Piko Piko Hammer


 * For the use of objects with the same name, see Piko Piko Hammer (disambiguation).

The Piko Piko Hammer (ピコピコハンマー), also called the Love Hammer, is Amy Rose's signature weapon. It is a large yellow and red hammer that Amy uses to crush her enemies in combat, to perform better movements on her behalf, and to execute special techniques.

Concept and Creation
The Piko Piko Hammer was originally based on a popular Japanese children's toy of the same name. The phrase "piko-piko" is an onomatopoeia for the chirping sound that these hammers make when struck (which can also be heard in several games when Amy attacks).

The Piko Piko Hammer made its first appearance in Sonic the Fighters, in which Amy used it as a part of her combat moves. She was given the hammer as a weapon in order to strengthen her tomboyish nature (note that this is also the reason why she is a playable character in the game). As a result, she does not punch.

Appearance
The Piko Piko Hammer's design mostly resembles that of a sledgehammer or a mallet. Originally, the Piko Piko Hammer had a red center head with flexible yellow ends and a pink handle attached to the head. In Sonic Adventure, the Piko Piko Hammer received an updated design, which included a larger head in the shape of a red cylinder with raised rectangular sections on the midsection of the head, solid yellow dishes on the ends, and a brown handle attached to the head.

As of Sonic Adventure, the Piko Piko Hammer has maintained a rather consistent design, though the raised rectangular sections on the midsection of the head have since then been removed from it and the dishes on the ends has become flatter. Its primary design in Sonic Adventure has however appeared in a few games since then. Also, in Sonic Adventure 2: Battle and Sonic Heroes, the head of the Piko Piko Hammer has the opposite color scheme, having red ends with a yellow center instead of yellow ends with a red center.

The size of the Piko Piko Hammer varies. In most cases, the Piko Piko Hammer is slightly bigger than Amy's head, while in some other games it can be much larger, such as in Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing where the Piko Piko Hammer is much larger than the Pink Cabriolet when Amy uses it as a part of her All-Star Move.

Traits
Despite its colorful and innocent appearance, the Piko Piko Hammer is a very powerful melee weapon, being durable enough to repeatedly smash through metal and yet graceful enough to be used in a variety of moves at high speed. Even powerful characters such as Sonic are filled with dread when Amy threatens them with the Piko Piko Hammer, hinting at the amount of power and danger that this weapon possesses in Amy's hands. When Amy is not using it, the Piko Piko Hammer is hid away in a hiding spot that remains unknown to this day, but she can pull it out of nowhere whenever she needs it on a moment's notice.

Usage
The Piko Piko Hammer is mainly used for melee combat by Amy, either using it to knock foes away and far into the air, or crush them with devastating force with a downward swing. It is also a vital part of her Hammer Attack techniques and other combat moves. By spinning the Piko Piko Hammer around, Amy can turn herself into a top that mows down everything in her path, and can even stir up whirlwinds and send opponents flying. If Amy slams it into the ground with enough force, the Piko Piko Hammer can generate huge shock waves.

Aside from combat, the Piko Piko Hammer is also used by Amy to improve upon her own movements. By hammering into the ground, Amy can give herself extra high jumps, and by spinning the Piko Piko Hammer around like a propeller, she is briefly able to hover in midair. In some games, the hammer can be used to hit Springs, causing her to catapult quite a bit further.

When not using it directly, Amy is able to strike fear into other characters by displaying strength and fury with her Piko Piko Hammer.

Variants
Throughout the Sonic the Hedgehog series, Piko Piko Hammers other than Amy's regular hammer have appeared. These Piko Piko Hammers differs between each in appearance, and can possess traits unique to them.

In Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut, Amy can obtain an Upgrade called the Long Hammer, which is an upgraded version of her regular Piko Piko Hammer. This Piko Piko Hammer increases the radius of Amy's attacks.

In Sonic Advance 3, when selecting Amy as a playable character, her partner will obtain a uniquely stylized Piko Piko Hammer, allowing him or her to use the Hammer Attack.

In some games, Amy is shown to possess a Piko Piko Hammer much larger than her regular one. In Sonic Advance 3, Amy can use this Piko Piko Hammer as a part of her Big Hammer Attack when having Knuckles the Echidna as her leader or sidekick, allowing her to attack with much more power. This Piko Piko Hammer reappeared during the credits of Sonic's story in Sonic Rush when Amy was chasing after Sonic.

Archie Comics
The Piko Piko Hammer appears in the Archie Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog and its subsequent spin-offs as Amy Rose's signature weapon. It features the same design it had in Sonic Adventure.

