History VisualNovel / TheMurderOfSonicTheHedgehog

* SelfDeprecation: The trailer for the game notes that they took all of the online feedback for the Sonic the Hedgehog series into account ([[{{TakeThatUs}} yes, all of it]]), and in light of that, they are picking an exciting new direction for Sonic: he's dead.

* SelfDeprecation: The trailer for the game notes that they took all of the online feedback for the Sonic the Hedgehog series into account ([[{{Hatedom}} yes, all of it]]), and in light of that, they are picking an exciting new direction for Sonic: he's dead.

''The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog'' is a visual novel in the ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' series, released on the PC exclusively through UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} for free on March 31, 2023, and [[AprilFoolsDay April 1 in Japan and other countries]]. It was developed by SEGA of America's dedicated ''Sonic'' social media team, led by social media manager [[https://twitter.com/KatieChrz Katie Chrzanowski,]] with assistance from [[https://twitter.com/KatieChrz/status/1641963753632845824 a number of talented people,]] including members of the fan community.

* ADayInTheLimelight: Tails is assigned the detective role, and takes to it quite well, becoming the character the player interacts with the most as he drives the investigation forward. Amy is also very prominent as it’s her birthday, but does get ahead of herself and spend multiple train cars ahead of the player and Tails.

* TheCameo:
** As per series tradition, Big the Cat can be seen through the window of one of the train cars, fishing.
** A portrait of [[VideoGame/SonicUnleashed Professor Pickle]] appears in the library car.
** In the ending of the game, [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/SonicFrontiers Sage]] and Metal Sonic appear in the end next to Eggman, wearing party hats and [[FunTShirt Fun T-Shirts]]. Eggman even namedrops Sage before her cameo in the ending in an optional piece of dialogue]].
** Mixed with MemeAcknowledgement, there are two cameos by the memetic [[VideoGame/SonicForces Rookie]] avatar, [[https://twitter.com/TheFantasticIan/status/927787173939523584 Ian Jr]]: as a portrait in the library car and as a [[spoiler:guitarist in a picture found in the lounge car]].

** In the saloon car, looking out the window reveals a giant chain, possibly the same one used to [[VideoGame/SonicCD capture Little Planet.]]

*** Amy gets a "scoop" when she gets to the library car, [[spoiler:when we know the only character there was Espio. We later learn that his information is false and meant to implicate Shadow. Rouge also finds the blueprint to the car in the library.]]

*** As the player character notes, [[spoiler: Sonic is actually hurt and not simply pretending to be dead for the sake of the game]]. Regardless of the game, none of the cast would ever hurt Sonic that way.

** In the game's final scene, [[spoiler:Metal Sonic alongside Sage wear party hats and [[FunTShirt Fun T-Shirts]], hoping that Eggman succeeded]].

* SkeletonKey: Amy gets a special Birthday Key that lets her move between every train's car even if they're locked. [[spoiler:This throws a wrench into Shadow's plans to delay her while he tries to purchase band tickets for her as a surprise, since she can just unlock the doors.]]

-->'''Player:''' The SunkCostFallacy? ''The phenomenon whereby a person is reluctant to abandon a strategy or course of action because they have invested heavily in it, even when it is clear that abandonment would be more beneficial?'' Of course I've heard of it, [[ComicallyMissingThePoint why do you ask]]?

* WhamEpisode: The conductor's car turns into one of these. [[spoiler:Besides the reveal that Espio is the one who "murdered" Sonic in the murder mystery game, Sonic wakes up and reveals that the Mirage Express is actually one of Eggman's badniks, and it intends to bring them all to Eggman.]]

* SmallTaxonomyPools: According to Ian Mutchler [[WordOfGod (the game's writer)]], the player character is a [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quokka quokka.]][[invoked]]

* SadBattleMusic: The FinalBoss theme. It has some melancholy sections in it, referencing the train is just lonely and it [[IJustWantToHaveFriends just wanted to be with The Conductor forever]] as it doesn't understand the concept of aging due to not being organic (apart from the Flicky in it).

* BaitAndSwitch: Shadow acts shifty once the game begins, locking the doors to prevent Amy from following him...[[spoiler:because he's trying to get concert tickets for her as a birthday gift.]]

* TheComicallySerious: Most of the characters play this when they're getting into their roles, but Blaze is a stand-out example because she ''isn't'' playing a character and is simply like this. For example, the player character can suggest pretending to be her spouse to distract a guard, which Blaze takes as an ''actual'' marriage proposal before asking them about their heritage and what war crimes they've committed. When they back out, Blaze also criticizes them for giving up too easily.

