Homing Attack

The Homing Attack (ホーミングアタック) is one of Sonic's trademark attacks. First appearing in Sonic Adventure, it quickly became one of Sonic's most frequently used moves in the video game series.

Usage
The Homing Attack was first used in Sonic Adventure, as its name implies, the Homing Attack allows the user to home directly into a nearby enemy with a target-seeking midair spin attack, the attack's force from bouncing off targets can be chained to attack several enemies and to reach higher areas. Games such as the "Storybook series" and Sonic Generations allow upgrades to be bought to increase the max distance you can homing attack/chain attack. The attack was first performed by Sonic and has since become a staple in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, with all manner of characters being able to perform the attack, such as Tails, Amy and, most notably, Shadow.

Also, should the target start moving "too fast" as the homing attack is executed, it can still catch up with no problem, as in Shadow the Hedgehog, if one player in vs. mode uses a Spin Dash away from another's homing attack, it shows that they cannot escape it, unless they block it with another spinning motion type move that is. But in some games like Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Generations, if the target is moving at the same rate as Sonic, like a boss, Sonic will give up after about 4 seconds and cancel the move. Some games increase the speed, and the "bounce off" motions varied from game to game. The move in several of its appearances can also not only target foes, but also can target capsules, springs, and rails (in the case of Sonic 06).

Sonic Heroes
In Sonic Heroes, whenever you collected a blue Power Core, the homing attack's power would increase. The levels of power are as follows: Strangely, the Power Cores don't affect the regular Spin Jump (jumping on an enemy without using a homing attack). Doing so will always cause one hit point of damage.
 * Level 0: The attack causes one hit point of damage to the targeted enemy.
 * Level 1: The attack causes two hit points of damage to the targeted enemy.
 * Level 2: The attack causes three hit points of damage to the targeted enemy.
 * Level 3: The attack causes three hit points of damage to the targeted enemy. The attack also has the same effects a Tornado Attack, causing enemies to lose their shields or be flipped over as well as allowing the character to traverse up poles and activate propellers.

Other/Similar moves
Blast Attack - a move that appeared in Sonic 3D, the Blast Attack can only be used when Sonic has a Gold Shield. Much like the the Homing Attack, the move causes Sonic to home straight into a nearby enemy and the player has to press the jump button twice to perform, however, the Blast Attack cannot chain attacks. Sonic can not jump dash with this move when there are no enemies nearby and instead goes straight down to the ground. This is often considered to be the predecessor to the Homing Attack.

Jump Dash - the Jump Dash is a quick dash performed in the air, the move is performed whenever a player uses the Homing Attack when there are no enemies in the vicinity. The Jump Dash is also used by every playable support character in Shadow the Hedgehog (with the exception of Sonic) instead of the Homing Attack. The move lets the player move forward a bit and also helps with platforming, but it also takes the player out of a spin, so if the player collides with an enemy, he/she will take damage.

Light Speed Attack - a cross between the Homing Attack and the Light Speed Dash, this move attacks all nearby enemies with series of Homing Attacks at light speed.

Maximum Heat Knuckles Attack - a move very similar to the Light Speed Attack used by Knuckles the Echidna, Knuckles homes into all nearby enemies.

Homing Smash - the Homing Smash is an upgrade that can be obtained by buying the White Gem at a shop in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) before Aquatic Base. It enables Sonic to hang in mid-air before dashing at his opponent with increased range and power.

Fire Claw - a move used by Blaze the Cat in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Blaze spins around horizontally while sticking one arm and one hand out in front of her and homes in on the nearest enemy. Like the Homing Attack, the move can be chained, but unlike the Homing Attack, jumping first before execution of the move is not required; instead, the move can be performed by simply pressing the action button.

Other Media
The Homing Attack appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a special move for Sonic. Unlike in the main Sonic games, it can be used infinitely, so it is great for getting back onto the stage after being launched.

Trivia

 * In some games, as long as the Homing Attack hits anything damageable, the character will bounce off. Thus in some cases, it is possible for the Homing Attack to be blocked by other targets that cannot be locked on, such as breakable walls in the Shadow the Hedgehog game. Though this happens rarely.
 * Sonic in Shadow the Hedgehog is the only partner of Shadow's who can perform this move, this is because Sonic needed a working Homing Attack for the Boss Battle against Diablon and Sonic.
 * Sonic also seems to break the logic in that he can aim a Homing Attack at targets a higher elevation from him and even right above him, despite in most games needing to be a bit high above targets first.
 * This also occurred in Sonic Heroes, while in Speed Formation. The speed character's homing attack would not be able to reach robots that were higher than them but the Partner characters like Tails and Knuckles would attack the robots no matter how high up they were. This could be used to an advantage to destroy robots to high to reach by normal means.