Flicky


 * For other uses, see Flicky (disambiguation).

The Flicky (フリッキー) is a creature in the Sonic the Hedgehog series which first appeared in the original Sonic the Hedgehog. They are a race of colorful bird Animals that live in large abundance in various regions across Sonic's world, and are close friends of Sonic the Hedgehog and his allies. They are constantly targeted by Dr. Eggman who seeks to use them as energy sources for his various Badniks and often imprisons them in Capsules for later use.

Concept and creation
Several years earlier before Sonic the Hedgehog franchise Flicky was created as the star of her own game, simply titled Flicky, released for Sega arcades in 1984 to compete with the popular Namco arcade game, Mappy. The game was initially to be named "Busty", before the US office asked for it to be changed. The second proposed title was "Flippy", until it was discovered being an overseas trademark issue. The player controlled Flicky, with the goal of collecting chicks (Piopio), while avoiding enemy cats (Nyannyan) and iguanas (Choro). The Japanese flyer refers to Flicky as the mother of the Piopio, whilst the North American flyer refers to Flicky as male. According to game designer Yoshiki Kawasaki, Flicky is actually a sparrow, whilst the Piopio's parents are chickens. The game was popular, and Flicky made subsequent cameo appearances in many Sega games in the late 80's, including TeddyBoy Blues, SDI, Flash Point, Super Monaco GP, and Bloxeed

Flicky's original designer was Yoji Ishii, a member of Sonic Team until August 1999. Yoji Ishii designed the original game with Yoshiki Kawasaki, who stated Flicky being his favorite character.

As the Flicky later gets introduced to the Sonic series in the original Sonic the Hedgehog in 1991 as minor character, her appearance was altered by Naoto Ōshima to fit to the cast of animal friends. She was named Flicky in both the Japanese and Western backstories (as revealed in the Japanese game manual and Western documents such as the Sonic Bible), the only one of the animal friends to have the same name in both versions. In the second draft of Sonic Bible, Flicky the Bluebird is known for coming from a large family like other animal friends.

Anatomy
The general Flicky is a small and rotund bird with a sky blue plumage and orange three-toed feet. They have round-shaped heads with two large grey eyes (originally black), soft orange beaks and two upward-looking tuffs above their foreheads. Their wings are medium-sized compared to their bodies which are smaller than their heads and their tails consist of three tail feathers. In terms of markings they have pink cheeks, a dark blue patch across their eyes, and white bellies. However, this is not a uniform look for all Flickies as certain individuals can have their own unique plumage colors and hair styles, and even lack facial markings.

Flicky Island hosts four unique breeds of Flickies from another dimension which each has distinct shapes, colorations and hairstyles. These include:
 * Dark blue ones with orange cheek markings and bellies, and brown eyes. They also have a tassel in their hair above their foreheads.
 * Green, bulky ones with a big bun in the middle of their heads, orange bellies and green eyes.
 * Pink and purple ones with pony tails on both sides of their heads and a strain of hair on their foreheads. They also have heart-shaped orange bellies and green eyes.
 * Red ones with blue eyes, mullets, orange bellies, and three spikes of hair on their heads.

Characteristics
Like actual birds, the Flickies can only speak in a language consisting of chirps and tweets (some Flickies were depicted as capable of speech early in the series though ). Although recognized as animal life, Flickies are remarkably intelligent and sociable, being capable of understanding normal language and establishing their own Animal communities. All Flickies are overall good-hearted, helpful, friendly and playful, but their small stature leaves them rather defenseless on their own. They also have great respect and appreciation for nature, choosing to live in complete harmony with it.

Habitats
Flickies inhabit various natural environments like forests all around Earth and its unusual satellites, such as South Island, West Side Island, Angel Island, Cocoa Island, Little Planet, and the Lost Hex, where they have established their own small villages, more often than not with other Animal species. The special Flickies on Flicky Island however, inhabit an entirely different dimension referred to as the "Flicky dimension" which they only leave through Giant Rings to gather food from Flicky Island.

Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)
The Flickies first appeared in the original 16-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog. In this game, the Flickies were some of Sonic's animal friends on South Island whom he went to rescue after Dr. Robotnik captured them and used them to power his Badniks - all as a part of a plot to collect the Chaos Emeralds. They can be found in Green Hill Zone and Star Light Zone where they pop out of destroyed Badniks or opened Capsules. They also appear in the ending cinematic where they celebrate Sonic's victory in the Green Hill Zone.

Flickies also appear in the 8-bit version of the game with same name. Here, they only appear from the opened Capsule at the end of Green Hill Zone Act 3.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2
In the 16-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the Flickies repeated their role from the first title. In this game, they and the other Animals from West Side Island were captured by Dr. Robotnik and used to power Badnik workers which Robotnik needed to finish the Death Egg. The Flickies can be found in Emerald Hill Zone, Aquatic Ruin Zone and Casino Night Zone where they pop out of destroyed Badniks or opened Capsules. While playing as Super Sonic, Flickies turn yellowish due to pallet issues. When clearing the game as Sonic without getting all the Chaos Emeralds, a Flicky herd will fly behind the Tornado during the ending cinematic. Also, if playing Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the Flickies in Aquatic Ruin Zone and Casino Night Zone will be red instead of the usual blue.

Flickies also appear in the 8-bit version of the game with same name. Here, they only appear from opened Capsules at the end of the third Acts in Under Ground Zone, Sky High Zone and Gimmick Mountain Zone.

Sonic the Hedgehog CD
In Sonic the Hedgehog CD, Flickies are shown to inhabit Little Planet. In this game, Flickies will appear and happily prance around in the Zones of Palmtree Panic, Collision Chaos, Stardust Speedway and Metallic Madness alongside other Animals after certain conditions are met. The players can either ensure a good future for these Rounds by collecting their Time Stone or destroying the robot teleporters hosted there to make the Flickies appear in the good futures. The player can also destroy a Zone's Metal Sonic Projector to make the Flickies appear in every timeframe of said Zone.

The Flickies' appearance differs between Rounds. Palmtree Panic has regular blue Flickies, Collision Chaos and Stardust Speedway have light-yellow Flickies, and Metallic Madness has light grey Flickies. Several regular Flickies can also be seen in the background of the D.A. Garden feature.

Sonic Chaos
In Sonic Chaos, a picture of a regular Flicky is randomly displayed on the Goal Plates when passing them. If the Goal Plate shows the Flicky picture, the player will not receive any reward, unlike the other pictures.

Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball
In Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball, Flickies can be found in all four main levels (namely Toxic Caves, Lava Powerhouse, The Machine and Showdown) where they pop out of destroyed Badniks. Exclusive to The Machine, the player can also free Flickies from the animal prisons and the Veg-O-Machine. Also featured in the game is an unnamed red Flicky-like bird.

A Flicky also appear in the first and third Bonus Stages. Here, Flicky is imprisoned in either a purple and gray canisters in the first Bonus Round or a regular Capsule in the third Bonus Round. The player's objective in these Rounds is to break these containers and rescue Flicky along with the other prisoners.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles
In Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and its add-on continuation Sonic & Knuckles, the Flickies reprised their roles from the earlier main titles. In this game, the Flickies and the other Animals on Angel Island were turned into Badniks by Dr. Robotnik for the purpose of forming a workforce that Robotnik could use to relaunch the Death Egg. The Flickies can be found in Angel Island Zone, Marble Garden Zone, Carnival Night Zone and Launch Base Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and in Flying Battery Zone and Lava Reef Zone in Sonic & Knuckles, where they pop out of destroyed Badniks or opened Capsules. Curiously, the Flickies in Launch Base Zone are red instead of the usual blue when playing as Knuckles.

While playing as Super Tails, four "Super Flickies" will surround him and attack enemies for him for as long as the transformation holds.

Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble
In Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble, a picture of a regular Flicky is randomly displayed on the Goal Plates when passing them. Much like in Sonic Chaos, if the Goal Plate shows the Flicky picture, the player will not receive any reward, unlike the other pictures.

Sonic the Hedgehog's Gameworld
In Sonic the Hedgehog's Gameworld, Flicky appeared alongside Sonic, Tails, Amy and other Animals. A Flicky can be seen in the background of Gameworld testing its equipment. They also appear in minigames such as the Egg Switch (being inside of eggs which player has to keep track of), U.F.O. Catcher (as a toy), and the Concentration Game (as slot machine icons).

Tails Adventure
In Tails Adventure, Flickies appeared in the game. These Flickies are blue and apparently reside in the Poloy Forest on Cocoa Island. In the game's opening sequence, a few Flicky birds were shown hanging out in their forest while Tails slept. During the subsequent storyline, a particular Flicky told Tails about the Battle Kukku Empire and its dictator leader when they arrived on Cococa Island to find the Chaos Emeralds.

During the end credits, a Flicky is seen looking at Tails while he works on Remote Robot which ends up exploding, leaving Tails and the Flicky confused.

Sonic 3D Blast
In Sonic 3D Blast, a mysterious and more varied breed of Flickies found around Flicky Island is introduced. These elusive Flickies are said to be the key to finding the Chaos Emeralds. They also live in an alternate dimension referred to as the "Flicky dimension", which is accessible through Dimension Rings. The Flickies use these rings to travel between their home dimension and Flicky Island to gather food. Learning of these creatures, Dr. Robotnik set up his Dimension Ring Generator which transformed the Flickies into Badniks as they appeared so they could search for the Chaos Emeralds for him. When Sonic arrived on the island, the native Flickies teamed up with him to stop Robotnik.

Sonic 3D Blast introduced four distinguished breeds of Flicky with different colors and designs: the normally-looking blue ones, the female pink ones, the slick-looking red ones, and the chubby green ones. In the Volcano Valley Zone in the Sega Mega Drive version, the pink Flickies are replaced with bright orange, flaming Flickies, presumably due to color palette limitations.

In gameplay, the goal in each Zone is to locate all five Flickies in an area and deposit them in a Giant Ring. Flickies can be released by destroying Badniks or pods, though they will wander around until Sonic touches them. They will then follow Sonic like ducklings, allowing the player to bring them to a Giant Ring. Each individual Flicky is worth 100 points at the exit, but the bonus doubles for each bird rescued in one sweep: 100, 200, 400, 800, or 1,600 for all five at once. A Flicky Bonus is awarded at the end-of-Act score tally, which is based on how many Flickies are freed in succession.

Liberated Flickies trail behind Sonic in a straight row: if the line touches an enemy or obstacle, the inflicted Flicky breaks away (along with any Flicky behind it) and fly around aimlessly until the player recollects them. If Sonic himself takes damage, all the collected Flickies disperse. Color determines how the Flickies behave when flying loose:
 * Blue Flickies make a conscious effort to find Sonic, so stand still to let them catch up. If they cannot find him, they fly around in a tight circle, making them easy to locate.
 * Pink Flickies fly in large, irregular circular patterns, but still home in on Sonic.
 * Red Flickies constantly move between two close points, not making any effort to find Sonic. Their movement range is small, but they jump very high, making them difficult to tag.
 * Green Flickies make no effort to follow Sonic and wander aimlessly around.

If the player collects all seven Chaos Emeralds, the Flickies will take Sonic to the Final Fight after the player beats the Panic Puppet Zone boss. After defeating Robotnik, the Flickies will guide Sonic back to Flicky Island where they thank him for all his help.

Sonic the Hedgehog The Screen Saver
In Sonic the Hedgehog The Screen Saver, the Flickies make several small cameos in several of the game's artwork images as one of Sonic's friends.

