History Trivia / SonicChronicles

* ExiledFromTheContinuity: Although there are some minor elements from this game that would go on to be adopted by the mainline series (like the "Knuckles Clan" name), as far as Sega cares, ''Chronicles'' never happened.

* ScrewedByTheLawyers: Due to the lawsuit Ken Penders filed against Sega and Creator/ElectronicArts for taking concepts from the comics and for copyright infringements in said game, it's very unlikely Shade, Ix and the Marauders will ever be seen in ''Sonic'' media again. However, Penders ''lost'' that case, so Sega has full legal rights over the aforementioned characters, but considering how litigious and spiteful Penders can be[[note]]To this day, he claims that [[InsaneTrollLogic he has proper ownership of Shade because of her similarities to Julie-Su]], which is not true[[/note]], how divisive the game was, how poor the sales were ''and'' [=BioWare=] being bought out by Electronic Arts (which is probably the biggest collection of misfortune a game with a cliffhanger has ever ended up with), Sega probably decided it was not worth the effort to commission a sequel regardless. Ferox, however, popped up briefly in ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW'''s StoryArc ''Chao Races and Badnik Bases''.

* ScrewedByTheLawyers: Due to the lawsuit Ken Penders filed against Creator/Sega and Creator/ElectronicArts for taking concepts from the comics and for copyright infringements in said game, it's very unlikely Shade, Ix and the Marauders will ever be seen in ''Sonic'' media again. However, Penders ''lost'' that case, so Sega has full legal rights over the aforementioned characters, but considering how litigious and spiteful Penders can be[[note]]To this day, he claims that [[InsaneTrollLogic he has proper ownership of Shade because of her similarities to Julie-Su]], which is not true[[/note]], how divisive the game was, how poor the sales were ''and'' [=BioWare=] being bought out by Electronic Arts (which is probably the biggest collection of misfortune a game with a cliffhanger has ever ended up with), Sega probably decided it was not worth the effort to commission a sequel regardless. Ferox, however, popped up briefly in ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW'''s StoryArc ''Chao Races and Badnik Bases''.

* ScrewedByTheLawyers: Due to the lawsuit Ken Penders filed against the game for taking concepts from the comics, it's very unlikely Shade, Ix and the Marauders will ever be seen in ''Sonic'' media again. However, Penders ''lost'' that case, so Sega has full legal rights over the aforementioned characters, but considering how litigious and spiteful Penders can be[[note]]To this day, he claims that [[InsaneTrollLogic he has proper ownership of Shade because of her similarities to Julie-Su]], which is not true[[/note]], how divisive the game was, how poor the sales were ''and'' [=BioWare=] being bought out by Electronic Arts (which is probably the biggest collection of misfortune a game with a cliffhanger has ever ended up with), Sega probably decided it was not worth the effort to commission a sequel regardless. Ferox, however, popped up briefly in ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW'''s StoryArc ''Chao Races and Badnik Bases''.

* ScrewedByTheLawyers: Due to the lawsuit Ken Penders filed against the game for taking concepts from the comics, it's very unlikely Shade, Ix and the Marauders will ever be seen in ''Sonic'' media again. However, Penders ''lost'' that case, so Sega has full legal rights over the aforementioned characters, but considering how litigious and spiteful Penders can be, how divisive the game was, how poor the sales were ''and'' [=BioWare=] being bought out by Electronic Arts (which is probably the biggest collection of misfortune a game with a cliffhanger has ever ended up with), Sega probably decided it was not worth the effort to commission a sequel regardless. Ferox, however, popped up briefly in ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW'''s StoryArc ''Chao Races and Badnik Bases''.

** In 2023, Did You Know Gaming sat down with Lead Designer Miles Holmes on what the sequel was going to be as shown [[https://youtu.be/i0RKj6vFe3k here]].

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The game was going to have [[https://twitter.com/GameAnim/status/1473329631189078016 an alternate intro,]] but Sega at the time turned it down it for unknown reasons.

