- Not to be confused with Sonic Adventure 2: Battle.
Sonic Battle (ソニックバトル Sonikku Batoru?) is a fighting game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series that was developed by Sonic Team for the Game Boy Advance. The gameplay consists of 2D sprites fighting in 3D environments. It was released in late 2003 in Japan and in early 2004 worldwide for the Game Boy Advance.
In Sonic Battle, Dr. Eggman discovers an ancient weapon called the Gizoid and plans to use him to take over the world, but his frustration at his inability to get the robot to work properly prompts him to dump him at Emerald Beach where it is found once more, this time by Sonic, who names it "Emerl". Through his encounters with the hedgehog and his friends, Emerl turns from a soulless robot into a fun-loving mech with personality traits from all of those he had met. However, while the heroes are having fun raising their new mechanical friend, Eggman plans to reclaim the robot for his own use.
Sonic Battle received positive reviews from critics. The visuals were the most praised, and the game itself has been described as "fun" by most. Many, however, have criticized the poor design in Story Mode and the limited moves.
Plot[]
Storylines[]
The title screen of Sonic Battle.
Around 4,000 years ago, there was an advanced civilization known as the "Fourth Great Civilization", which was able to harness Chaos Emerald energy. With it, this society built a sentient weapon of mass destruction, known as the Gizoid, which could learn new combat moves by participating in battles. However, the Gizoid eventually accumulated so much power that it destroyed the Fourth Great Civilization and vanished soon afterwards.
At some point, the Gizoid was unearthered and stored in a warehouse. Fifty years ago, while working on Project Shadow, Professor Gerald Robotnik discovered the weapon and learned of its dangers. As such, Robotnik began looking for ways to keep the Gizoid under control and prevent it from destroying the world. However, the United Federation started to worry about the results of Project Shadow, and thus threatened to freeze the project. the professor, wanting to finish the project and save his granddaughter, Maria, attempted to hand over the Gizoid to the government, but the robot went rogue and ended up destroying part of the Space Colony ARK. As relations between the ARK and the United Federation further deteriorated, Gerald tried in vain to destroy the Gizoid's core. After that, he programmed it to give it a "soul" so it could choose not to become a weapon of mass destruction. Following GUN's raid of the ARK, the Gizoid was sealed by the United Federation. It would remain dormant for another fifty years before being discovered by, of all people, Gerald's grandson, the infamous Dr. Eggman.
Sonic the Hedgehog[]
Dr. Eggman attempting to order the Gizoid.
Wanting to use the Gizoid to conquer the world, Dr. Eggman gives it a Chaos Emerald and attempts to train it. However, much to his frustration, the robot does not respond to his orders and does not even give him back the Emerald. Despite this, the doctor has already managed to use the Gizoid's raw data to make robots that are more obedient to him. Now having no more use for the ancient robot, Eggman disposes of it.
One day, while wandering around Emerald Town, where he and his friends live, Sonic the Hedgehog comes across the Gizoid at Emerald Beach. Seeing how damaged and neglected the machine (which he believes to be one of Eggman's creations) is, and noticing that it can barely move and speak, the hedgehog decides to give it to Tails.[2] Meanwhile, Rouge arrives at the beach as well. Despite seeing that Sonic has already taken the Gizoid, she believes that this setback will not stop her from getting the robot.
When Sonic and the Gizoid approach the fox's house, Shadow appears, ordering the robot to go with him. However, when the machine does not listen to him, the black hedgehog readies himself to destroy it. Sonic attempts to stop him from doing so, resulting in a fight that the blue hedgehog wins. In the aftermath, Shadow leaves, but not before warning his rival not to let Eggman get ahold of the Gizoid. Soon after, Tails comes out and Sonic has him repair the robot. Next, the blue hedgehog heads back to the beach, having seen Rouge there earlier.
Returning to the beach, Sonic finds Rouge, who tells him that Shadow, Eggman, and her boss are all looking for the Gizoid. The bat then challenges him to a duel: if she wins, he will have to partner up with her, and if he wins instead, she will leave him alone. In the end, the hedgehog wins, and Rouge leaves as promised. Sonic then goes back to Tails' workshop, but on the way there, he is confronted by a Gizoid-looking robot. After defeating this foe, the hedgehog meets his friend, who tells him the news that another similar robot has robbed several jewelry stores. Then, Sonic learns from the fox that the Gizoid has some amazing technology inside of it, but he does not believe it. Tails then asks him to perform five Heavy Attacks on the robot; when the hedgehog does as requested, he sees some kind of "bright light", which he had already seen when fighting Shadow. The fox then tells him to perform five Upper Attack, which causes this light again. Wanting answers, Sonic learns from his friend that the Gizoid is powered by Chaos Emeralds, which let him regain his energy and even speak properly, and that it can learn attack techniques either by watching them or being attacked by them, allowing him to develop even more moves based on the collected data. This means that it can combine multiple moves, such as Sonic's jump and Tails' attacks. However, this system has a limitation on the battle abilities it can learn, which is tied to "Skill Points"; the fox was unable to learn more since his computer broke while attempting to confirm this. As such, the hedgehog decides to train the Gizoid more, first at Tails' lab and then at Emerald Beach.
Following this training session, Sonic and Tails decide to go take the Gizoid to Knuckles, as he is familiar with the Chaos Emeralds and might help. The hedgehog then gives the robot a name: "Emerl", since it is powered by the Emeralds. Before this though, they spot a fake Emerl at the fox's house, so they have the Gizoid destroy it to prove its abilities. When Emerl successfully defeats his duplicate, the heroes head to Holy Summit, where Knuckles' house is at. However, they soon get attacked by Chaos Gamma, a Gamma-like robot, but they defeat this foe. Next, they meet the echidna and ask him to lend them his Chaos Emerald. However, Knuckles mistakes Emerl for its fake doppelgangers, and proceeds to attack it. Fortunately, the robot defeats him in battle and calms him down. Sonic and Tails explain the echidna what is going on, and they soon give his Emerald to Emerl, who repeatedly utters the word "Battle", concerning the hedgehog.
