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WMG / Sonic Frontiers

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    Pre-Release 
Amy is a psyker and her powers are beginning to wake up.
More specfically, the power of telepathy, explaining Ghost Girl. She may have been a psyker the whole time and not even realized it.

Her tarot cards aren’t magic, she has had passive precognition “be at right place at right time”.

Her hammer summoning being a form of astral projection bringing the weapon to her when she needs it.

  • Jossed.

The Japanese April Fool 2020 tweet is actually a teaser for a new character debuting in this title.
Capcom did something similar before the announcement of Mega Man 11, sneaking concept art of Block Dropper Mega Man into Mega Man Anniversary Collection 2's image gallery for Mega Man 8 and claiming the design of the Nendoroid toy of Roll (specifically based on her appearance in 11) was merely done in honor of the franchise's 30th anniversary. What's stopping Tribot from showing up in Frontiers?
  • Semi-jossed. New character, yes. New non-organic character, yes. New robot, no.

There will be two versions for different consoles, but not as drastic
  • It may just be versions that have slightly downplayed graphics.
    • Alternatively, the Switch will have an exclusive version, as it has been stated that the PS5 and Xbox Series versions will be backwards compatible on their older siblings.
  • NM: Jossed, all consoles will have the same version of the game. Each just optimized for their respective console.

The ancient race that made all this technology on the islands will be Retconned to be the tribe opposing the Knuckles Clan and forced Pachachamac to use the Master Emerald

The game’s bosses are all Sonic’s friends turned into giant robots

There will be a new villain inspired by Raven Beak.
  • After all, Sega has ALREADY enough accusations of ripping off Nintendo.
    • If that is true, a copy of the game will cameo, implying Sonic has played it, and Sonic will call the villain a “faker.” But in all seriousness, it would be really cool to see a villain with connections to Sonic’s past given how little we know of his backstory and it would allow his character to be explored in a different way.
Amy's voice in the trailer isn't really Amy.
  • It's a secondary AI designed to watch over the Starfall Island that's taken Amy's appearance to earn Sonic's trust and help getting SAGE back from Eggman.
    • If this happens, maybe the AI will become self-aware and fall in love with Sonic and become jealous of the real Amy for being to pursue him, becoming a foil to Metal Sonic in the process.
    • Eggman himself is speaking to Sonic by using Amy's voice with a voice altering device from the AI of SAGE itself to give Sonic a false sense of security as well as taking full advantage of his heroism by forcing him to do all sorts of "missions" around the vast locales of Starfall Island that'll have him mostly distracted while he continues his plot of using the capabilities of the newfound technology.
    • Confirmed and jossed. It is actually an entity called THE END that is guiding Sonic around using their voice; but for far more malevolent intentions.
Nicole the Holo-Lynx will be referenced in some form.
  • Because it'll be way too obvious to pass up.
Eggman will still be the final boss.
Amy and the rest of Sonic's friends are trapped in another dimension.
She was likely talking to Sonic through one of Tails' communication devices or some other way of communicating, and she's helping him rescue them from said dimension as he explores the Starfall Islands.
  • Confirmed! But, she's not really as actively useful to Sonic’s quest as Sonic himself is.
The Phantom Ruby plays a role in the Starfall Islands' history.
With all the faded red cubes in Sonic contrail, and how the enemies and Titan boss from the May 31st teaser dissipated after defeat and even look, it's definitely not a stretch to assume so. Maybe not the same specific one from Mania and Forces, but definitely A Phantom Ruby; possibly the "origin stone" from the concept art.
  • More or less Jossed due to Takashi Iizuka confirming that Sage and Infinite having no connection. Which would logically include the Phantom Ruby given how integral to Infinite the thing is.

There will be a skill tree mechanic of sorts
In the IGN trailers released in June 2022, two collectibles are seen; a pink/red heart-shaped gem (found in the open world) and cyan diamond-shaped gems (which are awarded after beating enemies). These collectibles may be spent on new upgrades and abilities.

The Starfall Islands were originally a research facility for the Phantom Ruby, and Sonic is being used as a test subject.

The location was originally used by an ancient civilization to run various tests using the Phantom Ruby, with it being the source of most of the enemies, puzzles, and challenges the player can find. Perhaps its name comes from the fact the Phantom Ruby (or Phantom Rubies) originally came from space and landed on the islands.

The setup for the game (from what we know so far) has Sonic becoming isolated on the Starfall Islands with an AI voice telling him to collect the Chaos Emeralds, which seem to be held in some sort of area that requires "vault keys" from portal stages. There will also be a prequel story starring Knuckles, which a preview seems to imply might involve some sort of bizarre storm sweeping over the island.

