Sandbox / Sonic The Hedgehog Original Main Characters

The four original protagonists of the series, which all debuted in the original games. These characters exists in both the Classic Era and the Modern era.

The three primary protagonists of the series, aptly named Team Sonic (or Team Heroes depending on the game), consisting of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. Whenever a threat rears its ugly head, you can bet these three will be at the center of the conflict in some way. They're joined by others on occasions, most commonly Amy.

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Tropes applying to the trio as a whole

• Airplane Arms: All three do this when they are running full speed. Sonic started the trend in Sonic CD with the Peel-Out move.
• Badass Crew: By themselves they are already capable, but when they work together, there is almost no foe that can take them down. Sonic Heroes is even built around this concept with three other teams in addition to Team Sonic.
• Bash Brothers: As mentioned above, Sonic Heroes is built with this concept in mind, using the abilities of the three in tandem to progress.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Sonic, Tails, and (sometimes) Knuckles are nice people, but if you're hanging with the wrong crowd, expect a beating from them.
• Brains and Brawn: Tails is the brains to Knuckles's brawn and Sonic's speed, although all three are quite strong and sharp in their own ways.
• Cast Herd: After Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the three had more or less equal spotlight and screentime, with only Sonic barely eclipsing the other two, but only by a small margin. However, recent games have began to focus primarily on Sonic himself, with Tails being turned into an NPC Non-Action Guy, and Knuckles being severely Out of Focus. They are back to prominence in Sonic Mania.
• Chromatic Arrangement: Blue (Sonic), yellow (Tails) and red (Knuckles). Although Tails' fur color may be a lighter shade of orange, however.
• Egocentric Team Naming: Zig-Zagged: some games such as Sonic Heroes refer to the team as Team Sonic, while others such as Sonic Free Riders instead call them Team Hero.
• Elemental Powers: Various games give them these affinities.
  • Sonic: Blow You Away
  • Tails: Shock and Awe ^note Ironic, since Tails is often portrayed as having a fear of lightning.
  • Knuckles: Playing with Fire / Dishing Out Dirt
• Fighter, Mage, Thief: Commonly characterized as such in games with balanced stats like Sonic Battle, Sonic Chronicles, and the Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games series.
  • Fighter: Knuckles' stats lean more on power, but with less movement options and slower speeds.
  • Mage: Tails' stats lean more on "average", and is classified as a "Technique" type. In Sonic Chronicles, is a Support Party Member.
  • Thief: Sonic is, naturally, the fastest character (except in Sonic Battle, where Shadow is faster) with average attacking power.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: Between all three of them and Amy:
  • Sonic (Choleric): He's The Leader of the gang. Driven by his own strong sense of justice, he can be very impulsive and most likely to take action should a problem present itself. He's quick-witted, easygoing and loyal to his friends. To his rivals and enemies, he can be an extremely condescending smart aleck. He has his moments of being arrogant and narcissistic, but is nonetheless a cool individual who's always there to save the day.
  • Tails (Phlegmatic): He's the technician of the gang, his intelligence rivals that of Dr. Eggman's. He's very friendly, upbeat and humble, but can be very touchy and prone to self-doubt at times. He can also be naive and a blabber-mouth, which can greatly irritate his friends. Nonetheless, he's driven to chart the course and guide his friends.
  • Knuckles (Melancholic): He's the muscle of the gang and Sonic's former rival. He's stubborn and very short-tempered. He's a driven individual who takes his duties as protector of Angel Island, along with the Master Emerald, very seriously. Only problem is that he can be very gullible, naive and easily misled to the point that cunning individuals (like Dr. Eggman and Rouge) can easily get one over on him.
  • Amy (Sanguine): She's the leader of her own group (Team Rose), but sometimes resorts to going along with Sonic and his crew. She's a cheerful and optimistic individual who can be very compassionate and overly concerned with other people's problems. However, she can be very aggressive, stubborn, and temperamental. Because of those traits, she can come across as very overbearing.
• Freudian Trio: Although each one of them have traits of all three Freudian personality types. Sonic as The McCoy who tends to act purely on impulse and does whatever he feels is a good idea at the time, though in Sonic Lost World he shows some Kirk traits when breaking up a fight between Tails and Eggman. Knuckles as The Spock who tends to focus primarily on his job of protecting the Master Emerald and rarely concerns himself with matters outside of that. Although his anger issues give him some McCoy traits. Tails as The Kirk who tends to mediate in-fighting between the other two, and his intelligence gives him some Spock traits. He also has some McCoy traits when agitated by something, as shown in Sonic Lost World.
• Funny Animals: ...Well, duh...
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: Because Knuckles tends to spend more time alone on Angel Island, Sonic and Tails tend to be the ones who kick off the plot. They're frequently shown working together to save the day, and many games focus on them being such great partners. It helps that Sonic adopted Tails as his surrogate little bro. That said, Knuckles is the first ally Sonic and Tails tend to contact when they need extra help.
• Image Song: "We Can" (for the three as Team Sonic).
• Improbable Age: Sonic is 15, Knuckles is 16, and Tails is 8. Yet, they've gone on to save the world and be far more competent than the military.
• Kid Hero: According to official profiles, none of them are over 18. Heck, Tails isn't even 10.
• Limit Break: Their Team Blast, "Sonic Overdrive", in Sonic Heroes. It does major damage to all nearby enemies, and enables the use of the Light Speed Attack for 10 seconds until its cooldown timer runs out.^*Sonic could use the Light Speed Attack at any time in the Sonic Adventure games, provided that he found the Ancient Light first; even so, he had to charge it up by holding a Spin Dash for as long as possible beforehand. There are no Level-Up items in Sonic Heroes, so the Light Speed Attack is left out.
• Nice Mean And In Between: Respectively, Tails is the nice one for being humble and respectful to others, the mean is downplayed with Knuckles, as he's not technically mean, but has nastier portrayals like Sonic Battle and Sonic Rivals, and Sonic is in-between due to his cockiness, but ultimately being a nice guy overall.
• Pintsized Powerhouses: They're all pretty small and rather strong, but Knuckles stands out among them.
• Power Trio: They've been seen together since the beginning of Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
• Primary-Color Champion: Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles are respectively blue, yellow, and red and are the main heroes of the franchise.
• Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: A nomadic blue hedgehog, a super-smart helicopter-tailed fox, and a lonesome guardian of a giant green rock, all united by their efforts to save the world.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Both Tails and Knuckles usually play Blue to Sonic's Red, although each of them can function as either Red or Blue depending on the game.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man. Sonic (manly man) and Tails (sensitive guy). However, when it comes to Knuckles, Sonic is the Sensitive Guy while Knuckles is the Manly Man.
• Super Mode: Sonic and Knuckles were able to harness the power of the Chaos Emeralds and Tails the Super Emeralds up until Sonic 3 & Knuckles, but this ability was later removed until Sonic Mania, where both Tails and Knuckles can go Super with no special requirements.
• Super-Speed: They're all pretty fast; Sonic is just the fastest of them, notably in Sonic Colors. Even in speed formation, Sonic is going slow enough for the others to keep up, and they're all speeding through every environment.
• Super-Strength: They're all pretty strong, since their primary mode of attack is slamming into things and they've all taken down armored robots single-handedly. Knuckles is decidedly the strongest, though.
• True Companions: Despite their backgrounds and differing personalities, they are shown to care for one another, particularly Sonic and Tails.

Sonic the Hedgehog

See his page here.

Miles "Tails" Prower

^{Click here to see Tails' classic design.}

"I've changed a lot since I started hanging out with Sonic, but I can't depend on him forever. I know I can do this by myself!"

Debut: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ^note  His canon debut is attributed to the 16-bit Sonic the Hedgehog 2, but his first chronological appearance was in the 8-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which predated the release of the Genesis Sonic 2 by a month

Voiced by: Kazuki Hayashi (Japanese, 1998), Atsuki Murata (Japanese, 2000-2002), Ryō Hirohashi (Japanese, 2003-present); Takuto Yoshinaga (Japanese, Classic Tails), Corey Bringas (English, 1999-2001), Connor Bringas (English, 2001-2002), William Corkery (English, 2003-2004), Amy Palant (English, 2005-2010), Kate Higgins (English, 2010-2013, Sonic Colors: Rise of the Wisps), Colleen O'Shaughnessey (English, 2014-present), Marie-Eugénie Maréchal (French, 2011-present)

Sonic's young sidekick: a small fox who can use his unique twin tails to fly. Despite his young age, he's a reliable and dependable ally to Sonic. In later games, he's come into his own as a genius inventor that even rivals Eggman.

Ever since their first meeting, Tails has tried his hardest to be the best person he can for Sonic's sake, often times by mimicking him. Humble, docile, and good-natured with mechanical prowess that can potentially rival Eggman's, but he never thought it was much of a big deal.