Miles "Tails" Prower[]
Back at Miles "Tails" Prower's lab, Sonic and Emerl decide to go train some more at Emerald Beach, leaving the fox behind. Tails is concerned, since they know little about the robot, the hedgehog is not very concerned about this, and he cannot do further research on him since his computer is broken. He then gets the idea of using the Central Lab at Central City nearby to do a full examination on Emerl. To take the automaton there, though, he first has to defeat him and Sonic in a short duel. In the aftermath, Tails convinces his friend to let him take the robot with him. However, Emerl does not listen to him until the hedgehog asks him to do so.
Tails and Emerl at Central City.
A while after, Tails and Emerl arrive at the Central Lab in Central City, but are not allowed passage since they are in a restricted area. Luckily, Rouge arrives and tells the fox that she will let him in the lab, since she is an agent for the President. Before this, however, Tails has to defeat her in a battle so she can give him her Lab Pass. When the fox comes out victorious, the bat gives him her pass as promised and leaves. With it, he and Emerl enter the laboratory and use its computer to analyze the latter's structural data, which will let him know who created the robot and for what reason.
Upon bypassing the computer's basic security protocols, Tails has an amazing, but terrifying, discovery: Emerl is a weapon that was uncovered in the ancient ruins, with a super-science technology that allows him to acquire all forms of weaponry, a process that has no apparent limitations and will continue to loop indefinitely. However, in repeated experiments, the continual feed of data has once resulted in an overload and the robot going out of control. Experiments were once conducted by Gerald Robotnik, but the machine was sealed by the government. When restricted data is acceded, though, Tails and Emerl are attacked by a group of Guard Robos. Upon escaping, the duo decides to go back to Emerald Town so the security robots can lose track of them. However, they soon encounter Shadow, who wants to destroy Emerl before he collects all seven Chaos Emeralds and uses his true power. Fortunately, Rouge interrupts the battle that follows as the Guard Robos are hot on their trail. With the bat having left with the black hedgehog, the fox and Emerl escape to Holy Summit and Knuckles' house. There, however, the echidna attacks Emerl following a misunderstanding, but the robot defends himself in the ensuing battle. Tails asks his friend to go with him to Emerald Beach, where Sonic is, as he has something very important to tell both of them. Unfortunately, they face Chaos Gamma once again, but Knuckles tells the fox and Emerl to go to the beach on their own while he takes care of his foe.
Tails and Emerl make it to safety back to Emerald Town, where they meet Sonic. Before they tell him about their discovery, Rouge arrives and tells the hedgehog that the robot is the world's deadliest weapon, which the fox confirms is true. Sonic does not believe this, claiming that Emerl can be easily reprogrammed and fix the problem easily. However, Tails debunks this idea, since his computer fried up when the robot was connected to it, and he was chased by a group of Guard Robos when he accessed his data at Central City. The bat then proposes another solution: insert all seven Chaos Emeralds into Emerl, allowing them to reset him into an ordinary robot and erase his data as a battle weapon, but she does not exactly know how to do this. Before leaving, Rouge asks the hedgehog to have Emerl listen to her. Afterwards, Knuckles arrives, and Sonic orders the robot to ignore him for a laugh, which embarrasses Tails.
Rouge the Bat[]
Some time ago, the President explained to Rouge the Bat that the ancient weapon "Gizoid", which was unearthed and sealed fifty years ago, was recovered by Dr. Eggman, and had her go to the Central Lab to get all the necessary information. The bat accepted her assignment and left, but not before reminding her boss of her reward. She arrived at the laboratory, happy that she could now access the government computer system and gather all kinds of information on various treasures. However, she could not access the computer, since it was being used by another user, who turned out to be none other than Eggman himself, who was accessing it from right outside the laboratory. There, the doctor learned that he needed the seven Chaos Emeralds and a key word to form a Link with the Gizoid. Upon being confronted by Rouge, the villain revealed that he had thrown the robot away at the Emerald Beach, since it could not listen to his orders. Eggman instead used the Gizoid's raw data to create a mass-produced army of obedient robots: the E-121 Phis, which were powered by the fragments of a Chaos Emerald he had crushed. He deployed one of his creations to fight the bat, but was easily destroyed, allowing her to claim its Emerald shard. Seeing how he needed the original robot instead; the doctor ran away in the hunt for it.
Soon after, Rouge decided to go back to the Central Lab and learn more about the Gizoid. After her research, she decided to go look for the robot herself and train it to become a thief that would allow her to get all the jewelry in the world. Excited, she headed to Emerald Beach, but saw that Sonic had already taken the Gizoid.
Three days later, Rouge has already convinced Sonic to give the Gizoid, now known as "Emerl", permission to listen to her. However, to steal the robot, she has to make her way around the hedgehog, Tails and Knuckles. Meanwhile, Sonic and the fox are playing with Emerl at the beach until Amy arrives, prompting the hedgehog to leave after ordering his robot friend to listen to whatever she says. With both Sonic and Tails having left, the bat sees her opportunity to take Emerl. However, she is confronted by the pink hedgehog, who sees the robot as her "son", and a fight ensues between the two girls. In the end, Rouge wins and takes Emerl away while an exhausted Amy is left behind.
While Amy and Tails go tell Sonic about Rouge's theft, the bat and Emerl are attacked by Chaos Gamma at Central City. After taking the robot out, the duo head to Night Babylon, where Rouge lives. However, she encounters Amy, who has returned to rescue Emerl. Following another battle, the pink hedgehog is defeated and forced to flee. Meanwhile, the bat enters her home at Club Rouge, where Shadow is resting, and is ready to train Emerl to become the ultimate robot thief. To start this session, she has the robot defeat a Guard Robo, avoid getting hit under a time limit, and then beat her in a duel without getting knocked out even once.
