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Shield

From Sonic Retro

Revision as of 18:35, 4 April 2008 by True Dude (talk | contribs) (''Sonic Adventure'' and beyond)

A shield (referred to as barrier in Japan) is a power-up that protects the player from harm. When the player runs into an enemy or trap, they fall backwards and the shield is lost. Shields offer limited protection in the same way as rings do, although shields can't be re-collected after they are lost.

Shields can be obtained though breaking monitors, or the gumball machine bonus stage in Sonic 3.

Types of shield

Sonic 1 and Sonic 2

  • The original shield is a simple blue sphere, with no additional advantages.

Sonic 3 & Knuckles

These shields protect against most projectile attacks. Sonic is able to perform special attacks by pressing jump twice, whereas Tails and Knuckles cannot.

  • The aqua barrier (or water shield), which protects the player from drowning. Pressing twice lets Sonic "bounce".
  • The flame barrier (or fire shield), which protects the player from flames. Pressing twice turns Sonic into a fireball which briefly zooms forward. This shield also appears in Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island.
  • The thunder barrier (or lightning shield), which protects the player from electric damage and attracts nearby rings. Pressing jump twice lets Sonic perform a double-jump. This shield also appears in Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Advance (1, 2 & 3) and Sonic Rush.

Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island

  • The standard blue shield.
  • The fire shield, which protects the player against fire and lava (especially useful in Volcano Valley Zone).
  • The gold shield, which lets the player perform homing attacks on nearby enemies.

Sonic Adventure and beyond

  • A green version of the standard blue shield.
  • The lightning shield; in this game the only difference from a standard shield is the color and the fact that it attracts rings.