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• A Day in the Limelight: He got 3 spinoff games to himself; Tails Adventure, Tails Skypatrol and Tails and the Music Maker.
• Ace Pilot: The Tornado originally belonged to Sonic but Tails's pilot competency has made him the de facto owner of the plane as he flies and maintains it more than Sonic ever did.
• Aerith and Bob: His real name is Miles Prower, and alongside Amy, Tails remain one of the few anthropomorfic characters with a human name in the games.
• All of the Other Reindeer: He used to get picked on for having two tails, according to the manual of Sonic 2 and the anime adaptation.
• Art Evolution: He got a slimmer design touchup from Sonic Adventure and on, and got his color altered from orange to yellow. His eyes went from a black iris to being blue, symbolizing his innocence.
• Asian Fox Spirit: He doesn't have the magic powers associated with Kitsune, but he has the intelligence and multiple tails.
• Ascended Fanboy: He follows Sonic one day and becomes interested in him. He eventually wants to become like him, though Sonic ignores him. After Sonic and Tails had gone on an adventure to defeat Eggman, they become friends and he lets him tag along with him, eventually developing a bond.
• Attack Animal: In his Super Mode, he summons four "Super Flickies" that charge at and destroy all enemies and even bosses. These were dropped in Sonic Mania.
• Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: He's sensible enough but can sometimes get so caught up with his gadgets that he loses focus quickly, this nearly gets him killed in Sonic Lost World.
• Back Story: Tails is apparently an orphan, and before meeting Sonic, used to be bullied by his home island's inhabitants.
• Badass Adorable: Prevented Eggman from detonating his missile in Sonic Adventure and saved Station Square all by himself, but at his core, he's still just a quiet, geeky kid.
• Badass Bookworm: Tail is a technolical genius, and if the game allows it, he can be as capable as Sonic.
• Badass in Distress: In Sonic Lost World Tails is captured by the Deadly Six and left to be turned into a robot. However he manages to hack the machine that would have done so to retain his free will, thus rescuing himself from the Deadly Six's kit-napping.
• Berserk Button: In Sonic Lost World, he didn't take it well when Sonic trusts Eggman to shut down his Extractor more than him.
• Best Friend: To Sonic since Sonic 2. No matter the game, Tails is almost always on hand to lend Sonic his support: whether it's giving him a lift in The Tornado, or whipping up gadgets to help him out.
• Beware the Nice Ones: This is best shown in Sonic Adventure 2 when he vowed to Eggman that he will never forgive him for ''nearly'' threatening Sonic's life via space capsule and didn't hesitate to blow his brains out during their mech fight.
• Big Brother Worship: Towards Sonic in the beginning. Over time, he's become less amazed by Sonic's feats and even recognizes his flaws.
• Bungling Inventor: While usually competent, there are times his inventions don't quite work as intended.
• Captain Crash: Eggman has an impeccable talent for gunning down his planes. The only time he crashed on purpose was in Sonic Adventure when he was forced to crash the Tornado 2's transformed state onto the Egg Carrier because he forgot landing gear on the form.
• Cartoony Tail: He has two tails that enable him to fly like a helicopter when he spins them. There's no indication of how this is anatomically possible.
• Celibate Hero: Tails has no love interest or Ship Tease of any kind in the videogames. He is 8 years old, after all. This trait does get ignored in adaptations.
• Character Development: In Sonic Adventure. His defining moment is when Eggman attacks Station Square and with Sonic separated from him, Tails has to defeat Eggman himself, compared to all the times in which Tails needed to be by Sonic's side in order to get things done. This is even retained for most games afterwards, where Tails is less impressed with Sonic's feats than before, though he still remains his sidekick out of their close friendship.
• Cheerful Child: Extremely positive and upbeat.
• Child Prodigy: Just being able to fly the Tornado in Sky Chase Zone would've gotten him here, but he's been able to BUILD — as in, with his own two hands — more than one upgrade for the plane, a portable device that can bring up satellite signals and translate the Wisps' language, a fake Chaos Emerald, his team's Extreme Gear, and everything from his Game Gear spin-off games. Oh, and depending on whatever continuity you believe in, he singlehandedly learned to turn his twin namesakes into the most useful and deadly Cartoony Tails ever! All this at 8 years old.
• Classical Antihero: He shares Sonic's undying altruism but not his outlook on life. Sonic is adventurous and quick to act (if not a bit brash and full of himself) while Tails is less self-assured. He overcomes this frequently but always seems to have a nagging "should I let Sonic handle this" doubt about his actions before he commits.
• Cool Car: Tails is associated with the Caterham 7/Lotus Super Seven sports car and was first seen driving a lookalike of it on a 1992 manga. It later appeared on an Easter Egg in Sonic CD and most obviously on the Sonic Drift games, but this trait ended up falling into obscurity over the years.
• Cool Plane: The Tornado and all of its upgrades. The original red variation is actually Sonic's, but Tails is so much of a better pilot that he's all but relinquished ownership to him.
• Cowardly Lion: He may not be as skilled or confident as his peers but when the chips are down, Tails tends to come through, notably shown in Sonic Adventure when he successfully defends Station Square from Eggman without Sonic's help despite being scared. The "Lion" part has been downplayed in later years, but does tend to show up from time to time.
• The Cutie: Just look at him!
• Deadpan Snarker:
  • Seems to have become this in Sonic Colors. Sonic must be rubbing off on him.
  • Taken further in Sonic Lost World. Probably half of his lines are snarking at Sonic and/or Eggman.
• Depending on the Writer: The consistent things about him are that he's always Sonic's best friend and sidekick as well as being The Smart Guy. Now whether he's a young protege who looks up to Sonic or an equal partner on their adventures varies.
  • During their run on the series (Colors, Lost World), Ken Pontac and Warren Graff gave Tails a bit of snark, alongside a healthy dose of ego. This includes being antagonistic towards Eggman, constantly diminishing him.
  Tails: (looking at Orbot and Cubot) Truly, your robots are a reflection of your genius, Doctor Eggman.
• Despair Event Horizon: Hits it early on in Sonic Forces after Infinite seemingly kills Sonic. After the six-month Time Skip, the rest of the Resistance largely considers Tails a lost cause, and we later see Tails failing at repairing Omega while being rather nonchalant despite everything going on. It takes the appearance of Classic Sonic, as well as the discovery that the Modern Sonic is still alive, for Tails to snap out of it.
• Deuteragonist: He may fall Out of Focus here and there, but out of all of Sonic's allies and rivals, Tails is his most consistent partner and the most likely to accompany him no matter what.
  • A specific example is in Sonic Lost World. While Sonic stops the villains, he doesn't actually help save the world - Tails does that part all on his own.
• Didn't Think This Through: Building a powerful biplane with a transformed state: good idea. Building a powerful biplane with a transformed state without the landing gear: bad idea.
• Distressed Dude: In the 8-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Can actually lead to a pretty depressing ending if you don't collect all the Emeralds, as it's implied that Eggman killed Tails.
• Do Not Call Me "Paul": He always prefers his nickname over his real one.
• Endearingly Dorky: He's quite a geek, but he is very cheerful and adorable.
• The Engineer: His technological abilities have been increasingly helpful to Sonic over the years. Nowadays, it overshadows his original combat role.
• Exposition Fairy: He's this in Sonic Colors.
• Fatal Flaw: While not quite as developed as those of his team mates, Tails is sometimes shown to get a bit too fixated with his machinery and know-how, leading to distraction issues or not quite thinking them through. Being a child, he can also sometimes get insecure or stroppy, leading to issues cooperating.
• Fear of Thunder: He's scared of thunder despite it being his most commonly used element.
• Flash Step: In Sonic Colors after he's brainwashed by Eggman and pulls a You Shall Not Pass! on Sonic, he's capable of keeping up with the Hedgehog's every movement, going just as fast as he is to keep him from attacking Eggman.
• Flight: He can use his namesake tails to propel him upward, and when that isn't enough, there's always the Tails Tornado: later the X-Tornado.
• Foil: While Dr. Eggman's main rivalry is with Sonic, Tails fits the role moreso due to his intellect and handiness with technology.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: Phlegmatic and sanguine.
• Gadgeteer Genius: In most Sonic media, Tails is the "gadget" guy, making him opposite to Eggman.
• Gameplay and Story Segregation: Tails has a inconsistent level of strenght, which all depend on the narrative of the game. In the classic games, he is as capable as Sonic in gameplay; outside those games and Adventure, he tends to be a Non-Action Guy.
• Girls Have Cooties: To a mild extent in some medias. It actually helps resolve the plot almost every time it comes up.
• Goggles Do Nothing: Wears some◊ in the Sonic Riders series.
• Good Counterpart: He has evolved into a good counterpart to Eggman (because Eggman was introduced first), seeing as Tails' Gadgeteer Genius abilities have become as prominent as Eggman's, and Tails is young, yet very mature (in some ways) while Eggman is older, yet rather immature. This is more apparent in Sonic Adventure 2, where Tails and Eggman are both "shooting" characters and control the same way. It's also worth noting that both are among the few characters in the Sonic franchise that have full names, yet are Only Known by Their Nickname. It's sometimes implied that Eggman and Tails respect each other's genius in spite of all the trouble they cause each other, to the point where they sometimes devolve into a Friendly Rivalry.
• Heartwarming Orphan: He has no known parents, but is often described as an orphan in certain alternate media.
• Heli-Critter: Trope Codifier.
• Horrible Judge of Character: He'll believe someone if they say they aren't evil, no matter what prior experiences he's had with them.
• Humble Hero: Despite his great skills, Tails is very humble about his abilities, never giving them many thoughts, in sharp contrast to Sonic, though he has yet to discover his true potential of what he can accomplish. At the time of Sonic Lost World, Tails has become more confident and outspoken about his intelligence, though he still does not openly brag. Regardless, he has been known to mock Eggman's own creations, and sometimes Eggman himself.
• Hyper-Competent Sidekick: In the game continuity only. Tails has an absurd number of useful skills, having many of the same abilities as Sonic and some of his own.
• Hyperspace Arsenal: He doesn't use it often, but he has a ton of stuff that can appear out of nowhere, especially in Tails Adventure.
• I Just Want to Be Special: Tails wishes he could be as much of a hero as his best friend, Sonic. Some Character Development throughout the Adventure titles shows that he's starting to step out of Sonic's shadow to become a hero on his own right, but he still has a lot to catch up with the others. His Leitmotif, "Believe in Myself" is also an accurate example of this trope.
• Image Song: "Believe in Myself"
• Informed Attribute: Many modern bios refer to him as a "hyperactive fox boy", despite his Keet-like attitude fading considerably over the years in favor of him becoming a rather mellow and serious minded character.
• Innocent Blue Eyes: They do really bring out his childlike innocence.
• Innocent Prodigy: It varies from game-to-game, but Tails is just a kid who happens to be extremely intelligent for his age. He sometimes joins in on Sonic's taunting, but also wises up faster than him as well.
• Intergenerational Friendship: Most of his friends, all of his close friends, are quite a bit older than him.
• Ironic Fear: According to Sonic Jam he's scared of thunder◊ but Sonic Heroes features using moves such as Thunder Shoot.
• Jack of All Stats: Outside of platformers, this is Tails' usual role. For example, in Sonic Battle, he has slightly above average speed and defense; with average attack power. In general, he tends to be faster but weaker than Knuckles; and slightly slower but stronger than Sonic.
• Kid-Appeal Character: The very first one of the series, he's often recommended for beginners due to his flying abilities in the 2D games.
• Kid Sidekick: He's almost twice as young as him to boot.
• The Kirk: Overlapping with The Spock at times. Tails is generally the most level-headed of the three.
• Little Professor Dialog: He can speak some big words for his age and is generally the one to piece together and explain things. (Also when doubled over as the Exposition Fairy)
• Lovable Nerd: Very nerdy, but also very adorable.
• Made of Iron: Even without counting his invincibility in the two-player mode of the older games. Tails has been shot with lasers and crashed planes multiple times, but the worst he's ever been hurt is being dazed for a few minutes.
• Meaningful Name: Miles Prower fits in with Sonic's name, referring to velocity (miles per hour).
• Motor Mouth: Not as much as Marine or Omochao, but often with Techno Babble.
• Mr. Fixit: He's a mechanic and maintains planes pretty well. Sonic Lost World also showed him fixing Cubot's malfunctioned voice chip and reversing the effects of Eggman's machine.
• Mr. Vice Guy: Tails is usually incredibly lucid and intelligent, but sometimes his childishness seeps through, making him naive or huffy. He's also sometimes a bit over fixated with machinery, at the cost of his attention span.
• Multiple-Tailed Beast: Being based on the Kitsune, it is to be expected.
• Nice Guy: One of the nicest and most mild-mannered of the cast.
• Non-Action Guy: Ever since Unleashed, Tails has settled into more of a supporting role and content to hang back and let Sonic handle most of the action.
• Noodle Incident: One has to wonder how Tails was able to make a TV out of paperclips, and reprogram a computer with detergent & a toothpick, as was mentioned in Sonic Lost World.
• Nuclear Mutant: At least in a few alternate continuities, it's been theorized that his mutation is due to toxic waste dumped by Dr. Robotnik.
• Number Two: Often cited as Sonic's right-hand man and the most likely to tag along in his adventures. He even sometimes takes over in Sonic's absence.
• One-Man Army: In Tails Adventure, taking on a whole armada on his own.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: To the point where most people didn't think he had a real name.
• Only Sane Man: In Sonic Battle, at least.
• Out of Focus: Played with. He's nowhere near as prominent as he once was and he's rarely a playable character nowadays, but he continuously makes appearances in the plot and is just as much a part of the action as Sonic. Subverted in Episode II of Sonic the Hedgehog 4, where he's playable alongside Sonic once again (although only in co-op in the case of Sonic 4).
• Ping Pong Naïveté: Has astonishing technical abilities, but often has the disposition and naïveté of a child. This lessened significantly around Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), but started to trickle back in with Colors and Generations.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: 2'7" tall, weighs 44 lbs. He's just as capable of demolishing robots as Sonic is, and at some points lifts four times his own weight and breaks rocks with his bare hands.
• The Pollyanna: He honestly believed that Eggman had truly reformed in Sonic Colors, even though it's clear that he didn't.
• Power Creep, Power Seep: Tails' competence and strength varies widely throughout the series. There's a fairly reliable metric, though: If he's non-playable, he's a Non-Action Guy, though he can still keep up with Sonic. If he's playable, however, he's a Lightning Bruiser able to easily hold his own with the likes of Sonic, Knuckles, and Shadow.
• Prehensile Tail: Tails shows this ability for the first time ever in Sonic Lost World, when he grabs the toothpick stuck in Zomom's sandwich to save himself from being robotized.
• Punny Name: Miles Prower = miles per hour.
• Ridiculously Cute Critter
• Rude Hero, Nice Sidekick: The mild-mannered sidekick to the snarky yet compassionate Sonic.
• Rule of Cool: Absolutely nothing makes sense about his propeller tails ability. At least with the Spin Dash you could kind of see how it works, even if it actually fails when you think about it. Apparently his tails aren't actually attached to his body, considering he can ball himself up without tucking in his tails, which can also explain how his propeller tails function.
• Science Hero: He often uses his smarts and various gadgets to aid him and his friends save the day.
• Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Can slip into this sometimes. (Sonic Riders hosts one of his most famous examples.)
• Shock and Awe: His most commonly used element, as used in Sonic Heroes and Sonic Battle despite being portrayed as having a Fear of Lightning.
• Shorter Means Smarter: Justified in that he is much younger than most of the cast.
• Sidekick: To Sonic. He acts as a more humble and reasonable foil to the cocky, impulsive Sonic. But looks up to Sonic as an older brother figure, and doesn't have the Friendly Rivalry characteristics of The Lancer.
• Sleepy Head: Starts yawning in his idle pose in the classic games and in Sonic Adventure, and falls asleep in Sonic Advance 2 and Sonic 4: Episode 2.
• Skill Gate Characters: His flight ability makes him the most accessible character in 2D platformers for less experienced players, as he could fly over difficult sections and save himself from making mistakes. However, he can't undergo a Super Mode like Sonic (except in the circumstances listed below), and misses out on his Difficult, but Awesome techniques like the Insta-Shield attack.
• The Smart Guy: Tends to be more far more rational and analytic than his teammates.
• Speaks Fluent Animal: He's able to understand Flickies (the little blue birds).
• Super Mode:
  • Super Tails, which has only appeared in Sonic 3 & Knuckles so far. Unlike the rest of the characters, he needs the Super Emeralds rather than the Chaos Emeralds to achieve super form. According to Word of God, this is due to his inexperience and young age. He even has four Super Flickies to attack enemies for him.
  • As of the 2013 re-release of the original Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails can go super with just the Chaos Emeralds, but only if a hidden setting is used to make all seven show up.
  • Tails also has a different Super Mode used in Sonic Heroes. There is, however, quite a bit of confusion as to whether or not it's actually supposed to be Super Tails or not. The only visual difference is a golden shield surrounding him, but he has all the normal abilities associated with a Super form. Adding to the confusion is that Tails' and Knuckles' super forms in previous games only included them glowing, with no visual changes whatsoever.
  • In Sonic Mania, Tails has his Super form from the aforementioned re-release of Sonic the Hedgehog. Unlike every other appearance of Tails' Super form, there aren't any extra requirements - Get the Chaos Emeralds, and he can go Super as easily as the other two. However, he doesn't get access of the Super Flickies he had with his Super Emerald powered Super Form previously.
• Super-Speed:
  • His ability to move fast enough to keep up with Sonic impressed him enough that he took Tails as his sidekick.
  • It's not always noticeable, but Tails has been shown to be very fast even without using his tails — on par with Amy or Espio, who are classified as Speed characters.
• Super-Strong Child: Although this can also apply to the other small children in the series, Tails is the only one consistently portrayed as being deceptively strong. Several games show him able to lift more than his own weight without hindering his flight (possibly up to ten tons if Tails' Skypatrol is any indication), breaking through rocks with his bare (or gloved) hands, and, of course, tearing through robots as a ball.
• Tagalong Kid: Subverted. While he does meet Sonic by initially following him, he ends up proving useful and Sonic decides to keep him around. From then on, he's one of Sonic's closest allies.
• Tail Slap: Has this move in most of the Dreamcast era games.
• Taking the Bullet: Does this a few times — He's back up within a few seconds.
• Tareme Eyes: Has the softest, droopiest eye shape of the cast — even more so than Cream.
• Took a Level in Badass: His Character Development in Sonic Adventure revolves around this, when Station Square was in danger of being destroyed, Tails was the only one who could stop this. With Sonic nowhere to be found, Tails realized that he could not depend on Sonic forever and had to try on his own. After saving Station Square, Tails realized he could be independent and support himself without Sonic, and all he needed was determination and faith. Since then, Tails has become more independent, self-confident, motivated and brave, as well as rising up to be a real hero when needed.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: In Sonic Lost World, Tails is shown to be much more petty and insecure compared to the Nice Guy he usually is. He's noticeably arrogant, insinuates that Sonic doesn't care about him at one point despite knowing better, and constantly badmouths both him and Eggman during their temporary truce despite Eggman's cooperation being necessary to save their world and Sonic having no problems with it.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Mint candy.
• Transforming Mecha: His Cyclone mecha from Sonic Adventure 2, which can switch between Tornado-esque plane, high-speed car, and walker.
• Undying Loyalty: A consistent with almost every interpretation of Tails is that he is always by Sonic's side.
• Voice for the Voiceless: His classic self acts as this for Classic Sonic in Sonic Generations.
• Walking the Earth: He seems to spend time either doing this with Sonic, or in one of his multiple workshops.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: Sonic's approval is very important to him, to the point where if he feels he doesn't have it makes Tails very upset. Fortunately, Sonic is already plenty proud of the young fox.
• Weak, but Skilled: In direct combat, Tails lacks his friends' raw hand-to-hand combat skills, and focuses more on tactics and providing support to his allies. On the occasion where he is fighting on his own however, Tails utilizes a fighting style that combines a blend of basic punches and/or swipes with his twin-tails.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: An 8-year-old who is able to fly a plane and make some cool gadgets. Also, he's often the mediator between Sonic's friends.