Following Emerl's training, Rouge takes him to Emerald Town, where she plans to rob a local jewelry store that has a Chaos Emerald. On their way there, however, they face Amy once again. Upon defeating her once again, they arrive at their destination, where the bat takes the Emerald from the store. Soon after though, Emerl absorbs the gem and has now learned to fully speak. Sonic arrives the scene afterwards, ready to face Rouge for stealing the robot. He is then joined by Tails and Knuckles, and the three battle her. Following this fight, the bat sees Emerl accost the hedgehog, saying that this is why she has no interest in becoming a mother. Amy, meanwhile, enters the fray and prepares to face Rouge, who attempts to get out of the mess she has gotten herself into.
Knuckles the Echidna[]
It has been discovered that Emerl grows stronger by giving him Chaos Emeralds, which triggers a spark of interest in Knuckles the Echidna. However, as it was also discovered that the robot can learn techniques by merely looking at them, said spark soon transforms into a flame. Convinced that Emerl will never reach his full potential with Sonic, the echidna heads to Tails' lab to train the machine himself. Elsewhere, Dr. Eggman, wanting the robot for himself, sends his first three E-121 Phi robots to catch him.
Upon arriving at Tails' lab, Knuckles is surprised by Emerl's ability to talk, which the fox explains is because of the Chaos Emerald he was given earlier. With the robot eager to be trained, the echidna fights him in a short match to prove he has not somehow gone weaker. After Emerl has emerged victorious, a news flash reveals that a mysterious robot has been wreaking havoc in Night Babylon. Recognizing the culprit as a Phi, Knuckles and Emerl head out to the area to find out more. Along the way, they come across Amy's house in Central City, where the pink hedgehog is still convinced that the robot is her "son". Soon after, the duo encounters Chaos Gamma, who flees upon being defeated. Afterwards, the heroes meet Rouge, who explains to them that the villainous robot is probably not the original Gamma, but rather one of several guinea pigs that Eggman has been using for his experiments that involve using Chaos Emerald shards as power sources for his robots. Later, Knuckles and Emerl continue their way to Night Babylon.
Upon arriving at Night Babylon, Knuckles and Emerl enter the Night Club, where they are surrounded by Guard Robos when the clerk mistakes the latter for a Phi. Upon escaping the scene, the duo is separated since Emerl wants to see Sonic again, prompting the echidna to go look for his lost friend. While searching for him in the nearby establishments, Knuckles is attacked by several Guard Robos. Eventually, he finds Emerl at Club "Rouge", where he sees the robot fight Rouge. After the fight that ensues, the echidna and Emerl see that two Phis are storming a nearby taco stand, so they go fight the villainous robots. In the aftermath, the Phis are destroyed, each releasing a Chaos Emerald shard that the duo picks up. The bat gives them a shard too, and with these three pieces, Knuckles and Emerl decide to go back to Emerald Town.
Upon returning to Tails' lab, Knuckles and Emerl learn that they need two more Emerald shards to form a whole Chaos Emeralds, and that all Phis have a shard each. They then go to train at Emerald Beach, where they encounter Eggman himself, who sends a Phi to capture the robot. The doctor's machine is destroyed, allowing the heroes to claim an Emerald shard, while the scientist escapes to Central City, where he has another Phi fight the duo. However, his robot is defeated too, and released the fifth and final shard. As the villain ponders, he decides to announce out loud that the heroes will never find him in "Gimme Shelter", his base located at Night Babylon. Instead of going back to Tails' lab to complete another Chaos Emerald, Knuckles and Emerl head out to Eggman's fortress. As it turns out, however, the doctor had lured them into a trap; when the duo infiltrates his stronghold, the villain uses his ultra-powerful "spiky rodent trap" to paralyze the echidna. The scientist then reveals his newest plan: to take Emerl and have him adquire his ultimate weapon, the "Final Egg Blaster", to subjugate the world under his rule. However, as he still needs to complete his weapon first, Eggman leaves the scene and has Chaos Gamma take care of Emerl. Despite the odds, the robot defeats his Gamma-like foe and releases Knuckles. Now safe and sound, the heroes escape the fortress.
Knuckles and Emerl return to Tails' lab again, where the fox uses the five Emerald shards to make the third Chaos Emerald, which the robot absorbs, making him a bit more powerful. When Tails asks the duo what happened, the echidna asks Emerl to keep the fact that Eggman tricked him a secret. Despite promising to do so, the machine announces out loud that Knuckles was tricked, which annoys the echidna. Sonic soon enters the scene, and Emerl tells him about this too, leaving Knuckles embarrassed and furious.
Amy Rose[]
Amy Rose searches for Sonic in Emerald Town, knowing that he is somewhere around due to her cards having told her so. Having accidentally got his location from Tails, she finds the blue hedgehog playing with Emerl near the fox's house. However, the two do not pay attention to her and instead go to the Emerald Beach to train. Believing that Sonic should start raising the robot (which she still sees as her "son") with her, Amy follows their trail. Tails tries to stop her, but has no success.
Eventually, Amy finds Sonic and Emerl at the beach, but she is angered by the robot's apparent lack of politeness. Embarrassed, the blue hedgehog leaves, leaving Amy alone with her "son". She assumes that he has left her alone to see if she can take care of their "son" by herself. After having failed to prove herself a good mother by letting Rouge kidnap Emerl, she proclaims that she will not let Sonic down. However, she soon finds the robot fighting two Phis. Seeing Emerl's rudeness, the pink hedgehog scolds him for his behavior, but stops after the Phis attack her, prompting her to fight them with her "son". Eventually, the villainous robots are destroyed, releasing two Chaos Emerald shards Amy and Emerl pick up. Learning that the robot can now detect nearby Chaos Emeralds, the hedgehog decides to collect all of the gems to make him a "full-grown boy". Before that, however, she first takes him to her house.
