Sonic's speed

[Blacklightning]

To be honest I sometimes feel like Iizuka just makes shit up on the fly whenever the fanbase asks him specific questions like this, especially when they're impossible to prove in a gameplay environment. I mean, you don't even have to think too hard about it - your ability to see depends on the visible light spectrum, so you're literally flying blind if you move faster than it. Personally I wouldn't put too much stock into it - I just wish the fans would stop bugging the devs on a personal level unless it's actually their job to interact with them.

So uh... ask RubyEclipse instead then, I guess?

[Guest]

OBJECTION! Sonic's speed is actually immeasurable as stated by Sonic Team. If it's immeasurable he couldn't know. I think it's more likely that was just an estimation. If Sonic went at full speed all the time it would be way too dangerous. Super Sonic can fly which allows Sonic to move as fast as he wants without causing any destruction or it adds the ability to contain the velocity power inside which reduces destruction and can be released at any moment. But hey, I'm just saying

UH OH SHOTS FIRED

[Sega DogTagz]

Momentum based physics = potentially unlimited top speed.

Give him a long enough downhill strip and he'll keep picking up speed. Keep picking speed and the curvature of the earth turns into a perpetual downhill slope. Keep running and he'll either gravity slingshot into the next universe, or his infinite speed orbit will create a gravity sink that will end all life as we know it....

Who says math isn't fun?

 

Seriously though on another note, Sonic has always been depicted as being able to break the sound barrier, as described in many bio's and his constant habit of making Sonic Booms on command. That would mean that his speed in his base form would absolutely have to beyond the speed of sound. And that's even before you consider he does so more or less effortlessly. 500 mph is more of a cruising speed for him if anything.

I always took Super's description for light speed as more of a thematic thing. He's OP, thats all we need to know.

 

[Dantemustdie00]

To be honest I sometimes feel like Iizuka just makes shit up on the fly whenever the fanbase asks him specific questions like this, especially when they're impossible to prove in a gameplay environment. I mean, you don't even have to think too hard about it - your ability to see depends on the visible light spectrum, so you're literally flying blind if you move faster than it. Personally I wouldn't put too much stock into it - I just wish the fans would stop bugging the devs on a personal level unless it's actually their job to interact with them.

So uh... ask RubyEclipse instead then, I guess?

Yeah I feel like he's just making crap up too, that includes Sonic's speed cause it certainly doesn't seem like he moves THAT fast at all except in non-canon stuff like the comics or cartoons which powers are often exaggerated. Next thing he's gonna say is Sonic can vibrate his molecules through walls or create tornadoes by spinning his arms around, which at that point he'll be stealing from DC comic's Flash.

The Flash is the undisputed Fastest thing alive, nothing will ever top him, Sonic can't even do half the crap the Flash family can do with his speed, not without having to resort to using Chaos Emeralds, and even then, Flash still outspeeds him. (Through I always forget, which Flash was the fastest, Barry Allen or Wally West?)

 

[PerfectChaos]

Yeah I feel like he's just making crap up too, that includes Sonic's speed cause it certainly doesn't seem like he moves THAT fast at all except in non-canon stuff like the comics or cartoons which powers are often exaggerated. Next thing he's gonna say is Sonic can vibrate his molecules through walls or create tornadoes by spinning his arms around, which at that point he'll be stealing from DC comic's Flash.

The Flash is the undisputed Fastest thing alive, nothing will ever top him, Sonic can't even do half the crap the Flash family can do with his speed, not without having to resort to using Chaos Emeralds, and even then, Flash still outspeeds him. (Through I always forget, which Flash was the fastest, Barry Allen or Wally West?)

 

Sonic > Flash

#dealwithit

Edited September 27, 2015 by PerfectChaos

[Matthew]

I never thought I would be reading a competition between the Flash and Sonic the Hedgehog but the internet surprises me yet again

[Guest]

If they showed his true speed in gameplay, it would be too short, too easy to get rekt, and so many people would get motion sickness. They had to tone down Sonic 1 because they were getting motion sickness while playing

[Sega DogTagz]

Yeah I feel like he's just making crap up too, that includes Sonic's speed cause it certainly doesn't seem like he moves THAT fast at all except in non-canon stuff like the comics or cartoons which powers are often exaggerated. Next thing he's gonna say is Sonic can vibrate his molecules through walls or create tornadoes by spinning his arms around, which at that point he'll be stealing from DC comic's Flash.

Is it too late to point out that he's already done that crap in the comics?

