Buzz Bomber
| Buzzer | |
|---|---|
 Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games screenshot of Lakitu instructing the player to keep an eye on the Paratroopa and Buzzer formations in the Action & Answer Tour | |
| General information | |
| Species origin | Wasp |
| Variant of | Badnik |
| Appearances | |
| First appearance | Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Genesis) (1991, overall) Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games (2013, Mario-related media) |
| Latest appearance | Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 (2019, Mario-related media) mh:sega:Sonic Dream Team (2023, overall) |
Buzz Bombers are a wasp-based Badnik model from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. They made their first overall appearance in the original Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis, and made their first Mario-related appearance in Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
History
Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games
In Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, the Buzz Bombers (referred to as Buzzers) appear in the Action & Answers Tour. They appear in the "Midair Formation & Answer" event as midair objects to keep an eye on. Here, their design has been reused from Sonic Lost World.
As the player plays out the Ski Jumping Large Hill event, they have to take notice of the midair formations the Buzz Bombers and Koopa Paratroopas progressively assume in midair as their character makes their way down from the Large Hill. The longer the player's character is in midair, the closer the Buzz Bombers and Paratroopas get to completing their formation. After the player has landed, they must then identify the formation the Buzz Bombers and Paratroopas were trying to assume out from four answer options. If answered correctly, the player's character earns 10 points, including any other contestant who gave the correct answer themselves.
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
In the Nintendo Switch version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the Buzz Bombers appear as enemies in the Tokyo Sky Flight mini-game. Here, their sprites are reused from the original Sonic the Hedgehog, although upscaled for the Nintendo Switch's dimensions.
Two variants appear during Tokyo Sky Flight: first, there are the standard blue Buzz Bombers that fly towards the player from one side of the screen and gradually fire at the playable characters before then flying away, there are the yellow Buzz Bombers that only fly a short distance away from the right side of the screen before quickly retreating. As the player progresses through the mini-game however, the Buzz Bombers will appear from more random directions and attack more relentlessly; the blue Buzz Bombers, for example, will gradually go from appearing from the right side of the screen and not attacking at all to appearing from both sides of the screen and firing rapid shots at the playable characters in quick succession. Regardless of their behavior, the Buzz Bombers are easily destroyed with one gunshot from the Tornado.
Some Buzz Bombers come equipped with Bumper shields that can protect them from the Tornado's gunshots. However, they can be knocked away with the Tornado's shockwave attack. Also, upon destroying a Buzz Bomber, the player receives points; blue Buzz Bombers grant 100 points each while yellow Buzz Bombers grant 500 points each.
Trivia
- The Buzz Bombers being mistakenly called Buzzers in Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games ironically makes them share the name as a variant of Buzz Bomber that appears in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
