- For the use of objects with the same name, see Piko Piko Hammer (disambiguation).
The Piko Piko Hammer (ピコピコハンマー PikoPiko Hanmā?), also called the Love Hammer, is Amy Rose's signature weapon. It is a large yellow and red hammer that Amy uses as a melee weapon in combat, to execute better movements and perform special techniques.
Concept and creation
The Piko Piko Hammer was originally based on a popular Japanese children's toy of the same name. The phrase "piko-piko" is an onomatopoeia for the chirping sound that these hammers make when struck (which can also be heard in several games when Amy attacks).
The Piko Piko Hammer made its first appearance in Sonic the Fighters, in which Amy used it as a part of her combat moves. She was given the hammer as a weapon in order to strengthen her tomboyish nature (note that this is also the reason why she is a playable character in the game). As a result, she does not punch.
Description
Appearance
The Piko Piko Hammer's original design.
The Piko Piko Hammer mostly resembles a double-faced sledgehammer or mallet. Originally, it had a red head with flexible yellow faces and a pink handle. By the time of Sonic Adventure, the Piko Piko Hammer was redesigned with a larger, cylinder-shaped red head with raised rectangular sections on the middle, thick yellow face disks, and a brown handle. While this design has occasionally reappeared and served as the Piko Piko Hammer's fundamental look since then, it has more frequently been depicted with flatter face disks and without the rectangular sections on the head. In some cases, the colors of the Piko Piko Hammer's head has even been inversed.
The size of the Piko Piko Hammer's head often differs. Usually, it is slightly bigger than Amy's head. In other cases however, it is much larger, reaching sizes greater than the Pink Cabriolet.
Features and traits
Despite its colorful and innocent appearance, the Piko Piko Hammer is a powerful melee weapon, capable of dealing incredible damage with seemingly little effort. It can effortlessly smash whole robots with a single swing, yet graceful enough to be used for high-speed techniques. It can likewise sent foes flying with a single hit or crush them with devastating force. At as a testament to its might, even fearless individuals like Sonic and Knuckles dread getting a beating from the Piko Piko Hammer.
The Piko Piko Hammer has many applications in Amy's hands beside direct combat. When swung around fast enough and with the right amount of force, the Piko Piko Hammer can function as a propeller for flight, launch powerful shockwaves that can steer up miniature tornados or unleash massive releases of energy, and provide boosts for different acrobatic maneuvers.
When not using it, Amy keeps the Piko Piko Hammer in a hiding spot that remains unknown to this day,[1] but can pull it out of nowhere on a moment's notice.
Variants
Throughout the Sonic the Hedgehog series, Piko Piko Hammers other than Amy's regular hammer have appeared. These Piko Piko Hammers differs between each in appearance, and can possess traits unique to them.
In Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut, Amy can obtain an Level Up Item called the Long Hammer, which is an upgraded version of her regular Piko Piko Hammer. This Piko Piko Hammer increases the radius of Amy's attacks.
In Sonic Advance 3, when selecting Amy as a playable character, her partner will obtain a uniquely stylized Piko Piko Hammer, allowing him or her to use the Hammer Attack.
In some games, Amy is shown to possess a Piko Piko Hammer much larger than her regular one. In Sonic Advance 3, Amy can use this Piko Piko Hammer as a part of her Big Hammer Attack when having Knuckles the Echidna as her leader or sidekick, allowing her to attack with much more power. This Piko Piko Hammer reappeared during the credits of Sonic's story in Sonic Rush when Amy was chasing after Sonic.
In other media
Archie Comics
Amy with the Piko Piko Hammer in the Archie Comics.
The Piko Piko Hammer appears in the Archie Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog and its subsequent spin-offs as Amy Rose's signature weapon. It features the same design it had in Sonic Adventure. In this media, the Piko Piko Hammer was created as a by-product of Amy's usage of the Ring of Acorns. After absorbing the Ring of Acorns's power to make herself older, Amy obtained limited wish-granting abilities that allows her to wish forth the Piko Piko Hammer whenever she wants.
Following the timeline reboot caused by the Super Genesis Wave, the Piko Piko Hammer is now virtually identical to its game counterpart.
Sonic X
Amy with her Piko Piko Hammer in Sonic X.
The Piko Piko Hammer appeared as Amy Rose's signature weapon in the anime Sonic X and the comic series of the same name published by Archie Comics. It features the same design it had in Sonic Adventure.
