The Medal, also referred to as the Medallion[1] (メダル[2],Medaru?, lit. "Medal") and honor,[3] is an object that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. They are decorative disks that the player can collect during gameplay.
In terms of appearance, Medals are typically round metal disks with symbols engraved on them. However, their finner details depend on each game. They typically come in three different variations: gold, silver, and bronze. However, there are cases where they have come in other unique variations.
In gameplay, the player can collect Medals. How they can be collected depends on the game. Some Medals can be found in the levels and can be collected by touching them while others are earned once the player accomplishes or achieves a certain feat. Collecting Medals will in several cases unlock extra features in the game. In other cases, they simply serve as marks of the accomplishments needed to get them.
The Medals made their first appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). In this game, they come in three variants: Gold Medals,[4]Silver Medals,[4] and Bronze Medals.[5] Depicted on each Medal is what appears to be Solaris' second form with a sun above it. Also, while the Gold and Silver Medals feature more decorative details, the Bronze Medals are less detailed.
In gameplay, the different variants of Medals serve different purposes and can even be collected in different ways. Bronze Medals appear during certain Town Missions where they lie scattered around the playing fields and can be obtained when touched by the playable character. In such missions, the objective is to collect the Bronze Medals. Silver Medals appear in Town Stages and Action Stages where they lie hidden around the playing fields and can be obtained when touched by the playable character. The game has a total of 380 Silver Medals spread across all four Episodes: the Sonic Episode has 130 Silver Medals, the Shadow and Silver Episodes both have 120 Silver Medals, and the Last Episode has ten Silver Medals. In each Episode, each Action Stage holds ten Silver Medals, Castle Town holds twenty Silver Medals, and New City and Forest both holds five Silver Medals. Lastly, there are the Gold Medals, which are earned when meeting specific conditions. The game has a total of 180 Gold Medals to collect: 61 for the Sonic Episode, 56 for the Shadow Episode, 56 for the Silver Episode, and 7 for the Last Episode. In each Episode, the player earns a Gold Medal each time they:
Complete an Action Stage/boss for the first time
Get an S Rank for an Action Stage/boss for the first time
Complete the Hard mode of an Action Stage for the first time
Get an S Rank for the Hard mode of an Action Stage for the first time
Collect all ten Silver Medals in an Action Stage
Collect all Silver Medals from the Episode's Town Stages
In Sonic and the Secret Rings, the Medals come in three variants: Gold, Silver, and Bronze.[6] Depicted on each Medal is an eight-pointed star with Sonic's trademark head on top of it.
In gameplay, the player earns a Medal for each completed Mission in the game. The type of the Medal earned depends on the player's completion time for that Mission.[6] The Bronze Medal is the lowest and the Gold Medal is the highest. Obtaining both Silver and Gold Medals in particular unlock Missions in Adventure Mode and items for the Special Book.
In Sonic Rush Adventure, the Medals are all basically golden, which each one having a differently-colored depiction of a crown emblazoned on it. They also have Roman numerals depicted on their bottoms that indicate their sequence number.
In gameplay, there are a total of fourteen Medals to collect. Each Medal is feature in a certain Mission given out by Marine the Raccoon. In each of those Missions, there is a treasure chest with a Medal inside it, which is hidden in a specific location in the Mission Act and must be found within a time limit. Once the Mission is complete, the Medal featured in that Mission is earned and can then be viewed in the game's Items option on the menu.
In Sonic Rivals 2, the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medal from Sonic and the Secret Rings are each featured as one of the collectible cards in the game. To collect each card, the player has to counter attacks; the Bronze Medal's card is earned by countering five attacks; the Silver Medal's card is earned by countering ten attacks; and the Gold Medal's card is earned by countering twenty attacks.
In both the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 and Wii/PlayStation 2 of Sonic Unleashed, two new types of Medals appear: the Sun Medal and the Moon Medal.[7] Sun Medals are bronze-brown with a fiery red sun depicted on them, and Moon Medals are blue with a light blue crescent moon and three small stars depicted on them.
In the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 version of Sonic Unleashed, there is a total of 200 Sun Medals and 200 Moon Medals to collect. In gameplay, both the Sun and Moon Medals appear in Town Stages, Action Stages, Entrance Stages and missions where they lie hidden around the playing field and can be obtained when touched by the playable character. In Entrance Stages and Town Stages in particular, there are Sun and Moon Medals that only appear during either daytime or nighttime. According to Professor Pickle, collecting Sun and Moon Medals will increase Chip's respective Sun and Moon power levels.[8] As the player collect Sun and Moon Medals and raises Chip's power levels, new Gaia Gates will be activated, allowing access to additional non-story Action Stages. Sun Medals in particular open Daytime Action Stages while Moon Medals open Nighttime Action Stages. The number of each Medal type found and the total amount for a given Action Stage can be seen when standing above the Gaia Gate. From the World Map, the player can also see the number of Medals found in each country.