Someone or something steals the Chaos Emeralds and/or Master Emerald before the events of the game and uses them as bait to draw Sonic to the Starfall Islands. The game itself is all one big experiment that this entity is running, either to test Sonic himself or the capabilities of the Phantom Ruby.

  • Jossed... in a sense. You were right about gems of power coming from space, though.

The Starfall Islands are related to Sonic’s past
Notice how there are many features on the islands that would only make sense if it were populated by a people with speed and abilities similar to Sonic, such as the “hamster wheels” and grind rails. Sonic also has a new “cyber-contrail,” which implies that he found an Upgrade Artifact that worked on him because he is a descendant of the island’s people. It is also mentioned in the game’s summary that Sonic will have to “save himself” implying the story will explore Sonic’s character, and having him discover his origins would be a great way to do that.
  • Also, it may be possible that the AI was made by the people to preserve their culture and history, and helps Sonic because he is the last of their masters.
  • Another point of evidence is the name of Sonic Origins. The last Classic Sonic game, Sonic Mania, had Mania in its title because in its sister release, Sonic Forces, had the Phantom Ruby, which induces a form of mania. Therefore, this game could have origins.
  • Supporting this is the Cyberspace levels, which reuse both level themes and level layouts, which not only has Takashi Iizuka said is intentional, but also that the levels represent Sonic's memories.

It will be explained why the Chaos Emeralds weren't used during Sonic Forces.
Especially considering that the IGN preview mentions the presence of the Emeralds in Frontiers.
  • Jossed.

The game won't be delayed, despite fans asking Sega to delay it
While the June trailers looked rather disappointing with their issues (rather empty world, pop-in, lack of speed, etc.), there are two things to note. 1) The game was already delayed (by a year), and 2) The previews and trailers are based on an early build of the game (exactly how early isn't elaborated on, it could be from sometime in 2021 when the game was originally supposed to release, or it could be from early 2022). Because of these two things, the game will probably still come out in 2022, even if it's the week before Christmas, since the game was delayed once already (with it being a safe bet that the version shown was the one from 2021, which might explain why the game was delayed to begin with).
  • In a recent interview, Takashi Iizuka has declared that the game won't be delayed.

The colour order of the Chaos Emeralds
Now that it's been confirmed that the Chaos Emeralds will be returning, the idea behind the game seems to be (so far): explore the open world and gain new abilities to reach portal gears which unlock linear stages, then complete them to get Vault Keys that unlock the Chaos Emeralds (presumably, collecting all 7 of them unlocks the final stage and Final Boss). But what order will the Emeralds be collected in? The order is different for each game, with green or blue usually being the first one, and white, red, or purple being the final one, with yellow and cyan near the middle. Here's one prediction (with their locations to match):

The game’s plot will be a character-focused Internal Deconstruction

The open world Genre Shift will be Played for Laughs and used to justify the tutorial.
  • Sonic will be treated as a Genre Refugee, needing to have things like nonlinear gameplay and skill trees explained to him because he is usually a platform character. This will often confuse him and also serve as a tutorial for the player.
  • Jossed.

Eggman has been imprisoned by SAGE.
  • In the June 13 gameplay videos, we see a ship with the Eggman logo on it that is seemingly abandoned. That combined with the lack of any Eggman-style robots is suspicious considering the doctor is supposed to have arrived on the Starfall Islands before Sonic and friends.
    • Recent (October 24th) press previews reveal that Eggman looked to be planning a full invasion.
  • Jossed. She's actually trying to help him escape from Cyberspace!
  • Not exactly. She is in fact the one trapping him in Cyberspace, albeit for protective reason.

There will be a Quirky Miniboss Squad that function as Take That! toward the games' perceived Character Derailment
Ian Flynn isn't above taking shots at mistakes the series has made, and has wrote the characters in the IDW comic well (except for Shadow, but that’s not really on him), so this game will have him voice his complaints toward the handling of the characters and series. To this end, the game will have five bosses that serve as an Evil Counterpart to Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, and Shadow that also reflect their less than savory portrayals.

Assuming the "Sonic's past" WMG is at least mostly accurate, the mysterious AI helping Sonic is also connected to him personally.
It could be revealed that it was even the force responsible for why he had a different fate from his possible ancestors (be they missing or dead) in the first place, possibly sending him away from a disaster they underwent as a young child, or cloning him from their leftover DNA after they vanished. (Its motherly tone in the English dub also reminds this troper somewhat of the voice that Queen Aleena had, but it's still a stretch at best to theorize that the AI will even be an expy to Aleena as a mother figure to Sonic, especially given SEGA's historical apathy towards Sonic the Hedgehog adaptations they feel have already run their course.)