He essentially is he Flash when S* hits the fan in the Archie-Verse. His speed and what he can do with it starts to get stretched pretty far. From vibrating his vocal cords to create sub-sonic whistles, to creating after images of himself capable of fooling tracking missiles... he's got a good chuck of the Flash's hitlist already. Might as well paint the guy red lol

 

The Flash is the undisputed Fastest thing alive, nothing will ever top him, Sonic can't even do half the crap the Flash family can do with his speed, not without having to resort to using Chaos Emeralds, and even then, Flash still outspeeds him. (Through I always forget, which Flash was the fastest, Barry Allen or Wally West?)

 

Don't most of the Flash's die when they go too fast though? What good is that kind of speed when using it has that kind of price tag.

 

 

 

I think that's one thing I've always liked best about Sonic. His limits are undefined. The second Sega tells us his top speed, is the second some other company will trot out a character that can run even faster, just to stick it in his craw. 

 

[Indigo Rush]

I always liked how Sonic's speed was defined as "speed of sound, probably faster though, we don't know", it leaves a bit of mystery as to Sonic's full potential, and also makes you wonder what's fueling that raw speed in the first place. Other 'Mobians' like Sonic are certainly fast (fast enough to run through giant loops at least), but Sonic clearly has an edge above the rest, and it's kinda fun to think about whenever he's racing another "speed" character, it's as if he's simply being nice and slowing down to give the rest a chance, and it barely leaves room for anyone aside from Shadow to truly rival him, since he has that whole "Chaos Control" ability. But then again, Sonic has it too... but he never really uses it anymore. Guess he just doesn't need to.

And then the Chaos Emeralds add even more undefined potential, basically giving Sonic physics defying-god powers. 

On the subject of Sonic's speed... anyone remember that Game Theory video?

There was a pretty nice rebuttal:

What do y'all think of this one?

 

[Dantemustdie00]

Those are some old Game Theory vids I don't remember them even covering that.

 

[Forte-Metallix]

According to this official profile, base!Sonic is faster than light:

Plus, at the end of Colors, he outran a black hole, something even light can't escape, using only his natural speed. (Until he ran out of footing or something)

Then again, Iizuka is the head-honcho of the series, so I suppose his word takes priority. (No matter how stupid or contradictory it is.)

[Sparky]

According to this official profile, base!Sonic is faster than light:

Plus, at the end of Colors, he outran a black hole, something even light can't escape, using only his natural speed. (Until he ran out of footing or something)

Then again, Iizuka is the head-honcho of the series, so I suppose his word takes priority. (No matter how stupid or contradictory it is.)

I was about to post that same official profile.

The only clear defined thing about Sonic's speed is that it is anywhere from "supersonic speed" to "absolute speed". If you ask me, he and the Flash are both tied for Fastest Things Alive out of every reality, but there are many people that disagree. I can't even use the credible canon evidence there is, such as that same profile or the statement from Colors DS that Omega said, because someone will try and find a way to demote my evidence as noncanon or uncredible or whatever. 

[Diogenes]

All this "speed of light" stuff, bah. I prefer Sonic's speed being something more...comprehensible. I mean, even ignoring how common conceptions of physics start to break down around light speed, there's just no need for a character to be able to go 880,000 times faster than the already superhuman faster-than-sound he can normally achieve. That's pushing things so far outside the realm of human experience as to be meaningless.

[Rey Skywalker-Ren]

Sonic can go up to 1100 hm/h as for Unleashed. Easy enough. 

[Sparky]

All this "speed of light" stuff, bah. I prefer Sonic's speed being something more...comprehensible. I mean, even ignoring how common conceptions of physics start to break down around light speed, there's just no need for a character to be able to go 880,000 times faster than the already superhuman faster-than-sound he can normally achieve. That's pushing things so far outside the realm of human experience as to be meaningless.

Putting a defined limit on Sonic goes against his freedom. He should have the freedom to go at any speed he wants. 

[Diogenes]

That's utter nonsense. Embodying freedom doesn't justify omnipotence.

[Komodin]

Putting a defined limit on Sonic goes against his freedom. He should have the freedom to go at any speed he wants. 

Honestly, I'd rather have a defined limit on Sonic's speed to better emphasize his creative freedom in how that speed is utilized. Limitless speed for the sake of it just risks making him look like a Gary Stu Flash ripoff.

[Sparky]

Cyan Laser wisps exist, so Sonic has to be faster than them to be the Fastest Thing Alive. I'm pretty sure they'd be able to move as fast as actual lasers, so Sonic kind of has to be faster than light.

