The Tornado

The **Tornado** (トルネード *Torunēdo*?)is a vehicle that appears in the *Sonic the Hedgehog* series. It is Sonic the Hedgehog's beloved and trusty biplane, which he has owned since at least before the West Side Islandincident. Despite this, he freely allows Tails to use the Tornado as his own plane. During their many adventures together, Sonic and Tails have used the Tornado as their main air transportation for long-distance travels around the world or high-altitude flights. Usually, Tails is the one piloting it while Sonic stands on its top wing.

The Tornado is involved in regular in-game Zones usually set in the sky. It is known to be armed with projectile weapons such as machine guns and homing missiles. Having been shot down multiple times, the Tornado has been repaired or replaced with different variations of the biplane.

# Appearance

Early on, the Tornado was an old vintage biplane with a red fuselage and two grey main wings attached with a pair of poles on both sides. The red fuselage has a power plant with a grey tractor screw, small orange forward-pointing arrows close to cockpit, and the word "SONIC" written in white on both sides with stretchy F-letter labels underlining them. The cockpit has only one seat. Its empennage has two small horizontal stabilizers and one vertical stabilizer, the latter emblazoned with an emblem of a Bumper with wings. It also has three wheels, two under the lower main wing and one below the empennage. Occasionally, the Tornado has a custom booster engine on the bottom, which was tuned by Tails. This design has been reused in recent games, including *Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II*, *Sonic Lost World* and *Sonic Runners*, although with small changes such as short red ends on the wings and a yellow three-headed tractor screw.

The Tornado from *Sonic Adventure* onwards became more detailed with completely red wings and fuselage outlined with yellow and white lines. It also received a three-headed tractor screw and a black power plant. For this design, the cockpit has either one or two seats and a small windshield. Above the top wing and vertical stabilizer, the Tornado got emblazed with Tails' symbol, and behind the cockpit on the fuselage is the word "SONIC" written in white. The Tornado also got a small jet engine between the front wheels and machine guns on both sides of the fuselage.

# Features And Abilities

The Tornado's usual top speed is 450 kilometers per hour, but with a custom booster engine tuned by Tails, it can exceed the speed of sound. As shown in *Sonic & Knuckles*, the Tornado can also be fitted with a grappling tether for pulling larger objects behind it. In *Sonic Adventure*, the Tornado was also outfitted with homing missiles and a machine gun. In *Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II*, the Tornado can also perform a maneuver named the Tornado Boost where it spins horizontally while boosting through obstacles.

# Specifications

* Wingspan: 5.7m
* Length: 3.7m
* Height: 2.1m
* Primary engine: Twin Star, air-cooled, 12 cylinder, 780 horsepower (x1)
* Auxiliary machinery: Tails custom jet engine (x2)
* Armament: 7.7mm machine gun (x1), Homing missile (lots of them)
* Maximum speed:
	+ For main engine only: 450 km/h

When using auxiliaries: Beyond the speed of sound

# Sonic The Hedgehog 2

The Tornado was first introduced to the series in *Sonic the Hedgehog 2* (16-bit), under the ownership of Sonic. In the game's Japanese storyline, Sonic flies in it as he was trying to find new adventures after defeating Dr. Robotnik in the previous installment. He then discovers an island known as West Side Island and decides to land the plane there and relax. There, he also meets Tails for the first time.

In the game, the Tornado is featured prominently in Sky Chase Zone. The Zoneconsists of only one act with no boss to fight and the player can move the playable character on the top wing of the Tornado, piloted by Tails (or Sonic if playing as Tails). When the player moves forward, the Tornado follows him, but the player is able to fall off the biplane if he/she is moving too fast. When the player progresses to Wing Fortress Zone, the Tornado gets shot down by lasers while pursuing Dr. Robotnik and his flying battleship. After Robotnik gets away with space rocket, the Tornado rises up repaired and fitted with a custom booster engine. After reaching Robotnik's space rocket, the playable character jumps off the Tornado and hangs onto the rocket.

After the destruction of the Death Egg, Tails flies the Tornado without the custom booster engine to rescue Sonic as he is plunged from the sky (or the other way around). In the regular ending, a Flicky/Cucky herd is flying behind the biplane, while a Locky herd appears in the good ending with Super Sonic flying alongside the biplane.