Upon arriving at her apartment in Central City, Amy introduces Emerl to Cream and Cheese, who have been training with her to ensure she can be a good mother. After two training sessions, an exhausted Amy goes to get some rest. Meanwhile, the rabbit explains that the hedgehog has been "boxercising" ever since the robot was kidnapped by Rouge so she can protect him. However, after finding out that boxercise also helped her lose weight, she has been working out every day. Soon after though, Amy returns and has Emerl, Cream and Cheese train with her some more. Eventually, it is revealed that she has been wearing weights this entire time during her fights, which she now takes off. In the aftermath, the robot reveals that he has detected another Chaos Emerald in the vicinity, so he goes with Amy to find it, while the rabbit is left behind, admiring the hedgehog for how strong she is.
While looking around for the Chaos Emerald, Amy and Emerl are confronted by Chaos Gamma, whom the hedgehog mistakes for the original Gamma. Eventually, the villainous robot is defeated and forced to flee. Soon after, Emerl tracks the Emerald to Night Babylon, which scares Amy. On the spot, the duo is attacked by two Phis, which they defeat and claim its Emerald shards. Now having four pieces, the two go to find the last one, which they trace down to Club "Rouge". There, the heroes find Rouge, who has the final shard. Refusing to hand it over, the bat fights the two. In the aftermath, however, she is defeated, and gives Amy and Emerl her Emerald shard. Rouge warns the two that Dr. Eggman might pull a trick on them at the last minute. The robot tracks another Chaos Emerald nearby, but the bat explains that Shadow has it and that he has been resting there for a while.
Amy and Emerl soon go to Tails' lab, where they have the fox combine the five Emerald shards into a full Chaos Emerald, which the robot absorbs, making him regain his full power. Sonic soon arrives, and the pink hedgehog tells him that she has turned their "son" into a full-grown boy, giving him no excuse to marry her. Embarrassed, the blue hedgehog asks her to close her eyes for a while. When she complies, Sonic rushes off. Amy believes he is too shy, but Emerl thinks otherwise.
Cream the Rabbit[]
Following a training session with Amy, Cream the Rabbit and Emerl are left on their own as the pink hedgehog goes to buy a "Super Diet Machine" she had seen in a commercial. Meanwhile, Sonic and Tails have heard the news that there is a Chaos Emerald in the area, so they go check. They decide to leave Emerl with the rabbit, as they suspect that Dr. Eggman might be up to something. Just as the two leave, however, the doctor himself shows up to capture the robot; as it turns out, the Chaos Emerald being nearby was actually a falsehood he had fabricated to capture the Gizoid. The scientist sends a Phi to capture Emerl but changes his mind and paralyzes the robot with some "Hedgehog Begone", ordering to take him and Cream to Gimme Shelter.
With Cream and Emerl trapped in Gimme Shelter and with no apparent way to escape, Eggman has Chaos Gamma and three Phis keep an eye on the duo and leaves. When the robot is able to move again, however, he and the rabbit are attacked by two Guard Robos and later two Phis. While the duo defeats these foes and claim two Emerald shards from the Phis, Cream is upset by how violent Emerl is. In the aftermath, the Gizoid sees that the base's computer is on, so he goes to check. It turns out that it is Eggman, who mistakes Emerl for one of his own Phis, and incidentally reveals his plan: to use the robot and the rabbit as hostage to capture Sonic. Emerl then learns from the doctor that there is a key at the workshop that opens up the duct, from which they will be able to escape.
Once the call ends, Cream and Emerl immediately go to the workshop to get the key. However, they are attacked by two Phis, which they manage to destroy and claim their Emerald shards. Following the fight though, the rabbit begins to cry because of how violent the Gizoid is; remembering that Sonic thinks that making a girl cry is the worst thing one can do, the robot comforts his friend and then the two take the key. When they approach the duct though, they encounter Chaos Gamma, who now has an Emerald shard empowering it. Despite being attacked by his foe, Emerl refuses to fight, not wanting to make Cream sad again. Seeing as her friend is being damaged by Chaos Gamma, the rabbit steps up and goes to fight the villainous robot herself. When the Gizoid recovers, she escapes with him to the nearby depot, while the Gamma-like robot stays near the duct since it knows that the duo will try and escape from there.
Cream and Emerl decide to train a bit at the depot to fight Chaos Gamma later. Soon, however, the computer turns on again, prompting them to go check. It turns out that it is Dr. Eggman again, who is with Sonic himself, attempting to tell him that he is holding the duo hostage. The doctor is unable to prove this though, so the hedgehog believes that he is lying. Once the call ends, the rabbit and the robot go back to the duct to fight Chaos Gamma. They manage to defeat their foe after a fight, and claim his Emerald shards. Now with all shards, the heroes combine them to make a whole Chaos Emerald, which Emerl absorbs. Soon after, however, Eggman arrives, furious at seeing how useless his robots are. The duo manages to lure him in his own trap, electrocuting him alive and leaving him paralyzed. The heroes then call Sonic through the computer and show him the trapped villain. Seeing how his nemesis was telling the truth after all, the hedgehog goes to Gimme Shelter to rescue his friends, while the paralyzed, humilliated Eggman proclaims that he will get them.
Shadow the Hedgehog[]
Dr. Eggman learns that Sonic has got the sixth Chaos Emerald. Recognizing that he has underestimated his nemesis, he realizes that it could get tricky to steal Emerl if they give him the seventh gem, which is in Shadow the Hedgehog's possession. While he believes that the black hedgehog will not hand over his Emerald and activate Gizoid, he is still convinced that the information he has found in his grandfather's work log will still allow him to conquer the world otherwise.
