- This article is about the mobile game. For the console/PC game, see Sonic Forces.
- Not to be confused with Sonic Speed Battle.
Sonic Forces: Speed Battle, also known as Sonic Forces Mobile, Sonic Forces PvP Racing Battle, Sonic Forces: PvP Battle Race, Sonic Forces: Run Battle Game, or simply Sonic Forces, is an online battle-racing game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It was developed by Sega Europe and Hardlight for Android, iOS, and iPadOS mobile devices to promote the release of Sonic Forces.[1] It was soft-launched by Sega in September 2017, with the official release later in November.[3]
The base gameplay is similar to endless runners like Sonic Dash. Four players race against one another across various locations from the Sonic series. Speed Battle features over 100 playable characters from across the franchise, with varying degrees of rarity and power-ups. Since its 2017 release, the game has received continuous updates that add new content and promote new releases.
Gameplay[]
Sonic running in Celestial Skyway, one of the many unlockable tracks in the game.
The gameplay of Sonic Forces: Speed Battle is very similar to that of Sonic Dash and Sonic Dash 2: Sonic Boom, featuring a competitive element. Instead of being an endless runner like Dash, it is a basic runner where players each choose a character and race against each other online in real-time on one of many tracks selected at random, based upon various locations from the Sonic franchise. During races, players can collect up to 100 Rings, which serve to increase their movement speed, and dodge obstacles as they progress to reach the goal (represented by the Phantom Ruby prototype). Getting hit with any obstacles will cause the player to lose Rings and slow down momentarily. After a race, the players will keep the Rings they have collected.
While racing, the playable characters continually run forward. At the same time, the players can use the Spin Jump and Slide moves to dodge obstacles and destroy enemies. They can also interact with other paths, normally utilizing Grind Rails.
At the end of the race, players can earn Battle Chests which grant a range of cards to a particular character. In addition, the first and second place finishers receive a Victory Chest which can be unlocked to earn larger bonuses, such as a large number of Rings or cards for multiple characters each. Red Star Rings are featured as a premium currency which can be obtained from Free Chests or purchased using real money which can be used to purchase additional Rings, Chests or instantly unlock Victory Chests that are already acquired. A Free Chest is distributed to the player every eight hours and can be found under the "Lightning Deals" section in the Store. Players can view each other's Trophies in the online leaderboards by pressing their trophy count on the home screen.
Based on which position they finish a race in, players will then gain or lose Trophies, a numerical matchmaking ranking system akin to an Elo rating system in other competitive games. This matchmaking gameplay mechanic is part of the "Tier" system, which determines which courses the player is able to play on and the number of rewards the player can earn from Chests.
Players can also earn XP, which will increase their Level. XP can be gained by upgrading characters.
| Lv. | Player XP |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0 |
| 2 | 20 |
| 3 | 50 |
| 4 | 75 |
| 5 | 100 |
| 6 | 225 |
| 7 | 450 |
| 8 | 700 |
| 9 | 1,000 |
| 10 | 2,000 |
| 11 | 4,000 |
| 12 | 5,000 |
| 13 | 7,000 |
| 14 | 14,000 |
| 15 | 22,000 |
When a player's level increases, their Ring Boost and Attack Resistance also increase. Ring Boost increases the maximum amount of speed the player can gain by collecting Rings. The higher the player's Ring Boost is, the faster they can go. Attack Resistance, on the other hand, decreases the effect attacks from other players have on the player's character. The higher the player's Attack Resistance is, the greater the reduction will be.
Journey[]
Missions[]
Every 8 hours, players will be given a new random mission (up to three of which can be left uncompleted at a time) which awards Rings or Red Star Rings, and Cards for upgrading characters. These missions range from tasks such as "Destroy 30 Badniks" to "Star Runner" missions, which require playing a certain amount of races with a specific character.
Progression[]
The Progression system is composed of pre-set missions divided into ten "Stages". Completing the missions (usually five or more) in said Stages rewards the player with items such as Rings or Red Star Rings. After completing a Stage, the player is awarded with a Gold Chest.
Seasons[]
A Prestige point.
