Sonic the Werehog



Sonic the Werehog (ソニック・ザ・ウェアホッグ, 'Sonikku za Ueahoggu' ?) is Sonic the Hedgehog's bestial werewolf-esque form in the game Sonic Unleashed. Sonic was transformed into this form for the first time when Dr. Eggman used a machine to painfully suck out the power of the Chaos Emeralds from Super Sonic, with which Eggman would fire a specialized laser weapon at the planet, releasing and awakening the creature known as Dark Gaia from the core of the planet and in the process, due to his close proximity to the Chaos Emeralds, some of Dark Gaia's energy infested his body, causing his transformation. Sonic only transforms at night because that is the only time of day when Dark Gaia can move about and affect people. When transforming into the Werehog (or transforming back to normal), a light and a cloud of purple smoke envelops him.

Sonic the Werehog features a different gameplay than Sonic's normal form. He attacks with his arms and fists, which can stretch out and punch his foes. In Werehog Stages, Sonic loses his speed and must fight through swarms of enemies with his new fists. Rather than using a counted number of rings, Sonic uses a health bar, where collecting rings refills the bar. Aside from the usual ability of Sonic being able to race down ramps throughout the levels, in Werehog form you must get across gaps in a tightrope walking fashion.

Sonic retains most of his normal abilities and personality in this form as well as the ability to speak, though with more of a growl than normal. It appears, however, that Sonic gains some minor bestial behavior while in this form, as he howls like a real werewolf at the start of a night stage, during the Dark Gaia Phoenix boss fight, or upon getting an A-Rank. He can also run on all fours like a real wolf and fight in a more ferocious way than his normal self. Therefore, it can basically just be considered a darker, more feral form of Sonic rather than as a split-personality monster like other interpretations of werewolves. Despite this, however, Sonic the Werehog still has Sonic the Hedgehog's good heart. This is primarily due to his will, which is too strong for Dark Gaia to affect in any way.

Before the final showdown with Dark Gaia, Dark Gaia re-absorbed its remaining power that Sonic had incidentally taken at the start of the game, stripping Sonic of his Werehog form for good.