Doctor Eggman - in Video Games

In Video Games

In the majority of video games set in the Sonic the Hedgehog universe, Eggman has served as the main antagonist. Most of the Sonic video games that were released before 1998, the year in which Sonic Adventure was released in Japan, featured Eggman as the final boss that the player fights at the end of the game. Eggman also appears as a boss who the player must confront at the end of almost every level in most of the 2D Sonic games, and in Sonic 3D. In each game in which he makes multiple appearances as a boss, Eggman fights the player using a different machine each time he appears. In most of the 2D Sonic games, the player had to hit Eggman eight times in order to defeat him and move on to the next level or next boss. In most three-dimensional Sonic games since the release of Sonic Adventure in 1998, Eggman may serve as a boss at one or more points in the game, although he usually does not serve as the final boss. Many of the final bosses in these more recent Sonic games were former allies of Eggman who then betrayed him, while others were a third party that had no connection with Eggman whatsoever. Eggman has often formed temporary alliances with Sonic and others to help them defeat these foes.

Dr. Eggman debuted in the 1991 Mega Drive/Genesis platform game Sonic the Hedgehog, where he attempted to collect the six Chaos Emeralds and hoped to turn all of the helpless animals inhabiting South Island into robots under his control, Sonic manages to defeat Eggman and returns peace to South Island.

He returned in the immediate sequel, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, where he once again sought the Chaos Emeralds, of which there were now seven in order to create the Death Egg, a huge, orbital space station in order to achieve world domination. He attacked West Side Island, turning its animals into robots . He was intercepted by Sonic and his friend Tails who saved the animals and retrieved the Chaos Emeralds before the evil scientist. Sonic raided the Death Egg, defeating Robotnik again and sending the Death Egg crashing back to Earth.

In 1993's Sonic the Hedgehog CD, Eggman, along with his latest creation, Metal Sonic, travels to Little Planet in search of magical gems called Time Stones that have the power to control the passage of time. In both endings, Eggman is seen flying away with a Time Stone, but is shot down by a rock thrown by Sonic.

In Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles (both released in 1994), following the events in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Eggman's Death Egg crash-lands onto Angel Island, causing critical damage to the ship. While repairing the space station, Eggman meets Knuckles the Echidna, whom he tricks into thinking Sonic and Tails are villains after the powerful Master Emerald that Knuckles protects with his life. In truth, Eggman intends to steel the Master Emerald in order to power the Dealth Egg. Knuckles steals the Chaos Emeralds from Sonic and hinders the hedgehog throughout his journey. But Eggman is again defeated when Sonic rushes to the Launch Base Zone and prevents the Death Egg from re-launching. Eggman manages to steal the Master Emerald during a fight between Sonic and Knuckles and gets the Death Egg into space once again. With help from now-friend Knuckles, Sonic is able to chase the madman into space and Sonic completely destroys the Death Egg. Eggman makes one last chance to escape with the Master Emerald, but is defeated by Hyper Sonic, and his ambition once again thwarted.

Other two-dimensional games released before 1998 that Eggman appeared in include Sonic Chaos, Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble, Sonic Blast, and Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure, as well as the 8-bit renditions of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

In Sonic Adventure, Eggman learns of a legendary monster trapped in the Master Emerald, Chaos, and seeks out the Master Emerald. Upon finding it, he shatters it, freeing Chaos in the process. Eggman's goal is to control Chaos and obtain the Chaos Emeralds, which he can feed to Chaos so that it transforms into its most powerful form, using its destructive powers to conquer the world. However Chaos turns against him and intends to collect the Choas Emeralds for itself. Towards the end, Eggman teams up with the heroes to defeat Chaos from destroying the world. Like other characters in the series, Eggman was redesigned.

Sonic Adventure 2 marks Eggman's first appearance as a playable character in the game. Eggman revives the antihero Shadow the Hedgehog from dormancy. Shadow, knowing Eggman's desire to rule the world, agrees to help him by using the Eclipse Cannon aboard Space Colony ARK. In the last story, Eggman aids Sonic in trying to stop a fail-safe put in place by his grandfather, Gerald Robotnik, which set the colony on a crash course with Earth.

In Sonic Heroes, Eggman creates a series a battle ships called the Egg Fleet which he plans to take over the world in 3 days. He is believed to be the main antagonist for the most of the game, but it is discovered that he was captured by his own creation, Metal Sonic, who disguised himself as Eggman as part of a larger evil plan.

In Shadow the Hedgehog, Eggman is an opportunist who tries to gather the Chaos Emeralds in the middle of the alien invasion. He ends up sending his robots to help stop the alien menace in the end. As Shadow interrogates Eggman for information regarding his past, he is met with taunts from Eggman, who claims that Shadow is one of his androids. In some of the possible endings, Shadow accepts being an android and seemingly kills Eggman. However, in the true ending during Shadow's fight with Black Doom, Eggman admits that he was lying.

In the 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog game, Dr. Eggman kidnaps the princess of Soleanna, who harbors the Flames of Disaster within her, in order to control time. Once again, he is forced to assist the heroes during the last act, much like previous games. In this game, he was given a realistic human appearance; this new look for Eggman has not been used since, as his physical appearance was back to what it looked like in Sonic Adventure in his later appearances.

