The Sonic the Hedgehog Continuity Thread of Love and Timelines

But that's the old canon. Now we have a brand new canonical way to tell all those stories with infinite possibilities ahead of us.

 

We both know what my response is there. Let's let sleeping dogs lie.

 

If I had a nickle for every time + - a Sonic story retconned itself out of existence   , I'd have two nickles...which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it's happened twice. Frankly, I don't think any satisfying canon placement could be given to Prime without changes to the show itself (at least given my passing knowledge). I think it was apparent from episode 1 that the show didn't benefit from the lore initiative, despite arguably reasonable expectations that a show releasing after that conception would. If the team behind the series is given another chance, I imagine such a thing would be given more importance in a sequel, perhaps with retcons of the more egregious elements thrown in to sweeten the deal (like does the badniks not having flickies even factor into anything other than establishing that Sonic isn't in the world he knows once he enters the shatter space?).

And I agree with the sentiment that SEGA has missed a bit in allowing IDW to tell those post-Frontiers stories to synergise the comics and games in a pretty safe way. It's bizarre how long the comic has remained in that pre-Frontiers section of time following the game's release (though the DLC very likely played a part in that), and we don't even know when that'll change, given that we'll be picking back up with an actively developing plot following the Fang mini. With different planning, that would've been a very natural opportunity to segue into that post-Frontiers space compared to a more conventional timeskip.

 

Yeah it's because the stories in 2023 were all planned before Frontiers released. https://twitter.com/SpiritSonic/status/1282756847460474880

 

Sonic Prime did not retcon itself. Saying that is like saying Sonic Unleashed retconed itself just because the world is put back together at the end and it's never been brought up again. It's called a plot resolution. And for that matter, we haven't even had enough time TO make a reference to Prime - the show JUST released in full!

 

I think they mean it more as "Sonic is sent back to before what happened happened, preventing it from happening in the first place."

Even though that causes so much confusion on elements like the now 8th Chaos Emerald floating in the void. In before it turns out that errant Chaos Emerald is the one Fang is looking for in the IDW comics, the 8th Chaos Emerald is simply the one Shadow lost in the void that slingshot back out and into the Classic Era alongside the proper seven.

 

Source

This doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things, but is this blurb for Sonic X Shadow Generations meant to imply that the White Space in Generations is "in the past"? I figured the White Space was separate from any particular time period. Or am I reading it wrong?

 

Robotnik notes there is no time in the White Space. I think it was just meant as him visiting his own past in the levels themselves.

 

I think that is probably what they intended when writing that blurb. Although, the sentence does specifically mention Sonic meeting the classic version of himself "while in the past" which is something that happens in the White Space, rather than a particular level.

 

Technically they meet in that mirror scene before the Death Egg Robot, so technically they were heading towards the past, big question mark?

 

It’s just a blurb by a marketing person, don’t read too much into it.

 

I don't really think there'd be much worth in a Frontiers adaptation, especially not as a mini. I imagine the majority of readers will have already played the game, and I think four issues would feel pretty cramped.

 

Everyone working on it keeps chiming in about them wanting a singular continuity between the games and adaptive materials like the comics. So if the comics were to adapt Sonic Frontiers and change a couple of aspects, say Tangle had joined them like how Sally was there in Station Square for the Archie Comics' Sonic Adventure adaptation as an example, which would be the canonical version?

If they're adamant about a singular or coherent story between the materials, they'll avoid covering the same events twice to prevent plotholes or arguments on which version is the canonical version. If they were to move the comic past the events of Sonic Frontiers, it'll probably be a timeskip and recap on what's happening to work around the game.

It's one of the many reasons I don't like the whole one canon thing they're going for: it limits how they can interact with the source material.

If I were to write with my arm tied behind my back like they're doing: four issue mini-series focusing on the three other characters as they look about their islands while Sonic is trying to free them, then ending with Sonic saying goodbye to his friends as they go off on their adventure.

Like how I think they should've handled Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, don't show the events we know, show events around them.

 

I really don’t think their attempts at more cohesive continuity are as limiting as you suggest. If the powers that be truly wanted to make a comic adaptation of their fairly successful video game, they would do so because it’s profitable. I don’t believe for a second they would hold back because of canonicity concerns - that’s something fans worry about, not executives determining what product to put out.

I suspect your real concern is not that stories are now limited by continuity, but annoyance at how these stories fail to line up with continuity. Yes, it’s mildly frustrating when, for instance, Sonic Prime is proclaimed to be canon but doesn’t quite fit with the games, but its very existence proves that creatives are not necessarily beholden to strict continuity when interacting with the source material.

 

It is a little odd yes but I think it won't be much longer at least. They've not really said anything about a time jump however. They've only said we'll know when we are past Frontiers when Sage appears in the comic. And Ian Flynn said he wrote a line about corruptions in Sonic's 900th Adventure that could be interpreted as either Sonic talking about the Werehog or the Cyber Corruption in Frontiers.

 

I find a strange security in knowing a bunch of details with the lore aren't final, mainly because I can sleep well knowing details that I don't like that Are Suddenly Canon and Matter Now will Suddenly Be Not Canon and Mean Nothing in a few years.

 

7:58 - It's said that Little Planet only appears one month a year. Is this still canon? If so, then from CD to Sonic 4 ep2 at least 1 year has passed?

- I supposed...?

I tried.

 

Maybe you can force Little Planet to appear somehow, but that's what the headcanon thread is for, heehee

 

Given Generations and Episode Metal (And seemingly Mania? Unless the Phantom Ruby can transport you offworld, which I guess if it can transport you between dimensions in Forces, it's not too much of a reach, but it doesn't behave that way in Mania.) made the bad future of CD canon you can assume Eggman rechained Little Planet back down to Earth (And for some reason Sonic hasn't done anything about it). So now everyone can just go to Little Planet whenever Sega sees necessary.