(First off, let me give credit to my good friends Monpian and Kalei, who coined this theory and educated me about it. All I did was do further research and elaboration and, ultimately, make the tinfoil hat bigger.)
Put on your tinfoil hats, kiddies. It’s time to dive headfirst into Sonic lore.
Worse yet: we’re going to be investigating the single greatest mystery of the Sonic franchise - one that the franchise itself barely acknowledges is a mystery at all: Sonic’s true identity.
I will tell you right now: I believe I have sufficient evidence to conclude that Sonic the Hedgehog is, in fact, an alien.
Before I get started, let me clarify: after the release of Sonic Adventure 2, the original Sonic Team largely disbanded, with many of the original designers no longer being involved with the franchise at all. As such, most of what I’m talking about is going to apply exclusively to games up to and including Sonic Adventure 2.
So let’s kick things off from the beginning.
In the original Sonic the Hedgehog, released in 1991 for the Sega Genesis, we are introduced to the core of the series: the evil Dr. Robotnik is creating machines to trap all of South Island’s animals and get his hands on the infinite power source known as the Chaos Emeralds. Sonic would be the lone hedgehog to fight against him. But curiously, and this part is in bold in the original Japanese manual for the game: more importantly than the Emeralds, Robotnik needs SONIC.
Why? The answer to this question is hidden in context clues throughout the series.
In Sonic 2, what were originally six Chaos Emeralds were now expanded to seven… and, most importantly for the main topic at hand, we meet Super Sonic.
I’m sure I don’t need to explain the obvious reference to DragonBall Z and the transformation Goku undertakes to become a “Super Saiyan.” We have Yuji Naka on record in an interview claiming that he’s a fan of DBZ:
http://shmuplations.com/sonic/
So, yes: this draws the first parallel to use as evidence for this “alien theory.” Super Sonic is a parody of Goku – beloved superpowered alien stranded on a fictional Earth. But we’re not stopping at this parody, oh no. We’re gonna go deeper.
Up next comes Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles. Now, this is where the game lore gets EXPANSIVE.
At the end of Sonic 3, we see THIS.
Sonic 3 Hidden Palace mural of Super Sonic and Robotnik battling over the Master Emerald.
This mural, along with the hedgehog statues throughout Hydro City Zone… (off to the left, if you can’t see ‘em)
Background tile in Hydro City, featuring two hedgehog statues.
…as well as Knuckles’ very existence, are the first hints of an actual backstory to the characters that we get in the series. As is later expanded upon in the story of Sonic Adventure, we know that Knuckles is the last of an ancient race of echidnas tasked with the protection of the Master Emerald. In the Sonic Adventure: Navigation Guide, we get a bit of elucidation on all of this: the Knuckles clan was one of many nations of its time. Pachacamac, the leader of the Knuckles clan, believed that the only way for the clan to thrive was through conflict with the neighboring nations. Against the wishes and pleading of his daughter, Tikal, Pachacamac and his army attempted to steal the relics known as the Chaos Emeralds in order to harness their power for war.
If you’ve played the game, you know this ended badly. The guardian spirit of the emeralds, an ancient and powerful chao known as Chaos, used the power of the emeralds to lay waste to Pachacamac and his forces – taking a majority of the Knuckles clan out in the process, and requiring Tikal to sacrifice her own life to seal the raging deity within the conduit of the Emeralds’ power: the Master Emerald.
The remaining survivors of the Knuckles clan, having learned their lesson the hard way, decided to take the Master Emerald and enshrine it upon the floating island, kept aloft in the sky by the emeralds’ very own power channeled through the Master Emerald, and dedicated themselves to guarding the relic to prevent it from being misused ever again. They left a record of the tragedy in the form of a mural on the walls of their home in what’s now known as the Mystic Ruins.
Warning mural featuring Perfect Chaos.
Clearly, they weren’t very good at passing down the story by word of mouth, though, as Knuckles is completely clueless about all of this.