Knuckles the Echidna

^{Click here to see Knuckles' classic design.}

"I'll probably be on this floating island forever, guarding the Master Emerald again. I may not know the whole story behind this, but perhaps it's better that way. I'm at peace once more."

Debut: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Voiced by: Nobutoshi Canna (Japanese, 1998-present), Michael McGaharn (English, 1999), Ryan Drummond (English, 2000), Scott Dreier (English, 2001-2004), Dan Green (English, 2005-2010), Travis Willingham (English, 2010-2018), Dave B. Mitchell (English, 2019-present), Sébastien Desjours (French, 2011-present)

A red echidna from Angel Island, and guardian of the Master Emerald. He was first introduced as an antagonist in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, having been told by Eggman that Sonic and Tails intended to steal the Master Emerald. Halfway through the game, Eggman betrays Knuckles and steals the Master Emerald himself, which forced Knuckles to accept Sonic & Tails help in getting it back. Afterward, Knuckles would then be one of the duo's chief allies in fighting Eggman, but his guardian duties keep him out of the action most of the time. Not much of his past was known, but that changed with Sonic Adventure which fleshed out his background quite a bit. Turns out, Knuckles is the last of the echindas after they were wiped out for attempting to use the the Emeralds and desecrating the shrine (and injuring numerous Chao) which the angered the at the time guardian Chaos. Afterward, the piece of the shrine became Angel Island.

If Sonic is like the wind, then Knuckles is like the mountain; stern and unmovable. So naturally, they tend to butt heads, but do get along occasionally. Because of spending most of his life on a secluded island, he naturally prefers to be by himself and has quite the wild temper. However, despite these traits he's a nice guy, and more than willing to abandon his post to help out his friends.

