Sonic Heroes
Encyclopedia
is a 2004 platforming
single-player/multiplayer video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series developed by Sonic Team USA. It is the first multiplatform title in the Sonic series, developed for Nintendo GameCube
, PlayStation 2
and Xbox
and released in Japan in December 2003, in North America in January 2004 and in Europe in February 2004, later receiving a release for Windows
in November 2004.
The game introduces several new gameplay elements. Unlike most Sonic games, where players control one character, three characters are available at any time to choose from, as the player may switch the party's leader freely, whilst the other two characters follow, with the formation depending on the leader. Each team contains three character types: speed, power and flight. Speed characters are able to perform spin dashes, homing attacks and light dashes, and can form whirlwinds that allow them to climb up poles. Power characters can use their strength to fight against strong enemies and break obstacles, as well as enter a gliding formation to ride up air fans. Finally, Flight characters have the ability to fly in the air for a short amount of time and can more easily attack airborne enemies. Each ability is also represented in the interface by color; blue for speed, yellow for flight, and red for power. By acquiring certain items or reaching checkpoints, characters can level up, increasing their efficiency when used against enemies. Each team also has a Team Blast skill, which can be performed when the Team Blast meter becomes full, and this can be achieved by performing such actions as destroying enemies or collecting rings.
By collecting a key hidden within each level and reaching the end of the level without getting hit, players can enter the Special Stage. In these stages, the player must run through a tube collecting colored orbs containing boost and avoiding bombs in order to catch a Chaos Emerald before it reaches the end of the tube. Chaos Emeralds are shared amongst all characters, and collecting all the emeralds, as well as clearing the game with all four teams, unlocks the last story.
Team Dark
Team Rose
Team Chaotix
If all A-ranks are achieved, Hard Mode is unlocked. The player goes through all stages as Team Sonic, although this time it is much harder. Most paths from Team Dark and Team Chaotix are open, but rarely any Team Rose paths, although some custom paths are created for this mode.
, Sonic Heroes initially sees Sonic off running around the world looking for adventure. Joining up with his friends Tails and Knuckles, who give him a message from Dr. Eggman stating that he will take over the world in three days, Team Sonic is formed and the classic trio head off to stop Eggman's latest plan. But they are not alone on this endeavor, as other characters from the series form their own teams to find Eggman first. The Chaotix Detective Agency has not had a client in a long time and need to pay the rent for the house. Charmy comes flying in with a box containing a walky-talky and become hired by an unknown client to find the Doctor, and they take on the name Team Chaotix. Rouge finds Shadow (who was presumably dead) locked up in a chamber and, however, awakes E123-Omega (also in the same chamber) unknowingly who is mad at Eggman for deactivating him and decides to take revenge on him. When Shadow gains consciousness, E123-Omega shoots all around the place, followed by him saying, "Must eradicate all Eggman's robots." Shadow is then seen jumping wall-to-wall to escape being shot, as Omega is also aiming at him too. Rouge breaks up their fight before they kill each other. After that short fight, Rouge decides they should team up to find Eggman and become Team Dark. Amy Rose, Cream the Rabbit, and Big the Cat team up to find Cream's Chao Chocola, Big's Froggy, and Sonic after seeing a newspaper article of Sonic holding both Froggy and Chocola. Eventually, they believe that this is all connected with Eggman. The player must control their chosen team to complete each stage, defeat Eggman's robots, and complete boss battles
against Eggman himself, as well as defeat the other teams that have formed and stand in their way of finding Eggman first.
As each team reaches the final stage and defeat Eggman, they finally meet together and discover that the enemy they have been chasing is not Eggman, but is actually Metal Sonic
, disguised as Eggman; the Doctor himself has been locked away, and Team Chaotix discovers that Eggman was their mysterious client. Metal Sonic reveals that he was created for the sole purpose of destroying Sonic and that Eggman's failures made that impossible. He decides to take matters into his own hands by locking up Eggman and transforming his body. The teams come together to battle Metal Sonic in its large, robotic form (called Metal Madness first, and later Metal Overlord when his transformation is complete), before Team Sonic transforms into its members' Super Forms and defeat Metal Sonic (as Metal Overlord), who returns to his original form. In the aftermath, Team Chaotix chases after Eggman, who is attempting to sneak away in order to avoid paying Team Chaotix their reward. Sonic and Tails leave, and Amy chases them. Rouge says she will look for someone else's treasure, while Knuckles chases after her. Shadow and Omega pick up the body of Metal Sonic, and in the end, Team Sonic goes off on their next adventure.
