That's a...Chaos Emerald!

So... S3&K happened last of ALL the Sonic games? If not, how did the emeralds shrink again? Inb4 Sonic X alternate dimensions.

 

What are you talking about? The idea is basically that there were two sets of Chaos Emeralds—one on Westside Island, that Sonic had, and one on Angel Island, that Knuckles guarded—that merged together as the "Super Emeralds" at the end of Sonic 3 & Knuckles. The Chaos Emeralds from this point on were then the Super Emeralds no longer being referred to as such, assuming you subscribe to the idea that they merged together to become more powerful.

The other idea is that the Super Emeralds are only "super" as long as they are enhanced by the power of the Master Emerald, hence Hyper Sonic. But that's basically an aside more than anything else.

 

Maybe they fell in the water, and that's why Sonic jumped off the Tornado at the beginning of Sonic 3.

He's technically supposed to lose them after every game, or else he would've kept them from Sonic 1 into Sonic 2, and so on and so forth in every other game.

 

I'm an apologist of this theory. The two sets of emeralds were always a bit too much for me.

That bit of the emeralds being lost when the death egg strikes in... I don't know. I've never heard of it. I thought Knuckles had the emeralds at some point in his lfe, then lost them, enter Sonic 1 and 2, and then they returned to Angel Island with Sonic. I never read manuals. :\

 

Just because it said it IN KANJI doesn't stop it being woefully inconsistent with all other evidence.

It's pretty clear from the games overall that there are seven Emeralds, there are ONLY seven Emeralds, and there have ALWAYS been seven Emeralds. If we can overlook the 6 in Sonic 1 or the 8 in Sonic the Fighters or the however-many in Sonic Spinball, then we can overlook one line from a Japanese manual.

Besides:
[Prospective timeline follows; I AM a fanfic writer so :P ]
(Assuming that the Super Emeralds are just the normal Chaos Emeralds that sometimes get (for some reason) supersized in the presence of the ME)

* 4,000 years ago there's a shrine in the Mystic Ruins for the ME and Super-Emerald-sized CEs
* Pachacamac kills Chao; Perfect Chaos ROID RAGES; emeralds scatter a'la Dragonballz
* Remaining echidnas on Floating Island get Troll's Remorse and decide to guard the ME underground; build Hidden Palace
* Build Hidden Palace WITH SPACES FOR the Chaos Emeralds even though they don't actually have them right now; but they want somewhere to put them if/when they ever get them back
* Many years later, Sonic gets the Emeralds on South / Westside Island
* Brings them to Angel Island
* Knuckles takes them MAINLY just because Robotnik told him to, but also because there's vague ancient records about how 7 smaller emeralds belong with the Master Emerald
* Chaos Emeralds warp themselves back into the special zone (as they do between EVERY GAME) before Knux can do anything with them
* Sonic gets them back while on the Floating Island
* And Sonic eventually takes them to the HPZ. When Sonic stepped through the big ring was the first time those 7 plinths had ever actually been occupied.

As for Gerald; presumably he got a looka at the same kind of Echidna records as Ivo did to learn about Chaos. Could have reconstituted the Emerald Shrine from records without having to visit the Floating Island at all.

qed

 

It always seemed like there were multiple variants of "the" Chaos Emeralds. Like in later Sonic games, they're just stumbled across -- and in sonic Riders (where they're the admission price for the event), the characters all nonchalantly get them out of their back pockets as if they had one in their wallet. And, of course, there are more than 7 entrants.

You can argue that it's "not canon", but having Chaos Emeralds just lying around in safes in SA2 is sorta stupid, as is "Look what I FOUND!".

 

Well lets see:

Sonic Adventure (Past):
The Chaos Emeralds in the past were originally the Super Emeralds, however when Tikal tried to stop the enemies the emeralds reverted back to normal and warped to the Special Stages, preparing for the 1st Sonic game.

Sonic 1:
Sonic collects the Emeralds from the Special Zone. The collected Emeralds fix the environment, and warp back to the Special Zone in Sonic 2.

Sonic 2:
Sonic recollects the Emeralds (He finds another to boot) and learns a more powerful form with them. He keeps the Emeralds as they escape the Death Egg.

Sonic 3:
Sonic has the Emeralds, but Knuckles steals them and hides them in the Special Stages. Sonic collects them all again and beats Robotnik at Launch Base.

Sonic & Knuckles:
Sonic finds the Hidden Palace and the Master Emerald. The Chaos Emeralds react to the Master Emerald, turn Super, but become dormant. Sonic goes through the Special Stages again to reactivate them and learns his Hyper form. He then returns them to the Island as they leave for the mainland.

