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This Badnik prefers underground areas which are well suited for his unique talents. Be on the lookout as Burrobots have a habit of jumping out of the ground!


— Description, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I[1]

The Burrobot[2] (モグリン[3] Mogurin?) is an enemy that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is mass-produced, mole-based Badnik created by Dr. Eggman. Using their drill-like nose, they can launch surprise attacks from underground.

Appearance[]

Burrobots are seemingly loosely based on European Mole. They have a blue body consisting of a round torso and a large head with round black eyes, gray disks for ear pieces and a large gray cone-shaped drill bit for a nose. On their head they wear a yellow hard hat. Their chest is gray, their shoulders are yellow and round, and their two arms are gray with three sharp fingers on each hand. As legs, they have tracked wheels on each side, which runs between two wheels; one is small and one is bigger.

During the first part of the Death Egg mk.II incident, the Burrobot models were more detailed. The ear pieces had red bottom placed screws and their tracked feet have a elastic bands between their wheels. During the Lost Hex incident, they had a more cartoonish design, and wore yellow goggles while digging.

Game appearances[]

Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)[]

Burrobot-spr

In the 16-bit version of the original Sonic the Hedgehog, the Burrobots[2] (モグリン[3] Mogurin?) are encountered in Labyrinth Zone and Scrap Brain Zone Act 3.

In gameplay, Burrobots appear either alone or in groups, usually hiding beneath the floor and waiting to pop out to attack Sonic when he gets close to them. Their noses can be seen poking out of the ground so it is easy to spot where they will pop out of to attack the player. Otherwise, they roll slowly along the ground and can climb up higher ledges almost instantaneously. As they jump out of the ground, the player can use a well-timed Spin Jump to defeat them, when they roll along the floor, they can be taken out with a Spin Attack. Also, upon their defeat, they release an Animal and reward the player with 100 points.

In the 8-bit version, the Burrobots appear as enemies, but only in Labyrinth Zone. Otherwise, they have the same attack pattern as their 16-bit counterparts. However, they, along with the other Badniks in the game, do not have Animals inside of them. Regardless, upon their destruction, they reward the player with 100 points.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I[]

Splash Hill Zone - Screenshot - (09)

Burrobots, from Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I.

In Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I, the Burrobot[1] (モグリン[4] Mogurin?) returned as enemies, where they received a more modernized design.. They are only encountered in Lost Labyrinth Zone.

In gameplay, the Burrobots behave much like they did in the original Sonic the Hedgehog: they pop out of the ground when the playable character approaches, and when on the ground, they move along it slowly. They can also climb up onto higher ledges in a near instant. Regardless, they are destroyed when hit once by any of the playable characters' attacks. Also, upon their destruction, they release an Animal and reward the player with 100 points.

Sonic Lost World[]

In the Wii U version and PC version of Sonic Lost World, Burrobots have their original design. During the game, it turns out that the Badniks, including the Burrobots, were hijacked by the Deadly Six.

In this game, Burrobots appear in the wide-spaced sections of Frozen Factory Zone 1, waiting for Sonic to approach. When they pop out of the ground to attack the player, they often end up getting stuck in the ground with their drill nose. The Burrobots also appear in the underground section of Silent Forest Zone 4 where they will chase the player while they are using the Yellow Drill. However again, this Badnik can get stuck on floating stone circles should it collide with it. The player can defeat it by ramming into its non-drill spots with the Yellow Drill.

Sonic Mania[]

SMBurrobot In Sonic Mania, and its expansion Sonic Mania Plus, Burrobots make cameo appearances in trash heaps in Flying Battery Zone.

Other game appearances[]

Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games[]

In the Nintendo 3DS version of Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Burrobots make a cameo appearance as walls during the Golf Plus event on Hole 9, where they use their sprite appearance from the original Sonic the Hedgehog. If the playable character's golf ball hits a Burrobot wall here, it will disappear and the golf ball itself will land safely on the lawn without falling onto unfavorable terrain.

Sonic Speed Simulator[]

Personality[]

While built to serve as work drones, Burrobots possess a degree of sentience and personality traits. These traits include fawning over Dr. Eggman and celebrating his birthday on their own volition.[5]

Powers and abilities[]

Burrobots are equipped with nose-based drills that allow them to burrow through the ground. This enables them to launch surprise attacks from below by emerging in front of their opponents from the underground.

Variants[]

In other media[]

Animation[]

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog[]

Burrobot AoStH

Three Burrobots, from "The Robots' Robot".

In the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog television series, the Burrobots sport radically different designs, being colored mostly green and having more spider-like appearances. They were used on one occasion to distract Sonic the Hedgehog.

Sonic Prime[]

EFNY 617

Several Burrobots attempting to mine the Prism Shard in a flashback, from "Escape from New Yoke".