, stated that he did not want to make Sonic Heroes a continuation of the Sonic Adventure series, as he was worried only core gamers would buy the title, and instead decided to create a game that more casual players could adapt to.
Sonic Heroes uses the RenderWare
engine so that the game could be programmed and ported easily to the GameCube
, PlayStation 2
, Xbox
, and Microsoft Windows
. Despite being able to port some textures and character models from the Sonic Adventure titles, most work on the title was started anew. Despite the use of cross-platform middleware, Sonic Heroes was Sega's first multi-platform title, and the development team found additional challenges in working with the Xbox, the platform that they had very little experience with.
once again returned to provide music for the game, along with the two songs by his band Crush 40
. Replacing the individual character songs, playable teams now have team theme songs. The game features once again returning vocal talents Johnny Gioeli
, Tony Harnell
and Ted Poley
, as well as new musicians Kay Hanley
, Gunnar Nelson
and rock band Julien-K
.
The Sonic Heroes Official Soundtrack was released in North America on November 9, 2004. Triple Threat: Sonic Heroes Vocal Trax, which includes the original vocal theme songs from the Sonic Adventure
game soundtrack, was released in Japan on February 4, 2004. Complete Trinity: Sonic Heroes - Original Soundtrax was released in Japan on March 3, 2004.
ranging from 64% for the PlayStation 2
version, based on 29 reviews, to 73% for the Xbox
version, based on 28 reviews. Game Rankings
averages range from 60% for the PC
version, based on 9 reviews, to 75% for the Gamecube version, based on 35 reviews.
Reviewers noted several positive aspects to the game. These included the gameplay style; Sonic Heroes came close to the series' 2D roots. Sound design was also praised, described as "inexorably linked" to the experience and "at least very pristine" with "perfectly implemented" sound effects, running in Dolby Pro Logic II. Graphics design and environments were also highlighted, described as colorful, vibrant and cheery, with consistent art design and an exceptionally vibrant color palette. Framerate was also consistent for the Xbox, GameCube, and PC versions, although a drop in framerate in the multiplayer component was noted.
It also attracted several negative criticisms. Often cited were the game's camera control system, described as "uncooperative" and "terrible". Camera control compounded an additional problem regarding the controls relative to the camera's position, such that pushing forward may or may not move the character in the same direction the camera is facing. Falling from the level's platforms into the deep pits below was also criticized. The game's voice acting also came in for criticism, described as "horrendous" and "the biggest misstep in the sound design".
In addition, the PlayStation 2 version received lower average scores. Clipping and graphic faults were cited, whilst the framerate was also lower than the other versions.
on Xbox. It was also re-released in 2009 as a part of Sonic PC Collection.
The stage Seaside Hill is included in the console versions of Sonic Generations
. Also, in the 3DS version, the Egg Emperor appears as a returning boss, although it will be controlled by the real Dr. Eggman instead of Neo Metal Sonic disguised as Eggman like in this game.
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
single-player/multiplayer video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series developed by Sonic Team USA. It is the first multiplatform title in the Sonic series, developed for Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
, PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
and released in Japan in December 2003, in North America in January 2004 and in Europe in February 2004, later receiving a release for Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
in November 2004.
Gameplay
By collecting a key hidden within each level and reaching the end of the level without getting hit, players can enter the Special Stage. In these stages, the player must run through a tube collecting colored orbs containing boost and avoiding bombs in order to catch a Chaos Emerald before it reaches the end of the tube. Chaos Emeralds are shared amongst all characters, and collecting all the emeralds, as well as clearing the game with all four teams, unlocks the last story.
Teams
Team Sonic- Members: SonicSonic the Hedgehog (character), trademarked Sonic The Hedgehog, is a video game character and the main protagonist of the Sonic video game series released by Sega, as well as in numerous spin-off comics, cartoons, and a feature film. The first game was released on June 23, 1991, to provide Sega with a mascot to rival Nintendo's...
, TailsMiles "Tails" Prower, better known by his nickname , is a character, as well as the main deuteragonist in the Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games, comics, animated series and film released by Sega....
