In which game did the Homing Attack first appear?

The Homing Attack first appeared as a standard named move in Sonic Adventure. The technique lets Sonic curl into a ball in midair, lock onto a nearby enemy or object, and automatically launch toward the target.

The move helped solve one of the central problems of moving Sonic into 3D: enemies were no longer arranged along a simple horizontal path. In Sonic Adventure, the targeting system made aerial attacks more reliable and allowed Sonic to chain attacks across several enemies, sometimes reaching platforms or objects that would otherwise be inaccessible.

A common mix-up comes from Sonic 3D Blast, released in 1996. That game included a similar ability called the Sonic Blast Attack, available while Sonic had a Gold Shield. It was a precursor, but it was temporary, shield-dependent, and could not chain targets in the same way. The permanent, recognizable Homing Attack debuted in Sonic Adventure.

Afterward, the move became one of Sonic's defining abilities. Sonic Adventure 2 gave it to both Sonic and Shadow, and later 3D games used it as a core part of platforming, combat, level navigation, and aerial movement.