Manta

Manta^[1] is an enemy that appears in the Wii U/PC version of Sonic Lost World. It is a mass-produced, manta ray-based Badnik model created by Dr. Eggman.

Appearance

Mantas are based on manta rays. They have pink armor with a gray underbelly and a head consisting of a pair of small cyan eyes and a small mouth. Behind their heads they have two thick wings and a thin tail, and on the joints between their body and two wings they have an orange and pink turbine engine. They also have a small hole on their underbellies from where they deploy flaming bombs.

Overview

In gameplay, Mantas are only encountered in Lava Mountain Zone 2, where they usually appear in groups. The player meets them during the Zone's grinding sections, where they fly ahead of the player and drop flaming bombs on the Grind Rails. Normally, these bombs can damage the player upon touch.

Mantas cannot be defeated by regular means, as the player's focus is on avoiding their bombs until they start pulling back. Occasionally, the player can pull one of the local yellow switches to raise barrier gates further up the route. The Mantas on the Grind Rails will then crash into the barrier gate, destroying both the gate and themselves in the process.

Trivia

• Like many new enemies in Sonic Lost World, the Mantas' name has not been listen in any official source. Instead, they are referred to as "manta" in the game's source code.
• No Animals pop out a Mantas when they crash into barrier gates.

References