, KnucklesKnuckles the EchidnaKnuckles the Echidna is a video game character of the Sonic the Hedgehog game series, including spin-off games and comics. His first appearance was in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, released in 1994 to introduce a new rival for Sonic. He was presented as an antagonist who was tricked by Dr. Eggman into... - The main team of the game, who band together after hearing of Eggman's plan to take over the world in three days. Their levels are of medium difficulty and contain high speed sections. Team Sonic's Team Blast allows Sonic to rapidly fire himself at enemies in a quick time. Team Sonic battles Team Rose and Team Dark along the way.
Team Dark
- Members: ShadowShadow the Hedgehogis a character from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Shadow is an artificially-created life form. His trademark hover shoes propel him at extreme speeds that rival those of Sonic, and with a Chaos Emerald he has the ability to distort time and space using "Chaos Control." Often referred to as being...
, RougeRouge the Batis a character in the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series, who is a determined treasure hunter and part-time government agent who plans to make all the gems and treasures of the world hers. Her main jewel obsessions are the Master Emerald and Chaos Emeralds...
, E-123 Omega - After Rouge sneaks into Eggman's base looking for treasure, she finds Shadow, who has lost his memory following his assumed death in Sonic Adventure 2Sonic Adventure 2Sonic Adventure 2 is a platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Dreamcast video game console. It was released in North America on June 19, 2001 and in Japan on June 23, 2001 to mark the 10th anniversary of the release of the first Sonic the Hedgehog game. It is the sequel...
, and E-123 Omega, a robot who seeks revenge on Eggman after being shut down. With all their problems relating to Eggman, the three decide to team up. Their levels represent the hardest difficulty, containing longer levels with more focus on skill and battle. Using Team Dark's Team Blast stops most enemies for a short amount of time, and this also freezes time, allowing a bigger Time Bonus at the Result Screen, however fans, and automatic doors are shut off, because time is frozen. Team Dark battles Team Chaotix and Team Sonic along the way.
Team Rose
- Members: AmyAmy Rose, known earlier as Rosy the Rascal, is a video game character who appears in most of the Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games developed by Sega's Sonic Team, debuting in Sonic CD as the third recurring protagonist. Amy Rose was created by Kazuyuki Hoshino and based on one of Kenji Terada's...
, Cream, Big - A trio who join up to search for someone important. Amy is chasing after Sonic whilst Cream seeks to find her Chao friend Cheese's companion, Chocola, and Big is seeking out his friend, Froggy, with only a newspaper clipping to go by. Their team represents easy difficulty, containing shorter levels than the other teams, including a tutorial stage. Using Team Rose's Team Blast grants temporary invincibility with use, and levels each of them up. Team Rose battles Team Sonic and Team Chaotix along the way
Team Chaotix
- Members: EspioEspio the Chameleonis a fictional character in Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog video game series and media franchise. He was created for the game Knuckles' Chaotix and his subtle color changing demonstrated the technical capabilities of the Sega 32X console. The character is a 16-year-old anthropomorphic purple chameleon...
, Charmy, Vector - Running a quiet detective agency, the Chaotix Team take on a request from a mysterious client in the hopes of a big payday. Their levels are mission-based, with each level requiring the player to fulfill a certain objective. Additionally, Espio has the ability to become invisible to enemies when using Leaf Swirl. Team Chaotix's Team Blast, allows rings to be collected when defeating enemies, numbes being either 5, 10, or 20. Team Chaotix battles Team Dark and Team Rose along the way.
If all A-ranks are achieved, Hard Mode is unlocked. The player goes through all stages as Team Sonic, although this time it is much harder. Most paths from Team Dark and Team Chaotix are open, but rarely any Team Rose paths, although some custom paths are created for this mode.
Plot
Five months after the events of Sonic Adventure 2Sonic Adventure 2
Sonic Adventure 2 is a platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Dreamcast video game console. It was released in North America on June 19, 2001 and in Japan on June 23, 2001 to mark the 10th anniversary of the release of the first Sonic the Hedgehog game. It is the sequel...
