Countless fictional characters can transform into stronger, more imposing forms. Nintendo’s mascot Mario does so regularly, as can a handful of Pokémon, and that’s only a sample within gaming. Outside this medium, a particularly famous transformation is Dragon Ball‘s Super Saiyan. In 1991, series protagonist Goku attained the state while fighting the intergalactic terror Frieza. It’s irrefutably among Dragon Ball’s most arresting, iconic moments, inspiring similar ones in later works.
Super Sonic, seen on Sonic Channel (Image: SEGA)
Sonic the Hedgehog programmer and former series steward Yuji Naka is a professed Dragon Ball fan. Starting with the original game, 2D Sonics traditionally feature “Special Stages,” optional challenges housing the fabled Chaos Emeralds. In Sonic 3’s, the azure mammal roams across a small planetoid, an homage to Goku’s experience at King Kai’s home. Another, significantly less subtle Dragon Ball nod debuted in the prior game. In commemoration of Sonic’s thirtieth anniversary, let’s discuss it today.
Super Sonic’s History
Super Sonic first appeared in 1992’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Once players retrieve all seven Chaos Emeralds (or use a cheat code) and at least fifty Rings, Sonic will automatically transform upon jumping (later games would adjust the transformation method). The Dragon Ball influence is obvious: Super Sonic glows yellow, his physical attributes are enhanced, and he’s nigh invulnerable. However, the form can’t be sustained indefinitely. Sonic loses a Ring per second, and should he run out, he reverts back to his standard blue ‘do. Super Sonic also gets an exclusive leitmotif, and triumphantly congratulates players in Sonic 2’s good ending (which itself is also acquired by nabbing the gemstones). Originally, the ill-fated Hidden Palace Zone was meant to introduce the form, explaining it and the jewels’ place within the series’ mythology (a version of the den appears in Sonic 2’s 2013 remake, though its original purpose was not restored).
Concept art of Super Sonic depicts him in a familiar pose. According to Naka, Dragon Ball author Akira Toriyama never messaged them about their parody. (Image: SEGA/Shueisha)
After a few days passed, Sonic and his sidekick, Miles “Tails” Prower, sense a disturbance somewhere in the ocean. So they board their Tornado biplane and fly to Angel Island, opening 1994’s Sonic 3. Sonic transforms and rushes ahead, only to be violently greeted by newcomer Knuckles the Echidna. He knocks the Super out of Sonic and pilfers the rocks, forcing the hedgehog to reacquire them. Sonic & Knuckles arrived later that year, serving as the second part to Sonic 3; the two cartridges even physically lock onto each other. A revised Hidden Palace appears in the Knuckles half, where the brawl against Knuckles occurs underneath a curious mural. Assuming one’s playing Sonic 3 & Knuckles and has all seven Chaos Emeralds, teleporting here through a rainbow Giant Ring deactivates them. Should Sonic clear another batch of Special Stages, they evolve into the Super Emeralds, granting access to Hyper Sonic. If in possession of either set of sparklers, a surprise happens after defeating Eggman atop the Death Egg: The Doomsday Zone. The scientist absconds with Knuckles’ Master Emerald, so Sonic transforms again, pursuing his foe through Angel Island’s asteroid-filled stratosphere.
Sonic Adventure hit the Dreamcast in 1998. A brand-wide revamp, returning characters – including Sonic and his alter ego – were redesigned by Yuji Uekawa (who coincidentally drew inspiration from Toryiama’s style). Additionally, Adventure cemented how Super Sonic would henceforth usually be handled: reserving it for a game’s true final boss. 2001’s Sonic Adventure 2, 2003’s Sonic Heroes, that nameless disaster, 2008’s Unleashed, and many of the hedgehog’s handheld escapades dutifully continue this practice. However, 2010 kindly subverted this ritual through Sonic 4: Episode I and the Wii iteration of Colors. Both allow Sonic to trigger the transformation during regular stages, and neither use it as a crutch for their climaxes (Dimps’ Nintendo DS Colors does, however). Since then, Super Sonic being usable during standard gameplay became the norm again, although 2011’s Generations and 2017’s Mania still feature Doomsday-esque finales. In 2017’s Sonic Forces, Super Sonic’s available as free downloadable content, not as part of the base game. SEGA planned to eventually charge money for it, but relented after backlash.
Sonic X‘s first trailer highlights a cyan Super Sonic-esque figure. Years later, Sonic Team figurehead Takashi Iizuka explained it was simply an alternative design for Super Sonic. (Image: SEGA)
Super Sonic swiftly became a regular sight in the franchise, including merchandise, supplemental media, and spin-offs. IDW’s, Archie’s, and Fleetway’s comics feature it, with the latter offering a unique interpretation: while Sonic is rude, Super Sonic’s outright malevolent. Unsurprisingly, Sonic’s Super alias soars in the Sonic X anime. According to director Jeff Fowler, early drafts of the live-action film incorporated Super Sonic. After skipping Sonic’s 8-bit library, arcade outing Sonic the Fighters became Super Sonic’s side game debut (one Shenmue homages). Sonic R, Shuffle, and the Riders trilogy include the golden ‘hog as a hidden contestant. Crossovers habitually employ Super Sonic as the hero’s ultimate ability, including certain SEGA All-Stars entries, the Super Smash Bros. series, Puyo Puyo Tetris 2, and Minecraft. Select members of Sonic’s cast are even capable of analogous transformations, while Sonic occasionally dons other, similar power-ups.