# Sonic The Hedgehog 3 and Knuckles

The Tornado was featured in *Sonic the Hedgehog 3* and the lock-on continuation *Sonic & Knuckles* sporting the custom booster engine from the previous game. In the beginning, Sonic and Tails are seen landing on Angel Island after detecting a large Chaos Emerald energy reaction on it. While Tails lands the Tornado, Sonic transforms into his Super State and lands on the island himself. At the end of *Sonic & Knuckles*, if the player hasn't collected all of the Chaos Emeralds, Tails is seen catching Sonic from the sky with the Tornado (or vice versa if Tails is played) without getting the Master Emerald, which falls down to the ocean. When getting all of the Emeralds, the Master Emerald is caught using the Tornado's mechanical tether as the plane catches the respective character. Sonic and Tails then head to Angel Island and leave the Master Emerald on the island (where Knuckles later finds it), before continuing their journey to new distances.

In the ending of Knuckles' story, Sonic is seen saving Knuckles with the Tornado from the destruction of Sky Sanctuary Zone after his duel with Super Mecha Sonic Mk. II. If the player got all of the Chaos Emeralds with Knuckles, it is shown that Knuckles lands on the Tornado while also holding the Master Emerald. If all of the Super Emeralds were obtained, Knuckles is in his Hyper form during the scene. After this, Sonic brings Knuckles and the Master Emerald to Angel Island and leaves the island, which starts flying up or down, depending on whether all of the Emeralds were collected or not.

# Sonic The Hedgehog Triple Trouble

The Tornado appeared on three Special Stages in *Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble*, where Sonic or Tails has to pilot the biplane and collect a certain amount of Rings in the sky in order to face Fang the Sniper and then collect one of five Chaos Emeralds. Sonic and Tails are also seen riding on Tornado towards the sunset in the game's end credits.

# Knuckles Chaotix

The Tornado had made a brief cameo appearance in *Knuckles' Chaotix*. It appears only in the good ending and is shown in the background of the credit roll with Sonic on its wings and Tails as the pilot, hovering behind Knucklesand his crew.

# Sonic The Fighters

The Tornado appears briefly during the opening demo of *Sonic the Fighters*, as Sonic and Tails arrange the tournament to win the Chaos Emeralds in order to reach to the Death Egg II with the Lunar Fox shuttle.

In *Sonic Adventure*, its enhanced port *Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut*, and the 2010 remaster, the Tornado got an aesthetic redesign. When Dr. Robotnik escaped in the Egg Carrier, Sonic and Tails used the Tornado to pursue the villain.

In gameplay, the Tornado is used in Sky ChaseAct 1. This Sub Game involves shooting down robotic planes with the aircraft's machine guns and homing missiles. After the Act is completed, the Egg Carrier fires a giant laser which blows off the plane's right wings, making it spin out of control and crash. As Sonic and Tails are separated, the latter decides to find a Chaos Emerald and build the Tornado 2. The original Tornado also seen in the post-credits image after clearing Tails' story.

# Sonic Pocket Adventure

In *Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure*, the Tornado shares its appearance from *Sonic Adventure*. Sonic lands on to the Tornado's wing after Knuckles launches him up there from the Aquatic Relix Zone. In this game, the Tornado is featured in the Sky Chase Zone where it serves the same as it did in Sky Chase Zone in *Sonic the Hedgehog 2*.

After clearing the final boss of Last Utopia Zone, Tails saves Sonic with the Tornado after he falls down in the game's normal ending. In the extra ending, Sonic lands on the Tornado after clearing Chaotic Space Zone. The Chaos Emeralds will then appear around Sonic before dispersing.

# Sonic Advance

The Tornado's next appearance is in *Sonic Advance*. Sonic (or Tails if playing as Sonic) would fly it catching the player after finishing a Special Stage and after finishing the game with the normal ending without getting all Chaos Emeralds. After finishing The Moon Zone, Tails is also seen piloting the Tornado later as he is searching Sonic and discovers Super Sonic flying back into the earth's atmosphere.

# Sonic Rivals

In *Sonic Rivals*, although it is not known whether it was the Tornado or another variant of it, Tails used the Tornado to escort himself, Sonic and Knuckles to Meteor Base Zone to chase Dr. Eggman who fled there (who is actually Eggman Nega in disguise).