---

• A Day in the Limelight:
  • He got his own spinoff game, Knuckles Chaotix, for the Sega 32X.
  • Sonic Adventure is also this for him to a lesser extent, as it highlights the backstory of his island and what happened to his species while shedding light on his guardian role. Aside from Sonic's story, Knuckles' story is where you learn the most about Chaos.
• Aesop Amnesia: No matter how many times he's been tricked by Eggman's Blatant Lies, he somehow ends up failing to learn and readily falls for the same tricks again and again.
• Aloof Ally: Downplayed and then subverted as time went on. At first, Knuckles only got involved in Sonic's adventures by pure chance as he was generally doing his own thing with protecting the Master Emerald, but had no compunctions against assisting Sonic and Co. in fighting Eggman. When his guardian role became less relevant as the series went on however, Knuckles is presented as nothing less than a staunch ally.
• Anti-Hero: Has no hesitation in fighting other heroes or his own friends, if they get in his way.
• Anti-Villain: In Sonic 3, all he's doing is trying to protect his homeland from who he believes are dangerous invaders from abusing powers that he's sworn to protect. It shouldn't come as a surprise that he immediately switches sides as soon as Eggman's deception is revealed.
• The Artifact:
  • Knuckles was Sonic's original Foil and rival, and remained as such until Shadow's debut in Sonic Adventure 2. Afterward, he just became another one of Sonic's allies after Sonic Heroes and was subsequently Demoted to Extra. Sonic Mania makes him a playable character again alongside Sonic and Tails after an 11 year absence, and Sonic Forces makes him a prominent commander of the resistance group however.
  • This also extends to his guardian role as the Master Emerald has not been a relevant plot point in the series for quite a while. Since Sonic Adventure 2, it's only been relevant in Sonic Advance 3 and Sonic Rivals; his previous role only getting a passing mention in character profiles.
  • His dredlocks, and the color of his shoes, were from when he was first conceptualized (he was originally meant to be Jamaican, apparently). Those stuck around long after that was forgotten about.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: He's the leader of the Resistance in Sonic Forces.
• Badass Armfold: He does this very often, and it looks extremely badass, despite the fact that he's badass already.
• Badass Biker: In racing games, like Sonic Riders and Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, Knuckles usually rides a cycle of some kind.
• Badass in Distress: He gets captured off-screen in Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble as Sonic (or Tails, if you choose him) and is seen freeing him from a cage during the ending.
• Bare-Fisted Monk: Well, his name is Knuckles...
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Rouge in Sonic Adventure 2, complete with her nearly-Tsundere reactions towards him and an Almost Kiss when he saves her life (it doesn't help that "Kick The Rock!", the BGM for Wild Canyon — his first stage, right after he met Rouge — is a ballad of Intercourse with You, and later says that he doesn't love her). Later games have scaled back their romantic tension, reducing it to simple animosity.
• Berserk Button: Knuckles will always get angry for a lot of things, but one thing in particular would be anything that would involve stealing the Master Emerald. He was also clearly enraged about how Wave insulted Tails's hoverboard.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Knuckles is level-headed, down to earth, and doesn't take crap from anyone. Doctor Eggman never learns from this. Knuckles is kind enough to give him multiple chances to redeem himself, but as soon as he finds out Eggman's been taken advantage of him, it's payback time.
• Big Brother Instinct: Much less prominent than Sonic, but does have his moments with both him and Tails, particularly in Sonic Heroes and Sonic Riders.
• The Big Guy: Tends to solve most of his problems by punching them.
• Big "SHUT UP!": He occasionally says this to some characters in games such as Sonic Battle and Sonic Rivals.
• Blood Knight: Knuckles is a brawler at heart, so he would naturally be this. His counterpart, Gawain from Sonic and the Black Knight, noted that fighting a dragon would be an excellent way to test out his strength.
• Breakout Character: He was this during the '90s, especially since he had his own comic book, upgraded into the main cast with Sonic and Tails, and had his own video game.
• Bruiser with a Soft Center: He's known for being tough and uses his spiky fists when in combat. He's also shown to be a nice guy and cares for his friends.
• The Brute: Served as Eggman's muscle in Sonic 3 & Knuckles and Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble.
• Butt-Monkey: A lot of the comic relief in the series stems from his bullheaded attitude, most of it at his expense.
• Cartoony Tail: Knuckles' tail looks like it had been broken at one point, but in-universe echidnas usually have tails like that.
• Charles Atlas Superpower: Knuckles` strength is never explicitly stated to be abnormal or superhuman, but rather an innate part of his nature.
• Character Development: A bit subtle, but he went from being an adversary to Sonic, to being reluctant allies with him, and finally good friends (albeit with a competitive streak). It would take awhile, but it eventually developed into a genuine friendship. He even became Sonic's second best friend next to Tails. Though he's still the first one to call Sonic out for acting like a Fearless Fool, they have developed a much more peaceful rivalry than with Sonic's other rivals.
• Characterization Marches On: Knuckles' personality seems to depend on the era he's in. In the Classic Era, he was a chuckling troublemaker who hindered Sonic's path in his debut. In the Dreamcast Era, he was a tough, no nonsense foil to Sonic's carefree lifestyle. In the Modern Era, he's even more of a hothead and finds himself constantly trying to one up Sonic, or play the series' Butt-Monkey. In Mania, he's reverted to his Sonic 3 persona.
• Continuity Snarl: Super Knuckles's existence. Sonic 3 & Knuckles introduced Super Knuckles and Hyper Knuckles, but by the time of Sonic Heroes Super Knuckles seems forgotten about in favour of having a "Super Shield" provided by Super Sonic, then in Sonic Mania Super Knuckles is back and the Super Emeralds are still around but go unused.
• Cool Shades: Gets a pair in Sonic Adventure 2 and in the Sonic Riders series.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He may not be the brightest guy around, but he's more than capable of dishing out the pain if needed
• Cute Little Fangs: Difficult to see them, but they're still there.
• Defeat Means Friendship/Defeat Means Respect: This is how he became an ally to Sonic. This also applies to his encounter with Rouge in Sonic Adventure 2.
• Demoted to Comic Relief: Knuckles starts off as a rival and serious foil to Sonic, with some focus on his role as guardian of the powerful Master Emerald. After Sonic Adventure 2, however, these aspects have been downplayed and he has instead been characterized as a Butt-Monkey who desperately, and unsuccessfully, tries to one up Sonic. In the Sonic Boom, Knuckles' primary character traits is being a cloudcuckoolander who drops funny lines.
• Depending on the Writer: Probably one of the more notable cases, Knuckles's personality and relationships change more widely than others. The series can't seem to decide if he's a reluctant ally of Sonic's and prefers to be alone, or a Friendly Rival who wants to one-up Sonic and tries to tagalong in his adventures. Even how seriously he takes his guardian duties are subject to change; he either takes them completely serious and refuses to leave his post unless he's needed or constantly shirks his duties to go hoverboarding, birthday parties, etc. etc. It's really hard to get a pin on him, the only consistent thing is his stoic and honorable nature, and his Friendly Rivalry with Sonic.
  • In Sonic 3 & Knuckles, he's a Giggling Villain constantly tripping up Sonic's progress by activating all of Angel Island's traps and secret mechanisms, suggesting he's crafty.
  • In Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2 he's a quiet loner with a strong sense of duty to the Master Emerald.
  • In the Sonic Riders series, he's a hot-headed competitor in the game, and a treasure hunter off-screen.
  • In Sonic Mania Adventures, he's The Paranoiac who thinks everyone, Sonic included, is trying to steal the Master Emerald from him.
• Determinator: Always persistent against pain, and never backs down.
• Deuteragonist: He has a prominent role in Sonic Adventure in which it leans to his connection with the Master Emerald and the Knuckles Clan.
• Dishing Out Dirt: Some of his moves in Sonic Battle and Sonic Heroes.
• Dreadlock Rasta/Dreadlock Warrior: Word of God says his quills are styled in dreadlocks. Although he is not a Rastafarian, Knuckles is in some media known to be a somewhat spiritual character. From the Dreamcast games and beyond, we see that other echidnas have this, making it part of Knuckles' culture, and not a fashion choice.
• Everyone Has Standards: It was pretty obvious from his reaction, that he wanted to punch Wave in the face for bullying Tails.
• Fantasy Counterpart Culture: He has a few stereotypical black man characteristics, and was originally supposed to have a Jamaican accent in Sonic Adventure.
  • He also has some ties to Mayincatec cultural cues from the architecture on Angel Island and the Knuckles Clan being explicitly based on South American monuments (Sonic Team even travelled there to do research on the history for Sonic Adventure). Some of his character traits are also analogous to a modern day Native American keeping his culture and traditions alive. The vocals of Unknown from M.E. make explicit how much pride he takes in his heritage.
    The blood of my ancestors flows inside me!
• Fatal Flaws: Knuckles is known to be rather gullible and naive, falling for Eggman's trickery on a regular basis. His short temper can also lead to him being easily riled up at times. Also his pride has gotten him in quite a bit of trouble over time.
• Fiery Red Head: Sometimes.
• Fire-Forged Friends: With Sonic, although both still have the tendency to quarrel.
• Foe Romance Subtext: He gets a lot of Belligerent Sexual Tension with Rouge, who wants to steal the Master Emerald, in Sonic Adventure 2; the two constantly argue, but Knuckles wastes no time in saving her when she's about to fall into lava and she reluctantly returns her emerald shards to him in return. While this aspect of their relationship has been downplayed due to both being Out of Focus, games like Sonic Rivals 2 (where they pull an Enemy Mine) and Sonic Generations (where they have a friendly conversation during Sonic's party) confirm it still exists.
• Foil: As mentioned in his bio, he's one to Sonic. In fact, he was created with this trope in mind. He also gained one in Rouge after Sonic Adventure 2. They're both treasure hunters, but he's rather Hot-Blooded and simple minded, while she's cunning and manipulative.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: Supine.
• Friendless Background: He was actually born on Angel Island without anyone to look after him.
• General Failure: During his time as a resistance leader in Sonic Forces, he makes several boneheaded decisions that get most of his soldiers killed or MIA. Case in point: leading all of his forces into Metropolis at once, where Infinite ambushes them and manages to wipe out at least 80% of them in one go.
• Giggling Villain: As an antagonist in Sonic 3 & Knuckles, where he constantly laughs at Sonic and Tails while messing with them.
• Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: Having been living much of his life in isolation, Knuckles grew up believing in honesty and holds a firm and steadfast belief that there is good in everyone, which always lets him give people second chances. Naturally, Eggman has used this to his advantage to dupe him into fighting Sonic on multiple occasions.
• Good Is Not Soft: His intentions are always good, he'll risk his life to save anyone in danger, and he tries his best to give people a second chance, but you're in for a world of pain if you try to stand in his way, or if he finds out that you abused his trust.
• Green-Eyed Monster: He's jealous of Sonic's adventurous lifestyle and popularity. This would explain his subtle hostility with the hedgehog, and their rocky relationship.
• Guile Hero: Especially from Sonic 3 up to Sonic Adventure 2.
• Gullible Lemmings: Tends to fall for Eggman's lies from time to time. Some fans exaggerate this to unrealistic levels.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: He has a very short temper which combined with his naiveté, leads to him making very poor decisions at times. Characters like Sonic and Rouge are fond of pressing his buttons a lot.
• Hero Antagonist: His debut had him opposing Sonic and Tails due to Eggman lying and claiming they were trying to steal the Master Emerald and Chaos Emeralds. So Knuckles is simply just protecting his home from what he believes are invaders. Once Eggman's lies are revealed, he quickly joins the duo in stopping him.
• Heroic Neutral: Knuckles doesn't get himself involved in the conflict between Sonic and Dr. Eggman due to his dedication with guarding the Master Emerald, but he'll help Sonic and his friends when the situation calls for it.
• Hidden Depths: He looks like a tough guy, but is a kind and helpful guy who just wants to do the right thing.
• Hidden Heart of Gold: One line of his Sonic Adventure theme song "Unknown From M.E." states that he has "no such thing as weak spots".
• Horrible Judge of Character: He trusts Eggman and thinks Sonic is the bad guy at first. He doesn't seem to learn from his mistake, as Eggman tricks Knuckles into fighting against Sonic again on several occasions. His lack of good character judgement becomes a Running Gag over time.
• Hot-Blooded: Goes hand in hand with his temper, tho usually Knuckles is provoked when he goes off.
• Humble Hero: Especially in the Sonic Adventure games, and Sonic Heroes. He is also the least arrogant rival of Sonic, while Shadow and Jet are more brash.
• Image Song / "I Am" Song: "Unknown from M.E."
• Ineffectual Loner: He fits into this category due to being stuck in Angel Island with the given responsibility to guard the Master Emerald all his life. He has gotten used to be alone, but he still admits that he would like to spend more time with people outside.
• Inferiority Superiority Complex: Subverted. He is jealous of Sonic's freedom and getting the respect that he doesn't, but he's not trying to prove anything.
• Informed Attribute: Knuckles' reputation as a treasure hunter pops up sporadically even though he's only rarely seen in the act. It first originated in the OVA, where Knuckles is a wanderer and carries the gear to match. The Adventure series has an odd relationship with the idea, since while Knuckles' gameplay is, in fact, a treasure hunt, he engages in it exclusively as a function of his duties as the Guardian, and yet Sonic teasingly refers to him as "the world's greatest treasure hunter". In Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, he provides some utility to the heroes by being able to decipher and explain ancient ruins as part of his capacity as a Treasure Hunter.
• Informed Flaw: According to official profiles, he dislikes strong sunlight. This only ever gets explicitly brought up twice: once in Sonic Adventure where he winces in the bright sunlight of Station Square, and once in Sonic Heroes where he grumbles about how bright Casino Park is.
• Informed Ability: A lot of manuals still mention his connection to the Master Emerald despite the fact that neither it, Angel Island, or even Knuckles himself are very relevant to the series nowadays.
