Tails Adventure

Tails Adventure, also known as Tails Adventures (テイルスアドベンチャー) in Japan, is a action-adventure video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series released for Sega Game Gear handheld console in 1995. Like many Game Gear titles, the game is developed by Aspect and is the third spin-off game to star Miles "Tails" Prower as the main character without Sonic.

Depending on the Japanese and Western versions of the game, the game is either a prequel or following continuation to Sonic the Hedgehog games for Sega Genesis. Tails Adventure mixes with platforming and role-playing game elements, as Tails is using different items and abilities as well piloting his own creations Remote Robot and Sea Fox around different locations of the Cocoa Island. Like many Sonic-themed games for Game Gear, the game has been was ported in numerous compilation titles or as unlockable game, as well re-released as standalone game on the Nintendo 3DS in 2013.

Plot
Familiar to many Sonic-themed Game Gear games, Tails Adventure's storyline differs slightly depending on the region. The japanese storyline states the game being a prequel to Sonic the Hedgehog 2, taking place before the events of the first meeting with Sonic and Tails. The western regions however, narrate simply Sonic and Tails taking a break from their previous adventure with Tails traveling into his favorite holiday spot called "Tails Island".

Cocoa Island is the tiny, beautiful island resting atop coral reefs, where Chaos Emeralds are known hidden since ancient times. It is also the place, where Miles "Tails" Prower lives in own research lab located on the south side of the island.

One day, Tails was seen enjoying an afternoon nap under the shade of the green forest near close to his research house until the sudden sound of an explosion echoed through the forest. Tails wakes up of half-sleep and finds out the forest in flames, while Flicky is shouting about the arrival of the Battle Kukku Empire. The leader of the imperialistic empire, Great Battle Kukku XV is looking for Chaos Emeralds to conquer the world and has sent battalion of his troops around the island.

Suddenly, Tails sees silhouette of a giant mecha appearing from flames. With all his courage, Tails stands up against this threat and starts his first adventure.

Gameplay
Tails Adventure is a 2D side-scrolling action game based around puzzle-solving exploration. The game branches off from the traditional high speed gameplay and it is set around item collecting and backtracking in Stages. Tails is slower playable character in this game; he can walk around at medium speed and jump to short distance. Height of the jump is proportional to how long the player can hold the Jump button down. He can look up to make screen pan upwards to see overhead surroundings and crouch for avoiding enemy attacks as well make the screen pan downwards to see the stage from below. Tails can push rocks and Springs slowly forward and he can walk up on low walls by garbing and pulling himself up from the ledge. As standing on the ledge, the player can make him climb back by pressing down on D-pad.

Tails can perform his trademark Heli-Tails after jumping or looking up and then press the flying button. The flying ability is limited to the Flight Gauge on the left side of the screen. When the gauge runs empty, Tails gets exhausted and falls down to the ground with the Flight Gauge filling full automatically afterwards. The player can move Tails in the air while flying by moving the D-pad as well drop Bombs (if equipped) from the mid-air. By pressing action button makes Tails use his equipped item that he is shown on the HUD. The item can be changed by pausing the game and press left and right to choose another equipped item of the four.

On the upper left corner, the HUD consists the health meter, equipped item, that the player is using and Flight Gauge when the player starts performing Heli-Tails. Right from the start, the player begins the game with a 10 point health meter, about 3 seconds on the Flight Gauge and the only equitable item being Regular Bombs. Getting hit by enemies or hazards damages the player and decreases the health meter, as collecting Rings replenishes the health meter. If the life Ring gauge hits zero after taking many damages, Tails gets beaten down and the player receives the Game Over, as progressing back to the title screen to start the game over again. For extending the limitation of both health and Flight Gauges, the player has to collect Chaos Emeralds.

Items

 * Rings: Small Rings pop out randomly after breaking stone barriers and defeated enemies. Picking one increases the health meter and occacional times, they are found lying around in certain, hidden sections of the Stage.
 * Chaos Emeralds: Six different colored Chaos Emeralds are found hidden throught the game: red, green, purple, white, blue, and yellow. Each emerald functions as level-up item, as extending Tails' health meter by 10 points and his flight gauge by a few seconds. Getting five emeralds prior getting the sixth, increases the health meter up to its maximum of 99. Chaos Emeralds can't be equipped, as they are always active.

Equitable items
Tails Adventure features 26 items to collect, with each serving for different purposes. Each item is found in regular Stages and picking it up saves the item to be equipped later in the Tails House (see the section). Most of items are necessary to need in order to presume in the game, while several items are only around for small specific moments.

