Sonic Heroes
Sonic Heroes[a] is a 2003 platform game developed by Sonic Team USA and published by Sega as part of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. The player races a team of series characters through levels to amass rings, defeat robots, and collect the seven Chaos Emeralds needed to defeat Doctor Eggman. Within each level, the player switches between the team's three characters, who each have unique abilities, to overcome obstacles. Sonic Heroes downplays the action-adventure and exploration-based gameplay of its predecessors Sonic Adventure (1998) and Sonic Adventure 2 (2001) in favor of returning to the linear style of Sega Genesis-era Sonic games.
Sonic Heroes
Takashi Iizuka
Eitaro Toyoda
Shiro Maekawa
Jun Senoue
Tomoya Ohtani
Naofumi Hataya
Keiichi Sugiyama
Hideaki Kobayashi
Mariko Nanba
Fumie Kumatani
Heroes was the first multi-platform Sonic game, produced for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, and Windows. Sonic Team USA's Yuji Naka and Takashi Iizuka led the game's 20-month development. The team wanted Sonic Heroes to appeal beyond Sonic series fans and so designed a game that did not depend on the continuation of its predecessors. The team revived elements not seen since the Genesis Sonic games, such as special stages and the Chaotix characters.
Sega released Sonic Heroes in Japan in December 2003 and worldwide in early 2004. It was a commercial success, with 3.41 million copies sold by 2007, but received mixed reviews. Critics praised the focus on fast gameplay and similarities to the series' original 2D entries, a choice that some considered an improvement from the Sonic Adventure games. Reviewers also highlighted its graphic design and detailed environments and textures. However, they felt it did not address the problems of previous Sonic games, such as the camera and voice acting.
Plot[edit]
Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles receive a letter from Doctor Eggman, telling them that in three days, he will launch his Egg Fleet in an attempt to take over the world, challenging them to stop him. Rouge infiltrates one of Eggman's bases, where she is surprised to discover Shadow, last seen falling from the Space Colony ARK, asleep in a pod. When she awakens him from his stasis, and one of Eggman's robots, E-123 Omega, the three reluctantly agree to work together, with Omega wanting revenge for being locked up and Shadow, who has amnesia, wanting answers regarding who he is. Amy helps Big and Cream track down Big's pet, Froggy, and Cheese's brother, Chocola Chao, who have both gone missing. The Chaotix Detective Agency (Vector, Espio and Charmy) receive a job offer from a mysterious client, where they execute a series of tasks to prove themselves.
The four teams chase down Eggman through various zones, crossing paths with each other at several points, until they all end up on the Egg Fleet. Meanwhile, Rouge discovers an armada of Shadow Androids, wondering if their Shadow is just one of them too. The Chaotix end up rescuing their mystery client, who just so happens to be Eggman. He reveals that he was locked up and betrayed by Metal Sonic, now going by "Neo Metal Sonic", who had adopted the guise of Eggman and taken control of the Egg Fleet to prove himself superior to Sonic. Using the data he collected from observing all the teams in action, he transforms into his ultimate state, the "Metal Overlord". Using the power of the Chaos Emeralds all the teams had collected, they work together to take down Metal, with Sonic turning Super (accompanied by Tails and Knuckles) to defeat him. After Metal Sonic is defeated and reverts to his original form, Sonic and everyone go their separate ways, while the Chaotix chase after Eggman, demanding payment from him.
Legacy[edit]
After Sonic Heroes, Sonic Team USA was renamed Sega Studios USA.[46] Their next project was Shadow the Hedgehog (2005),[47] a spinoff starring Shadow set shortly after the events of Sonic Heroes.[48] In 2008, after working on a few more games, the division was merged with Sonic Team in Japan.[49] In 2017 series retrospective, USgamer ranked Sonic Heroes among the franchise's bottom half of games. They wrote that the system of switching between characters was unwieldy and annoying, but still interesting because it made the game feel like a puzzle video game. They also praised the design of E-123 Omega.[50]
Sonic Heroes marked the debut of recurring Sonic character E-123 Omega,[6] and reintroduced the obscure Chaotix.[3] Its concept of switching between characters as necessary was reused in Sonic Team's Sonic Forces (2017) and Sumo Digital's Team Sonic Racing (2019);[51][52] Sumo Digital cited it as inspiration for their game.[52] The Seaside Hill level reappears in the 20th anniversary game Sonic Generations for PS3, Xbox 360, and Windows,[53] while the Nintendo 3DS version includes the special stages[54] and the Egg Emperor boss fight.[55] Seaside Hill has also appeared in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (2009),[56] Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (2010),[57] and its 2012 sequel.[58]