The pink heart-shaped collectible and what it does
A previous WMG entry mentions that the collectible will be part of a skill tree. However, while the skill tree is in the game, the IGN hands-on preview mentions that the cyan diamond collectible awarded for beating enemies awards EXP, and that is used to get more skills. So what could the pink heart collectible be used for? Some possibilities:
  • Increasing a Life Meter (assuming there is one)
  • Increasing durability (so getting hit by an enemy makes Sonic lose less rings).
  • A new gameplay feature that hasn't been revealed yet.
  • If the Chao Garden returns, it may be a collectible that can increase their happiness.

  • NM: They're used to free Amy.

The new villain will be a child with the same skill set as Sonic.
According to a Portuguese outlet that played the demo, when they got all the hearts and saved Amy from a mysterious cocoon, the silhouette of what seemed to be a child appeared before the demo ended.
  • Jossed.

My theory, to go with the ones above about this game delving into Sonic's origins, is that this child and Sonic are descendants of the people of the Starfall Islands who had the same abilities. But whereas Sonic uses his for freedom and the good of others (or Surge, who uses hers to do whatever she wants with no regard for others outside of maliciousness), this child uses them for fun and their own amusement. The robots are to keep them from escaping the islands into the outside world.

  • Somewhat jossed as of the Story Trailer. At least in terms of how they act with their powers.
  • Fully jossed as of the full release.

The memory recovery quest will be a massive Continuity Cavalcade.
A major part of the game is collecting pink hearts to restore Amy's memories, so it would make sense that when restoring them we would see them. Either in the form of a cutscene depicting the event or a picture representing it and many of them callbacks to early games. And assuming the leaks saying that Sonic, Tails, and Eggman lost their memories too are true then obviously we'll see their memories too. Some ideas of memories we'll see:

Much like the Quirky Mini Boss Squad WMG above, there will be a joking Take That! towards the games' overreliance on characters like Zavok, Classic Sonic, and the Wisps
At some point after a Cyberspace level, Sonic will compare revisiting his past to adventuring with his younger self and wonder how he's doing, before brushing it off since this is about him right now. An explanation to the Retcon of Classic apparently being from another dimension could also work.

Similarly, Sonic will worry about facing Zavok again since "that big monster should just quit already", and will muse that he could really use a Wisp to help him out while musing on why they continue to stick around despite their worlds already being saved.

  • NM: Some Wisps stayed while the rest left and returned their planet(s) to their rightful place in the universe.

The child is a Red Herring
He’s just a side character or completely irrelevant to the plot, who just happened to show up. Given the game’s mysterious air, it is unlikely a Walking Spoiler would be in a demo.
  • NM: As of the Nintendo Direct Mini, SHE is an antagonist that urges Sonic to leave the Starfall Islands in spite of his mission to find Tails and Amy. Her name is Sage. From Tails Channel on Twitter: https://t.co/aL69TZjdVh

Trees are going to be important somehow.
The Origins data mine implied the existence of something called Kodama, which are spirits that inhabit trees in Japanese folklore. I believe trees will have ghosts (real or otherwise) that explain the history of the islands like the memory sites in BoTW.
  • Jossed in regards to the trees, but the virtual ghosts bit wasn't far off with the Koco and Cyberspace.

Sage wants Sonic to leave for his own good.
I kind of doubt Sage will be a full-on villain just because she wants Sonic to leave Tails and Amy behind on the Starfall Islands. I think Sage wants Sonic to leave because there's a far greater threat she's trying to keep at bay that will most likely become the final boss.
  • People who have compared this to the Japanese version of the trailers have discovered Sage is after blood, so this is a dub invention of some degree.
    • Not really, considering that the script was written in English first by Ian Flynn before Kishimoto himself handled altering it for Japanese audiences. So, if anything, the dub invention here is on the Japanese side of things for once.

Tails is the important one here
Sage (or whoever she works for) wants Sonic off the island because he and Amy were not the targets of her attack — Tails was. Amy was sealed in a cocoon because she was a low-priority target compared to Tails. Sage fights Sonic to prevent him from rescuing Tails.
  • Looking more and more jossed by every bit of information we get. Both Amy and Knuckles are confirmed to be kept in cages unlocked by Memory Tokens, and Eggman is shown to be just as trapped as they are - even without a cage explicitly shown. So Tails being in the same state, and just as important as they are to Sage (i.e not at all) isn't all that farfetched.
    • As of October 24th: Jossed!