* PopCultureUrbanLegends: A common legend for a few years after the game released was that the original OST was cut for legal reasons (potentially related to [=BioWare=] being bought out by EA, which coincided with the game's development) and Bioware stole MIDI remixes off the internet to compensate, leading to the game's low-quality soundtrack. This is generally considered unlikely nowadays. More credible sources have said that the original composer for the game left in the middle of development, and [=BioWare=] was unfamiliar with the DS's sound chip and had to make do with the little development time they had, though the full details have yet to surface.
* ScrewedByTheLawyers: Due to the lawsuit Ken Penders filed against the game for taking concepts from the comics, it's very unlikely Shade, Ix and the Marauders will ever be seen in ''Sonic'' media again. However, Penders ''lost'' that case, so Sega has full legal rights over the aforementioned characters, but considering how litigious and spiteful Penders can be, how divisive the game was, how poor the sales were ''and'' Bioware being bought out by Electronic Arts (which is probably the biggest collection of misfortune a game with a cliffhanger has ever ended up with), Sega probably decided it was not worth the effort to commission a sequel regardless. Ferox, however, popped up briefly in ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW'''s StoryArc ''Chao Races and Badnik Bases''.

* ScrewedByTheLawyers: Due to the lawsuit Ken Penders filed against the game for taking concepts from the comics, it's very unlikely Shade, Ix and the Marauders will ever be seen in ''Sonic'' media again. However, Penders ''lost'' that case, so Sega has full legal rights over the aforementioned characters, but considering how litigious and spiteful Penders can be, how divisive the game was and how poor the sales were, Sega probably decided it was not worth the effort to commission a sequel regardless. Ferox, however, popped up briefly in ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW'''s StoryArc ''Chao Races and Badnik Bases''.

* FlipFlopOfGod: Kevin Eva claimed that ''Sonic Chronicles'' is non-canon and should be considered an alternate universe story. However, he has also said in the same breath that the series' canon is in constant "[[DependingOnTheWriter flux]]" and can change at any given moment. Years later, Aaron Webber, the social media coordinator of Sega, [[https://youtu.be/axAvQSg1mM0 stated]] that [[RetCanon "Everything is canon."]]

* ScrewedByTheLawyers: Due to the lawsuit Ken Penders filed against the game for taking concepts from the comics, it's very unlikely Shade, Ix and the Marauders will ever be seen in ''Sonic'' media again. However, Penders ''lost'' that case, so Sega has full legal rights over the aforementioned characters, but considering how litigious and spiteful Penders can be, how divisive the game was and how poor the sales were, Sega probably decided it was not worth the effort to commission a sequel regardless.
* StillbornFranchise: The game's title and SequelHook suggested that ''Sonic Chronicles'' was planned to be a full-fledged series, but [=BioWare=] becoming a part of Electronic Arts and closing down handheld game development prevented them from making a sequel. Poor sales and the Ken Penders lawsuit (though Sega won the case) killed any chance of it being put into the hands of anyone else, and the game has rarely been acknowledged by Sega since its release (and has since been declared [[CanonDiscontinuity non-canon]]).

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The game was going to have [[https://twitter.com/GameAnim/status/1473329631189078016 a fully-animated 2D intro,]] but Sega rejected it for unknown reasons.

* ScrewedByTheLawyers: Due to the lawsuit Ken Penders filed against the game for taking concepts from the comics, it's very unlikely Shade, Ix and the Marauders will ever be seen in ''Sonic'' media again. However, Penders ''lost'' that case, so Sega has full legal rights over the aforementioned characters, but considering how litigious and spiteful Penders can be, how divisive the game was and how poor the sales were, Sega probably decided it was not worth the effort to commission a sequel regardless.