But… there are some pieces here that don’t quite add up. It’s easy to assume the Knuckles clan knew all about the emeralds, since they used the Master Emerald as a chaos energy conduit to keep the floating island aloft, and left one of their own descendants as guardian from then on. But if they knew all about the emeralds in the first place, why did they need to STEAL them? And why didn’t they know about Chaos, the guardian deity of the emeralds? You’d think they would avoid misusing the emeralds if they anticipated the consequences.
The answer to all of this is as simple as it is obvious. The Knuckles clan were not the original owners of the emeralds and did not, in fact, even know that much about them. They had no idea where the emeralds originally came from or how they worked.
Which begs the question of, “where DID they come from?”
You could just go with the explanation that they’ve always existed, and are some sort of timeless physical manifestation of entropy. But A: that’s no fun, and B: it still leaves some questions to be answered.
For starters, how on earth did the Knuckles Clan figure out how to use the emeralds’ energy through the Master Emerald to make Angel Island float? They clearly didn’t know the first time, and the only echidna who arguably DID sacrificed herself in order to keep Chaos contained within the Master Emerald. And the primitive technology we see present in ancient echidna culture in Sonic Adventure doesn’t match up with the highly advanced teleportation tech we see on Angel Island in Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles. Not to mention, the depictions of hedgehogs on Angel Islan don’t show up anywhere in the Mystic Ruins! It doesn’t add up!
“But wait!” you say, “what if the mural in Hidden Palace Zone is just a prophecy shown to the echidnas by the emeralds? What if all the Hydro City statues were made by the echidnas in reverence of this prophecy? That new technology could have just been the echidnas on Angel Island learning how to use chaos energy over time!”
Let’s analyze the materials we’ve already gone over. The Hidden Palace mural is roughly the same style as the Mystic Ruins mural, so it’s safe to assume it was also done by echidnas with the same cultural heritage and influences. They depict their subjects with Maya-esque abstraction. Super Sonic arguably looks more fairy than hedgehog.
Closeup of Super Sonic in the S3 mural.
But the hedgehog statues? We’ve seen echidna culture statues, and they’re sculpted with the same amount of artistic license as the murals. But these hedgehog statues are one-to-one accurate to what Sonic ACTUALLY looks like! Whoever sculpted these statues did NOT have the same aesthetics as echidna culture. It’s equivalent to the stylistic difference between the David and the Maya calendar. These statues were NOT sculpted by echidnas!
Even the architecture on Angel Island is clearly Greco-Roman, as opposed to the Maya-like echidna architecture!
Doric order styled columns in Sky Sanctuary.
Sonic stands atop the central pyramid in the flashback version of the Mystic Ruins.
So then, if the echidnas were the only ones on Angel Island, if the echidnas built everything on Angel Island, then why on Earth is it such a departure from their own cultural art, when there are still pieces OF their cultural art present amongst it all? The answer is simple.
The echidnas were NOT the only ones on Angel Island. The echidnas got there second. Somebody else was there first, and it was a race of people who knew EXACTLY what hedgehogs in this universe looked like and studied it in excruciating accuracy… not unlike Greek and Roman artists in their study of the human form.
I propose that there was an ancient culture of highly advanced hedgehogs from which this art, technology, and even the Chaos Emeralds themselves originate. I argue that it’s this very kind of technology that courses through Angel Island and allows it to float, using the Chaos Emeralds’ energy.
And I propose that the surviving members of the Knuckles Clan simply discovered this technology and used it to protect the Master Emerald – taking up the mantle of the previous civilization.
With this assumption, a few other pieces fall into place. Angel Island is effectively a kind of Chaos Emerald-powered hovercraft. So how did it get onto the ground? Perhaps it simply landed, and the beings aboard eventually scattered, losing their heritage by mingling with the other creatures of the planet. Perhaps some unknown tragedy (perhaps Chaos) befell the people that inhabited the ship, and it crashed into the ground, largely wiping them out… and leaving the Chaos Emeralds and what remained of their technology in their shrine to be discovered by a culture that would come across them later.
