Boss Gate Key

The Boss Gate Key,^[1] or just Boss Key,^[2] is an object that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is a special type of key that is needed to unlock Boss Gates.

Description

Boss Keys are fairly standard key types with designs that differ between games. However, they typically have a guard and a head at the end of the shaft that resembles the teeth of a skeleton key.

In gameplay, Boss Gate Keys are used to open up for Boss Gates, thus allowing the player to fight the bosses behind them. To obtain a Boss Gate Key however, the player either has to progress with the game until a certain point, upon where the Boss Gate Key is obtained, or clear a certain number of challenges. In addition, Boss Gate Keys may be split up into parts that must be acquired and then reassembled before they can be used. In other cases, Boss Gates may might require multiple Boss Gate Keys to be unlocked, meaning the player has to collect more than one Boss Gate Key to open a Boss Gate.

Game appearances

Sonic Unleashed

The Boss Gate Keys first appeared in the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 version of Sonic Unleashed under the name Gaia Keys (ガイア神殿の鍵, Gaia shinden no kagi^?, lit. "Key to the Gaia Temple"). In this game, they resemble ancient tan and brown keys with a round guard that has horns and an eye in the middle, short hilts, and a head with teeth on both sides on the end of the hilt.

Story-wise, each Boss Gate Key grants access to its local Gaia Temple via their Boss Gates. While there are seven Gaia Temples in the game, only four Boss Gate Keys are available. This is because the player automatically accesses the Gaia Temples in Eggmanland, Mazuri and Chun-nan without the need for a Boss Gate Key.

In gameplay, each Boss Gate Key is split into to halves: one Sun Key and one Moon Key.^[3] Both these keys are needed to form one whole Boss Gate Key. To obtain both halves for a key, the player has to clear the main daytime Act (which holds the Sun Key) and nighttime Act (which holds the Moon Key) on its continent. This means, for example, to get the Boss Gate Key for Spagonia's Boss Gate, the player must clear both the daytime and nighttime version of Rooftop Run Act 1. When playing through these Acts for the first time, the Boss Gate Key halves will serve as the Goals; after that, they will be replaced with Goal Rings.

It should be noted that different continents' key halves cannot be used to substitute others. That means for example that Holoska's Sun Key cannot be used as a substitute for Spagonia's Sun Key if the player wants to form a whole Boss Gate Key.

In the Wii/PlayStation 2 version of Sonic Unleashed, the Gaia Keys are replaced with the Planet Tablets.

Sonic Generations

In the console/PC version of Sonic Generations, the Boss Keys made a return appearance. In this game, they are golden keys with the roman numerals "XI" and "III" inside a round guard and a head at the end of the shaft that resembles the teeth of a skeleton key.

In gameplay, each Boss Gate in the game requires three Boss Gate Keys to be unlocked, making a total of nine Boss Gate Keys needing to be found. After both Classic Sonic and Modern Sonic clear all the Acts in an Area of White Space, three Boss Gate Keys will appear around that Area. However, these keys will be surrounded by unpassable shields that makes them unobtainable. In order to obtain them, the player has to clear one Stage's Challenge Act in either Act 1 or Act 2 for each of the keys. Once a Challenge Act has been cleared, the shield will be lowered and the Boss Gate Key can be picked up.

In other media

Archie Comics

Main article: Gaia Key (Archie)

Gregorios exposits on the Gaia Keys, from *Sonic the Hedgehog* #272.

In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, the Gaia Keys from Sonic Unleashed appear, though they share some elements from the Sun Tablets, Moon Tablets and Planet Tablets.

In this media, the Gaia Keys open up for the inner chambers of the Gaia Temples. In turn, they have been entrusted to select families who keep their duty a secret. Hoping to resolve the Shattered World Crisis, the sage Gregorios revealed the existence of the Gaia Keys to the Freedom Fighters and provided them with the identities and locations of the keyholders.