• Informed Species: Knuckles looks almost nothing like a real echidna, although he gets a pass on it due to being one of the few major character based on the species in fiction.
• Inspector Javert: His role in Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: For all of the disagreements, beefs and conflicts he has with Sonic, he's always willing to fight by his side.
• The Juggernaut: Super (and Hyper) Knuckles. Anything that Super Sonic can't handle, he can shake off.
• Jumped at the Call: In the Sonic Forces prequel comics, after Silver the Hedgehog warns Knuckles about a premonition from the future that said the world would be brought to ruin, Knuckles decides to step up and lead the charge against the cause of the events.
• The Lancer: Fits the traditional mold a lot better than Tails; literally everything about him is meant to be an opposite to Sonic and are generally presented as equals whenever Knuckles joins on adventures.
• Last of His Kind: After the Chaos incident, he is the last surviving Echidna of the Knuckles Clan besides possibly Tikal.
• The Leader: Commands the Resistance in Sonic Forces.
• Leeroy Jenkins: Falls into this in Forces due to his "Operation Big Wave" plan, which he freely admits to having thought up in a minute and a half. With Metropolis undermanned, Knuckles' plan to take the city amounts to nothing more than going in hard and fast, and just destroying Eggman's army. This bites him in the ass when Eggman sends in Infinite, who uses the Phantom Ruby's power to utterly decimate the Resistance.
• Let's You and Him Fight: How his altercations with Sonic in Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Sonic Adventure and Sonic Advance 2 went.
• Lightning Bruiser: He's not quite as fast as Sonic, but Knuckles packs more of a punch. Notably, Sonic Adventure 2 demonstrates that Knuckles must exert himself more to reach comparable speeds.
• Logical Weakness: Adventure 2 shows that he's uncomfortable dealing with ghosts, which makes sense considering that he's a Bare-Fisted Monk and would naturally have trouble dealing with them.
• Loner-Turned-Friend: He starts becoming this after the events of Sonic Adventure 2. He often joins Sonic and Tails in their adventures in battling Eggman and other threats in the world.
• Lovable Rogue: In Sonic 3, due to the fact that he was an pawn of Doctor Eggman, tricked due to his belief in the good of people, and tried his best to protect the Master Emerald.
• Magma Man: Some of his moves in Sonic Battle. Also his most commonly used element, seen in the Sonic Advance Trilogy and Sonic Heroes.
• Malicious Misnaming: He can be referred to as "Knucklehead" by Sonic on occasions in regards to him doing something thickheaded. Dr. Eggman has called him this in Sonic Adventure 2 while taking the Master Emerald.
• Married to the Job: To the point where some fans turn it up to eleven and literally ship him with the Master Emerald.
• Mighty Glacier: Compared to the other characters. He's much slower than Sonic, but is also much stronger. Played straighter when competitively balanced.
• Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold: The thing is that Knuckles believes in always giving people a new chance, which is why he repetitively trusts the Easily Forgiven Eggman, who always abuses Knuckles's trust and takes advantage of him. Though it gets the group in trouble, Knuckles means well. Some people call him dumb for this, but he's simply easy with forgiving people due to believing in the good of people.
• Mr. Vice Guy: As heroic as Knuckles can be at times, he does suffer about three vices. One, he can be prideful about his echidna heritage. Two, he's envious of Sonic's freedom and carefree nature. And three, he's quick to anger for a lot of things.
• Mysterious Past: Knuckles knows almost nothing of his own origins or heritage. He is the last of the Knuckles Clan, a tribe that annihilated by Chaos 4,000 years prior to his birth, and he has no idea how he himself came to be. He only knows that he had always lived on Angel Island and that it was his duty to protect the Master Emerald.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: This had gone hand in hand with his gullibility into thinking that Sonic was the bad guy. In his debut, this lead to Eggman to steal Master Emerald, and then in Sonic Adventure, he caused Sonic to fumble two Chaos Emeralds after the two collided with each other (Knuckles thought that the green Emerald was a shard of the Master Emerald), causing Eggman to take them and power up Chaos in his fourth form.
  Sonic: "Way to go, Knucklehead!"
• Nobody Calls Me "Chicken"!: You can get Knuckles to go along with a plan he initially disapproves of by either stroking or insulting his pride.
• No-Respect Guy: He's an exceptionally skilled fighter, a cunning Trap Master on his home turf, and possess ancient knowledge not known to many. Yet, everyone treats him like an idiot due to his temper and lack of social fact.
• No Social Skills: Although he's become more laid-back and jovial, Knuckles has lived in isolation for most of his life, which may explain his gullibility and social naivety.
• Not Bad: In Sonic Generations, he says this to Sonic after he and Classic Sonic defeated The Time Eater. Because of this, Knuckles gets pushed into a tree by Amy who states that Sonic was all great.
• Not Quite Flight: His dreadlocks give him the ability to glide for long distances.
• Not So Above It All: He's usually The Stoic, no-nonsense one of the trio, but sometimes he also drops in on the fun. His Friendly Rivalry with Sonic is also rather playful, despite him being more mature than Sonic.
• Out of Focus: Knuckles fell out of the spotlight for quite a few years. His last fully playable appearance (as in not as part of a team or a temporary side character) before Sonic Mania was in Sonic Adventure 2, a gap of sixteen years.
• The Paranoiac: In Sonic Mania Adventures, he's overprotective of the Master Emerald to the point where he thinks Sonic can't be trusted with it. He even sent Ray flying over the horizon just for touching the Emerald.
• Perpetual Frowner: Although some artworks of him show him smiling in games like Sonic 3 & Knuckles and Sonic Adventure, other artworks made him to be this later on the series, mostly to convey him as serious or hot-tempered.
• Pintsized Powerhouse: He's one of the physically strongest characters in The 'Verse (if not the strongest), but only stands at a height of three feet, seven inches. In Heroes, he is notably the shortest of the "Power" characters by far.
• Playing with Fire: His most commonly used element, seen in the series and Sonic Heroes.
• Poor Communication Kills: Happened in Sonic Adventure. After Eggman told him that Sonic is after the Master Emerald pieces, he immediately starts a fight with Sonic and Tails instead of directly asking the two about why they were after them, which could have prevented the whole fight in the first place.
• Power Fist: Has these in Sonic Adventure and its sequel.
• Pride: Has quite a bit of pride in his duty in guarding the Master Emerald and his Super-Strength. Attacking his pride is one way to rile him up.
• Proud Warrior Race Guy: Descendant from the "Knuckles Tribe", who were all just as boisterous and fight happy as he is.
• Purple Is Powerful: He has purple eyes. They used to be black. Also, it fits Knuckles as the Last of His Kind and the skilled guardian of the Master Emerald who knows a lot of secrets of Angel Island and the echidna heritage.
• Real Men Wear Pink: His sprites in Sonic 3 sans the & Knuckles expansion portray him as pinkish red, while playing with the expansion alters his hue towards a more "true red". His Super form in Sonic 3 & Knuckles and Sonic Mania, as well as his Hyper form in the former, are magenta. Games which feature both him and Mighty at the same time (Mania, Chaotix) tend to alter his palette back to being slightly more pink than red to make the two characters stand out more from each other.
• Rebel Leader: In Sonic Forces, he forms La Résistance after Dr. Eggman finally conquered the world.
• Red Is Violent: He's usually depicted as one of the most short-tempered and aggressive of the heroes, being quick to resort to his fists.
• Red Ones Go Faster: Inverted. Even though he has some degree of Super-Speed, he pales in comparison to Sonic and Shadow.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: In addition to the aforementioned above, its also played straight with his other Friendly Rival Rouge.
• Reformed, but Not Tamed: Downplayed. He started as a fairly antagonistic foe towards Sonic in his debut, but gradually developed into a quarrelsome yet trusted ally/friend.
• The Rival:
  • He initially opposed Sonic due to Eggman's manipulations. Once the misunderstanding was cleared up, the two became allies, but retained a degree of rivalry among them due to their clashing personalities and methods. Over time the two became closer friends, although they still tend to have their disagreements on occasions.
  • He found a new one in Rouge, but its filled to the brim with tension due to her crush on him.
  • In the Sonic Riders series, he finds another rival in Storm when competing in Extreme Gear.
• Rivals Team Up: With Sonic.
• Running Gag: Being tricked by Eggman to fight Sonic. In the DS version of Sonic Colors, he gets tricked by Rouge in a subplot.
• Save the Villain: He saved Rouge from falling back in Sonic Adventure 2, even if she was trying to steal the Master Emerald.
• Screw Destiny: In Sonic Shuffle, he inspirationally tells Void that he won't lose what he protects to him, and that the only reason why dreams don't come true, is because people give up on them.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: He did this in Sonic Adventure 2. After the Master Emerald shards are lost during the approach to the ARK, Knuckles leaves Sonic and the others in the space shuttle to find them, with Tails stating that he bailed. After he successfully restores the emerald, he tries to reconnect with the others and finds Sonic, who asks him to look after Tails and Amy.
• Shock and Awe: His "Thunder Arrow" Limit Break as a boss and a Battle Mode character in Sonic Adventure 2.
• Shoryuken: Uses this in the Sonic Advance Trilogy as part of his Three-Strike Combo and as an R-Trigger trick.
• Shrinking Violet: Around girls.
• Skewed Priorities: In Sonic Adventure 2 when he, Sonic, Tails, and Amy enter Eggman's pyramid base he prioritize finding Rouge over stopping a possible world ending scheme.
• Single Specimen Species: He's the last of the Echidnas.
• Sixth Ranger: Started off as an antagonist before becoming an ally and rounding out the trio. Even after Sonic 3 he still only fights with the gang when the situation calls for it.
• Slap-Slap-Kiss: His relationship with Rouge often hits this territory.
• The Spock: While he's not as smart as Tails or fast as Sonic, he's the most serious and task-orientated of the three.
• Stock Shōnen Rival: He served as this until Shadow's debut a couple years later. Unlike Shadow's reserved efficiency, Knuckles served more as a hot-headed, honor bound warrior to Sonic's laidback and easygoing nature.
• The Stoic: He's not as openly emotional as Sonic or Tails, rather keeping everything to himself, even his background of being the last of his kind. He is also a determined ace.
• Strong and Skilled: He's described as being as strong as Sonic is fast, and is also a trained martial artist.
• Super Gullible: Initially his defining characteristic. In 3 & Knuckles, Triple Trouble, Adventure, and Advance 2, Eggman manages to easily trick him into thinking Sonic is evil or causing trouble.
• Super Mode:
  • In Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Super Knuckles and Hyper Knuckles. The former also appears in Sonic Mania.
  • Like Tails, Knuckles also has another Super Mode in Sonic Heroes. For the same reasons listed under Tails' section, there's quite a bit of confusion as to whether or not it's Super Knuckles.
• Superpower Lottery: In most of the games he's been in, he has quite a but of control over the elements.
• Super-Strength: In spades.
• Supporting Leader: Becomes the Captain of the resistance in Sonic Forces in Sonic and Tails's absence.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Initially with Sonic. The second verse of his theme "Unknown From M.E." shows his vehement view on working with him.
  Don't approve of him, but gotta trust him
  This alliance has a purpose
  This partnership is only temporary
  • Also, when Sonic and Knuckles are selected as a team in Sonic Advance 3, both of their expressions are rather uncomfortable and disdainful. "Fighting Buddies" indeed.
  • Him and Rouge became this in Sonic Rivals 2. This is justified because Knuckles can't trust Rouge to help him retrieve the Master Emerald from Dr. Eggman.
• Took a Level in Dumbass: His naivety and gullibility became increasingly exaggerated after Sonic Adventure 2, to the point of some games making it his whole character.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: In most games, Knuckles is hot-headed, and not very expressive, but maintains a friendly attitude, otherwise. However, in Sonic Battle and in the Sonic Rivals series, he's pretty nasty compared to his usual self.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Back in Sonic 3 & Knuckles, he acted as sort of a troll, who pulled lots of pranks on Sonic and Tails to impede their progress, until he found out that he was being manipulated by Eggman. After joining them, Knuckles maintains a more friendly relationship with them, though he's still a bit short-tempered and usually prefers to be by himself.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Fruits, especially grapes.
• Tsundere: A rare male example, but he still has this quality in most incarnations.
• Tsurime Eyes: They represent his more aggressive and tougher disposition compared to Sonic and Tails's Tareme Eyes.
• Undying Loyalty: To his friends and the Master Emerald.
• Unknown Rival: It seems to be something of a running gag in the current games where Knuckles will try to say something to one up Sonic, only to be ignored by him and put into some demeaning situation.
• Unwitting Pawn: Occasionally this to Eggman.
• Vocal Evolution: Travis Willingham’s stint as Knuckles started as a near-identical impression of Dan Green’s take, but it became deeper and smoother in Sonic Forces, almost like a lighter Roy Mustang.
• Wall Crawl: Using the spikes on his gloves as anchors, he can climb walls.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: His one fear, addressed almost exclusively in Sonic Adventure 2, is ghosts. The BGM for Pumpkin Hill, "A Ghost's Pumpkin Soup," has Knuckles proclaiming that he fears nothing, going as far as to proclaim that the ghosts are afraid of him, but he is seen to be visibly afraid when facing King Boom Boo (unused audio also had Knuckles exasperatedly shriek upon seeing the giant apparition). By Heroes, however, he seems to have overcome this, instead teasing Tails on his fear of ghosts in both Hang Castle and Mystic Mansion.
• Wide-Eyed Idealist: According to his profile in Sonic Generations, the reason for his gullibility is his belief in the goodness of others.
• Wise Beyond His Years: Is confirmed to be 16 years old, and has a few quotes of wisdom. One of them being this from Sonic Shuffle:
  Knuckles: "Dreams don't betray us. When we lose ourselves, that's when we lose our dreams. It's not that dreams don't come true. We just give up on them."
• With Friends Like These...: With Sonic in the earlier games, although later on, their teasing and arguing downsized.
• Would Hit a Girl: Discussed. Rouge chastises him for fighting "a lady" for the pieces of the Master Emerald back in Sonic Adventure 2; Knuckles dismisses her claims to be a "lady" on the grounds that she's trying to steal his gems, but he apologizes afterwards for hurting her.

