Sonic (universe)

The Sonic universe refers to the  series' collection of characters, stages, and properties that hail from the world-famous media franchise owned by SEGA and centered on its company mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog. This had been easily the most anticipated new franchise for inclusion in the Nintendo-based fighting game series and is considered the biggest "rival" franchise to . Its symbol is a silhouette of Sonic's head, similar to the logo of Sonic Team.

Franchise description
As SEGA's 16-bit console, the Genesis, was launched by 1990, SEGA decided it needed to develop a killer-app for the system that could effectively combat the 1991 launch of the Super Nintendo console and its hit pack-in game, . It put into effect "Project Million Seller", where a small team of developers, prominent among them programmer Yuji Naka, developed a side-scrolling platforming game named . The game indeed sold millions as the pack-in title for Genesis systems, thanks in no small part to design elements that were welcomely radical and fresh for their time: lengthy-yet-timed action-based levels where the object is to get to the end before time runs out, and the main character runs and jumps very fast through these levels to bounce off of and roll through enemies and obstacles while avoiding pits and spikes and bouncing off springs. This character, the anthropomorphic blue hedgehog and attitude-filled speed demon named Sonic, was endearingly established as SEGA's mascot and answer to Nintendo's Mario and helped ensure the Genesis' place as the primary contender to the SNES in what would be remembered as one of gaming's most memorable "console wars".

As one would expect for such a smash hit character and game franchise, sequels were in order, and a steady stream of Sonic sequels, spin-offs, and alternative media was released in all of the following years for all SEGA-owned systems. The "real" sequels to Sonic the Hedgehog were generally the most successful for expanding on both the core gameplay and the characterization and world design.  introduced many Sonic staples, such as Sonic's ability to charge forward at full-throttle, Sonic's Super Transformation ability to become a faster and strong gold-colored version called Super Sonic, and a CPU-controlled sidekick to follow and assist Sonic, which in this case is the young two-tailed fox Miles "Tails" Prower. ' thoroughly revamped the gameplay and presentation and introduced Sonic's hero rival Knuckles the Echidna, and ' was a direct and physical continuation that was the first and only Genesis cartridge to have another Genesis cartridge insertable onto it. Locking Sonic 3 into Sonic & Knuckles created a huge Sonic quest where Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles were all separate playable characters.

Time would not be so merciful to Sonic's career and SEGA's standing in the game industry in the years afterward, though. A lot of spinoff games for Genesis and other less successful SEGA systems like the SEGA Saturn took the franchise in various different directions such as isometric platforming and adventure-based racing, and also introduced more characters, but the games were not appreciated as much as the main series by fans and critics alike. Sonic had a magnificent resurgence on SEGA's better-handled Dreamcast console with its premiere title , successfully pulling off a fully 3D adventure game that physically remodeled Sonic's character design and yet felt worthy of the Sonic name. In spite of great hardware and software in the Dreamcast, the system and SEGA itself were ultimately defeated by the competition in the form of the powerful Sony PlayStation brand (with franchises like ' series) and the phenomenal popularity of Nintendo's ' franchise, and SEGA ultimately shifted its company focus to strictly a software publisher.

Now a developer for companies once considered its rivals, SEGA resumed developing a steady stream of Sonic titles and releasing them for all three main competing hardware publishers - Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft, though it started exclusively for Nintendo with Sonic Adventure 2: Battle being the first Sonic game for the GameCube. Some of these games would be critically acclaimed, some viewed as mediocre, and some widely panned, and standout Sonic games on Nintendo systems include the Sonic Advance series for Game Boy Advance, ' for DS, and ' for Wii. The commemorative  for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2006 was critically panned, while Sonic Free Riders served to highlight control issues with the Kinect peripheral for Xbox 360. The series had a commercially successful foray back into the series' platforming roots, with the episodic ', as well as ' for the Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. SEGA's partnership with Nintendo would lead to the launch for games exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, starting with ' in 2013, followed by ' by the end of the year. ' for the Wii U, and ' for the 3DS, based on the new Sonic Boom franchise, together formed the final installments in the exclusivity agreement. A throwback to the original 2D games for the SEGA Genesis was released in the form of , which was made available for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. It was developed in conjunction by indie developers PagodaWest Games and Headcannon, with SEGA publishing the title itself. On November 7, 2017,  released on the same platforms as Sonic Mania, which introduced a third mode of gameplay featuring a custom avatar.