, Sonic Heroes initially sees Sonic off running around the world looking for adventure. Joining up with his friends Tails and Knuckles, who give him a message from Dr. Eggman stating that he will take over the world in three days, Team Sonic is formed and the classic trio head off to stop Eggman's latest plan. But they are not alone on this endeavor, as other characters from the series form their own teams to find Eggman first. The Chaotix Detective Agency has not had a client in a long time and need to pay the rent for the house. Charmy comes flying in with a box containing a walky-talky and become hired by an unknown client to find the Doctor, and they take on the name Team Chaotix. Rouge finds Shadow (who was presumably dead) locked up in a chamber and, however, awakes E123-Omega (also in the same chamber) unknowingly who is mad at Eggman for deactivating him and decides to take revenge on him. When Shadow gains consciousness, E123-Omega shoots all around the place, followed by him saying, "Must eradicate all Eggman's robots." Shadow is then seen jumping wall-to-wall to escape being shot, as Omega is also aiming at him too. Rouge breaks up their fight before they kill each other. After that short fight, Rouge decides they should team up to find Eggman and become Team Dark. Amy Rose, Cream the Rabbit, and Big the Cat team up to find Cream's Chao Chocola, Big's Froggy, and Sonic after seeing a newspaper article of Sonic holding both Froggy and Chocola. Eventually, they believe that this is all connected with Eggman. The player must control their chosen team to complete each stage, defeat Eggman's robots, and complete boss battles
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
against Eggman himself, as well as defeat the other teams that have formed and stand in their way of finding Eggman first.
As each team reaches the final stage and defeat Eggman, they finally meet together and discover that the enemy they have been chasing is not Eggman, but is actually Metal Sonic
Metal Sonic
is a fictional character and a recurring antagonist in the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series. In the series, Metal Sonic is an evil identical robotic duplicate of Sonic the Hedgehog, created by the series antagonist Dr. Robotnik, and is able to match Sonic's every move and even surpass his...
, disguised as Eggman; the Doctor himself has been locked away, and Team Chaotix discovers that Eggman was their mysterious client. Metal Sonic reveals that he was created for the sole purpose of destroying Sonic and that Eggman's failures made that impossible. He decides to take matters into his own hands by locking up Eggman and transforming his body. The teams come together to battle Metal Sonic in its large, robotic form (called Metal Madness first, and later Metal Overlord when his transformation is complete), before Team Sonic transforms into its members' Super Forms and defeat Metal Sonic (as Metal Overlord), who returns to his original form. In the aftermath, Team Chaotix chases after Eggman, who is attempting to sneak away in order to avoid paying Team Chaotix their reward. Sonic and Tails leave, and Amy chases them. Rouge says she will look for someone else's treasure, while Knuckles chases after her. Shadow and Omega pick up the body of Metal Sonic, and in the end, Team Sonic goes off on their next adventure.
Development
Sonic Heroes was developed to celebrate the twelfth anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog. The game's director, Takashi IizukaTakashi Iizuka (game designer)
is a Japanese game producer, game director, game designer, level designer, scenario writer and currently the head of Sonic Team.-Early career:His first collaboration with Sega involved working with STI on Sonic 3 and Knuckles as a designer. Later, he helped supervise Traveller's Tales with the...
, stated that he did not want to make Sonic Heroes a continuation of the Sonic Adventure series, as he was worried only core gamers would buy the title, and instead decided to create a game that more casual players could adapt to.
Sonic Heroes uses the RenderWare
RenderWare
RenderWare is a computer and video game middleware from British games developer Criterion Software.-Overview:RenderWare is a 3D API and graphics rendering engine used in video games, Active Worlds, and some VRML browsers...
engine so that the game could be programmed and ported easily to the GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
, PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
, and Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
. Despite being able to port some textures and character models from the Sonic Adventure titles, most work on the title was started anew. Despite the use of cross-platform middleware, Sonic Heroes was Sega's first multi-platform title, and the development team found additional challenges in working with the Xbox, the platform that they had very little experience with.
Soundtracks
Jun SenoueJun Senoue
is a video game composer and musician from Wave Master, well known for some of his contributions in many Sonic the Hedgehog games. He is also the guitarist for the band Crush 40, which also contributes to many Sonic the Hedgehog games.-Biography:...
once again returned to provide music for the game, along with the two songs by his band Crush 40
Crush 40
Crush 40, formerly known as Sons of Angels, is a Japanese-American hard rock band formed in 1997 that is best known for their contributions to the soundtracks of several video games, predominantly the Sonic the Hedgehog series...
. Replacing the individual character songs, playable teams now have team theme songs. The game features once again returning vocal talents Johnny Gioeli
Johnny Gioeli
Johnny Gioeli is an American hard rock singer. Originally lead singer of the band Hardline, he is also currently the vocalist of Crush 40 and German guitarist Axel Rudi Pell's band...