Like in the games, the Piko Piko Hammer is Amy's personal weapon that she is able to inexplicably pull out of thin air. Additionally, it appears Amy has an inexhaustible supply of Piko Piko Hammers, seeing that she was able to conjure up another Piko Piko Hammer out of nowhere by just by waving her hand after she had thrown her first one into Dr. Eggman's Grand Egg Imperial.[2]
In the comics, it is suggested that Amy has some sort of connection to her Piko Piko Hammers. In Sonic X #10, when Amy, Sonic, Knuckles, Tails and Rouge were trapped in a virtual reality of the original Sonic the Hedgehog by Dr. Eggman, Amy said that she could not "feel" her hammer while she was within the illusion.
Sonic Boom
Amy Rose with her piko hammer in Sonic Boom.
In the Sonic Boom franchise, the Piko Piko Hammer is referred to as either the piko hammer or Amy's Hammer, and is Amy Rose's primary weapon. In this media, it bears a resemblance to its Sonic Adventure design, but with thicker faces, pink disks, a leather strap and a pink color scheme. Amy wields it with noticeably more proficiency than her game counterpart, combining her agility and gracefulness with its heavy-hit strikes for maximum efficiency. She has also used it as a hook and projectile.
Trivia
- Though the Piko Piko Hammer has proven itself a powerful weapon, it is said in Sonic Adventure that it is not so powerful or suited for combat.[3]
- In Tails Adventure, the "Hammer" weapon is known as the Pikon Hammer (ピッコンハンマー?) when the Game Gear is set to Japanese. This predates the Piko Piko Hammer's first official appearance.
- In Sonic Advance 2, there is a Badnik called Piko Piko, which wields a toy hammer similar to Amy's.
- The only Sonic continuity in which Amy does not use the Piko Piko Hammer as her weapon is in Sonic the Comic, in which she uses a crossbow instead.
- In Sonic Unleashed, Amy's ability to use the huge hammer is underlined when defeating the boss of Shamar, the Dark Guardian. After the level is over, Sonic the Werehog exclaims "I know little girls that are better with a hammer than you! Well, one, anyway."
Jazwares Piko Piko Hammer with Amy.
- An accessory of the Piko Piko Hammer, made by Jazwares, was released in late-2012 along with Amy.
- In Sonic the Fighters, Amy's hammer is named the "Magical Hammer".
- It is possible that Amy has different "versions" of Piko Piko Hammers, as seen in Sonic Heroes, where she uses the Air Hammer which utilizes the power of the wind. In Sonic Advance 3, she has a huge brown mallet when teamed up with Knuckles, and her normal red and yellow hammers.
- The Piko Piko Hammer was mentioned in Sonic and the Black Knight in the final cutscene when Sonic says "Yikes! No Amy, wait! Put down that hammer!". Thus, in the multiplayer mode of the game, Amy is playable and instead of a sword, her weapon is a hammer.
- The Piko Piko Hammer's modern 3D model in mainstream games differs from the modern appearance shown in the comics, cartoon and some earlier spin-off games.
- The Piko Piko Hammer appeared in Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA 2nd in the accessories room. This accessory is unlocked if the player clears "サウンド"(Sound) in easy mode. It is also Rin Kagamine's favorite item as a gift.
- The Piko Piko Hammer is the most recurring weapon in the Sonic the Hedgehog series.
- In Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, during a mission that can be given by Amy about Goombas being on a rampage, Amy says her Piko Piko Hammer has no effect on Goombas.
- Knuckles' Piko Piko Hammer in Sonic Advance 3 is the only variation of the hammer studded with a spike at the top.
- It is also the only version that has anything extending past the head.
- Amy has always called her Piko Piko Hammer just "my hammer", but in her co-op mission in Sonic Generations, she calls it "my Piko Piko Hammer", this being the first time she has called it by its full name, as well as the first time it has ever been called its full name correctly (In Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing the Announcer calls it "The Piko Hammer").
References
- ↑ Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008). In-game description of the "Amy Rose" trophy.
- ↑ Sonic X, "A New Start"
- ↑ Sonic Team (October 19, 1999). Sonic Adventure. Dreamcast. Sega. Area/Level: Station Square (Amy Rose). "Mr. Know-It-All: I'm Mr. Know-It-All. Here's a tip. You have a hammer, right? But it's not a very powerful weapon, so it may not be much use against powerful enemies. But you probably already knew that, right?"
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