The Tornado[1] (トルネード[2]?) is a vehicle that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is Sonic the Hedgehog's personal beloved[2] and trusty biplane,[1][3] 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, due to the sheer trust of his best friend. 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, but vice versa events do happen.
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.
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[2] on the bottom, which was tuned by Tails.[2] 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.
From Sonic Adventure onwards, the Tornado 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 (about 280 mph), but with a custom booster engine tuned by Tails, it can exceed the speed of sound.[2] 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.
The Tornado made another small appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog CD, where Tails is seen piloting it in the background of D.A. Garden. The biplane is seen featured with other background characters and objects such as Dr. Robotnik in his escape pod, floating Metal Sonic, flying Flickies and Special Stage UFOs.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2[]
The Tornado was first introduced to the series in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, 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. 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 Zone consists 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 they are 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.
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 soon 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 managed to obtain all of the seven 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 this 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 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.
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 Knuckles and 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 gameplay, the Tornado is used in Sky Chase Act 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 blast from its cannon, 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 to replace it. The original Tornado also seen in the post-credits image after clearing Tails' story, now fully repaired.
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.
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 Sonic and 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 Sonic notices 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.
In the Wii U version, PCversion and Nintendo 3DSversion 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.[5] After defeating Zazz, Sonic meets with Tails who has repaired the Tornado.[6]
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.
In Sonic Mania and its expansion Sonic Mania Plus, sometime after Angel Island was saved by Sonic and Tails,[7] 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.
Brought to Angel Island's beach, the Tornado received some repairs from Tails, who managed to finish his work on it just as Sonic arrived. Dr. Eggman later came across the hedgehog's plane while the heroes were elsewhere, and upon seeing it, the doctor got an evil idea.[8] Boarding the aircraft, the villain used it to escape with the Master Emerald after he stole it without Knuckles seeing. When the echidna then saw the Tornado drag the giant gemstone through the sky, he believed, based on the fact that the plane belonged to Sonic, that the hedgehog was the one stealing the jewel.[9] Sometime after, Tails managed to get the Tornado back.[10]
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 after being picked up separately on a isolated island, to find out the reason of Chaos Emeralds being drew to the location.[11][12] 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.[13] 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 Starfall Islands behind.[14]
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.
In Sonic Runners, the Tornado makes an appearance as an S Rare Fly TypeBuddy called the RC Tornado. It is one of the smaller RC Vehicles that are available on the Premium Roulette. When the player gets hurt, the RC Tornado restores up to 1200 Rings and 1250 for the Fly Type character.
Sonic Runners Adventure[]
The Sonic Runners Adventure, the Tornado once again appeared as a RC Vehicle referred to as the RC Tornado. The RC Tornado can fly ahead for the next ten seconds, collecting Rings if the player's character is defeated. It does not work in boss battles. The RC Tornado can be bought for 2,500 Rings.
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 Speed Simulator[]
In Sonic Speed Simulator, the Tornado possesses its original design. In this game, it appears during the "Birthday Bash Event!", where it can usually be found parked near the starting point in Green Hill. Next to the Tornado is also an upside-down light blue and white fuel tank-based cone that is called "Tornado Fuel". This tank fills up for each Sky Ring that the players in the game collect from Green Hill. Once a total of one hundred Sky Rings have been collected, the player is given a notification that Tails has taken the Tornado for a flight. Tails can then be seen flying the Tornado around Green Hill for a while, occasionally dropping Rings for the player to collect. Afterwards, the Tornado will return to its landing point in Green Hill to refuel, which the player is then given a notification for. To make the Tornado fly again, another one hundred Sky Rings must be collected.
An unnamed blue and red floatplane with a pusher configuration appears in Sonic Spinball. In the opening cutscene, Sonic is shown riding on the wing as usual when the plane is shot down, depositing him into the waters outside Toxic Caves. Later, in the game's ending, Tails saves Sonic as he falls from the sky, while Dr. Robotnik falls to the remains of the destroyed Veg-O-Fortress.