, Tony Harnell
Tony Harnell
Antony "Tony" Harnell is an American hard rock singer, best known for his work with the Norwegian hard rock band TNT....
and Ted Poley
Ted Poley
Ted Harris Poley is a rock singer and drummer most famous for being in the band Danger Danger.-Biography:...
, as well as new musicians Kay Hanley
Kay Hanley
Kathleen Marie Hanley is an American alternative rock musician. She is best known as the vocalist for the band Letters to Cleo.-Life and career:...
, Gunnar Nelson
Gunnar Nelson
Gunnar Eric Nelson is an American musician, singer, and songwriter and international multi-platinum recording artist.-Family:...
and rock band Julien-K
Julien-K
Julien-K is a music group that began as a side project for electronic music created by Amir Derakh and Ryan Shuck from Orgy, with the later addition of Elias Andra, and Anthony 'Fu' Valcic....
.
The Sonic Heroes Official Soundtrack was released in North America on November 9, 2004. Triple Threat: Sonic Heroes Vocal Trax, which includes the original vocal theme songs from the Sonic Adventure
Sonic Adventure
is a 1999 platform video game developed by Sonic Team and released on December 23, 1998, in Japan by Sega for the Dreamcast. One of its development titles was Sonic RPG...
game soundtrack, was released in Japan on February 4, 2004. Complete Trinity: Sonic Heroes - Original Soundtrax was released in Japan on March 3, 2004.
Voice actors
- Ryan DrummondRyan DrummondRyan Drummond , is an American voice actor, actor, singer, comedian, clown, and mime. He was best known as the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog in the popular Sega video game franchise. He has been the bass vocalist in The A.Y.U. Quartet since 1991...
as Sonic the HedgehogSonic the Hedgehog (character), trademarked Sonic The Hedgehog, is a video game character and the main protagonist of the Sonic video game series released by Sega, as well as in numerous spin-off comics, cartoons, and a feature film. The first game was released on June 23, 1991, to provide Sega with a mascot to rival Nintendo's...
/ Metal SonicMetal Sonicis a fictional character and a recurring antagonist in the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series. In the series, Metal Sonic is an evil identical robotic duplicate of Sonic the Hedgehog, created by the series antagonist Dr. Robotnik, and is able to match Sonic's every move and even surpass his... - William CorkeryWilliam CorkeryWilliam Corkery is an American voice actor, familiar to players of the Sonic the Hedgehog series of games as the voice of Miles "Tails" Prower.-Acting Work:...
as Miles "Tails" ProwerMiles "Tails" Prower, better known by his nickname , is a character, as well as the main deuteragonist in the Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games, comics, animated series and film released by Sega.... - Scott Dreier as Knuckles the EchidnaKnuckles the EchidnaKnuckles the Echidna is a video game character of the Sonic the Hedgehog game series, including spin-off games and comics. His first appearance was in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, released in 1994 to introduce a new rival for Sonic. He was presented as an antagonist who was tricked by Dr. Eggman into...
- Jon St. JohnJon St. JohnJon St. John is an American voice actor and singer. He started his career in voice work in 1975, when he was a Top 40 radio DJ in North Carolina. Because of his vocal talent and technical skills, he was hired as a production director for several US radio stations in cities including: Norfolk, New...
as E-123 Omega / Big the Cat - Lani MinellaLani MinellaLani Minella is a voice actress who has voiced in over 500 computer and video games as well as several TV and anime series. She is best known for voicing Nancy Drew, Millie Strathorn, Loulou the Parrot and Freddie in the Nancy Drew computer games, Ivy Valentine in the Soulcalibur video game...
as Rouge the BatRouge the Batis a character in the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series, who is a determined treasure hunter and part-time government agent who plans to make all the gems and treasures of the world hers. Her main jewel obsessions are the Master Emerald and Chaos Emeralds...
/ Omochao - Deem Bristow as Dr. Ivo "Eggman" RobotnikDoctor Eggman, also known by his alias , is a fictional video game character, the main antagonist of the Sonic the Hedgehog series created by Sega. Dr. Eggman is a rotund, mad scientist with an IQ of 300 who plans to conquer the world in order to build his Eggman Empire and is the archenemy of Sonic the Hedgehog...
