A platformer (also called a platform game , and sometimes a jump 'n' run game ) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels with uneven terrain and suspended platforms of varying height that require jumping and climbing to traverse. Other acrobatic maneuvers may factor into the gameplay, such as swinging from vines or grappling hooks, jumping off walls, gliding through the air, or bouncing from springboards or trampolines.
131-611: Sonic Rush Adventure is a 2007 platform game developed by Dimps and Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Nintendo DS . The sequel to 2005's Sonic Rush , it follows Sonic the Hedgehog and Tails , who are teleported to an alternate dimension and seek the help of Blaze the Cat , while battling a band of robot pirates . Gameplay is similar to prior installments in the Sonic
262-592: A helicopter rotor, he has the unique ability to push himself through the air to catch up with Sonic; however, this tires him quickly, hence his use of planes. Unlike Sonic, Tails can swim. Like Sonic, he can transform into Super Tails, but he requires either the Chaos Emeralds (Sonic Mania) or the Super Emeralds (Sonic 3 and Knuckles) to transform. Also, when in this form (in Sonic 3 and Knuckles only),
393-458: A sidekick to Sonic . The character was inspired by a kitsune , a creature from Japanese folklore that could over time grow multiple tails. The character was also meant to hold a "deep admiration for Sonic". While Yamaguchi's entry won, Sega of Japan wanted to name the character "Miles Prower" (the surname being a play on "per hour"), whereas the American subsidiary Sega of America preferred
524-608: A true 3D platformer is a French computer game called Alpha Waves , created by Christophe de Dinechin and published by Infogrames in 1990 for the Atari ST , Amiga , and IBM PC compatibles . Bug! , released in 1995 for the Saturn , has a more conservative approach. It allows players to move in all directions, but it does not allow movement along more than one axis at once; the player can move orthogonally but not diagonally. Its characters were pre-rendered sprites, much like
655-430: A "mighty-fine" platformer that would satisfy Sonic fans. IGN agreed, writing that it did not make as much of an impact since it simply recycled many of the original Rush ' s mechanics. The game's plot was not well received. According to Nintendo World Report , who expressed relief the cutscenes could be skipped, the story was tedious, slow, and uninteresting; this was a sentiment echoed by GameSpot . IGN thought
786-452: A 1980 arcade release by Universal , is sometimes credited as the first platformer. Another precursor to the genre from 1980 was Nichibutsu 's Crazy Climber , in which the player character scales vertically scrolling skyscrapers. The unreleased 1979 Intellivision game Hard Hat has a similar concept. Donkey Kong , an arcade video game created by Nintendo and released in July 1981,
917-401: A 2D plane are called 2.5D , as they are a blend of 2D and 3D. The first platformers to simulate a 3D perspective and moving camera emerged in the early-mid-1980s. An early example of this was Konami 's Antarctic Adventure , where the player controls a penguin in a forward-scrolling third-person perspective while having to jump over pits and obstacles. Originally released in 1983 for
1048-427: A 3D Sonic game, Sonic Adventure , for its Dreamcast console. It used a hub structure like Super Mario 64 , but its levels were more linear, fast-paced, and action-oriented. Tails (character) Miles "Tails" Prower is a character created by Japanese game designer Yasushi Yamaguchi . Part of Sega 's Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, he is the first character to consistently appear by Sonic's side in
1179-560: A Spirit in the latter. Tails appears as an unlockable playable character in Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania . Tails is a supporting character in the animated series Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog , Sonic the Hedgehog , Sonic X and Sonic Boom , as well as the 1996 Sonic the Hedgehog film . Tails also makes a guest appearance in the OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode "Let's Meet Sonic". Tails appears in
1310-462: A balance between open-ended and guided exploration. Another platform-adventure released that year, Pony Canyon 's Super Pitfall , was critically panned for its vagueness and weak game design. That same year Jaleco released Esper Boukentai , a sequel to Psychic 5 that scrolled in all directions and allowed the player character to make huge multistory jumps to navigate the vertically oriented levels. Telenet Japan also released its own take on
1441-481: A bouncing car that jumps on various platforms such as buildings, clouds, and hills. Jump Bug offered a glimpse of what was to come, with uneven, suspended platforms, levels that scroll horizontally (and in one section, vertically), and differently themed sections, such as a city, the interior of a large pyramid, and underwater. Irem's 1982 arcade game Moon Patrol combines jumping over obstacles and shooting attackers. A month later, Taito released Jungle King ,
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#17327914437941572-525: A brief burst of episodic platformers where the first was freely distributed and parts 2 and 3 were available for purchase. The abundance of platformers for 16-bit consoles continued late into the generation, with successful games such as Vectorman (1995), Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995), and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995), but the release of new hardware caused players' attention to move away from 2D genres. The Saturn , PlayStation , and Nintendo 64 nevertheless featured
1703-505: A captain. The three say their final goodbyes as Sonic and Tails fly off for home. Like its predecessor, Sonic Rush Adventure was developed by Dimps with assistance from Sonic Team for the Nintendo DS . It was developed alongside Sonic Rivals 2 for the PlayStation Portable . As the developers began to work on the project, director Sakae Osumi, inspired by adventure novels, television programs, and films, decided that
1834-450: A forward-scrolling effect similar to Sega's 1985 third-person rail shooter Space Harrier . 3-D WorldRunner was an early forward-scrolling pseudo-3D third-person platform-action game where players were free to move in any forward-scrolling direction and could leap over obstacles and chasms. It was notable for being one of the first stereoscopic 3-D games . Square released its sequel, JJ , later that year. The earliest example of
1965-707: A group of villains allied with Dr. Eggman, called the Deadly Six when they are shot down while chasing him in the Tornado in Sonic Lost World . They run into Eggman and notice him wielding a Cacophonic Conch to control the Deadly Six. Despite Tails' warnings, Sonic knocks away the conch, causing the Deadly Six to betray him. Eggman reluctantly teams up with Sonic and Tails to stop them. This causes numerous conflicts between Tails and Eggman and increases tension in his friendship with Sonic since Sonic believes Eggman
2096-528: A helicopter. He also gained the ability to swim underwater, something Sonic has never been able to do. This is also the first time the player could control Tails' flight in a Sega Genesis game. Tails has also starred in games without Sonic, such as Tails' Skypatrol , which is a side-scrolling score attack-like game for the Game Gear released exclusively in Japan . This was followed by Tails Adventure later
