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Wisp (Sonic)

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Wisp
Sonic the Hedgehog series

A variety of Wisps as shown in the intro to Sonic Colors (Wii). From left to right: Cyan Laser, White Boost, Blue Cube, Pink Spikes, Sonic (not a Wisp), Purple Frenzy, Orange Rocket, Tails (not a Wisp), Green Hover (under Tails), and Yellow Drill.
First appearance Sonic Colors (2010)

Wisps (ウィスプ Uisupu?) are fictional extraterrestrial creatures in Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games. They debuted in the Wii/Nintendo DS game Sonic Colors in 2010, where Sonic can use them as power-ups while he rescues others from Doctor Eggman, who plans to use them for a mind control ray. Different forms of Wisps give Sonic different abilities, such as drilling underground, rolling along walls and ceilings, and blasting to extreme heights.

Wisps were added to Sonic Colors to offer alternate gameplay styles without adding other playable characters, and to encourage players to explore levels more than once. They have since appeared in two other Sonic games and a comic book based on Colors. The creatures and their integration into Sonic gameplay have received mixed reviews; generally, critics have praised the variety of gameplay styles they create, but criticized some control and pacing issues.

Design and characteristics[]

Wisps of Sonic the Hedgehog

The Wisps are a race of extraterrestrial creatures who live on a grassy, lush planet called Planet Wisp and on a few surrounding planets.[1][2] The mother of all other Wisps is a giant, pink one named Mother Wisp.[3] She created Planet Wisp and raised all of her children.[4] Wisps speak a common language that Sonic and his sidekick Tails cannot understand,[5] though in Sonic Colors, Tails builds a translation device.[6] Their Japanese and English name comes from a non-phonetic translation of a word in their language by Tails;[7] most other characters in the game simply refer to them as "aliens".[8][9]

Wisps are composed of an energy force called "Hyper-go-ons",[10] which they can use to give playable protagonist Sonic the Hedgehog elemental powers temporarily,[1] by phasing into his body.[11] They come in numerous breeds, each carrying one of many elemental powers known as "Color Powers".[1] When Sonic collects a Wisp, he can use its power once at will; however, he can only carry one at a time.[12] Types of Wisps have general personalities that match their powers; for example, Cyan Laser Wisps (for bouncing off surfaces) are scatterbrained and energetic, while Orange Rocket Wisps (for blasting rapidly into the air) are very emotional.[13]

Takashi Iizuka, head of long-time developer Sonic Team, stated in an interview that the Wisps were added to Sonic Colors to "expand and strengthen the platform action gameplay" without forcing the player to switch to other playable characters.[14] Another goal was to encourage players to revisit already-played levels; Sonic Team accomplished this by adding segments requiring certain types of Wisps to levels preceding their first appearances.[15] Sonic Team has been pleased with the Wisps so far, having noticed their popularity in Colors,[16] and Iizuka has said that he now considers them a staple in the Sonic series.[17]

Types[]

