The Ray the Squirrel Story ▸ From Forgotten to Beloved 

Seeing Ray and mighty get added to Mania plus was so surreal at that point I was really interested with the Obscure characters of Sonic so seeing that got me so hype. While Ray did get the end of the short stick since he was not in chaotix or Fleetway and was less known than mighty ( also mighty's got a lot of attention due to a certain game) It was still great to see him come back in a mainline game.

Ray is a character that I've loved for over 15 years, purely from his design alone. It's just very simple, cute and pleasing to look at. I enjoyed seeing him in the archie comics and his relationship with Mighty, but I honestly thought he would never ever appear outside of them. Having him in Mania Plus was the absolute best thing about the game for me, I'm so happy he's still getting love and spotlight from Sega. Though I wish they would use him more. Ray is simply a precious bean and I love him very much.

I always had this vibe of him being similar to Michelangelo from the TMNT, super jokester, never takes things seriously, and its the heart and soul of the team, but when somebody messes with his brothers Mikey will do anything in his power to get back at the people hurting the ones he loves the most. Ray might look like he is just a dumb little kid, but he is Tails if his adventure side was magnified by 100% and had no cares in the world, love Ray because he is always bright and tries his best to help everybody he meets, he never negates a smile and he is always cheerful.

I just wish we got more classic sonic stuff. They could have easily gotten some fan devs to make more games on the side while we wait for modern games and expand on the young versions of the characters we know and love. I just want to see more of classic amy, ray and mighty. Or even the hard boiled heavys. They where so good.

The Archie comics are defiantly how i originally got to know Ray and Mighty and i've loved them since people don't give Archie enough credit for keeping old characters around letting people still know about them. The Battle Bird Amada i think would be cool to do a video on they only got to be in one game but the Archie comics made me really like them. Or Eggman Nega he may not be obscure but i think he's interesting when you look at everything about him

Ray having blue shoes makes me kinda wish Mighty had yellow shoes. It would create a neat pattern with the SegaSonic trio. Sonic: blue with red. Ray: Yellow with blue. Mighty: Red with yellow. :)

I love ray and Mighty, would still love to see them return in more story focused games

10:49 To explain this, Ray learned a trick from Knux which lets him attract the emerald’s energy to him, in a way that makes him look like he’s going super.

Fun fact: the pre-Super Genesis Wave continuity put Mighty the Armadillo as stronger than Knuckles, and post-SGW Mighty was able to go toe-to-toe with Werehog Sonic.

Ray is a great character! I can’t wait to see what he appears in next… Okay he might not appear again but I hope he does Then again, he could appear in the movies

Ray is definitely my favorite character fron the comics next to Mighty. Shame he never got to join chaotix in the games, but him and mighty are trapped in classic universe. Hopefully we can get some mods for frontiers if Tails is gonna be playable.

Ray is essentially the Tails to Mighty's Sonic. He can even fly!

realizing i didn't know about Archie Comic series, that i was Sonic Fan before Mania Plus and that i don't recall REALLY seeing Ray, i'm surprised i wasn't "Who the Heck is that?" when he returned. maybe i did saw him somewhere (that seems like only answer)

I think Ray has potential to be in more Sonic stories, alongside Mighty. He doesn’t just have to be like Mighty’s Tails, even, I can see him having his own nuance. I’ve been considering making a Sonic fanfiction recently, to fallback on while I’m figuring out my Ed Edd n’ Eddy AU. He’ll likely be in it, so more Ray content upcoming I guess!

My younger cousin loves Ray a lot 😊 so Sonic mania was great for introducing Ray and Mighty to the next gen of children at least 🤷‍♀️

Maybe Ray & other characters trapped in the Classic continuity will be freed some day. Since Sega's scrapped the "two worlds" concept, it's possible they could change their mind on there being Classic-specific characters and let them be in more games and/or comics.

Before Edge’s Royal Rumble 2020 return and Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fuelled’s numerous character returns, Mighty and Ray’s returns were the most hype unexpected comebacks. Though I suspect Christian Whitehead’ team had more to do with Ray’s return than Iizuka.

4:29 that actually does make a lot of sense Also it’s such a shame we never got ray over here in the fleetway comics

Yesterday I was in a Target store and in the toy aisle I saw a Mighty and Ray plushies and my heart stopped. I should have bought them, but holy smokes!

I’m still waiting on those videos for Johnny Lightfoot and Porker Lewis. They where main characters in Fleetway after all.

