As one of the giant robots Eggman created to stop Sonic, the behemoth beetle equipped with massive pincers, incendiary rounds, guided missiles, and more.
The Egg Beetle (エッグ・ビートル,Eggu Bītoru?) is an object that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is a large stag beetle-based mech with powerful mandibles created by Dr. Eggman. He used it to seek out a Gaia Temple during the Dark Gaiaincident, though it was destroyed by Sonic.
The Egg Beetle resembles a stag beetle. It is made of purple-coated metal, it has a round cephalothorax which the Egg Mobile can fit into, a large abdomen with a grey, yellow and green missile launcher on top and a landmine-deployer on the bottom, six green-tipped legs with rockets on them, and a pair of large and flexible pincers which emit flaming orange energy.
Powers and abilities
Thanks to its rocket engines, the Egg Beetle is capable of flight. It can fly at incredible speeds, but cannot stack up to Sonic the Hedgehog's speed. Its primary weapons are its massive pinchers which can tear through their foes with a fierce, energy-infused grip. It can as well charge its pinchers with energy for greater power to turn the Egg Beetle into a deadly projectile by aligning in an arrow shape. It is also loaded with a number of armaments, incendiary rounds, guided missiles, self-adjusting landmines and more.[1] The Egg Beetle can also operate independently without the Egg Mobile controlling it, suggesting it either possesses artificial intelligence or can be controlled remotely.
History
Sonic Unleashed
In the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 version of Sonic Unleashed, the Egg Beetle was specifically created by Dr. Eggman to stop Sonic the Hedgehog.[1] When seeking the Gaia Temple near Mazuri, the doctor brought the Egg Beetle along. It was soon after put to the test when Sonic and Chip caught up with Eggman, who engaged Sonic with the Egg Beetle. Nonetheless, the mech got trashed by Sonic. Later, Eggman would combine the Egg Beetle and Egg Devil Ray's design to make a more successful weapon against Sonic when both mechs proved incapable of stopping him.[2]
He attacks by releasing explosive boxes that roll over once, sometimes moving directly into Sonic's path. When he uses his bite attack, he takes down his shield. Boost into the cockpit or Homing Attack it to damage it. It is recommended to boost while in 3D because he will go flying. If the player has enough boosts, the player can hit him up to 3 times. If the player uses a homing attack, he will not go flying so the player can't combo him, but he still take damage. When he shifts to a 2D perspective, it'll shoot three missiles. The player must watch the order in which the missile engines ignite and then jump at the right time to avoid being hit. Then the Egg Beetle will try to crush the player once with flaming claws then it will get ready for another when he is in front of the player. If it is near defeat, it bites twice instead of once. The player must hit it with a Homing Attack when his shield is down. If the player boosts, the player, not the Egg Beetle, takes damage and must go through this whole cycle again. Once you hit him with a homing attack, you will go back into the 3D section. Do the same strategy as before to finish him.
The time needed to "S" Rank is 2:20. Failure to make that time will yield a "C" Rank. Therefore, no Sun Medal will be awarded.
The boss battle takes place on a looping road on top of large baobab trees where Sonic is constantly is automatically running throughout the entire fight. Plenty of Rings are placed along the stage for the player to collect. The Egg Beetle uses a few attacks while the player must chase after the mech.
The Egg Beetle launches several waves of three missiles which land on the ground and explode into a pillar of flames. Touching these explosion flames will damage the player. The missiles can land in various formations: either one on each lane (from right-to-left or vice-versa) or one in the middle and one on each far lane. The number of missiles increase as the Egg Beetle's health decreases.
The Egg Beetle launches mines into the air that gradually land on the stage which can be avoided with Quick Step.
Once the player gets close to the mech, the Egg Beetle to snap its pincers together in attempt to crush Sonic in between. However, he can Spin Jump to dodge the attack, then use the Homing Attack to send the Egg Beetle recoiling ahead after a successful hit. Alternatively, Sonic can use the Boost to smack the Egg Beetle backwards before its attack connects, then if the player's Ring Energy Gauge is filled enough, Sonic can continually boost to ram into the Egg Beetle for a total of three hits before it gets back in position.[3]
After a short while, the Egg Beetle will charge directly at the player which they can avoid with Quick Step. If the Egg Beetle's health is less than one-third, the Egg Beetle will backtrack then attempt to charge again. The screen will then shift to a 2D side-scrolling perspective. Here it will use the following attacks (which are similar to the attacks used while the stage is in 3D perspective but the player will have to dodge them in a different manner):
The Egg Beetle fires two waves of a few missiles onto the stage at Sonic's position. The Egg Beetle initially fires three missiles per wave but this increases to up to six missiles per wave as its health decreases.
The Egg Beetle lauches mines into the air which then land on the stage and bounce a few times along the ground as they move to the left. The player must jump over, stay on the ground or slide under the mines to dodge them.
After a short while, the Egg Beetle charges onto the stage from the background while attempting to snap its pincers to crush Sonic. The player has an opportunity to attack the Egg Beetle's cockpit which will transition the stage back into the 3D perspective. If the player misses their chance to attack here, the Egg Beetle will then fly above the stage while dropping a few mines that bounce towards the left side of the stage. Shortly afterwards, the Egg Beetle will land on the right side of the stage then attempt to attack by closing its pincers once more, giving the player another chance to hit the cockpit. Regardless of whether the player successfully attacks the Egg Beetle, the battle will transition back to the 3D perspective.
An easy tactic to end the battle quickly is by filling the Boost Gauge and use the Sonic Boost to get closer to the Egg Beetle (but not too close and taking contact damage). Doing so should make it open up its claws then and expose its weak spot to the player even after dealing three consecutive hits to it before.
Upon defeating the Egg Beetle, the player gains 200 Experience.
The Egg Beetle in the Wii/PlayStation 2 port has less hit points than the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 one. The Wii/PlayStation 2 battle has six hit points, where as in the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 version, the boss has ten hit points.
There is a glitch in the Wii/PlayStation 2 version that when Sonic boosts directly onto the Egg Beetle but bypasses it and outruns the machine. The player will be unable to progress the fight normally, forcing them to restart the battle (even if the player slows down).
This is the only boss on the Wii/PlayStation 2 version that can be combo attacked.
In the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 version, it is possible to boost into the Egg Beetle one more time during its death animation. If the player succeeds, Eggman will say "I won't forget this!" before the results screen appears.
Gallery
Sprites
Models
Screenshots
Publically disclosed HQ version of the screenshot that would be used in the final game's level select screen
References
↑ 1.01.1Sonic Team (18 November 2008). Sonic Unleashed. Xbox 360. Sega. Area/level: Professor Pickle's lab. "Eggman's Machines (027/030): As one of the giant robots Eggman created to stop Sonic, the behemoth beetle equipped with massive pincers, incendiary rounds, guided missiles, and more."
↑Sonic Team (18 November 2008). Sonic Unleashed. Xbox 360. Sega. Area/level: Professor Pickle's Lab. "Eggman's Machines (029/030): When both the Egg Beetle and Egg Devil Ray were defeated, Eggman combined their designs into this beast, eliminating the weakness of both."
↑Sonic Team (18 November 2008). Sonic Unleashed. Xbox 360. Sega. Area/level: Shamar. "Professor Pickle: The beetle plaguing Mazuri has some claws, eh? Rather than jump them and use a Homing Attack when they open up, you'll do more damage by charging forward with a Sonic Boost. Fortune favors the bold!"
