The Great Sonic Continuity Debate

[J.E.Smith]

Hey folks. I've recently come across an rather interseting article concerning one of the most controversial topics in the history of the Sonic fandom: Sonic and all the numerous continuities he's had over the years, and the debate on how they're branded as "official" or "unofficial" depending on Sonic Team's involvement.

Now, I'll be honest and say this right from the get-go, this article was originally written by the owner of a SatAM fansite.(Which for some of you may wreck the article's credibility). HOWEVER, despite this fact, it is not SatAM-biased (Though of course it does covers it) nor does it just center on it. The article actually covers many subjects, such as Sega and Sonic Team's origins, Sonic's creation, SoA and SoJ's relationship, SoA's licensing procedures, and how much of an involvement they actually had with SatAM and the Archie comics (For example, it was SoA who ordered Archie to base the comic off the cartoons) to name a few.

All in all, the article is a very well-written, and a very enlighting read(Though it is also a very lengthy one. It's ninteen pages long! It took the author about a year to write). You can read it here: http://www.saturdaymorningsonic.com/fea ... ontinuity/

(NOTE: I was going to include an HTML of the article so those here who don't like SatAM could read it without having to view the show's artwork that the site uses in its layout, but it seems this forum won't let me upload a text file as an attachment)

If you plan on commenting or critcizing it, please actually read it first so you can understand the total gist of it.

[Neo]

branded as "official" or "unofficial" depending on Sonic Team's involvement

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

I'll read it, though, but where's the nineteen pages that took a year to write? All I see is some dozen paragraphs crunched into a small box in the center of my screen. Definately an annoyance, but just checking, is this the right link? It doesn't seem to be split up in any form.

[J.E.Smith]

Well, actually the whole article's on one page. However to determine the length, I copied and pasted the whole thing into Word and it came out as ninteen pages total.

Yeah I know the way its presented in that small box on the site makes it harder to view, hence why I wanted to include as a text attachment. Thankfully, I've just found that he also posted the article somewhere else. If you guys hate the small box format in the above link, use this one instead:

http://www.thatguywiththeglasses.com/blog/5553

[RocketPunch]

Skipped to the last paragraph:

Although in some ways it may be frustrating not to have a single, consistent continuity to reference, the reality is that there simply never was one.

There, spoiled the ending. Welcome to the Sonic CuLT circa 2002.

I'm sorry, but the fact someone wrote 19 pages on this "debate" positively baffles me. Especially since all of the continuities besides the Sega and Archie ones have since disintegrated.

[Cuckooguy]

I like the segregation of information so that it's not even about which is the "true" continuity, because trying to figure which one is the "true" one is unnecessary in the first place. This is actually similar to something I'm working on, and yeah I'm going to break the rules and advertise my shit a bit, but I made Ares Arcadia and Mars Arcadia, one based on Eternal Arcadia and one based on Skies of Arcadia, in order to segregate information that I had. When I was working on Ares Arcadia, I decided it to be based on EA, but for some reason it felt weird when I put in SoA content there when it was mostly an Eternal Arcadia site. I didn't want to just delete the SoA stuff like wallpapers and merchandise, so I decided to just make a SoA equivalent site and I migrated all the SoA content to Mars Arcadia. Yeah, call me a pedant because EA and SoA are basically the "same game," but certain region-exclusive details and the mass changing of certain names and terms irked me that I just had to segregate them.

[K2J]

Heroes was done by an American team? Huh, never knew that...

I'm willing to go as far as saying that the games themselves have very little internal canon. I have an idea for a overall (games only) canon in my head, but it still doesn't quite match up.

[Shadow Hog]

The "continuity" doesn't exactly bother me - there are several separate canons, plain and simple. It does irk me slightly when some people say they're "adapting" the games and then proclaim it to be on Mobius and have roboticization and stuff, but not to the point where I write multiple-page dissertations on the subject.

Actually, what interests me is how these alternate continuities are being marketed (for lack of a better word) in Japan. I mean, elements of them are already seeping their way into the games. I wonder how long it is before we start seeing official "SegaSonic" spins on Archie characters (for better or worse)?

[Ngangbius]

Heroes was done by an American team? Huh, never knew that...

IIRC, the American team mainly consisted of Japanese who moved to San Fran to form Sonic Team USA, which developed SA2, Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog.

I wonder how long it is before we start seeing official "SegaSonic" spins on Archie characters (for better or worse)?

Everything will come into full circle since Sally, Bunnie, Rotor, etc. are "Archie" spins of the South Island crew. Though I think Sega of Japan seem content on creating their own new cast of technicolor characters than borrowing from the comics. They rarely bring bring back older characters that were created from Japan.

[THEbigLANDMAN]

Coninuity ended with the dreamcast...

[Radrappy]

The floating island didn't even exist in the Sonic Unleashed continuity.

[Crowbar]

The floating island didn't even exist in the Sonic Unleashed continuity.

Wow, seriously? That's fucking wild.

[Ngangbius]

Was Angel Island mentioned in the console games after SA2, though?

[Shadow Hog]

Naw, Knuckles is just some random guy who happens to be best buds with Sonic now. Master Emerald? What Master Emerald? Knux has a backstory? Who cares?

[Radrappy]

Was Angel Island mentioned in the console games after SA2, though?

I think knuckles casually remarks in sonic heroes that the mushrooms in frog forest are "just like the ones back home." Or something there abouts.