Seasons are monthly events that take place in Sonic Forces: Speed Battle. First unlocked in Tier 4, they can be entered by finishing a race in first place at least 3 times during that season and will award a Chest with a certain amount of cards at the end of the month, with the number of cards increasing the higher the player's Tier. Upon reaching the first prestige Tier (Tier 8) at 4,000 Trophies, any Trophies earned past that number will be converted into Prestige points at the end of the season and reset back to 4,000. These points are shown on a separate leader board, which only updates at the end of each season.
Objects[]
Items[]
- Chest (only appearance)
- Emerald (only appearance)
- Item Box
- Phantom Ruby prototype (first appearance)
- Red Star Ring
- Ring
- Trophy (only appearance)
Gimmicks and obstacles[]
Characters[]
Playable characters[]
- Alpha Grim Sonic
- Amy Rose
- Big the Cat
- Blaze the Cat
- Chaos
- Charmy Bee
- Chuck
- Classic Sonic
- Cream the Rabbit
- Dr. Eggman
- E-102 Gamma
- E-123 Omega
- Espio the Chameleon
- Infinite
- Jet the Hawk
- Knuckles the Dread
- Knuckles the Echidna
- Longclaw the Giant Owl
- Marine the Raccoon
- Mephiles the Dark
- Metal Sonic
- Metal Sonic 3.0
- Miles "Tails" Prower
- Movie Knuckles
- Movie Shadow
- Movie Sonic
- Movie Tails
- Nine
- Red
- Rouge the Bat
- Rusty Rose
- Shadow the Hedgehog
- Silver the Hedgehog
- Sinbad the Sailor
- Sir Galahad
- Sir Gawain
- Sir Lamorak
- Sir Lancelot
- Sir Percival
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Storm the Albatross
- Surge the Tenrec
- Tangle the Lemur
- Thorn Rose
- Tikal
- Vector the Crocodile
- Wave the Swallow
- Whisper the Wolf
- Zavok
- Zazz
- Zeena
Non-playable characters[]
Enemies[]
- Buzz Bomber
- Drone (only in Metro City tracks)
- Egg Chaser
- Egg Pawn
Tracks[]
Many tracks are based on known locations from Sonic Forces, such as the City, Mystic Jungle, and the version of Green Hill with sandy pyramid valleys. Sky Sanctuary, despite not appearing in Forces, is also present, as is Planet Wisp, added in 2021 to promote Sonic Colors: Ultimate. Additionally, Golden Bay, Emerald City, and Metro City, based on locations from the Sonic the Hedgehog film series, are also included.
Current tracks[]
| Location | Icon | Track | Tier requirement | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green Hill | 
|
Pyramid Valley | 2 (100 Trophies) |
Easy |
|
Corkscrew Canyon | 3 (500 Trophies) |
Medium | |
|
Parched Palms | 4 (1,000 Trophies) |
Hard | |
| Sky Sanctuary | 
|
Celestial Skyway | 2 (100 Trophies) |
Medium |
|
Temple Gate | 4 (1,000 Trophies) |
Easy | |
|
Ancient Isles | 4 (1,000 Trophies) |
Hard | |
|
Spiral Heights | 6 (2,250 Trophies) |
Hard | |
|
Pinnacle Peaks | 9 (5,000 Trophies) |
Medium | |
| City | 
|
Splash Highway | 5 (1,500 Trophies) |
Medium |
|
Sunset Bridge | 7 (3,000 Trophies) |
Easy | |
|
Red Gate Bay | 8 (4,000 Trophies) |
Hard | |
|
Viaduct Valley | 9 (5,000 Trophies) |
Hard | |
| Mystic Jungle | 
|
Lambent Grove | 3 (500 Trophies) |
Medium |
|
Electric Arbor | 5 (1,500 Trophies) |
Hard | |
|
Dash Vegas | 8 (4,000 Trophies) |
Hard | |
|
Glowing Grotto | 8 (4,000 Trophies) |
Hard | |
| Golden Bay | 
|
Street Retreat | 1 (Default) |
Easy |
|
Suburban Speedway | 6 (2,250 Trophies) |
Medium | |
|
High Hill Park | 7 (3,000 Trophies) |
Hard | |
| Planet Wisp | 
|
Mining Mayhem | 3 (500 Trophies) |
Medium |
|
|
Mining Mayhem R | 9 (5,000 Trophies) |
Reversed | |
| Emerald City | 
|
Downtown Dash | 1 (Default) |
Easy |
|
Emerald Market Blitz | 6 (2,250 Trophies) |
Medium | |
|
Big City Sprint | 7 (3,000 Trophies) |
Hard | |
| Metro City | 
|
Main Street | 1 (Default) |
Easy |
|
Scramble Avenue | 2 (100 Trophies) |
Medium | |
|
Central Park | 5 (1,500 Trophies) |
Hard |
Removed tracks[]
| Location | Icon | Track | Tier requirement | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green Hill | 
|
Sandy Hills | 2 (100 Trophies) |
Medium |
|
Desert Falls | 4 (1,000 Trophies) |
Hard | |
|
|
Parched Palms R | 7 (3,000 Trophies) |
Reversed | |
|
|
Pyramid Valley R | 7 (3,000 Trophies) |
Reversed | |
| Sky Sanctuary |
|
