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Tails (Sonic the Hedgehog)

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Miles "Tails" Prower[a] 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 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
Sonic the Hedgehog character
Classic (left) and Modern (right) Tails designs
First appearanceSonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992)
Created byYasushi Yamaguchi
Designed byYasushi Yamaguchi
Yuji Uekawa
Voiced by
In-universe information
Full nameMiles Prower
SpeciesFox
GenderMale

Tails made his debut in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for 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 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 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 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.

Concept and creation

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Line art of Miles "Tails" Prower by Yasushi Yamaguchi

Yasushi Yamaguchi, originally the main artist and zone designer for Sega's Sonic Team, designed Tails for an internal competition for a sidekick to Sonic. The character was inspired by a kitsune, a creature from Japanese folklore that could over time grow multiple tails.[7] The character was also meant to hold a "deep admiration for Sonic".[8]

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 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.[7]

The character debuted as Sonic's tag-along partner in 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).[9]

Tails was redesigned (along with all of the other Sonic characters) by Yuji Uekawa for Sonic Adventure. His fur changed color to 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;[10] the comic artists and cartoon artists eventually decided to change Tails' fur color to match his in-game appearance.

Voice portrayal

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Colleen O'Shaughnessey (pictured in 2022) has been the voice actress for the character in most English language media since 2014.

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.[1]

On Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails 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.[2] He was then voiced by Bradley Pierce in Sonic the Hedgehog and then by Lainie Frasier in Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie.[2][1] 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 was voiced by Amy Palant who would later take over the role in the video games, starting with Shadow the Hedgehog in 2005.[1] Palant was replaced by Kate Higgins in 2010, beginning with Sonic Free Riders.[3] 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,[3] though she reprised her role in 2021 for 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.[4] In the 2022 Sonic short film, Sonic Drone Home, Tails is voiced by Alicyn Packard.[5] In the Netflix series Sonic Prime, Tails is voiced by Ashleigh Ball.[6]

Characteristics

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The character of Tails is portrayed as a very sweet-natured, gentle, kind, comforting,[11] and humble fox.[12] As a longtime friend,[11] he admires Sonic[13] and dreams of being just like him.[14] He wants to prove that he can be counted on, and has fought Dr. Eggman and his robots without the aid of Sonic before.[15] He is fond of mint candy.[16] Despite overcoming most of his fears and becoming very bold, Tails remains keraunophobic.[16] Tails is not intended to be 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.[13] Coupled with his skills as an airplane pilot, he uses a biplane nicknamed "Tornado" to assist Sonic on their adventures.[17] Additionally, by spinning his two tails like a helicopter rotor, he has the unique ability to push himself through the air[11] to catch up with Sonic; however, this tires him quickly, hence his use of planes.[11] 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), 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.[18]

Appearances

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In video games

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Tails debuted in November 1992 with the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, playing the part of Sonic's sidekick.[19] He 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 the Sega CD, appearing in the debug mode unlock screen.[20] 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 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 the same year, which is a Metroid-esque platformer with RPG elements.[21] 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.[22] His gameplay is based around standard platforming stages, but the goal of each stage is to race against Sonic or Eggman to get to the goal first. In Sonic Adventure 2, he is featured in third-person-shooting segments, seated in his "Cyclone" mech.[23] 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 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 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.[24] He also takes a supporting role in Sonic and the Black Knight, portrayed as 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 a Spirit in the latter.

Tails appears as an unlockable playable character in Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania.

In other media

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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 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 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, the Wachowskis. Tails also appears in the first episode of Knuckles, voiced again by O'Shaughnessey.[25]

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 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 the Fleetway-produced Sonic the Comic.

Reception

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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."[26] 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 the series and his abilities.[27] Tails is remembered for helping Sonic 2 become the highest-selling game for Genesis by allowing a second player to join the game.[28] 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 the game, pulling attention away from their hero".[29]