Long ago, Shadow felt once again that a voice was talking to him, telling him of a strong power that cannot exist. This prompted him to go to Gimme Shelter, Eggman's base, where he finds the Gizoid, which he recognized as being what had called him. He also met Rouge there, who explained to him that the robot was an ancient weapon that was created over 4,000 years ago. Soon after though, the two were attacked by some Guard Robos, but they managed to defeat them. However, one of the robots attacked the black hedgehog in "an opening", heavily injuring him. As such, the bat decided to take him to Club "Rouge" and leave him there to recover.
Back in the present, Shadow is about to finish recovering. As he does, he reminisces about the time he was awoken by Dr. Eggman, when he fought Sonic at Emerald Town, when he battled Tails at Central City, and when he formed a team with Rouge. He soon wakes up and was told by the bat that Emerl was at Emerald Beach. Upon arriving there, however, he finds Sonic, and tells him that the Gizoid will awaken as a legendary war weapon when he collects the final Chaos Emerald. The blue hedgehog does not believe this though, reminding his rival that he once was the military's ultimate super weapon and still saved humanity later on, but Shadow said that he did this for Maria. Sonic argues that because of this, he and Emerl have "hearts" and are thus not weapons and would never use their power for the forces of evil. He also reminds Shadow of the keywords Rouge had told him about earlier to turn the Gizoid into an ordinary robot. Their discussion is later interrupted by none other than Emerl himself, who is looking for the Chaos Emerald the black hedgehog has and demanding for power. When the robot returns to his usual self, Sonic has him go with Shadow to find out who he really is and try to find what Eggman is up to.
Along the way, Shadow and Emerl are attacked by Chaos Gamma yet again in Central City, but manage to defeat it despite it having an Emerald shard. The black hedgehog reminds the Gizoid that this is the fate for all weapons of war. Continuing along, the duo infiltrates Gimme Shelter, where Shadow ponders why he and Emerl have "souls" and "hearts" despite having been created as weapons. Rouge then enters the scene, explaining that Professor Gerald was not interested in researching weapons, but was forced by the government to use his work for war, which is why he gave the black hedgehog and the robot "souls" identical to the one of his granddaughter Maria, hoping that no matter how crazed with destruction humanity might become, the weapons themselves would never fight. However, the professor was unable to erase the destructive powers within Emerl, which is why he programmed him with a special code to become just like Shadow when uttering the words "Bring hope to humanity" upon being awoken. Having no other choice, the hedgehog gives the Gizoid his Chaos Emerald and commands him, as his new Master, to "bring hope to humanity". The code works, and Emerl is now free and Eggman will never have any control over him.
Afterwards, Shadow decides to fight Emerl one last time to prove who is the strongest, having no more need for his Chaos Emerald to use Chaos Control as he has Maria in his heart. However, the robot soon backs down, wanting to see Sonic and his friends one last time. As such, the black hedgehog has him fight them all and then go fight him at Central Highway. When the Gizoid complies and sees his friends again, he and Shadow fight as previously established. Following this fight though, Sonic himself comes in and has Emerl fight both him and the black hedgehog at the same time. In the aftermath, the robot thanks his friends for protecting him and playing with him, feeling fun and excitement all the time instead of concern as Gerald had programmed him earlier. Seeing this as ridiculous, Shadow leaves as he sees no need for a weapon to have feeling. Sonic then wishes Emerl to live his life to the fullest, and trains him a little more.
Emerl[]
Emerl, who has come to realize that he has the same "soul" as Shadow, has finally collected all seven Chaos Emeralds. However, Dr. Eggman has not given up in his plans for global domination yet; despite knowing that all of the Phis were destroyed, Chaos Gamma turned out to be useless, and Sonic and his friends have taken all seven Emeralds and inserted them into the Gizoid, who should now be extremely powerful with all of the training he has received, the doctor proclaims that he will come victorious if his grandfather's journal is correct about the robot.
Elsewhere, Sonic is still training with Emerl at Central City. Eggman then shows up and proudly reveals that he has inserted the completed Final Egg Blaster into his new Death Egg, before proclaiming that he will conquer the world and that his nemeses will be unable to stop him from becoming king of the world. As the doctor leaves, Tails approaches the hedgehog and tells him that a massive battleship has appeared in Holy Summit. Emerl readies himself to go settle a few things with the scientist, but the fox has a bad feeling about this, thinking that the villain is trying to lure them into a trap. Nevertheless, he goes to fetch a warp transporter in Holy Summit to reach the battleship, which turns out to be the Death Egg.
When Sonic, Tails and Emerl arrive at Holy Summit, Knuckles explains to them that, upon the Death Egg's appearance, the local Estuary froze and Chaos appeared, sitting there and watching the spaceship. The fox meanwhile brings the warp transporter, but it only has a charge left and takes a long time to recharge again. The hedgehog thus has Emerl go to the Death Egg and fight Eggman.
Upon arriving at the Death Egg, Emerl learns that Sonic and Tails will be cheering him on from a nearby monitor, and that Amy, Cream, Shadow and Rouge will watch him too. Afterwards, the robot comes face to face with Eggman, who fights him piloting his Egg Mobile. Following the battle, the doctor pleads the Gizoid for mercy, swearing that he will never do any of his nasty plans again. However, this was just an attempt to lure Emerl into a trap; when the robot lowers his guard, the villain paralyzes him and traps him into the Final Egg Blaster, which he uses to showcase his power by destroying a cluster of stars. While brutally mocking the Gizoid for being "so soft" due to being raised by Sonic and his friends, Eggman establishes a Link with him due to his overwhelming power. However, Emerl is unable to handle all of this power, causing him to go haywire and aim the Final Egg Blaster at earth. As the doctor is knocked out of the way, Sonic sees the Master Emerald float down to him; believing he can use the gem to counter the seven Chaos Emeralds, he uses the recharged warp transporter to go fight the Gizoid. However, the Master Emerald is shattered, and there are only thirty seconds left before the robot fires the Final Egg Blaster and destroys the planet. As such, the hedgehog has one final showdown against Emerl.
