Crouch (grinding)

Crouch
Sonic crouching on a Grind Rail, from Sonic Forces.
Appearances
First appearance	Sonic Adventure 2
Other appearances	Sonic Adventure 2 Sonic Adventure 2: Battle Sonic Heroes Shadow the Hedgehog Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) Sonic and the Secret Rings Sonic and the Black Knight Sonic Unleashed (Xbox 360/PlayStation 3) Sonic Adventure 2 (2012) Sonic Forces
Statistics and overview
User(s)	Avatar Blaze the Cat Metal Sonic Team Chaotix Charmy Bee Espio the Chameleon Vector the Crocodile Team Dark E-123 Omega Rouge the Bat Shadow the Hedgehog Team Rose Amy Rose Big the Cat Cream the Rabbit Team Sonic Knuckles the Echidna Miles "Tails" Prower Sonic the Hedgehog Super Sonic
Utilization	Increasing momentum and speed on Grind Rails
Description	A lower position on a Grind Rail.

While grinding, pressing the will make me do a 180° to gain a burst of speed.

— Shadow the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog (PlayStation 2)

The crouch is a move that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is an action used to gain more speed while grinding.

Description

When performing the crouch, the user assumes a lower position while grinding along a Grind Rail to gain a small boost of speed. How this position is assumed differs between games. In gameplay, the crouch is useful for maximizing the player's grinding speed when their acceleration starts to falter at any time while grinding.

Game appearances

Sonic Adventure 2

Shadow crouching on a Grind Rail, from the 2012 remaster of Sonic Adventure 2.

In Sonic Adventure 2 and its enhanced port Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, the technique is rereferred to as crouch. Appearing alongside grinding, crouching is used exclusively by Sonic the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog, Amy Rose, and Metal Sonic. In this game, the user will simply assume a lower position which causes a small jet stream to form beneath the user's feet.

In gameplay, crouching allows the player to Grind Step at a faster rate. It is also necessary for grinding along looped and vertical Grind Rails. Using crouch when crossing a quirk while riding on a downward Grind Rail, however, causes the playable characters to lose balance, putting them at risk of falling off the Grind Rail. In addition, not all characters will achieve the same rate of speed from crouching: in Multiplayer mode, Shadow has a slight speed advantage over Sonic when using crouch, while Metal Sonic is the fastest of them all while using this move. To use crouch in gameplay, the player has to press / while grinding.

Sonic Heroes

Sonic crouching on a Grind Rail, from Sonic Heroes.

In Sonic Heroes, crouching can be used by all four playable teams' characters, though the move's execution is significantly changed. In this game, characters will start their crouch by doing a 180° spin on top of the Grind Rail for acceleration, either turning to face left from a right-facing position or turning around to have their backs in the direction the character is moving.

In gameplay, crouching can be performed repeatedly by pressing // while grinding. Holding // will still maintain the characters' crouch position and allow for faster Grind Rail travel for a significant time. Using crouch rapidly even allows the player to travel up vertical Grind Rails.

When in Fly Formation, characters will perform a unique version of the crouch: instead of doing a trick, they will lean forward with the bottom character (which they hold onto) on the Grind Rail and use their flight to accelerate along the rail.

Shadow the Hedgehog

In Shadow the Hedgehog, Shadow is the only character that can use crouch. In this game, the 180 degree spin from Sonic Heroes now has a hop above the Grind Rail added to it. Curiously, this hop bounces Shadow high enough off the Grind Rail to miss the Rings that appear along the Grind Rails. Also, the crouch position is only assumed until the player presses the action button again, and does not need to be actively maintained. Staying in this position also no longer has any effect on the grinding acceleration or maximum speed. To use the crouch in gameplay, the player has to press // while grinding.

Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)

Shadow crouching on a Grind Rail, from Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).

In Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), the crouch works almost like how it did in Shadow the Hedgehog. In this game, while Grinding and Crouching is available to all playable characters, only Sonic, Shadow, Blaze, Tails, and Omega encounter grind rails. When using it, the player character rotates 180 degrees above the rail while grinding.

In this game, the player can only use crouch repeatedly after a specific amount of time has passed. The crouch also only grants an initial boost of speed and cannot be used to increase maximum speed or acceleration. Additionally, although Silver can grind in the Multiplayer mode of the game, his Crouching animation does not play properly due to a typo in his animation list. To use crouch in gameplay, the player must press / while grinding.

Sonic Storybook series

Sonic and the Secret Rings

In Sonic and the Secret Rings, the crouch is used only by Sonic, although the move goes by unnamed in the manual. When performing the crouch, Sonic performs a small trick on the Grind Edge. To perform the crouch in gameplay, the player has to press while grinding.

Sonic and the Black Knight

In Sonic and the Black Knight, the crouch is used only by Sonic again. Like before, the move is not mentioned in the manual. When performing the crouch in this game, Sonic does a 180 degree spin on top of the Grind Rail while continuing to look forward. To perform the crouch in gameplay, the player must press while grinding.

Sonic Forces

Sonic crouching on a Grind Rail, from Sonic Forces.

In Sonic Forces, the crouch is used by Sonic (including Super Sonic), the Avatar and Shadow. When performing the crouch, the user will simply assume a lower position, similar to Sonic Adventure 2. To perform the crouch in gameplay, the player must press // while grinding. Additionally, the player is able to Boost while crouching. Unlike previous games, however, performing the crouch will not make the user go faster.

Trivia

• So far, Sonic Forces is the only game with a Boost mechanic that the player can crouch on Grind Rails.
  • Additionally, it is the only game where crouching on rails doesn't accelerate the player. This is possibly due to the Boost mechanic being more prominent.

See also

• Crouch

References

Navigation templates to Crouch (grinding)

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Sonic Adventure 2

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Main article · Scripts (Hero, Dark, Last) · Staff · Manuals · Glitches · Beta elements · Gallery · Pre-releases (The Trial, Preview, TRIAL Version) · Re-releases (Battle, 2012)

*Appears or is playable in only the 2P mode · ^Appears in only the original Dreamcast version
V·T·E · {{Adventure info}} · Category

Sonic Heroes

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Main article · Scripts (Team Sonic, Team Dark, Team Rose, Team Chaotix, Last) · Staff · Manuals · Glitches · Beta elements · Gallery · Pre-releases (E3 version, demo)

V·T·E · Category

Shadow the Hedgehog (game)

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Main article · Scripts (Main Story, Last Story) · Credits · Manuals · Glitches · Beta elements · Library Sequences · Gallery

*Only playable in the GameCube and PlayStation 2 versions · **Only playable in Battle Mode
V·T·E · Category

Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)

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Main article · Scripts (Sonic, Shadow, Silver, Last) · Credits · Manuals · Glitches · Beta elements · Gallery

*Unused
V·T·E · Category

Sonic and the Secret Rings

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Main article | Script | Staff | Beta elements | Gallery

Sonic and the Black Knight

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Main article · Script · Staff · Manuals · Glitches · Beta elements · Gallery

*Appears in Battle Mode only
V·T·E · {{Secret Rings info}} · Category

Sonic Forces

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Main article · Script · Staff · Glitches · Manuals · Beta elements · Gallery

V·T·E · {{Speed Battle info}} · Category