Funny story: I used to think Ray was flipping the bird when completing a stage

I believe SegaSonic is still a lot of fun with a traditional analogue stick and doesn't need a track ball/track pad. But that's just me

YAY! new johnny vector!

Ray is my favorite Sonic character and I just got his plush recently.

These videos are super informative! I was hoping for a video on Ray since he's one of my favorites.

Ray: A cute lil lighthearted goofy guy His backstory: Was rescued from a slave labor camp ah, my exact type of character

For 2023, could you delve into some of the IDW characters? Tangle the Lemur, Whisper the Wolf, Jewel the Beetle & Belle the Tinkerer all deserve videos!

I still think it's weird that a squirrel was considered an obscure animal that hasn't been a cartoon character yet. Certainly there was MGM's Screwball Squirrel and Jay Ward's Rocket J "Rocky" Squirrel by the time of the game's inception. I'm not sure which of those cartoons got Japanese dubs, so I don't know what exposure Sega's staff would have had. I'm glad that we're seeing more of Mighty and Ray, if only as DLC and merchandising. But the character I'm missing the most now is Sticks the Badger. I know they don't like to canonize cartoon characters, but she appeared in one of the Mario and Sonic Olympic Games, so technically she is out of that Sonic Boom video game and cartoon bubble. I wish they'd at least use her in the IDW comics.

If Sonic Team were to bring back Mighty and Ray in a new mainline game, and give them their own dedicated roles in the story, the question would then be how to characterise them, without making them look like carbon copies of Sonic & Tails. Both share a familiar bond with one another, but so does Sonic with his best friend. Mighty has a strong sense of justice, but so do a lot of characters in the series. Ray is cheerful and goofy, but the same could be said for Bean and Charmie (though Bean is more spiratic and unstable in nature, and usually on the wrong side of the law). So one way I think their resurgence in a story-driven Sonic game could work is by having Mighty embody a true role model. After the events of the arcade game, maybe Mighty was inspired by Sonic, and vowed to become a stronger person so he could protect Ray. To this end, they travelled the world together on their own adventures, helping those in need, and Mighty's general demeanour becomes that of a superhero, one who inspires hope and confidence in others. Coupled with his indestructable shell, he'd earn a reputation as a "Shield of Justice" or something along those lines. Ray would be like a sidekick to him, or more like a tag-team partner, and the two would be a dynamic duo whose strengths make up for each other's weaknesses. Ray could be more naive than most characters due to his kind nature, and prone to deceit from other characters, while Mighty's tireless peace-keeping could occasionally wear on his mind, which further enforces the two as an insperable pair who compensate for each other's shortcomings. I haven't read the comics, so I'm not sure if any of this has already been done before, but if they leaned into the "superhero duo" aspect, I reckon that could help differentiate the two quite well from other mainstays in the series.

Thank you so much for an amazing year of content Johnny! See you in 2023!

Seeing official Mighty and Ray figures on the shelves at my local toy shop is probably one of the most surreal things I've ever experienced. Who would have thought? Nothing is impossible when it comes to Sonic.

Ray was a surprise for me when I first learned of him. Mighty I was familiar with thanks to Sonic The Comic (likewise with Nack/Fang before I got to play any of the games he appeared in) but Ray didn't appear much, if at all, outside of his one game debut until an Easter egg in Sonic Generations. 2:22 - Whilst as a Tails fan, I'm glad he was the chosen pick, Boomer the Turtle is a pretty cool concept. Having a slow creature as a parallel to the fast Sonic is cool in it's own right and the specific application of hovering over spike traps is neat. They clearly utilised the concept later to a degree through being able to jump on top of the Turtloid enemies. 5:49 - This seems to suggest that the Wii U/DS touch-screen or even the PS4 touch-pad could have serve as the basis for a decent SegaSonic port. It's a shame it has never managed to re-release in any form, especially now that so many more folks are familiar with Mighty and Ray. 8:17 - Given Metal Sonic is the main villain of the game, the concept of having the team-up be him, Ray and Mighty seems pretty odd. When I've seen fan concepts of additional Sonic Heroes team, I've typically seen Honey the Cat used for the 3rd choice. 17:10 - I think I may have heard this interview question and answer before (some of it sounds vaguely familiar) but it's great to hear included here. That sealed character line remark is certainly an interesting, as is the obscure pick of Ray and Mighty in general. Wonderful coverage of Ray here!