Following the fight, the Final Egg Blaster is deactivated at the last moment. However, Emerl is heavily damaged beyond repair, and begins to contemplate his life in his last moments. Sonic attempts to convince him to go with him back to earth and go play with his friends. Sadly though, the Gizoid is destroyed and disappears in a flash of light. Shadow sees that this was Gerald's final program: if the weapon goes out of control, it will terminate itself. Cream cries at the loss of her robot friend, but Sonic comforts her, saying that he is still in the Emerald shards. Tails asks the hedgehog if they will see Emerl again if the world no longer needs weapons or wars, and Sonic assures that they will.
Characters[]
| Image | Character | Biography |
|---|---|---|
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Emerl | Emerl is capable of strengthening himself by adquiring his opponent's moves. Collect as many moves as possible and customize Emerl's fighting skills![3] |
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Sonic the Hedgehog | Sonic is a hedgehog who runs at supersonic speed. Check out his excellent balance of attack, defense moves and ability to run at super-sonic speeds. Knock-out opponents by using a snappy dance-inspired move![3] |
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Miles "Tails" Prower | "Tails" has invented a number of unique combined moves. Create a variety of combos with his consecutive attacks and inventions.[3] |
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Knuckles the Echidna | Knuckles is an enthusiastic fighter who can knock down opponents with a single hit. Keep punching opponents to defeat them quickly![3] |
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Amy Rose | Amy is a cheerful and energetic girl who attacks opponents with her Piko Piko Hammer. You may win a battle simply by swinging it around.[3] |
|
Shadow the Hedgehog | Shadow can move from place to place without being detected. He will vanish and attack, and then appear again. Watch out for his ultimate speed![3] |
|
Cream the Rabbit | Cream always has a constant companion in her best friend, Cheese. Joining hands, Cream and Cheese not only work well together, but also give each other courage![3] |
|
Rouge the Bat | Rouge is the "world's greatest thief." There's no doubt that her battle style will rock your world![3] |
|
Dr. Eggman | Dr. Eggman, a genius scientist, is always hatching plots to take over the world. He was allegedly in the process of attempting to use Emerl for an unknown purpose....[3] |
Gameplay[]
Sonic Battle is very different from normal Sonic games in terms of gameplay, being a fighting game instead of a fast-paced action-adventure platformer. In story mode, players can explore the overworld, which is made up of Emerald Town, Holy Summit, Central City, Night Babylon, and Gimme Shelter, though during some parts of the story only certain maps can be visited. However, every map can be accessed during Emerl's story. By going to a selectable area, the player may train with other characters, fight E-121 Phis, or continue the plot.
Battles take place on three dimensional arenas with 2D sprites and are split up into Point, Survival, and Time modes. Point Battles require the player to be the first to get a certain amount of points by KO'ing other characters participating in the battle. Survival requires the player to defeat all opposing characters by KO'ing them until they run out of lives. Time Battles require the player to reach a certain objective within a certain amount of time.
Before the battle starts and before the player re-enters the battle after being knocked out, they are able to select from three different Special Attacks:
- Shot: Long-range Attack.[4] attacks are mid-to-long range attacks which can be directed in any of the eight directions (with the exception of Shadow's Chaos Magic, which can only be aimed in the four primary directions).
- Power: Direct Attack.[4] These attacks are typically signature attacks of the character and vary between each character. These attacks normally focus a lot of damage in one go.
- Set/Trap: Mine Blast.[4] This attack involves the character placing or releasing an explosive trap which launches the opponent upward and briefly blinds anyone hit.
The player can also use Special Moves, which can be selected from the following options before the battle begins or while paused:[5]
- Ground is the basic Special Attack, used when the character is on the ground.
- Aerial is a variant of a special attack used while the character is in the air and is often an air-to-ground attack.
- Guard automatically protects the playable character from opponents' moves in the same category, even if already in hitstun/flinching from another attack. For example, if Guard is on Shot, all Shot moves are automatically blocked until the character die and resets the Guard to block another type of special upon respawning.
All characters are also capable of healing themselves at varying speeds. Defending from special attacks and healing allows characters to fill up the Ichikoro Gauge. When this gauge is full, the character flashes and their next special attack will be a one-hit K.O. if it hits. However, it will instantly fill the gauge of anyone who blocks the attack.
In Story Mode, after a battle when Emerl is present, Emerl gains Skill Points based on how well the player fought: winning earns 1 point; winning without losing a life earns 2 points; exiting at one point in Tails' story or winning without losing a life while battling two optional Phis earns 3 points; winning without getting hit earns 5 points; and winning without getting hit while battling two optional Phis earns 6 points. Giving an Emerald Shard or a Chaos Emerald to Emerl gives him 10 points. These points allow skills that Emerl has copied from the battle to be selected as part of Emerl's moveset. These skills are ranked one to six stars, with each star being worth five points. The total point worth of the skills cannot exceed the total number of Skill Points Emerl has, and the maximum amount of obtainable Skill Points is 500.
Controls[]
| Button formation | Movement[5] |
|---|---|
|
Move |
| x2
|
Dash |
|
Jump |
|
Guard |
| Hold
|
HP Recovery |
| x2
|
Rotate Map |
|
Light Attack |
| x3
|
Combo |
| +
|
Heavy Attack / Upper Attack |
| Jump >
|
Air Attack |
| Dash >
|
Dash Attack |
|
Special Move |
| during Heavy Attack
|
Chase opponent |
| Chase >
|
Pursuit Attack |
| Chase and Attack > towards opponent
|
Wall Counter |
Characters[]
Playable characters[]
- Amy Rose
- Chaos
- Chaos Gamma (only appearance)
- Cheese
- Cream the Rabbit
- Emerl (first appearance)
- Knuckles the Echidna
- Miles "Tails" Prower
- Rouge the Bat
- Shadow the Hedgehog
- Sonic the Hedgehog
Non-playable characters[]
- Dr. Eggman
- E-121 Phi (only appearance)
- Gerald Robotnik (mentioned)
- Guard Robo (only appearance)
- Maria Robotnik (mentioned)
- President (mentioned)
Arenas[]
All arenas except for Death Egg can be used in Battle Mode.
