The Thunder Shield[1] (サンダーバリア[2],Sandā Baria?, lit. "Thunder Barrier"), also known as the Lightning Shield,[3] is an Item Box power-up that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is a Shield variant that debuted in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 that encases the playable character in electrified force field. The Thunder Shield often negates damage, attracts nearby Rings, enables Sonic to perform the Double Jump, and dissipates underwater. A similar item, the Magnetic Shield, debuts in Sonic Adventure: it also attracts Rings, but remains active underwater and does not grant Sonic the Double Jump when in use.
Item Boxes containing the Thunder Shield usually either contain or display an icon depicting what looks like a white or yellow lightning bolt. When the player obtains the Thunder Shield, a protective force field will appear around the playable character. This bubble will prevent the playable character from taking damage when they hit a hazard; if hit, the player loses the Thunder Shield but no Rings they have in hand. However, the Thunder Shield cannot protect the playable character from certain hazards such as a bottomless pit.
Like the Aqua Shield and Flame Shield, the standard Thunder Shield can deflect minor projectile attacks from enemies, like those of the Bloominators, Blastoids, Spikers, Star Pointers and Clamers, without disappearing. While equipped, the typical Thunder Shield also makes the playable character unaffected by any form of electricity-based hazards in the environment, such as electrical emitters, and pull in Rings that are close to the playable character, except for those that they have dropped. Also, when wielded by Sonic, the Thunder Shield enables him to perform the Double Jump. However, the typical Thunder Shield will disappear on its own if the playable character enters water while equipped with it. In certain games though, the Thunder Shield can have different abilities and traits.
Game appearances
Sonic 3 & Knuckles
In Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Sonic & Knuckles and the lock-on continuation Sonic 3 & Knuckles, this shield power-up made its debut, where it is called the Lightning Shield[3] (サンダーバリア[2],Sandābaria?, lit. "Thunder Barrier"). In this game, monitors containing the Lighting Shield display an icon that shows a white lightning bolt. In gameplay, the Thunder Shield takes the form of a clear bubble with a white outline and white electrical currents moving across its surface. In terms of effects displayed by the Lightning Shield, besides its damage negation, it deflects minor projectile attacks, pulls in Rings, makes the wielder invulnerable to electrical hazards, and allows Sonic to use the Double Jump. However, it dissipates when its wielder enters water. When this happens, the water will flash for a split second, destroying all underwater Badniks on the screen. Strangely though, the Thunder Shield is not lost when the playable character skims across water surfaces in Hydrocity Zone, nor is it lost while the wielder is in their Super form then enters water (provided that the wielder's Super form ends while not submerged in water).
Outside of the Zones, the player can also get Lightning Shields from the Gumball Machine and Glowing Sphere Bonus Stages by collecting a Thunder Ball. The Lightning Shield can also hold up against most electrical-based attacks but not against the lightning bolts that discharge from the electrical emitters in Death Egg Zone. Also worth of note is that if the player loses the Lightning Shield while Rings are being pulled towards the playable character, the Rings will stop following the character and bounce everywhere, only to disappear after a while.
Sonic R
In Sonic R, this shield power-up is referred to as the Lightning Shield[4] (サンダー [5],Sandā?, lit. "Thunder"). In this game, the Lightning Shield can be obtained at random when touching one of the Item Panels that lie scattered across the racing courses. In gameplay, the Lightning Shield takes the form of a yellow bubble. In terms of effects displayed by the Lightning Shield, it only pulls in Rings. However, it dissipates in water.
Sonic Generations
In the console/PC version of Sonic Generations, this shield power-up is referred to as the Thunder Shield[1] (サンダーバリア,Sandā Baria?, lit. "Thunder Barrier"). In this game, Item Boxes containing the Thunder Shield display an icon that shows a yellow lightning bolt. In gameplay, the Thunder Shield takes the form of a bubble made of light blue electricity. In terms of effects displayed by the Thunder Shield (besides its damage negation), it pulls in Rings, makes the wielder invulnerable to electrical hazards, and allows Classic Sonic to use the Double Jump. However, it does not dissipate when touching water or enables the Double Jump.