Basically: yes.
Aliens.
The entirety of echidna culture is heavily based upon that of the Mayas and aesthetically similar cultures. Tikal gets her name from a famous Maya ruin in Guatemala – which the development team for Sonic Adventure visited in person for inspiration.
What does this have to do with aliens?
The Nazca Lines.
Nowadays, it’s commonly assumed that these lines were created by the Nazca Culture between 500 BCE and 500 CE. This is, of course, the most rational conclusion. But conspiracy theory enthusiasts will be all too familiar with the rumor upon their discovery that the Nazca Lines were created by aliens.
This rumor picked up speed in pop culture, and is often used as inspiration for fictional depictions of locations like Atlantis and Laputa. And seeing all of the notably Atlantis-and-Laputa-like technology on Angel Island, I think it’s pretty safe to say some of that pop culture alien mysticism made its way into Sonic lore… in the form of the relics associated with the Chaos Emeralds and found near the ruins of echidna civilization.
Knuckles stands atop a warp pad.
(Warp pads in ancient cultures? Really, now.)
In other words, the suggestion that the Chaos Emeralds and the technology present on Angel Island came from ALIENS, of all things, is less of a conspiracy theory… and more of a genre-savvy reference to pop culture BASED on conspiracy theories.
To drive the nail in further, South Island – the location of the first game – is, as described by the original Japanese manual for Sonic 1, a “treasure trove” where the Chaos Emeralds are known to lay dormant, along with otherwise unexplained Greco-Roman styled “historic relics” (like Marble Zone and Labyrinth Zone). THIS IS WHERE THE EMERALDS ARE at the beginning of Sonic’s story. At some point between the events of the Chaos tragedy with the Knuckles Clan and the beginning of the series, most of the Chaos Emeralds were drawn to this island, and that’s where Sonic first finds them. Why were they there, then? Well, that leads into another critical detail from the Japanese manual: South Island moves around the planet.
Only one other island in the series does this: Angel Island. And as we’ve already discussed, Angel Island seems to be some kind of ancient alien space ark that’s BECOME an island over countless aeons with soil buildup. Perhaps South Island is the same. Heck – South Island and Angel Island even have SIMILAR SHAPES – both a crescent surrounding a waterfall and harbor, with oddly spire-like mountains on the far right side of the island!
If it IS, then that offers a key point to this theory, that being where Sonic came from. None of the games ever detail his childhood. For all we know, Sonic just APPEARED one day on Christmas Island, where he claims he was born. But we know nothing about his parents to corroborate this - it may just be that his earliest memories are on Christmas Island, and he simply assumed that was where he was born.
I propose the following: Sonic is the sole survivor or descendant of whatever became of the ancient alien-hedgehog race. At some point in time, the Chaos Emeralds, scattered after the Knuckles Clan Chaos tragedy, were drawn to South Island’s energy signatures, and hid within pocket dimensions on the island.
Sonic was unwittingly drawn by the Emeralds’ presence to the crashed vessel that eventually became South Island, and with no memory of anything that came before, began to prophetically collect the Chaos Emeralds, which once belonged to his own ancestors.
It’s worth noting that West Side Island, the setting for Sonic 2, has a legend according to its manual that claims the Chaos Emeralds were used by an ancient civilization on that island, as well. The architecture of Aquatic Ruin Zone is similar to that of the other 16-bit zones featuring historic relics that we’ve discussed – perhaps some vestiges of the ancient hedgehog civilization survived and lived there. It would certainly explain why the Emeralds seemed to have warped there after disappearing from South Island at the end of Sonic 1, and why one more was discovered to have been there all along.
Furthermore, in the Japanese manual of Sonic 3, Sonic discovers a ring washed ashore with ancient runes inscribed upon it… that somehow reminds him of the legend of the floating Angel Island and fills him with an inexplicable nostalgia.
Perhaps this nostalgia is the vaguest of memories of his original people… buried deep within his subconscious.