2227-609: A high quality of animation. The 1988 shareware game The Adventures of Captain Comic was one of the first attempts at a Nintendo-style platformer for IBM PC compatibles . It inspired Commander Keen , released by id Software in 1990, which became the first MS-DOS platformer with smooth scrolling graphics. Keen's success resulted in numerous console-styled platformers for MS-DOS compatible operating systems, including Duke Nukem , Duke Nukem II , Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure , and Dark Ages all by Apogee Software . These fueled
2358-584: A local blacksmith who helps players craft goods from the items Sonic collects. He appears as a playable character in all of the Mario & Sonic titles, as well as in Sega Superstars Tennis , Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing , and Transformed . He also appears in Sonic Colors as a non-playable character . Tails celebrates Sonic's birthday along with his friends by setting up
2489-541: A more yellow shade as opposed to the orange in his early appearances, and he gained blue irises. In the American Sonic comic book, along with the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog cartoons, he was originally brown, as the only color reference of Tails provided to DIC Entertainment by Sega of America was an early sprite of Tails, which depicted him with a burnt orange color scheme;
2620-631: A number of successful 2D platformers. The 2D Rayman was a big success on 32-bit consoles. Mega Man 8 and Mega Man X4 helped revitalize interest in Capcom 's Mega Man character . Castlevania: Symphony of the Night revitalized its series and established a new foundation for later Castlevania games. Oddworld and Heart of Darkness kept the subgenre born from Prince of Persia alive. The difficulties of adapting platformer gameplay to three dimensions led some developers to compromise by pairing
2751-603: A party in Sonic Generations , but when the Time Eater appears, it warps them through various time holes, sending Tails to Green Hill. After Sonic frees him, Tails meets his classic counterpart (Classic Tails) and concludes that they were traveling through time and space. They accompany both Sonics throughout the game, later discovering that Eggman and Robotnik are controlling the Time Eater. Both Classic and Modern Tails, along with all of Sonic's friends, help motivate
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#17327914437942882-615: A playable character or in a supporting role in many later Sonic titles and still often resumes his role flying other characters around, such as in Sonic Heroes , where Tails appears on Team Sonic as their flight-type character, being capable of carrying both Sonic and Knuckles the Echidna . Tails is seen in the background of Green Hill Zone along with Silver and Knuckles in Super Smash Bros. Brawl , and also appears as
3013-441: A quarter and a third of all console games. By 2006, the genre had experienced a decline in sales, representing a 2% market share as compared to 15% in 1998. In spite of this, platformers are still being commercially released every year, including some which have sold millions of copies. A platformer requires the player to maneuver their character across platforms to reach a goal while confronting enemies and avoiding obstacles along
3144-517: A remote island and meet the energetic raccoon Marine , who longs to be a sailor. Sonic sets off to explore the island for shipbuilding materials, as Tails starts to work on Marine's ship. Sonic returns and discovers the smaller, faster waterbike that Tails and Marine have made. While exploring the surrounding islands to test the waterbike, they soon encounter a band of pirates led by the robotic Captain Whisker, who are after an ancient artifact known as
3275-811: A role model and desires to be like him, though he later realizes he must stand up for himself and becomes his own hero. Outside the Sonic platform games, Tails has starred in Tails and the Music Maker for the Sega Pico , and Tails Adventure and Tails' Skypatrol for the Game Gear . Atsuki Murata and Ryō Hirohashi have voiced Tails in Japan, while Colleen O'Shaughnessey has provided his English voice since 2014. Tails has received positive reception since his debut, with critics naming him as being among one of
3406-400: A selfish character and instead, is always ready and willing to help others without asking for anything in return. Tails has been described as a mechanical prodigy who rivals Dr. Eggman but has not yet realized his full potential. Coupled with his skills as an airplane pilot, he uses a biplane nicknamed "Tornado" to assist Sonic on their adventures. Additionally, by spinning his two tails like
3537-399: A sense of being loud and active. The developers also created the nefarious pirates, who serve as primary antagonists. In programming the game, the team used the same underlying technology used to create Sonic Rush . However, the developers enhanced the presentation, including a dynamic camera system and 3D elements in gameplay, most notably in boss fights. The game also makes greater use of
3668-541: A series of special missions. If the player has reached the normal ending and collected all the Chaos and Sol Emeralds, an extended ending, featuring an extra boss, will be unlocked. On a stormy night, Sonic and Tails set out in Tails' biplane , the Tornado, after it detects a powerful energy signal. During their flight, the Tornado is struck by lightning and gets sucked into a tornado, knocking Sonic and Tails out. They awaken on
3799-470: A shift in design. Later 3D platformers like Banjo-Kazooie , Spyro the Dragon , and Donkey Kong 64 borrowed its format, and the "collect-a-thon" genre began to form. In order to make this free-roaming model work, developers had to program dynamic, intelligent cameras. A free camera made it harder for players to judge the height and distance of platforms, making jumping puzzles more difficult. Some of
3930-406: A side-scrolling action game some platform elements: jumping between vines, jumping or running beneath bouncing boulders. It was quickly re-released as Jungle Hunt because of similarities to Tarzan . The 1982 Apple II game Track Attack includes a scrolling platform level where the character runs and leaps along the top of a moving train. The character is little more than a stick figure , but
4061-404: A speed boost using a Tension Gauge (which is filled when they perform tricks in mid-air or defeat robot enemies), collect rings as a form of health , and power-ups such as elemental shields and invincibility . The gameplay is split into seven levels, each of which contains three parts: two normal levels; and a boss fight . In normal levels, players must reach the treasure chest at the end of
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4192-428: A stage within a time limit or defeating a boss with only one ring. Certain missions must be finished to progress through the story, while others offer bonus rewards upon completion, such as musical tracks the player can listen to or visual upgrades to Southern Island. At Marine's house, players can talk to Marine to initiate missions, have Tails build new ships and equipment using materials gathered from stages to advance