# Sonic Rush Adventure

In the opening cutscene of *Sonic Rush Adventure*, Tails and Sonic appear flying during a thunderstorm while searching for an anomaly. The Tornado appears to have been modified to fit two passengers, as Sonic sits behind Tails. The Tornado crashes after being hit by lightning and losing engine power, where it is then sucked into a cyclone and transported to the Sol Dimension. What happened to the Tornado afterwards is unknown, though it was presumably lost at sea following the storm.

# Sonic The Hedgehog 4 episode 2

In *Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II* and *Episode Metal*, the Tornado has its original look from earlier games with few slight changes. In these games, the Tornado was used by Sonicand Tails as their means of transportation when they began investigating Dr. Eggman's latest activities on the neighboring continent.

During the ending of *Episode Metal*, Metal Sonicnotices Sonic and Tails flying away in the Tornado and takes Tails' rocket to follow them. This is followed up in the opening of *Episode II*, where Sonic and Tails are landing in Sylvania Castle Zone Act 1 in the Tornado. The duo later used the biplane to chase down Eggman with his slightly damaged Egg Mobile at the beginning of Sky Fortress Zone Act 1 and during the boss act against Metal Sonic in the Metal Carrier. During the first and boss acts, the second player takes the control of the Tornado which can perform the Tornado Boost to break through wooden crate walls or attack the Metal Carrier. After the boss battle, Sonic and Tails again land on the Sky Fortress and start chasing after Eggman and Metal Sonic.

# Sonic Lost World

In the Wii U version, PC version and Nintendo 3DS version of *Sonic Lost World*, the Tornado returns with a slight redesign, appearing closer to its original incarnation while having sleeker edges. At the beginning of the game, Sonic and Tails used the Tornado to chase down Dr. Eggman in the sky, who had a capsule full of imprisoned Animals attached to the Egg Mobile. After Eggman dropped the capsule and had Sonic and Tails chase after it, he shot the Tornado's top wing, causing them to land on the Lost Hex. After defeating Zazz, Sonic meets with Tails who has repaired the Tornado.

In gameplay, the Tornado appears in Hidden World Zone 2, where the player can control the biplane with Tails piloting it and Sonic standing on the top wing. In this Zone, the player has to collect Time Bonuses and Dash Rings, and at the same time avoid getting hit by Badniks or edges of the cloud tunnels. Getting hit once will make the player loses all Rings and another will make the Tornado crash and Sonic will fall off into the clouds.

# Sonic Mania

In *Sonic Mania* and its expansion *Sonic Mania Plus*, sometime after Angel Island was saved by Sonic and Tails, the Tornado was used by the aforementioned duo to reach Angel Island in order to investigate an energy source. They later employed it for chasing after Doctor Eggman in Mirage Saloon Zone, accompanied by Knuckles. However, Knuckles got knocked off the Tornado when the Heavy Magician intercepted them, leaving Sonic and Tails to continue their hazardous trip through the air alone. Not long after, the Tornado got shot down by the Heavy Magician.

# Mario And Sonic At The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020

In the Nintendo Switch version of *Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020*, while stuck inside the Tokyo '64 gaming system, Sonic and Mario used a native version of the Tornado to reach the top of the Tokyo Tower and claim a Miracle Roll. Along the way, they used the Tornado to fight their way through an army of Badniks and Dr. Eggman himself.

In this game, the Tornado only appears during the "Tokyo Sky Flight" mini game, where it possesses a design based on its sprite appearance from earlier games in the *Sonic* series. Here, it is piloted by Mario while Sonic stands on the wings, and is used to combat the onslaught of Badniks and bosses. In gameplay, the Tornado can take five hits before being defeated. The number of hits it got left is indicated by the hearts in the upper left corner of the screen. Should the Tornado lose all its hearts, the player will fail the mini game. The player can steer the Tornado with the Control Stick and fire the Tornado's gunshots with . Holding  lets the player charge a powerful shot that can shoot through multiple Badniks. In addition, pressing  lets the Tornado perform a shockwave-generating loop. The shockwave from the loop will destroy incoming bullets and allow the player to maneuver quickly through the air. The loop's shockwave can also stun certain enemies momentarily and blow away the Bumper shields used by several enemies.