Sonic Adventure (Present)
In the present, with Chaos escaping and the Master Emerald shattered, the emeralds split apart and land in different areas around the world. All the characters besides E123 collect them all, Sonic turns Super and beats Perfect Chaos.

 

So wait, are we actually suggesting canon exists in Sonic games outside of a VERY vague idea of what happened when (Barring Sonic 2 to Sonic 3K, which had a pretty consistent plot thread.)? I mean, come on. In Sonic Adventure, the world is pretty much 1999 Earth. In Sonic Riders, it's fucking Corascant.

 

That's pretty much what I think about them, it's not that there are 2 sets of emeralds, just one.
Super Emeralds are just powered up emerlads by the master emerald.
I think it's the most reasonable ( canon wise ) theory of all...

 

Let's just say this is from a certain .docx on my computer. In abstract:

• The Chaos Emeralds were scattered after Perfect Chaos attacked
• The Super Emeralds were created centuries after Perfect Chaos and are larger as a result of the Echidnas trying to recreate the Chaos Emeralds
• As some have mentioned, Hyper Sonic is a result of the proximity of the Emeralds to the Master Emerald, not the Super Emeralds themselves

If you guys really want me to get into fanwank territory, I can, but I'm answering the question posed by the OP and would prefer waiting until I have everything in my project together before I reveal more than I have.

 

...uh... huh...

How about the Super Emeralds just don't exist at all and were just add-ons to make the "full version" of the game more appealing, giving you something to work for on the second half instead of just using Super Sonic once you got all the emeralds in the S3 levels?

 

How about every island/location/game has their own set of Chaos/Super Emeralds, and they're not meant to be consistent from game to game?

 

You. I like you. I don't even know you, but I like the way you think. Simple and to the point.

 

It would seem there is little consensus on the matter.

 

Having each game have its own set of emeralds is boooring.

 

My take:

Ancient History: In their natural state the Chaos Emeralds were small, but Pachacamac figured out how to make them stronger, and he placed them at the Master Emerald shrine. Chaos takes them and uses them for vengeance, Tikal uses the Master Emerald to defeat Perfect Chaos, the Chaos Emeralds shrink and go to the Special Zone, and Tikal and Chaos get trapped in the Master Emerald. Remaining Echidnas build a newer, safer shrine in the crystalline caves under the volcano, make spots for the other emeralds, and sit watch over the Master Emerald.

50 something years ago: Gerald goes to Angel Island, finds the mural predicting the doomsday zone (inspiration for Shadow's body shape), but gets attacked and subsequently chased off the Island by the few remaining, seemingly savage natives. Sometime afterward he manages to utilize his technology to enter the Special Zone and retrieve a Chaos Emerald, which he spends an extensive time researching. Long after Gerald's death, Robotnik somehow gets it in his possession, and dedicates his life to finding more.

Sonic 1: Robotnik is combing the planet looking for some way to enter the Special Zone. During his search on South Island however, he has an unfortunate run in with some blue asshole. This blue asshole is Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic not only manages to find the other six emeralds and steal his, but also puts a complete halt to Robotniks operations on the island. Sonic used the seven Emeralds to heal the environment and they all go back to the special zone.

Sonic 2: Eggman annoys Westside Island, Sonic and Tails come along, Sonic gets the Emeralds from the Special Zone, goes Super, boards the Death Egg, fucks shit up, Death Egg falls, Sonic escapes.

Sonic 3 & Knuckles: Death Egg crashes on Angel Island, Knuckles investigates, Eggman lies and says that Sonic is a Chaos Emerald fueled lunatic, hellbent on nabbing Knuckles' baby right out from under his nose. Eggman describes Sonic to him Knuckles remembers. Knuckles instantly is reminded of the Doomsday mural, and thinks that seeing as this scientist dude looks a lot like that thing in the mural, he buys Eggbotnik's story and decides to work with him, and lets him build anything he wants, so long as the Master Emerald will be safer. Knux attacks Super Saiyan Sonic and knocks the Dragonballs out of him. Knuckles takes the emeralds and returns them to their home. Sonic takes em back from their home, arrives at the Hidden Palace and turns them Super again. Robotnik nabs the Master Emerald and uses it to restore the Death Egg, only to have Hyper Sonic destroy the Death Egg and take said green rock back. Danger is gone, and the Emeralds return to the Special Zone.

Wash, Rinse, Repeat for every proceeding game.

 

Hmm? They're in very different places between the two, especially with Tails getting rewarded one for stopping the missile. They're just plain not there at the end of SA1.