.

Vector is set to appear as a playable character in the fourth entry of the Mario & Sonic series, Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.

Personality
Vector is an easy-going, loud-mouthed, money-loving crocodile with the heart of a child, a cool sense of humor, and an innate drive for good. He is the brains behind the Chaotix Detective Agency's operations and has a knack for leadership and keeping a cool head even in the most difficult situations, making him a capable leader for his team. Unfortunately, Vector's position as leader tends to get to his head, which makes him bossy and seeking to be in charge. This often leaves Vector split between the "bossy" and "easy-going" parts of his nature. Nevertheless, Vector enjoys his profession as a leader and detective, and takes his profession seriously, while often showcasing his investigative skills.

As hinted by his rather large and imposing in appearance, Vector displays a tough exterior, and a loud and rough speech pattern. He is quick to start a fight, often taking an agressive approach when facing troubles. Though he is able to find a peaceful solution to a problem, he will only do so as a last resort.

Deep down, however, Vector can be described as a gentle giant, with a child-like heart, an optimistic viewpoint and a wealthy personality. Vector is generally relaxed and easy-going in comparison to the rest of his team and displays a calm head and a decisive determination when on a case, while at the same time showing a cool and relaxed sense of humor with a certain degree of attitude. At the same time, Vector is also a charismatic and charming individual, allowing him to get along well with others and getting them to follow his choices, as seen in his many interactions with his co-worker Espio, who has a very strict and serious personality. Equally, Vector cares deeply for his friends and is always loyal to them.

For all the good points to his personality, Vector has a short temper and aggressive manners. His pretended gentle behavior quickly changes to a rough demeanor with a snappy attitude when things do not go the way he wants them to, when he feels insulted or when he just gets peeved, and he generally behaves very direct in front of his friends. He always says what he thinks, often ending up being downright rude to others and calling them names. Vector himself is aware of having a big mouth, but does not seem bothered by the fact.

One of Vector's most defined traits is his love for money. Much of Vector's behavior is geared around his attempts at getting rich, and his policy is to never turn down work that pays. He will do almost any kind of work or handle pretty much any type of business if it means that he will get a good income. In Sonic Free Riders he states that even thinking of money makes him motivated. Unfortunately, business most of the time does not run as good as expected and Vector often worries about rent payments or other bills for the office. Likewise, Vector hates having to work for the landlord, who he is constantly at odds with. As a consequence, he sometimes even asks friends for jobs and is willing to do things that have nothing in common with detective work at all. The best example is Sonic Free Riders, where he seems to be broke and has joined Team Rose in the EX World Grand Prix to pay off his debts.

Despite his love for cash, Vector has strong morals and will not get involved in any kinds of jobs that are illegal or dirty. Gentle and caring on the inside, Vector has a strong sense of justice and kindness, despite his argumentativeness. As such, while he takes his work seriously, Vector can be very giving and charitable, and is known for helping those in need for free, such as finding a lost child or even the most meager things like finding crying childrens' lost toys. Due to these charitable tendencies, Vector will often take up cases without any sort of compensation, which keeps the agency constantly short on money. Despite any money problems he may have, however, Vector will never break his own morals and believes that helping out those less fortunate is the best reward.

Next to money, Vector's other great passion is music, which he always listens to through his headphones, both during his free time and during missions. He is often being seen turning up and grooving to his current jam and usually becomes oblivious to the world around him. He also likes to perform in his own band, consisting of himself and his two colleagues, and believes himself to possess a great singing voice. Even if Vector listens and plays music loudly, he only enjoys the music if it sounds good, while disliking general noise.

Power and Abilities
Like most Sonic characters, Vector can curl up to roll and jump on enemies, a move known as the Spin Jump. But unlike most other characters, he has shown the ability to roll into a wheel rather than a ball. He possesses some super speed, as seen in Knuckles' Chaotix and Sonic Heroes, but he overall is one of the slower characters. As the Power member of Team Chaotix, he is also very powerful, his greatest power lying in his jaws, which he can use to crunch even extremely hard material like metal between with. Vector is able to slam his body onto the ground to cause massive damage. In Sonic Heroes, he can hold Espio and Charmy in his mouth and launch them as fireballs, as well as spit musical notes, breathe fire, make explosive bubblegum, and use his sharp teeth to bite through hard obstacles. He can also blow up huge bubblegum bubbles to slow down his descent or to accelerate with the help of air streams. He also possesses a very loud singing voice, as seen during Team Chaotix' Team Blast, "Chaotix Recital", which is so destructive that it causes all nearby robots to explode.