4323-517: A swarm of Flickies circle Tails. This was seen first as what seemed to be a one-time appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles and then again in Sonic Heroes , where alongside Team Sonic members Sonic and Knuckles, would transform themselves into their super forms. Tails debuted in November 1992 with the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 , playing the part of Sonic's sidekick. He
4454-725: A teenager with a rebellious personality to appeal to gamers who saw the previous generation of consoles as being for kids. The character's speed showed off the hardware capabilities of the Genesis, which had a CPU clock speed approximately double that of the Super NES. Sonic 's perceived rebellious attitude became a model for game mascots. Other companies attempted to duplicate Sega's success with their own brightly colored anthropomorphisms with attitude. These often were characterized by impatience, sarcasm, and frequent quips. A second generation of platformers for computers appeared alongside
4585-473: A template for what were initially called "climbing games". Donkey Kong inspired many clones and games with similar elements, such as Miner 2049er (1982) and Kangaroo (1982), while the Sega arcade game Congo Bongo (1983) adds a third dimension via isometric graphics . Another popular game of that period, Pitfall! (1982), allows moving left and right through series of non-scrolling screens, expanding
4716-645: A trophy, he makes an appearance in the game's two sequels as well. He is the third character the player unlocks in Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood , where he acts as a team medic. Tails appears in Sonic Unleashed , where he helps Sonic restore the shattered planet, largely by flying Sonic from continent to continent in the game. He also takes a supporting role in Sonic and the Black Knight , portrayed as
4847-414: A very sweet-natured, gentle, kind, comforting, and humble fox. As a longtime friend, he admires Sonic and dreams of being just like him. He wants to prove that he can be counted on, and has fought Dr. Eggman and his robots without the aid of Sonic before. He is fond of mint candy . Despite overcoming most of his fears and becoming very bold, Tails remains keraunophobic . Tails is not intended to be
4978-525: Is a platform game similar in gameplay and style to the original 2005 Sonic Rush . As in the original, players control Sonic the Hedgehog or Blaze the Cat , whose goal is to collect the Chaos Emeralds and their alternate-dimensional counterparts, the Sol Emeralds, and defeat a nefarious band of robot pirates. Like the original, Sonic and Blaze attack by jumping and spinning, can perform
5109-488: Is central to the genre, though there are exceptions such as Nintendo 's Popeye and Data East 's BurgerTime , both from 1982. In some games, such as Donkey Kong , the trajectory of a jump is fixed, while in others it can be altered mid-air. Falling may cause damage or death. Many platformers contain environmental obstacles which kill the player's character upon contact, such as lava pits or bottomless chasms. The player may be able to collect items and power-ups and give
5240-474: Is in a vector game called Major Havoc , which comprises a number of mini-games, including a simple platformer. One of the first raster -based platformers to scroll fluidly in all directions in this manner is 1985's Legend of Kage . In 1985, Enix released the action-adventure platformer Brain Breaker . The following year saw the release of Nintendo's Metroid , which was critically acclaimed for
5371-465: Is the endless runner , where the main character is always moving forward and the player must dodge or jump to avoid falling or hitting obstacles. Various names were used in the years following the release of the first established game in the genre, Donkey Kong (1981). Shigeru Miyamoto originally called it a "running/jumping/climbing game" while developing it. Miyamoto commonly used the term "athletic game" to refer to Donkey Kong and later games in
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5502-472: Is their only hope in defeating the Deadly Six. Eventually, Tails gets captured in a trap intended for Sonic, and the Deadly Six plan to use this to their advantage by turning Tails into a robot. However, Tails manages to reprogram the computer that would control his mind. The seemingly-robotized Tails confronts Sonic at the game's final stage, but by retaining his free will, he takes the Deadly Six by surprise and attacks them. Later on, after Sonic defeats Eggman at
5633-424: Is wildly inconsistent, but Sonic comforts him by reminding Tails of his achievements and abilities and needing help sometimes is part of growing up, this strengthens Tails' resolve to go solo for a while and become a hero in his own right. He also appears as a downloadable Mii Fighter costume in the crossover fighting games Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and Ultimate , as well as being featured as
5764-552: The 2020 Sonic the Hedgehog film during a mid-credits sequence, emerging from a ring portal onto Earth in search of Sonic. Tails is featured as a main character in the sequel, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 , the logo of which features a yellow "2" with two tails attached in homage to the character. He is voiced by Colleen O'Shaughnessey , reprising her role from the games. In the film, Tails was shunned on his home planet for having two tails but grew to idolize Sonic after witnessing his bravery when facing off against Dr. Robotnik. He travels to
5895-626: The Atari 2600 , with 256 horizontally connected screens, became one of the best-selling games on the system and was a breakthrough for the genre. Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle was released on the ColecoVision that same year, adding uneven terrain and scrolling pans between static screens. Manic Miner (1983) and its sequel Jet Set Willy (1984) continued this style of multi-screen levels on home computers . Wanted: Monty Mole won
6026-575: The Fleetway -produced Sonic the Comic . Tails has received widely positive reception. He was awarded "Best New Character" in Electronic Gaming Monthly ' s 1992 video game awards, stating "Not only is he as cute as Sonic, but he serves a major purpose in the game." IGN editor Lucas M. Thompson listed Tails as one of the Sonic the Hedgehog characters who should be in Super Smash Bros. Brawl , citing his importance in
6157-683: The MSX computer, it was subsequently ported to various platforms the following year, including an arcade video game version, NES , and ColecoVision . 1986 saw the release of the sequel to forward-scrolling platformer Antarctic Adventure called Penguin Adventure , which was designed by Hideo Kojima . It included more action game elements, a greater variety of levels, RPG elements such as upgrading equipment, and multiple endings . In early 1987, Square released 3-D WorldRunner , designed by Hironobu Sakaguchi and Nasir Gebelli . Using
6288-530: The Master System with Alex Kidd in Miracle World . It has horizontal and vertical scrolling levels, the ability to punch enemies and obstacles, and shops for the player to buy power-ups and vehicles. Another Sega series that began that same year is Wonder Boy . The original Wonder Boy in 1986 was inspired more by Pac-Land than Super Mario Bros. , with skateboarding segments that gave