Sonic Battle already shows Sonic is far more powerful than he lets on, so Sonic being able to move far faster than he usually does makes perfect sense.

[Rey Skywalker-Ren]

~Rolling around at the speed of sound~

 

But seriously hes the fastest thing alive. Thats enough 

[Indigo Rush]

Imposing limitations provide a means for a person to have an obstacle to overcome. It's what makes the character somewhat relatable.

A far more interesting situation, should we absolutely need to have Sonic capable of lightspeed in his base form, would be to emphasize how difficult it is for him to achieve it without the Chaos Emeralds. Breaking the sound barrier is impressive enough for a hedgehog, but for Sonic to surpass that by well over 880,000 times that should provide a challenge. See, there's never really enough of a runway for Sonic to go that fast apart from hydroplaning on the ocean perhaps, or one of those endless Special Stage halfpipes. And even then, running at that speed would probably tear him apart anyway.

He'd need to be truly invincible for that.

I wonder. We know that using the Chaos Emeralds is probably the only way he can even achieve that. And knowing that the Emeralds turn your wishes into reality, perhaps Sonic's wish is to travel at his absolute max without hurting himself or others around him, so this is made a reality by putting him into a god-like form that allows him to sidesteps the general laws of physics. Maybe?

 

[Forte-Metallix]

Maybe Sonic can exceed light-speed on his own, but doing so is a huge strain on his body.  He would only feel the need to push himself to his limit in absolutely dire circumstances, such as fighting Ultimate Emerl or outrunning the black hole at the end of Colors. Super Sonic has infinite stamina, so he can go as fast as he wants, and the Light-Speed Dash is essentially automatic.

[Diogenes]

Cyan Laser wisps exist, so Sonic has to be faster than them to be the Fastest Thing Alive. I'm pretty sure they'd be able to move as fast as actual lasers, so Sonic kind of has to be faster than light.

To put the technical objections first; the claim that the laser wisp power is as fast as an actual laser is unsubstantiated. It's fast, no doubt, but having laser-like properties does not guarantee it identical to a laser. It's also not clear how much control over their energy a wisp actually has; in spite of being incredible power sources, the wisps obviously weren't able to defend themselves against Eggman. It's possible that a laser wisp itself is not as fast as someone using its power.

But really, the problem is trying to prove that he can move at light speed simply because he's been called The Fastest Thing Alive. It's a title, not an absolute fact.

[Indigo Rush]

Okay if I might clear something up...

That was not a black hole at the end of Colors. That's an explosion of the Nega Wisp Energy:

While that's a massive thing to outrun, even if Sonic were surpassing the speed of light to escape it, he'd have already reached the Earth 1,000 times over in the time it took for him to reach the halfway point of the Terminal Velocity Zone, and remember, he didn't even really outrun it.

Now this is a black hole: (2:30)

Or to be more... correct, THIS is what a black hole is:

 

I know we're arguing over game logic, but I still think there's a distinction that can be made here.

 

 

 

I'm fun at parties, honest

[Bowbowis]

I'm not sure people understand just how fast the speed of light really is, to quote NASA on the subject:

"Light travels at a constant, finite speed of 186,000 mi/sec. A traveler, moving at the speed of light, would circum-navigate the equator approximately 7.5 times in one second. By comparison, a traveler in a jet aircraft, moving at a ground speed of 500 mph, would cross the continental U.S. once in 4 hours."

Source: https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/Numbers/Math/Mathematical_Thinking/how_fast_is_the_speed.htm

The speed of sound by comparison is roughly 0.211446403 mi/sec, or 761.207051 mph, which, although significantly slower than light speed, is still over 250 mph faster than a commercial airliner and an object travelling that speed would be capable of crossing the continental United States in around 2.6 hours. Furthermore the fastest member of the animal kingdom on record, the peregrine falcon, has be clocked at speeds of up to 200 mph, just over 1/4 the speed of sound, meaning that even with a top speed of mach 1 Sonic would still be the fastest thing alive by a wide margin.

Edited September 28, 2015 by Bowbowis

[Blacklightning]

While that's a massive thing to outrun, even if Sonic were surpassing the speed of light to escape it, he'd have already reached the Earth 1,000 times over in the time it took for him to reach the halfway point of the Terminal Velocity Zone, and remember, he didn't even really outrun it.

To be fair, if it's a black hole or anything that exerts a pulling force it's going to counteract Sonic's momentum either way - so even if he's running at lightspeed relative to everything else, the implosion creates constant drag that keeps him from breaking the light barrier literally and punching a hole through the next several planets once he runs out of track.

...there's a reason I don't go to parties.