Trip the Sungazer
From Sonic Retro
| Trip the Sungazer |
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| First seen: Sonic Superstars (2023) |
| Species: Sungazer lizard[1] |
| Gender: Female[2] |
| Created by: Naoto Ohshima and Takashi Iizuka[1] |
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Trip the Sungazer[3] (トリップ・ザ・サンゲイザー[4]), also known as simply Trip[2], is a character in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, initially appearing as one of the antagonists of Sonic Superstars. She is a sungazer lizard[1] clad in armour who is enlisted to guide and protect Fang the Sniper and Dr. Eggman throughout the Northstar Islands, but later defects and becomes an ally of Sonic and friends.
Character conception
Trip was conceived as a joint creation by both Series Producer Takashi Iizuka and Arzest's president Naoto Ohshima. According to Iizuka, when speaking with Ohshima about making a new game together, they wanted to have a new story and thought about what it would have, which characters would appear and how it would play out to which they eventually reached the conclusion they needed to introduce a new character with their story. They did not want a character with no background and that would pop out of nowhere in the world; they wanted to show a character with unique characteristics, some character backgrounds, some storytelling elements that would make them stand out while being relatable and enjoyable within the game's world.[1]
Iizuka wanted to do something different, unlike any other villain previously seen in the franchise who was usually characterized as a formidable enemy who is always on the player's face. The result was Trip, the first Sonic character created by Ohshima since his departure from Sonic Team, who together with Iizuka conceptualized visuals, themes, actions and personality the new character would have. While working on the design, Ohshima would discuss ideas with Iizuka like an armored lizard and the ouroboros.[1]
According to Iizuka when looking at her, the reason why she is covered in armor in the game is the base of her character as a sungazer lizard in English, known as an "armored lizard" in Japanese.[1]
Evan Stanley ended up designing Trip's turnaround model sheet herself for the Sonic Superstars: Trio of Trouble animation. She has said that when designing Trip's model she only had "one drawing of her from a three-quarter angle" to work off of.[5]
Personality and traits
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History
Origin of Trip
Trip is the current guardian of the Northstar Islands. She wears ceremonial armor as did the previous guardians who used the Emerald Powers.[6][7] One day, when Dr. Eggman sent Fang the Hunter to the islands to investigate, Trip saw him and tried to attack. She fell to the ground and dropped her spear, which Fang then smashed to pieces. He demanded her to answer all of his questions or else.[8] She became Dr. Eggman and Fang's guide on the uncharted islands.[9] She helped Eggman and Fang find a mural of her people using the Emerald Powers against the Black Dragon.[6] She later became friends with Amy Rose in the Lagoon City Zone, and turns against the Eggman Empire in Golden Capital Zone. She traveled with Sonic the Hedgehog's group out of the exploding Egg Fortress Zone in an Egg Mobile, then helped seal away the returning Black Dragon within the Black Onyx.[10]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 https://www.gameinformer.com/preview/2023/08/02/meet-trip-the-first-new-sonic-character-created-by-naoto-ohshima-in-decades (archive.today)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://sonicsuperstars.com/ (Wayback Machine: 2023-06-23 15:56)
- ↑ https://asia.sega.com/SonicSuperStars/en/character/#chara07 (Wayback Machine: 2023-09-25 13:25)
- ↑ http://sonic.sega.jp/SonicSuperStars/character/#chara07 (Wayback Machine: 2023-09-22 19:34)
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/live/ntA7aWwArDA?si=iFPi1VVfTO5bbjGn&t=3619
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Sonic Superstars: Trio of Trouble
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQe18vtp32A&t=882s
- ↑ Sonic Superstars: Fang's Big Break
- ↑ Sonic Superstars/Manuals
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mE1pyvZbQSU&t=2124s