Celestial Skyway R | 7 (3,000 Trophies) |
Reversed |
|
|
Temple Gate R | 8 (4,000 Trophies) |
Reversed | |
| City | 
|
Red Gate Ruins | 7 (3,000 Trophies) |
Hard |
|
|
Splash Highway R | 7 (3,000 Trophies) |
Reversed | |
|
|
Red Gate Bay R | 8 (4,000 Trophies) |
Reversed | |
| Mystic Jungle | 
|
Tangled Tunnels | 5 (1,500 Trophies) |
Hard |
Development[]
The development team behind Sonic Forces: Speed Battle.
Sonic Forces: Speed Battle was first in development in June 2016 after analyzing the latest capabilities of present-day phones.[4] It began as a prototype by Hardlight, checking if synchronous gameplay would work as well as they expected.[4][5] These early prototypes used existing tech and games as testing grounds for the gameplay, like Sonic Dash 2: Sonic Boom.[5] The game was originally planned for the Sonic Boom franchise, using the main cast of characters from Team Sonic.
From the beginning of the project, Hardlight wanted the game to have flexible levels for more expansive gameplay. For this, they developed a modular system that allowed them to create any track piece they wanted. Hardlight also wanted, right from the start, for the game to be a skill-based, global multiplayer. While relying on the classic staples in the Sonic series, branching paths on the tracks were added to make the game more exciting and unique. Extra care was also made to ensure the levels fit the mobile environment. During development, the staff focused on making the tracks feel appropriate before polishing their design.[6]
Hardlight pitched their idea to Sonic Team back in 2016 when the latter was looking for a mobile game. After discussing with Takashi Iizuka, the teams settled on what would become Sonic Forces: Speed Battle. Hardlight subsequently expanded their team while working on the environments and metagame. After being in development for about a year, Sonic Forces: Speed Battle received a soft launch so Hardlight could test the game and work out the remaining bugs before the global launch.[5] The game was scheduled to have three Zones with twelve tracks for its global launch, with more Zones being planned on being developed.[6] It was revealed on 16 March 2018 that Mystic Jungle would appear as a new Zone in an upcoming update.
Achievements[]
| Name | Description | Rewards |
|---|---|---|
| We can do this! | Reach Tier 3 | 500 pts |
| You're too slow! | Win 10 Battles | 500 pts |
| This is happenin'! | Reach Tier 4 | 1000 pts |
| Long time no see | Unlock 5 Runners | 1000 pts |
| You think you can keep up with me? | Win 50 Battles | 1000 pts |
| You've got this Sonic! | Reach Tier 5 | 2500 pts |
| Get a load of this! | Perform 10 Runner Upgrades | 2500 pts |
| Welcome to the next level | Unlock 10 Runners | 2500 pts |
| You think you can beat me? | Win 250 Battles | 2500 pts |
| One more last fist bump | Reach Tier 6 | 5000 pts |
| The more the merrier! | Perform 50 Runner Upgrades | 5000 pts |
| Now we're talking! | Unlock 15 Runners | 5000 pts |
| The ultimate lifeform | Win 1000 Battles | 5000 pts |
| All systems, full power! | Perform 150 Runner Upgrades | 10000 pts |
| Reach for the stars | Reach Tier 7 | 10000 pts |
Reception[]
The reception for Sonic Forces: Speed Battle since its launch has had a range of quite positive to mixed. The head of Hardlight, Chris Southall, stated that the game "exceeded expectations" shortly after launch. The game has a 4.4/5 star rating on the Google Play Store with over 450 thousand ratings, and a rating of 4.6/5 stars on the App Store with over 40 thousand ratings. It has a rating of 4/5 stars on Amazon with nearly 15 thousand ratings. It currently has a Metacritic rating of 7.2 based on 26 ratings.[7] The game has been praised for being fun, challenging, and entertaining, while being criticized for being multiplayer only.[7]
The online battle-racing game also earned a spot on the '#10 Top games' category on the Google Play Store. Additionally, Sonic Forces: Speed Battle has received individual ratings for various aspects of the game on the Google Play Store. These include: Gameplay (4.5 stars), Graphics (4.6), and Controls (4.4).