While not nearly as smart as highly intelligent characters like Tails or Dr. Eggman, Vector is an accomplished detective with a knack for solving riddles and mysteries. He can piece clues and other minor hints together to often reach correct conclusions that his teammates and most other characters would not have realized until that point. In Sonic Heroes, he was the only one of his team to realize their clients' true identity, while in Shadow the Hedgehog, he used his investigative techniques to predict Black Doom's movements during the boss fight, and also believed more than evil causes to be behind the story of Shadow's creation. In Sonic Generations, Vector assumed someone was controlling the Time Eater from behind.

Vector may also have some skills in machinery, as according to the description of his Extreme Gear Hard-Boiled, it was originally a bike model used for touring until Vector refactored it himself to be used for racing.

Charmy Bee
The youngest member of the Chaotix often gets on Vector’s nerves. Charmy jumps at every chance to tease Vector, like calling him dumb in Sonic Colors for giving Sonic a lead to nowhere when it was actually Charmy’s own lead. As a result, Vector often shouts at Charmy, being the hothead he is.

Whenever Charmy gets annoying in Shadow the Hedgehog, Vector deals with him by putting his hand over the bee’s face. They also start quarrelling in Final Haunt’s Expert Mode when Charmy accuses Vector of eating his pudding, not bothering Shadow can hear everything.

Despite their many arguments, Charmy actually looks up to his boss. He has a habit of repeating Vector’s statements and when the Chaotix’s new client in Sonic Heroes promises to pay handsomely, dollar signs show up in both Vector’s and Charmy’s eyes, although he does not really care about money. Also, when there are differences within the group, the bee sticks by Vector’s side rather than Espio’s.

Due to his age, he would rather have fun than work and calls Vector boring for not letting him most of the time. However, Vector has faith in Charmy’s abilities and even sends him on dangerous jobs like collecting top-secret discs on Prison Island in the middle of the Black Arms’ invasion.

Espio the Chameleon
As the calmest and most serious member of the Chaotix Detective Agency, Espio often goes unnoticed between his louder colleagues. In Sonic Colors, Vector wonder where he is, ignoring that the chameleon has been standing next to them all the time.

Vector respects Espio as an important colleague and as a friend. His ninja abilities often come handy for their missions and Vector leaves cases to him every now and then, like in Sonic Rivals 2 where he orders Espio to sneak after Silver, his suspect for the Chao disappearances. However, when Espio decides to let his new friend get away and reports back to his boss without evidence, Vector shouts at him for leaving their financial problems out of eyes. Otherwise, Espio is known to be quite loyal to Vector.

Amy Rose
Amy and Vector first encountered in Sonic Heroes. After saving the Chao in Lost Jungle, Vector addresses Amy politely to ask her a question, but she turns away, saying it must wait if it is about a date. Vector, who was not going to ask her out, calls her a little brat and the two teams get into a fight, Amy calling the Chaotix a bunch of losers. They later put their differences aside to work together and distract Metal Madness.

In Sonic Free Riders, Amy offers Vector to join Team Rose for the second EX World Grand Prix, promising him to get half the prize money if he helps her and Cream to their victory. However, they do not get along once again. Amy blames Vector for appearing almost too late to sign in, although she hired him only half an hour before. Then, Vector calls her “a terrible actress” for pretending to not know about Sonic’s participation. Amy, on the other hand, claims he is the one and only useless kid from Team Rose and bosses him around permanently. They quarrel their way through the Grand Prix with Cream caught in between. When facing Team Dark in the finals, Vector says “We’ll show you what a team that actually cares for each other can do!”, showing they at least share some kind of sympathy for each other.

Friends

 * Espio the Chameleon
 * Charmy Bee
 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Cream the Rabbit (one-time team ally)
 * Amy Rose (one-time team ally)
 * Knuckles the Echidna
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Rouge the Bat
 * Shadow the Hedgehog

Foes

 * Doctor Eggman
 * Metal Sonic

Rivals

 * Jet the Hawk
 * Wave the Swallow
 * Storm the Albatross

Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic
Vector makes a one-frame appearance in Volume One of the Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic (actually a manga) from the magazine Mega Drive Fan. In this manga, Vector is seen playing the keyboard as part of Sonic's band. This manga was released before the original Sonic the Hedgehog in 1991 and used beta concepts scrapped from said game, so Vector appears as he did in the scrapped Sound Test image.