Gallery

Artwork

Gallery
The Gaia Key (Night) The Gaia Key (Day) The Gaia Key halves side-by-side. Sonic Generations (console/PC)

Models

References

↑ Sonic Generations (Xbox 360) United Kingdom instruction booklet, pg. 15.
↑ Sonic Team (9 December 2008). Sonic Unleashed. PlayStation 3. Sega. Area/Level: Collection Room. "Prof. Pickle: Yes, to operate the Boss Gates, you'll need to assemble the Boss Key. The daytime and night stages should each hold a separate key. Those two can then be fused into a single key, and used at the gate."
↑ Sonic Unleashed (Xbox 360) United States instruction booklet, pg. 14.

Sonic Unleashed (Xbox 360/PlayStation 3)

Playable characters		Sonic (Super Sonic, Sonic the Werehog) \| Gaia Colossus
Non-playable characters	Apotos	Alexis \| Anastasia \| Eric \| Gregorios \| Hot Dog Vendor \| Ice Cream Vendor \| Lambros \| Lucas \| Milos \| Sandra
	Spagonia	Aida \| Barbara \| Ciccio \| David \| Denise \| Dora \| Elio \| Federica \| Franco \| Gigi \| Hot Dog Vendor \| Ippolita \| Irma \| Josef \| Lilli \| Lucia \| Marcantonio \| Mauro \| Natalia \| Otto \| Professor Pickle \| Professor Pickle's Assistant \| Raimondo
	Mazuri	Ana \| Essie \| Gwek \| Hog Dog Vendor \| Kofi \| Kwami \| Kwod \| Yawa \| Yaya
	Chun-nan	Chun \| Hot Dog Vendor \| Hualin \| Jinlin \| Lin \| Shuifon \| Wang \| Yilin \| Zonshen
	Holoska	Hot Dog Vendor \| Jari-Pekka \| Jari-Thure \| Marketa \| Sarianna \| Ursule
	Shamar	Ara \| Dimah \| Ehsan \| Erhan \| Hizir \| Hot Dog Vendor \| Iman \| Labib \| Latif \| Layla \| Mufid \| Musaid \| Raniya \| Sa'id \| Sadiq \| Safi \| Samia \| Sammar \| Shadi \| Utba \| Yasmine
	Empire City	Boss \| Brenda \| Charles \| Def Big \| Elizabeth \| Hot Dog Vendor \| Li'l Kate \| Louie Montaine \| Robert
	Adabat	Hot Dog Vendor \| Jamal \| Kaeo \| Nagi \| Rudi \| Teanchai
	Eggmanland	EF-DC1998 \| EF-MD1991 \| EF-XB2006 \| Hot Dog Vendor
	Misc.	Amy \| Chip \| Dark Gaia (Perfect Dark Gaia) \| Dr. Eggman \| Tails \| SA-55 \| Su \| Uh \| Wentos
Town Stages		Apotos \| Mazuri \| Spagonia \| Chun-nan \| Holoska \| Shamar \| Empire City \| Adabat \| Eggmanland
Action Stages		Windmill Isle \| Savannah Citadel \| Rooftop Run \| Dragon Road \| Cool Edge \| Arid Sands \| Skyscraper Scamper \| Jungle Joyride \| Eggmanland \| Tornado Defense
Enemies	Eggman's Machinery	Aero-Cannon \| Aero-Chaser \| Egg Blizzard \| Egg Burst \| Egg Fighter \| Egg Fighter: Knight (Electric shield, Spring shield) \| Egg Fighter: Shield (Electric shield, Spring shield) \| Egg Fighter: Sword \| Egg Flame \| Egg Launcher (H) \| Egg Launcher (H+V) \| Egg Launcher (V) \| Egg Shackle \| Egg Shooter \| Egg Typhoon \| Gold Aero-Cannon \| Interceptor \| Little Fighter \| Mole Cannon \| Spinner \| Thunder Ball \| Thunder Spinner
Enemies	Dark Gaia's minions	Big Mother \| Cure Master \| Dark Bat \| Dark Bat Sniper \| Dark Eel \| Dark Fright \| Deep Nightmare \| Evil Flower \| Fire Master \| Fright Master \| Killer Bee \| Lightning Master \| Little Rex \| Nightmare \| Power Master \| Red Fright \| Red Killer Bee \| Red Rex \| Thunder Bat \| Titan
Bosses		Egg Beetle \| Egg Cauldron \| Egg Devil Ray \| Egg Dragoon \| Egg Lancer \| Dark Gaia \| Dark Gaia Phoenix \| Dark Guardian \| Dark Moray \| Perfect Dark Gaia
Moves/ Techniques	Sonic	Air Boost \| Cartwheel \| Crouch \| Foot Sweep \| Grind Step \| Grinding \| Homing Attack \| Hop \| Jump Dash \| Lightspeed Dash \| Slide \| Skydiving \| Sonic Boost \| Sonic Drift \| Spin Jump \| Stomp \| Quick Step \| Wall Jump
	Werehog	Dash \| Double Jump \| Grab \| Guard \| Unleashed Mode \| Wall Shuffle
	Misc.	Boost \| Drill Attack \| Super Sonic Boost \| Turbo Boost
