Turtle

The Turtle is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. They are large, non-anthropomorphic turtles that live in water and are a natural part of the fauna on earth. In gameplay, they can be used to transport the player over or through bodies of water.

Description

The Turtles look exactly the same as real-world freshwater turtles. They have flippers for legs, round and sturdy shells and completely dark blue or brown eyes. While their skin color is fairly consistent, being pale beige with hints of green, the colors of their shells differ between games: in Sonic Adventure 2 they are dark green, while in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) they are brown. However, what set them apart from regular turtles are their colossal sizes, as they can be so large that they can carry up to several people on their backs.

In gameplay, the Turtle's purpose is to help the player reach locations far into the bottomless waters or gain access to otherwise unreachable areas through water routes.

Game appearances

Sonic Adventure 2

In Sonic Adventure 2 and its enhanced port Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, the Turtles are slightly larger than the size of a small rowing boat. They are found exclusively in Dry Lagoon where one can transport the player to different sections of the Stage through different pools.

When beginning the Stage, the Turtle is surrounded by robots on land, keeping it from the pool. Destroying the robots allows the Turtle to crawl back into the pool where the player can interact with it. To use it in gameplay, the player must jump onto its shell and press the action button to have it transport the player to another pool.

Sonic Heroes

Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)

In Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), the Turtles are much larger, at least three-four times bigger than they were in Sonic Adventure 2, and they have grass and moss growing on them.

In this game, the Turtles act more as floating platforms which the player can use to ride across bottomless waters. To use them in gameplay, the player just has to jump onto their shells and they will start moving. In some cases, the Turtles will not appear until the player hits a fruit in a sprig which will cause them to emerge and eat the fruit.^[1] The player can also cause the Turtle to hide in the water by using a Homing Attack on its head.

Sonic Generations

Trivia

• At Ocean Palace in Sonic Heroes, there is a section of the Stage with a school of large turtles carrying fairly large platforms on their backs which the player must travel across to complete the Stage. However, they are only a part of the environment and cannot be interacted with.
  • The same turtle section re-appears in Seaside Hill in the console/PC version of Sonic Generations.

Gallery

Models

Screenshots

References