Sonic the Comic
 In Fleetway's Sonic the Comic, he is the intelligent leader of the Chaotix Crew and a close friend to the Omni-Viewer. He also has links to the Equinox Research Center, which is staffed entirely by crocodiles. As with the other members of the group, he is a native of the Special Zone, specifically New Tek City on the Planet Meridian. He acts as the basic straight man of the group and takes out enemies with his powerful jaws.

Archie Comics
In the Sonic the Hedgehog Archie Comic, Vector is a crazy punk from Downunda who likes having things his way and listening to loud music. So loud are his "tunes" that he once single handily stopped the Dark Legion army in its tracks by turning his music volume up to its highest setting and pointing it at the enemy. Vector and Knuckles met some time after Knuckles' father left to join the Brotherhood of Guardians, and after a few tussles, the two became fast friends. Vector also somewhat disliked Knuckles' girlfriend Julie-Su for some time after her first appearance, but they later came to mutually respect each other. Together with Espio, he is one of the only Chaotix members featured in Mobius: 25 Years Later, where he has a son named Argyle.

Sonic X
 In the anime Sonic X, Vector and the rest of the Chaotix play a very minor role in Season 2, only appearing in one episode. In this episode, Vector along with Espio and Charmy broke the proverbial fourth-wall by introducing themselves to the audience. They were hired by Vanilla the Rabbit to find her daughter, Cream the Rabbit. After finding Cream at the Thorndykes' residence, they start to believe that Sonic kidnapped her, which couldn't be more wrong. After a failed sneak attack from Espio, Vector and Charmy get in a fight with Tails, Amy, Cream, and Ella. When Sonic comes in to see the fight, Vector calls him "Sonic the Kidnapper", but the fight ends when Vanilla arrives with Sonic. Vanilla thanks Vector for finding Cream and he gets confused when she thanks Sonic for taking care of Cream. Sonic then jokes about how uneasy Vector is after they invite him and the others (Espio and Charmy) over, to which everybody laughs to, except Vector, who is still confused.

They play a much larger role in Season 3. Vector and the Chaotix take supplies from Chris Thorndyke's parents to the Blue Typhoon, the warship Tails built, since Chris is aboard. When they arrived, they were attacked numerous times when they were mistaken to be evil Metarex aliens. After a misunderstanding between Vector and others, they deliver Chris' stuff and Vector plans to catch Cream and bring her to their home planet (as an act of revenge for the gang beating them up). However, he unintentionally captures Cosmo as well, which makes him try to catch her. He fails due to the fact that Cosmo can jump away quickly when he leaps at her. They soon end up back at the Blue Typhoon. Vector and the others soon leave without Cream. However, they get lost on the way back and meet up with the Typhoon's crew some time later.

The second time, they help Tails impress Cosmo, whom Tails likes, as repayment for him fixing their ship (Vector tried to render Knuckles unconscious and disguise him as a Metarex, with Espio holding him up invisible, for Tails to protect Cosmo from, which fails), and later appear to help fight the Metarex.

In the anime, Vector seems to make puns about how he is a reptile, like how he says to Sonic: "Sure, I'm a warm hearted reptile."

Sonic X (comic)
In the Archie Sonic X comic, Vector and his team first appeared in issue #10. Due to the barrier between Sonic's world and Earth becoming more and more unstable, both the Chaotix Detective Agency and Vanilla the Rabbit were transported to Station Square. As the issue opened, Sonic asked Vector how he would handle the situation, and Vector decided to keep his detective agency running. He offered Sonic, Tails and Amy a job and promised to always be at their service would they ever need it. A moment later, however, the whole agency and the three detectives mysteriously disappeared, sent back to Sonic's world.

Apparently, they returned in issue #16, where Sonic headed to the agency to ask for dating advice. Vector guaranteed the three of team would be experts on the matter, but Charmy was close to reveal none of them ever went to a date. While the team got into a fight over which tips to give, they provided Sonic with a romantic list and Vector advised Sonic to take Amy out for a night in the town.

