Bobsled

For the gimmick in Sonic Heroes, see Bobsled (Sonic Heroes).

The bobsled, also known as the sled, is a gimmick that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Much like real-life sleds, bobsleds are used by the playable characters to traverse slippery terrain.

Description

Bobsleds are large sleds that are used by the playable characters to slide across surfaces with low friction or otherwise slippery surfaces. The player uses the bobsled in the games to travel across sections in the levels where the playable characters cannot pass through by normal means.

Game appearances

Sonic Rivals

Bobsleds made their first appearance in Crystal Mountain Zone Act 2 of Sonic Rivals. In this game, the bobsleds are large and yellow karts with blue and white stripes and are motor-powered. Here, the bobsleds automatically take the player throughout a large section of the act, without the player having to control them. To make a bobsled start moving, the player just has to jump into one.

Sonic Unleashed

In the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 version and Wii/PlayStation 2 version of Sonic Unleashed, the bobsleds are sky blue karts with an aerodynamic shape and can be found in game's daytime acts in Cool Edge. Other stages features bobsled-like vehicles as well though, such as Eggmanland, where the bobsleds resemble more roller coaster cars, and Arid Sands on the Wii/PlayStation 2 version, where the bobsled looks like a Buggy.

In both versions of Sonic Unleashed, the player can enter a bobsled by touching them, which will make the bobsled start moving. While riding a bobsled, the player will move forward automatically, but can move left and right by using the direction controls. Additionally, any enemies that the player runs over with the bobsled will be destroyed, though the player can still take damage from enemies' attacks and hazardous obstacles. In the Wii/PlayStation 2 version of Sonic Unleashed, the player can use the Sonic Boost and Drift while riding the bobsled, allowing for more versatile movements.

Sonic Free Riders

In Sonic Free Riders, the bobsleds are referred to as "sleds",^[1] and is the main off-Gear course section featured in Frozen Forest (both on the Standard and Expert courses) where the character rides on to traverse through an icy cave. The player controls the sled similarly to that of a Bike-type Extreme Gear in the game; the player holds out their hands out like holding handlebars and simply turn their arms in the direction they wish to steer towards,^[1] allowing the player to reach Rings or Dash Panels and avoid crashing into icicles.

Other game appearances

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games

In the Wii version and Nintendo DS version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, bobsleds are used in the team-based "Bobsled" events. In this game, the bobsleds comes in several different colors and can house one to four users.

Gallery

Screenshots

Gallery
Sonic Rivals Sonic Unleashed (Xbox 360/PlayStation 3) Sonic Unleashed (Wii/PlayStation 2) Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Wii) Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Nintendo DS)

References