6419-694: The Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985, became the archetype for the genre. It was bundled with Nintendo systems in North America, Japan, and Europe, and sold over 40 million copies, according to the 1999 Guinness Book of World Records . Its success as a pack-in led many companies to see platformers as vital to their success, and contributed greatly to popularizing the genre during the third and fourth generations of video game consoles. Sega attempted to emulate this success with their Alex Kidd series, which started in 1986 on
6550-482: The Sega Genesis in November 1992. Yamaguchi designed Tails as part of an internal competition to create a character to serve as a sidekick to Sonic. When his entry won the competition, Sonic Team wanted to name the fox Miles Prower; Sega of America resisted, presenting the name Tails at a board meeting, along with a backstory for the character highlighting the name to convince Sonic Team to acquiesce. A compromise
6681-440: The Sonic fanbase over the years. GamesRadar+ listed him as number one on their list of cutesy characters they wanted to beat up, stating that while he started as interesting, he led to the creation of other characters who "choked the life out the franchise". They cited him being a "know-it-all" in later games as to why they hate him so much. Official Nintendo Magazine listed him as the second-best Sonic character. Tails
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#17327914437946812-432: The Sonic series. IGN felt it was definitely a game worth buying and that it offered good design ideas. According to Games Master , the game was a reminder of why Sonic has lasted as long, calling the title "fast, frantic and, most importantly, fun". Platform game The genre started with the 1980 arcade video game Space Panic , which has ladders but not jumping. Donkey Kong , released in 1981, established
6943-575: The Sonic Colors: Rise of the Wisps miniseries. Since 2014, Tails has been voiced by Colleen O'Shaughnessey , including in the television series Sonic Boom and the two live-action films. In the 2022 Sonic short film, Sonic Drone Home , Tails is voiced by Alicyn Packard . In the Netflix series Sonic Prime , Tails is voiced by Ashleigh Ball . The character of Tails is portrayed as
7074-537: The virtual camera , it had to be constrained to stop it from clipping through the environment. In 1994, a small developer called Exact released a game for the X68000 computer called Geograph Seal , which was a 3D first-person shooter game with platforming. Players piloted a frog-like mech that could jump and then double-jump or triple-jump high into the air as the camera panned down to help players line up their landings. In addition to shooting, jumping on enemies
7205-428: The 2 Sonics to defeat the Time Eater. The feature to play as Tails was added to the 2011 enhanced port of Sonic CD . He later appeared as a co-op character in the second episode of Sonic 4 . Tails was added as a playable character in the enhanced port of Sonic the Hedgehog released in 2013 for mobile devices. The port also has the option to play the "Sonic and Tails" mode as well. Sonic and Tails end up facing
7336-564: The Chaos and Sol Emeralds, Sonic and Blaze transform into Super Sonic and Burning Blaze respectively, and battle the doctors. Over the protests of Eggman, Eggman Nega tries to destroy Blaze's planet as a last resort, but he is distracted by Marine, giving Sonic and Blaze an opening to defeat them, destroying the mech. Tails builds a craft that uses the power of both sets of Emeralds, as Sonic and Blaze promise to one day meet again. As Sonic and Tails set sail, Marine appears on her new boat, thanking Sonic and Tails and promising she will study to become
7467-512: The DS's stylus and travel to one of the islands using one of the four ships, each of which uses a different touchscreen -controlled minigame . Ships can be built using materials that are earned by completing levels. On different areas of Southern Island, players can talk to members of Marine's Coconut Crew, who will offer Sonic tips and additional missions as the story progresses. The game features 100 of these missions, with objectives such as completing
7598-430: The DS's touchscreen, featuring sea-travel minigames using the touchscreen, in addition to a new tutorial system. The musical score of Sonic Rush Adventure was composed by Tomoya Ohtani , Seirou Okamoto, and Mariko Nanba. The sound director was Teruhiko Nakagawa, who recruited the voice actors and made all the sound effects. The composers sought to preserve the style of music present in the original Rush while adapting to
7729-468: The Enchanted Castle , which was only modestly successful. That same year, Capcom released Strider in arcades, which scrolled in multiple directions and allowed the player to summon artificial intelligence partners, such as a droid, tiger, and hawk, to help fight enemies. Another Sega release in 1989 was Shadow Dancer , which is a game that also included an AI partner: a dog who followed
7860-412: The Hedgehog franchise, with players controlling Sonic or Blaze through a series of side-scrolling levels while collecting rings and defeating enemies. Sonic Rush Adventure deviates from prior games with its elements of sea travel, featuring boating minigames that take advantage of the DS's touchscreen . The game was programmed using an updated version of its predecessor's game engine . The game
7991-424: The Hedgehog into 3D. Their project, titled Sonic Xtreme , was to have featured a radically different approach for the series, with an exaggerated fisheye camera and multidirectional gameplay reminiscent of Bug! . Due in part to conflicts with Sega Enterprises in Japan and a rushed schedule, the game never made it to market. In the 1990s, platforming games started to shift from pseudo-3D to "true 3D," which gave
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#17327914437948122-527: The Jeweled Scepter. As Sonic attempts to stop Whisker from retrieving the Scepter, Blaze suddenly appears; she reveals to them that they have accidentally traveled to her dimension during the storm, and that she has been attempting to stop the pirates for some time. Whisker manages to escape with the Scepter, so Blaze and Sonic agree to work together and retrieve it. After searching, the group locates
8253-480: The Sega CD, appearing in the debug mode unlock screen. Tails makes an appearance alongside Sonic in the little-known arcade game, SegaSonic Popcorn Shop, a Japanese arcade game which also dispenses popcorn after playing the game. Tails made his third major appearance in the 1994 game, Sonic 3 (& Knuckles) , with the ability to pick up Sonic and use his tails to fly him to other areas rotating his tails like
8384-679: The Sonic the Hedgehog Level Pack of Lego Dimensions . He is also playable if the player uses the Tornado as Sonic to fly around the world. In the story mode for the Sonic level titled "Sonic Dimensions", Tails assists Sonic using the Tornado and his technological knowledge. In the hub world, Tails has a side quest for the player to aid him in disabling all of Eggman's roboticists. Tails is a supporting non-playable character in Sonic Forces , finding Classic Sonic and joining up with
