Gun Hunter

The Gun Hunter^[1] (ガンハンター, Ganhantā^?) is an enemy in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is a mass-produced robot model deployed by the military organization Guardian Units of Nations, and a part of the Hunter series. It is the most basic of its series, and from where all other variations are designed and modified from.

Appearance

The baseline Gun Hunters are blue, white, yellow, red and gray humanoid robots with a top-heavy upper torso. They have a flat head with no neck, a single red eye, and a drop-shaped blue cap covering it. On their torso, they have red and blue chest plating with the number "02" on the left side and GUN's symbol on the right. They also have legs with large kneecaps, thick forearms, a hand on their left arm, and a large, red and black-barreled gun on their right arm.

Originally, the Gun Hunters' legs were rather thin. In Sonic Generations, they were made thicker and their feet became bigger. They also gained larger shoulders, smoother curves, a more streamlined gun, and had the number "02" and GUN's symbol emblazoned on their heads.

Game appearances

Sonic Adventure 2

The Gun Hunters first appeared in Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Adventure 2: Battle as one of the games' more common enemies. They can be found in the following Stages:

In gameplay, Gun Hunters either drop down from above or stay in a hunched-down standby position before entering an attack mode when the player is in range. They mostly remain in one spot from where they take aim at the player, but will hover around them in rare cases. When the player leaves the area, the Gun Hunters return to standby. They usually appear alone, but can appear in groups of two to three. When destroyed, the Gun Hunters each grant one hundred points.

When engaging the player, Gun Hunters attack by locking onto the playable character when they are within range before firing a yellow, arrow-shaped bullet. They repeat this once every second. Their shots have a range of roughly five-six meters before they vanish, and can pass through Containers. Some Gun Hunters can also shoot blue gel which will immobilize the characters they hit, making it easier for the Gun Hunters to shoot them. However, the player can break free by pressing //.

Inactive Gun Hunters can be found all over Weapons Bed which do not hurt Eggman when he approaches them, nor do they drop Chaos Drives when destroyed. They will still earn the player points and lock-on bonuses when destroyed, though.

Sonic Rush

In Sonic Rush, Gun Hunters appear alongside other G.U.N. robots in Huge Crisis. In this game, they appear smaller than in Sonic Adventure 2 with a more rounded design and visible eyes. When they spot the player, they will fire gunshots which can be avoided by simply crouching.

Sonic Generations

In the console/PC version of Sonic Generations, the Gun Hunters were redesigned with more realistic feet, larger shoulders and jetpacks. They also do not have a crouching position like in Sonic Adventure 2, and they hold their weapon like a minigun. They appear in both acts of City Escape.

In this game, the Gun Hunters can charge their shot and fire it as a yellow bullet. They can also fly at high speeds through the air. In Act 2, they are blown away upon impact when attacked, like all of Modern Sonic's enemies, and can be used to hit other enemies if hit at the correct angle. In City Escape Act 1, a group of Gun Hunters will fly out of the GUN Military Truck to attack the player.

In the Nintendo 3DS version of Sonic Generations, the Gun Hunters appear in both acts of Radical Highway. They either bump into the player from the sky suddenly and shoot a laser beam at them or are found stationary in specific sections and tracks the player's movement to shoot at them. In either case, a Gun Hunter still possesses a degree of maneuverability that allows them to track the player even if they go behind them, although its slowness in firing its beams allows to destroy them easily.

During some sections of the stage, a Gun Hunter can also be seen in the background of the stage firing its laser beam at the player.

In other media

Archie Comics

Main article: Gun Hunter (Archie)

In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, Gun Hunters appeared as robots utilized by the Guardian Units of the Nation in their war against the Eggman Empire.

Trivia

• In Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, there are perpetually hunched Gun Hunters in Weapons Bed that do not hurt the player when touching them, nor do they drop a Chaos Drive when destroyed. However, they still give 100 points each. This is presumably because they have not been activated.

Gallery

Concept artwork

Sonic Generations

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Artwork

Sonic Adventure 2

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Models

Sonic Generations

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Screenshots

Gallery
Sonic Adventure 2 Sonic Adventure 2 Sonic Adventure 2 A Gun Hunter statue in the Statue Room in Sonic Generations (console/PC). Sonic Generations (Nintendo 3DS). Sonic Generations (Nintendo 3DS). Sonic Generations (Nintendo 3DS). Add a photo to this gallery

References