- Emerald Beach (Sonic)
- Tails' Lab (Tails, Virtual Training in Emerl's)
- Chao Ruins (Knuckles)
- Battle Highway (Shadow)
- Club "Rouge" (Rouge)
- Amy's Room (Amy)
- Library (Cream)
- Metal Depot (Chaos Gamma)
- Holy Summit (Chaos)
- Death Egg (Emerl)
- Colosseum (Virtual Training and Battle Mode)
- Green Hill (Battle Mode)
Other Modes[]
Besides the main Story Mode and Battle Arena fights, there are a number of other game modes available for single or multiplayer by connecting the Game Boy Advance with up to three others via a link cable.
Edit[]
The Edit Screen[6] allows the player to configure the attacks and appearance of Emerl for use in the game's Story Mode. Skill Points are needed to adjust these settings, with the following options available to adjust:
- Move[6]
- Running Skill: A skill related to the velocity of Map movement.
- Dashing Skill: Captured skill of a Character's dashing movement.
- Jumping Skill: Captured skill of a Character's jumping movement.
- Air Action: Captured skill of a Character's aerial action.
- Guard Skill: Captured skill of a Character's Guarding movement.
- Heal Skill: Captured skill of a Character's movement when the HP is being recovered.
- Attack[7]
- First Attack: First attack made when executing a combo.
- Second Attack: Second attack made when executing a combo.
- Third Attack: Third attack made when executing a combo.
- Heavy Attack: Skill to blow opponents away.
- Upper Attack: Skill to knocking [sic] opponents upwards.
- Dash Attack: Skill to attack while dashing.
- Air Attack: Skill to attack while jumping.
- Pursuit Attack: Skill to inflict Pursuit Attack.
- Ground Shot: Special move in which Shot has been added to a Ground Attack.
- Air Shot: Special move in which Shot has been added to an Air Attack.
- Ground Power: Special move in which [Power] has been added to a Ground Attack.
- Air Power: Special move in which Power has been added to an Air Attack.
- Ground Trap: Special move in which Mine is set to a Ground Attack.
- Air Trap: Special move in which Mine is set to an Air Attack.
- Others[8]
- Fighting Pose: A skill shown when a character is not moving.
- Strength Support: A special skill to strengthen the internal defense ability.
- Attack Support: A special skill to stimulate the internal attack ability.
- Support of Others: A special, but mysterious skill.
- Color 1: A skill to modify the color of the horn.
- Color 2: A skill to change the body color.
- Color 3: A skill to alter the color of details such as fists.
Battle Mode[]
In Battle Mode[9] players can select characters and arenas to spar in. It can be played in either single-player or multiplayer mode, with the latter using the Game Boy Advance Link Cable.
The players can alter the mode's rules to have unique gameplay styles, with the following options available:[9]
- KO: Sets the number of opponents required to defeat in order to win. Options include 5, 10, 15, 30, and 99 enemies.
- Time: Sets the game's time limit, with options of two, three, five, or ten minutes.
- Survival: Sets the number of lives the player, or players, have when beginning Battle Mode. Options include 3, 5, 10, 15, and 30 lives.
Challenge Mode[]
Challenge Mode[10] allows the player to fight up to fifteen consecutive battles against computer controlled enemies, depending on how well they do. Any of the eight playable characters can be chosen, with the enemies varies depending on this choice. Three difficulty levels are able to be played, ranging from one ring (easiest) to three rings (hardest).[10] This mode is won upon the player winning five rounds, though the computer will win if the player loses ten.
Training Mode[]
Training Mode[11] is where the player can practice various battle styles and combo moves. The character, character's moveset, opponents, opponents movesets, and map can all be customized.
Mini Games[]
In Mini Games, two-dimensional mini games can be selected. These games are largely unrelated to the fighting motif, with them all being multiplayer unless noted otherwise. The mini games are as follows:
| Image | Mini game | Unlock requirement | Playable character(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Soniclash! | N/A | Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow |
|
Tails' Fly & Get | Beat Tails' episode in Story Mode | Tails, Cream, Gamma, Rouge |
|
Knuckles' Mine Hunt (single-player) |
Beat Knuckles' episode in Story Mode | Knuckles |
|
Amy's Treasure Island | Beat Amy's episode in Story Mode | Amy, Cream, Knuckles, Rouge |
|
Shadow's Speed Demon | Beat Shadow's episode in Story Mode | Shadow, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles |
Secret Combo Cards[]
Combo Cards representing each character can be obtained by entering a code at the Sonic Team building in the Central City area during Emerl's story. These skills are worth six stars (30 skill points). When activated, Emerl will perform a rapid combo consisting of that character's techniques. This assault cannot be cancelled once it's activated unless it's interrupted by an enemy attacking the user or blocking it.
- Sonic: 75619
- Tails: OTrOI
- Knuckles: yU3Da
- Amy: alogK
- Cream: ZAhan
- Shadow: ArmIa
- Rouge: AhnVo
- Gamma: tSueT
- Chaos: EkiTa
Reception[]
| Reception | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | 69.34%[12] |
| Metacritic | 69%[13] |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| Game Informer | 6/10[14] |
| GamePro | 3.5/5[15] |
| GameSpot | 7.7/10[16] |
| GameSpy | 3/5[17] |
| IGN | 8/10[18] |
| Nintendo Power | 7.4/10[14] |
| X-Play | 3/5 |
The game received generally mixed to positive reviews from critics. According to review aggregator site Metacritic, the game has a score of 69 out of 100 based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[13] According to GameRankings, the game has a score of 69.34%.[12] While some critics praised the game's "surprisingly deep arena-fighting gameplay", graphics, and multiplayer mode, others dismissed it for its "limited moveset" and use of 2-D sprites on a 3-D fighting arena.