[K2J]

Like I said, a lot of the game's don't make a lot of sense in continuity. Whatever links there are (SA2's reference to Tails' SA1 endgame) are tenuous and don't make much sense, even in games where you think there would be - like Shadow the Hedgehog. For a game that's billed as "finding out all the answers" to Shadow's history, it mostly answers questions asked in the game, not questions generated from previous games (i.e., How Shadow survived his "death" in SA2 is relegated to an easter egg, and there's no mention of why Sonic can use Chaos Control with a fake emerald). Then again, Chronicles has shown that it's best not to try to link them together at all, since it all comes off a bit weird.

I think both Riders manuals mention Knuckles' place on Angel Island before immediately dumping him into a quazi-futuristic airboard racing competition. I can't confirm, but I've heard the Master Emerald was part of the plot of the first Rivals.

[FlashTHD]

For a game that's billed as "finding out all the answers" to Shadow's history, it mostly answers questions asked in the game, not questions generated from previous games (i.e., How Shadow survived his "death" in SA2 is relegated to an easter egg, and there's no mention of why Sonic can use Chaos Control with a fake emerald).

Very true. I may regret stepping into this mire, but recently i've been considering the possibility that if Sega actually wanted to, they could retcon that game entirely and get off with minimal storyline damage to clean up. They may have to do a little re-explaining, but Shadow seemed to have most of his memory back by Sonic Battle anyway. (For the sake of simplicity, don't get started on Central City)

[P.P.A.]

A large portion of Sonic Rivals actually took place on Angel Island. And Onyx Island, sort of the island's bad future after Eggman Nega trapped everything into cards with his magic photo camera.
Including the Master Emerald which is why Knuckles is on a quest to save it.

[cjmcray]

and there's no mention of why Sonic can use Chaos Control with a fake emerald).

I always took that as the game saying that Sonic himself is 'The Ultimate Lifeform' (Shadow himself says that during the Super Sonic boss)

Didn't Sonic use Chaos Control to go back home, without needing an Emerald in the last episode of Sonic X?
(Sonic X isn't exactly what I would call a good show, but Yuji Naka and the Sonic Team staff were involved, were they not?
So in a way, it can be considered canon.)

[Isuka]

Considering everything Sonic-related as canon just because some of Sonic Team's staff members contributed to its realization is akin to taking the fast lane to insanity.

And Onyx Island, sort of the island's bad future after Eggman Nega trapped everything into cards with his magic photo camera.

AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA... Oh God, the stuff I'm missing out...

[Rob-Bert]

I always took that as the game saying that Sonic himself is 'The Ultimate Lifeform' (Shadow himself says that during the Super Sonic boss)

Didn't Sonic use Chaos Control to go back home, without needing an Emerald in the last episode of Sonic X?
(Sonic X isn't exactly what I would call a good show, but Yuji Naka and the Sonic Team staff were involved, were they not?
So in a way, it can be considered canon.)

All this is doing is reminding me how potential they had set up for themselves after SA2, which was promptly wasted. Now I feel all depressed. ;_;

[K2J]

Very true. I may regret stepping into this mire, but recently i've been considering the possibility that if Sega actually wanted to, they could retcon that game entirely and get off with minimal storyline damage to clean up. They may have to do a little re-explaining, but Shadow seemed to have most of his memory back by Sonic Battle anyway. (For the sake of simplicity, don't get started on Central City)

Alternatively, they could've put whatever they could to end Shadow's saga before he totally engulfed the franchise. Er, moreso than he had.

This whole conversation reminds me of a discussion on CulT regarding the then-upcoming Sonic Unleashed. An ONM article had mentioned that Unleashed was supposed to be more of a continuation of the Adventure series (a claim that came about from some confusion regarding the development process, but I digress).

A sidescroller as a sequel to Sonic Adventure? What?

You guys can't honestly believe that, can you? The guy obviously pulled that statement out of his ass, probably to get positive media attention or some crap.

I don't think they meant "real" sequel; I think they meant it's more along the feeling of those games in terms of content and focus. I mean, it's not like they're gonna reboot the series back to SA2 and make it so Shadow actually died, right?

RIGHT?!

What if they didn't reboot Shadow the Hedgehog, the game... but Shadow the Hedgehog, the character? What if he simply stays as a background/multiplayer character, a la Cream?

[Neo]

I thought they already did? When's the last time you've seen him with a prominent role? 2006's what comes to mind.

EDIT: Oh, right, Chronicles, I guess.

[Ngangbius]

^^And Black Knight(as Lancelot).

[Pepperidge]

I always took that as the game saying that Sonic himself is 'The Ultimate Lifeform' (Shadow himself says that during the Super Sonic boss)

Didn't Sonic use Chaos Control to go back home, without needing an Emerald in the last episode of Sonic X?
(Sonic X isn't exactly what I would call a good show, but Yuji Naka and the Sonic Team staff were involved, were they not?
So in a way, it can be considered canon.)

All this is doing is reminding me how potential they had set up for themselves after SA2, which was promptly wasted. Now I feel all depressed. ;_;

I always interpreted it that Sonic was the true Ultimate Lifeform, and that Gerald had made a fluke when he artificially created a nearly identical being however many years earlier.

I find that the Adventure games were rather implicit with the way they laid out a lot of important plot elements. I think driving a big, long story into the ground in subsequent games about how and why Sonic was the Ultimate Lifeform or how Angel Island rose into the sky would kind of ruin the fun of reading between the lines in SA1 and SA2. They were pretty well written in that sense.

[Team Mecha]

There's some fanon out there that Gerald was inspired by the Doomsday zone mural in the Hidden Palace zone.