Sonic Colors

Sonic Colors
North American cover art
Developer(s)Sonic Team[a]
Publisher(s)Sega
Director(s)
  • Morio Kishimoto (Wii)
  • Takao Hirabayashi (DS)
Producer(s)
Designer(s)
  • Morio Kishimoto (Wii)
  • Takayuki Okada (Wii)
  • Yuka Kobayashi (DS)
Programmer(s)
  • Yoshitaka Kawabata (Wii)
  • Takashi Yamatani (DS)
Artist(s)Sachiko Kawamura
Writer(s)
Composer(s)Tomoya Ohtani
Kenichi Tokoi
Fumie Kumatani
Hideaki Kobayashi
Mariko Nanba
Naofumi Hataya[1]
SeriesSonic the Hedgehog
EngineHedgehog Engine
Godot (Ultimate)
Platform(s)
ReleaseWii, Nintendo DS
  • AU: November 11, 2010
  • EU: November 12, 2010
  • NA: November 16, 2010
  • JP: November 18, 2010
Sonic Colors: Ultimate
NS, PS4, Windows
  • WW: September 7, 2021
  • JP/AS: September 9, 2021
Xbox One
  • WW: September 7, 2021
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Sonic Colors[b] (known as Sonic Colours in the PAL region) is a 2010 platform game published by Sega. It follows Sonic's quest to stop his nemesis Doctor Eggman from enslaving an alien race and taking over the world. The gameplay is similar to prior Sonic games, with players collecting rings and defeating enemies; the camera perspective often switches from third-person to side-scrolling perspectives. The game also introduces Wisps, power-ups the player can use to increase attack power and reach new areas.

Development of Sonic Colors began in 2008, following the completion of Sonic Unleashed. Examining criticisms of past games, the developers made Sonic the only playable character and worked to balance speed and platforming; the Wisps were introduced to diversify the gameplay without slowing it down. Two versions of the game were developed: one for the Wii by Sonic Team, and one for the Nintendo DS by Dimps. The game was designed for a wider demographic than previous games, specifically children and fans of the Super Mario series. In anticipation of the game's release, Sega delisted several Sonic games with sub-average Metacritic scores to increase the value of the brand.

Sonic Colors received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its graphics, audio, soundtrack, gameplay and replay value, with many considering it a return to form for the series. However, some criticized its difficulty and multiplayer mode. It was a commercial success, selling four million copies. The Wisp power-ups introduced in Sonic Colors became a staple of the Sonic series.

A remastered edition of the Wii version, Sonic Colors: Ultimate,[c] was released on September 7, 2021, for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One as part of the Sonic series' 30th anniversary.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference canvas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).