Sonic the Hedgehog 2, came out on April 8, 2022, and was a big success, focusing more on his supporting cast. The upcoming Sonic Frontiers game, slated to come out for the holiday season in 2022, is pushing the characters into new situations. There's a new exciting future ahead of Sonic and his friends and this doesn't just include his famous friends either.
Plenty of non-player characters have helped Sonic over the years. While most of Sonic's friends have been playable at some point, many hang around on the non-playable side. These allies offer intense assistance and impeccable style. While some have been briefly playable, for the most part, these are the best full NPCs that Sonic has to offer.
Sonic Man
Sonic 06 is one of the most notorious games ever. It wasn’t only stuffed with glitches, but NPCs as well. The hub world of Soleanna was bursting with characters with optional missions. Of these, perhaps the most iconic and helpful was Sonic Man.
Also known as Sonicman, this character cosplayed as Sonic and offered some of the most fun side quests in the game. In Silver and Sonic’s stories, they can race against Sonic Man for small ring bonuses. This is relatively minor, but it offers a helpful bit of distraction and adds character to the world.
Omochao
Omochao is the go-to tutorial character for the Sonic series. He follows the protagonists in levels, explaining mechanics on the fly. It’s definitely helpful at times, which is why he’s become a staple character since Sonic Adventure. His lines can be more hint than tutorial, offering solutions to puzzles.
Omochao is also an item in some games, offering extra points when stood underneath. In Sonic Adventure 2’s battle mode and Sonic's rival-led game, Shadow the Hedgehog, he can be fired as a projectile. These are all useful abilities, but there is one drawback to Omochao. His voice is quite tinny and annoying.
Station Square Residents
Sonic Adventure was the first Sonic game to include larger hub worlds full of NPCs to explore. The game drops the player in Station Square, which is full of NPCs to interact with. These people didn’t just add a lot of character to the world, but also served as guides. The police NPCs, for example, would block off routes for easier navigation.
Plenty of the NPCs can give Sonic and his friends helpful hints. Mr. Know-It-All, a small child, provides hints about some of the game’s more advanced techniques. NPCs outside of Twinkle Park will inform the player about some of the level’s features. Little girls and fishermen will relay surprising information about caves and sewers that help players find neat Easter eggs.
Tails (Sonic 2 Single-Player)
Miles “Tails” Prower is an iconic second-player character, so it might be surprising to see him here. Everyone knows that Tails can be controlled by an AI, but it’s less fun than having a player control him. What few people remember is that in his debut, Tails was actually more useful as an NPC. His iconic ability to carry Sonic was actually only in single-player.
Tails flight is pretty unrestricted, especially in Sonic 2. This allows him to either carry Sonic over obstacles or onto higher areas of the map, allowing him to skip parts of the level. Future titles would allow the player Tails to do this, but it was unique to the computer version initially. Tails can also take hits, collect rings, and attack bosses, so this computer version is a huge help.
Flicky And Other Animal Friends
In 1984, SEGA released an arcade game called Flicky, which starred a small bird that had to rescue its friends. A blue animal that rescues other animals sounds like Sonic and possibly influenced him. Flicky then appeared captured in Sonic games among other animals. These give a point bonus when rescued, but in some games, they have even more utility.
The most famous role a Flicky has had is likely “Birdie,” a Flicky that serves an important role in Amy’s story in Sonic Adventure. Flicky and other animals also serve as weapons for Tails’ super form, lashing out to protect him. Sonic 3D Blast features Flickies as keys, required to progress in the game. Finally, all animal friends can be used in the Chao Garden to raise stats.
Yacker
Yacker is a friendly wisp who first appears in Sonic Colors. The wisps in that game are extremely good power-ups for Sonic the Hedgehog, but Yacker is also quite a character. Yacker’s the one who informs Sonic about the Wisps being captured, setting off the adventure. He also gives Sonic the ability to use the Boost.
White Wisps in general grant Sonic this ability, which causes him to rocket ahead quickly. That’s just in Colors, though, as Yacker also appears in other games. In Sonic Runners, Yacker can increase the length of item-based buffs. Yacker is a pretty helpful guy, as both an ambassador for the Wisps and a power-up.
GUN
One of the biggest surprises in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was seeing GUN, the Guardian Units of Nations. This organization appeared in the 3D titles starting with Sonic Adventure 2, sometimes as an enemy and sometimes as an ally. Initially, they suspect Sonic of wrongdoing and attempt to pursue him. In the following titles, they are much less antagonistic.
In Shadow the Hedgehog, it is possible to ally with GUN, earning the Commander’s approval and trust. Sonic 06 follows with GUN troops supplying Shadow with backup and supplies during his missions. In Sonic Chronicles, GUN is fully on the player’s side. Players can explore their base and buy items, like any town in an RPG.
Shahra
Sonic and the Secret Rings is a controversial game in the series, but what’s not controversial is Sonic’s partner in that game. Shahra is one of the best members of Sonic’s supporting cast, period, and she’s the genie of the ring from the famous 1001 Nights story. She brings the Sonic game formula into the fairy tale world of Arabian Nights to thwart her evil former love, Erazor Djinn.
Shahra’s Ring is worn on Sonic’s finger, and he can use it to get her to grant his wishes. Shahra has multiple utilities through her wishes, such as granting Sonic power-ups or new abilities. She can even give the player hints if they’re stuck in the game. Of course, these skills must be bought, but she’s still an invaluable ally on Sonic’s quest.
Tikal
Tikal is one of the more tragic characters in Sonic. She was a member of the Knuckles Clan and raised by her grandmother in the ancient ways of the Chao and Chaos. She possessed a skill at manipulating the magics of the Chaos and Master Emeralds. Unfortunately, in order to stop her warmongering father, she had to seal herself away within the Master Emerald.
Tikal has had a few playable appearances but is mostly a supporting character. In her debut, she appears as a floating spirit orb that guides the player throughout the levels. She also serves as a translator for Chaos and the Chao during the game’s events. In the following games, she serves as a guide to the Chao garden, although also makes infrequent playable appearances.
The Chao
The Chao are a race of adorable little helper spirits that populate the Sonic world. They’ve been playable a few times but mostly exist as supporting characters. They have appeared in hide-and-seek mini-games. They can provide materials that upgrade playable characters or extra lives in the Sonic Advance series.
The most famous individual Chao is Cheese, the companion of Cream the Rabbit that attacks enemies for her. Of course, the most famous role of the Chao is in the Chao Garden from the Sonic Adventure series. This was a virtual pet mode where players could raise Chao and enter them in competitions. While this provided players with items for single player, the thing that makes these Chao the most helpful is what reliable and consistent companions they’ve been across the series.