Can't wait for the Bomb & Heavy video Lol

2:19 Huh, that makes me think that Tommy Turtle from the Archie Comics may have been inspired by Boomer, whom also shared an "old friend" sort of relationship to Sonic in that timeline.

I really hope Sega lightens up on the dumb classic only restrictions and we can see a modern Mighty and Ray or Team Hooligan in the games or IDW comics at some point

When I learned of Segasonic Arcade I was pretty convinced Ray was just a scrapped tails prototype. He's a cute mascot design, but going forward I hope they scale him down to the correct size (slightly bigger than tails). Hopefully he returns once again as DLC along with many others.

Hey Johnny! Glad to see a new video covering to slightly more obscure side of Sonic that SEGA doesn't touch often. Do you think sometime in the future if you haven't already you could cover all the iterations of Metal Knuckles (kind of like your Tails Doll video) or Dr. Enerjak and the Prelates from the Sonic Archie comics? Thanks!

I love Ray so much he's so cute. A real little ball of sunshine, and he's the best in Mania so (:. Also Metal Knuckles and Eggrobo yadda yadda yadda.

GREAT video and also rly good coverage of Rays reception over the years Maybe you could do a video on that sonic manga and all the stuff exclusive to it?

Ray being trapped in that alternate zone for six years and then re-emerging reminds me of Avengers: Endgame, where Ant-Man was trapped in the Quantum Realm for five years. Much like from Ray’s perspective, five years was more like five hours in the alternate zone.

OMG new video from my favorite youtuber

Thumbnail: Who is Ray the flying squirrel Me: His a flying squirrel

Ah Ray….I heard he and Mighty were meant to be in sonic heroes…..I really wish that had happened 😅 I could have learned about them WAAAY sooner

Hello Johnny - I believe I have come across a bit of obscure Sonic media in my childhood that I think would be right up your alley in covering. The Sonic the Hedgehog Gamebooks were 'Choose Your Own Adventure' style Sonic books published exclusively in the UK under Fantail and Puffin publishing. I do not believe I have seen these books covered anywhere before on RU-vid, and given their UK-exclusive release, most people don't know about them. I remember enjoying one a lot as a kid, in which you'd choose to turn to specific pages to collect rings, or jump on a badnik, or run through a loop, in an attempt to reach the end. I would love to see a video about this someday!

when you become a toy you are no longer obscure

I wish they would add more ray into the games

Yes! Ray’s time to shine is here!

I like to think of some Sonic characters in the classic era being an evolving Sonic Trio, starting with the scrapped Segasonic Bros having Sonic and his red and yellow counterparts, then Segasonic the Hedgehog had Sonic, Mighty, and Ray, being the colors Blue, Red, and Yellow, and then Tails and Knuckles joined Sonic in countless appearances, again being Blue, Red, and Blue!

The fact we live in a day and age where I can go to the supermarket for milk and see ray and mighty merch while I'm there is crazy

cool i love your video's on sonic characters

It would probably be a short video, but I would love to see a video on the witchcarters. I’ve always wanted to see a video on them ever since they showed back up in the IDW tails anniversary comic.

happy new year

I definitely didn't make a request, but I just learned about Ray's existence today(well, last night). I avoided Sonic for a LOOOOONG time. I've never been a big fan of companies taking a well established franchise in a different direction or just transitioning things to 3D for no good reason, so I haven't really played any of the 3D ones. I have seen enough reviews and footage though to know that I'm not gonna lose any sleep because of it. However, like many other kids who grew up in the 90s, I loved Sonic, so I was pretty excited to learn about Mania(albeit a bit late, I haven't exactly kept up with gaming until recently due to finances, but I found a switch for sale for 100 bucks). Finally, a new 2D Sonic game after what, about 25 years? So I got Mania and saw there was a DLC which I also got... and then I'm like "wait, who the heck are these new characters?" There seems to be a lot of info on Mighty, but not a lot on Ray for whatever reason. I was able to find out that both of them originated in a trackball arcade game called SegaSonic The Hedgehog that came shortly after Sonic 1, but that's about it. Thank you for making this video, but all this kinda makes me sad that he's been around for so long but never really properly utilized... until now anyway. Makes me wanna go play some romhacks.

This might be a bit of a dumb recommendation, but who knows? Have you considered looking into some famous historical Fan-characters such as Nazo The Hedgehog or everyone's favorite Coldsteel The Hedgehog? Your video on Ashura sort of inspired this suggestion, but either way, really cool content, keep it up!

I’ll tell you who Ray is, he’s the best sonic/mighty partner, 10/10 best boy.

