So, I thought I'd just make a comprehensive guide to Sonic's abilities, for future reference.
Speed
Sonic's most notable, consistent, and famous trait is his superhuman (or superhedgehog, as it were) speed. As his name implies, Sonic is able to run faster than the speed of sound. Additionally, in the Sonic Adventure DX manual, he is stated to be "the world's fastest, hypersonic hedgehog," "hypersonic" being speeds ranging from 3,840 mph to 7,680 mph. In fact, in Sonic Unleashed, it's hinted that Sonic can run far beyond the speed of light, since the Light Speed Dash (more on this move later) clocks in at 396 SPD, while Sonic's running speed clocks in at above 2,800 SPD. This speed allows him to scale vertical surfaces as well as wall-run horizontally, and he can also run on the surface of water. He can also run as fast backwards as he can forwards. Despite this speed, however, he can turn very sharply at top speed, and almost never misses his target, since he has reflexes to match his speed. The Drift and the Quick Step can also help him maneuver at high speed. His super speed has other applications as well. For instance, Sonic can heal himself by vibrating his molecules very quickly, he can create shockwaves, and he can create an Insta-Shield made of speed energy for a split second to pierce enemy defenses.
Physical Abilities
In addition to his super speed, Sonic also possesses a great amount of agility, being able to dodge nearly anything thrown at him. He can jump several hundred feet in the air, and possesses many jumping techniques, such as a short hop, Spin Jump, Wall Jump, Triangle Jump, double jump, and more midair techniques. He also has great control over his movement, able to dodge attacks swiftly and gracefully despite their incoming speed and his own current velocity. While he may not be quite as physically strong as his friend Knuckles, Sonic still possesses superhuman strength. He can push large objects with ease, and he can lift objects much larger than he is while still running at top speed. His Spin attacks are also very powerful, but they'll be getting their own section. Most of his physical attacks involve kicks rather than punches, since his legs are where his true power lies, between his kicks and his running. For instance, the Stomp can crush many surfaces and defeat many foes, and in Sonic Adventure 2, he was able to topple the huge Egg Golem with just one kick. In addition, Sonic has been shown to be able to tough it through many dangers. He can survive crossfire from all angles, he can smash through several robots with his fist without showing any signs of pain, and most impressively, he can survive atmospheric reentry, doing so on many occasions throughout the series. He also possesses a great amount of willpower, shown in Sonic Unleashed when he keeps his head when under Dark Gaia's influence. This also allows him to keep fighting even when the situation seems bleak and hopeless, and even if he does get mind controlled, it's safe to say that he will do everything in his power to get his head back. Contrary to popular belief, Sonic can swim by using his Spin Jump repeatedly in water, but he still can't breathe while submerged, needing to come up for air eventually (unless using certain power-ups listed below).
Techniques and Moves/Miscellaneous
Besides his running speed, Sonic's signature technique is his ability to curl up into a spiky, spinning ball to attack opponents. In Sonic Heroes, this attack can break through the entire Egg Fleet without even moving at the speed of sound. He can perform this attack when jumping, rolling along the ground, homing in on enemies with the Homing Attack, rocketing downward and bouncing off the ground with the Bounce Bracelet, and revving up with the Spin Dash, allowing him to rocket off at top speed from a standstill. The Spin Attack also allows him to burrow through the ground, depending on how soft it is. The Light Speed Dash has him him dashing along a line of Rings at light speed, and the Light Speed Attack combines this with the Homing Attack to create an extremely powerful strike. The Blue Tornado has him running in circles and creating a whirlwind to throw opponents, defenses, or weapons into the air, and he can concentrate this wind into a blade to fire at his opponents with the Sonic Wind. The Boost allows him to create a blue aura of pure speed (or wind, whatever floats your boat) to blast through opponents at top speed without taking any damage. This move can also be used in midair, allowing him to rocket forward without even touching the ground. Sonic can also apparently control how hard his quills are, since they appear sort of floppy normally, but in his spinball form, they're razor-sharp. This is also demonstrated in his Up Smash in Smash Brothers. His quills can also sense danger, as shown in Sonic and the Secret Rings. Sonic is also very skilled at riding Extreme Gear (super-fast hoverboards), taking on the world's champion in the field, and then even defeating Metal Sonic, who had copied all the data, skills, and techniques from the top Extreme Gear riders in the world. He can also transfer his speed to other objects, shown when he propels mining platforms forward in Sonic Generations's Planet Wisp stage. Sonic has also been shown to be extremely skilled at swordfighting, defeating the Knights of the Round Table and even King Arthur himself in Sonic and the Black Knight when wielding the legendary sword Caliburn (which later becomes Excalibur).
Items/Power-ups
Sonic's first power-ups are the Shields. The basic Shield allows him to take an extra hit, but he also has the Elemental Shields, which block a hit like the normal one does, but with added bonuses. The Bubble Shield grants Sonic a bounce attack and lets him breathe underwater, as well as deflecting minor projectiles. The Electric Shield allows Sonic to double jump, blocks small projectiles, and negates electric attacks, but goes away upon contact with water. The Fire Shield gives Sonic a midair dash attack and protects him from fire attacks, but can't touch water without being extinguished.
