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The Ball Hog[1] (トントン[2],Tonton?) is an enemy that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is a mass-produced, pig-based Badnik created by Dr. Eggman which throw or rolls bombs from their bellies.
The Ball Hog is a basic pink Badnik which resembles a real-life domestic pig, but is able to stand on two legs. It has two triangular ears on the head and a grey, thick snout. It has trotter hands and two mechanical legs. The Ball Hog's round belly is actually a door which can be opened with the attached handle. Ball Hogs in Sonic Lost World have cyan eye pupils.
Game appearances[]
Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)[]
In the 16-bit version of the original Sonic the Hedgehog, the Ball Hogs[1] (トントン[2],Tonton?) appear in Scrap Brain Zone Act 1 and 2. These Badniks are usually seen at the end of uphill hall sections.
In gameplay, Ball Hogs stand almost against the wall or the edge of a platform, jumping on both feet and dropping bombs which bounces down the path in front of them. The player has to jump over these bombs at the right time to dodge them. These Badniks are easily beaten with a Spin Attack-related move. Also, upon their destruction, they release an Animal and award the player with 100 points.
In the 8-bit version of the original Sonic the Hedgehog, the Ball Hogs are found in Scrap Brain Zone Act 2, and behave just like in the 16-bit version. Like the other Badniks in the game, they do not contain Animals. They are as well easily destroyed with a Spin Attack-related move, upon which they will reward the player with 100 points.
In the Wii U version and PCversion of Sonic Lost World, Ball Hogs appear as enemies. In this game, the Ball Hogs were redesigned to look more cartoonish. Also, aside from the regular Ball Hogs, the game introduces larger and golden variants, called Hell Tontons and Gold Tontons. During the game, Dr. Eggman's Badniks, the Ball Hogs included, got hijacked by the Deadly Six.
Regular Ball Hogs appear in Frozen Factory Zone 4, Silent Forest Zone 4 and Sky Road Zone 4. During the Ring Race mode, regular Ball Hogs are also encountered in Silent Forest Zone 2. These variants have the same attack pattern they had in the original Sonic the Hedgehog, where they throw exploding bombs at the player. The player can also easily defeat them with the Spin Jump or Focused Homing Attack.
When destroying a Ball Hog in any version of Sonic Lost World, it will release an Animal.
Sonic Mania[]
In Sonic Mania, and its expansion Sonic Mania Plus, Ball Hogs are enemies found in both Acts of Titanic Monarch Zone. In gameplay, they commonly stand on or near the edge of platforms, jumping on both feet and dropping bombs which bounce down the path in front of them. The player has to jump over these bombs at the right time to dodge them. These Badniks are easily beaten with an Spin Attack-based attack. Upon their destruction, Ball Hogs release an Animal and award the player with 100 points.
Powers and abilities[]
Ball Hogs have nasty surprises in their bellies. They will literally start open their belly hatches and throw bouncing bombs, which do not explode unless their foe touches them.
The Hell Tonton is a larger gray variant of the Ball Hog that attacks by jumping out of the background and destroying certain platforms. This Badnik has only appeared in the Wii U/PC version of Sonic Lost World.
The Gold Tonton is a stronger and larger gold variant of the Ball Hog that drops stronger bombs compared to their regular counterparts. This Badnik has only appeared in the Wii U/PC version of Sonic Lost World.
In the Sonic the Comic series published by Fleetway Editions, the Ball Hogs are a part of Dr. Robotnik's Badnik army. Depending on the artist, the Ball Hogs' design would differ between their appearances. In the latter half of the comic, they were also given wings, enabling them to fly.
In the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog television series, Ball Hog has a drastically different design, wearing a business suit and having a bird's beak instead of a pig snout, though he retained the ability to toss bombs. In this media, Ball Hog and his partner Roller were a part of Dr. Robotnik's "Or Else" Protection Service, who bullied mobians into paying them to not destroy their business. However, they were destroyed by Sonic. Later, Tails converted their remains into a waiter for Bert's Diner.
In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, the Ball Hogs were among the Classic Badniks, the first generation of Badniks produced by Dr. Robotnik, though they were eventually rendered obsolete by more advanced robots and got decommissioned.
Following the events of Worlds Collide, the Ball Hogs' history became nearly identical to that of their game counterparts.
In the Sonic X comic series published by Archie Comics, two digital Ball Hogs appeared in a simulation created by Dr. Eggman. While trapped in there, Sonic and Tails made short work of the Ball Hogs.
Merchandise[]
In 1994, the toy company Tomy released a Ball Hog figurine as part of a Sonic & Knuckles series of twenty figurines. In 2024, a 2.5″-sclae figure of Ball Hog was released by Jakks Pacific.
Trivia[]
In an early pre-release of the original Sonic the Hedgehog, playable at the Consumer Electronics Show 1991, Ball Hog appeared in Green Hill Zone. In this version it stood head-on to the screen and threw bombs to both sides from higher ground.[3]
Artworks in the Japanese instruction manual shows Ball Hog throwing bombs in both directions at once.[2]
The Ball Hog's legs are similar to Roller and Bomb's in artwork.
The Ball Hog's snout appears green in its original sprite artwork due to palette limitations, a color kept in its Sonic Lost World appearance.
In Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie, a small pig robot resembling Ball Hog appears from the Egg Mobile as part of the competition between the turtle and rabbit missiles.
Ball Hog's Japanese name "Ton-Ton" comes from the Chinese and Japanese word "ton" for "pig" or "pork," appearing in pork dish names such as tonkatsu.