* ItsAllMyFault: [[spoiler:After the Mirage Express is revealed to be one of Eggman's badniks, the MC takes it very hard, blaming themself for letting things get so bad. The dialogue options emphasize that they feel really bad about it. Lucky them, Sonic is there to lift their spirit.]]

* OurHeroIsDead: Sonic the Hedgehog, the Blue Blur himself, is the game's victim. Of course, it's all part of the murder mystery game. [[spoiler:Well, not quite. While the "murderer", Espio, did not intend to actually kill Sonic, he was manipulated into poisoning him by the train. When the PC checks his body, and when he's brought to the conductor car, he's near death. Thankfully, he recovers]].
* OutOfFocus: Sonic himself, due to his "death" being the crux of much of the game's plot. However, he is playable in the minigames during interrogations [[spoiler:and in the final stretch of the game, where he rescues the cast and fights the Mirage Express]].

* {{Retirony}}: A non-lethal example as the Conductor is on his last day before retirement during the events of the game, [[spoiler:which kicks off the train's plot to bring Sonic and his friends to Eggman so it can wish for the Conductor to never leave it]].

* TheShowMustGoOn: The player character is convinced by Tails that Sonic is just committed to the bit and leaves him to continue the mystery game. Later they regret disregarding Sonic's injury.

* SpitefulSpoiler: Knuckles reveals that Espio once speedread a book Knuckles was reading for the sole purpose of spoiling the ending for Knuckles.
* SpoiledSweet: Upon learning that Blaze is a princess, the MC bows to her, but Blaze tells them it's not necessary. If the player talks to Blaze again, the MC will once again bow, and Blaze will remind them that such a thing is really not necessary.

* WhamLine: One that changes the entire story right quick:

* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Despite having sentience and emotional attachement to another, [[spoiler:the cast doesn't hesitate to destory Mirage Express, as it's still a Badnik [[PoweredByAForsakenChild powered by a Flicky]] and has kidnapped them to deliver to Eggman, has almost ruined Amy's birthday, and injured Sonic in the process. Only the Conductor shows pity to it]].

* GreaterScopeVillain: [[spoiler:Eggman is responsible for converting countless trains, including the one the story takes place on, into sentient badniks, and puts a bounty on Sonic to give incentive to capture him. However, he's never directly confronted within the story.]]

* AgelessBirthdayEpisode: Just like how ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' avoided bringing up Sonic's actual age, this game also forgoes any mention on how old Amy really is.

** There are many clues that point to which of the cast murdered Sonic.

*** The player character and Tails find a hidden passage from the conductor car to the Library Car, which gives whoever is in there a way to get closer to Sonic without going through the Casino Car. [[spoiler:Espio's very specialty is espionage and infiltration, which makes him the most equipped to murder someone and get away with it by using a secret passage]].
** There is some for the true nature of one the game's {{Red Herring}}s. [[spoiler:Shadow acts cagey and is pegged as one of the suspects, but one of the first questions he asks the conductor and the player once he boards is if there are any gift bags available for sale on the train. This is the first clue to Shadow's goal is to get a birthday gift for Amy, as everyone but him got her one, clearing him of being the culprit. The only reason why he acts so shady is so that Amy won't find out about his attempt to get the gift using the lounge's computer]].

*** An early function of the train gives a few hints, if the player is paying attention. [[spoiler:The Arms are everywhere in the train, and are said to have a lot of control over its functions besides just cleaning it]].

* HeKnowsTooMuch: [[spoiler:The train manipulated Espio to tranquilize and dispose of Sonic once the latter figured out its true nature as a Badnik]].

* SkeletonKey: Amy gets a special Birthday Key that lets her move between every train's car even if they're locked. [[spoiler:This threw a wrench into Shadow's plans to delay her while he was trying to purchase band tickets for her as a surprise, since she could just unlock the doors he was padlocking.]]

** Mixed with MemeAcknowledgement, there are two cameos by memetic [[VideoGame/SonicForces Rookie]] avatar, [[https://twitter.com/TheFantasticIan/status/927787173939523584 Ian Jr]]: as a portrait in the library car and as a [[spoiler:guitarist in a picture found in the lounge car]].