In issue #33, the Chaotix were at a grill party held at the Thorndyke Mansion. There, Vector explained to Knuckles how he had not noticed himself they were back on Earth until Sonic entered the agency. When Chris wanted to know what they were doing back on their own world in the meantime, Vector boasted about how they solved a dozen different cases and fought two dozen amazing battles. Chuck Thorndyke then discovered a meteor containing a Chaos Emerald was heading to the South Pole, and Vector joined the friendly competition to retrieve the Emerald first. As Knuckles refused to play in a team, Vector took over the role of a Captain and chose Espio and Amy as his teammates. On the South Pole, the meteor crashed through the ice and dropped into the water, and everyone started fighting over it. Vector got hold of the meteor in Brazil, but slipped thanks to Big's fishing rod and fell into a mudbath where Dr. Eggman was relaxing. Vector's team lost, but as it turned out the Chaos Emerald fell out of the meteor near the beginning, and only Chris, Cream and Charmy were smart enough to pick it up.

In issue #35, the Chaotix investigated the case of mustachioed men resembling Dr. Eggman ransacking Station Square. They were interviewed by Scarlet Garcia on television regarding the case, and Vector was certain that identical quadruplets were behind the robberies. However, his colleagues did not agree with him and they started fighting in the middle of the interview. Later, they followed Charmy's lead to Dr. Eggman, who was indeed responsible for the robberies, but Vector and Espio concluded the Doctor could not be guilty as he was fighting Sonic all day, so Vector continued suspecting the quadruplets.

As Sonic was stalked by the shadow group S.O.N.I.C.X. in issue #38, the hedgehog visited the detective agency to hand the case to the Chaotix. Despite just waking up from a nap, Vector readily agreed to find out what the organization was up to. A moment later, a dart containing a highly-viral mutagen was shot at Sonic, but it hit Vector instead, causing the crocodile to grow 40 feet tall, breaking through the agency. In the following issue, he started rampaging through Station Square, but regained control of himself very soon. Sonic asked Vector not to move while he and Espio hurried to get an ancient ninja remedy. However, Eggman saw his chance to become a public hero and unleashed Super Megatized Bokkun to defeat Vector. They started fighting, but Vector had to watch out not to hurt any of Station Square's inhabitants as well. Eggman already announced Vector's defeat and threw insults at him, so Vector looked down to the Doctor and got rid of him by spewing fire. Unfortunately, G.U.N. fighters started to approach the two giants, so Sonic quickly threw the "ancient ninja remedy", which turned out to be just aspirin, into Vector's mouth, turning the crocodile back to normal. In the final issue, Vector and his colleagues were rebuilding the detective agency, as they were not able to afford a contractor.

Theme Songs

 * Team Chaotix: This theme is shared with his team mates Espio the Chameleon and Charmy Bee. In the song, Vector is mentioned in the two lines "The muscle is Vector, the karma collector, and he's sworn to fight for you!" and "And the green one cheers them on!". At the beginning of the song, Vector can be heard shouting 'brain-damaged!'.
 * Unnamed music track in Shadow the Hedgehog, shared with Espio and Charmy. It plays in the two cutscenes where the Chaotix appear in together.
 * Unnamed short beat which plays in Sonic Generations during Vector: Pick Up the Beat.

Voices

 * Video games, Sonic X - Kenta Miyake (Japanese)
 * Sonic Heroes - Marc Biagi (English)
 * Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic X - Carter Cathcart (English)
 * Sonic Rivals 2, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games - Dan Green (English)
 * Sonic Free Riders, Sonic Colors, Sonic Generations, Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games - Keith Silverstein (English)
 * Sonic Generations - Philippe Roullier (French)
 * Sonic Generations - Diego Sabre (Italian)