8515-469: The United Kingdom press. Examples include referring to the " Super Mario mould" (such as Kato-chan & Ken-chan ) as platform games, and calling Strider a "platform and ladders" game. The genre originated in the early 1980s. Levels in early platform games were confined to a single screen, viewed in profile, and based on climbing between platforms rather than jumping. Space Panic ,
8646-581: The Wachowskis. Tails also appears in the first episode of Knuckles , voiced again by O'Shaughnessey. Tails, and alternative versions of himself, appear in Sonic Prime , all of them voiced by Ashleigh Ball , after Sonic shatters the Paradox Prism and the universe, creating alternative dimensions in the process. Several alternative Tails are created, one being Nine, who never met Sonic and
8777-455: The Year". Another term used in the late 1980s to 1990s was "character action games", in reference to games such as Super Mario Bros. , Sonic the Hedgehog , and Bubsy . It was also applied more generally to side-scrolling video games , including run and gun video games such as Gunstar Heroes . Platform game became a common term for the genre by 1989, popularized by its usage in
8908-529: The acrobatics evoke the movement that games such as Prince of Persia would feature. B.C.'s Quest For Tires (1983) put a recognizable character from American comic strips into side-scrolling, jumping gameplay similar to Moon Patrol . The same year, Snokie for the Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit computers added uneven terrain to a scrolling platformer. Based on the Saturday morning cartoon rather than
9039-415: The basis for the non-linear mission structure found in most open-world, multi-mission, sidequest -heavy games. Another Capcom platformer that year was Bionic Commando , which popularized a grappling hook mechanic that has since appeared in dozens of games, including Earthworm Jim and Tomb Raider . Scrolling platformers went portable in the late 1980s with games such as Super Mario Land , and
9170-461: The comic artists and cartoon artists eventually decided to change Tails' fur color to match his in-game appearance. Throughout the years, Tails has been voiced by several different voice actors. In the Japanese dubs, Tails was voiced by Hekiru Shiina in 1996, Kazuki Hayashi in 1998, Atsuki Murata from 2000 to 2001 and by Ryō Hirohashi since 2003. On Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog , Tails
9301-549: The console as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in North America, along with Super Mario World , while Sega released Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis . Sonic showcased a new style of design made possible by a new generation of hardware: large stages that scrolled in all directions, curved hills, loops, and a physics system allowing players to rush through its levels with well-placed jumps and rolls. Sega characterized Sonic as
9432-421: The criteria of a platformer, and was billed as an action adventure . It used true 3D characters and set pieces, but its environments were rendered using a rigid engine similar to the one used by Wolfenstein 3D , in that it could only render square, flat corridors, rather than suspended platforms that could be jumped between. Sega had tasked their American studio, Sega Technical Institute , with bringing Sonic
9563-419: The earlier Clockwork Knight . The game plays very similarly to 2D platformers, but lets players walk up walls and on ceilings. In 1995, Delphine Software released a 3D sequel to their 2D platformer Flashback . Entitled Fade to Black , it was the first attempt to bring a popular 2D platformer series into 3D. While it retained the puzzle-oriented level design style and step-based control, it did not meet
9694-521: The first award for Best Platform game in 1984 from Crash magazine. Later that same year, Epyx released Impossible Mission , and Parker Brothers released Montezuma's Revenge , which further expanded on the exploration aspect. The first platformer to use scrolling graphics came years before the genre became popular. Jump Bug is a platform-shooter developed by Alpha Denshi under contract for Hoei/Coreland and released to arcades in 1981, only five months after Donkey Kong . Players control
9825-541: The foreground and background, and the camera panning and curving around corners. Meanwhile, Pandemonium and Klonoa brought the 2.5D style to the PlayStation . In a break from the past, the Nintendo 64 had the fewest side scrolling platformers with only four; Yoshi's Story , Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards , Goemon's Great Adventure , and Mischief Makers —and most met with a tepid response from critics at
9956-475: The franchise's second game and has remained an important character since. However, the character's uniqueness was not established until Sonic the Hedgehog 3 , when players were given the power to control his flying (although the AI would make Tails fly when he would get off-screen). Tails was redesigned (along with all of the other Sonic characters ) by Yuji Uekawa for Sonic Adventure . His fur changed color to
10087-470: The game a greater sense of speed than other platformers at the time, while its sequel, Wonder Boy in Monster Land added action-adventure and role-playing elements. Wonder Boy in turn inspired games such as Adventure Island , Dynastic Hero , Popful Mail , and Shantae . One of the first platformers to scroll in all four directions freely and follow the on-screen character's movement
10218-443: The game beyond the simple platforming" that restricted previous Sonic titles, and used the DS's abilities well. IGN was pleased that the game continued the same gameplay of the original Sonic Rush , and called it a worthy successor. Some critics felt that the game innovated too little from the original. GameSpot felt Sonic Rush Adventure did not contribute to an overall improvement to Sonic Rush , although they still called it
10349-417: The game's climax, Sonic apologizes to Tails for doubting him. Tails forgives him and the two return home. He is a playable character in the video game Sonic Mania (Plus) , playing like his older incarnations along with Sonic, Knuckles, Mighty, and Ray. Tails appear as a playable character in the games Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric , Shattered Crystal and Fire & Ice . Tails were also featured in
10480-613: The game's theme of adventure; it also features elements of tropical and hip hop music . Sega first announced Sonic Rush Adventure on April 16, 2007, and revealed more information about it the following month. A demo version was playable at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in July 2007. Sonic Rush Adventure was first released in Europe on September 13, 2007, followed by North America on September 18, Australia on September 27, and Japan on October 18. It
10611-483: The game, pulling attention away from their hero". Tails has been featured on many lists. Maximum PC listed him as their third-greatest sidekick, and Maxim listed him as the eighth-most-underrated sidekick. Ranking him as the sixth-greatest, Mashable stated that Tails embodies the definition of a sidekick. Sonic and Tails were together ranked as ninth-greatest video game duo as unlike most Sonic characters, Tails has received consistently positive opinions from