Sonic crossing over with Mario in the same game was finally realized in late 2007 with the release of a sports party game titled , where selectable characters from both the Sonic and Mario franchises compete against each other in all of the sporting competitions associated with the 2008 Summer Olympics held at Beijing, China. This became a subseries that would regularly release new installments for both Nintendo's consoles and handhelds at a biennial rate to correspond to each of the subsequent Olympic seasons: the 2010 Winter Olympics held at Vancouver, Canada; the 2012 Summer Olympics held at London, England; the 2014 Winter Olympics held at Sochi, Russia (as seen above as part of the partnership between SEGA and Nintendo); the 2016 Summer Olympics held at Rio de Janeiro, Brasil; the 2020 Olympics held at Tokyo, Japan, as well as a standalone mobile game, Sonic at the Olympic Games - Tokyo 2020. Meanwhile, Sonic was chosen as one of the first two third-party characters to co-star alongside Mario and many other Nintendo characters in the  fighting game series, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl; Sonic later reprised his role as a fighter in both installments of, as well as in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

The Sonic franchise comprises several separate continuities and alternative interpretations, such as with a long-running comic-book series published by Archie Comics and several animated TV series separate from the games themselves, and in many cases the games are not groupable together by "storyline". But in general the franchise depicts a world where characters are wildly anthropomorphic and colorful animals who speak and interact just like normal people (similar to the Star Fox universe). "Normal humans" also exist in the Sonic world, however, and the primary antagonist of the series is a "mad scientist"-style human named Dr. Robotnik (or Dr. Eggman) who repeatedly attempts to take over the world with an army of robots and a Death Star-inspired super-weapon named the Death Egg, and his nemesis Sonic must thwart his schemes time and time again, collecting power-ups like Gold Rings and powerful artifacts called the Chaos Emeralds along the way. Recent Sonic games have explored different and more involved styles of storytelling and added new characters of good and evil affinities, much like recent Mario games.

In Super Smash Flash
The Sonic universe makes a sensational debut first in the Super Smash Flash series before its confirmation in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It is one of the most highly represented universes in Super Smash Flash, only exceeded by the Mario universe and the Super Smash Bros. universe.

Characters
The Sonic universe has the highest playable character representation in the game, with five characters in total.


 * Sonic the Hedgehog: The eponymous star of the franchise, Sonic is a fifteen-year-old hedgehog that can run at extreme speeds, which he uses to foil the evil plots of his nemesis, Dr. Ivo Robotnik (a.k.a. Doctor Eggman). He appeared in this game before he was confirmed to be playable in Brawl. In SSF, he is a fast character that uses his speed in many of his attacks. He has many moves taken directly from the game Sonic Battle, and a few others from other games in the series, like the.


 * Miles "Tails" Prower: An eight-year-old two-tailed fox, and Sonic's sidekick. Tails is a mechanical expert that builds devices that Sonic can use to defeat Dr. Eggman. In SSF, Tails primarily uses two of his Sonic Battle inventions: the Energy Ball arm cannon and the Magic Hand boxing glove. He, like, , and , possesses five extra jumps.


 * Knuckles the Echidna: A super-strong sixteen-year-old echidna with spiked knuckles, and one of Sonic's best friends. Knuckles is the last of a clan of echidnas that resides on Angel Island, where he protects the life-source of the island, the Master Emerald. In SSF, he uses many attacks that are derived from Sonic Battle.


 * Shadow the Hedgehog: An unlockable character. Shadow is an artificially created hedgehog created by Eggman's grandfather, Professor Gerald Robotnik, to be the "Ultimate Life Form." His abilities rival those of Sonic in every way, although he can also harness chaos energy to perform a variety of techniques and attacks. In SSF, he primarily uses chaos energy in his attacks, all of which are derived from Sonic Battle.


 * : Another unlockable character. Super Sonic is Sonic's primary super transformation, achieved by collecting the seven Chaos Emeralds, which grants him increased speed, flight, and nigh-invulnerability. He typically has to take on this form to defeat Dr. Eggman and other major antagonists. In SSF, Super Sonic is Sonic's semi-clone, having all of Sonic's moves, but moving a bit faster. As a playable character, he can be harmed and defeated just like every other character.