According to Ric Cowley of Pocket Gamer, "Sonic Forces: Speed Battle is a lot of fun to play, though it's probably best off experienced in short bursts," while noting, "there's a ton of grinding before you open up new levels, and after the hundredth run on the same two stages, you might start to grow a little tired of the experience."[8]
Two weeks after its launch period, the iOS version of Sonic Forces: Speed Battle had gained two million downloads.[9] As of 16 March 2018, the game has over 12 million downloads. It managed to exceed 10,000,000 downloads on the Google Play Store. On 21 April 2020, the game passed the 50 million download milestone.[10] On 30 September 2021, the game passed the 100 million download milestone.[11] On 13 June 2024, the game passed the 200 million download milestone.[12]
Soundtrack[]
The soundtrack of Sonic Forces: Speed Battle consists of reused tracks from Sonic Forces and past games. The sole exception is an original menu track that played during the "World Tour" event. Listed below are all the songs used:
Staff[]
- Hardlight Staff: Alastair Graham, Andrew Paul, Andrew McMillan, Antony Lavelle, Ashley Khan, Billie McMillan, Chris Southall, Claire Chamielec, Claudia Farre, Daniel Darnbrough, David Foster, Dawid Esterhuizen, Gordon Theobald, Harinder Sangha, Ian Sullivan, Jacob Jensen, Jan Strajnar, James Back, Joel Atkinson, Joseph Stone, Liam Rüdel, Lisa Waldron, Louis Macan, Laura Back, Lubomir Baran, Louis McLaughlin, Lucy Lavelle, Luke Boscott, Marc-Etienne Beinio, Mark Milton, Matt Allan, Neall Jones, Neil Armstrong, Neil Topham, Nia Knibbs Vaughan, Nick Adams, Paul Twynholm, Richard Smith, Richard Sugden, Rebecca Thompson, Rob Ruck, Ryan Simpson, Scott Griffiths, Scott Orchard, Simon Foster, Shaun Lawrence, Stephanie Brooke-Harris, Stuart Grant, Tom Gaulton, Thomas Quartly, Tom Woodward, Yordan Gyurchev
- Thanks: Adrian Klimczak, Anthony Lewis, Csaba Berenyi, Inna Slepstova, James Booth, Miklos Hajma, Oleg Salyakhov, Richard Tawn, Rick Nath, Simon Dew. Thank you to all at SEGA, our contractors and our fans.
- Special Thanks: Iizuka Takashi
- Presented by: Sega
- Developed by: Hardlight
Trivia[]
- Excluding the Avatar, who is a customizable character, Orbot and Cubot are the only major characters from Sonic Forces that do not appear in this game.
- The initial playable cast of the game (aside from the inclusion of Amy Rose) is the same as Sonic Runners Adventure, another mobile game released in 2017.
- Outside of cameos and games outside of the Sonic franchise, this game marks the first appearances of:
- Zeena and Infinite, as well as Zavok and Zazz outside of the Mario & Sonic series, as playable characters.
- Tikal, Sonic the Werehog, and Mephiles the Dark since Sonic Runners, released in 2015.
- Storm the Albatross, as well as Jet the Hawk and Wave the Swallow outside of the Mario & Sonic series, since Sonic Free Riders, released in 2010.
- This also marks the first time Storm is playable outside the Sonic Riders series.
- Additionally, if Sir Lamorak is not counted, this marks the first game appearance of the Babylon Rogues outside of both the Sonic Riders and Mario & Sonic series.
- Super Shadow since Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, released in 2010.
- Excalibur Sonic and the Knights of the Round Table since their debuts in Sonic and the Black Knight, released in 2009.
- Burning Blaze since Sonic Rush Adventure, released in 2007.