/ Mysterious Client - David HumphreyDavid HumphreyDavid Humphrey is an American actor that played Frankie in the play of Forever Plaid. He is best known for being the original voice of Shadow the Hedgehog in the Sonic games. He also played Thomas Jefferson in the play of 1776. He was succeeded by Jason Anthony Griffith...
as Shadow the HedgehogShadow the Hedgehogis a character from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Shadow is an artificially-created life form. His trademark hover shoes propel him at extreme speeds that rival those of Sonic, and with a Chaos Emerald he has the ability to distort time and space using "Chaos Control." Often referred to as being... - Jennifer DouillardJennifer DouillardJennifer Douillard is the voice actress who has provided the voice for Amy Rose in the Sonic the Hedgehog games. She first played this role in the game Sonic Adventure, released in 1998, and had been in every game in the series since then, up until the game Shadow the Hedgehog, where she was...
as Amy RoseAmy Rose, known earlier as Rosy the Rascal, is a video game character who appears in most of the Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games developed by Sega's Sonic Team, debuting in Sonic CD as the third recurring protagonist. Amy Rose was created by Kazuyuki Hoshino and based on one of Kenji Terada's... - Sarah WulfeckSarah WulfeckSarah Wulfeck is a writer, singer and voice over actress best known as the voice of Cream the Rabbit in the Sonic the Hedgehog video games Sonic Heroes, Sonic Battle and Sonic Advance 3....
as Cream the Rabbit - Bill Corkery as Espio the ChameleonEspio the Chameleonis a fictional character in Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog video game series and media franchise. He was created for the game Knuckles' Chaotix and his subtle color changing demonstrated the technical capabilities of the Sega 32X console. The character is a 16-year-old anthropomorphic purple chameleon...
- Emily Corkery as Charmy Bee
- Marc Biagi as Vector the Crocodile
Critical response
Reviews of Sonic Heroes were positive, with MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
ranging from 64% for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
version, based on 29 reviews, to 73% for the Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
version, based on 28 reviews. Game Rankings
Game Rankings
GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
averages range from 60% for the PC
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
version, based on 9 reviews, to 75% for the Gamecube version, based on 35 reviews.
Reviewers noted several positive aspects to the game. These included the gameplay style; Sonic Heroes came close to the series' 2D roots. Sound design was also praised, described as "inexorably linked" to the experience and "at least very pristine" with "perfectly implemented" sound effects, running in Dolby Pro Logic II. Graphics design and environments were also highlighted, described as colorful, vibrant and cheery, with consistent art design and an exceptionally vibrant color palette. Framerate was also consistent for the Xbox, GameCube, and PC versions, although a drop in framerate in the multiplayer component was noted.
It also attracted several negative criticisms. Often cited were the game's camera control system, described as "uncooperative" and "terrible". Camera control compounded an additional problem regarding the controls relative to the camera's position, such that pushing forward may or may not move the character in the same direction the camera is facing. Falling from the level's platforms into the deep pits below was also criticized. The game's voice acting also came in for criticism, described as "horrendous" and "the biggest misstep in the sound design".
In addition, the PlayStation 2 version received lower average scores. Clipping and graphic faults were cited, whilst the framerate was also lower than the other versions.
Sales
In 2004, Sonic Heroes was the sixth bestselling game in the United Kingdom overall, and a full year after its release, was still at number eight in the all-price chart. By October 2004, the game had sold over one million copies in Europe. The game ultimately sold well enough to enter all three consoles' "best-sellers" lists: Greatest Hits/Platinum for the PlayStation 2, Platinum Hits/Classics for the Xbox, and Player's Choice for the GameCube.Re-releases
The game was also released in a package with Super Monkey Ball DeluxeSuper Monkey Ball Deluxe
Super Monkey Ball Deluxe is a party video game made for the PlayStation 2 and the original Xbox developed by Japanese game developer Sega, the creators of Sonic the Hedgehog, and is the fourth entry in the Super Monkey Ball series of games. It is the first game in the main Super Monkey Ball series...
on Xbox. It was also re-released in 2009 as a part of Sonic PC Collection.
The stage Seaside Hill is included in the console versions of Sonic Generations
Sonic Generations
is a 2011 platform video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, produced by Sonic Team for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and Nintendo 3DS...
. Also, in the 3DS version, the Egg Emperor appears as a returning boss, although it will be controlled by the real Dr. Eggman instead of Neo Metal Sonic disguised as Eggman like in this game.
External links
- Sonic Heroes at the Sonic Retro community wikiWikiA wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...