In the 8-bit version of Sonic Spinball, the plane has another different design. Instead of a floatplane, it is a regular monoplane with a tractor configuration, it is predominantly silver and has the letter "S" emblazoned on the vertical stabilizer. In the opening, Sonic hangs from the plane's bottom rope as he infiltrates the fortress.
The Prototype of the Tornado 2 appeared early on in both Sonic 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.[15] After discovering a Chaos Emerald, Tails decided to use it as the power source for the prototype's propulsion system during a test run.[16][17] However, the Chaos Emerald proved to not be fully compatible with the prototype model.[18] 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".[19][20]
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.
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.
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.
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.
In Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, Tails has built a now land-based iteration of the Tornado series called the "Tornado Racer", capable of making fast turns with its short wing span. It was built with parts found after an attempted invasion by Dr. Eggman, and has a special move called the Tails Tornado capable of removing other vehicles and items on the path in front of him by summoning a miniature cyclone.
The Tornado Racer's engine output most likely was limited on purpose by Tails as if it were faster it would take off like a normal plane seeing as it already has enough speed to hover over the ground. This theory is further evidenced by the fact that when it gets launched off of a hill, it has a very slow descent suggesting its capabilities of flight. During Tails' Tornado, the Tornado Racer flies in the air along with the tornado that the technique creates.
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 Knuckles later 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.
In the Sonic X anime series, the Tornado was a biplane that originally belonged to Sonic. The vehicle was later found by Tails, who started tinkering with it and making some improvements. When Sonic later found painting his plane, he was pleased with the work and replied that he liked the new color. The duo would later go on to make use of the Tornado 2, which was later replaced with the X Tornado.
In the Sonic Boom series, the Tornado is a plane-like and futuristic vehicle created by a long-lost civilization known as the Ancients. In this media though, it bears a stronger resemblance to the Tornado 2.
After being abandoned for about a millennium, the Tornado was found by Team Sonic who used it during their adventure to stop Lyric the Last Ancient. However, the Tornado was seemingly lost when it sank into a frozen lake during a battle with Dr. Eggman's Burnbot.
In the Sonic the Comic series published by Fleetway Editions, the Tornado resembled its game counterpart for much of the comic's run until it adopted a color scheme akin to the Tornado 2 during the comic's adaptation of Sonic Adventure.
In this media, the Tornado served mostly as the Freedom Fighters' personal means of transport to the farthest corners of Mobius, but was equipped with no armaments and few tools.
In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, the Tornado originally resembled the Tornado 2, but would later come to resemble its game counterpart after reality was rebooted by the Super Genesis Wave.
An agile biplane, the Tornado was perhaps the most famous of the Knothole Freedom Fighters' vehicles. Tails took the position of the pilot, maintaining his place since the earliest versions of the Tornado. Armed with short range homing missiles, twin blasters and a massive thrust engine, it could take on even the fighters of the G.U.N. air force. Throughout the series, the Tornado went through many iterations.
After the Super Genesis Wave reset the multiverse, the Tornado became virtually identical to its game counterpart, although it remains a primary vehicle in the Freedom Fighters' air force.
In real life, there have been several aircraft with the name "Tornado": a variable wing fighter/bomber/electronic warfare aircraft series called the Panavia Tornado, two World War II-era fighter prototypes called the Hawker Tornado and XP-68 Tornado, and an early jet bomber called the B-45 Tornado.
The original Tornado's design does not seem to come from a specific aircraft; however, following its redesign from Sonic Adventure onwards, the Tornado 2 bears a striking resemblance to the Polikarpov I-153, a 1930s Soviet biplane fighter.
In the Sonic the Hedgehog serialized manga published by Shogakukan, Nicky's father, Paulie, who is a qualified pilot for the air mail, pilots a red biplane similar to the Tornado. Unlike the Tornado, Paulie's aircraft is also a seaplane.