10742-498: The gameplay from its precursor but traded the frog-like mech for a cartoony rabbit mech called Robbit. The title was successful enough to get two sequels and is remembered for being the first 3D platformer on a console. Rob Fahey of Eurogamer said Jumping Flash was perhaps "one of the most important ancestors of every 3D platformer in the following decade." It holds the record of "First platform videogame in true 3D" according to Guinness World Records . Another early 3D platformer
10873-522: The gameplay to the original Genesis games. According to the Official Nintendo Magazine , the game reminded them what made Sonic great in the first place, and called it a "a consummate experience". Nintendo World Report praised its varied level environments, and praised their large, non-linear design. They also spoke positively of the tricks system, making the game more lively. The boating minigames, wrote Pocket Gamer , "opens up
11004-457: The genre continued to maintain its popularity, with many games released for the handheld Game Boy and Game Gear systems. By the time the Genesis and TurboGrafx-16 launched, platformers were the most popular genre in console gaming. There was a particular emphasis on having a flagship platform title exclusive to a system, featuring a mascot character. In 1989, Sega released Alex Kidd in
11135-413: The genre, such as Super Mario Bros. (1985). Donkey Kong spawned other games with a mix of running, jumping, and vertical traversal, a novel genre that did not match the style of games that came before it, leaving journalists and writers to offer their own terms. Computer and Video Games magazine, among others, referred to the genre as "Donkey Kong-type" or "Kong-style" games. "Climbing games"
11266-545: The goal first. In Sonic Adventure 2 , he is featured in third-person-shooting segments, seated in his "Cyclone" mech. These stages, along with Dr. Eggman's shooting levels in the same game, were very similar to the E-102 Gamma levels of Sonic Adventure . In Sonic Adventure , he was given a theme song "Believe In Myself", of which another version appeared in Sonic Adventure 2 . Tails also appeared either as
11397-508: The graphics were smooth and considered it a good selling point. The 3D visuals, GameSpy stated, evoked memories of the classic Sega Genesis Sonic games and did not distract from the experience. IGN , however, made note of frame rate problems during the "messy" boss fights, even though GameSpot called them "a spectacle" and "remarkable". The music was also viewed positively; reviewers praised its upbeat, hip hop-style soundtrack as catchy and well-produced. Many critics favorably compared
11528-454: The levels were open and had objectives. Completing objectives earned the player stars, and stars were used to unlock more levels. This approach allowed for more efficient use of large 3D areas and rewarded the player for exploration, but it meant less jumping and more action-adventure . Even so, a handful of boss levels offered more traditional platforming. Until then there was no settled way to make 3D platformers, but Super Mario 64 inspired
11659-451: The main character new abilities for overcoming adversities. Most games of this genre consist of multiple levels of increasing difficulty that may be interleaved by boss encounters, where the character has to defeat a particularly dangerous enemy to progress. Simple logical puzzles to resolve and skill trials to overcome are other common elements in the genre. A modern variant of the platform game, especially significant on mobile platforms,
11790-489: The maze game, Namco's 1984 Pac-Land is a bidirectional, horizontally-scrolling, arcade video game with walking, running, jumping, springboards, power-ups , and a series of unique levels. Pac-Man creator Toru Iwatani described the game as "the pioneer of action games with horizontally running background." According to Iwatani, Shigeru Miyamoto described Pac-Land as an influence on the development of Super Mario Bros. . Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. , released for
11921-404: The moniker "Tails". Sega of America crafted a compelling backstory for the character to convince the Japanese parent company and Sonic Team to have him named "Tails". Yamaguchi ended up with a compromise, using "Miles Prower" as the character's real name; "Tails" would be his nickname, giving the character the full name of Miles "Tails" Prower. The character debuted as Sonic's tag-along partner in
12052-405: The more linear 3D platformers like Tork: Prehistoric Punk and Wario World used scripted cameras that limited player control. Games with more open environments like Super Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie used intelligent cameras that followed the player's movements. Still, when the view was obstructed or not facing what the player needed to see, these intelligent cameras needed to be adjusted by
12183-443: The most iconic sidekicks in gaming. Tails' likeness has been adapted in merchandise, as well as almost all Sonic the Hedgehog related media, spanning comic books , TV shows , and films . Colleen O'Shaughnessey portrays him in the live-action film franchise distributed by Paramount Pictures . Yasushi Yamaguchi , originally the main artist and zone designer for Sega 's Sonic Team , designed Tails for an internal competition for
12314-534: The new wave of consoles. In the latter half of the 1980s and early 1990s, the Amiga was a strong gaming platform with its custom video hardware and sound hardware . The Atari ST was solidly supported as well. Games like Shadow of the Beast and Turrican showed that computer platformers could rival their console contemporaries. Prince of Persia , originally a late release for the 8-bit Apple II in 1989, featured
12445-491: The pirates' hidden fortress and confront Captain Whisker and his first mate, Johnny. As the two are defeated, they attempt to escape to return the scepter to Doctor Eggman (their true leader), while Marine goes after them on her own. However, the pirates overpower her and take her hostage on their ship. Giving chase, Sonic and Blaze attack and defeat Whisker's strongest robot, the Ghost Titan, causing an explosion that sinks
12576-472: The planet to warn Sonic about Knuckles hunting him down to locate Master Emerald and teams up with his hero to find the Emerald first. He assists Sonic with his flight and various gadgets throughout their journey, culminating in them teaming up with Knuckles to stop Robotnik from conquering the universe. After they succeed, they agree to safeguard Master Emerald as they live together with Sonic's adoptive family,
12707-408: The platform-action game, Valis , which contained anime -style cut scenes . In 1987, Capcom 's Mega Man introduced non-linear level progression where the player is able to choose the order in which they complete levels. This was a stark contrast to both linear games like Super Mario Bros. and open-world games like Metroid . GamesRadar credits the "level select" feature of Mega Man as
12838-453: The play area, with the player's character moving between them as necessary. The game's setting is an archipelago of an alternate dimension from that of Sonic's. The main island of the archipelago is Southern Island, which houses the village that serves as a headquarters for Sonic and the others, known as Windmill Village. The player begins each adventure from Windmill Village on Southern Island. Players can plot their routes to each level using
