Sonic Heroes

Moby ID: 11564
PlayStation 2 Specs
Buy on GameCube
$23.50 used on Amazon
Buy on PlayStation 2
$14.10 used on eBay
Buy on Windows
$29.99 used on Amazon
Note: We may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made via eBay, Amazon and GOG links (prices updated 9/29 9:59 PM )

Description official descriptions

Sonic Heroes is a 3D action-platformer in which the player takes control of a team of 3 characters, each with a special ability - speed, fly and power. The objective of the game is to race through levels as quickly as possible whilst defeating enemies and collecting rings. Your time, rings and enemies defeated make up a point system, and more points mean a higher rank on the level. There are 4 teams of characters each with their own changes to the gameplay:

  • Team Sonic is the intermediate difficulty featuring Sonic (speed), Tails (fly) and Knuckles (power).
  • Team Shadow is the hard difficulty featuring Shadow (speed), Rogue (fly) and E-123 Omega (power).
  • Team Rose is the easy difficulty featuring Amy (speed), Cream (fly) and Big (power).
  • Team Chaotix features new mission-based objectives with Espio (speed), Charmy (fly) and Vector (power).

The game features 4 modes:

  • Story Mode, giving players the opportunity to play through levels as the story progresses.
  • Challenge Mode, giving players the opportunity to replay levels that they have previously cleared in Story Mode
  • Battle Mode, a multiplayer mode where players can race or battle each other
  • Tutorial Mode, teaching players the basics of playing the game.

Spellings

  • ソニックヒーローズ - Japanese spelling
  • 索尼克英雄 - Chinese spelling (simplified)
  • 소닉히어로즈 - Korean spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Videos

See any errors or missing info for this game?

You can submit a correction, contribute trivia, add to a game group, add a related site or alternate title.

Credits (PlayStation 2 version)

189 People (176 developers, 13 thanks) · View all

President
COO
Product Marketing Manager
Director of Product Development and Localization
Localization Producer / Assistant Product Marketing Manager
Senior Media Manager
Creative Services Manager
Public Relations Manager
Director of Quality Assurance
Offshore Project Manager
Senior Release Manager
Build Engineer / PC Project Coordinator
Supervisor
Design Coordinator
Layout Designer
Editor / Layout Designer
Marketing Consultant
Sega Ex-Patriot
Producer
Director
Art Director
Main Programmer
Main Game Designer
Sound Director
Player Designer
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 70% (based on 48 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.5 out of 5 (based on 91 ratings with 11 reviews)

4 teams and 12 high speed characters!

The Good
This game is a great game but the Adventure ones for Sega Dreamcast and Nintendo Gamecube had more different game play. The graphics are good, the gameplay is great, Team Chaotix is the best. The sound is great, Crush 40 music is in this game. This has speed, fly and power.

The Bad
The bad thing is that when you finish a team, in the cinema, you can't view the credits, you need to play through Egg Fleet on story mode. Also we need treasure hunting again. Team Chaotix may be similar but it isn't the same.

The Bottom Line
Good graphics, good gameplay, good music. So go and buy it or at least rent it.

GameCube · by knuckles-rox (8) · 2005

Sonic in 2D = good. Sonic in 3D? Disappointment!

The Good
The smooth graphics used in the movies of this game were great because they were fluid and smooth. At most points, the story was interesting and left you wanting more. Many characters (although it is more accurate to say 'groups of characters') and various unlock-ables were good.

The Bad
Although the quality of graphics are good, the detail to which they were used was quite sad. For example, knuckle's hand consisted of an oval sphere with three miniature spikes sticking out. That's something that you would expect to find in the previous gaming generation, but surely not in this one. Also, although the motion was fast and action-packed at some times, it went so quick you simply could not catch up - for example; on most levels you would run up and down massive loops but by the time you realize where you were, you have already been attacked by a group of enemies.

If all this is not enough - the most baddest thing is the lack of variety! Looking back, I only remember there being 4-6 types of enemies without any variation. Wow, such creativity!

