Sonic Runners

Sonic Runners (ソニックランナーズ) is a 2015 side-scrolling platform video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, developed by Sonic Team for the Android and iOS mobile platforms. It was first announced by publisher Sega on 28 December 2014.

Plot
The story follows Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles as they follow Dr. Eggman through different areas as he hatches various plans in succession, with the core goal of retrying his mind control cannon from Sonic Colors. Team Sonic usually runs into these situations unintentionally, finding Animals or Wisps in trouble, Orbot or Cubot carrying out orders, or robots walking around where they should not be. Along the way, the team have several side-adventures where they help Animals, Wisps and Chao with issues or just travel new places. Another subplot involves Team Sonic going on the hunt for Master Emerald fragments after Knuckles was forced to shatter the Master Emerald to stop Eggman from stealing it.

The last story arc revolves around Dr. Eggman who has stolen the Chaos Emeralds and drained them of their power to provide the last fuel needed for his mind control cannon. Team Sonic thus set out to reclaim the drained Emeralds before facing Eggman in a final showdown. Amidst this, Sonic reabsorbs the Chaos Emeralds' energy back into the Emeralds as Eggman uses his mind control cannon on him and becomes Super Sonic. Using his newfound power, Sonic destroys the mind control cannon and peace reigns over the world once more, though Eggman managed to escape.

Gameplay
Sonic Runners is a 2D side-scrolling runner with stages that can be played in a minute or two. The player can tap to perform jumps and move the characters. Using Chao, Buddies, items and radio controlled toys, the player's objective is to get the highest score for a level. By doing so, the player can also collect Crystals, which increase the score as long as the player is keeping the combo going.

At the end of a majority of chapters (Unless the plot doesn't involve him like "Ring Hill", or they simply don't run into him, which usually hails an item of some kind instead.), the player also has to engage in boss battles with Dr. Eggman, who has variations on his Egg Mobile. These variations have differing weapons, but commonly involve dodging weapons centered around Spiked balls and jumping into the Yellow Ball contained in others, which will fly back into his machine and damage him.

Progressing the game's episode as Sonic will eventually unlock more playable Sonic series characters, such as Miles "Tails" Prower (unlocked by clearing Chapter 10 and entering Chapter 11) and Knuckles the Echidna (unlocked by clearing Chapter 16 and entering Chapter 17:"Goodbye Greenery"). Additionally, the game will be updated to include more characters as well. Each character has their own different action and their levels can be raised using Rings collected in the stages.

The characters are best used in "Specialist Areas". While the levels are playable as any character, specific character types are more suited to exploring these levels, with more accessible areas using their abilities. The regions themselves carry specific aesthetics (Windy Hill = Speed, Sky Road = Flight, Lava Mountain = Power, etc.). An emblem next to the chapter title on the menu screen notes which type is recommended.

Playable
As of now, the upper nine characters are playable, while the others were found in the game's files, hinting at their future appearance.

Non-Playable

 * Dr. Eggman
 * Orbot
 * Cubot
 * Animal friends
 * Flicky
 * Pocky
 * Pecky
 * Cucky
 * Ricky
 * Picky
 * Rocky
 * Chao
 * Hero Chao
 * Dark Chao
 * Omochao
 * Wisps
 * White Wisp
 * Cyan Wisp
 * Yellow Wisp
 * Indigo Wisp
 * Deadly Six
 * Zavok
 * Zazz
 * Zomom
 * Master Zik
 * Zeena
 * Zor

Enemies
{|

Speed

 * Moto Bug
 * Caterkiller
 * Spinner

Fly

 * Egg Pawn
 * Buzz Bomber
 * Balkiry

Power

 * Crabmeat
 * Snail Blaster
 * Nebula
 * }

Zones
The game has three zones, all of which are from Sonic Lost World. The zones of the game are:

Windy Hill
Windy Hill is the first stage of the game. This level first appears in Episode 1.

Sky Road
Sky Road is the second stage of the game. This stage appears in Episode 11.

Lava Mountain
Lava Mountain is the third stage of the game. It appears in Episode 17.

Birthday on Windy Hill
This stage is exclusive to the Sonic Runners event, "Happy Birthday Sonic!". It can be unlocked by obtaining the five Genesis system.

Buddies
Buddies, formerly called "Companions", are companions which player characters can take along during a level. Some help raise the player's score while others can enhance item effects. Just like the playable characters, the Buddies have a certain attribute, meaning that their effects will be amplified when paired up with the "right" player character. Currently, there are twenty different types of them, but more are expected to be added. Like the playable character, the Companions can be leveled up.

Items
Items will players achieve better performance when equipping them. Up to three Items are available for use at a time.

