Summary
The Chaos Emeralds in theSonic the Hedgehogseries have always been mystical gemstones that offer unlimited power to those who have them. In many games, these Emeralds are plot-driven or bonus collectibles that could even lead to the true ending ofgames likeSonic the Hedgehog 2, andSonic Superstarsis no different. Just like the many other Classic Sonic games that came before it,Superstarssees players collecting all seven Chaos Emeralds throughout their journey, but this time, there’s a bit of a twist to the tried and true formula.
InSonic Superstars, the Chaos Emeralds have special powers associated with them that players can use to access new routes and areas, as well as get the upper hand against bosses. These powers are unique to each individual Emerald, and have a variety of effects such as the blue Emerald’s “Avatar” ability creating numerous clones of the user, the green Emerald’s “Ivy” power that causes plants to grow to reach higher platforms, and more. As interesting as these abilities are, though, they pose a challenge to future games afterSuperstarsthat can’t be ignored.
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How the Sonic the Hedgehog Series is Stabilizing Its Lore
Superstarshas decided to add onto the already limitless power of the Chaos Emeralds while the entireSonicfranchise is currently restructuring its lore.Sonic Frontiersin particular led this charge single-handedly with a hard-hitting story full of references that helped players understand what happened in Sonic’s world and when, while also solidifying the core cast.Frontiersalso went intothe origin of the Chaos Emeralds, answering questions that had lingered in the series for decades. All in all, for a game that was made to bring out a new era of the blue blur,Sonic Frontiershit hard and fast on its lore.
AfterSonic Frontiers’launch, there’s been a notable shift throughout many aspects of the franchise. Characters such as Amy have been subtly re-tooled to fit the modern direction of the series, current media projects such as the IDW comics andSonic Primehave been looked after carefully to make them feel like they take place in the same universe, and there’s been a rather strongemphasis on Sonic and his friendsin other projects.Sonic Superstarsmay quickly put a hole in the recent cohesion.
Why Games After Sonic Superstars Can’t Throw Its Power-Ups Under the Rug
Just short of releasing an entire year afterSonic Frontiers, a game that gave Sonic enthusiasts the origin of the Chaos Emeralds,Superstarsis changing the Emeralds yet again. WithSoniclore being adjusted in real-time, there is an unspoken demand and expectation thatSonicSuperstars’new Chaos Emerald powersshouldn’t be a one-time deal without any proper explanation. While the artifacts are called the Chaos emeralds for a reason, that isn’t enough of a reason for the powers dedicated to each gem to vanish without a trace afterSuperstars.
It may be hard to picture Sonic Team and Arzest managing to fit in an explanation to these abilities in a game with no dialogue, but there certainly are ways to do so. These powers could tie into something specific on the North Star Islands, the main setting forSonic Superstars. There could be cutscenes that show something new awakening in the Emeralds and then fading away at the end of the game. Alternatively, these powers could simply be added into generalSoniclore and appear in future games as if they had been here the entire time as they should be, maybe beginning with thesequel toSonic Frontiers.
Sonic Superstarswill release on October 17 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
