So I made this Ultimate Timeline Form of the games from 1991 to 2018

I always considered Rivals non-canon because it contradicts too much of what's given in Rush and '06 (Eggman Nega being from an alternate dimension, Silver's future destroyed by Iblis, etc.)

 

Using retconning against my point about emeralds is very funny; you know, I consider them to be always the same set, but to have that set coexist with the 8-bit games, which is a "fix" you made, retconning is irrelevant because it's not official retconning, is yours: you forced the multi-set path, not only because standard 8-bit games keep the "always a set of six emeralds at south island" take, so they can't reunite with the seventh at west side island and the 8th, the master emerald, at angel island. And then Tails' Adventures come and our heads explode with the 6-pack of cocoa island. The use of the emeralds on the first 8-bit game plus the way they're found on those games and a lot of contrasts render them incompatible with fitting: in the first game, there are special stages that look like special stages but are bonus stages while emeralds are found in the wild; next game, no special stages, wild emeralds again; in the next two games, there are special stages but you're teleported to places that look like different zones, not alternate dimensions; and, finally, in Sonic Blast of all games, there are 16-bit style special stages.

If Sonic 4 comes from bad future, that means Eggman never lost control of the planetoid, so he doesn't need to build Death Mk. II Mk. III (Eggman builds a lot of DE Mk. II, even if they're non-canon here), Little Planet is already that kind of base and Eggman could have just popped in. I suppose it wouldn't have looked good if Metal Sonic was rescued from a shiny happy good future, but MS was defeated the same way in both futures. Similar thing for Amy not having a second model to depict her Sonic CD memories on Sonic Adventure 1. And, seriously, Little Planet comes back every month, You could even say Sonic CD happens 10 times in the timeline and it could fit.

While I get there's fun in doing this kind of stuff, there are so many inconsistencies and retcons there's no real reason to fit them, retconning is just another form of bad writing that can get a pass when you can't check past facts but not in cases like Sonic where we (and Sega/Sonic Team) can just watch playthroughs and read scans to double check. I prefer headcanons and fanons that use the official stuff to rewrite everything at will instead of trying to fix what the official sources did wrong. As I see Sonic games, sometimes they look like each one happens on an alternate timeline/dimension/whatever in which things happen similarly to get some sense of continuity, but, ultimately, they're self contained save for very few exceptions, probably only 2 to 3&K in a explicit way, maybe the shadow plotline.

 

What proof is there that SegaSonic takes place before Sonic 1?

 

I don't think it is, but it's generally easier to put it there if you try to make a timeline, and I like to think Eggman being actually able to trap him plus Sonic running scared are the kind of things that would only happen to his younger self before fully becoming the bold hero he is in the main games. Of course, that's just me, you could argue using his ledge animations and the room-type bosses and mini-bosses he's fought.

Yeah, I do too, the 8-bit games are the only ones deliberately separated on development and not by awkward retconning years later or by virtue of poor time and dimension shenanigans. I'm still waiting for an explanation on how the eggmen came out of white space, though.

 

It may never get explained. Too much hassle for Iizuka-san...

 

Yeah, but Sonic 4’s official website and material also stated that Knuckles ‘ story takes place at the same time as Sonic’s. There’s really nothing to suggest now that this takes place right after S&K, what with Mania now seemingly taking that spot.

The only way that Sonic 4 now takes place right after S&K is for it to be due to the time travel events that occur after Sonic Generations. Given that Modern Sonic seems to be an older version of the original Sonic it would surely have to take place at least a little while afterwards, though the design change is really just that - a design choice.

 

It still irks me that Classic Sonic is WAY smaller than Modern Sonic.
They're supposed to have the same height, 1 meter. So...why that?

 

We're covering some old ground here. Maybe a moderator could merge with this thread?

I don't think Mania is supposed to take place after Chaotix. The language used in the Sonic Mania Introduction Manual (has anyone scanned this yet?) strongly suggests that it takes place not too long after Sonic 3 & Knuckles, with no other adventures inbetween ("Some time after saving Angel Island", "It's up to Sonic, Tails & their newest ally, Knuckles the Echidna", "Following the defeat of Dr. Eggman's previous scheme Knuckles considers Sonic an ally").

The cut-scene of Eggman contacting Metal Sonic on the Little Planet/Stardust Speedway suggests that he's been there since Sonic CD.

The second damaged body is a bit of a mystery though. Possibly following his defeat in Sonic Generations? It doesn't entirely make sense, but the Little Planet is a place where time is non-linear anyway, so...

After Sonic 2006, Silver's timeline was no longer destroyed by Iblis. Then Sonic and Silver meet again for the "first" time in Sonic Rivals.

Takashi Iizuka is credited as the scenario writer for both Sonic Rivals games, so it's probably safe to assume they count. He confirmed that Eggman Nega as Eggman's descendant is his true backstory, which has carried over into everything since, including his Sonic Channel profile and the 25th Anniversary comics.

The 2012 Olympics game on 3DS acknowledges that origin, as well as the events of Rush (Adventure) - make of that what you will.

In Sonic CD, Metal Sonic's height was 76.54cm. The rest of the cast didn't get official heights until Sonic Adventure. Though around 2009, Sega did use those heights on their updated Classic Sonic cast model sheets. This was before Sonic Generations showed the two versions of Sonic side by side. In Generations, Classic Sonic and Classic Metal Sonic are about 3/4 Modern Sonic's height, which would be consistent with Sonic CD.

For now, there is no official explanation for why Classic Sonic is now from another dimension. It just is. Iizuka implied that characters like Mighty only exist in Classic Sonic's world, which suggests a traditional "alternate universe" scenario, rather than a divergent timeline scenario.

In Penguin's "Welcome to the World of Sonic" book, the Sonic Generations page says "Along the way I met this little guy - he looked like me, but he actually came from another dimension!"

SegaBits interviewed one of the writers of a couple of Penguin's Sonic books (though not "World of") and he confirmed that everything goes through Sonic Team for their approval.

So it seems that the change of Classic Sonic's status is retroactive, just as it was for Eggman Nega.

 

Well... One learns stuff everyday.
Didn't know that one about Metal Sonic on Sonic CD's manual.
That kinda changes all of my perspective on the Classic Cast.

 

I like this timeline; it's really well thought out. The one thing I disagree with (and I know I'm in the minority here so I'm not saying you're wrong) is Sonic CD being placed between Sonic 1 and Sonic 2. I know CD was released before 3&K, but I've always taken the position that Metal Sonic is the final design for Eggman's Sonic robot. We had Silver Sonic in Sonic 2, Mecha Sonic in Sonic 3&K, and then Metal Sonic in Sonic CD (and the OVA).

Eggman finally decided on the Metal Sonic design and then iterated upon it from then on. That's why we only see Metal Sonic in the Adventure and Modern eras. That's also why we see the other two Sonic robots in capsules in SADX while you can play as Metal Sonic after getting all the emblems.

 

I have seen Sonic CD placed after Sonic 4 ep 1, but I agree, it is awkward. That's why I just assume Sonic 4 was a "re-imagining" of the classics and leave it out of the cannon timeline.

 

I personally don't like how Sonic 4 is even considered to be canon. It never had a proper ending like Chronicles and Mania de canoized it with its elevator intro.