…
So, yes – Sonic is an alien. And he doesn’t even know it.
Not only does it keep in line with the obvious Super Saiyan joke, bear in mind that the only other hedgehog character aside from Sonic himself present in the games up until Sonic Adventure 2 is Amy Rose – a little pink hedgehog who somehow… just… inexplicably APPEARS on Little Planet, which is said to only appear over Never Lake for three days out of each year, due to the fact that it TRAVELS THROUGH TIME. Sonic only got up there by using his super speed and agility to climb up the massive chain that tethered Little Planet to its position over Never Lake.
Little Planet chained above Never Lake, as it appears in the opening to Sonic CD.
HOW THE HELL DID AMY GET THERE?
Amy being kidnapped by Metal Sonic in Collision Chaos.
If you assume she got there in the present day, it just doesn’t make sense! In the plot of Sonic CD, Eggman has taken over Little Planet and messed with its history using the Time Stones so that he’s ALWAYS controlled it. Amy COULDN’T have gotten there… at least… not in the present day as we know it.
So let’s logic this out. Amy Rose the Hedgehog managed to get to Little Planet at some point in time. At another point in time, Dr. Robotnik permanently changed Little Planet’s very history, and THEN Sonic did it AGAIN… TRAPPING Amy Rose there, and rendering her unable to return to her own timeline.
Amy Rose is from a timeline where the alien hedgehog race didn’t die out, therefore not needing its “hero,” and thanks to the timeline shenanigans in Sonic CD, she is now permanently stranded in a timeline where they DID – with Sonic as the sole true descendant of the race. As its “hero.”
And before you start shaking your head, let’s dive a little deeper. Sonic has, throughout his games, demonstrated an ability to control Chaos Energy to an extent that no other character can quite manage. Sure, Knuckles and Tails both have super forms… but Sonic is the only one able to achieve these forms using Chaos Energy in more than one game. (Note: I’m counting all games that use Sonic & Knuckles to unlock Hyper Knuckles as one game, since they all depend on one cartridge.) And up until Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic is the only character able to do it ever again.
Super Sonic and Super Shadow, as they appear in SA2B.
Speaking of Sonic Adventure 2, let’s talk about that a bit – since everything thus far has been limited to the games that came before.
The plot of Sonic Adventure 2 is undeniably the most complicated in the series up to that point. But we’re not gonna touch on everything – what we’re concerned with is the key plot device known as the “Ultimate Life Form.”
Shadow the Hedgehog is, to put it in blunt terms, something of a test tube baby. He, as well as the previous prototype, the Biolizard, are attempts at creating the Ultimate Life Form by genius scientist Dr. Gerald Robotnik. At first glance, a continuity problem makes itself evident – how did Gerald go from “massive lizard” to “tiny little hedgehog” in these experiments?
It’s pretty clear in the design of the interior of Space Colony ARK that Gerald studied the structure found in the Mystic Ruins and on Angel Island in an attempt to harness chaos energy… and, as we know from Shadow’s own boasting, Chaos Control is an ability he inherently has. He is not the only one to possess it, however, as we find out the Biolizard is also capable of this feat. And because Shadow and the Biolizard share no other traits in common, the ability to manage Chaos Control must be what Gerald Robotnik considered the qualifying factor in the status of “Ultimate Life Form.”
So then, again – how’d he go from lizard to hedgehog?
Massive lizard…
Warning mural featuring Perfect Chaos in Mystic Ruins Knuckles Clan temple.
…tiny… little hedgehog…
Sonic 3 Hidden Palace mural of Super Sonic and Robotnik battling over the Master Emerald
OH.
We know that Gerald studied Angel Island and echidna culture in an attempt to harness Chaos Energy. Since Angel Island is a bit, er… DIFFICULT to get to, we can assume Gerald started with the Echidna temple in the Mystic Ruins, and built his first prototype Ultimate Life Form using the mural of Perfect Chaos as his model. It would only be later, upon discovery that the Biolizard was unstable, that he would research further and discover the floating island, as well as its cryptic mural depicting a hedgehog-like creature achieving what looks to be some kind of super-powered form using the Chaos Emeralds’ energy.
