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Ice is a recurring element in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It acts most commonly as hazards in winter themed stages, but has also occasionally served as power-ups and special moves.
Description[]
Hazards and obstacles[]
Freezing[]
A playable character is often susceptible to be frozen in a chunk of ice which immobilize them. Freezing is often cause by Freezing Machines or Badniks with freezing weapons, such as Ice Ball. To break the ice, the player must press the jump button repeatedly. Sometimes, Springs, Item Boxes and other objects may be frozen solid which require a Spin Jump to break them free for use.
Icicles[]
Icicles' purposes are often two-fold. In some cases, Icicles work much like spikes, causing damage to the player upon contact. In games like Sonic Adventure and Sonic Unleashed however, the player can hold onto large icicles and jump between them to reach new areas. In such cases though, the playable characters may lose their grip if they hold onto them for too long.
Frozen surfaces[]
Some surfaces are frozen over by ice, resulting in less friction. As a result, the playable characters will be prone to automatically slide across such slippery surfaces when moving on them, making it more difficult for the player to control their movements.
Attacks and powers[]
In a number of games, Ice has been incorporated as a special power or gimmick that the player can use in conjunction with their attacks for more potency or as a separate power/power-up to enhance the player's performance.
Game appearances[]
Sonic the Hedgehog CD[]
Ice was first weaponized in Sonic the Hedgehog CD. In Wacky Workbench, the exhaust from the vents were so cold they could freeze Sonic.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3[]
In Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the first winter-themed Zone was introduced, namely the IceCap Zone. This Zone utilized a few ice hazards such as freezing and icicles, common elements later used in future winter-themed Zones.
Sonic 3D Blast[]
In Sonic 3D Blast, the player can be frozen by various means, though it is still possible to slide along frozen surfaces while being frozen.
Sonic Adventure[]
In Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut, Sonic and Tails can traverse across icicles in the Icecap. However, they will slip off gradually if they hold on for too long. The Ice Stone is needed to access Icecap.
Sonic Advance[]
In Sonic Advance, the Ice Mountain Zone utilizes a few recurring ice-themed obstacles which can freeze the player and hazardous icicles.
Sonic Rivals series[]
In Sonic Rivals and Sonic Rivals 2, Ice is one of the games' Power-Ups that can be used both offensively and defensively depending on the user's current racing position in the Act. When used offensively in Sonic Rivals, the user launches a blast of ice that moves along the Act's path until it hits a wall, an enemy or the user's Rival which in the latter case, the hit Rival will be frozen for a short amount of time. The offensive usage of the Ice Power-up was changed in Sonic Rivals 2 where instead, the user will launch an orb of ice that tracks down the opponent. Once the orb has reached its target, it will then attempt to freeze them in a cube of ice after a delay although it can be dodged. When used defensively in both games, the user performs the Ice Cube, where they drop a cube of ice behind that will freeze the opponent upon contact in a similar manner to its offensive usage counterpart.
Sonic Unleashed[]
In Sonic Unleashed, the terrains in both the daytime and nighttime Acts of Cool Edge are covered in frozen surfaces. In addition, there are nozzles that blow chilling winds and enemies like the Egg Blizzards and Dark Moray that can freeze Sonic the Werehog and deplete his health gauge considerably, which requires to move the control stick quickly. Oppositely, the player can use enemies and other gimmicks to freeze opponents, making them easier to attack.
In the nighttime Acts on the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 version of the game, Sonic can climb across icicles before they break off and fall down.
Sonic Lost World[]
In Sonic Lost World, a number of Zones in Frozen Factory have frozen surfaces. However, rather that serving as a hindrance, it is incorporated into Sonic's movements. As such, when moving across such surfaces while moving at high speeds, Sonic literally skates on them and uses axel jumps when jumping, although he cannot Double Jump.
Sonic Mania[]
In Sonic Mania and its expansion Sonic Mania Plus, ice is present in the second act of Press Garden Zone. In this game, similarily to other classic titles, such as Sonic the Hedgehog CD and Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the player can be frozen in a cube of ice, either by a Snowblower, IceBombas or by the Heavy Shinobi during its boss fight.
In this act, the player can also encounter regular gimmicks made of ice, such as frozen spikes or frozen Springs, as well Rings or Item Boxes trapped inside ice blocks.
Sonic Frontiers[]
In Sonic Frontiers, ice can be found exclusively on Chaos Island, on top of a snowy mountain. In this game, the ice is slippery, not allowing the player to climb further. However, by using the Drop Dash, the player is able of traversing the mountain via ice.
Other game appearances[]
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood[]
In Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, the game has an element system common with most fantasy RPGs. Ice is one of its elements. Robots, Zoah and Voxai are resistant to ice while Kron, N'rrgal and other organic opponents are weak against it. Chao like Griff and equipment such as Ice Rings add ice damage to attacks.
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed[]
In Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, ice appears as an offensive weapon in the form of snowballs that can be thrown at opponents to stop them or slow them down. The Ice often comes in sets of three and can be thrown both forward and backward.