History Awesome / SonicHeroes

** Sort of, nothing. He's ''hissing'' at Vector. When a cat ''that huge'' starts making that noise and folding its ears back, it's a clear sign that [[BewareTheNiceOnes you are in danger]]. Big just got badass.

'''Shadow:''' (''who has no clue who Sonic is'') Is that so? Guess it'll be a date to ''die'' for.

** Part of what really makes this sequence work is the payoff. The entire game, particularly if you picked Team Sonic and saw Eggman's "I'm going to take over the world in three days" declaration, has been building up to this one moment, with Rail Canyon (see below) being when a sense of urgency starts to kick in. (Even more so with Team Sonic, as Tails outright says they only have until sunset to make it to Eggman's lair.) Then, following the Egg Albatross battle, the Egg Fleet launches and the player gets the first real look at Eggman's armada -- perhaps not ''as'' intimidating as [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure2 that time half the moon was blown to smithereens and the world was held hostage by an orbital death laser]], but not too far off either. Several stages later, your hasty pursuit culminates in the doctor's {{evil|IsHammy}} [[BadassBoast monologue]] blaring over speakers as you find yourself extremely high up in the sky (the upper atmosphere if Team Dark's exchange is anything to go by), his message [[DareToBeBadass daring you]] to [[BattleshipRaid brave the gauntlet of countless battleships]]. Cue [[AutobotsRockOut a fearsome guitar riff]] as the camera focuses on your team of choice, with the Speed character taking point and delivering a pretty awesome speech of their own before the opening run. All this, just to make it to the ''actual'' beginning of the level, which features the player navigating multiple branching paths while facing constant bombardment as the Egg Fleet attempts to prevent you from reaching its flagship. It's little wonder why Egg Fleet is frequently brought up as the level that should have represented ''Heroes'' in ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' over Seaside Hill.

--->'''Sonic:''' (''[[OOCIsSeriousBusiness in a lower tone of voice than usual]]'') [[PreAsskickingOneLiner All right, Eggman, let's get this party started.]]

* Final Fortress is this for all the teams. A final exam of everything you've learned with massive battles around every corner and [[SceneryPorn jaw droppingly cool]] [[EnergyWeapon light rail segments with laser cannons]]. Eggman truly tosses EVERYTHING HE HAS at you in this stage, leading up to [[NintendoHard a massive battle royale against a troop of all Eggman's Elite Mooks, finishing off with a duel against THREE Egg Hammers on a tiny platform!]] Near the lip of the platform is a hint orb. Going through it has your teammates all not suggest, but [[GodzillaThreshold INSIST]] that [[LimitBreak you gotta break out a Team Blast!]] After getting through that, you're given a final gauntlet of laser dodging...except this time you have to dodge across [[SerialEscalation TWELVE OF THEM! And by the midpoint, they're firing at you in pairs of three instead of one or two at a time!]] meaning you have [[FlashStep rail hop]] across sets of rails in one swift movement to keep from taking a laser to the face. After that, you're finally tasked with [[OutrunTheFireball outrunning the charging sequence of a MASSIVE laser cannon]] before finally landing on one last detonator that [[StuffBlowingUp completely obliterates Eggman's blaster installation]] while launching you directly into the heart of the freshly destroyed base, the only thing waiting for you being a lone Goal Ring in the center. Hell yeah!

** It also helps that [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic the level's music really compliments the epicness of the level]].

** Big in general in this game. While most of his story in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' is him bumbling around through the stories of other characters simply to find and fish for Froggy with his powers amounting basically to being able to jump high, powerlift and being clever with his trusty fishing rod, Big's involvement in Sonic Heroes shows what happens when he takes those raw skills [[TookALevelInBadass and applies them to combat and true Sonic-style adventuring]].

** Part of what really makes this sequence work is the payoff. The entire game, particularly if you picked Team Sonic and saw Eggman's "I'm going to take over the world in three days" declaration, has been building up to this one moment, with Rail Canyon (see below) being when a sense of urgency starts to kick in. Then, following the Egg Albatross battle, the Egg Fleet launches and the player gets the first real look at Eggman's armada -- perhaps not ''as'' intimidating as [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure2 that time half the moon was blown to smithereens and the world was held hostage by an orbital death laser]], but not too far off either. Several stages later, your hasty pursuit culminates in the doctor's {{evil|IsHammy}} [[BadassBoast monologue]] blaring over speakers as you find yourself high up in the sky, [[DareToBeBadass daring you]] to [[BattleshipRaid brave the gauntlet of countless battleships]]. Cue [[AutobotsRockOut a fearsome guitar riff]] as the camera focuses on your team of choice, with the Speed character taking point and delivering a pretty awesome speech of their own before the opening run. All this, just to make it to the ''actual'' beginning of the level, which features the player navigating multiple branching baths while facing constant bombardment as the Egg Fleet attempts to prevent you from reaching its flagship. It's little wonder why Egg Fleet is frequently brought up as the level that should have represented ''Heroes'' in ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' over Seaside Hill.

* How about each Team's speech after Eggman gloats about his battleship at the start of the Egg Fleet level? Heck, even the Team Rose speech that Amy gives there when she calls Eggman a bloated buffoon to be epic, simply because they're mostly close to the weakest characters in the game and basically were fighting an entire armada of battleships with a hammer, a Chao in a bowtie, and a ''fishing rod'' as their weapons.
--> '''Amy:''' You want a fight? You've got one! Let's ''get that bloated buffoon!''

* And the best part? It's all to Crush 40's "What I'm Made of".
** The lyrics really help as they are perfect for any final boss! SHOW 'EM WHAT YOU'RE MADE OF!

* Final Fortress is this for all the teams. A final exam of everything you've learned with massive battles around every corner and [[SceneryPorn jaw droppingly cool]] [[EnergyWeapon light rail segments with laser cannons.]] Eggman truly tosses EVERYTHING HE HAS at you in this stage, leading up to [[NintendoHard a massive battle royale against a troop of all Eggman's Elite Mooks, finishing off with a duel against THREE Egg Hammers on a tiny platform!]] Near the lip of the platform is a hint orb. Going through it has your teammates all not suggest, but [[GodzillaThreshold INSIST]] that [[LimitBreak you gotta break out a Team Blast!]] After getting through that, you're given a final gauntlet of laser dodging...except this time you have to dodge across [[SerialEscalation TWELVE OF THEM! And by the midpoint, they're firing at you in pairs of three instead of one or two at a time!]] meaning you have [[FlashStep rail hop]] across sets of rails in one swift movement to keep from taking a laser to the face. After that, you're finally tasked with [[OutrunTheFireball outrunning the charging sequence of a MASSIVE laser cannon]] before finally landing on one last detonator that [[StuffBlowingUp completely obliterates Eggman's blaster installation]] while launching you directly into the heart of the freshly destroyed base, the only thing waiting for you being a lone Goal Ring in the center. Hell yeah!

** And it's all to Crush 40's "What I'm Made of". The lyrics really help as they are PERFECT for any final boss. SHOW 'EM WHAT YOU'RE MADE OF!

*** In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOkXwiRPRwk a character analysis video]] by [=ThePJShow=] detailing Eggman's bouts of VillainDecay throughout the series as a result of [[CerebusRollercoaster frequent tonal shifts]] and questionable writing, it's argued that Eggman's defeatist reaction to Metal Sonic's transformation and its supposed invincibility is [[OutOfCharacterMoment widely out-of-character for the doctor]], especially when [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure he was willing to fire upon an ancient god of destruction in its strongest form just two games prior]]. However, as debated in the comments section (and acknowledged in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS5tjZspViA a follow-up video]] about Metal Sonic himself), it's a testament to the sheer threat of a completely [[TheUnfettered unfettered]] [[{{Determinator}} Metal Sonic]] who has copied the power of Sonic, Shadow, and Chaos ([[AllYourPowersCombined among others]]) ''and'' has completely taken over Eggman's robot army (which, given the size of the Egg Fleet and Final Fortress, is probably at the strongest it's ever been prior to ''[[VideoGame/SonicForces Forces]]''), all in the name of defeating Sonic. Eggman is fearful because, having built Metal Sonic and understanding him best, he knows ''exactly'' what our heroes are dealing with, and correctly guesses that the only chance of success lies in the Chaos Emeralds.

* The very end of ''Sonic Heroes'', when fighting Metal Sonic transformed. After playing through a game where the majority of enemies are pathetically cutesy, the pre-final boss cutscene is of Metal Sonic dismantling a ginormous ship to transform into a beast of a robot, and all in a dark, seizure-inducing way too! And that's just the cutscene: as he fully transforms, you have to fight him using Super Team Sonic, where his main attacks are firing giant lasers at you, launching 50 or so bigger-than-you rockets at you, and throwing a large ''airship'' from the Egg Fleet at you too.