Skills	Straight attacks	Donkey Kick Combo \| Double Axle Combo \| Double Kick Combo \| Feral Were-Hammer \| Knuckle Sandwich Combo \| Sho-Hog-Ken \| Unleashed Knuckle Sandwich \| Vertical Were-Hammer \| Were-Hammer \| Werewheel Rush
	Hook attacks	Earthshaker \| Egg Scrambler \| Feral Wild Whirl \| Rolling Kick Combo \| Sho-Claw-Ken \| Ultimate Wild Combo \| Unleashed Wild Combo \| Wereclap \| Wild Whirl \| Wild Whirl Were-Hammer
	Aerial attacks	Aerial Claw Slash \| Aerial Claw Slash and Spin \| Aerial Piledriver \| Crescent Moon Strike \| Diving Bodypress \| Flying Double-Punch \| Flying Double-Punch Crush \| Hurricane Combo \| Shooting Star Combo \| Typhoon Combo
	Special attacks	Comet Punch \| Missile Punch \| Spinning Needle Attack \| Tricky Tornado Uppercut \| Triple Wild Claw \| Were-Claw Charge \| Were-Cyclone \| Were-Rush \| Were-Tornado \| Wild Werewhip
Gimmicks and obstacles		Balloon \| Blue spring \| Bobsled \| Bomb \| Buoy \| Check Point \| Conveyor Belt \| Crane Lift \| Crank \| Dash Panel \| Dash Rail \| Dash Ring \| Door \| Fountain \| Grind Rail \| Hanging vine \| Hint Ring \| Horizontal Bar \| Hourglass \| Icicle \| Iron ball \| Jump Selector \| Laser field \| Lever \| Movable box \| Moving Crate \| Rainbow Ring \| Ramp \| Snowblower \| Spike Trap \| Spikes \| Springboard/Spring \| Springpole \| Switch \| Thorn Spring \| Trap Spring \| Trick Jump Panel \| Wide spring \| Zip Line
Items	General	1UP \| 5 Ring Bonus \| Art Book \| Audio System \| Blue Tea \| Bookshelf \| Boss Gate \| Chaos Orb \| Container (Explosive crate, Steel Container, Wooden Container) \| Crystal Ball \| Dark Gaia Force \| Edible item (Apple, Banana, Canned Juice, Chai, Chili Dog, Donut, Sundae Supreme) \| Gaia Gate \| Gaia Key \| Goal Ring \| Gift \| Gramophone \| Green Tea \| Key Stone \| Lovely Ring \| Maiden Statue \| Moon Medal \| Old Necklace \| Pick-Me-Up \| Pretty Bouquet \| Power Shield \| Record \| Red Tea \| Ring \| Shield Charge \| Souvenir \| Sun Medal \| Super Claw \| Super Ring \| Turquoise Tea \| TV \| Videotape \| Violet Tea \| White Tea \| Yellow Tea
Items	Level Up Items	Air Boost Shoes \| Light Speed Dash Shoes \| Stomping Shoes \| Wall Jump Shoes
English voice actors		Jason Griffith (Sonic, Werehog, Prof. Pickle's Assistant) \| Amy Palant (Tails) \| Lisa Ortiz (Amy) \| Anthony Salerno (Chip) \| Mike Pollock (Eggman, Zonshen) \| Christopher Collet (SA-55) \| Dan Green (Ice Cream Vendor, Prof. Pickle)
Japanese voice actors		Jun'ichi Kanemaru (Sonic) \| Tomokazu Seki (Werehog) \| Chikao Otsuka (Eggman) \| Chō (Prof. Pickle) \| Ryō Hirohashi (Tails) \| Taeko Kawata (Amy) \| Ryōko Shiraishi (Chip)
Music	Songs	"Endless Possibility" \| "Dear My Friend"
Music	Albums	Planetary Pieces: Sonic World Adventure Original Soundtrack
Other		Auto Running \| Boost Gauge \| Boost Gauge \| Chao \| Chaos Emerald \| Chaos Energy Cannon \| Chun-nan's Treasure \| Collection Room \| Combo \| Critical Attack \| Don Fachio \| Dr. Eggman's chair \| Earth \| Eggman Fleet \| Egg Dragoon \| Egg Mobile \| Entrance Stage \| Exorcisms \| Experience Point \| Freeze \| Gaia Manuscripts \| Gaia Temple \| Gaia Temple guardian \| Hallowmoon \| Havok \| Health Gauge \| Miles Electric \| Mission \| Real-Time Interaction \| Ring Energy Gauge \| Shield Gauge \| Shop (Counter of Dreams 2, Eggshop, Flying Fish Beach Shop, Golden Trading Company, Josef's, Surfside Seagull Sundries, Traveling Salesman Wentos, Treeshade, Ursule's Trading Post, Wang's Emporium) \| Shuttle loop \| Sonic: Night of the Werehog \| Sonic World Adventure (manga) \| Spagonia University \| SPD \| Tornado-1 \| Rank \| Time of awakening \| Unleashed Gauge