IGN gave the game a positive review, saying "It does try hard to be what Smash Bros. is, and even though the game doesn't quite reach the same status Nintendo and HAL created for the Nintendo consoles, Sonic Battle has enough stuff to make it one of the top original fighters on the Game Boy Advance system."[18] GameSpy also gave a positive review, saying "A solid and pleasantly deep arena beat 'em up with lots of longevity, and through the presence of [Sonic the Hedgehog] and his posse adds absolutely nothing to the game, it's nice to see them getting work in these tough economic times."[17] Nintendo Power gave a more mixed review, saying the "moves are limited, but the overall experience is tons of fun."[14] GamePro also gave a mixed review, criticizing the game's story mode, saying "The biggest problem with Sonic Battle is the poor game design in Story mode. Earning Skill Points, and thereby new abilities for Emerl the Robot, is a grueling ordeal."[15] GameStyle gave a more negative review, saying that "fighting really isn't Sonic's strength - at least not with regard to good gameplay."
Adaptations[]
Sonic X[]
Knuckles and Emerl battling, from "A Wild Win."
The storyline of Sonic Battle was loosely adapted for TV in episodes 45 and 46 of Sonic X, entitled "Prize Fights" and "A Wild Win," respectively.
Trivia[]
- Oddly, the seven Chaos Emeralds are all green in this game, and the Master Emerald does not have its own separate sprite. Meanwhile, Emerald Shards have their own sprites.
- Strangely, when Sonic gets the Master Emerald, he states "A Master Emerald," though this is most likely a typo.
- When Chaos Gamma appears before Sonic, Tails, and Emerl, Sonic and Tails quickly mistaken him as Gamma, whom they haven't seen since Sonic Adventure. Knuckles and Amy also mistake him as Gamma. Rouge notes that he looks similar to Omega.
- Even though Knuckles seems to remember Gamma, the two have never actually met. Knuckles merely followed him to get to the Egg Carrier.
- In the game's story Shadow seemingly remembers who he is and his past on the Space Colony ARK. However, in Sonic Heroes, also released in 2003, in which Rouge finds him in one of Eggman's secret bases, suffering from amnesia. Shadow would only remember who he was in his titular game released in 2005, with this inconsistency remaining unexplained.
- Knuckles is depicted as living on Holy Summit near the Master Emerald in this game, and no mention of Angel Island is made. It is unknown if the Holy Summit is intended to be part of Angel Island, or if this is simply a plot inconsistency with other games in the series.
- The Japanese version has a language option where players can switch between Japanese to English. Some differences and mistranslations can be seen.
- One example is in the beginning of Rouge's story where she calls the hacker, who is Eggman, a "dirty bastard" for hacking the Central Computer.
- Another example is the menu, where the game asks if the player is going to continue the story or play a different episode. The whole menu text itself is different in the English releases of the game and has a massive mistranslation (pictured on the right).
- This is the first post-Sonic Adventure game with 2D artwork on the front cover not illustrated by Yuji Uekawa.
- The artwork resembles the style of Puyo Pop Fever, another game made by Sonic Team.
- This game was developed separately from Sonic Heroes, with the developers aware of Shadow returning with amnesia but not of the full story, which is why Shadow's return is so different in Sonic Battle, with Rouge simply finding him on a beach, and there is no sign of Omega.[citation needed]
- Dr. Eggman's base in the game, "Gimme Shelter," shares the name with the popular Rolling Stones song.
- In the Shibuya Downtown course in Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, Sonic Battle artwork can be seen on a plane.
- In Virtual Training, even though the player receives the same amount of lives as the opponents, getting K.O.'d once will end the Virtual Training session.
- This is the first time that Shadow, Rouge, and Chaos are featured playable characters on the Game Boy Advance.
- This is also the first time they make an appearance on a handheld system.
- This is also their only appearance on the Game Boy Advance.
- This is the only handheld system Chaos was featured on before being on the Nintendo Switch.
Videos[]
References[]
- ↑ ソニック バトル (Japanese). Sega. Archived from the original on 8 December 2003. Retrieved on 25 December 2021.
- ↑ Sonic Battle (Game Boy Advance) United States instruction booklet, pgs. 3-5.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Sonic Battle (Game Boy Advance) United States instruction booklet, pgs. 3-5.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Sonic Battle (Game Boy Advance) United States instruction booklet, pg. 16.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Sonic Battle (Game Boy Advance) United States instruction booklet, pgs. 7-9.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Sonic Battle (Game Boy Advance) United States instruction booklet, pg. 17.
- ↑ Sonic Battle (Game Boy Advance) United States instruction booklet, pg. 18.
- ↑ Sonic Battle (Game Boy Advance) United States instruction booklet, pg. 19.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Sonic Battle (Game Boy Advance) United States instruction booklet, pgs. 25-27.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Sonic Battle (Game Boy Advance) United States instruction booklet, pg. 28.
- ↑ Sonic Battle (Game Boy Advance) United States instruction booklet, pg. 30.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Sonic Battle for Game Boy Advance. GameRankings (5 January 2004). Retrieved on 9 April 2013.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Sonic Battle for Game Boy Advance Reviews. Metacritic (5 January 2004). Retrieved on 9 April 2013.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Sonic Battle Critic Reviews for Game Boy Advance. Metacritic. Retrieved on 9 April 2013.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 GamePro Media (13 January 2010). Sonic Battle Review. GamePro. Retrieved on 9 April 2013.
- ↑ Sonic Battle Review. GameSpot (5 January 2004). Retrieved on 9 April 2013.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Sonic Battle. GameSpy. Retrieved on 9 April 2013.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Sonic Battle. IGN. Retrieved on 9 April 2013.
External links[]
- Official website (Japanese)
- Official website (North American)
- Sonic Battle at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia