Spring
From Sonic Retro
(Redirected from Springs)
The Spring[1][2] (スプリング)[3], also referred to as a Springboard[4] is a common gimmick that has appeared in many games in the Sonic the Hedgehog series that gives the player a sudden boost in a certain direction when they get in contact with one.
Contents
Types of springs
16-bit games
In the 2D Sonic games of the 16-bit era, springs can face any of the 8 main directions, and they come in two colors: yellow and red. Red springs are usually more powerful than yellow ones. They have been thoroughly present in almost all the zones from Sonic 1's Green Hill Zone to Sonic & Knuckles' Death Egg Zone.
| Game | Red, Closed |
Red, Open |
Yellow, Closed |
Yellow, Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sonic 1 |  |
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| Sonic 2 |  |
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| Sonic 3 |  |
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In Sonic 3D there is only one kind of spring instead.
| Game | Red, Closed |
Red, Open |
|---|---|---|
| Sonic 3D |  |
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8-bit games
In the 8-bit games, most of the springs are actually drawn in the level layout itself instead of being sprites because of the low sprite limit of the Sega Master System and the Sega Game Gear; because of this, they're not animated unlike their 16-bit counterparts. Furthermore, their color is likely to change according to the palette of the level they're placed in (for example, the springs in Sonic 2 (8-bit)'s Under Ground Zone are gray, while the ones in Sky High Zone are green). However, despite the sprite limit, in Sonic Chaos and Sonic Triple Trouble a spring object exists. These spring objects are normally invisible, hidden in the ground or on the top of a palm tree or other scenery elements, and they pop up, complete with the springing animation, when Sonic comes in contact with them. Due to the high number of color variations, the springs pictured below don't cover all the kinds existing in the 8-bit games.
| Game | Spring |
|---|---|
| Sonic 1 (8-bit) |  |
| Sonic 2 (8-bit) |  |
| Sonic Chaos |  |
| Sonic Triple Trouble | 
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Others
In Knuckles Chaotix, along with yellow and red springs, there are also blue springs which are even more powerful than the red springs. These are used to get to high heights with the Combi system.
Modern games
From Sonic Adventure onward, the springs are now usually the only one type of spring, a red spring with a star on it. The spring power varies with each individual spring.
Sonic Unleashed has a variation of the new spring that is blue instead of red. It is used to start off a series of QTE points.