12969-416: The play area. Nintendo 's flagship Super Mario Bros. (1985) was a defining game for the nascent genre, with horizontally scrolling levels and the player controlling a named character—Mario, which became a mascot of the company. The term platform game gained traction in the late 1980s, as did the alternate form platformer . During their peak of popularity, platformers were estimated to comprise between
13100-561: The player around and aid in battle. In 1990, Hudson Soft released Bonk's Adventure , with a protagonist positioned as NEC 's mascot. The following year, Takeru's Cocoron , a late platformer for the Famicom allowed players to build a character from a toy box filled with spare parts. In 1990, the Super Famicom was released in Japan, along with the eagerly anticipated Super Mario World . The following year, Nintendo released
13231-405: The player more control over the character and the camera. To render a 3D environment from any angle the user chose, the graphics hardware had to be sufficiently powerful, and the art and rendering model of the game had to be viewable from every angle. The improvement in graphics technology allowed publishers to make such games but introduced several new issues. For example, if the player could control
13362-1048: The player. In the 1990s, RPGs , first-person shooters , and more complex action-adventure games captured significant market share. Even so, the platformer thrived. Tomb Raider became one of the bestselling series on the PlayStation , along with Insomniac Games ' Spyro and Naughty Dog 's Crash Bandicoot , one of the few 3D games to stick with linear levels. Moreover, many of the Nintendo 64 's bestsellers were first- and second-party platformers like Super Mario 64 , Banjo-Kazooie , and Donkey Kong 64 . On Windows and Mac , Pangea Software 's Bugdom series and BioWare 's MDK2 proved successful. Several developers who found success with 3D platformers began experimenting with titles that, despite their cartoon art style, were aimed at adults. Examples include Rare 's Conker's Bad Fur Day , Crystal Dynamics 's Gex: Deep Cover Gecko and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver , and Shiny Entertainment 's Messiah . In 1998, Sega produced
13493-481: The resistance in opposing Dr. Eggman and Infinite. In Sonic Frontiers , Tails along with Amy and Knuckles are trapped in Cyberspace, with Sonic releasing their digital form from cages and they help him find the Chaos Emeralds and set them free. While having a moment with Sonic, Tails expresses his self-doubt and belief that he is a burden to Sonic who is always rescuing him during crises, and that his helpfulness
13624-439: The same year, which is a Metroid -esque platformer with RPG elements. Tails is also the star of Tails and the Music Maker for the Sega Pico . In later games, Tails had roles that require unique modes of play including Sonic Adventure , where he appears as one of the six playable characters. His gameplay is based around standard platforming stages, but the goal of each stage is to race against Sonic or Eggman to get to
13755-477: The sequel should be set on the high seas. As the original Rush centered around Blaze coming to Sonic's world, the writers decided to make the sequel center around Sonic and Tails becoming stranded in Blaze's world. Wondering who would meet the two first in this dimension and what would inspire their adventure, the designers created the character Marine. They also chose to give her an Australian accent, to make her have
13886-432: The series and his abilities. Tails is remembered for helping Sonic 2 become the highest-selling game for Genesis by allowing a second player to join the game. IGN editor Levi Buchanan stated that the fan response to Tails' introduction was favorable, which led to further introductions such as Knuckles however when Sega noticed the popularity of Tails, and later Knuckles , they "just kept stuffing new faces and names into
14017-416: The series, appearing in nearly every mainline and spin-off game since his debut. His role as Sonic's best friend and sidekick is analogous to Luigi from the Mario series. The name "Miles Prower" is a pun on " miles per hour ", a reference to the famed speed of Sonic the Hedgehog. Prower is a two-tailed anthropomorphic fox cub, hence the nickname. Tails made his debut in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for
14148-399: The ship. In the aftermath, Marine reveals she took back the Jeweled Scepter in the confusion, and Blaze returns the relic to its proper resting place. A furious Eggman takes matters into his own hands and steals the scepter. Upon discovering him, Eggman and his alternate-dimensional counterpart Eggman Nega , piloting a giant robot, begin their plot to turn Blaze's world into Eggmanland. Using
14279-424: The stage, while using features such as springboards and boost pads, and avoiding obstacles such as robots, spikes, and bottomless pits. In boss fights, players must defeat a large robot by jumping on its vulnerable spot to deplete its health meter. When completing a level, players are given a grade based on their performance; an "S" rank is the best, while a "C" is the worst. Both of the DS's screens are used to display
14410-418: The story was fun, but was too reliant on dialogue. The replay value polarized critics. Nintendo World Report wrote that the material collecting system was artificial and forced, and felt it "dampened" playability. Also noting this was GameSpot and Eurogamer , who called it repetitive and tedious, respectively. Of the game as a whole, Nintendo Power called Sonic Rush Adventure a "top notch" game in
14541-528: The story, or engage in multiplayer battles using DS Download Play or Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection . By deviating from the recommended objective on the Sea Chart, players can find hidden islands to explore and earn additional materials, as well as run into a robot pirate named Johnny. Finding Johnny will trigger a race between him and Sonic, with the player receiving one of the seven Chaos Emeralds if they are victorious. Blaze can earn Sol Emeralds by completing
14672-489: The time. Despite this, Yoshi's Story sold over a million copies in the US, and Mischief Makers rode high on the charts in the months following its release. The term 3D platformer usually refers to games with gameplay in three dimensions and polygonal 3D graphics. Games that have 3D gameplay but 2D graphics are usually included under the umbrella of isometric platformers , while those that have 3D graphics but gameplay on
14803-540: The top down perspective, Frogger (1981) as climbing games. In a December 1982 Creative Computing review of the Apple II game Beer Run , the reviewer used a different term: "I'm going to call this a ladder game, as in the 'ladder genre,' which includes Apple Panic and Donkey Kong ." That label was also used by Video Games Player magazine in 1983 when it named the Coleco port of Donkey Kong "Ladder Game of
14934-437: The video game industry internationally. The following year, Donkey Kong received a sequel, Donkey Kong Jr. and later Mario Bros. , a platformer with two-player cooperative play . It laid the groundwork for other two-player cooperative games such as Fairyland Story and Bubble Bobble . Beginning in 1982, transitional games emerged with non-scrolling levels spanning multiple screens. David Crane's Pitfall! for