Amy Rose

^{Click here to see Amy's classic design.}

"I know that people fight over the most trivial things. Some people may be selfish, like the professor said... but they're basically good, if they try their best and never give up on their wishes. They always have a reason to be happy; that's why you should help them out."

Debut: Sonic the Hedgehog CD

Voiced by: Taeko Kawata (Japanese, 1998, 2001-present), Emi Motoi (Japanese, 2000); Lynn Harris (English, 1993), Jennifer Douillard (English, 1999-2004), Lisa Ortiz (English, 2005-2010), Cindy Robinson (English, 2010-2021); Naïké Fauveau (French, 2011-present)

An energetic pink hedgehog whom Sonic rescued back in Sonic CD. Initially she was a fan of Sonic's who she desperately wanted to meet, but their meeting was soon cut short with the arrival of Dr. Eggman and his new creation, Metal Sonic. Metal kidnapped Amy and Sonic had to save her and stop Eggman's plan of using Little Planet to mess with the timeline. After Eggman's defeat, Amy fell completely in love with Sonic and has made numerous attempts to start a relationship with him (even marry him, becoming his wife), often getting mixed up in his adventures as a result, much to his chagrin.

Amy Rose was created in response to a request from the character division of Sega's licensing business, who wanted a character that could be the "Minnie" to Sonic's "Mickey". However, it was felt at the time that it would go against Sonic's personality for him to locked into a standard cartoon relationship like Mickey and Minnie (albeit a very loving one). Instead, it was decided that, at least for a while, a one-way relationship, where Amy's affection for Sonic is largely unrequited, would be more interesting.

Amy has a very sweet and understanding personality. She always tries her best to understand and see the best in people and help them in any way she can and is very protective of her friends. Underneath her sweetness lies quite the temper however, something that even Sonic isn't immune to being on the receiving end of.