Tails has been featured on many lists. Maximum PC listed him as their third-greatest sidekick,[30] and Maxim listed him as the eighth-most-underrated sidekick.[31] Ranking him as the sixth-greatest, Mashable stated that Tails embodies the definition of a sidekick.[32] Sonic and Tails were together ranked as ninth-greatest video game duo as unlike most Sonic characters, Tails has received consistently positive opinions from the Sonic fanbase over the years.[33] 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.[34] Official Nintendo Magazine listed him as the second-best Sonic character.[35] Tails was rated the third-most-popular character in the franchise, behind Sonic and Shadow, in an official poll from Sega in 2009.[36]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Miles Prower (Japanese: マイルス・パウアー, Hepburn: Mairusu Pauā), nicknamed Tails (Japanese: テイルス, Hepburn: Teirusu)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Miles 'Tails' Prower Voices (Sonic the Hedgehog)". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2021. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  2. ^ a b c "The REAL "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" Tails voice actor speaks up!". SEGAbits. 15 April 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-04-18. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  3. ^ a b c "SEGA Blog - Out of the Mouths of Hedgehogs". blogs.sega.com. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06.
  4. ^ a b "Sonic Boom". Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  5. ^ a b "New Sonic movie short, 'Sonic Drone Home', available to watch". May 24, 2022. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  6. ^ a b Griffin, David (October 27, 2022). "Sonic Prime: Exclusive Release Date and Character Posters Reveal for Netflix Animated Series". IGN. Archived from the original on October 30, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Harris, Blake J. (2014). Console wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the battle that defined a generation (First ed.). New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-227669-8.
  8. ^ "Interview With Yuji Naka: Creator of Sonic the Hedgehog". Sega. Archived from the original on June 5, 1997. Retrieved August 28, 2008.
  9. ^ "Smash It Up! - Sonic Team". October 2007. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
  10. ^ "Fieryfurnace". April 23, 2023. Archived from the original on June 10, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d Sega (1999). Sonic Adventure instruction manual, pp. 20
  12. ^ Sega (2004). Sonic Heroes instruction manual, pp. 7
  13. ^ a b Sega (2001). Sonic Adventure 2 instruction manual, pp. 8
  14. ^ Sega (2001). Sonic Advance 2 instruction manual, pp. 4
  15. ^ Sega of America. "Tails' official character profile from Sega of America". Sega of America. Archived from the original on 2009-02-17. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
  16. ^ a b Sega (1997). Sonic Jam, Sega Saturn. Sonic World's Character Profiles (in English)
  17. ^ Sonic Team. Sonic Adventure. Sonic: I'm just glad you're okay. What happened anyway? You're too good of a pilot to just crash like that. / Tails: That was a test run using a new prototype propulsion system. It's got a few bugs to iron out. / Sonic: Why not just use my plane, the Tornado?
  18. ^ Sega (2001). Sonic Advance instruction manual, pp. 9
  19. ^ James, Matt (February 24, 2021). "Why Tails Became the Ultimate Sidekick—and Star of Some of the Strangest Fanfic Around". The Ringer. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
  20. ^ Sonic Team (September 13, 1993). Sonic CD. Sega. Level/area: Debug mode unlock.
  21. ^ "Play Tails Adventure on Great Games Experiment". Archived from the original on February 22, 2010. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
  22. ^ "Sega of America". Sega.com. Archived from the original on 2015-05-28. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
  23. ^ "SONIC ADVENTURE 2". Sonicteam.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
  24. ^ "Sonic Unleashed E3 2008 Stage Show Demo". GameSpot.com. 2008-11-18. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
  25. ^ Petski, Denise (February 8, 2024). "'Knuckles': 'Sonic The Hedgehog' TV Spinoff Gets First Trailer & Premiere Date At Paramount+". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 3, 2024. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  26. ^ Electronic Gaming Monthly's Buyer's Guide, 1993, p. 20
  27. ^ Lucas M. Thomas. "Smash It Up! - Sonic Team - Wii Feature at IGN". Wii.ign.com. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
  28. ^ Workman, Robert (March 12, 2014). "15 Greatest Moments in Sonic the Hedgehog History". Prima Games. Archived from the original on March 17, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  29. ^ Buchanan, Levi (February 2009). "Where Did Sonic Go Wrong?". Archived from the original on 2011-08-31. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
  30. ^ "Thanks Buddy!: 25 of Gaming's Greatest Sidekicks". Maximum PC. 2011-11-22. Archived from the original on 2013-03-10. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  31. ^ Tweet. "The 10 Most Underrated Sidekicks Ever". Maxim. Archived from the original on 2013-01-14. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  32. ^ "The 15 Greatest Video Game Sidekicks of All Time". Mashable. November 18, 2013. Archived from the original on March 22, 2014. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
  33. ^ Thomas, Lucas M. (June 5, 2013). "Top 25 Gaming Duos". IGN. Archived from the original on January 11, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  34. ^ "Top 7... Cutesy Characters We Want to Beat the Crap Out of". GamesRadar+. 21 April 2008. Archived from the original on 2012-10-14. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
  35. ^ "Nintendo Feature: The best and worst Sonic characters". Official Nintendo Magazine. Archived from the original on 2014-10-08. Retrieved 2014-05-04.
  36. ^ "Official Popularity Poll results". sonic.sega.jp (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2009-12-15.
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