Fast Facts on Tails Adventures
Publisher: Sega Developer: Aspect Co. Ltd System(s): Sega Game Gear Genre: Action Release Date RRP Code JP 1995-09-22 ¥3,800 G-3372 EU 1995-09  ? ? US 1995-11  ? 2583 JP 2013-04-03 ¥300 with tax ? NA/EU 2013-06-20  ? ? ESRB PEGI USK OFLC CERO GRB

Tails Adventures (テイルスアドベンチャー) (also known as Tails Adventure) is an adventure game for the Sega Game Gear. The game was developed by Aspect Co. Ltd and released in 1995. It was Tails' first lone adventure game released in the West (with Tails' Skypatrol not seen outside Japan until 2003) and a departure from the usual high speed action common in many games of the Sonic franchise. It is widely considered to be one of the best Sonic Game Gear games. This game was released three years before Sonic Adventure.

Storyline

The different language manuals give different accounts of Tails' Adventures' place in the Sonic storyline, with the Japanese version citing it as as a prequel to Tails' first appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (explaining why he lacks his spinning attacks throughout the game). Conversely, the English version tells that Sonic and Tails are simply taking a break from dual adventuring, and Tails has come to Cocoa Island to relax.

Cocoa Island is a beautiful little paradise that rests atop a coral reef and cannot be found on any map. It's said that the legendary Chaos Emeralds rest here...

It's a sunny afternoon on Cocoa Island, and Miles Prower is taking a nap just outside his research lab, Tails House. His slumber is interrupted by a huge explosion, and before Tails can say "stop, drop, and roll" the whole place is ablaze. A frantic Flicky bird reports the bad news to a confused Tails: the imperial Battle Kukku army has invaded Cocoa Island. The dictator Grand Battle Kukku 15th has discovered the Chaos Emeralds on the island, and intends to use them to conquer the entire world (clever, that). Tails is the only one who can put a stop to the imperial army, but he has never faced this kind of danger before... is he up to it?

Gameplay

Contrary to the classic speedy gameplay in the Sonic series, Tails Adventures is a puzzle-based platformer with a strong emphasis on item collecting and backtracking, like a side-scrolling adventure RPG.

Tails can walk, jump (but he doesn't spin), duck, look up, fly, hang on ledges, and throw all manner of bombs. His health is measured numerically by a Ring Item Box at the top left corner of the screen. HP is replenished by collecting Rings, which can be found by blowing up some walls or defeating enemies. He starts with 10 HP, but that number maxes out at 99 when all six Chaos Emeralds have been collected. His flight time is limited by the flight gauge, which starts at about 3 seconds and maxes out at about 15, but there is a glitch in the game where one can gather as much air time as one wants simply by pressing to make Tails fall in mid-flight, holding up and pressing again before Tails has the chance to descend too far. It is possible to master this cheat so that the player barely loses any altitude, but due to the nature of the gameplay in that there are obstacles that prevent Tails from simply 'flying over' them, this technique is only useful for evading small challenges or just for fun.

In total there are 12 stages to complete. There are also 26 items to collect over the course of the game. Each one serves a different purpose, but Tails can only bring 4 items with him into any stage. This adds a strategical mechanic to the gameplay, as sometimes the player might need all 4 items to explore one area, but might not be properly equipped to explore another. Memorization is key.

Essential to complete the game in most parts however is the Remote Robot (Mecha Tails in Japan). The Remote Robot is a tiny, all-terrain robotic fox who can squeeze into a lot of places Tails himself can't. When using the Remote Robot, Tails stands in place while player control is switched to the robot. The robo fox can walk, jump, fly, and squeeze into tiny places, it is also invincible to most hazards. Pressing will send it back to Tails. Nearly all of the game's puzzles involve maneuvering the robot to open the path for Tails himself.

Under water, the Remote Robot changes into the Sea Fox (Sea Tail in Japan), a small submarine that moves in much the same way the Remote Robot does when flying.