The Tornado was originally intended to transform into an aircraft resembling a fighter jet at the end of Wing Fortress Zone to chase Dr. Robotnik's rocket. Due to time constraints and size limitations, the transformation was scrapped, and as a last resort a custom booster engine was attached to the underside of the plane instead.[21]
When the Tornado appears at the end of Wing Fortress Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, it has a custom booster engine attached to the underside, but this engine is gone in the game's cinematic ending. The engine is then back at the beginning of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and it reappears consistently in Sonic & Knuckles and Knuckles' Chaotix. However, it is not seen again in Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II.
In Knuckles' Chaotix, unused in-game sprites of Tails piloting Tornado exist in the game's code.
At the end of Sonic & Knuckles, the Tornado is shown with "SONIC" written in reverse due to it facing the opposite way it usually is. This is because the sprite is simply flipped horizontally, instead of entirely new sprite being created. This was fixed in Sonic Origins.
"Wing walking" is an actual stunt that is historically associated with biplanes.
In the Archie Comics series, the Tornado 2 appears in the Sonic Rush Adventure comic adaption, while the game version features the original red Tornado.
In Sonic Lost World, Tails is seen fixing the propeller of Tornado, even though before Dr. Eggman is seen shooting the top wing of the biplane.[6] Although it is possible that the propeller was damaged when the plane crash-landed.
A LEGO version of the Tornado appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog Level Pack in LEGO Dimensions. Its appearance is based on its design in Sonic Adventure. Upgrading it changes its design to the Tornado Racer, Tornado-2, and the Tornado used in the Genesis games.
The LEGO model, found in the Tails' Workshop and Tornado Plane LEGO set, resembles its design from Sonic Lost World the most.
↑Sega. "Story So Far". Sonic Mania Introduction Manual. Sega. p. 1. "Some time after saving Angel Island, Sonic the Hedgehog and his best friend, Miles "Tails" Prower, are relaxing when Tails picks up a strange energy reading far away. Though different from the Chaos Emeralds, the reading is remarkably powerful, and Tails convinces Sonic to join him to check it out. Sonic and Tails take off on the Tornado towards the source, but sure enough, the evil Dr. Eggman has detected it too! Now it's a race between Sonic and Eggman to get there first and figure out what mysteries it holds. However, Eggman has been busy: he's just unleashed a new team of elite Egg-Robos to handle his most important tasks. They're called the "Hard-Boiled Heavies," and they're about to reach the source of the signal first! It's up to Sonic, Tails, & their newest ally, Knuckles the Echidna, to defeat the Hard-Boiled Heavies, unlock the secrets of the energy source, and stop Dr. Eggman!"
↑Sonic Team (8 November 2022). Sonic Frontiers. PlayStation 5. Sega. Cutscene: Opening Cutscene. "Tails: We're coming up on the Starfall Islands. / Amy: How exciting! / Sonic: You tracked the Chaos Emeralds here, right? Let's find out what drew them here!"
↑Sonic Team (8 November 2022). Sonic Frontiers. PlayStation 5. Sega. Cutscene: Post-Credits Cutscene #1. "Sonic: So... that was fun. But I guess it's time we got moving. I know you all have big plans."
↑Sonic Team (9 September 1999). Sonic Adventure. Dreamcast. Sega. Area/Level: Station Square (Sonic's story). "Tails: Yep! I just happened to find one of the 7 Emeralds during one of my test flights. This thing has unlimited powers, ya know... So I figured, why not use it to power my plane."
↑Sonic Team (9 September 1999). Sonic Adventure. Dreamcast. Sega. Area/Level: Mystic Ruins (Tails' story). "Tails: The Tornado's not powerful enough. If I'm gonna get that Egg Carrier, I need to finish my prototype. It needs a Chaos Emerald to work! Looks like I'd better find one, fast!"
. Holding 
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.