15065-455: The visual flash of 3D with traditional 2D side scrolling gameplay. These games are often referred to as 2.5D. The first such game was Saturn launch title , Clockwork Knight (1994). The game featured levels and boss characters rendered in 3D, but retained 2D gameplay and used pre-rendered 2D sprites for regular characters, similar to Donkey Kong Country . Its sequel improved upon its design, featuring some 3D effects such as hopping between
15196-416: The visuals, and music, and some favorably compared the gameplay to that of the original Sega Genesis Sonic titles. Primary criticism was directed at the game's replay value (regarded as weak) and story (regarded as long and boring). Overall, reviewers felt it was a worthy addition to the Sonic franchise and a solid sequel to Sonic Rush , but also believed it innovated too little. Sonic Rush Adventure
15327-428: The way. These games are either presented from the side view, using two-dimensional movement, or in 3D with the camera placed either behind the main character or in isometric perspective . Typical platforming gameplay tends to be very dynamic and challenges a player's reflexes, timing, and dexterity with controls. The most common movement options in the genre are walking, running, jumping, attacking, and climbing. Jumping
15458-413: Was Floating Runner , developed by a Japanese company called Xing and released for PlayStation in early 1996, before the release of Super Mario 64 . Floating Runner uses D-pad controls and a behind-the-character camera perspective. In 1996, Nintendo released Super Mario 64 , which is a game that set the standard for 3D platformers. It let the player explore 3D environments with greater freedom than
15589-541: Was a playable character from the second controller and could be chosen as player one for the main game, though he did not possess the ability to fly. Sonic Chaos (1993), on the Game Gear/ Master System was the second game where the player could control Tails and the first time the player could control his flight, this changed some elements of gameplay. Tails also made a minor cameo in Sonic CD for
15720-505: Was a primary way to attack. This was the first true 3D platform-action game with free-roaming environments, but it was never ported to another platform or released outside Japan, so it remains relatively unknown in the West. The following year, Exact released their follow-up to Geograph Seal . An early title for Sony's new PlayStation console, Jumping Flash! , released in April 1995, kept
15851-461: Was bullied throughout his life. He became bitter and isolated as a result, and created seven artificial tails for himself as weapons. He is initially distrustful of Sonic but eventually warms up to him. Other versions are the feral and seemingly unintelligent Mangey and the pirate mechanic Sails. In print, he is a supporting character in the Comics -produced Sonic the Hedgehog comic series as well as
15982-714: Was designed to make greater use of the DS's touchscreen and was inspired by various adventure-themed works. Although the majority of the game is played in 2D, character models and boss fights are rendered in full 3D. Sega released the game worldwide in September 2007 and in Japan in October 2007. Sonic Rush Adventure is also the first Sonic game published by Nintendo , which released the game in South Korea in 2009. Sonic Rush Adventure received generally positive reviews. Critics highlighted its presentation, particularly
16113-573: Was due to the occasional use of "bugger" in the dialogue, which is a curse word in the United Kingdom . The game was given a new 3+ rating after this word was removed from the UK release. According to review aggregation website Metacritic , Sonic Rush Adventure received "generally favorable" reviews. The game was released in the wake of the 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog reboot , which was critically derided ; GamesRadar stated that Rush Adventure
16244-450: Was eventually reached, leaving Miles Prower as the fox's name and Tails as his nickname. Tails is characterized in Sonic media as a good-natured mechanical genius and skilled pilot, possessing the ability to fly by spinning his tails similarly to the rotor blades on a helicopter rotor . Most media depicts him as having been bullied at a young age for his intelligence and twin tails, until he met and befriended Sonic. He looks up to Sonic as
16375-532: Was found in any previous game in the genre. With this in mind, Nintendo put an analog control stick on its Nintendo 64 controller, a feature that had not been seen since the Vectrex but which has since become standard. The analog stick provided the fine precision needed with a free perspective. In most 2D platformers, the player finished a level by following a path to a certain point, but in Super Mario 64 ,
16506-438: Was indication that the series still had some life in it. The visuals and presentation were praised. IGN admired the improvements made to the original's graphics and effects, and noted the fluid character animations and attention to detail. The game made good use of the DS's capabilities, according to GameSpot , with transitions between 2D and 3D making the levels more exciting. Nintendo World Report agreed: they wrote that
16637-855: Was originally voiced by Russi Taylor in the unaired pilot, Christopher Stephen Welch would later take over and voice the character throughout the entire series, excluding the Christmas special where he was voiced by Chris Turner. He was then voiced by Bradley Pierce in Sonic the Hedgehog and then by Lainie Frasier in Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie . Corey Bringas would voice Tails in Sonic Adventure and Sonic Shuffle. His brother, Connor Bringas, would voice Tails in Sonic Adventure 2. William Corkery would then take over in Sonic Heroes. Beginning in 2003 with Sonic X , he
16768-405: Was released in South Korea on September 17, 2009. Sega published the game in all regions except South Korea, where Nintendo handled publishing. This makes Sonic Rush Adventure the first Sonic game published by Nintendo. To promote the title, Sega created an Adobe Flash browser game that allowed users to demo the boating minigames. The game originally received a 12+ rating from PEGI . This
16899-418: Was the first game to allow players to jump over obstacles and gaps. It is widely considered to be the first platformer. It introduced Mario under the name Jumpman. Donkey Kong was ported to many consoles and computers at the time, notably as the system-selling pack-in game for ColecoVision , and also a handheld version from Coleco in 1982. The game helped cement Nintendo's position as an important name in
17030-540: Was used in Steve Bloom's 1982 book Video Invaders and 1983 magazines Electronic Games (US)—which ran a cover feature called "The Player's Guide to Climbing Games"—and TV Gamer (UK). Bloom defined "climbing games" as titles where the player "must climb from the bottom of the screen to the top while avoiding and/or destroying the obstacles and foes you invariably meet along the way." Under this definition, he listed Space Panic (1980), Donkey Kong , and despite
17161-457: Was voiced by Amy Palant who would later take over the role in the video games, starting with Shadow the Hedgehog in 2005. Palant was replaced by Kate Higgins in 2010, beginning with Sonic Free Riders . She continued to voice the character until 2013, where her final role as Tails was in Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games , though she reprised her role in 2021 for
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