* CutLexLuthorACheck: [[spoiler:Eggman created an entire functional system of high-speed rail for cargo and passengers across at least one county, even if it was PoweredByAForsakenChild, but only wanted it to carry materials for his future empire and possibly capture Sonic.]]

* SkeletonKey: Amy gets a special Birthday Key that lets her move between every train's car even if they're locked.

*** If you attempt to name yourself after another character in the game, the player character will comment on how that would be cool if it were actually true, and you'll have to input something else.

*** As the player character notes, Sonic is actually hurt and not simply pretending to be dead for the sake of the game. Regardless of the game, none of the cast would ever hurt Sonic that way.

* AscendedMeme: The [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/sonic/images/6/62/Portrait_amy_threatening2.png/revision/latest?cb=20230403174115 threatening look]] Amy makes after she finds out [[spoiler:Sonic was actually injured]] is a reference to the [[https://youtu.be/kJRdOg9ZdJU "You have alerted the Sonic"]] meme that became popular in 2022.

* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot: [[spoiler:Had the player character told the others that Sonic is actually hurt, they could have stopped the Mirage Express' plot much earlier. The PC [[ItsAllMyFault acknowledges this]], but Sonic reassures them that it isn't their fault]].

* LateArrivalSpoiler: If you haven't played ''VideoGame/SonicFrontiers'', then the game's ending spoils the fact that [[spoiler:Sage is one of Eggman's creations and essentially his "daughter", which is admittedly a FirstEpisodeTwist]]. More pertinently, that same detail also spoils the GoldenEnding of ''Frontiers''.

* GenderNeutralWriting:

** This is the first time where Sega's policy of writing Chao as gender-neutral, first established in ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW'', is clearly brought up in a game. Omochao is referred to with they/them pronouns, and so is a guard Chao with a mustache -- [[CreatorCameo based on one of the male game developers, according to the credits]]. This extends to the player character asking the Chao about their partner, rather than husband or wife.

''The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog'' is a visual novel in the ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' series, released on the PC exclusively through UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} for free on March 31, 2023, and [[AprilFoolsDay April 1 in Japan and other countries]]. It was developed by SEGA of America's dedicated ''Sonic'' social media team, led by social media manager [[https://twitter.com/KatieChrz Katie Chrzanowski]], with assistance from [[https://twitter.com/KatieChrz/status/1641963753632845824 a number of talented people]], including members of the fan community.

You can view the game's launch trailer [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC8sIhr-z5I here]].

* AprilFoolsDay: Released March 31, 2023, one day before April Fools'[[note]]though thanks to timezones it was already April 1 in some parts of the world, most notably Sega's home country of Japan[[/note]], and was advertised as "a new direction for ''Sonic''." And it is: [[OurHeroIsDead Sonic the Hedgehog is dead!]] There's even a "Happy April Fools' Day!" note in the credits.
* ArtShiftedSequel: Unlike most entries in the ''Sonic'' franchise, this game uses a cartoony 2D style similar to the ''VideoGame/ProfessorLayton'' games and [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW the IDW comics]], courtesy of Min Ho Kim, a.k.a. [[https://twitter.com/deegeemin DEEGEEMIN]].
* AscendedMeme: The [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/sonic/images/6/62/Portrait_amy_threatening2.png/revision/latest?cb=20230403174115 threatening look]] Amy makes after she finds out [[spoiler:Sonic was actually injured]] is a reference to the "[[https://youtu.be/kJRdOg9ZdJU You have alerted the Sonic]]" meme that would become popular in 2022.

* ChekhovMIA: Invoked. The lore card Tails receives for his detective persona notes that he had a Flicky partner that left him and joined Eggman. [[spoiler: Not only did the train provide the lore card, it was a badnik powered by a Flicky]].

* LooseCanon: Parodied - the official statement is that it's canon, insofar as Sonic Team believes in the power of {{headcanon}}. It does seem to continue on from the story of ''VideoGame/SonicFrontiers'', but also contains references to games and other media set in explicitly different timelines[[note]]The only main game installment it directly ''contradicts'' is ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'', by having Blaze in her [[VideoGame/SonicRush original backstory]] as a DimensionalTraveler, rather than being from the future. Though, considering 06 is ''still'' CanonDiscontinuity, it's not that big a deal[[/note]].

* SmallTaxonomyPools: According to Ian Mutchler [[WordOfGod (the game's writer)]], the player character is a [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quokka quokka]].[[invoked]]