Each playable team in Sonic Heroes contains three characters. The player switches among those three members during levels, using their different abilities to overcome speed, flight, and power challenges.
The game features four teams: Team Sonic includes Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles; Team Dark includes Shadow, Rouge, and E-123 Omega; Team Rose includes Amy, Cream, and Big; and Team Chaotix includes Espio, Charmy, and Vector. Each team has its own campaign and difficulty profile.
The three-character structure is central to Sonic Heroes’ design. Speed characters handle rapid movement and lock-on attacks, flight characters can fly briefly, and power characters break objects and defeat tougher obstacles. Switching roles is necessary rather than merely decorative.
Sonic Heroes was released in Japan in December 2003 and worldwide in early 2004. It was the first Sonic game released across multiple major consoles, including GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Windows. The number three refers to team membership, not the number of playable teams.