Burrobots reappear in the Sonic Prime television series, where they are now redesigned to have a speaker-like body, two drills for hands, and the removal of their signature hat.

The Burrobots, alongside Buzz Bombers and Caterkillers are among the many Badniks that attempt to defeat Sonic and his friends, but ultimately got destroyed in the process. Notably, several Burrobots were the first to attempt to mine the Prism Shard for Dr. Eggman. However, the Burrobots were too slow in excavating the Prism Shard, resulting in Eggman attempting to pull out the crystal himself using his mech. Like the other Badniks, it is unknown what the fate of the Burrobots were after Sonic accidentally broke the Prism Shard.

Books and comics[]

Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic[]

A Burrobot appears briefly in Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic manga. At the beginning of the Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic Volume 3 story, Sonic Rampage!!, a Burrobot and Moto Bug were sent by Dr. Eggman to beat down Sonic, but despite the their fierce nature, they got easily defeated.

Sonic the Comic[]

Burrobotflint

A Burrobot, from Sonic the Comic #89. Art by Carl Flint and Andy Pritchett.

In the Sonic the Comic series published by Fleetway Editions, the Burrobots appear as the first generation of Badniks in Dr. Robotnik's army. Because of the different artists, the Burrobots would have different looks between the stories. However, as Robotnik would design new Badnik models for digging, the Burrobots would be replaced by newer robot models. One time, Shorty the Squirrel's friend Hopper was even turned into a Burrobot until he was freed by Shorty when he turned against Robotnik. Also, Tails disguised himself as a Burrobot on one occasion.

Archie Comics[]

SU 53 Burrobot Reference

A Burrobot in the background, from Sonic Universe #53.

In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, Burrobot made many early appearances as members of Dr. Robotnik's Badnik Horde. During the Sonic Quest miniseries, Dr. Robotnik even released a pair of giant Burrobots on Angel Island which were eventually destroyed by Knuckles and the other Chaotix.

Sonic X (comics)[]

Main article: Burrobot (Sonic X)
Burrobot-Sonic-X-Comic

Burrobots, from Sonic X #11.

In the Sonic X comic series published by Archie Comics, Burrobots appeared in a virtual reality version of the Labyrinth Zone to ambush Sonic and his crew. The group, however, managed to get pass them.

IDW Publishing[]

Burrobots and Grounders in IDW

A group of Burrobots and Grounders, from Sonic the Hedgehog #67.

In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by IDW Publishing, a Burrobot, along with many other Badniks worked together to give Dr. Eggman a nice birthday by trying to destroy Sonic for him. However, they were ordered to return to base by Eggman before they could commence their attack. Back at base, the Burrobot and other Badniks were scolded by Eggman for their carelessness.[5]

Sometime later, a group of Burrobots and Grounders owned by Clutch would tunnel their way through Starline Base Sigma. Despite these Badniks encountering Surge and Kitsunami, they did not engage with them in combat and instead simply watched from the background as Clutch made a deal with Surge to work for him.[6]

Merchandise[]

Tomy made a Burrobot figurine as part of a Sonic & Knuckles set, which included twenty other figurines of characters and Badniks.

In Wave 11 of the Jakks Pacific sonic toy-line, a Burrobot got a 2.5" action figure with 5 points of articulation and its description reads "Using its mole-like drill, Burrobot is a Badnik that can travel underground at high speeds."

Trivia[]

  • The Burrobots' Japanese name, "Mogurin", is a combination of the words mogura, which is Japanese for mole, and moguri, which is Japanese for diver.
  • In both the 16-bit and 8-bit versions of the original Sonic the Hedgehog, some of the Burrobot's exterior armor is shown to be red instead of the yellow color scheme shown in the artwork (due to palette issues). However, the upgraded appearance of the Burrobots in Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I and Sonic Lost World uses their artwork colors instead.
  • In the original Sonic the Hedgehog, there is a glitch that messes up the Burrobot sprites if they manage to appear during the boss battle in Labyrinth Zone.
  • A Burrobot-like Badnik was considered to be enemy for the scrapped stage Dubious Depths stage from Sonic the Hedgehog CD.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Sega . Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I. Badniks: Burrobot. Sega. Archived from the original on 27 May 2013. Retrieved on 27 October 2017.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Genesis) United States instruction booklet, pg. 13.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Mega Drive) Japanese instruction booklet, pg. 40.
  4. Sonic The Hedgehog 4 official website (Japanese). モグリン. Sega. Archived from the original on 29 July 2020. Retrieved on 8 March 2021.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Special, "Dr. Eggman's Birthday"
  6. Sonic the Hedgehog #67, Second Chances
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