* Final Fortress is this for all the teams. A final exam of everything you've learned with massive battles around every corner and [[SceneryPorn jaw droppingly cool]] [[EnergyWeapon light rail segments with laser cannons.]] Eggman truly tosses EVERYTHING HE HAS at you in this stage, leading up to [[NintendoHard a massive battle royale against a troop of all Eggman's Elite Mooks, finishing off with a duel against THREE Egg Hammers on a tiny platform!]] Near the lip of the platform is a hint orb. Going through it has your teammates all not suggest, but [[GodzillaThreshold INSIST]] that [[LimitBreak it's time to break out a Team Blast!]] After getting through that, you're given a final gauntlet of laser dodging...except this time you have to dodge across [[SerialEscalation TWELVE OF THEM! And by the midpoint, they're firing at you in pairs of three instead of one or two at a time!]] meaning you have [[FlashStep rail hop]] across sets of rails in one swift movement to keep from taking a laser to the face. After that, you're finally tasked with [[OutrunTheFireball outrunning the charging sequence of a MASSIVE laser cannon]] before finally landing on one last detonator that [[StuffBlowingUp completely obliterates Eggman's blaster installation]] while launching you directly into the heart of the freshly destroyed base, the only thing waiting for you being a lone Goal Ring in the center. Hell yeah!

** [[{{Narm}} "We'll show that creep the REAL SUPER POWER OF TEAMWORK!"]] [[NarmCharm (Provided you're not just laughing.)]]

* Final Fortress is this for all the teams. A final exam of everything you've learned with massive battles around every corner and [[SceneryPorn jaw droppingly cool]] [[EnergyWeapon light rail segments with laser cannons.]] Eggman truly tosses EVERYTHING HE HAS at you in this stage, leading up to a [[NintendoHard massive battle royale against a troop of all Eggman's Elite Mooks, finishing off with a duel against THREE Egg Hammers on a tiny platform!]] Near the lip of the platform is a hint orb. Going through it has your teammates all not suggest, but [[GodzillaThreshold INSIST]] that [[LimitBreak it's time to break out a Team Blast!]] After getting through that, you're given a final gauntlet of laser dodging...except this time you have to dodge across [[UpToEleven TWELVE OF THEM! And by the midpoint, they're firing at you in pairs of three instead of one or two at a time!]] meaning you have [[FlashStep rail hop]] across sets of rails in one swift movement to keep from taking a laser to the face. After that, you're finally tasked with [[OutrunTheFireball outrunning the charging sequence of a MASSIVE laser cannon]] before finally landing on one last detonator that [[StuffBlowingUp completely obliterates Eggman's blaster installation]] while launching you directly into the heart of the freshly destroyed base, the only thing waiting for you being a lone Goal Ring in the center. Hell yeah!

** Big in general in this game. While most of his story in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' is him bumbling around through the stories of other characters simply to [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal find and fish for Froggy]] with his powers amounting basically to being able to jump high, powerlift and being clever with his trusty fishing rod, Big's involvement in Sonic Heroes shows what happens when he takes those raw skills [[TookALevelInBadass and applies them to combat and true Sonic-style adventuring]].

* Egg Fleet. The sense of just flying through the air, while Eggman's ships unload several shells at you, dodging the whole way. The best part: Sonic, with nothing but his Rocket Accel, '''destroys entire battleships!''' And he gets to do it '''three times'''.

--> '''Shadow''': (''moves Rouge to a safe corner'') Stay here.
* While the LetsYouAndHimFight scenes are {{Narm}}, they can be pretty cool too. Especially the Team Dark vs. Team Sonic scene, which gives us this exchange:
-->'''Sonic''': Didn't you know? We have a date with Eggman, too!\\
'''Shadow''': (''who has no clue who Sonic is'') Is that so? Guess it'll be a date to ''die'' for.

---> '''Eggman''': H-hey, hold on, you guys! It's no trick, and besides, I plan on paying you! You'll be rewarded ''handsomely'' for helping me. [[ILied As soon as I conquer the world... I WILL PAY YOU!]] (''{{Beat}}'')
---> '''Vector''': (''cracking his knuckles angrily'') [[BerserkButton Some nerve, promising what you]] ''[[BerserkButton ain't got!]]''
---> '''Espio''': [[TranquilFury We've been had!]]
---> '''Eggman''': (''[[OhCrap the realisation dawns on him]]'') It's just... w-wait a minute, just listen to me...!

--> '''Amy''': You want a fight? You've got one! Let's ''get that bloated buffoon!''