Sonic Generations (console/PC)

Playable characters		Sonic (Modern) (Super Sonic (Modern)) \| Sonic (Classic) (Super Sonic (Classic))
Non-playable characters		Amy \| Animals (Flicky, Picky, Pecky, Cucky) \| Blaze \| Cheese \| Cream \| Cubot \| Dr. Eggman (Classic) \| Dr. Eggman (Modern) \| Knuckles \| Metal Sonic \| Omochao \| Orbot \| Perfect Chaos \| Rouge \| Shadow \| Silver \| Tails (Classic) \| Tails (Modern) \| Team Chaotix (Charmy, Espio, Vector) \| Time Eater
Wisps		Orange \| Pink
Stages		Green Hill \| Chemical Plant \| Sky Sanctuary \| Speed Highway \| City Escape \| Seaside Hill \| Crisis City \| Rooftop Run \| Planet Wisp \| Casino Night
Challenge Acts		Doppelganger Race! \| The Buzz Bombers' Revenge! \| Knuckles: Horde of Enemies \| Swingset Circus \| High Speed Challenge \| Look Out Below! \| Tails: Way Past Fast \| Jump Rush \| 300% Boost Gauge Challenge \| Tails: Toxic Skies \| Which Switch is Which? \| Aqua Shield Challenge \| Invincibility Challenge \| One Ring Challenge \| Amy: Taking the Leap Together! \| Grappling with Grabbers \| Underwater Ring Machine \| Eggrobo Rush \| Aerial Paradise \| Ring Time Challenge \| Amy: Topsy Turvy \| Knuckles: Buried Treasure \| 200% Boost Gauge Challenge \| Balloon Bonanza \| High-Speed Hijinks (Modern) \| Cream: Chao Hunt \| Hot Pursuit (Classic) \| High Speed Challenge 2 \| Resisting Arrest \| Overdrift \| Hot Pursuit (Modern) \| Drill Baby Drill \| Espio: Master of Camouflage \| Lord of the Board \| Thunder Shield Challenge \| Rouge: The Bombardier \| Rite of Spring \| Cream: Helping Hand \| Dash Ring 1-2-3 (Modern) \| Topsy-Turvy \| High-Speed Hijinks 2 \| Rescue the Animals! \| Espio: Way of the Ninja \| High-Speed Hijinks (Classic) \| Underwater Challenge \| Rouge: The Temptress \| Trick Island \| Surf, Sea, and Sand \| Terror From the Deep \| Goal Post Juggle \| Vector: Through the Storm \| Flame Shield Challenge \| Ring Time Challenge 2 \| Power Stomp Challenge \| Switcheroo \| Blaze: Piercing the Flames \| Four-way Cannon Cavalcade \| High-Rise Balloon Climb \| Dash Ring 1-2-3 (Classic) \| Charmy: Don't Bug Me! \| One Ring Challenge 2 \| Barrel Ring Bonus \| Rooftop Rail Grind \| Endless Boost \| Vector: Pick Up the Beat \| With Your Powers Combined \| Goal Post Juggle 2 \| Chase After Blaze \| Rescue the Animals 2! \| Cart Challenge \| Charmy: High in the Sky \| Action Master \| Orange Rocket, Blast Off!