In the Wii/PlayStation 2 version of Sonic Unleashed, there is a total of 103 Sun Medals and 71 Moon Medals to collect. In gameplay, the player is rewarded Sun and Moon Medals when reaching certain objectives in the playable levels and missions. Sun Medals are rewarded when the player plays through Nighttime levels and Moon Medals are rewarded by playing through Daytime levels. In Daytime Stages, the player will earn three Medals by getting an S Rank, two Medals by getting an A Rank, and one Medal by getting a B Rank. In Nighttime Stages on the other hand, one Medal is obtained depending on the clearing time, one depending on the Rings collected, and one depending on the player's amassed Gaia Force points. However, the player can only obtain three Medals per Stage. In tutorial missions, mini missions or bosses, only one Medal can be obtained per mission (the boss medals are obtained by gaining S Ranks). As the player collect Sun and Moon Medals, they can unlock new doors inside the game's different Gaia Gates. Behind these doors lie puzzles that the player can complete in order to obtain different items.
In the console/PC version of Sonic Generations, only one type of Medal appears. This Medal is golden with an image of Knuckles' head emblazoned on them.
In gameplay, the Medals only appear during the Knuckles: Buried TreasureChallenge Act. In this Challenge Act, the player's objective is to have Knuckles dig up a number Medals marked around the Act for the player to collect within the time limit.
Sonic Mania
In Sonic Mania, and its expansion Sonic Mania Plus, Medals are referred to as "Medallions"[1] (メダル[2],Medaru?, lit. "Medal"). In this game, they come in two variants (gold and silver) and look like coins with a picture of Sonic emblazoned on them. Notably, they have similarities to a real life coin that was given out to celebrate Sonic's 25th anniversary for a limited time.
In gameplay, Medallions are earned when completing Bonus Stages. If the player completes a Bonus Stage without collecting all the Rings in it, they will be awarded a silver Medallion. If the player does complete a Bonus Stage with all its Rings in hand however (which will earn them a Perfect Bonus), they will be awarded a gold Medallion instead. The player can earn a total of thirty-two Medallions in the game, which can be viewed in the game's Extras menu. Also, if the player later earns a gold Medallion in the same stage as they got a silver Medallion, then the silver Medallion will be replaced with the gold Medallion. Additionally, collecting enough Medallions will unlock different bonus features in the game:
In Sonic Forces, Medals are referred to as honors in the game manual.[3] In this game, they come in the classic three variants: Gold, Silver, and Bronze. In addition, each of the three variants of Medals resemble chest medals. Bronze Medals are simple coins with the Resistance's logo emblazoned on them and a blue ribbon each. Silver Medals are similar to the Bronze Medals, but with a pair of wings on the sides of the Resistance logo and a blue and red-striped ribbon each. Lastly, there are the Gold Medals which are round with the Resistance logo in the middle and decorative extensions around the edge. They also have a red ring around the Resistance logo and a red, blue and golden-striped ribbon each.
In gameplay, Medals appear as rewards for completing stages, and are attributed to the Avatar the player currently has. By gathering experience based on one's Total Score in a stage, the player can increase the experience gauge on the Results screen. Once the player fills up the experience gauge, they will earn one Bronze Medal. Earning five Bronze Medals will grant the player a Silver Medal. Similarly, earning two Silver Medals will grant the player a Gold Medal. The maximum for each Avatar is three Gold Medals. Collecting a certain amount of Medals for each type of Avatar will unlock new Costume options and Wispons by completing the corresponding Challenge Missions.
In Team Sonic Racing, the Medals look like coins and come in four variants: Platinum Medals, Gold Medals, Silver Medals, and Bronze Medals. Depicted on each Medal is an image of Sonic's head with a laurel wreath surrounding it along the edges. They each also have a ribbon attached to their bottom.
In gameplay, the Medals appear as the reward system in certain Events, namely the Daredevil, Destruction, Eggpawn Assault, Ring Challenge, and Traffic Challenge Events. The type of the Medal earned depends on the player's performance in that Event; the more points the player earn, the better the Medal. The player can complete the event with a bronze, silver, gold and platinum Medal, although only the second and fourth award the player with a Team Adventure-exclusive star. Obtaining a platinum medal ends the event automatically, and the player will earn all the stars available for the event.
↑Sonic Team, Blindlight (24 November 2006). Sonic the Hedgehog. PlayStation 3. Sega. Area/Level: Town Mission 3: The Stolen Bronze Medals. "Textbox: Find the ten Bronze Medals!"
↑Sonic Team (9 December 2008). Sonic Unleashed. PlayStation 3. Sega. Area/Level: Prof. Pickle's Lab. "Prof. Pickle: I recommend you keep an eye out for Sun and Moon medals on your travels. You'll find them strewn about the world. Perhaps you've already seen some. Collect enough, and Chip's Sun and Moon power levels will rise. That will then allow you access to more of the Gaia Gates. Simple, hmm?"
