Line #176 VideoGame/SonicStorybookSeries


1	[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sonic_storybook_series_logo.png]]
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3	The ''Sonic Storybook Series'' is a series of spinoffs to the ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' franchise, whose stories are modeled after classic literature, with Sonic and friends as main characters of the story.
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5	The two entries in the series were released on Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} console:
6	* ''VideoGame/SonicAndTheSecretRings'' (2007), based on [[Literature/ArabianNights 1001 Nights]]: Came about due to the time issues with attempting to port ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' for the Nintendo Wii, in time for launch.
7	* ''VideoGame/SonicAndTheBlackKnight'' (2009), based on Myth/ArthurianLegend.
8	----
9	!! Tropes present in both titles include:
10	* EleventhHourSuperpower: Both ''Secret Rings'' and ''Black Knight'' introduce a powerful SuperMode at the end of their respective games, which aren't used until the very end of their stories and when Sonic is on the backfoot.
11	** ''Secret Rings'' introduces [[spoiler:Darkspine Sonic, which is obtained after absorbing the World Rings of Rage, Hatred, and Sorrow, combined with Shahara's residual power. This turns him into a purple hued super form that can control fire and even bend reality]], which was enough to help him defeat the game's final boss.
12	** ''Black Knight'' has [[spoiler:Excalibur Sonic, given to him after being on the receiving end of a CurbStompBattle by Merlina and the Knights of the Round Table provide him the powers of their respective swords. In a TransformationSequence, he dons a set of Golden Armor, red cape, and [[ReforgedBlade repairs Caliburn]] ([[WreckedWeapon who was just destroyed by Merlina]]) restoring him back to his true form, Excalibur]]. All this allows him to overcome the BigBad's machinations and the final boss.
13	* AdaptationalJerkass: Compared to his other game portrayals, Sonic's snarky attitude was more emphasized in both ''Storybook'' games, similar to his respective portrayals from 90s Western shows ''WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM'' and ''WesternAnimation/SonicUnderground'' respectively.
14	* AlternateSelf: Several of Sonic's friends and foes appear as characters in the stories the games adapt.
15	%%* CallingYourAttacks: "Speed Break!" "Time Break!"
16	* ContinuityNod:
17	** When Merlina calls Sonic to her world, [[spoiler:she uses the same spell that Erazor did when summoning the Ifrit,]] albeit very slightly modified. It's quite weird, given that [[spoiler:the spell in question roughly translates to "Satan Arrive!"]]
18	%%* ExpositionFairy: Shahra and Caliburn.
19	%%* FurryConfusion
20	* GetBackHereBoss: Most the bosses in both games are technically this due to it being a rail-platformer. Of particular note is King Arthur. Ironically, he says to Sonic, "[[HypocriticalHumour It looks like there's only one thing you're good at: Running away.]]"
21	* NitroBoost: The Speed Break/Soul Surge. It allows Sonic go across vast chasms in a short period of time with the help of fire rings and pearls filled with energy.
22	* RecycledWithAGimmick: It's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' but with Tales of the Arabian Nights and magic rings in ''Secret Rings'' and King Arthur and The Knights of the Round Table medieval fantasy and sword action in ''Black Knight''. Sonic's friends even stand in for other characters in the stories they spin off from.
23	* LifeAffirmingAesop: In ''[[VideoGame/SonicStorybookSeries Sonic and the Black Knight]]'', the big lesson imparted in the game is the idea of living life to the fullest without clinging to the past. [[spoiler:BigBad Merlina, having learned that Camelot is destined to fall, enacts a plan to regain Excalibur's scabbard and plunge the legendary kingdom an unchanging stasis. Sonic, knowing that everything has an end, refuses to allow Merlina to perform this plan and ultimately defeats her before convincing her to enjoy Camelot while it lasts. The game's ending theme, "Live Life", further pushes this Aesop]].
24	* RetCanon: Sonic loving chili dogs was initially an element of the 90s Western canon (''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'', ''WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM'', ''WesternAnimation/SonicUnderground'', and ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics''). It was introduced into game canon in a Japanese manual for ''Advance 3'', and ''Unleashed'' has chili dogs being one of the highest XP-granting food items (with Chip even saying it's something Sonic really likes), but ''Sonic and the Black Knight'' is the first time Sonic has been seen eating a chili dog on-screen in the games.
25	%%* RoseHairedSweetie: From ''Secret Rings'', Shahra. From ''Black Knight'', Amy/Nimue and Merlina [[spoiler:before the latter becomes the Dark Queen]]. All three aid Sonic on his quests, [[spoiler: but one turns out to be true evil in disguise]].
26	* TakenForGranite: Gargoyles in Secret Rings and and fish-like Knights of the Underworld in Black Knight are capable of turning Sonic to stone. Oddly enough, it's [[OneHitKill instantly fatal]] in ''Black Knight'' without the Stone Brooch or Petrification immunity equipped, but is not fatal in ''Secret Rings'' — you just have to shake the Wii Remote to break free.
27	%%* UndergroundLevel
28	* UniversalAdaptorCast: All of the recurring series' characters. Sonic himself ends up playing a role of one of the characters, though he retains his own personality regardless. [[spoiler:It's implied in ''Sonic and the Secret Rings'' that Sonic is standing in for Aladdin; in ''Sonic and the Black Knight'', it's revealed in the ending that Sonic is the true King Arthur (the one fought earlier was a fake created by Merlin).]]
29	* VillainOfTheWeek: Both games feature unique one-shot villains in place of Dr. Eggman. Eggman only appears as a minor role in ''Sonic and the Secret Rings'' by proxy of his storybook counterpart King Shahryar, and he is completely absent from ''Sonic and the Black Knight''.

Context VideoGame / SonicStorybookSeries