Eggman also appears in Sonic and the Secret Rings as Shahryār of Persia.

Eggman appeared in Sonic Rush and Sonic Rush Adventure, where he is once again the main antagonist, alongside a parallel version of himself called Eggman Nega. Eggman also appeared in Sonic Rivals and Sonic Rivals 2, with Eggman Nega appearing as the main villain. Eggman is also a playable character in the Sonic RPG, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood.

In Sonic Unleashed, Dr. Eggman is one of the two main antagonists in the game, along with Dark Gaia. Eggman tricks Super Sonic into a trap and uses his energy to power a giant laser cannon, which fires into the Earth and shatters it into pieces, freeing the beast contained within; Dark Gaia. He spends most of the game collecting Dark Gaia's power as well as fighting Sonic with various machines, and much like the original games, flies off in his Egg Mobile when defeated. Unlike many previous games, Eggman actually assumes control of his plans at the end of Sonic Unleashed by creating Eggmanland and makes no effort to join forces with Sonic to stop his own plans once they have spiraled out of control. Still, Eggman suffers a defeat when he gives Dark Gaia a single order and is shot into the atmosphere by the creature.

In Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I (set between Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles and Sonic Adventure), Sonic goes traveling on his own, not knowing Eggman survived the destruction of the Death Egg in Sonic and Knuckles. The doctor remakes his old Badniks, and improves them to destroy his old rival once and for all. Eggman is the main boss in this game and its direct follow-up, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II.

In Sonic Colors, Eggman claims to be seeking forgiveness for his past transgressions, and attempts to make amends by opening up a theme park within the Earth's orbit. However, it becomes clear that the park is merely a front for Eggman's true intentions, which involve harnessing the energies of the alien Wisps for his own use; specifically, a mind-control cannon which he plans to use in order to take over the universe. Unlike most 3-dimensional Sonic games, Eggman is the final boss, piloting an Eggmobile protected by the Egg Nega-Wisp. After his defeat, he ends up being sucked into his theme park which has transformed into a black hole when the negative energy backfires, consuming the entire park. After the credits, Dr. Eggman is seen out in space inside the Eggmobile along with his two robot assistants Orbot and Cubot stating he has his revenge plan laid out.

In Sonic Generations, Eggman appears in both his modern design and his original design. After his defeat in Sonic Colors, while in space, Eggman comes across a being known as the Time Eater and, after somehow converting it into robotic form, attempts to use its time powers to reverse all of his past defeats at the hands of Sonic. By using the Time Eater, however, he causes rifts in time to open, bringing Sonic, Tails and Himself to meet their classic counterparts. Eggman works together with his past self to attempt to vanquish Sonic once and for all. During the game, they serve as the Classic Era, Modern Era, and final bosses. Each fights with a different mech: Classic Eggman with the Death Egg Robot from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (In the handheld version, he used the Big Arm mech from Sonic the Hedgehog 3), Modern Eggman with a redesigned Egg Dragoon from Sonic Unleashed (In the handheld version, he used the Egg Emperor from Sonic Heroes), and together with the Time Eater. Unfortunately for the duo, the Time Eater is defeated when both Classic and Modern Sonic become Super and, in a post-credits cutscene, both doctors wind up stranded in White Space with no apparent way out, leading Classic Eggman to suggest obtaining their teaching degrees once they escape. Modern Eggman agrees to this as he mentions that he "always enjoyed telling people what to do", although it is unknown if this was a joke or if they were serious.

In Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball, a pinball-themed game, Dr. Robotnik seizes Mount Mobius and turns it into a mechanical base, setting up an elaborate pinball mechanism to keep the Chaos Emeralds safe.

Eggman has also appeared in "2.5D" isometric platformers; in Sonic Labyrinth, he secretly replaces Sonic's famous red shoes with the new "Slow-Down Boots," which take away his ability to jump or run fast, and in Sonic 3D, he turns innocent Flickies into robots in yet another search for the Chaos Emeralds.

Dr. Eggman is also a playable character in such games as Sonic Drift, Sonic R, Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Riders and its sequels Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity and Sonic Free Riders, Sega Superstars Tennis, and Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing. Eggman appears as a playable character in the crossover game Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. Dr. Eggman made a cameo appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a trophy. He appeared as a playable character in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, also as one of the two main villains (alongside Bowser) in the game's Adventure Mode (DS version only). Eggman and Bowser plan to make their own Olympic Winter Games by kidnapping the Snow Spirits. In the game's climax, the two villains act as the final bosses. Eggman also returns as a playable character in Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games whereas in the Nintendo 3DS version, he and Bowser return as the main villains in the story.

The only game as of yet to feature Dr. Robotnik as the central character is the 1993 game Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, a Puyo Puyo Tsu clone in which AoSTH's version of Robotnik, along with numerous bounty hunters seen in the first episode of the same show, attempts to rid all the fun and music on the planet Mobius by kidnapping the citizens of one insignificant town and turning them into robots. Despite the fact that he is the title character, he is still the villain and is the final boss.

Sonic and the Black Knight is the only game in the entire Sonic franchise in which Dr. Eggman does not make an appearance and was not even mentioned. Despite this, one of the collectible items in the game, the Joker Card, has his logo on it, and the Legacy mission had his robots as enemies.