** Sort of, nothing. He's ''hissing'' at Vector. When a cat ''that huge'' starts making that noise and folding its ears back, it's a clear sign that [[BewareTheNiceOnes you are in danger.]] Big just got badass.
** Big in general in this game. While most of his story in ''Sonic Adventure'' is him bumbling around through the stories of other characters simply to [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal find and fish for Froggy]] with his powers amounting basically to being able to jump high, powerlift and being clever with his trusty fishing rod, Big's involvement in Sonic Heroes shows what happens when he takes those raw skills [[TookALevelInBadass and applies them to combat and true Sonic style adventuring.]]

* The very end of ''Sonic Heroes'', when fighting Metal Sonic transformed. After playing through a game where the majority of enemies are pathetically cutesy, the pre-final-boss cutscene is of Metal Sonic dismantling a ginormous ship to transform into a beast of a robot, and all in a dark, seizure-inducing way too! And that's just the cutscene: as he fully transforms, you have to fight him using Super Team Sonic, where his main attacks are firing giant lasers at you, launching 50-or-so bigger-than-you rockets at you, and throwing a large ''air ship'' from the Egg Fleet at you too.
** And let's not forget a 20 second long Chaos Control. By which point, you're pretty much dead unless you've been doing pretty good so far in the battle.

*** Not only that, it took an astounding ''twelve'' characters to take him down. That's more than it took to bring down Perfect Chaos, a godlike guardian, and Solaris, an '''interdimensional CosmicHorror.''' Seems that [[{{Determinator}} determination]] he gets from Sonic is amplified just as much as his speed.

* It's a subtle one, but [[BunniesForCuteness Cream]] in particular is willing to take on giant armed bird-like hoverjets, armies of enemy robots, a heavily-armed HumongousMecha, and heck, even [[FightingYourFriend Team Sonic and Team Chaotix]] just to get Chocola back. And you have to remember, ''[[KidHero she is only a little six-year-old rabbit!]]'' [[PluckyGirl Plucky]] doesn't even ''begin'' to cover it.

* While most would consider it ThatOneLevel, Rail Canyon is really where ''Sonic Heroes'' begins to push the [[JustForFun/HolyShitQuotient HSQ]] into the red. Starting off as a simplistic crash course in rail grinding with a few switch puzzles, Rail Canyon quickly introduces things such as Rhino Trains, exploding rails, and entire networks of rails to grind. Pretty soon you'll find yourself free-fall-grinding through wildly flipping light rails, racing Rhino Trains down wildly waving rail sections and going through triple-rail loop-de-loops at breakneck speed before finally reaching the climax of the stage [[SceneryPorn with your team grinding down the center of a giant corkscrew of rails with two GIGANTIC trains flying down the corkscrews just ahead of you]] in order to block your path, with the rail system after that dumping you off into another giant network that drops you off at the goal. Final Rush, the final stage of the previous game and (in)famous for being composed of 95% railways, doesn't even begin to match the sheer awesomeness that Rail Canyon brings to the party!

* Similarly Amy, who was a DamselInDistress in both ''Adventure'' titles beforehand, is now almost on Sonic's level and takes on Eggman directly several times.

* Final Fortress is this for all the teams. A final exam of everything you've learned with massive battles around every corner and [[SceneryPorn jaw droppingly cool]] [[FrickinLaserBeams light rail segments with laser cannons.]] Eggman truly tosses EVERYTHING HE HAS at you in this stage, leading up to a [[NintendoHard massive battle royale against a troop of all Eggman's Elite Mooks, finishing off with a duel against THREE Egg Hammers on a tiny platform!]] Near the lip of the platform is a hint orb. Going through it has your teammates all not suggest, but [[GodzillaThreshold INSIST]] that [[LimitBreak it's time to break out a Team Blast!]] After getting through that, you're given a final gauntlet of laser dodging...except this time you have to dodge across [[UpToEleven TWELVE OF THEM! And by the midpoint, they're firing at you in pairs of three instead of one or two at a time!]] meaning you have [[FlashStep rail hop]] across sets of rails in one swift movement to keep from taking a laser to the face. After that, you're finally tasked with [[OutrunTheFireball outrunning the charging sequence of a MASSIVE laser cannon]] before finally landing on one last detonator that [[StuffBlowingUp completely obliterates Eggman's blaster installation]] while launching you directly into the heart of the freshly destroyed base, the only thing waiting for you being a lone Goal Ring in the center. Hell yeah!

