Bobsled

For the kart in Sonic Heroes, see Bobsled (Sonic Heroes).

The Bobsled is an object and gimmick that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Much like real-life sleds, the bobsleds are large sleds that are used by the playable characters to slide across surfaces with low friction or otherwise slippery surfaces like Snowboards. The player use the bobsled in the games to travel across sections in the levels where the playable characters cannot pass through by normal means.

The bobsleds made their first appearance in Sonic Rivals and have since reappeared in both versions of Sonic Unleashed. They also appear as vital components of some of the events in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games.

Game appearances

Sonic Rivals

Bobsleds made their first appearance in Crystal Mountain Zone Act 2 of Sonic Rivals. In this game, the bobsleds are large and yellow karts with blue and white stripes and are motor-powered. Here, the bobsleds automatically takes the player throughout a large section of the act, without the player having to control them. To make a bobsled start moving, the player just has to jump into one.

Sonic Unleashed

Bobsleds made another appearance in both the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 version and Wii/PlayStation 2 version of Sonic Unleashed. In this game, the bobsleds are sky blue karts with an aerodynamic shape and can be found in game's daytime acts in Cool Edge. Other stages features bobsled-like vehicles as well though, such as Eggmanland, where the bobsleds resembles more roller coaster cars, and Arid Sands on the Wii/PS2 version, where the bobsled looks like a Buggy.

In both versions of Sonic Unleashed, the player can enter a bobsled by touching them, which will make the bobsled start moving. While riding a bobsled, the player will move forward automatically, but can move left and right by using the direction controls. Additionally, any enemies that the player runs over with the bobsled will be destroyed, though the player can still take damage from enemies' attacks and hazardous obstacles. On the Wii/PS2 version of Sonic Unleashed, the player can use the Sonic Boost and Drift while riding the bobsled, allowing for more versatile movements.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games

The Bobsleds made another appearance in both the Wii and Nintendo DS version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, where they were used in the team-based where bobsleds are used, such as Bobsled and Dream Event Bobsled. In this game, the bobsleds comes in several different colors, and can house one to four users.

Sonic Free Riders

In Sonic Free Riders, the bobsleds are the main gimmick featured in Frozen Forest, both on the Standard and Expert courses. The player controls the bobsled similarly to that of a Bike type Extreme Gear in the game: the player holds out his/her hands out like holding handlebars and simply turn his/her arms in the direction he/she wish to steer to ride.

Gallery

Gallery
The bobsled in Sonic Rivals. The bobsled in Cool Edge in the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 version of Sonic Unleashed. The bobsled in Cool Edge in the PlayStation 2/Wii version of Sonic Unleashed. The bobsleds in the Wii version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games. The bobsled in the DS version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games. Add a photo to this gallery