Name Details Colors (Wii) Colors (DS) Generations (Console/PC) Generations (3DS) Lost World (Wii U) Lost World (3DS) Forces Team Sonic Racing
White Boost Fills up Sonic's "boost gauge", which allows him to boost,[18] destroying enemies and obstacle walls[19] Green tickY[18] Green tickY[19] Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY Green tickY
Yellow Drill Allows Sonic to drill underground, finding otherwise inaccessible areas[20] Green tickY[20] Green tickY[20] Red XN Red XN Green tickY[21] Green tickY[21] Green tickY Green tickY
Cyan Laser Lets Sonic bounce rapidly off various surfaces[20] Green tickY[20] Green tickY[20] Red XN Green tickY[22] Green tickY[23] Green tickY[23] Red XN Green tickY
Blue Cube Turns blue coins into solid blue blocks and vice versa[20] Green tickY[20] Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY Green tickY
Green Hover Lets Sonic slowly hover and dash across paths of rings[20] Green tickY[20] Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY[24] Red XN Green tickY Red XN
Pink Spikes Allows Sonic to roll along walls and ceilings[20] Green tickY[20] Red XN Green tickY[25] Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY
Purple Frenzy Turns Sonic into a difficult-to-control demon that can chomp through obstacles[20] Green tickY[20] Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN
Orange Rocket Blasts Sonic to normally unreachable heights[20] Green tickY[20] Green tickY[20] Green tickY[25] Red XN Green tickY[21] Green tickY[21] Red XN Green tickY
Violet Void Scales up Sonic's density to black hole-like levels, causing him to absorb enemies, obstacles, and rings[26] Red XN Green tickY[26] Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY Green tickY
Red Burst Ignites Sonic, letting him double-jump and create explosions[27] Red XN Green tickY[28] Red XN Green tickY[22] Red XN Green tickY[29] Green tickY Green tickY
Indigo Asteroid Turns Sonic into a hovering celestial body that gathers surrounding objects into its orbit[30] Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY[30] Green tickY[30] Green tickY Red XN
Crimson Eagle Turns Sonic into a flying, eagle-like creature[21] Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY[21] Red XN Red XN Green tickY
Magenta Rhythm Bounces Sonic across paths of musical notes by having the player tap them on the Wii U's touch screen[31] Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY[31] Red XN Red XN Green tickY
Black Bomb Turns Sonic into a bomb that can roll over enemies and explode[32] Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY[32] Red XN Red XN Green tickY
Ivory Lightning Allows Sonic to ram quickly into enemies, attack them from a distance with electric shocks, and charge coils to advance through levels[16] Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY[33] Green tickY Green tickY
Gray Quake Turns Sonic into a slow-moving, heavy iron ball that can scale walls, destroy multiple enemies at once, and activate switches[16] Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY[34] Red XN Green tickY
Jade Ghost Turns Sonic into an invisible ghost, which enables him to move around without being visibly detected by opponents. Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY

Appearances[]

Sonic Colors Pink Wisp

Sonic uses a Pink Spikes Wisp in the Wii version of Sonic Colors to climb down a wall. The creature's remaining time for use is gauged on the bottom-left corner.

In Sonic Colors, antagonist Doctor Eggman builds an amusement park spanning the planets the Wisps live on,[35] under the pretense of making up for past transgressions. Suspicious, Sonic and Tails investigate,[36] and they rescue two Wisps from Eggman's henchmen Orbot and Cubot.[9][37] One of them, a talkative male White Boost Wisp named Yacker, tags along with Sonic and Tails during the game.[38] When Tails builds a translator,[6] Yacker tells them that Eggman is capturing Wisps;[39] it turns out that he is turning them into "Nega-Wisps" to fuel a mind control ray and control the universe.[40][41][42] Sonic frees Wisps from their confines in each level,[43] then uses several of them to defeat Eggman at the end of the game.[44] However, Eggman's mind control cannon malfunctions and creates a black hole, which sucks Sonic in until the Wisps combine their power to pull him out and neutralize the black hole.[45] Yacker frees the remaining Wisps, reverts them from Nega-Wisp form, thanks Sonic and Tails,[46] and leaves.[47] The DS version features Mother Wisp as a post-game boss, as she was corrupted by the Nega-Wisps' Hyper-go-ons. When Sonic defeats her, she reverts to normal,[48] also thanks Sonic and Tails,[3] and returns to Planet Wisp with her children.[49]

Wisps have also appeared in Colors adaptations. They are usable in the level "Planet Wisp" in Sonic Generations,[50] a game that revisits past titles in Sonic series history; this stage is a remake of Colors' stage of the same name.[51] The Sonic the Hedgehog comic series had a one-off Colors adaptation, in which the Wisps were featured.[52]

Wisps made a return in Sonic Lost World for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS in 2013. They bear little impact on the game's plot but offer alternate pathways through levels.[30][53] Both versions of the game require techniques such as tilting the Wii U gamepad or 3DS, as well as tapping and drawing shapes on the touchscreen.[30][54] Some Wisps return from Colors, but there are also several new additions.[30]