The Bottom Line
I really think Sonic and his crew belong in the 2D world. He should stick to consoles like the GameBoy Advance or Nintendo DS, where he is more suited. Sure, Sonic is Sega's biggest mascot, but he just clearly does not belong in 3D until a time when interest in him was been revived. Sonic is Sega's mascot, just like Halo is to X-Box, but it seems that Sonic is no longer wanted - or needed. Sonic was the biggest thing to ever land on Sega's black little box, and that's probably why this game was so disappointing - it simply had to much to live up to. I only advise Sonic fans to buy this game.

PlayStation 2 · by Reborn_Demon (127) · 2007

Far better then many give it credit ...

The Good
I've read the many reviews both here and on other websites, and from personal experience with the as well, I can tell you it is far better then many give it credit. Sure, it has its problems, but there are plenty of positives that come out of the experience as well.

For one, it introduces a new play mechanic to the series, using three characters instead of the usual one in order to solve the awaiting puzzles and wizz through the arenas. Each of the different teams are the same design wise (one is used for speed, the second power and the third flight), and swapping between the three during play adds an element of strategy to the game, something that is rarely used in such a game.

Graphically, this has to be the best looking Sonic title so far. The earlier levels may not show off that much, but once you get into the later half of the game, the levels start to improve in detail and hark back to the early Sonic games design wise (especially Casino Park, that recreates the pinball like Vegas levels from the original Sonic games of old). In fact, the game has an amazing sense of speed, and those that hang around long enough will enjoy the hectic rush.

The Bad
There are areas of the game that just seem rushed, including the multiplayer mode that is simply tacked onto the disk. The music score is the old school rock pieces that seem to be a staple of this franchise, but to me it is getting real old, nothing like the more amusing and entertaining scores of Mario Sunshine or Jak II.

The control scheme takes a little getting used to at first, swapping between the three characters at will. But stick with it, as once you get the hang of things you'll be flying along.

Lastability is also a factor. The 14 levels on offer are fairly long, but at the speed at which you are going, they fly by quickly and without much fuss. Still, there are other teams to play as, so there's the added incentive to try again a few times.

The Bottom Line
So despite what some people might say, this is not the worst Sonic game ever made, and is far and away the best 3D rendition of the franchise from the three made so far. It is certainly the only title to really capture the speed and excitement that the 2D Sonic's had, that's for sure.

It has its problems, and there are the usual camera and bug errors, but overall Sonic Heroes is still well worth a play, and it is a step in the right direction for the future of Sonic in 3D.

GameCube · by Kartanym (12413) · 2006

[ View all 11 player reviews ]

Trivia

Milestone

This was the first Sonic game to be released on multiple platforms (Nintendo GameCube, Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox) simultaneously.

Team Chaotix

Team Chaotix is made up of three of the main characters from Knuckles' Chaotix.

PlayStation 2 version

The PlayStation 2 version is infamous for being poorly optimised and performing badly due to the weaker nature of the PS2's hardware when compared to the Xbox or GameCube. The PS2 version runs in 30fps with additional frame drops as opposed to the GameCube and Xbox's 60fps. The PS2 version also suffers from a lower draw distance and longer loading times. Another oddity exclusive to the American PS2 version is that, on menu screens, O acts as the primary "enter" button and X acts as the back button, similarly to how Japanese PlayStation games are controlled; the European version uses the correct button layout.

Analytics

MobyPro Early Access

Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings and price history! (when applicable)

Related Games

Sonic Advance
Released 2001 on Game Boy Advance, 2003 on N-Gage, 2011 on Android...
Sonic Riders
Released 2006 on PlayStation 2, Xbox, Windows
Sonic Frontiers
Released 2022 on Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One...
Sonic Advance 2
Released 2002 on Game Boy Advance, 2016 on Wii U
Sonic Origins
Released 2022 on Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One...
Sonic Advance 3
Released 2004 on Game Boy Advance, 2016 on Wii U
Sonic Adventure 2
Released 2001 on Dreamcast, Xbox 360, 2012 on Windows
Sonic Adventure
Released 1998 on Dreamcast, 2010 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Sonic Superstars
Released 2023 on Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One...

Related Sites +

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 11564
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

Contribute

Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by will.i.am.

PlayStation 3 added by Charly2.0. Windows added by Kabushi.

Additional contributors: Unicorn Lynx, Alaka, ~~, Grandy02, Rik Hideto, Deleted.

Game added January 4, 2004. Last modified July 16, 2024.