Enemies		Aero-Cannon \| Buzz Bomber (Classic) \| Buzz Bomber (Modern) \| Buzzer (Classic) \| Buzzer (Modern) \| Chopper (Classic) \| Chopper (Modern) \| Cop Speeder \| Crabmeat (Classic) \| Crabmeat (Modern) \| Egg Chaser \| Egg Fighter \| Egg Fighter: Sword \| Egg Launcher (H) \| Egg Launcher (H+V) \| Egg Launcher (V) \| Egg Pawn \| Eggrobo \| Giant Chopper \| Grabber \| Gun Beetle \| Gun Hunter \| Iblis's Minions (Iblis Biter, Iblis Taker, Iblis Worm) \| Mono Beetle \| Moto Bug (Classic) \| Moto Bug (Modern) \| Sandworm \| Spinner \| Spiny \| Sprinkler \| Thunder Spinner
Bosses		Metal Sonic \| Death Egg Robot \| Shadow \| Perfect Chaos \| Silver \| Egg Dragoon \| Time Eater
Moves/ Techniques	Playable characters	Air Boost \| Atomic Spin \| Boost \| Bound Jump \| Cartwheel \| Crouch \| Double Jump \| Drift \| Freestyle Tricks \| Grind Step \| Grinding \| Homing Attack \| Hop \| Insta-Shield \| Jump Dash \| Kick boost \| Lightspeed Dash \| Mid-Air Dash \| Quick Step \| Slide \| Skydiving \| Spin \| Spin Dash \| Spin Jump \| Stomp \| Super Sonic Boost \| Super Sonic Missile \| Wall Jump
Moves/ Techniques	NPCs	Chaos Spear \| Dig \| Drill Attack \| Fire Beam \| Heart Effect \| Ice Wave \| Meteor Smash \| Ninja Arts: Camouflage \| Propeller Flying \| Psychic Knife \| Restraint Trap \| Ring Spark Field \| Sun Burst \| V. Maximum Overdrive Attack \| Warping arm attack \| Whirlwind
Color Powers		Orange Rocket \| Pink Spikes
Skills		Aqua Shield \| Flame Shield \| Thunder Shield \| Twin Spin Attack \| Invincible Start \| Shield \| Power Sneakers \| Long Spin Dash \| Treasure Scanner \| Homing Attack \| Hercules Muscles \| Breath Holder \| Boardmaster \| Ring Time \| Blast Off \| Speed Up \| Direct Jump \| Power Stomp \| Quick Slide \| Acceleration \| Smasher Bonus \| Ring Energy Bonus \| Boost Gauge Up \| Serial Homing \| Auto-Gauge \| Gauge Rebooter \| Trick Mastery \| Endless Boost \| Power Brake \| Sure-Footed \| Safety Net \| Last Chance \| 10-Second Rings \| Athleticism \| Time Break \| Super Sonic \| Sega Genesis Controller*
Gimmicks and obstacles		Balloon \| Barrel \| Big Balloon \| Bomb \| Bonus Bell \| Bottomless pit \| Bumper \| Cannon \| Capsule \| Car \| Cart \| Cloud \| Crusher \| Dash Panel \| Dash Rail \| Dash Ring \| Dimensional Bomb \| Explosion Trap \| Fan \| Flipper \| Four-way Cannon \| Gear Platform \| Goal Plate \| Gondola \| GUN Military Truck \| Hanging Bell \| Heart bomb \| Helicopter \| High-speed warp tube \| Horizontal Bar \| Iron ball \| Jump Panel \| Kao \| Laser field \| Meteorite \| Movable box \| Pole Elevator \| Propeller Spring \| Pulley \| Rainbow Ring \| Rocket \| Route Signal \| Saw \| Seesaw \| Slot machine \| Spike Trap \| Spikes \| Spinning Top \| Spinning Platform \| Spotlight \| Spring \| Spring Catapult \| Spring Pole \| Star Post \| Switch \| Trap Spring \| Trick Jump Panel \| Wall Jump Block \| Warp Point \| Wide spring \| Zip Line