Reception[]

Critics have given mixed opinions toward Wisps and their integration into Sonic gameplay. In general, IGN's Arthur Gies called them "the big addition" to Sonic Colors, outshining its polished physics and controls.[1] Dave McComb of film magazine Empire called them "cutesy" and "strange".[55]

Positive attention has been directed at the variety of Wisps available in Sonic Colors and Lost World, and at the variety of gameplay styles as a result. Gies stated that "almost all of them add interesting quirks to Sonic's basic abilities."[1] Reviewing the Nintendo DS version of Colors, Tim Turi from Game Informer stated that "each adds an interesting new gameplay mechanic" to the game, singling out Violet Void as his favorite, and praised the ability to revisit old levels with Wisps unlocked afterwards,[26] a sentiment Gies agreed with.[1] GameSpot writer Mark Walton called them an "amusing aside" in Sonic Lost World.[21] Steven Totilo of Kotaku praised Lost World's shifting gameplay pace, citing the Wisps as something that provides this.[54] Nintendo Power's Steve Thomason identified them as "a truly interesting addition to the Sonic formula" amidst a series of missteps, and praised their "cleverly designed" variety. Thomason listed Yellow Drill as his favorite breed of Wisp and Purple Frenzy as his least.[20] Taylor Cocke of IGN praised the Wisps' variety and stated that they "fit amazingly well with the levels they're designed around."[30]

However, control and pacing aspects of the Wisps in general, as well as individual types, have been criticized. Reviewing Sonic Colors for the Wii, Gies opined that "for almost every useful ability there is a complete dud" and bemoaned the controls of Pink Spikes and Purple Frenzy.[56] Walton criticized Crimson Eagle, whose flight powers he considered imprecise.[21] Justin Speer from GameTrailers stated that the Wisps "don't really feel like they belong and often require you to figure out unintuitive motion controls."[53] Hardcore Gamer Magazine's review of Lost World stated that none of the Wisps make satisfying use of the Wii U's gamepad.[24] Chris Shilling of Eurogamer found them to "lead to clumsy touchscreen or gyro interludes that kill a level's pacing."[57] Danny Cowan of Joystiq and Joe Skrebels from Official Nintendo Magazine thought similarly, respectively singling out Magenta Rhythm and Black Bomb.[31][32]

See also[]