Trivia

 * Vector's appearance has changed a lot between Knuckles' Chaotix and Sonic Heroes. In Chaotix, Vector was taller and much slimmer. In his new design, he is considerably broader, especially in the chest, and slightly shorter.
 * He is the oldest hero with a confirmed age, and the second tallest organic non-human Sonic character behind Big the Cat.
 * In the days of the Mega Drive/Genesis, Sega released a game starring a character called Vectorman, who, coincidentally, is also green.
 * Vector's trademark are his headphones, which he has had with him in every game he has appeared in, even in the scrapped Sonic 1 sound test.
 * When walking in Special Stages in Knuckles' Chaotix, Vector puts the special ring around his neck, making it look like a gold necklace. This might be where the idea for the thick golden neck chain Vector wears in his modern design originated from.
 * In Knuckles' Chaotix, his headphones are connected to a walkman. In every other game, his headphones are free-wired and do not appear to be connected to anything. However, they are connected to the walkman in Team Chaotix's first cutscene in Sonic Heroes.
 * Vector is the only Power-type character in Sonic Heroes to also be the leader of his team.
 * In the first cutscene of Team Chaotix in Sonic Heroes, Vector can be seen to be listening to Team Chaotix, the team's theme song.
 * In Sonic Heroes, Vector smacks down the door to the cell in which the Chaotix's client is locked up, although they probably spent a lot of time searching for its keys in Final Fortress. This could be either a plot hole or because Vector just doesn't care about Dr. Eggman's fleet at all, which would not be surprising considering how much of Egg Fleet they had already destroyed up to that point.
 * In Shadow the Hedgehog, Vector has a jump sound that is notably different from every other character.
 * Vector has become famous for his line "Find the computer room!" in Shadow the Hedgehog.
 * Vector is the only mission character in Sonic Colors who only appears in one mission, most likely due to all three Chaotix members appearing in Planet Wisp whereas every other stage had two mission characters.
 * Vector is the only friend character in Sonic Generations to say the same phrase to both Classic and Modern Sonic after being rescued, probably due to it being actually relevant to the story.
 * Vector also is one of the two characters not to make a remark about Classic Sonic looking different to Modern Sonic, the other character being Espio.
 * Despite having a role in Sonic Generations, Vector also cameos indirectly in two of the stages: In Speed Highway, there is a big, green neon sign reading "Club Vector" and also a road sign showing the direction to "Vector Avenue". In City Escape, there are a few stores named "Vector's Deli" and several billboards advertising the Chaotix Detective Agency.
 * Vector's unique Spin Jump from Knuckles' Chaotix, forming him into a wheel instead of a ball, is referenced in the Dream Long Jump event in Mario & Sonic At The London 2012 Olympic Games when the player shakes the Wii remote to make Vector float in mid-air for a few seconds.
 * Vector's arms were miscolored dark green in the intro of Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games as well as in the game's official artwork.
 * Ever since Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, Vector's main rival has changed from Bowser to Donkey Kong, as Vector challenged him to a Short Track race during the Adventure Tours. However, Vector still has some kind of rivalry with Bowser, as shown in the game's intro. Interestingly, Mario and Sonic are facing Bowser and Vector in the Ice/Fever Hockey instruction (DS version) instead of Bowser and Dr. Eggman. In the sequel, Vector barely interacts with Donkey Kong, but does fight Bowser in the Story Mode. However, in the Wii version's Sticker Collection, he is still paired up with Donkey Kong.