Items

• Normal Bomb: Blows up enemies and basic stone barriers.
• Big Bomb (Great Bomb in Japan): Kills all enemies on screen and is the only way to destroy strong barriers.
• Remote Bomb (Remocon Bomb in Japan): Bomb that does not explode until detonated by pressing , it will also explode automatically if it hits an enemy.
• Napalm Bomb (Napalm Dan in Japan): Creates a flame wave that destroys everything in its path, including objects above. It's the only way to clear through tall grass.
• Combo Bomb: An enhanced version of the Normal Bomb with a wider explosion radius.
• Hammer (Pikkon Hammer in Japan): Mallet weapon to attack enemies with.
• Running Shoes (Boots in Japan): Running is enabled while holding button .
• Helmet: Holding button with this equipped will grant invulnerability as Tails ducks under a helmet. Unfortunately, movement is not possible during this time.
• Radio: Change the Background Music by pressing .
• Item Radar: Gives status on unaquired items remaining in a stage.
• Wrench (Spanner in Japan): Reverses the direction of the conveyor belts in Battle Kukku 2.
• Super Glove (Tebukuro in Japan): Lift and place rocks with button and throw them with button .
• Night Scope: Light up pitch dark passages by pressing button .
• Tensouki: Press to warp back to Tails House.
• Sonic: Tap button to roll into a stationary spin and release to zip forward with a sort of Spin Dash like move. It can also be used to destroy blocks.
• Knuckles: Press button to use a close range punch attack.
• Fang: Increases the chance of a destroyed enemy dropping a Ring.
• Remote Robot (Mecha Tails in Japan): A tiny all-terrain robot can squeeze into tight passages. Mecha Tails can walk, jump, and fly, but has no offensive techniques and will warp back to Tails upon taking damage. Pressing will toggle control of Tails and Mecha Tails. This item also transforms into the Sea Fox, allowing access to the submarine stages.
• Chaos Emerald: There are 6 Chaos Emeralds hidden throughout the game. Each one extends Tails' life meter by 10 points and his flight gauge by a few seconds. If you've got 5 Emeralds and procure the sixth, Tails' life meter will max out at 99.

Manuals

• Tails Adventures US Manual (No Manual Scans)

• 

  JP manual

Also Released On

• Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut for the GameCube (2003)
• Sonic Gems Collection for the Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2 (2005)
• Playpal Plug and Play for the Coleco Plug and play console (2006)
• Sonic PC Collection for the PC (2009)
• Virtual Console for the Nintendo 3DS (2013)

Production Credits

Producer: K.Hasegawa
Director: K.Hasegawa
Game Designers: M.Simamura, O.Kodera
Artists: N.Honda, S.Higashi
Programmers: K.Oikawa, H.Saigusa, Y.Makishima
Sound Composer: K.Mixa
Special Thanks to: T.Ihoroi, P.Tezuka, H.Yoshida, R.Fujimura, R.Hasegawa, O.Nakazato, T.Kojima
Presented by: Sega

Resources

Physical Scans

	80	Sonic Retro Average
		Based on 2 reviews
Publication Score Source Sega Power 74 №73, p50 Sega Pro 85 #51 Pg 67

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Game Gear, US
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Game Gear, EU
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Game Gear, JP
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Tails Adventures
Tails Adventures Main Article Levels Bosses Cheat Codes Game Development SCHG	Levels: Poloy's Forest Volcanic Tunnel Polly Mt. 1 Lake Rocky Cavern Island Green Island Caron Forest Lake Crystal Polly Mt. 2 Coco Island Battle Fortress 1 Battle Fortress 2 Bosses: Bird Walker Mecha Golem (VT) Battle Kukku 16th (PM1) Kukku Cruiser Mecha Golem (CI) Doctor Fukurokov Battle Kukku 16th (BF2) Grand Battle Kukku 15th