# Sonic Frontiers

In *Sonic Frontiers*, the Tornado appears with a new design mostly resembling its previous one from *Sonic Lost World*, but with an extra seat added behind the pilot's seat. At the beginning of the game, Sonic and Tails are setting their destination towards the Starfall Islands along with Amy Rose after being picked up separately on a isolated island, to find out the reason of Chaos Emeralds being drew to the location. As they are approaching closer to islands, the biplane begins to shake with Tails losing the control as he assumes it happening due the sudden atmospheric charge. With a large wormhole appearing in front of heroes, Tails and Amy in the Tornado become separated from Sonic by being sucked into the Cyber Space.

At the end of the adventure, the biplane is seen being maintained by Tails and Amy along with Knuckles in Kronos Island shortly after The End's defeat. As Sonic notes his friends having big plans after their adventure, all four heroes take off with Tails piloting the Tornado to perform a somersault in the mid-air, leaving the Skyfall Islands behind.

# Prototype Model

A prototype model of the Tornado 2 appeared early on in both Sonic's and Tails' stories in *Sonic Adventure*. The model looks nearly identical to the Tornado, but with a gray color scheme. Prior the events of the game, the prototype model was the latest aircraft built by Tails. After discovering a Chaos Emerald, Tails decided to use it as the power source for the prototype's propulsion system during a test run.However, the Chaos Emerald proved to not be fully compatible with the prototype model. As such, Tails lost control of the prototype model and crashed in Emerald Coast. Tails later finished the prototype after discovering another Chaos Emerald in Sand Hill, and he nicknamed the plane the "Tornado 2".

During the first playthrough of Sonic's version of Emerald Coast, the crash site of the prototype model serves as the Goal. In subsequent playthroughs and Trial mode, however, the prototype model is replaced with a Capsule.

# Tornado 2

During *Sonic Adventure* the Tornado gets shot down by the laser cannon of Dr. Eggman's Egg Carrier. After this accident, Tails headed back to his workshop and finishes the construction of his new blue-tinted experimental biplane, the **Tornado 2**. Unlike the original Tornado, it required a Chaos Emerald to function. Tornado 2 has been also capable of folding its wings into an X-shape to reach extreme speeds.

Tornado 2 has been frequently used and has made later appearances in *Sonic Heroes*, *Sonic Advance 3*, and *Sonic Riders*.

# Cyclone/Tornado 3

By *Sonic Adventure 2*, Tails had built the **Tornado 3**, which he primarily dubbed the "**Cyclone**." Unlike the previous Tornadoes, it is a monoplane and carries a large missile launcher behind the single seat. In addition to its default plane setting, the Cyclone can also transform into either a battle-ready mech walker or a car. The walker was Tails' main mode of transportation and offense in the game.

The Cyclone made minor appearances in *Shadow the Hedgehog*.

# Tornado-1

In *Sonic Unleashed*, Tails volunteers the use of his **Tornado-1** for the team's transportation. Not to be confused with the first Tornado, it is a completely new construction with a more notably streamlined and futuristic design. "Tornado 03" can be found inscribed near the rear, when the plane transforms during both of the Tornado Defense Acts of the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 version. The Tornado-1 also combines features of previous Tornado incarnations: the red paint job and outward construction of the original Tornado, the ability to transform into an X-shape like the Tornado 2, and the homing missiles found on the Cyclone.

# Sonic OVA

In *Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie*, the Tornado has the same design as its game counterpart in the early games in the *Sonic* series. In this media, it is Sonic and Tails main transportation across the unique surface of Planet Freedom.

The Tornado was used by Sonic and Tails to enter the Land of Darkness, although it got damaged in the process. Tails and Knuckleslater got it back to home, where it was repaired and used to go to the North Pole where was destroyed by a missile from the Egg Mobile.

# Sonic IDW Comics

In the *Sonic the Hedgehog* comic series and its spin-offs published by IDW Publishing, the Tornado possesses its design from the classic *Sonic* video games and *Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II*. Its past is virtually identical to its game counterpart's, up until after the events of *Sonic Forces*.

Sonic and Tails have used the Tornado on various occasions, such as attacking the Egg Fleet, chasing a Stealth Balkiry, and escaping Sunset City when it was besieged by Zombots.

# Sonic Movies

In the *Sonic the Hedgehog* film series produced by Paramount Pictures, the Tornado is a biplane used by Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles "Tails" Prower.

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