In the comics, the Piko Piko Hammer was created as a by-product of Amy's usage of the Ring of Acorns. After absorbing the Ring of Acorns's power to make herself older, Amy additionally obtained limited wish-granting abilities that allows her to wish forth the Piko Piko Hammer whenever she wants. However, it was not only until she first arrived in the Station Square that she discovered her ability to wield it.

Since she discovered it, the Piko Piko Hammer has become Amy's most trusted asset in battle, and she has incredible proficiency in wielding it. The Piko Piko Hammer is as well a powerful and durable melee weapon, though it is not quite indestructible.

Sonic X
The Piko Piko Hammer appeared as Amy Rose's signature weapon in the animated television show Sonic X and the following comic series of the same name published by Archie Comics. It features the same design it had in Sonic Adventure.

Like in the games, the Piko Piko Hammer is Amy's personal weapon that she is able to inexplicably pull out of thin air. Additionally, it appears Amy has an inexhaustible supply of Piko Piko Hammers, seeing that she was able to conjure up another Piko Piko Hammer out of nowhere by just by waving her hand after she had thrown her first one into Dr. Eggman's Grand Egg Imperial.

In the comics, it is suggested that Amy has some sort of connection to her Piko Piko Hammers. In Sonic X #10, when Amy, Sonic, Knuckles, Tails and Rouge were trapped in a virtual reality of the original Sonic the Hedgehog by Dr. Eggman, Amy said that she could not "feel" her hammer while she was within the illusion.

Sonic Boom
The Piko Piko Hammer appears in the Sonic Boom television series as Amy Rose's primary weapon. In this media, while its design resembles closely that it had in Sonic Adventure, it has several differences compared to its video game counterpart; the handle of the hammer has leather wrapped on it, it appears more metallic and has wider yellow ends. Also, the head and the middle are colored in a dark shade of pink unlike its video game counterpart, which is red.

Trivia

 * In Tails Adventure, the "Hammer" weapon is known as the Pikon Hammer (ピッコンハンマー) when the Game Gear is set to Japanese. This predates the Piko Piko Hammer's first official appearance.
 * In Sonic Advance 2, there is a Badnik called Piko Piko, which wields a toy hammer similar to Amy's.
 * The only Sonic continuity in which Amy does not use the Piko Piko Hammer as her weapon is in Sonic the Comic, in which she uses a crossbow instead.
 * In Sonic Unleashed, Amy's ability to use the huge hammer is underlined when defeating the boss of Shamar, the Dark Guardian. After the level is over, Sonic the Werehog exclaims "I know little girls that are better with a hammer than you! Well, one, anyway."AccPikoAmy.jpg
 * An accessory of the Piko Piko Hammer, made by Jazwares, was released in late-2012 along with Amy.
 * The Ultra Hammer from the Paper Mario series bears an uncanny resemblance to the Piko Piko Hammer.
 * In Sonic the Fighters, Amy's hammer isn't named the "Piko Piko Hammer" but the "Magical Hammer".
 * It is possible that Amy has different "versions" of Piko Piko Hammers, as seen in Sonic Heroes, where she uses the Air Hammer which utilizes the power of the wind. In Sonic Advance 3, she has a huge brown mallet when teamed up with Knuckles, and her normal red and yellow hammers.
 * The Piko Piko Hammer was mentioned in Sonic and the Black Knight in the final cutscene when Sonic says "Yikes! No Amy, wait! Put down that hammer!". Thus, in the multiplayer mode of the game, Amy is playable and instead of a sword, her weapon is a hammer.
 * Amy's hammer has sometimes had an aura of pink hearts.
 * The Piko Piko Hammer's modern 3D model in mainstream games differs from the modern appearance shown in the comics, cartoon and some earlier spin-off games.
 * In Sonic Battle, the Piko Piko Hammer is called the "Love Hammer".
 * The Piko Piko Hammer appeared in Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA 2nd in the accessories room. This accessory is unlocked if the player clears "サウンド"(Sound) in easy mode. It is also Rin Kagamine's favorite item as a gift.
 * The Piko Piko Hammer is the most recurring weapon in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, unless one counts Eggman's Egg Mobile as a weapon.
 * In Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, during a mission that can be given by Amy about Goombas being on a rampage, Amy says her Piko Piko Hammer has no effect on Goombas.
 * Knuckles' Piko Piko Hammer in Sonic Advance 3 is the only variation of the hammer studded with a spike at the top.
 * It is also the only version that has anything extending past the head.