Portal icon Sonic portal
Portal icon Fictional characters portal


References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Gies, Arthur (November 8, 2010). "Sonic Colors Wii Review: Color us impressed.". IGN. http://www.ign.com/articles/2010/11/08/sonic-colors-wii-review. Retrieved March 24, 2014. 
  2. ↑ Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (DS). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Tails (translating Mother Wisp's speech): "I was so worried when our planets were pulled apart from one another.""
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (DS). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Tails (translating Mother Wisp's speech): "Thank you for helping my children. I am Mother Wisp.""
  4. ↑ Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (DS). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Tails (translating Yacker's speech): "Mama gave us life and raised us. She even made the planet we live on.""
  5. ↑ Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (Wii). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Tails: I wish I knew what you were saying, little guy. Or gal. Or whatever you are."
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (Wii). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Tails: Oh. I was reconfiguring my hand-held into a translator so I can understand this guy."
  7. ↑ Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (Wii). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Tails: He's from a race of beings called "Wisps.""
  8. ↑ Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (Wii). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Sonic (to camera): I'll just stick with aliens if that's OK with everybody."
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (Wii). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Cubot: Yee-haw! Git along, li'l aliens!"
  10. ↑ Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (Wii). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Tails: So anyway, these aliens are made up of a REALLY powerful energy source called Hyper-go-ons. It's inside of them ... It's their life source."
  11. ↑ Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (DS). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Tails: Whoa! He phased right into your body, Sonic! Are you all right?"
  12. ↑ Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (DS). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Tails: He also says only one colored Wisp will fit into the gauge at once, so to use its power again, you need to free another one."
  13. ↑ Sonic Colors (Wii) instruction manual, pp. 11–12.
  14. ↑ IGN Staff (October 10, 2010). "Sonic Team Talks Sonic Colours". IGN. http://www.ign.com/articles/2010/10/11/sonic-team-talks-sonic-colours. Retrieved March 25, 2014. 
  15. ↑ Gies, Arthur (June 16, 2010). "E3 2010: Sonic Colors Preview". IGN. http://www.ign.com/articles/2010/06/17/e3-2010-sonic-colors-preview. Retrieved March 25, 2014. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 "『ソニック ロストワールド』プロデューサーの飯塚隆氏インタビュー完全版＆最新画像を公開！" (in Japanese). Famitsu. August 10, 2013. http://www.famitsu.com/news/201308/10038174.html. Retrieved March 26, 2014. 
  17. ↑ Miguel, Diogo (August 6, 2013). "Iizuka: Color Powers will be standard in future Sonic games". SegaNerds (interview with Takashi Iizuka). http://www.seganerds.com/2013/08/06/iizuka-color-powers-will-be-standard-in-future-sonic-games/. Retrieved March 25, 2014. 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Sonic Colors (Wii) instruction manual, pp. 11–13.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (DS). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Tails: That'll take out bad guys and hard walls, even run on water!"
  20. ↑ 20.00 20.01 20.02 20.03 20.04 20.05 20.06 20.07 20.08 20.09 20.10 20.11 20.12 20.13 20.14 20.15 20.16 20.17 Thomason, Steve (November 2010). "True Colors". Nintendo Power (260): pp. 78–81. 
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 21.5 21.6 21.7 Walton, Mark (October 18, 2013). "A lost cause.". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/sonic-lost-world-review/1900-6415478/. Retrieved March 24, 2014. 
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Sonic Team. Sonic Generations (3DS). (Sega). Level/area: Planet Wisp. (November 22, 2011)
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Ponce, Tony (July 17, 2013). "Sonic has eagle powers in Lost World". Destructoid. http://www.destructoid.com/sonic-has-eagle-powers-in-lost-world-258283.phtml. Retrieved March 25, 2014. 
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 "Review: Sonic Lost World". Hardcore Gamer Magazine. October 30, 2013. http://www.hardcoregamer.com/2013/10/30/review-sonic-lost-world/60390/. Retrieved March 25, 2014. 
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Sonic Team. Sonic Generations. (Sega). Level/area: Planet Wisp. (November 1, 2011)
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 Turi, Tim (November 9, 2010). "Sonic Colors: Dimps Crafts Another Amazing 2D Sonic Game". Game Informer. http://www.gameinformer.com/games/sonic_colors/b/nintendo_ds/archive/2010/11/09/sonic-colors-ds-review.aspx. Retrieved March 24, 2014. 
  27. ↑ Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (DS). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Tails: Press and release B (A Y X) to jump while setting off explosions. Press and release B (A Y X) again in mid-jump to jump again."
  28. ↑ Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (DS). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Tails: Hmm, he's saying "Red Burst," but I don't really know what that means..."