* StillbornFranchise: The game's title and SequelHook suggested that ''Sonic Chronicles'' was planned to be a full-fledged series, but [=BioWare=] becoming a part of Electronic Arts and closing down handheld game development prevented them from making a sequel. Poor sales and the Ken Penders lawsuit (though Sega won the case) killed any chance of it being put into the hands of anyone else, and the game has rarely been acknowledged by Sega since its release (and has since been declared [[CanonDiscontinuity non-canon]])

* StillbornFranchise: The game's title and SequelHook suggested that ''Sonic Chronicles'' was planned to be a full-fledged series, but [=BioWare=] becoming a part of Electronic Arts and closing down handheld game development prevented them from making a sequel. Poor sales and the Ken Penders lawsuit (though Sega won the case) killed any chance of it being put into the hands of anyone else, and the game has rarely been acknowledged by Sega since its release.

* StillbornFranchise: The game's title and SequelHook suggested that ''Sonic Chronicles'' was planned to be a full-fledged series, but [=BioWare=] becoming a part of Electronic Arts and closing down handheld game development prevented them from making a sequel. Poor sales and the Ken Penders lawsuit killed any chance of it being put into the hands of anyone else, and the game has rarely been acknowledged by Sega since its release.
* ScrewedByTheLawyers: Due to the lawsuit Ken Penders filed against the game for taking concepts from the comics, it's very unlikely Shade, Ix and the Marauders will ever be seen in ''Sonic'' media again.

* VaporWare: ''Sonic Chronicles'' was announced to have a sequel in a conceptual phase, but nothing ever came of it because [=BioWare=] stopped being an independent developer shortly after the game's release.

* LyingCreator: Project director Mark Darrah took note to point out that out of the 11 playable characters, the staff would raise Big the Cat's IQ points. [[TookALevelInDumbass The opposite ended up happening]] due to RuleOfFunny.

* DummiedOut: Farfinkle, one of the viral Chao, cannot be unlocked in the Japanese version of the game. This involves a GameBreakingBug with its special ability to inflict a random status effect.
** Echidna versions of all the Blue Ridge Zone Sidequest characters can be found in the code, notably Timothy and his father. Less hilariously actually a child named Timmy, along with dialogue to match that fact.
** There is also a robot echidna with an arm cannon, along with art for items.
* StillbornFranchise: The game was not well-received enough to get work on a sequel going at a Sonic-level speed, and when Penders rose up in 2010 it put the kibosh on the plans for the RPG series.
* ScrewedByTheLawyers: Since the whole debacle with Penders claiming the Brotherhood characters were copying from his works, it's ''very'' unlikely Shade, Ix and the Marauders will ever be seen in Sonic media again.
* VaporWare: The sequel, Bioware seems to have completely shut down any and all handheld development that isn't part of their ''Jade Empire'' series (which also seems to be Vapor Ware after four years of no updates).

* FranchiseKiller: Not the franchise as a whole, but this game can be considered an UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom to the fate of [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics the Archie comic]]. Its overuse of elements from the comics ended up causing a lawsuit from Ken Penders; which not only killed what hopes ''Sonic Chronicles'' had for a sequel but also ended up gutting a large part of the comic's cast when Penders left with the rights for the characters after winning said lawsuit. This disaster caused SEGA to take a more active supervision to the comic to prevent a situation like this from happening again, which in turn caused friction between them and Archie which, among other reasons such as financial concerns, caused Archie to ultimately pull the plug on the comic. Unfortunately, this is still a distinction still going on to this day as, even when [[COmicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW moving to IDW and rebooting the comic]], Sega still continues their mandates for what can and can't be done with the comics. Heck, believe it or not this even ended up affecting ''VideoGame/SonicBoom'' as well since Sega used said active approach for that game's story and characterization too. So yeah, the whole debacle surrounding this game had ''very'' long reaching consequences.
* StillbornFranchise: The game was not well received enough to get work on a sequel going at a Sonic-level speed, and when Penders rose up in 2010 it put the kibosh on the plans for the RPG series.