Sonic will rescue four of his friends from the four islands
  • The first rescue will be Amy, followed by Tails, Knuckles, and Shadow. Rescuing them will grant abilities like The Four Champions.
  • Amy is indeed the first, but after her is Knuckles, then presumably Tails with Eggman either immediately after or further down the line. Shadow is jossed since Iizuka confirmed that he's not in the game.
    • Tails is indeed on Chaos Island the third island we visit.

Frontiers will be a step above Darker and Edgier, it will be a Wham Episode for the series.
In the game, Sonic and other characters will learn that their world is merely a virtual imitation of the real one they ended up in. One of them might even Go Mad from the Revelation due to it, temporarily or permanently.
To have a better idea of what this troper is talking about, go here.
  • Given Sonic’s Cyloop and Sage and the robots' visual effects, I think that it is the other way around: The Starfall islands are virtual. I can’t think of a reason why SEGA would make a retcon of that magnitude.
    • NM: On the other hand, though, the official plot from Sega PR and Tails Channel says that Sonic, Tails, and Amy all went through a dimensional wormhole and trapped in Cyber Space. With Sonic being the only one able to escape and go to and from there and Reality. So neither might be virtual and it's just Cyber Space. The Japanese version of the opening scene of the demo basically josses this by having both the Mysterious Voice AND Sonic acknowledge the Starfall Islands existence. The former calling it a place lost to time and faded to oblivion, while the latter explicitly says that it's the place he, Tails, and Amy were looking for. Link.
      • NM: The Starfall Islsnds are 100% real as proven by TailsTube Episode 3: Link.
  • So VERY MUCH jossed and by Ian Flynn no less.
  • While the above speculation was jossed, the game being a Wham Episode IS confirmed. Notably, we finally learn where the Chaos Emeralds come from (SPACE!) and it seems like Tails, Amy, and Knuckles are splitting up with Sonic to pursue their own dreams, at least for a time.

Sonic and Sage are brother and sister.
NM: Stick with me for this.

1: The mysterious elderly voice says, "Use the gears as you have done before." Clearly implying that Sonic has some history or connection to the Starfall Islands.

2: Sonic's the only one able to escape Cyber Space, and easily re-enter, of his own will and power from what we can tell. Not to mention the Skill Tree, Cyloop, and overall terrain of Kronos Island looks tailor made for someone of his skills and build. Or maybe the other way around.

  • From Gamescom demo footage said by the Mysterious Voice: "Mortal. You have done the impossible. You have escaped Cyber Space of your own power. You are the Key."
  • From this video from 6:41 onwards (not part of the massive leak) said by Sage: "How are you able to return from Cyber Space so freely?"

3: Sage only cares about Sonic leaving and no one else.

  • From the Story Trailer: "Your reckless actions endanger the world. You cannot run forever. Leave. Immediately."

4: Sonic was born on an island we've yet to see (Christmas Island).

My theory is that Sonic and Sage are both Cyber Entities that were made to manifest between Cyber Space and Reality via experiments with the Chaos Emeralds. But something went wrong that left Sonic lost to time and the outside world, the Emeralds scattered (with the Master Emerald presumably created as a result of this), and Sage mostly trapped on the Starfall Islands for one reason or another.

  • Addendum: Iizuka confirmed that the Cyber Space levels are indeed based off of Sonic's memories. (From SSF 1991 on Twitter: Iizuka confirmed to Game Informer that the Cyberspace levels are based off of Sonic's memories.) Why would that be if Sonic didn't have some connection to the Starfall Islands? Like the tech interfacing with his mind.

    • Addendum 2: Looking more likely thanks to the Story Trailer having Sonic suffer a similar affect that Sage is dealing with.

      • Addendum 3: The main theme "I'm Here" and ending theme "Vandalize" are very clearly from Sonic and Sage's perspectives. Looking even more likely.

  • Jossed. She's an AI, and he's just absorbing cyberspace energies.

Sage will be a Contrasting Sequel Antagonist to Infinite.

1. She's the first female main antagonist in a mainline Sonic game. Zeena was the last female villain in general, but was merely part of a group. Witchcart and Merlina were the main villains of spinoffs.