• Action Girl: Starts turning into one in Sonic Adventure, and fully blossoms into one by Sonic Advance.
• Aerith and Bob: While the other Sonic characters have names like Cream, Espio, Knuckles, Rouge, etc, Amy is a very common name for girls.
• All-Loving Hero: Best demonstrated in the Adventure games. Her kindness and purity resonates upon all who meet her, with her genuine belief in and love for all the people on Earth has redeemed villains E102-Gamma and Shadow, showing them that there is goodness within them as well as others. Likewise her beliefs that no life is worth being sacrificed has Silver questioning his motivations, and just might have saved the world, well, had Mephilis not interfered.
• All There in the Manual: Character profiles give her full name as "Amy Rose the Hedgehog".
• Always Save the Girl: As proven in Sonic 2006, she tells Silver that she would rather choose Sonic over the world.
• Art Evolution: Here's what she used to look like.◊ She was once 8, sporting that look.
• The Artifact: Amy's name stands out amongst a cast where most other Funny Animals are named things like "Sonic", "Knuckles", "Big", and "Silver". This is because her name originates from a manga where everyone had "normal" names like "Nicky" and "Brenda". Amy's name (which was sometimes "Eimy") was kept the same even though it doesn't match the rest of the game's cast. For a while she was given the more 'Aerith' nickname of "Rosy the Rascal", but that was dropped after the Saturn era.
• Ascended Extra: The biggest example in the franchise. She originated in a line of manga to tie in to the first game's release, but would've been forgotten if not for Sega of Japan liking her design and needing a character for Sonic to rescue. Even then, Amy was a very minor character in the classic Sonic era, with her only major role being in Sonic CD (and even that role was a small Damsel in Distress role)—otherwise she made no appearances in the main series games, and only made occasional bit player appearances in spinoffs, mainly Sonic R and the Drift games. It was Sonic Adventure that upgraded her into a major series character, coinciding with her second redesign and personality overhaul.
• Ascended Fanboy: Gender-inverted. Started off as a Fangirl with a Precocious Crush, but has since become one of Sonic's closest friends.
• Ass Kicks You: First in Sonic the Fighters, and then in Sonic Battle.
• Badass Adorable: Her weirdness can sometimes obstruct the "Adorable" part, though.
• Badass Boast: "You want a fight? You've got one! Let's get that bloated buffoon!"
• Badass Normal: Compared to other characters. Sonic is fast, Tails can fly, Knuckles is strong, Blaze has pyrokinesis... and Amy has a hammer. She sometimes has super speed, but never to the same extent as even characters like Knuckles. Amy is also the only hedgehog in the series to lack a Super Mode.
• Badass Pacifist: While she has no reservations regarding violence, she has managed to convince two characters^note Gamma in Sonic Adventure and Shadow in Sonic Adventure 2 to perform a Heel–Face Turn with the power of her words. She also managed to stop Silver dead in his tracks with nothing but a glare when he tried to kill Sonic in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).
• Berserk Button:
  • Don't hurt her friends, most especially Sonic. See Mama Bear for more info.
  • Don't suggest that Sonic doesn't return her feelings...yet.
  • Sonic refusing to get romantically involved with her is a sure fire way to anger her. Also, Sonic missing out on a date, even if it was beyond his power.
• Beware the Nice Ones: She may be sweet and gentle, but it isn't wise to underestimate her. She can also be very unpleasant if you provoke her, although this aspect would be taken this too far often at times especially in later games. Not even Sonic is safe from her.
• Blow You Away: Several attacks in several games show her to have tornado based hammer swings.
• Bratty Half-Pint: Was less like this in her first several appearances, but grew into a straighter example in the series over time. Most media after Generations however have been downplaying this once more in favor of her sweeter side.
• The Cameo: Makes a brief appearance in Sonic Mania, in the form of the Amy Doll.
• Canon Immigrant: She debuted in a manga featured in the April 1992 issue of Shogaku Ninensei (Second Grade), technically making her Sonic's oldest recurring companion—though she originally lacked a surname, had brown or blonde fur, and she and Sonic (specifically his Secret Identity) were a definite Official Couple.
• Characterization Marches On: She started off as basically Sonic's answer to Princess Peach, then Sonic Adventure gave her a much more outgoing personality, and a temper to match.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: She won't take it well if a girl her age or over so much as looks at Sonic despite that it's not what she truly thinks.
• Conjoined Eyes: Like Sonic, her eyes are sort of right next to each other.
• Cool Big Sis: A surrogate one to Cream and Tails to a certain degree.
• Cute and Psycho: Her temper and obsession with Sonic reaches near manic levels at times.
• Cute Bruiser: She may be cute, but she knows how to use that hammer of hers.
• Damsel in Distress: How she made her debut into the series, also tends to play it from time to time afterward as well. Fortunately, she's taken enough levels in badassery to rescue herself most of the time.
• Death Glare: There's this◊ horrifying face seen in Sonic Rush, which is used exactly once in the game (when she demands to know who Blaze is and why Sonic seems so interested in her).
• Demoted to Extra: She's still one of the all around important characters of the cast, but barring Sonic Boom, she hasn't been playable in a mainline Sonic game since the Adventure era.
• Depending on the Writer: She's hot-blooded and has a massive thing for Sonic, obviously, but how much either is in play tends to vary from game to game.
  • During the early Adventure era, she has a crush on Sonic but other than two jokes in Adventure 2 where she hugs Shadow thinking he is Sonic, or asking Sonic to marry her if she saves him in a teaseful manner, this is not the extent of her character. Instead, she is more worried about saving a little bird from a scary monster, and telling Shadow that there are good people on Planet Earth.
  • Due to Flanderization in the 2003-era, Amy's obsession with marrying Sonic took over her entire character, and her anger issues became more pronounced than ever implied in the two Adventure games, not to mention this element is taken over from Sonic X. This led to her infamous reputation in pop culture as a psychotic love interest.
    • This is shown in Heroes, where she starts a battle with Team Sonic so the blue blur marries her, or even tells Eggman "it's your fault Sonic and I aren't together! You're gonna regret this for the rest of your life!"
    • Sonic Battle is pretty unkind to her, given that she apparently hallucinates so hard that she creates a dream-Sonic to help defend Emerl from Rouge. (As in, you have to fight both her and the imagined Sonic in one of the toughest fights of the game.)
    • This also applies in Sonic Rush (2005), where Cream has to hide from her so she isn't hit by her.
  • After these last games, though, Amy's personality took a dive, and she returned to being more level-head while still being in love with Sonic around 2006-08. Any attempt at violence from her part would be justified, like in Sonic Riders, where she only starts to phisically hurt Sonic after he hurt her to defeat Eggman.
  • During the 2010's, though, due to her underplayed focus, her interest in Sonic is barely mentioned, with her instead just serving as a kind female character.
• The Determinator: No matter what happens, she is not going to give up on Sonic.
• Early-Installment Weirdness:
  • The original manual for Sonic CD has a real whopper, because it gave Amy the name of a character from an entirely different Sonic series altogether; In a very odd attempt to tie-in the game to the more serious DiC Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon that was running around the time CD was initially released, Amy is inexplicably referred to as Princess Sally in the North American Sega CD manual, even though Sally has never appeared in the games ^note Sans a blink and you'll miss it Early-Bird Cameo in the Sonic Spinball bonus stages and Amy looks and acts absolutely nothing like her. The PC manual corrected this mistake by referring to her as Amy.
  • Looking back at her first appearance, she's almost unrecognizable, sharing Sonic's quills, having a green and brown outfit with very little pink, not displaying anger at her capture by Eggman, and of course lacking her iconic hammer (which was called a "Magical Hammer" in Sonic the Fighters instead of a "Piko Piko Hammer"). Her manga appearances have her as a straight damsel.
• Egocentric Team Naming: Not In-Universe, but the teams she leads always go by "Team Rose."
• Enemy-Detecting Radar: Inverted: in her case, it's a Sonic-Detecting Radar. When Amy shows up as a character, she is very good at finding Sonic even if its by complete coincidence.
• Fangirl: Of Sonic obviously, and later on, she's very obsessed with him.
• Fatal Flaw: Her one-track obsession with Sonic has sometimes led her to get in danger's way. Some media also portray her as rather headstrong and prone to cause issues with her short temper.
• Flanderization: Her crush on Sonic has gone from a funny little quirk, to the entire basis of her personality, though some games have since backed off on this.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: Sanguine + Choleric
• Friend to All Living Things: Will befriend innocent animals, rivals, enemies if they're willing to listen, and especially robots. If Amy thinks she can make friends, she'll gladly try to do so.
• Genki Girl: Amy's very energetic and cheerful. There are times when even Sonic seems worn out by her.
• Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak: Her fur is entirely pink, loves fashion and sweets and is very romantic, but she's also a formidable fighter and is very able to use her hammer.
• Girly Bruiser: She's ladylike and has a rather childish crush on The Hero, but she also wields that hammer of hers like nobody's business.
• The Glomp: Since Sonic CD, it's a Running Gag for her to attempt to glomp Sonic, only to end up clinging to another character altogether. She gets it right in Sonic Unleashed, only to believe otherwise due to the Werehog form.
• Good Old Fisticuffs: In Sonic Battle she's taken up boxercising to lose weight, so one of her attacks is punching opponents.
• Go Through Me: Stood up to Sonic before he finishes Gamma (or before Tails does, or before Gamma defeats Sonic depending on who you're playing as) in Sonic Adventure and later in the infamous Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), when Silver tries to issue Sonic a killing blow, Amy jumps right in front of him.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: At least since Taking A Level In Jerkass. She's prone to hit people with her hammer with little provocation, mostly Sonic.
• Hammerspace: A rather literal example too.
• The Heart: Her other signature ability (beside skill with a hammer) is single-minded charisma. She has managed to make a combat robot, a pissed-off super-being in the midst of a Roaring Rampage of Revenge, and a vengeful psyker all back down, triggering a Heel–Face Turn from two of them in the process. This is (at least part of) the reason why she's a Morality Pet.
• Heart Beat-Down: Has had a few heart-themed attacks since Sonic Adventure 2.
• Hopeless Suitor: Amy loves Sonic, but Sonic isn't interested. At the very least, Sonic considers her a good friend.
• Hostage for MacGuffin: In Sonic Adventure 2, she served as this for Eggman in exchange for a Chaos Emerald. As well as to lure Sonic into a deathtrap. Good thing he figured out how to use Chaos Control, or he would've been space dust.
• I Know Mortal Kombat: Doing Boxercise to lose weight in Battle further gave her some punch to her fighting prowess.
• Image Song: "My Sweet Passion". While it functions as the Team's overall theme, Follow Me" is more about Amy than her teammates.
• Improbable Weapon User: Despite its portrayal as a deadly weapon, the Piko Piko Hammer is based on an iconic Japanese noisemaker of the same name, and "piko piko" is an onomatopoeia for the squeaking sound the toy makes when someone is hit with it. Yes; Amy's weapon of choice is, in fact, a novelty item.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Despite her occasionally brash and hot-tempered nature, she always sees the best in people and never gives up. It's her optimism that gets Shadow to make a Heel–Face Turn and remember Maria's promise.