Sonic Jam
In Sonic Jam, Flickies in various colors (blue, red, orange, purple and green) fly around the Game's bonus feature called Sonic World. The game's Character House also features conceptual sketches of Flicky and the other Animals.

Sonic R
In Sonic R, the Flickies that appeared in Sonic 3D Blast made a cameo appearance. In this game, flocks of these Flickies can be seen around the start line and finish line on the Resort Island track.

Sonic Adventure
In Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut, Dr. Eggman kidnapped a flock of birds similar to Flickies and used them as batteries for his first E-100 Series models. However, one managed to get away and literally fell into Amy Rose after his escape, apparently hurt. Immediately after, ZERO began pursuing Amy and the Flicky, whom Amy named "birdie," nonstop. Though Amy vowed to protect him, Eggman got a hold of birdie again and took the Chaos Emerald he had in the locket he was carrying around before Amy got him back.

Seeing a picture depicting two other birds in birdie's locket, Amy assumed they were birdie's family. Figuring that Dr. Eggman had captured them, Amy helped birdie look for his family. These birds turned out to be inside the robots E-101 Beta and E-102 Gamma. In the end, the robots were destroyed, and birdie was reunited with his family.

Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure
In Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure, the Flickies reprised their role from the first main titles where they were captured by Dr. Eggman and used to power his Badniks. In this game, they have either purple, red or light yellow plumages.

Flickies can be found in every Zone in the game (except Last Utopia Zone and Chaotic Space Zone) where they pop out of destroyed Badniks or opened Capsules. Some Animals, including a Flicky, are also seen in the game's perfect ending that appears after clearing Chaotic Space Zone, where they cheer over Sonic's victory over Eggman.

Sonic Advance
In Sonic Advance, after clearing the Moon Zone, a Flicky appeared alongside Tails, Knuckles, Amy and other Animals as they awaited Sonic's return from the moon.

Sonic Advance 2
In Sonic Advance 2, Flickies appeared after the final boss is defeated. In the following cutscene, a few Flickies broke free from a Capsule containing Vanilla and witnessed Sonic recuing her as she fell from the sky.

Sonic Advance 3
In Sonic Advance 3, Flickies appear in both the normal and true ending of the game, flying around at Altar Emerald after the Master Emerald restored the earth to its normal state.

Sonic Pinball Party
In Sonic Pinball Party, Flicky briefly appears. In the game, Dr. Eggman set up a pinball contest against Sonic at Casinopolis where he threatened to turn all the Animals he held captive (including a Flicky too) into robots if Sonic lost. A Flicky can also be seen at the bottom of several Sonic-themed boards, watching the player's actions alongside other Animals and Chao.

Sonic Rush
In Sonic Rush, Flickies make a cameo appearance in the background of Leaf Storm, having made nest around the Zone. They also pop up on the screen along with Pockies and Rickies every time the player manages to pull off advanced Trick Actions. They also appear alongside the main characters in the ending of Sonic's story, where they celebrate Sonic's victory.

Mario & Sonic series
In the Mario &amp; Sonic series, the typical Flickies appear in every title in the series where they are seen amongst the audience of every event along with other characters from both the Sonic and Mario franchises, cheering on the competitors.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4
In Sonic the Hedgehog 4, the Flickies reappeared in all three episodes of the series where they reprised their roles from the first main titles. In Episode I, Dr. Eggman specifically needed the Flickies and other Animals to produce a new wave of Badniks capable of defeating Sonic. The Flickies can be found in Splash Hill Zone and Lost Labyrinth Zone in Episode I and in Sylvania Castle Zone and Sky Fortress Zone in Episode II, where they pop out of destroyed Badniks or opened Capsules.

At the end of Episode Metal, the Flickies see Sonic and Tails off with the other Animals as the duo leaves in the Tornado, but are then scared off by Metal Sonic when the robot expressed its fury over losing Sonic.