Levels

 * Episode 1: It's Doctor Eggman, the evil scientist! The evil genius Dr. Eggman is back to sow chaos in Sonic and the Animals' peaceful world.
 * Episode 2: Save the Animals! Sonic and friends drove Dr. Eggman away, but he won't give up, and is kidnapping Animals again!
 * Episode 3: Dr. Eggman's Dirty Tricks Sonic and friends foiled Eggman's plan to turn Animals into robots, but just what WAS he planning?
 * Episode 4: Little Chao Lost Sonic and friends come across a lost chao, and decide to help it get home safely!
 * Episode 5: A Not-So-Heavy-Load Dr. Eggman had ordered Cubot to collect items [to get] ready for his big comeback. But can Cubot deliver...?
 * Episode 6: Evening Patrol Sonic and friends hear some Animals calling out in fright. Better find out what's up...
 * Episode 6: Evening Patrol 2 Sonic and friends are on their way to fetch a translation unit so they can talk to the White Wisp.
 * Episode 7: Earthquake Island Pinky says there have been a lot of earthquakes lately, and asks Sonic and friends to investigate...
 * Episode 8: The Mysterious Light Ricky and his friend get a fright from a mysterious light on the way home. Find out the truth behind it!
 * Episode 9: Disaster Zone The Friends find the remains of a great disaster, and are asked by the local Animals for help...
 * Episode 10: Dr. Eggman's Robot Army Attacks! Eggman's robot army attacked an Animal village! Invade Dr.Eggman's base and save the Animals!
 * Episode 11: Chasing our Tails Having managed to drive Dr.Eggman away, the gang follow Tails as he guides them to an all-new area!
 * Episode 11: Chasing our Tails 2 Tails leads the way as the gang investigate an all-new area - home to one of Dr.Eggman's bases!
 * Episode 12: Picky's Pig-Out Sonic and co. bump into Picky, and the poor pig's real hungry! They'd better find him some food!
 * Episode 13: Little Pocky Lost Pocky's crying because he's lost his mother. It's up to Sonic and co. to reunite them!
 * Episode 14: Ricky's Request Dr.Eggman has built a factory right next to Ricky's home, and it's polluting the water! Do something!
 * Episode 15: Ring Hill Knuckles remembers a rumor about a place called Ring Hill, and the gang decide to go check it out!
 * Episode 16: Dr. Eggman's Secret Experiment Sonic and friends hear a rumor that Dr.Eggman is conducting a secret experiment. Time to investigate!
 * Episode 16: Dr. Eggman's Secret Experiment 2 Sonic and friends have found Dr.Eggman's base. Now it's time to find out what he's up to!
 * Episode 17: Goodbye Greenery Pocky needs help! All the greenery is disappearing from the hills where he lives!
 * Episode 18: Damsel in Distress Rocky's girlfriend has gone missing. Help him to find her!
 * Episode 19: The Animals Fight Back The gang visit the Animals' village, but there are no Animals to be found! Where have they all gone?!
 * Episode 19: The Animals Fight Back 2 Sonic and co. have agreed to help the Animals with their plan - but just what ARE they planning?
 * Episode 20: Sonic the Villain The animals are suddenly scared of Sonic, and won't come near him... What on earth is going on?
 * Episode 20: Sonic the Villain 2 Metal Sonic has been pretending to be the real Sonic and scaring the Animals. After him!
 * Episode 21: Flicky Gets Flustered Flicky can't find his little brother, and comes to ask Sonic for help. Can the gang help him out?
 * Episode 22: Wisps from On High Mysterious creatures are getting the Animals agitated. The gang think they're Wisps, and go looking for proof!
 * Episode 22: Wisps from On High 2 Eggman is taking the Wisps back to his base! Can Sonic catch up with him and free the colorful creatures?

Events
Several events have launched for Sonic Runners, each time announced and advertised by in-game notifications as well as on the game's official website.

Facebook Campaign
One of the unlimited events, offering the player 10 Red Star Rings for each friend that signs up for Sonic Runners after sending him an invitation via Facebook. Additionally, Amy Rose will be unlocked if ten Facebook friends start playing the game.

The Chaotix Detective Agency Premium Roulette
An event which started on March 5, 2015 and added Vector, Espio and Charmy as playable characters for the first time. By hitting the Character Egg on the Premium Roulette or the Special Roulette, players were able to unlock one of these three. It was possible to unlock the same character more than once, which would be compensated with 50 Red Star Rings, 3 Special Eggs and 10000 Rings. The campaign was at first scheduled to end on March 15, 2015, but was later extended due to popular demand, eventually ending on March 22, 2015.

Animal Rescue Event
An event which ran from March 13, 2015 to March 15, 2015. During this time, players were able to gain several rewards by collecting a certain amount of Animals in the stages, among them the Companion RC Monkey, first introduced in the game during this event.

Windy Hill in Spring Event
The Easter event for Sonic Runners, introducing the first Special Stage in the game called "Windy Hill in Spring", available from March 30, 2015 to April 6, 2015. By collecting Easter Eggs in this stage, players are able to climb up the rankings, unlock several prizes and proceed in new Story Events along the way. The event also introduced three new Companions: Merlina, Easter Bunny and Easter Chao. While the former can be unlocked and leveled up by proceeding in the event, the latter two are only available through the Premium Roulette.