Remote Robot
In Tails Adventure, one of central game mechanics to clear the game is the Remote Robot (called as Mecha Tails in Japan), small robotic fox created by Tails. The Remote Robot is capable for squeezing into narrow tunnels or exclusive sections in the stage, where Tails can't. The Remote Robot can collect items, activate switches or do other tasks in these sections.

The player activates the Remote Robot by pressing like other items. As Tails activates it, he himself becomes invulnerable for enemies and attacks while piloting the Remote Robot. The player can deactivate it and call it back by pressing again to control Tails again. The player can move the Remote Robot by left and right, as well do low jumps by pressing. Like Tails, it can push small rocks and fly around by moving up on and tap. Unlike Tails, the Remote Robot does not have Flight Gauge to restrict the flying.

Despite Tails' invulnerability while piloting it, the Remote Robot does not have any offensive abilities and can take damage once touching the robotic enemy or stage hazard. As this happens, the Remote Robot is deactivated and got bring back instantly.

Sea Fox
Another game mechanic in Tails Adventure is Sea Fox, the submarine vehicle previously seen in Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble. The Sea Fox is in fact, the transformation that the Remote Robot goes, when the player chooses to enter the underwater or flighting Stage. The player can control the Sea Fox in all eight directions by using the, pressing uses the equipped weapon, and  reverses the ship's orientation. The Sea Fox uses the same health meter system as Tails.

When the player takes control the Sea Fox for the first time, the player has already Vulcan Gun equiped to the submarine. Alogside Vulcan Gun, there are eight different, collectiable items to pick up and equip on the Sea Fox in separated Dock room of the Tails House.

Characters

 * Miles "Tails" Prower (playable character)
 * Flicky
 * Battle Kukku Empire
 * Great Battle Kukku
 * Battle Kukku XVI (Speedy)
 * Doctor Fukurokov

Bosses

 * Kukku Walker
 * Battle Kukku XVI (Polly Mountain 1)
 * Mecha Golem 5-gou (Cavern Island)
 * Kukku Cruiser
 * Mecha Golem (Volcanic Tunnel)
 * Doctor Fukurokov
 * Battle Kukku XVI (Battle Fortress)
 * Great Battle Kukku

Stages

 * Poloy Forest
 * Volcanic Tunnel
 * Polly Mountain 1
 * Lake Rocky
 * Cavern Island
 * Green Island
 * Lake Crystal
 * Polly Mountain 2
 * Caron Forest
 * Battle Fortress

Comic adaptation
In June 2010, the Archie Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog comics spin-off series, Sonic Universe started four issue long adaption based on the video game, that goes under the title "The Tails Adventure". The comic's storyline involves Tails taking Antoine D'Coolette and Bunnie D'Coolette to their first honeymoon to the Cocoa Island after their wedding.

The story arc. follows loosely the video game while featuring different locations of the Cocoa Island. The storyline also marked the first physical appearance of the Battle Bird Armada, who have only been mentioned briefly by certain characters in comic series.

Cheat codes

 * Final password: by inserting the following password: ADE6-AA2A-51A6-6D13, the player unlocks every Stage and all items with all boss battles being defeated with except the final boss, Great Battle Kukku 15th.

Staff

 * Producer: Katsuhiro Hasegawa ("K.Hasegawa")
 * Director: Katsuhiro Hasegawa ("K.Hasegawa")
 * Game Designers: M.Simamura, O.Kodera
 * Artists: Nobuhiko Honda ("N.Honda"), Shinichi Higashi ("S.Higashi")
 * Programmers: Kazuyuki Oikawa ("K.Oikawa"), Hiroyuki Saigusa ("H.Saigusa"), Yoshiaki Makishima ("Y.Makishima")
 * Sound Composer: Kojiro Mikusa ("K.Mixa")
 * Special Thanks to: Tadashi Ihoroi ("T.Ihoroi"), P.Tezuka, Hisayoshi Yoshida ("H.Yoshida"), R.Fujimura, Ryoichi Hasegawa ("R.Hasegawa"), Osamu Nakazato ("O.Nakazato"), T.Kojima
 * Presented by: Sega

Trivia

 * Altough the game is the second to feature Tails as the main character in western territories, Tails Skypatrol predates the Tails Adventure with almost half a year, but wasn't originally released outside the Japan in its original platform. Tails and the Music Maker, the first game to star Tails as a title character, was released September 1994.
 * Included amongst the various items, Tails can use in this game is a Hammer bearing a surprising resemblance to Amy Rose's primary weapon, the Piko Piko Hammer in later games. Notably though, Tails Adventure was released half a year before Sonic the Fighters where the Piko Piko Hammer made its first appearance.
 * The game in western regions is titled "Tails Adventure", but is titled after its japanese title ("Tails Adventures") in the title screen.
 * In the game listing of Sonic Generations, the game is referred to as Tails' Adventure.