Gerald Robotnik would then base his second prototype on this hedgehog-like creature present both in the mural and as a statue literally EVERYWHERE in Hydro City and Hidden Palace Zone.
It’s no coincidence that Shadow looks like Sonic. He was designed to COPY the species that Sonic belongs to… or perhaps Sonic himself, depending on whether that mural is a prophecy or a record of history doomed to repeat itself.
We even find in the story of SA2 that Sonic is able to perform Chaos Control, as well – even using a fake Chaos Emerald to do so! And when Shadow becomes Super Shadow at the end of the Final Story, he DIES as a result of being unable to maintain this super form the way that Sonic can.
Super Shadow plummets to his death after defeating Finalhazard alongside Super Sonic.
Sonic is the real ultimate life form. He even muses about the possibility during the credits… and in the battle with Finalhazard, if the player takes long enough, Shadow himself will tell Sonic that SONIC is the true ultimate life form!
To make things even MORE screwy – remember how Chaos, a highly evolved chao, shares a deep link with the Chaos Emeralds? Think about this: how do chao mature? Through absorption of chaos energy, either from animals or in its rawest form (chaos drives). Depending on which skill is maxed out, a chao’s form will even change! What do speed-type chao look like?
An adult neutral run/run chao.
Theoretically, considering the species’ affinity for chaos energy, a highly advanced chao could be capable of Chaos Control and therefore be considered the ultimate life form. In fact, Chaos is LITERALLY that… and no other creatures are able to fit this qualification unless genetically modified.
And pure running type chao sure do look an awful lot like hedgehogs.
Considering their designs being rather alien as well, it’s possible that Sonic himself is no more than a highly advanced running-type chao that never bothered with his swimming stat.
IN SUMMARY:
Sonic, the last descendant of an ancient race of likely-alien hedgehog-like creatures, by virtue of being part of this race, or perhaps being the chosen one of this race much like Goku among the Saiyans, is uniquely able to control Chaos Energy in a way and to a capacity that no other character in the games is capable of. Dr. Robotnik needs Sonic along with the Chaos Emeralds in order to achieve his plans of world domination, because Sonic is the ONLY being who can truly harness the energy of the Emeralds without it killing him. And when he can’t capture Sonic, he turns to alternative methods: Metal Sonic. Silver Sonic. Mecha Sonic. Chaos. Shadow the Hedgehog. And NONE of these can quite match up to the sheer power and prowess of controlling Chaos Energy that Sonic possesses.
And Sonic doesn’t even know it.
References:
- Sonic Adventure Perfect Guide
- Sonic Adventure: Navigation Guide
- http://shmuplations.com/sonic/
- http://info.sonicretro.org/Game_Development:Sonic_the_Hedgehog_(16-bit))
- http://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_(16-bit)manuals#Translation_of_the_Japanese_manualmanuals#Translation_of_the_Japanese_manual)
- http://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2_(16-bit)_manuals_manuals)
- http://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_3_manuals
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZJuLcakn3Y
- Sonic 1
- Sonic 2
- Sonic 3
- Sonic & Knuckles
- Sonic CD
- Sonic Adventure
- Sonic Adventure 2
Further elaboration and discussion:
- https://squigglydigglydoo.tumblr.com/post/176740062137
- https://monpian.tumblr.com/post/176930237655
- http://whatisthisnonsense.tumblr.com/post/176929022715
- https://squigglydigglydoo.tumblr.com/post/177249789977
- http://spiritsonic.tumblr.com/post/177262495839
- https://squigglydigglydoo.tumblr.com/post/177482247317
- https://squigglydigglydoo.tumblr.com/post/177482402007
- https://squigglydigglydoo.tumblr.com/post/177541082897
Submitted May 07, 2019 at 05:17AM by SquigglyDigg http://bit.ly/2DU2ivp
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