Tenuki Chaud is one of the most iconic bosses of the Sonic Wings / Aero Fighters series. However, it originates from the earlier Video System game Rabio Lepus. It appears as a stage boss in Rabio Lepus, but it is always a major boss in the Sonic Wings games.
Appearances[]
Rabio Lepus / Rabbit Punch[]
Appears in: Stage 6 (Asteroid) in original arcade version; Stage 2 (Asteroid) in Rabio Lepus Special of PCE.
This title is Tenuki's first grand debut. It is a minor boss at the end of the swamp-like area of the Asteroid. It is accompanied by Kame-Chargers, mechanical turtle enemies who also appear elsewhere throughout the game along with Tenuki. Tenuki's attacks are simple: it shoots small 3-way fireballs and rushes toward its targets. The Kame-Chargers also rush at the target after emerging from the swamp waters. Tenukie has only four different facial expressions (grin, hurt, angry and stupefied), which change when it is attacked or defeated. If Tenukie is not defeated within a certain period of time, it will drift off the left side of the screen, effectively escaping from the player. The player then can continue to the next level.
Tenuki's body is longer in Rabio Lepus than it will be in the later Sonic Wings games; however the artwork included in the Rabio Lepus Special manual shows Tenuki as looking nearly identical to how it appears in Sonic Wings 2. Tenuki's sheet is also a brighter white in Rabio Lepus Special than in the original Rabio Lepus game.
Sonic Wings / Aero Fighters Series[]
In Sonic Wings series, Tenuki Chaud is one of the two alternate final bosses from the video game Aero Fighters 2 and 3/Sonic Wings 2 and 3 (the other being a moon-fish that appears very rarely). He is only described as an outer-space ghost mercenary, and it is unknown why he joined Fata Morgana in the first place.
Much like Osaru, Tenuki will appear as the final boss instead of Lar, and like all other final bosses in the series, the battle is timed, meaning failure in defeating him will earn the player a bad ending.
Sonic Wings / Aero Fighters 2[]
Appears in: alternate dimension, final stage
Tenuki appears much less frequently than Lar but far more often than Mambu. As in Rabio Lepus, Tenukie most often attacks by shooting fireballs in a variety of patterns. Besides attacking directly, Tenuki can also summon the Kame-Chargers from Rabio Lepus, which drop from the top of the screen onto its target. If the target shoots the Kame-Chargers, they turn into carrots which give bonus points when touched, mimicking the bonus-point carrots in Rabio Lepus. Carrots do not kill.
As in Rabio Lepus, Tenuki's expression changes depending upon its pattern of attack; however, instead of just four expressions, it now has fourteen. When defeated, Tenuki cries "Shinde shimotagana!" (死んでしもたがな!) which translates to "Oh no/dammit, I'm dead!" in the Japanese Kansai regional dialect. If the player does not defeat Tenuki quickly enough during the first run of the game, the game's 'bad' ending depicts Tenuki destroying a major city. If Tenukie escapes after the second run of the game, an animation is shown of it making a grouchy face. In the Japanese version, this ending includes text which reads, 'It looks like you did your best, but there's still more to come,' followed by sinister laughter. In the English version of the game, there is no such texts.
Tenuki is also visible in a cameo at the fairground in the America stage of Sonic Wings 2, along with Rabio and the other final bosses of Sonic Wings 2.
Sonic Wings / Aero Fighters 3[]
Appears in: Deep Sea, final stage
Tenuki Chaud appears as the sub-boss of Sonic Wings 3's final stage if the player chooses the path that leads to Bermuda. Here Tenuki does not fight on its own but is part of 'Tenuki Chaud Osaru Station', along with Osaru and the Station Core from Sonic Wings. Tenuki performs most of the attacks; as in previous games, they vary according to its facial expression. Most often, the attacks include spread fireballs, but Tenuki also utilizes laser beams and can summon smaller six ghosts to attack (although the two small ghosts with sad faces are harmless). Tenuki does not attack in two modes: when it imitates Mao Mao (one of playable protagonists in Sonic Wings series) and performs an E-Wave attack which freezes the Station, and when it sings to the accompaniment of Osaru's guitar in a parody of the characters Basara Nekki and Mylene Flare Jenius from Macross 7.
Tenuki also has a cameo as the cursor on the mode select menu of the Neo Geo version of Sonic Wings 3.
Cameos[]
SukuSuku Inufuku[]
Tenuki Chaud appears in two cameos: two Tenuki dolls are shown as prizes in a crane game, and Tenuki appears along with Rabio and Lepus in a quiz question.
Turbo Force[]
Exists only in dummy datas.
Villainous Characteristics[]
Despite its seemingly cute appearance, Tenuki is identified as ferocious and a mercenary, which may explain why it has worked with both Yohma King and Fata Morgana (both main antagonists in other video games in which Tenuki starred). Tenukie calls itself '宇宙一の暴れん坊', which can be translated as a 'roughshod of the universe'. It is also known as 千の仮面を持つ男, 'the man with 1000 masks' due to its ability to constantly change facial expressions.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Tenuki Chaud strongly resembles a teru teru bozu (てるてる坊主), a traditional Japanese doll used to wish for sun or rain depending on how it is hung.