Development
Development for Sonic Runners began in 2013 according to Takashi Iizuka. However, In February 2014, a poster hosted at a German toy fair announced a 2015 Sonic game for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Wii U, as well as the Sonic Boom games, a feature film, and Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. This information circulated on the Internet, especially concerning the unannounced Sonic game, but Sega quickly asserted that the information on the supposed new title was false. Later in 2014, however, rumors of a smartphone game titled Sonic Runners began to circulate online; Sega had registered the domain name sonicrunners.com in July of that year. On 28 December 2014, Sonic Runners was eventually announced by Sega during the annual “Sonic Fan Thanksgiving” event at one of their Joypolis amusement parks. At the event, Takashi Iizuka personally revealed that Sonic Team’s next project was “Sonic Runners“ on the mobile. He promised that more information about the game would be revealed sequentially, starting in January 2015, but nothing was released during that month. Its gameplay style was quickly speculated by fan to be an endless runner, like Sonic Dash, which is also a smartphone game.

A small teaser and more details about the game were revealed on 3 February 2015. According to Takashi Iizuka, the game will be a "2D side-scrolling runner with stages that can be played in a minute or two." On 3 February 2015, Tomoya Ohtani announced on Twitter that he will be composing the musical score for the game.

Release
Sonic Runners received a sudden soft-launch on 25 February 2015 and in the Japanese and Canadian App Store and Play Store app marketplaces.

A few months later, in 25 June 2015, it was made available worldwide. It is available for free on recent iOS and Android devices, and contains in-app purchases. It currently has compatibility issues with certain Android operating systems, however. Sega has made an announcement that they will attempt to fix these issues ASAP.

Reception
Upon the game's announcement, Thomas Whitehead of NintendoLife voiced disappointment at Sonic Runners not being a Wii U title. Similarly, Tatiana Morris from GameZone hoped that it would not be the only Sonic game of the year, instead wishing for a console game similar to Sonic the Hedgehog or Sonic Adventure. Destructoid staff writer Brett Makedonski opined that while "it's tough to imagine Sonic fans getting too excited about Sonic Runners", its future augured well after the critical panning of Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal.

Upon release, Sonic Runners has received mixed reviews. Destructoid gave Sonic Runners a 6/10, stating that the gameplay was fun, and that the developers should "take pride in their work", but criticized it's heavy emphasis on "pay to win". "The Jimquisition" panned the game for it's many ads, the pay to win emphasis, and terrible load times, assigning the title a 4.5/10.

Trivia

 * Not counting their co-production credits in Sonic the Hedgehog 4, this game marks the first time Sonic Team themselves have ever published a mobile game.
 * This is the second game to feature every main character aside from Eggman Nega and the Babylon Rogues, the first was Sonic Generations.
 * However, in Sonic Generations, Big the Cat and E-123 Omega only appeared as statues, and Metal Sonic appeared in his Classic form.
 * This game marks the first time in twelve years that Charmy Bee has been playable since Sonic Heroes.
 * This is also the first game to feature Charmy with a running animation rather than just a flying animation.
 * When performing a Spin Dash, Amy, Espio and Vector do not curl into a ball.
 * The Ring Boost acquired by using Chaotix Type characters may be a nod to their Team Blast Chaotix Recital from Sonic Heroes which awarded them with rings for every enemy destroyed during and shortly after using the ability.
 * Similarly the double animal score boost that the Team Rose characters have is a shout-out to the fact that Big's main story in his to playable appearances in main games have been saving his buddy Froggy.
 * Vector's Dash Attack is equal to his Head Slide ability introduced in the Mario & Sonic series, which is not surprising considering several developers from Sega Sport R&D, the developers behind said series, are listed in the credits for Sonic Runners.
 * This is the first game since Shadow the Hedgehog to use profanity, because Knuckles says "damn" on a few occasions.
 * Sonic Runners' canonicity appears to be dubious at best, but it appears to specifically follow the canon of the handheld versions of multi-platform Sonic games. This is evident several times, such as as Mother Wisp being mentioned; Sonic and Tails only encountered her in the DS version of Sonic Colors. However, the game is equally evident in being non-canon due to some companions being characters from certain games that endings imply Sonic will never meet again, such as Chip, and Sonic not knowing who Merlina is, despite his encounter with her in Sonic and the Black Knight.
 * Sonic Runners makes numerous grammatical error, the most prominent being that the word "get" is used in place of "go" (e.g. Sonic exclaiming, "Let's get after them!", instead of "Let's go after them!")
 * The game appears to be heavily based on Heroes, Colors, and Lost World, in terms of plot, characters, gameplay, and zones.
 * Not counting their cameo in Eggman's flashback in Sonic Generations, this is the first time Metal Sonic, Orbot and Cubot appeared in the same game. However, they have yet to be seen interacting in any of the current episodes.
 * This game's menu reuses sound effects from Sonic Free Riders.

Videos
Official trailer = Gameplay trailer =