Animals

Animals, also referred to simply as Friends, Animal Friends or Critters, are group of creatures in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. They are small, non-anthropomorphic, yet intelligent animals that come in a variety of different species, and are the friends of Sonic the Hedgehog. Residing in their own wildlife communities in many places around the world, they make up a proportion of the indigenous fauna on Sonic's world and are often the target of Dr. Eggman who seeks to use them as power sources for his Badniks.

In Sonic the Hedgehog games, Animals are generally found inside Badniks or Capsules to be freed after defeating enemies or opening Capsules. While later games from Sonic Adventure onwards feature a wider variety of small Animals, the original cast of Animals have since returned in more recent games.

Concept and creation
Animals are presumably created by Naoto Ohshima, the character designer of the first Sonic the Hedgehog game. However Flicky is the exception, who starred in her own eponymous arcade game released in 1984, and was designed by Yoshiki Kawasaki. From the first Sonic game onward, Flicky became a recurring minor character in the series and Naoto Ohshima redesigned her to fit in with the other animals. In many games, advertisements, and instruction manuals have revealed the names of the rest of the animals to be Ricky (squirrel), Pocky (rabbit), Rocky (seal), Pecky (penguin), Cucky (chicken) and Picky (pig).

When the first Sonic the Hedgehog game was localized to western markets, Sega of America renamed almost all of the animals and give them different backstories, which are explained in the Sonic Bible documents, and the guidebook Stay Sonic. The animals were renamed Sally Acorn (squirrel), Johnny Lightfoot (rabbit), Joe Sushi (seal), Tux (penguin), Chirps (chicken) and Porker Lewis (pig). Certain drafts of the Sonic Bible explained that Sonic's Animal friends all have large families, and that it is the family members who must be rescued throughout the levels of the game. These alterations have become part of early Sonic canon, and many of the Animals have been influences for certain characters in various Sonic the Hedgehog media, including characters like Sally Acorn, Rotor Walrus, and Bunnie Rabbot from the Sonic the Hedgehog animated series and Archie comic, and also served as the basis for Porker Lewis and Johnny Lightfoot from Sonic the Comic.

Overview
Animals have been minor characters since their debut in Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) and have made appearances in 16-bit/8-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog CD (either being harassed by Metal Sonic Projectors or running free in the Good Future of each Round), Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles, Sonic Pocket Adventure, and each episode of Sonic the Hedgehog 4. Each game's storyline features Dr. Eggman capturing Animals to use them as energy sources for his Badniks. This is further demonstrated in Sonic Lost World, where mass production of Badniks involves animals being taken from Capsules and inserting them inside of the robots. Usually, each Zone has two types of animal species held captive, either within Badniks or capsules. By destroying the Badniks or opening the Capsules, the animals are set free.

Animals from Sonic Adventure onwards look slightly different. The player can collect them after destroying one of E-Series robots created by Dr. Eggman and bring them to the Chao Garden, where they can be used to enhance specific skills for Chao. In Sonic Adventure 2, they can be collected again by destroying one of the E-Series robots, but also from pipes and cages. In the Sonic Advance and Sonic Rush series, the Animals replicate their simple role from earlier games and cannot be collected. In these games, the original set of Animals are only seen briefly alongside newer Animals such as in Sonic Pinball Party. Since Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I, the original set of animals have appeared more frequently.

Through the series, Animals have been inhabits of locations like South Island, West Side Island, Angel Island, the Lost Hex, and many other places on Sonic's world. They are also seen as part of the audience in the Mario & Sonic games. The Console/PC version of Sonic Generations also features Animals in "Rescue the Animals!" Challenge Acts, and has a statue of them in the hidden Statue Room. In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, the animals appear in the background of Windy Hill and have their own collectible trophy:

In Sonic Jump and Sonic Runners, the player can earn more points by collecting Animals. In Wii U version of Sonic Lost World, the player has to collect a certain amount of animals in order to progress to the fourth Zone of each World. To do so, the player can collect animals from regular Zones or release them from balloons in Circus Tents.

In Sonic Mania, the seven original Animals from the original Sonic the Hedgehog returned, alongside the additional five Animals introduced in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Similar to the Sega Genesis titles, only two Animals appear in most Zones; the exception to this is Stardust Speedway Zone, which features different pairings of Animals between Act 1 and 2. Several kinds of Animals also appear at once when the Metal Sonic Projector is destroyed in Stardust Speedway Zone Act 2.

In Sonic Forces, the seven original animals can be found in Blue SOS Missions and can be rescued by either Sonic, Classic Sonic, the Avatar or Shadow. A Rental Avatar can be found inside the Capsules, too.

Sonic the Comic
Many of the early Animals have made appearances in the British publication, Sonic the Comic. The most notable ones are Porker Lewis and Johnny Lightfoot, who are valued members of the Freedom Fighters.

Sonic the Hedgehog (TV series) / Archie Comics
The Knothole Freedom Fighters are based on the original animals from the first Sonic game. The most obvious is Princess Sally Acorn, who shares her name with the corresponding animal friend. Rotor the Walrus is based on Joe Sushi, while Bunnie Rabbot is based on Johnny Lightfoot.

Flickies have made a few appearances in the Archie Comics, most notably in the Sonic Blast 48 page special. Powerful, yellow Flickies were also seen helping Hyper Tails in Sonic the Hedgehog #66 (similar to the Flickies that help Super Tails in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles), and another Flicky appears as a travel companion for Amy in the Sonic Adventure storyline. Other animals (referred to as "mobini") have appeared in the Sonic Lost World tie in, as well as the Genesis story arc.

Sonic X
Three Flickies, Picky, and Rocky are shown on the news in "Defective Detectives" after they are teleported to Earth through Chaos Control. In "Mean Machines", Chirps, Tux and Ricky all appear in a local park. In "Running Out of Time", when Sonic's friends return to their dimension; Pocky, Tux, Ricky and two Flickies are seen being transported back.

In the Sonic X comics, many of the original animals make cameos on the cover and in the story of issue 11.

Trivia

 * The trophy of animals in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U contains erroneous information. The trophy uses uncommon name Fauna of Windy Hill Zone (renamed Animals of Windy Hill Zone in PAL regions), that is never used in any games and the description does not mention animals being inhabited other places around the Sonic's world. The first appearance of the trophy is also incorrectly said to be Sonic Lost World, while animals have first appeared way before the previously mentioned game.
 * If the player hits a Caterkiller on any part of its body other than its head, an animal friend will not be freed.
 * In the good ending for Sonic and Tails in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles, dolphins are seen jumping from the sea. Sonic is also seen riding with similar, cartoon-looking dolphin in artwork of a rectangle cake box that was part of early Japanese SegaSonic merchandise. More realistic looking dolphins can also be found in later games such as in Emerald Coast in Sonic Adventure, its reincarnation in Sonic Generations for Nintendo 3DS and Pirates' Island in Sonic Rush Adventure.
 * Similarly, cartoon-looking seagulls are seen flying in good ending of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles, that are later seen again, albeit more realistic, in Emerald Coast in Sonic Adventure and its reincarnation in Sonic Generations for Nintendo 3DS.
 * In many artwork pictures of Sonic the Hedgehog The Screen Saver, many cartoon-looking animals are seen alongside Animals, such as snails, snakes, crabs and birds.