* Notable in Team Dark's opening is that Shadow, the ''second'' he is released from his containment chamber, tackles Rouge away from Omega's gunfire, before leaping into the fray to fight the berserk robot head-on. Via slow motion, one can also see quite clearly that he makes it out of there only about a ''second'' away from being blown up.

* Notable in Team Dark's opening is that Shadow, the ''second'' he is released from his containment chamber, tackles Rouge away from Omega's gunfire. Via slow motion, one can also see quite clearly that he makes it out of there only about a ''second'' away from being blown up.

* Notable in Team Dark's opening is that Shadow, the ''second'' he is released from his containment chamber, saves Rouge from Omega's gunfire. Via slow motion, one can also see quite clearly that he makes it out of there seconds away from being blown up.
--> '''Shadow''': Stay here!

** Vector in particular, revealing that unbeknownst to Charmy or Espio he knew the Eggman they were fighting had been a fake all along and then revealing the real one. Even Eggman seemed shocked that he figured it out.

---> '''Eggman''': H-hey, hold on, you guys! It's no trick, and besides, I plan on paying you! You'll be rewarded ''handsomely'' for helping me. As soon as I conquer the world... [[ILied I WILL PAY YOU!]] (''{{Beat}}'')

---> '''Vector''': (''cracking his knuckles nonchalently'') [[BerserkButton Some nerve, promising what you]] ''[[BerserkButton ain't got!]]''

---> '''Vector''': (''cracking his knuckles'') [[BerserkButton Some nerve, promising what you]] ''[[BerserkButton ain't got!]]''

* The very end of ''Sonic Heroes'', [[spoiler:when fighting Metal Sonic transformed. After playing through a game where the majority of enemies are pathetically cutesy, the pre-final-boss cutscene is of Metal Sonic dismantling a ginormous ship to transform into a beast of a robot, and all in a dark, seizure-inducing way too! And that's just the cutscene: as he fully transforms, you have to fight him using Super Team Sonic, where his main attacks are firing giant lasers at you, launching 50-or-so bigger-than-you rockets at you, and throwing a large ''air ship'' from the Egg Fleet at you too]].

** Also, Charmy stinging the crap out of Eggman for ripping the team off.
---> '''Charmy:''' [[PreAssKickingOneLiner Take this, you]] ''[[PreAssKickingOneLiner bad man!]]'' (''the scene cuts away to a wall -- [[ShadowDiscretionShot the shadows of Charmy repeatedly stinging Eggman visible on them]]'')\\
'''Eggman:''' (''unsuccessfully trying to swat Charmy away'') '''UUUAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGH! ''WAAAAAAAAAGHHH!'''''
* How about each Team's speech after Eggman gloats about his battleship at the start of the Egg Fleet level? Heck, even the Team Rose speech that Amy gives there when she calls Eggman a bloated buffoon to be epic, simply because they're mostly close to the weakest characters in the game and basically were fighting an entire armada of battleships with a hammer, Chao in a bowtie, and a ''fishing rod'' as their weapons.

** Sort of, nothing. He's ''hissing'' at Vector. When a cat ''that huge'' starts making that noise and folding its ears back, it's a clear sign that you are in danger. Big just got badass.

* Subtle one, but Cream is willing to take on giant robot birds, multiple enemy robots, a giant robot emperor, heck, even Team Sonic and Team Chaotix just to get Chocola back. [[KidHero And you have to remember, ''she is only six years old!'']]

* While most would consider it ThatOneLevel, Rail Canyon is really where ''Sonic Heroes'' begins to push the [[HolyShitQuotient HSQ]] into the red. Starting off as a simplistic crash course in rail grinding with a few switch puzzles, Rail Canyon quickly introduces things such as Rhino Trains, exploding rails, and entire networks of rails to grind. Pretty soon you'll find yourself free-fall-grinding through wildly flipping light rails, racing Rhino Trains down wildly waving rail sections and going through triple-rail loop-de-loops at breakneck speed before finally reaching the climax of the stage [[SceneryPorn with your team grinding down the center of a giant corkscrew of rails with two GIGANTIC trains flying down the corkscrews just ahead of you]] in order to block your path, with the rail system after that dumping you off into another giant network that drops you off at the goal. Final Rush, the final stage of the previous game and (in)famous for being composed of 95% railways, doesn't even begin to match the sheer awesomeness that Rail Canyon brings to the party!

* Subtle one, but Cream is willing to take on giant robot birds, multiple enemy robots, a giant robot emperor, heck, even Team Sonic and Team Chaotix just to get Chocola back. And you have to remember, ''she is only six years old!''