  29. ↑ Sonic Team. Sonic Lost World (3DS). (Sega). Level/area: Windy Hill, Zone 2. (October 29, 2013)
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 30.4 30.5 30.6 Cocke, Taylor (September 23, 2013). "Sonic: Lost World: Why Slowing Down is a Good Thing". IGN. http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/09/23/sonic-lost-world-why-slowing-down-is-a-good-thing. Retrieved March 25, 2014. 
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 Cowan, Danny (October 18, 2013). "Sonic: Lost World review: Spin cycle (Wii U)". Joystiq. http://www.joystiq.com/2013/10/18/sonic-lost-world-wii-u-review-d6947e79/. Retrieved March 25, 2014. 
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 Skrebels, Joe (September 8, 2013). "Sonic Lost World preview". Official Nintendo Magazine. http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/54258/previews/sonic-lost-world-preview/?page=2. Retrieved March 27, 2014. 
  33. ↑ Sonic Team. Sonic Lost World (3DS). (Sega). Level/area: Tropical Coast. (October 29, 2013)
  34. ↑ Sonic Team. Sonic Lost World (3DS). (Sega). Level/area: Frozen Factory. (October 29, 2013)
  35. ↑ Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (Wii). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Eggman (over intercom): Welcome to Eggman's Incredible Interstellar Amusement Park, where you can enjoy five planets for the price of one!"
  36. ↑ Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (Wii). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Sonic: Because Eggman plus secretly built amusement park equals evil plot for us to foil."
  37. ↑ Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (Wii). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Sonic: I'm not sure what's goin' on, but I'm sure of what I'm gonna do!"
  38. ↑ Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (Wii). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Tails: Okay, he said his name is Yacker."
  39. ↑ Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (Wii). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Tails: Sure, so anyway, they are either being used for their magical powers by an evil man, or to make underwear to be worn by salad."
  40. ↑ Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (Wii). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Eggman: Me? I did nothing at all. Unless shooting him with my mind control beam that runs on alien energy counts as doing something to him."
  41. ↑ Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (Wii). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Eggman: And then I won't just control one little punk, but the whole universe."
  42. ↑ Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (Wii). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Sonic: Whoa. This is where he converts them into the strange... negative... aliens with the freaky energy."
  43. ↑ Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (Wii). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Sonic: Think I'll go check them out, and maybe save some aliens."
  44. ↑ Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (Wii). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Sonic: Thanks, but I had a little help during that last part."
  45. ↑ Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (Wii). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Sonic: This might not end well."
  46. ↑ Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (Wii). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Tails: Uh, he said, "thank you for saving us.""
  47. ↑ Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (Wii). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Tails: Oh great. He says, "goodbye, my friends. I have to go." Just when I got this thing working."
  48. ↑ Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (DS). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Tails: She's back to normal! That's great, Yacker!"
  49. ↑ Sonic Team. Sonic Colors (DS). (Sega). (November 16, 2010) "Tails (translating Yacker's speech): "I won't! Mama and I will head home now. Thank you for all you've done!""
  50. ↑ Scullion, Chris (November 24, 2011). "Sonic Generations Review: The game that teaches a new hog old tricks". Official Nintendo Magazine. http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/32614/sonic-generations-3ds-review/. Retrieved March 27, 2014. 
  51. ↑ Sterling, Jim (October 31, 2011). "Review: Sonic Generations". Destructoid. http://www.destructoid.com/review-sonic-generations-214666.phtml. Retrieved March 27, 2014. 
  52. ↑ "Sonic Colors" Sonic the Hedgehog 219 (November 2010), Archie Comics
  53. ↑ 53.0 53.1 Speer, Justin (October 18, 2013). "Sonic Lost World - Review". GameTrailers. http://www.gametrailers.com/reviews/uy405a/sonic-lost-world-review. Retrieved March 24, 2014. 
  54. ↑ 54.0 54.1 Totilo, Steven (October 18, 2013). "Sonic: Lost World: The Kotaku Review x2". Kotaku. http://kotaku.com/sonic-lost-world-the-kotaku-review-x2-1448002806. Retrieved March 24, 2014. 
  55. ↑ McComb, Dave. "Sonic Colors". Empire. http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?GID=755. Retrieved March 24, 2014. 
  56. ↑ Turi, Tim (November 9, 2010). "Sonic Colors: Sonic Drops The Ball Juggling The Second And Third Dimensions". Game Informer. http://www.gameinformer.com/games/sonic_colors/b/wii/archive/2010/11/09/sonic-colors-ds-review.aspx. Retrieved March 24, 2014. 
  57. ↑ Shilling, Chris (October 18, 2013). "Sonic Lost World review". Eurogamer. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-10-18-sonic-lost-world-review. Retrieved March 24, 2014. 

External links[]

  • Wisps at the Sonic News Network

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