- Darkspine Sonic and Sinbad the Sailor since their debuts in Sonic and the Secret Rings, released in 2007.
- Super Silver since his debut in Sonic the Hedgehog, released in 2006.
- E-102 Gamma since Sonic Shuffle, released in 2000.
- Prior to the version 2.13.0 update, the music that played for every track aside from the ones in Mystic Jungle was the "Lost Valley" theme.
- The titles of the game's achievements are references to multiple known phrases in the Sonic series.
- "You're too slow" is one of Sonic's catchphrases in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
- "You think you can keep up with me?" is one of Dr. Eggman's lines of dialogue when racing against Tails in Speed Highway from Sonic Adventure.
- "You think you can beat me?" is derived from one of Robotnik's phrases, "Do you think you can beat me?" when playing in the two-player mode in Sonic Adventure 2.
- "The ultimate lifeform" is a title that belongs to Shadow the Hedgehog.
- "Long time no see" is a phrase that has been constantly used throughout the series, namely Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Heroes, Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, and Sonic Forces itself.
- "Welcome to the next level" is a throwback to the tagline used in Sega commercials between 1992-1994.
- Sonic also said this line in Shadow the Hedgehog.
- "Now we're talking!" is a line stated by Sonic upon seeing the Black Bull in Shadow the Hedgehog.
- "Get a load of this!" is one of the lines used by Robotnik in the Egg Walker and Egg Viper boss battles from Sonic Adventure.
- "The more the merrier" is derived from Eggman's lines of dialogue, "You know what they say... The more the merrier!", during his boss battle in Mad Matrix from Shadow the Hedgehog.
- "All systems, full power!" is one of the phrases Robotnik states during his Egg Hornet boss battle in Sonic Adventure.
- "This is happenin'!" is derived from Sonic's first line of dialogue in Sonic Adventure, "Ah, yeah! This is happenin'!"
- "You've got this Sonic!" is a line spoken by Shadow in Sonic Generations when cheering him on to fight against the Time Eater.
- "One more last fist bump" is a line from the song "Fist Bump".
- "Reach for the stars" is the name of the main theme song for Sonic Colors.
Teaser image for Blaze.
- Some of the characters have their official artwork for the game derived and repurposed from existing artwork of other media in the Sonic series:
- Sonic, Tails, Classic Sonic, Chaos, Shadow, Metal Sonic and Zavok's artworks resemble their Sonic Forces artworks.
- Knuckles' artwork also resembles his Sonic Forces artwork, but rather than looking sideways like in the original, he is facing to the front.
- Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Shadow's artworks seen in the game's splash and matchmaking screens are also reused from Sonic Forces.
- Sonic's artwork was edited to make him smile instead of screaming like in the original. It's currently unknown why this change was made.
- Despite having artwork made for Sonic Forces, Dr. Eggman and Infinite use new artwork for this game.
- Though, some of their original artwork can be seen in promotional material.
- Amy, Charmy, Omega, Espio, Rouge, Vector, Silver, Froggy, Zazz, Wave, Storm, Tikal, Tangle, Whisper, Gamma, Marine, and all of the Special and Challenger characters (excluding Chuck and Red) have entirely new artwork made for this game.
- However, new artwork for Sonic, Tails, Classic Sonic, Rouge, Shadow and Big can be seen in various promotional material.
- Silver's artwork is based off of his Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) artwork.
- Zazz's artwork is based off of one his artworks made for Sonic Lost World.
- Storm's artwork resembles his Sonic Free Riders artwork.
- Lantern Silver's artwork shares the same pose as Silver's artwork from Team Sonic Racing, though the character was released before said game.
- Movie Sonic and Movie Shadow's artworks are based off of promotional artwork from the Sonic the Hedgehog film series.
- Movie Tails' artwork resembles the artwork for Tails in Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II.
- Tangle and Whisper's artworks are based off of their official concept artwork from the IDW Publishing Sonic the Hedgehog comic series.
- Similarly, Surge's main artwork is modelled after her reveal concept artwork from the same comic series.
- Jingle Belle Amy's artwork shares the same pose as Amy's artwork from Sonic Adventure 2.
- Nutcracker Silver's artwork shares similarities with Silver's artwork from Sonic Free Riders.
- One of Sir Percival's artworks resembles her artwork from Sonic and the Black Knight.
- Gamma's artwork resembles the pose he does on the character selection screen of Sonic Adventure.