Have a Happy New Year Johnny!

I was so happy when Sonic Mania brought back Mighty and Ray

I freaking liked Ray as a kid. To this day, I like him more than Mighty. Heck, I made FOUR recolors of Ray back then. Not one, not two, four of those things xD It made me so upset to find out that Ray was only in one obscure arcade game at the time (especially when Sonic Retro says Ray was to be the announcer of Sonic Retro but was scrapped..?). Comics were also out of the question, because I couldn't find most of them back then. Idk why I liked Ray at the time, I guess I found his design more appealing than other characters. The overall fluid animation of SegaSonic might've also boosted his appeal to me. Either that, or it was just Ray's obscurity & overall, lack of history, that made my imagination go wild back then xD When Mania Plus was announced, man, I couldn't believe it - it felt like Ray wasn't ever coming back, but it happened anyways. (The blue shoes kinda irked me at first, but anyways). Then we'd see him in animation and comics. It's like people at Sega really did like having some room for their lost characters It's so great to see that Sega was able to bring this little lad (and many more) back to action.

I love the way you say “jacket” 👀

Pretty fun video.

Another great video Johnny glad to see you made a video on ray, now how about you make a video dedicated to heavy and bomb 💣

I'd love to see more forgotten characters come to the Sonic Dash/Forces mobile games too

I Absolutely Love Ray And Mighty, Probably My Favorite Sonic Characters

"The final character in this series of obscure characters!" Heavy and Bomb: "........"

i wish that ray and mighty were in more sonic stuff, hell, I would love to see them in a sonic movie

I can kinda imagine Mighty and Ray being Scottish

16:33 I love Sonic Mania Plus' Uncle Mode

Could you cover Porker lewis and Jonny lightfoot? I was always a fan of them in the Fleetway comic.

Clap for the series

I headcanon Feels and Boomer as characters from the past of the Sonic universe, heroes who defended the planet before Sonic's time

Can you do heavy and bomb please also nice video I know more info about his design and his attitude

Ray is only the second flying squirrel to be made famous Rocky J Squirrel from Rocky and Bullwinkle was first.

it would be cool if you did marine the racoon or emerl as i think they are quite forgotten. Or even mephiles.

Johnny, would you mind doing a video on the The Deadly Six & the Zeti race?

Cool

Why is ray flipping us off 16:52 😂😂😂

1:56 seeing tails on these concept Art with only a single tail is weirder then i excpeted to be

Before you end this series, I have a request. Can you cover Anton Veruca from the Manga?

8:15 heroes was going to be such a different game

Ray is best boy!

It's not that hard do explain, it's simple! Ray's a flying squirrel.

every time he says the word Ray I feel like he's gonna sponsor raid shadow legends

It’s interesting how his Minecraft skin shows him with Blue Eyes which implies it’s a modern design for him.

I’d love to see you make a video on metal knuckles

the new interpretations of ray are just so good sadly, i doubt he'll come back unless he cameo's in idw, which is unlikely

I have missed that serie

I think you should make videos on popular sonic fan characters like Coldsteel

Cool i love sonic

Mighty being a flying character and ray the FLYING squirrel being the strength type?

I only knew ray from watching a playthrough of the sonic arcade game then mania

I hope you do a video on rocket metal some day

"Dear Johnny Vector, when I seen your video about fleetway Amy, and honestly think it's pretty silly people want her not to be sonic's girlfriend because technically she never offically was"!

i think it would be intresting if you were to talk about the unoffical sonic character debug the hedgehog in a video because he is a hedgehog who goes to different worlds including, one of the worlds he goes to is mario's world. i know you talked about ashura in a different video and he is an unoffical sonic glich like character, so i thought it would be interesting for you to do a video about debug the hedgehog because he is kinda similar because he is also an unofficial sonic glitch kinda character as well kinda like how ashura is.

The theory that Ray and Mighty being based off the Sonic's different color schemes could be possible. Mighty especially looks a bit like Sonic.

huge day for little guy fans

Can you make a video on Fleetway Chaos ?

Next Retrospective can you do metamophia?

I actually don't think Ray would've been the flight character in Heroes. Considering the type of flight used by Tails, Cream, Rouge, and Charmy, I think it's more likely that Ray would've been the speed character and Metal Sonic would've been the flight character, since we already know Metal can fly effortlessly all the time.

Could you do one of these on Zonic The Zone cop?

Could you do Blaze The Cat next? 👀