Common enemy
The Sonic universe is one of two universes in SSF to feature a stage where a minor character appears as an obstacle, the other universe being the Mario universe (Super Mario World).


 * Buzzer: A robotic bee enemy that appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, where it flew and shot at Sonic and Tails in an attempt to stop them. In SSF, it instead flies directly into the player to hurt them. Especially in swarms, they can be a nuisance, since their hits stop the player's jumps. However, it can be beaten by a single normal attack.

Stage

 * Emerald Hill Zone: Based on the first level of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. It is a simple stage comprised of a main, hard, grassy platform with three soft, grassy platforms floating above it, all about a jump's height from the main platform.

In addition, there are two different versions of for the Race to the Finish level in the game's 1-P Mode: the Classic and Adventure versions. Both versions consist of a starting platform, a series of smaller platforms floating ahead of the starting platform over an abyss, an ending platform, and a floating platform above the ending platform that signals the finish line. The Classic version has a more straightforward path with many small platforms in between, while the Adventure version has an inclined path with fewer small platforms.

In Super Smash Flash 2
The Sonic franchise returns in Super Smash Flash 2, once again as one of the most highly represented universes.

Characters
In the transition from SSF1 to SSF2, the amount of playable characters from the Sonic series decreased, going from five to two. It is one of only two returning universes to suffer a drop in the amount of playable representatives, with the other being the Mega Man universe. However, the Sonic universe still has the most playable character representation among the non-Nintendo universes, as all of the others have only one representative.


 * : The Blue Blur returns in this sequel, debuting in Version 0.3a. After initially reusing his Sonic Battle sprites, Sonic's design is now based on his appearance in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. His moveset was revamped to mostly combine elements of his 3DS/Wii U and Project M movesets, although he also gained a new Light Dash move. His Final Smash involves him transforming into ; as such, Super Sonic is still represented, despite no longer being a playable fighter.


 * : Sonic's sidekick also returns, debuting in Version 0.7. As with Sonic, Tails initially reused his Sonic Battle sprites before receiving a design based on his appearance as of Sonic Unleashed. His moveset has been greatly expanded, focusing more on his physical capabilities, to the point his Energy Ball is only used as his neutral special move. However, he also adds another device to his moveset: the Remote Robot. Like Sonic, Tails now has a, a move in which Tails morphs into a ball and charges to allow him to cover greater distances. His Final Smash has him summon the Tornado, which allows him to fly by his opponents and drop bombs on them. While Tails is a veteran Flash fighter, he is classified as a newcomer because he has never been playable in Smash.

Assist Trophy

 * Silver the Hedgehog: A time-traveling, psychokinetic hedgehog and a friendly rival of Sonic that debuted in the 2006 video game Sonic the Hedgehog. He helps the summoner by holding their opponents in place, leaving them wide open for attacks.

Stages

 * Casino Night Zone: Based on the fourth level of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, this stage floats above a casino city. It has four stage hazards in the form of bumpers scattered throughout the area. In the background, there is a slot machine that contains icons of Classic Sonic, Classic Tails, and Classic Dr. Robotnik.


 * Green Hill Zone: Based on the iconic first level of the original Sonic the Hedgehog, with its design being a sprite rendition of the same stage from the official Super Smash Bros. games. The stage is based almost entirely around a huge depression at the center, with walk-off paths on both sides of the depression.


 * Sky Sanctuary Zone: Based on the sixth level of Sonic & Knuckles. This level has two main platforms and inclined falling-block platforms on the left and right of the stage.

Media with elements appearing in the Super Smash Flash series
The Sonic universe is among the most highly represented universes throughout the Super Smash Flash series, currently having a total of 26 games, comics, and television series represented in some way.

Trivia

 * The Sonic universe is the first and only franchise to have its characters be first on the tier list three times (Sonic held 1st-place position in demos v0.6 and v0.9a while Tails held 1st in demo v0.7).
 * Sonic is one of five universes to debut in the Super Smash Flash series before being inducted in the official series, the other four being ', ', ', and '.