- Super Sonic, Super Silver and Classic Super Sonic's artworks are modeled after existing stock artwork of them.
- Burning Blaze's artwork is modeled after Blaze's main artwork from Sonic Rush.
- Darkspine Sonic's artwork resembles the pose he does after defeating Alf Layla wa-Layla in Sonic and the Secret Rings.
- Marine's artwork is modeled after her artwork from Sonic Rush Adventure.
- One of Extreme Gear Shadow's renders is modeled after the Doom Surf render.
- Blaze, Cream, Cheese, Jet and Big's artworks are repurposed from existing 3D stock artwork of them.
- Zeena's artwork is reused from one of her artworks made for Sonic Lost World.
- Sonic, Tails, Classic Sonic, Chaos, Shadow, Metal Sonic and Zavok's artworks resemble their Sonic Forces artworks.
- So far, Wave is the only character that was not teased before she was added to the game.
- Prior to Big's reveal, an update allowed players to randomly see Froggy at the end of stages. Now, Froggy can be seen at the end of the races if at least one player is using Big, or a variant of him.
- As an April Fools joke in 2018, the official Hardlight Twitter made a spoof character bio for Aaron Webber.
- The sports-themed Special characters contain references in their outfits, mostly via numbers:
- Slugger Sonic has the number 91 on his jersey, referencing the release year of the original Sonic the Hedgehog.
- All-Star Amy has the number 93 on her jersey, referencing the release year for Sonic the Hedgehog CD.
- Ice Slicer Jet has the number 06 on the back of his jersey, referencing the release year for Sonic Riders.
- Quarterback Zavok has the number 13 on his jersey, referencing the release year for Sonic Lost World.
- Linebacker Omega has the number 23 painted on him, which references the last two digits of his serial number.
The teaser of Chrono Silver
- In the initial teaser for Chrono Silver, an identification number reading 21-12-06 can be found. If read as a date, this becomes 21 December 2006; The Japanese release date of Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).
- Similarly, in the teaser for Idol Shadow, the row, seat and time correspond to 19/06/2001, or 19 June 2001; Sonic Adventure 2's North American release date.
- The podium banner, splash screen and event panel of Chrono Silver's event use a background that features a piece of artwork created for Crisis City.
- Baby Sonic, the Super transformation users, and Mephiles (including Oni Mephiles) are the only characters to have a different upgrade path for themselves.
- Although, Baby Sonic is the only character with an entirely unique upgrade path, as the one for Super users only reduces the amount of Starting Rings, and the one for Mephiles only swaps the levels required for the Trap and Projectile upgrades.
- Extreme Gear users, Eggman, Gamma, Red, and Chuck are the only characters that do not perform the Spin Jump. Instead, they merely perform a regular jump (in Gamma's case, the Hover technique is also performed).
- Classic Sonic (including Elf Classic Sonic and Classic Super Sonic) is the only character that performs the Spin Attack instead of the Slide.
- DJ Vector's hoodie references the famous clothing brand Supreme.
- The Super transformation users are the only characters that cannot use the Shield power-up, just like in the various Sonic games this mechanic appears.
- Currently, eleven characters have unique entrance animations:
- When Tikal and Longclaw enter, a beam of light that emits from the sky appears above them.
- When Excalibur Sonic enters, his armor floats around while he begins running in his base form.
- When Eggman enters, he raises his fists in determination before lowering them again.
- When the Werehog enters, he begins running in his base form before getting struck by a lightning bolt.
- When Infinite (and Warlock Infinite) enters, he does a gesture with his hands while emitting a red aura, then releasing a wave of energy cubes. It resembles the animation he does at the beginning of his second boss fight in Sonic Forces.
- When Darkspine Sonic enters, he begins running in his base form before being engulfed in a fiery aura, thus transforming him.
- When Mephiles (and Oni Mephiles) enters, he begins floating while an aura of darkness surrounds him.
- When Chrono Silver enters, he flashes white and becomes slightly transparent, like a hologram.
- Currently, four characters have special abilities that other characters do not have:
- Baby Sonic is the only character that does not need to slide under obstacles, though he still retains the mechanic to do so.
- Eggman (and LEGO® Dr. Eggman) is the only character that can freely float over bottomless pits.
- Gamma is able to stay in the air a little longer than everyone else while jumping thanks to his Hover technique.