In this game, the Thunder Shield only appears in Classic Sonic's Challenge Acts, specifically Thunder Shield Challenge and With Your Powers Combined; in these Challenge Acts, the player has to make constant use of Thunder Shield Item Boxes, which respawn almost instantly after the player opens them, in order to get through the level fast enough. In addition, there is a Skill for Classic Sonic that can be bought from the Skill Shop for 4,000 Skill Points after clearing Thunder Shield Challenge and be equipped to Classic Sonic at the cost of seventy Skill Points. When using this Skill in regular Acts, the player can equip one Thunder Shield at any time by pressing /.
Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2013), and Sonic Origins
The 2013 re-releases of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, as well as Sonic Origins, retroactively include the Thunder Shield as a secret feature only accessible in a No Save file. To obtain this power-up in Sonic 1, the player must go to the Level Select menu and in the items category, switch to either "S1+S3" or "S2+S3;" and in Sonic 2, they must go to the Configurations menu in the Level Select menu and highlight either the second option (the icon displaying the Shield with the three elemental shields) or the fourth option (the icon displaying Random with the three elemental shields) before starting an Act. The Thunder Shield can also be placed in Debug Mode. In gameplay, it looks and works virtually identically to Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
Sonic Lost World
In the Wii U version, PCversion and Nintendo 3DSversion of Sonic Lost World, this shield power-up makes appearance. In the Nintendo 3DS version, it is referred to as the Thunder Shield.[6] In these games, Item Boxes containing the Thunder Shield display an icon that shows a yellow lightning bolt. In gameplay, the Thunder Shield takes the form of a bubble with lightning-like effects around it. Notably, it is yellow in the Wii U/PC version and blue in the Nintendo 3DS version. In terms of effects displayed by the Thunder Shield, besides its damage negation, it only pulls in Rings. It also does not allow Sonic to use the Double Jump, as the move is a part of Sonic's standard moveset.
In the Wii U/PC version of the game, the Thunder Shields do not appear in the Zones. However, they can be rewarded by completing Missions and obtained and shared on Miiverse.[7] Once obtained, the Thunder Shield will be stored away for the player to use later in the Zones. During these Zones, the player can open the Item Bag and select the Thunder Shield to instantly bestow it onto the playable character.
In the Nintendo 3DS version of the game, the Thunder Shields appear regularly in the Zones. In addition, the player can also make a Thunder Shield in Tails' Lab using sixteen Green Materials and sixteen Yellow Materials. Once obtained, these Thunder Shields will be stored away for the player to use later in the Zones. During these Zones, the player can look up the Item Bag and select these Thunder Shields to instantly bestow one onto the playable character.
Sonic Mania
In Sonic Mania and its expansion Sonic Mania Plus, the Thunder Shield is referred to as the Lightning Shield[8] (サンダーバリア[9],Sandā Baria?, lit. "Thunder Barrier"). In this game, Item Boxes containing the Thunder Shield display an icon that shows a white-blue lightning bolt. In gameplay, the Lightning Shield takes the form of a clear bubble with a white outline and white electrical currents moving across its surface. In terms of effects displayed by the Lightning Shield, besides its damage negation, it deflects minor projectile attacks, pulls in Rings, makes the wielder invulnerable to electrical hazards, and allows Sonic to use the Double Jump. However, it dissipates in water. When this happens though, it will not destroy all underwater Badniks on the screen.
Worth of note is that if the player loses the Lightning Shield while Rings are being pulled towards the playable character, the Rings will stop following the character and bounce everywhere, only to disappear after a while. Also, while the Lightning Shield is equipped, the magnetic ceilings in Flying Battery Zone will attract the playable character and allow them to walk inverted as long as the magnetism is active, which opens up new routes through this Zone. The electrical wires in Titanic Monarch Zone will also carry the player to new heights.
Trivia
The sound effect used for acquiring a Thunder Shield in Sonic Generations is instead "Sound #40" from Sonic 3 & Knuckles which, interestingly, is right before the original sound effect being used in Sonic 3 & Knuckles for the Thunder Shield (Sound #41).
/
.
.png "Thunder Shield (Sonic Lost World).png (9 KB)")
.png "Thunder Shield In Item Box (Sonic Lost World).png (35 KB)")
.png "Classic Sonic - Thunder Shield (SXSG).png (20 KB)")
