Quick-time event
From Sonic Retro
Quick-Time Events are a video game mechanic where you have to push a set of buttons in the right order to progress in a cut-scene.
In the Sonic series, this has been introduced in Sonic Unleashed, where you have to push the right set of buttons to make jumps or do certain boss hits. Tornado Defense uses this heavily, as a minigame to get people used to them.
Sonic Colors streamlines the QTE's by making them only one button, instead of multiple ones.