Sonic Generations
In the console/PC version of Sonic Generations, Flickies appeared alongside other Animals in the Challenge Acts Rescue the Animals! and Rescue the Animals 2!. In these Acts, the player must free a set number of Animals (Flickies included) from Capsules before reaching the Goal Plate. A statue of the Animals, including the Flicky, can also be unlocked in the Statue Room.

Sonic Jump (2012)
In the 2012 remake of Sonic Jump, Flicky appeared along with Pocky, Cucky and Picky. In the intro of game, Dr. Eggman kidnaps them and traps them in the prison unit of his Egg Mobile and flies away with them to the sky while Sonic and co. decide to follow him and save the Animals.

In gameplay, the player will encounter a cage with some Flickies after reaching the end of each Boss Act. Touching these cages will set the Flickies inside free.

Sonic Lost World
In Sonic Lost World, the Flickies and other Animals are shown to inhabit the Lost Hex. During the events of the game, Dr. Eggman, with the assistance of the Deadly Six, resumed kidnapping Animals, the Flickies being among them, to create a new Badnik army. A single Flicky and a few other Animals who managed to escape capture, remained afterward with Knuckles and Amy while Sonic and Tails went out to save their friends, during which they had fun at the expense of Knuckles.

The Flickies and the other Animals serve as collectible content used to progress with the game. Once the player has collected a set amount of Animals, they gain access to the fourth Zone in each World. They player can collect Flickies by defeating Badniks, opening smaller Capsules in the Zones, and opening the larger Capsules at the end of most Zones. Flickies and other Animals can also be collected from Circus tents. The Flickies can be found in the following places (depending on the version of the game):

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, a Flicky appears alongside other Animals as a part of one of the collectable trophies representing the Sonic the Hedgehog series:

Excluding the trophy, the Flicky also occasionally makes a cameo appearance in the background of the Windy Hill Zone.

Sonic Runners
In Sonic Runners, the Flickies played supporting roles to the main cast in the storyline. In this game, most individual Flickies are referred to as "Flicky". Unlike the other Animals though, they do not appear in the stages. Over the course of the game, Team Sonic comes across the Flickies several times, whom they usually save from Dr. Eggman and/or his lackeys. Occasionally, the Flickies will also ask the team for help solving different problems, whether it be either Eggman-related trouble or more personal issues. Sometimes though, the Flickies will help Team Sonic as well, usually by providing information or handling smaller tasks.

Sonic Runners Adventure
In Sonic Runners Adventure, the Flickies reprised their roles as power sources for Dr. Eggman's Badniks. During the game's storyline, Sonic and Tails came across some Flickies who could provide them with some useful intel.

In gameplay, Flickies will pop out of destroyed Badniks in any stage and then bounce out of the player's sight.

Sonic Mania
In Sonic Mania, the Flickies reprised their roles from the Sonic games on the Sega Genesis by being organic power sources for Dr. Eggman's Badniks again. The Flickies can be found in Green Hill Zone, Chemical Plant Zone, Flying Battery Zone, Press Garden Zone, Stardust Speedway Zone and Lava Reef Zone, where they pop out of destroyed Badniks or opened Capsules.

A Flicky also appears as a part of the hologram made by the Metal Sonic Projector at the end of Stardust Speedway Zone Act 2. When that projector is destroyed, several real Flickies will appear until they are chased off by Metal Sonic. Also, during the ending of the "& Knuckles" mode in Sonic Mania, a Flicky can be seen listening to Knuckles' retelling of the game's events.

Sonic Forces
In Sonic Forces, Flickies can be found inside Capsules in blue SOS Mission at random. The objective of these missions is to rescue the Flickies and the other prisoners in the Capsule using either Sonic, Classic Sonic, the Avatar or Shadow. After the Flickies and the other prisoners have been freed from their Capsule, the player has to complete their stage to complete the SOS Mission.

Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic
Flicky along with other animal friends, appears in Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic manga. He appears in few panels in first two stories. In Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic Volume 3' story Sonic Rampage!! he, Pecky and Rocky gets kidnapped by doctor Eggman who uses them as baits to get rid of Sonic. During the moment of truth, Eggman threatened to torture them to death if Sonic would not give up. Despite that, Sonic manages to free Filcky and others from device of Egg Mobile with the speed of sound and after that he finished Eggman.

Sonic the Comic
In the Sonic the Comic series published by Fleetway Editions, the Flickies are a non-anthropomorphic songbird race native to planet Drak. Using the Drakon Empire's Mobius Rings, the Flickies would migrate to Flickies' Island for a few weeks every year. Discovering the Flickies' potential as organic batteries, Dr. Robotnik began capturing them to power a new breed of more powerful Badniks. The Freedom Fighters would combat these Badniks and free the Flickies until Robotnik ceased his operations.

Archie Comics
In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, the Flickies are a kind of colorful Mobini bird race native to Mobius, and later Sonic's World. Originally, the Flickies lived almost exclusively on the atoll called Flicky Island or the other-dimensional Flicky Zone. When Dr. Ivo Robotnik came to their island, the Flickies were roboticized, turning them into Robotnik's slaves, and began looking for the local Chaos Emerald. With the Knothole Freedom Fighters' aid though, the Flickies were freed and fled into the sanctuary of the Flicky Zone, though they would later resurface.

Following the reboot caused by the Super Genesis Wave, the Flickies remain an integral part of the wildlife on Sonic's World, but are also constantly hunted by the Eggman Empire to function as power sources for the Badnik Horde.

Sonic X
In the Sonic X franchise, the Flickies are a non-anthropomorphic bird species native to Sonic's world. As a result of multiple Chaos Controls, several Flickies got transported to Earth. The bird family from Sonic Adventure also appeared. They were captured by Dr. Eggman to power his robots during the Chaos story arc. A bird who Amy befriended and named Lily escaped Eggman, and with the aid of Gamma, the birds were reunited.

Eventually, all the Flickies were returned to their home world.

Others
Flicky also appeared in a Sonic the Hedgehog series of novels made in 1992/3.

Early Sonic canon
Early on in the series, when all the Animals were renamed by Sega of America for the western media and market in the Sonic Bible, Flicky was defined as a female and was renamed Flicky the Duck in the bible's first draft. It was later changed to Flicky the Bluebird in the bible's second draft. According to the bibles, Flicky comes from a large family like the other animals (which was intended to explain the appearance of multiple identical Flickies in the games) and helped raise an orphaned Sonic. Flicky in particular influenced Sonic with her happy and fearless approach to life. Flickly would later come to make a number of appearances in early Sonic media.

Trivia

 * At one point, DiC were considering using a character based Flicky, though it was red and male, in early animated cartoon production. This concept was scrapped and the character was never taken beyond his one promotional image, though he does bear a striking resemblance to the red Flicky in Sonic 3D Blast.
 * In Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles, Flickies freed from a badnik or animal capsule will appear the same color as the player (red as Knuckles, yellow as Super Sonic, etc.) They will flash pink and red for Super/Hyper Knuckles, and will be multicolored for Hyper Sonic, with the only exception being Tails in regular form, in which they will turn out blue.
 * The red Flicky is the only one of the four variations to not ever appear in Sonic X anime.
 * Flicky was originally going to be playable character in Sonic Drift, but was later replaced by Amy Rose.
 * The Flickies' cameo in Sonic R may be due to the game being developed by Traveller's Tales, who also developed Sonic 3D Blast.
 * The Flickies are the only Animals with a Super State.
 * The original Flicky arcade game promotional flyer appears in the Dreamcast game Shenmue on the walls of You Arcade.
 * When Treasure released Gunstar Super Heroes on the Game Boy Advance in 2005, they paid tribute to Flicky in Pink's stage, where you run through a rotating jungle section rescuing little yellow chicks and guiding them to the exit door of the stage.