Items		Air Bubble \| Boss Gate \| Boss Gate Key \| Buoy \| Chaos Emerald \| Container (Case, Spike Block, Steel Container, Unbreakable Container, Wooden Container) \| Energy Core \| Goal Ring \| Information Pod \| Item Box (1-Up, Aqua Shield, Flame Shield, Invincible, Power Sneakers, Skateboard, Super Ring, Thunder Shield) \| Medal \| Mega Mack \| Musical note \| Red Star Ring \| Ring \| Snowboard \| Time Bonus \| Wisp Capsule
English voice actors		Roger Craig Smith (Sonic (Modern), Wisp announcer) \| Mike Pollock (Eggman (Classic), Eggman (Modern)) \| Kate Higgins (Tails (Classic), Tails (Modern)) \| Travis Willingham (Knuckles) \| Cindy Robinson (Amy) \| Kirk Thornton (Shadow) \| Quinton Flynn (Silver) \| Laura Bailey (Blaze, Omochao) \| Karen Strassman (Rouge) \| Michelle Ruff (Cream) \| Keith Silverstein (Vector) \| Troy Baker (Espio) \| Colleen O'Shaughnessey (Charmy)
Japanese voice actors		Jun'ichi Kanemaru (Sonic (Modern)) \| Chikao Ōtsuka (Eggman (Classic), Eggman (Modern)) \| Ryō Hirohashi (Tails (Modern)) \| Takuto Yoshinaga (Tails (Classic)) \| Nobutoshi Canna (Knuckles) \| Taeko Kawata (Amy) \| Kōji Yusa (Shadow) \| Rumi Ochiai (Rouge) \| Daisuke Ono (Silver) \| Nao Takamori (Blaze) \| Sayaka Aoki (Cream) \| Kenta Miyake (Vector) \| Yūki Masuda (Espio) \| Yōko Teppōzuka (Charmy) \| Etsuko Kozakura (Omochao) \| Fumihiko Tachiki (Wisp announcer)
Music	Songs	"Escape from the City" \| "You're My Hero"
Music	Albums	20 Years of Sonic Music \| Blue Blur: Sonic Generations Original Soundtrack \| History of the 1st Stage Original Soundtrack White Edition
Other		Boost Gauge \| Chao in Space \| Collection Room \| Combo \| Corkscrew \| Death Egg (Classic) \| Death Egg (Modern) \| Death Egg Robot \| Egg Dragoon \| Egg Gun \| Egg Mobile \| Egg Spear \| Havok \| Lair of the Time Eater \| Life \| Loop \| Miles Electric \| Orca \| Perfect Bonus \| Rank \| Sonic's birthday \| Sonic Generations (manga) \| Sonic Generations of Skate \| Statue Room \| Time Hole \| Tornado-1 \| Totem pole \| Tunnel \| Water \| White Space *Exclusive to the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 version

[1] Sonic Generations (Xbox 360) United Kingdom instruction booklet, pg. 15.

[Pickle_hint-2] Sonic Team (9 December 2008). Sonic Unleashed. PlayStation 3. Sega. Area/Level: Collection Room. "Prof. Pickle: Yes, to operate the Boss Gates, you'll need to assemble the Boss Key. The daytime and night stages should each hold a separate key. Those two can then be fused into a single key, and used at the gate."

[3] Sonic Unleashed (Xbox 360) United States instruction booklet, pg. 14.

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