• Informed Ability: It's stated quite a few times that she has chased Sonic around so much that she became fast enough to actually keep up with him. However, she's only shown keeping up with Sonic when she's using a vehicle and/or Sonic isn't running at his top speed (or at least it's not made clear that he's running at his top speed). She actually runs pretty slowly in some of her playable appearances.
• The Ingenue: During her debut in Sonic CD, Amy filled the role of the innocent damsel in distress. This role has since been passed to Cream.
• Intergenerational Friendship: She's twice Cream's age, but they are shown to be close friends, almost akin to Sonic and Tails.
• Invisibility: In Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), for some reason.
• Jack of All Stats: Though this varies from game-to-game, she's in between Sonic and Knuckles in terms of speed and strength (thanks to her Piko Piko Hammer). She's even labeled as a Balanced Character in Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games.
• The Knights Who Say "Squee!": She's become a bit of a heroine in her own right, but she's still crazy for Sonic.
• Large Ham: If it's not Sonic or Eggman, she's likely the one doing the shouting. While she's fully capable of speaking quietly, even gently at times, more often than not she's the loudest in a conversation.
• The Leader: When Team Rose is assembled, she's going to be the leader.
• Lethal Joke Character: Amy generally has a rather unique moveset from other characters in many titles, making her harder to master, but with special abilities that can be exploited effectively. Her platforming roles such as the Sonic Advance Trilogy, as well as many spin-off titles like Sonic R or her PvP role in Sonic Adventure 2 are good examples.
• Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: The Light to Rouge the Bat's Dark Feminine.
• Little Miss Badass: 8 years old in her debut, 12 years old after the retcon, yet badass and cute all the way.
• Lookalike Lovers: Subverted intentionally by SEGA who ported Amy to the games to chase Sonic indefinitely, and In-Universe, Sonic has never officially admitted being interested in her. However...
• Loony Fan: As a result of Flanderization, though this has gotten better as of late, depending on the game.
• Love at First Sight: She fell instantly in love with Sonic; in Palmtree Panic Zone 1 (Present) and/or Stardust Speedway Zone 3, she'll immediately run to hug him upon sight.
• Love Makes You Crazy: She's very...aggressive about her feelings for Sonic, especially if she feels like another girl is making moves on him.
• Love Makes You Dumb: Not really dumb, but her love for Sonic can sometimes make her a bit sidetracked, considering the fact she mistakes other hedgehogs (and a Werehog) for him, although for the Werehog, she isn't aware that it really is Sonic until he saves her from a group of Dark Gaia's spawn later on, and is embarrassed to think it's happened again.
• Magic Skirt: Usually follows this despite her skirt belling out like it does. As a general rule, Amy has this except in games where she's playable. Some games seem to go out of their way to show her panties, though, particularly in Sonic Heroes, where Amy's underwear is literally the first thing you see in the Team Sonic vs. Team Rose cutscene.
• Mama Bear: Amy is known to be quite defensive of her friends:
  • In Sonic 2006, she blocks Silver from trying to kill Sonic and while not trying to fight him, she chews him out on it.
  • In Sonic Adventure, she bravely refused to give Birdie to Gamma despite the latter's demands, which then caused Gamma to have a change of heart and release her from her cell inside the Egg Carrier. Then later on the game, she stood up to Sonic (or Tails if you play his storyline), pleading him not to hurt Gamma, causing Sonic to relent, which means she will stand up to her friends to protect others.
• Maybe Ever After: Temporarily. In the HD version of Sonic Unleashed, Amy asks Sonic out on a date, which the player can either accept or decline. At the end of Sonic and the Black Knight, it's revealed that Sonic had a date with Amy, but missed it because of his adventure. Amy thinks it's just an excuse for him forgetting about their date, and promptly chases him with her hammer. And in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), if you have Sonic choose Amy over Elise during the Test of Love trial, the game will flat-out call her his "long-time love."
• Meaningful Name:
  • Amy is one letter away from "ami", which means "friend" in French (Though the word is pronounced differently). Rose is also French for "pink."
  • Her name sounds similar to "amorous", befitting her affections toward Sonic.
• Mistaken for Object of Affection: Apparently Love Makes You Dumb enough to mistake other hedgehogs for Sonic, most notably Silver in Sonic 2006.
• Morality Pet: Frequent role in later games, perhaps most notably for E-102 Gamma and Shadow the Hedgehog.
• Never Bare Headed: She's never seen without her red hairband.
• Nice Girl: She is very sweet-natured, kind, and helpful. And despite becoming bad-tempered and aggressive in the later games, she still has her moments.
• No Sense of Personal Space: She frequently gets too close when it comes to Sonic.
• No Sympathy: In the end of Sonic and the Black Knight, she dismisses Sonic's reason for missing out on their date because he was sent to Arthurian times, and angrily chases him with her hammer.
• Not Good with Rejection: She doesn't take it well when Sonic doesn't reciprocate her advances and is willing to bash him with a hammer. As of Sonic Lost World, she's back to normal.
• Odd Name Out: She's the only character so far with a conventional 'human' name, barring Tails' Punny Name. Formerly nicknamed Rosy the Rascal, which fits the naming scheme, but not her character.
• Out-of-Character Moment: This line from Sonic Shuffle:
  Amy: Forget about Sonic! Just look at my clothes!
• Overshadowed by Awesome: She's a quick-thinking Badass Normal who's decent in a fight, quite fast, good with machines, and wields a giant hammer. But she tends to hang out with some of the strongest (Shadow, Knuckles), fastest (Sonic), and most intelligent (Tails) beings on the planet, so this happens to her a lot.
• Parental Substitute: To Emerl in Sonic Battle.
• Pink Girl, Blue Boy: With Sonic, literally and figuratively.
• Pink Means Feminine: The primary example in the series.
• Plucky Girl: Doesn't matter what she faces, she'll never stop believing in her friends.
• Precocious Crush: In Sonic CD, she was 8 years old; Sonic, meanwhile, was stated to be approximately 15 or 16 years old in a Japanese Sonic 3 promotional video. In the modern games, Sonic remains 15, but Amy was bumped to 12. There's probably enough of a maturity gap for it to qualify for this trope, though. And with Sonic Generations implying that the difference between Classic Sonic and Modern Sonic is due to his age, it's likely that Sonic was around 11 during the time of Sonic CD.
• Rescue Romance: She already liked Sonic before the events of Sonic CD, saving her from Eggman just sealed the deal. Much to Sonic's dismay...
• Rose-Haired Sweetie: It's even in her name. Has bright pink hair and one of the nicest members in the cast provided you've not made her upset.
• Rousseau Was Right: Core part of her philosophy. The quote above was the very same one she used on Shadow that caused him to back down on his omnicidal revenge plot (a CMOA for her).
• Running Gag: See The Glomp.
• Seers/My Significance Sense Is Tingling: She can read Tarot Cards to predict the future or know what's happening, although this isn't often mentioned or used.
• Self-Proclaimed Love Interest: Confidently considers herself Sonic's girlfriend, despite his protests to the contrary. And you'll do best not to correct her on this.
• Ship Tease:
  • In Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Sonic must take the Test of Love to progress to Kingdom Valley. His choice of destined lover is either Amy Rose or Princess Elise. Unfortunately, the decision has no bearing on the plot.
  • In Sonic Unleashed, Sonic is hinted to have feelings for Amy due to his disappointment in her not recognizing him in Werehog form. In the Xbox 360 / PlayStation 3 version, he can even optionally accept an offer to go on a legit date with her after the adventure is over.
  • Sonic cozies up to Amy's alternate self, Lady Nimue, in Sonic and the Black Knight astonishingly quickly, within the first thirty seconds of having met her, in fact. Apparently, he agreed to go on a date with Amy, according to The Stinger.
  • However, Amy has had ship teasing with Shadow as well. In Sonic Battle, she gets concerned as to why Shadow was at Club Rouge and angry at Rouge when she wouldn't explain, and in Shadow the Hedgehog, Amy was practically swooning over Shadow when he defeated Devil Doom. If that's not enough, if you do the dark missions prior to Amy's mission, then do hers and the rest of the hero ones afterwards, that pathway is 'The Miracle Of Love'.
• Silly Walk: In at least Sonic Adventure, Amy is pigeon-toed with a short stride, which makes her the slowest-running of the hedgehogs. She achieves her top speed by taking the biggest leaps possible.
• Single-Target Sexuality: Amy can't see past Sonic when it comes to romance, he is the beginning and the end for her love life. Granted there aren't a lot of other hedgehogs that we've seen so it's slim pickings but Amy has never made any indication that she'd ever consider anyone else for a potential boyfriend.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: She's in love with Sonic, who's very brave, selfless and loyal.
• Smitten Teenage Girl: She's twelve, but technically still qualifies.
• Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome: Between Sonic the Hedgehog CD and Sonic Adventure. Generations seems to be doing away with this by implying that the entire cast had aged normally from kids to preteens/young teens between the Genesis and Dreamcast games — Amy's just had the most obvious change.
• Stalker with a Crush: In Sonic the Hedgehog CD, Amy uses tarot cards, which let her foresee the future if one of her special attacks in Sonic Chronicles is anything to go by, to sense that there is to be an encounter between her and Sonic that is a matter of "destiny". This imposes onto her the belief that he must be in love with her, and so she gets a little too close for comfort around Sonic when she holds him in her arms at Palmtree Panic. What really cements this trope, however, is what Sonic sees when he arrives at the next level, Collision Chaos; he finds out Amy is still following him around despite making it very clear that he did not experience the same love for her as she did for him. Sonic Battle and Sonic Heroes took this unhealthy obsession to its utmost extreme, as it is the characteristic she is perhaps most known for in those games.
• Super Mode: Averted. While Sonic, Shadow, and Silver have all used the Chaos Emeralds to transform into super forms, Amy's never been implied to be capable of a similar feat. Even Blaze, who's female and a cat, has been shown to have a Burning form with the Sol Emeralds at least once. So far she's the only hedgehog that's not used Chaos powers in some way.
• Super-Speed: In games where she's not a Badass Normal, though she's still relatively slow compared to most of the other characters.
• Super-Strength: In games where she's not a Badass Normal, though not at the level of other characters.
• Tertiary Sexual Characteristics: She's a hedgehog, just like Sonic, Shadow, and Silver, but her spines are shorter than theirs, more closely resembling human hair. She also lacks spines on her back, has eyelashes, and wears a red headband.
• Took a Level in Badass: Largely her plot in Sonic Adventure; keeps increasing from there.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: Going hand in hand with Depending on the Writer, she can be downright nasty when at her worst.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Soft-serve ice cream.
• Tsundere: Develops into a Type-B variant over time; she's still nice and sweet, but she still has a temper and will lash out at those who upset her the slightest, even Sonic, mainly when he doesn't show any romantic interest around her.
• Violently Protective Girlfriend: Well, self-proclaimed girlfriend, at least. Still, hurting Sonic is a very bad idea and woe betide anyone who does so in her presence.
• Weight Woe: In Sonic Battle, Amy is obsessed with boxercise and dieting in order to get in shape and impress Sonic, using Emerl as a coach.
• Yandere: Shows slight shades of this, particularly in Sonic Rush. Upon meeting Blaze, she warns her that she's Sonic's girlfriend, and that she won't let anyone else have him. Later, when Sonic asks Amy if she's seen Blaze, she immediately jumps to the conclusion that Sonic is in love with her, only calming down once Tails explains that it's not like that. It's Played for Laughs, of course, but her obsession with Sonic is clearly unhealthy.

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