%%** Echidna versions of all the Blue Ridge Zone Sidequest characters can be found in the code, notably Timothy and his father. Less hilariously actually a child named Timmy, along with dialogue to match that fact.
%%** A robot Echidna with an arm cannon (Think Mega Man)
%%** Unused art for items (And possibly the items themselves)
* FlipFlopOfGod: Kevin Eva, who was the community manager of Sega Europe in the mid-2000s, [[https://board.sonicstadium.org/topic/19847-segas-secret-sonic-bible-that-well-probably-never-see-to-mars/?page=10#comment-964735 stated]] that ''Sonic Chronicles'' is non-canon to the main games. [[CreativeDifferences However]] Aaron Webber, who is a social media coordinator at Sega of America [[https://youtu.be/axAvQSg1mM0?t=529 stated]] that "everything is canon".

* FranchiseKiller: Not the franchise as a whole, but this game can be considered an UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom to the fate of [[ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog the Archie comic]]. Its overuse of elements from the comics ended up causing a lawsuit from Ken Penders; which not only killed what hopes ''Sonic Chronicles'' had for a sequel but also ended up gutting a large part of the comic's cast when Penders left with the rights for the characters after winning said lawsuit. This disaster caused SEGA to take a more active supervision to the comic to prevent a situation like this from happening again, which in turn caused friction between them and Archie which, among other reasons such as financial concerns, caused Archie to ultimately pull the plug on the comic. Unfortunately, this is still a distinction still going on to this day as, even when [[COmicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW moving to IDW and rebooting the comic]], Sega still continues their mandates for what can and can't be done with the comics. Heck, believe it or not this even ended up affecting ''VideoGame/SonicBoom'' as well since Sega used said active approach for that game's story and characterization too. So yeah, the whole debacle surrounding this game had ''very'' long reaching consequences.

* FranchiseKiller: Not the franchise as a whole, but this game can be considered an UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom when it came to what ultimately happened to the [[ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog the comic]]. It's overuse of elements from the comics ended up causing a lawsuit from Ken Penders; which not only killed what hopes ''Sonic Chronicles'' had for a sequel but also ended up gutting a large part of the comic's cast when Penders left with the rights for the characters after winning the said lawsuit. This disaster caused SEGA to take a more active approach when it came to the comic to prevent a situation like this from happening again, which in turn caused friction between them and Archie which, among other reasons such as financial concerns, caused Archie to ultimately pull the plug on the comic. Unfortunately, this is still a distinction still going on to this day as, even when moving to IDW and rebooting the comic, Sega still continues their mandates for what can and can't be done with the series. Heck, believe it or not this even ended up affecting ''VideoGame/SonicBoom'' as well since Sega used said active approach for that game's story and characterization too. So yeah, the whole debacle surrounding this game had ''very'' long reaching consequences.

* ObviousBeta: Hoo boy. Though the music is the most obvious sign that the game was never properly finished, it's far from the only one.

* FranchiseKiller: Not the franchise as a whole, but this game can be considered an UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom when it came to what ultimately happened to the [[ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog the comic]]. It's overuse of elements from the comics ended up causing a lawsuit from Ken Penders; which not only killed what hopes ''Sonic Chronicles'' had for a sequel but also ended up gutting a large part of the comic's cast when Penders left with the rights for the characters after winning the said lawsuit. This disaster caused SEGA to take a more active approach when it came to the comic to prevent a situation like this from happening again, which in turn caused friction between them and Archie which, among other reasons such as financial concerns, caused Archie to ultimately pull the plug on the comic. Unfortunately, this is still a distinction still going on to this day as, even when moving to IDW and rebooting the comic, Sega still continues their mandates for what can and can't be done with the series. Heck. believe it or not this even ended up affecting ''VideoGame/SonicBoom'' as well since Sega used said active approach for that game's story and characterization too. So yeah, the whole debacle surrounding this game had ''very'' long reaching consequences.