Quotes

 * "Here we go!" - When selecting Team Chaotix in Sonic Heroes.
 * "Espio, don't be silly! Besides, you know our policy. We never turn down work that pays!" - Vector telling Espio the suspicious client is fine since he is paying in Sonic Heroes.
 * "Perfect! The work of professionals, eh!"  - When getting an A rank in Sonic Heroes with Vector.
 * "Lackluster performance, I'd say." - Getting an E rank in Sonic Heroes with Vector.
 * "Yeah yeah, I'm the one, I'm Vector the Crocodile! Herrhehe!" - Vector singing during Chaotix Recital in Sonic Heroes.
 * "Darn, I forgot to pay the electricity bill for the office." - Vector when standing still for a long time in Sonic Heroes.
 * "I'm starving." - Vector when standing still for a long time in Sonic Heroes.
 * "Eggman must be really rich. Wonder if he'd hire us?" - Vector when standing still for a long time in Egg Fleet.
 * "We're here to save you. Dr. Eggman, I presume." - Vector revealing the truth behind their client's identity.
 * "It's all part of being a good detective." - Vector when Doctor Eggman asks him if he knew the truth all along.
 * "Then who was it? Who locked you up here for trying to conquer the world?" - Vector interrogating Dr. Eggman in Sonic Heroes' final story.
 * "Let's make this quick. I hate fighting with girls!" - An unused line from Sonic Heroes Vector would have said before fighting Team Rose.
 * "Aren't you done yet? At this rate, the entire day will be wasted!" - Vector in Shadow the Hedgehog rushing Espio to hack into Eggman's database.
 * "Well, well...if it isn't Shadow! Your timing is impeccable. You know that Eggman fella pretty well, don't ya? Well, we need your help to hack into his computer...and don't ask why! And we don't have any more time to waste!" - Vector when seeing Shadow entering Eggman's base.
 * "This may be THE big case. Espio, we're counting on you!" - Vector telling Espio to follow Shadow into the portal to Mad Matrix in Shadow the Hedgehog.
 * "Find the computer room!" - In the pause menu of the Cosmic Fall stage in Shadow the Hedgehog. The line has become an internet meme.
 * "Well if it isn't Shadow! We've got to make it to the computer room before this place collapses! Think you could give me a hand?" - Vector when running into Shadow in Cosmic Fall.
 * "Hey...don't go there...yet! Things may not be what they seem. You could be..." - Vector trying to console Shadow when he thinks he is evil in Shadow the Hedgehog.
 * "Get back here you idiot!" - Yelling at Charmy in the final story of Shadow the Hedgehog.
 * "All right, all right! Fine! Do whatever the heck you want!" - Vector yelling at Charmy, who says he owes him for eating his pudding, in Final Haunt's Expert Mode.
 * "What!? Are you kidding me!? You know our client has paid in advance! And I already spent that money, because our office is behind on the rent payment as it is! Hey, Espio!! Are you getting this!? ESPIO!!!!" - Vector at the end of Sonic Rivals 2.
 * "The winner, hands down!" - Vector when winning a gold medal in the Mario & Sonic series.
 * "Guess you can't win 'em all..." - Vector when losing an event in the Mario & Sonic series.
 * "Bring it on!" - Vector says this instead of "pull" in Skeet in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games.
 * "I'll beat all of ya!" - Vector at the beginning of a race in Sonic Free Riders.
 * "I'm on fire today!" - Vector when winning a race in Sonic Free Riders.
 * "Everyone got in my way..." - Vector when losing a race in Sonic Free Riders.
 * "I can relate to wanting that money, believe me. But it's not worth sacrificing a teammate." - Vector talking to Rouge about her and Shadow mistreating E-10000B in Sonic Free Riders.
 * "Those good-for-nothings are late again. Goofing off, no doubt." - Vector waiting for Espio's and Charmy's reports on Planet Wisp.
 * "Gah! If you're the one who finds him, we can't collect the bounty! No WAY I'm letting that happen!" - Vector standing in Sonic's way when the player declines to do mission 4-3 in Sonic Colors.
 * "You really are something else, Sonic. Now if you could just learn to shut that big mouth of yours." - Vector making some kind of compliment to Sonic on Planet Wisp.
 * "It's good work. It's got thrills, suspense, mystique...Every day's an adventure!" - Vector talking about the detective business in Sonic Colors.
 * "Thanks Sonic! You know, I got a hunch someone or something is controlling that monster." - Vector after Classic or Modern Sonic rescues him from Rooftop Run in Sonic Generations.
 * "You found the five Red Star Rings? Aw man, Rouge is gonna have my hide for this." - Vector commenting on Sonic having found all Red Star Rings in Rooftop Run Act 1. It implies he was working for Rouge in White Space.
 * "I'll send you flyin' to wherever you need to get to! Press the Y/Triangle button and I'll be there!" - Vector before the mission Vector: Through the Storm begins.
 * "Think you can keep up with me?"- Vector before the mission Vector: Pick Up the Beat begins.
 * "You've got the power Sonic!" - Vector cheering on the Sonics in Sonic Generations before the final boss fight.
 * "Hmph! Who does that client think he is, paying us in stickers? I need to take my mind off things...Oh, I know! Hey, you guys! Wanna play a survival game for these stickers? Nothing beats a good contest!" - Vector offering a Point-based Shell Showdown during London Party.
 * "What's this? Isn't this that famous stone tablet from the British Museum? Maybe it was stolen. Hey, I bet this would net us some money! If we bring it back to the British Museum, they might give us a big fat reward. Hey, don't fight over it! Are you really that intent on carrying it?" - Vector offering a 2-on-2 Tablet Tussle during London Party.
 * "Son of a gun! It's a darned fake!" - Vector realizing the stone tablet is a replica after the player won a 2-on-2 Tablet Tussle in London Party.

Notes and References
In addition to information taken from the Sonic the Hedgehog games themselves, content from the instruction booklets of the U.S. and Japanese versions of the games were also used as references for this article.