So, what’re my thoughts on Super Sonic?
Generally, I believe a game’s final boss should be a natural cumulation of its mechanics, testing your mastery of them. Sonic Adventure more or less does this, retaining Sonic’s standard maneuvers. Set throughout the ruined remains of Adventure’s once-bustling metropolis, it’s also among the series’ more distinct, memorable final bosses. Even the twist with Chaos usurping Eggman was just that, a twist. However, Super Sonic’s subsequent showdowns seldom impress. They habitually jettison the hedgehog’s default control setup, usually utilizing a backdrop akin to Sonic 3 & Knuckles‘ as justification. Overall, they’re predictable, exhausting monstrosities whose challenge is primarily derived from their arbitrary, undercooked mechanics. They even derogate Sonic’s base form; after all, how cool is Sonic if he can’t ever win without a magical metamorphose?
Internal files in Sonic Adventure and 2006 suggest Super Sonic was initially slated to be accessible mid-stage, and in Adventure 2: Battle as a multiplayer unlockable. Curiously, unused sprites of him exist in Chaotix. (Image: SEGA)
So why is Sonic 3 & Knuckles’ finale held as the series’ gold standard? Well, it’s novel; Super Sonic was still a fresh concept, something not everyone even saw in Sonic 2. But earning him here rewards players with a genuine secret, one answering Hidden Palace’s subtle foreshadowing. After three challenging rounds against Eggman’s mechs, the power dynamic changes: having lost the upper hand, the villain desperately flees. Eggman can’t even harm the ascended Sonic, only stun him with missiles and lasers. Sonic, meanwhile, adapts well to space, a harsh environment he hadn’t explored yet outside the “safety” of Eggman’s fortresses. His controls – dashing and moving up, down, left, and right – are still intuitive, a far cry from the gimmick attacks later spacial showdowns employ. Now, I should stress something: Doomsday isn’t devoid of difficulty. If those hazards delay you too much, if your Ring counter hits zero, Sonic dies. But Doomsday successfully conveys Super Sonic’s power, gets easier as you progress, and provides a stylish, exciting conclusion 3 & Knuckles only could by breaking its rules. Sonic usually stumbles through its final bosses, but Doomsday is a legitimately great one.
Unfortunately, Super Sonic never again hit those highs. Getting it back as a mid-game bonus in contemporary titles is nice, furthering the replayability Sonic games champion. But it’s rarely that additive a bonus, particularly in the boost-centric titles. When Sonic can instantly propel himself forward at top speed, enshrined in a protective aura, what tangible value does going Super really add? Yes, there are benefits – minor stat gains and endless boost energy – but nothing particularly useful or exciting. Generations’ two Super Sonic incarnations are especially poor. Classic Sonic nets negligible enhancements aside from invincibility. His modern counterpart is somehow worse, guzzling Rings while flying through stages, an embodiment of the “boost to win” meme. Sonic Team is struggling to interrogate what once made their Super Saiyan spoof so impressive, so awe-inspiring.
Super Sonic’s eyes are kept black in the Genesis games. Since Adventure, standard Sonic’s eyes bear green irises while Super Sonic’s turn red. (Image: SEGA)
Which is a shame, since a new spin on Super Sonic is overdue. Sonic 3 and Unleashed begin by de-powering Super Sonic, and the former’s Big Arms boss can achieve that same feat. Super Sonic isn’t completely invincible, an avenue that could be explored further. Perhaps Sonic Team could set up yet another celestial confrontation, only to subvert expectations by reverting Sonic back to normal? If a monster’s strength is so immense as to demand Super Sonic, overcoming that challenge stripped of it could make for an exciting scenario. Or maybe Super Sonic could be thrust into a final stage, a torture gauntlet that’d be nigh impossible should the form expire? Alternatively, fellow Source Gaming writer Hamada suggests making Super Sonic “less a power-up and more a high risk, high reward playstyle,” a faster yet more vulnerable take on Sonic that’d test one’s mastery of a game.
Nevertheless, there is one credit I’ll give SEGA: I’m glad Hyper Sonic remains a 3 & Knuckles-exclusive. Dragon Ball’s cavalcade of endless, escalating power-ups devalues prior ones, a road I’m glad Super Sonic circumnavigates (and Sonic himself might even agree; Iizuka doesn’t believe the hedgehog’s a Dragon Ball fan).
Sonic 3 & Knuckles is arguably the apex of the entire franchise, though it certainly is for Super Sonic’s implementation. (Image: SEGA)
Doomsday successfully captures the spectacle Sonic so eagerly strives to deliver, doing so with such aplomb it rose as a franchise-defining high. It’s playing through the moment when Goku achieves Super Saiyan, overwhelming his stupefied, nervous nemesis. It’s playing as Superman, boldly powering through and dodging meteors and missiles. But despite its diminishing returns in subsequent decades, Super Sonic endures as a valuable part of the series’ iconography. I’m glad the form’s still around, will assuredly remain around, and hope it someday recaptures the splendor it once held.
Congratulations, Sonic! Time to scramble some Eggman… Super Sonic style!
Sonic’s anniversary isn’t the only one I plan to celebrate this summer, by the way. Check back early next month for two others! (Image: SEGA)
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