- Currently, three characters have unique hurt animations:
- When Excalibur Sonic is hurt, he puts up a shield when he is hit as a reference to his vastly increased strength from Sonic and the Black Knight.
- When Infinite is hurt, he extends his arms while glitch-like effects cover his body.
- When Mephiles is hurt, he extends his arms while Invincibility-like sparkles cover his body.
- Before Chrono Silver was officially announced, he was named 'Tech Knight Silver' in the game files, which is likely an early internal name.
- Similarly, Snowdrift Sonic was once known as 'Santa Sonic' internally.
- This game is the fifth time that Sonic and Super Sonic can appear on-screen together. The first four times are Sonic Shuffle, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, respectively.
- Excluding transformations, the alternate versions of the characters from Sonic Prime, the film series, and the storybook series, Sonic and Amy currently have the most variants of any character in the game, with both standing at nine (Classic Sonic, Elf Classic Sonic, Slugger Sonic, Boscage Maze Sonic, LEGO® Sonic, Snowdrift Sonic, Dragonfire Sonic, Jester Sonic, and Extreme Gear Sonic; All-Star Amy, Jingle Belle Amy, Paladin Amy, Popstar Amy, LEGO® Amy, Panda Amy, Fortune Teller Amy, Dulce Amy and Blossom Amy).
- However, if both of Sonic's incarnations are counted as separate characters, the amount is reduced to seven for Modern and one for Classic, making Amy the character with the most variants.
- Silver's model originally lacked the black lining around his eyes, something that was noticeably prominent in the promotional trailer Hardlight released in 2024. This was eventually fixed.
- However, Lantern Silver's model continues to have this mistake.
- Valiant Tails was intended to be the 100th character in the game, but for unknown reasons was pushed back. Due to this, he is actually the 101st character, with Burning Blaze becoming the 100th character. Despite this, Valiant Tails is still promoted as the game's 100th character in promotional material.
- Burning Blaze and Movie Super Shadow are the only characters with a Super transformation to not be in the Special rarity.
- Additionally, Movie Super Shadow is the only Super character to feature different power-ups from his base counterpart.
- Due to an oversight, the tracks in Metro City initially played the same music as those in Emerald City. This was fixed in the following update to their introduction.
Videos[]
Trailers[]
Character Trailers[]
Behind the Scenes[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Sonic Forces: Speed Battle. iTunes Store. Apple (US). Retrieved on 12 September 2017.
- ↑ Jenni (2 November 2017). Sonic Forces: Speed Battle Runs To iOS Devices. Siliconera. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved on 5 January 2022.
- ↑ Sega Europe on X. X (3 November 2017). Retrieved on 3 November 2017. "Have you played #SonicForces Speed Battle yet? You can get it FREE on iOS at http://sega.vg/DLXU30g7hlZ. (Android version coming Nov.16)"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 WHO'S GOING TO RUN THE FASTEST?. Sega (20 September 2017). Retrieved on 22 September 2017.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Behind the Screens: Episode One. YouTube. Sega Europe (13 October 2017). Retrieved on 14 October 2017.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Behind the Screens: Episode Two. YouTube date=20 October 2017. Sega Europe. Retrieved on 20 October 2017.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 SONIC FORCES: SPEED BATTLE. Metacritic. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved on 19 May 2021.
- ↑ Cowley, Ric (6 November 2017). Sonic Forces: Speed Battle review - A surprisingly fun multiplayer auto-runner. Pocket Gamer. Archived from the original on 9 October 2019.
- ↑ Lazarides, Tasos (16 November 2017). 'Sonic Forces: Speed Battle' Launches on Android Today, iOS Version Had 2 Million Downloads in 2 Weeks. Touch Arcade. Retrieved on 17 November 2017.
- ↑ Forde, Matthew (21 April 2020). Sonic Forces boosts through 50 million downloads globally. Pocket Gamer. Retrieved on 1 July 2020.
- ↑ SEGA HARDlight on Twitter. Twitter (30 September 2021). Retrieved on 30 September 2021. "100 MILLION DOWNLOADS!! From all of us at Team HARDlight, thank you for your support."
- ↑ SEGA on Twitter. Twitter (13 June 2024). Retrieved on 17 April 2025. "Thank you for 200 million downloads of Sonic Forces!"