In Sonic 2006, Sonic obtains special shoes called the Custom Shoes at the beginning of the game. He can then buy upgrades for these special shoes known as Gems (not to be confused with the Chaos Emeralds, which I'll get into later on), of which there are eight. These Gems grant Sonic different abilities, listed below:
- The
Blue Gem gives Sonic a speed boost that allows Sonic to reach top speed instantly
- The
Green Gem creates a tornado that can be used to attack enemies
- The
Purple Gem shrinks Sonic, allowing him to slip through tight areas, as well as jump infinitely
- The
Red Gem slows down time, useful for sneaking past enemies in combination to Sonic's natural speed
- The
Sky Gem can be thrown, and when it lands, it draws Sonic towards it like a tractor beam
- The White Gem allows Sonic to levitate in place in mid-air to control his direction more easily and enhance his Homing Attack
- The
Yellow Gem gives Sonic a Thunder Shield, but without a double-jump
- A mysterious eighth "
Rainbow Gem" from the beta versions of the game, the purpose of which is unknown
In addition, the alien power-ups known as Wisps grant him different Color Power transformations, such as:
- A
laser that can pierce through enemies and obstacles, as well as bouncing off surfaces
- A
drill that can burrow through soft material and damage enemies/obstacles, as well as giving better underwater mobility and underwater breath
- A
rocket that can shoot up into the sky, as well as breaking obstacles and harming enemies
- A
spiked ball that can cling onto walls/ceilings, as well as breaking obstacles and harming enemies
- A
cube that sends out a shockwave that damages enemies and obstacles, as well as toggling blue rings/blocks
- A
hovering green thing that can fly through the air, as well as harm enemies
- A
nightmarish giant chomping head thing that grows in size when it eats things, such as obstacles and enemies
- A
black hole that can fly, as well as sucking in obstacles and enemies
- A
fireball that can fly with explosions, as well as blowing up obstacles and enemies
- A
different black hole that creates an asteroid belt with the enemies and obstacles it sucks up, as well as jumping higher with a bigger belt
- An
eagle that can soar through the skies, as well as attacking obstacles and enemies
- A
music note that can... flop around. (And damage obstacles and enemies!)
- A
lightning bolt that can move very quickly and travel through conductive substances, as well as attacking obstacles and enemies
- An
iron ball that can climb walls, as well as creating shockwaves when it lands, damaging obstacles and enemies
- A
bomb that can explode on obstacles and enemies
Now, this is where he really starts to get impressive.
Chaos Powers
The seven Chaos Emeralds are the most powerful artifacts in the Sonic universe, containing ultimate power when combined. Luckily for Sonic, he has access to all seven of them. Using these gems, he can freeze time, slow down time, teleport, and use other Chaos Powers. However, these all pale in comparison to Sonic's ultimate transformation:
Super Sonic Style!
Combining all of the Chaos Emeralds along with fifty Rings (of which he can hold up to
999 30,000, or possibly 999,999; see Sonic Adventure 2 Battle's Chao Garden), Sonic can transform into Super Sonic, turning golden and gaining a golden aura. He gains the ability to fly, becomes practically invincible (except to crushing, drowning, and falling into bottomless pits), and becomes even faster, being able to move at the speed of light. Sonic can jump higher, has increased reflexes to match his increased speed, and becomes much stronger, being able to smash through robots, barriers, and space fleets with his face! He also possesses a reflective shield, waves of destructive golden energy, and the Super Sonic Boost, which is similar to the regular Boost, but faster and more powerful. Of course, this form also allows Sonic to use the aforementioned Chaos Powers, since both use the Chaos Emeralds. The only real limitation to this form is the fact that Sonic needs Rings to maintain this form, and it drains one Ring every second he remains in the transformation. However, as mentioned above, Sonic's maximum Ring count is
999 (see above strikethrough note) Rings, which would allow him to stay in this form for about
16 minutes eight hours and twenty minutes going with the 30,000 count, or about 11 days with the 999,999 count. This is plenty for someone of Sonic's speed to finish a battle. Even if he runs out of Rings before the battle is over, he still has numerous backup transformations, such as:
- Hyper Sonic, obtained by harnessing the power of the Super Emeralds (Chaos Emeralds + Master Emerald) and 50 Rings. Basically Super Sonic, but with enhanced abilities and a screen nuke. Used sparingly.
- Darkspine Sonic, obtained by harnessing the World Rings of rage, hatred, and sadness. Grants flight, greater strength, unlimited Soul Gauge powers (which are increased speed with Speed Break and slowing down time with Time Break), and pyrokinetic abilities.
- Excalibur Sonic, obtained using the power of the four sacred swords. Grants flight, a golden suit of armor, a red cape, and the ability to wield the legendary sword Excalibur.
- Sonic the Werehog, induced by Dark Gaia's negative energy. Loses his trademark speed, but retains his agility and gains super strength, stretchy arms, and limited energy manipulation.
- The aforementioned Color Powers granted by the Wisps.
All in all, with his speed, agility, strength, willpower, and Super Sonic, Sonic is truly a force to be reckoned with, able to adapt to almost any situation thrown at him. However, he rarely shows his true potential except when he's in truly dire situations. As said by the Blue Blur himself, "An adventure's no fun if it's too easy!"
Feats
- Defeated several god monsters, such as Dark Gaia, Solaris, the Time Eater, the Biolizard (AKA the ultimate life form), and even singlehandedly defeated Perfect Chaos, which harnessed the power of the Chaos Emeralds, in his normal form
- Foiled Dr. Robotnik/Eggman's plans, from enslaving five entire planets with a space amusement park in order to mind control the world to erasing time and space itself
- Won the Extreme Gear tournaments and even defeated a robot which harnessed the skills of the world's top Gear riders
- Defeated King Arthur himself at swordfighting
- Defeated Ultimate Emerl, who had the abilities of every character in the game as well as the raw power of all seven Chaos Emeralds, in his normal form
- Travelled through time on multiple occasions
- A bunch of stuff that I'm probably forgetting
Source
The Sonic News Network (Sonic Wiki)
Grima you're welcome
Well, you know what time it is for me....