2. Also the first non-Eggman humanoid main antagonist in any game since Merlina, whereas Infinite was a mobian.

3. Infinite started out as a regular mercenary before becoming a monster with the power of the Phantom Ruby. Sage is said to be an AI, so she was likely born the way she is.

4. Infinite worked as Eggman's right hand man throughout his whole conquest. Although there were a few hints that he wanted to betray him, Eggman beat him to it by dispatching him for his failure. IGN's description indicates that Sage betrayed Eggman the moment he reactivated her.

5. Sage is not a sadist like Infinite. It's currently unknown why she wants Sonic to leave the islands, but considering she simply wants him to leave rather than wanting to kill him, perhaps there's a caring side deep down in her.

Each island will have a Collection Sidequest themed around card suits
  • On the first island, you collect hearts, so the other islands would have spades, diamonds, and clubs.
    • To add to this: Amy = Heart, Tails = Spade, Eggman = Diamonds, Knuckles = Clubs.
  • Jossed.

There will be an achievement for beating ASURA in a boss fight, and it will be named "Asura's Wrath."
Because why not?

The Big Bad is not Sage or Eggman, but rather whoever the voice that guides Sonic belongs to.
They will be a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing, using Sonic and his friends to get the Chaos Emeralds for their own nefarious plans, while Sage is a Well-Intentioned Extremist who wants the Emeralds locked away forever, which is why she captured Sonic's friends but not him, since she knows she can't take him on, while the voice's owner considers him a perfect pawn and easily manipulates him because of Sage refusing to elaborate on anything.
  • The voice may actually be Eggman himself, who manages to act from inside the cyberspace, not to mention there was something about Sonic "racing to defeat Eggman" in a Gamesradar+ article about the game.
    • Doubt it. A cutscene shows that Eggman found himself trapped in cyberspace, and being curious about it, evidencing that he is as much of a victim in this situation as Sonic, Tails, and Amy. So the voice is likely a new villain. The "racing to defeat Eggman" part may just be implying that Eggman is trying to be the ultimate threat but ultimately is not. After all, they can't spoil anything about the final boss.
  • Confirmed. Turns out, it's a big ol' doomsday meteor that got sealed in cyberspace by the ancients!

Possible Unlockable/DLC cosmetics.

There will be a New Game Plus mode for Frontiers.
  • Progression is different this time around, after all. Jury's out on what twists or unique elements it might have, though, if any.
  • Confirmed as a DLC update

A reverse version of the above "Sonic's guide is the true villain" WMG.
Sonic's guide is just another one of Sage's unlucky prisoners (maybe an AI themselves) who tries to break out, and whatever they mean by "breaking the walls between dimensions" is actually a good thing. Sage, meanwhile, is a Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist who wants to either Take Over the World or something even worse, and tries to gaslight Sonic by claiming that he's the one endangering the world. Sonic will, in fact, suspect that what she says is true and won't fully trust the disembodied voice, but in the end the confusion will be cleared out.
  • Funnily enough, both confirmed and jossed at the same time as the other one was confirmed. They were trying to break out, but they were a malevolant force, and Sage wasn't keeping it prisoner.

Possible other Classical Mythology names and settings for the last three islands
Of course, the words "Gaia" (personification of the earth) and "Chaos" (the nothingness from before time began) have already been used in this series, so we can rule out both them and maybe other primordial Greek deities. I know for a fact that nobody at SEGA would let "Uranus Island" fly, anyways.

Kronos Island features a lush grassland and temperate rainforest, and is named after the Greek god of the harvest, agriculture and time (the last of which is accidental; the Romans conflated him with that of the similarly-named Chronos), which could imply a reference to the simple lives of its Koco inhabitants, it being the start of Sonic's journey, or something else entirely. There might even be a reference to how Kronos was king of the gods (and the "Titans" of Greek myth, which the antagonistic force of this game is named after) until Zeus overthrew him, but there's nothing that can be inferred from what little info we have now.

Ares Island is a hot desert with more tropical plant life like palm trees and cacti, and is named after the Greek god representing violent and bloody war (albeit one not featured often in the original Greek myths; by contrast, his Roman counterpart of Mars was viewed as a father to the Roman people, second in importance to Jupiter himself), possibly referring to the sizzling heat and "brutal" conditions of the island's climate?

That said, here's some potential settings for the last three islands, along with some possible names for each:

  • A huge ancient city akin to Lost World or Chaos Angel, featuring bizarre architecture out the wazoo, and plenty of ancient machines and traps. It may even be an artificial island outright. Possible names: Hephaestus Island (named after the blacksmith of the Greek gods, representing fire, craftsmen and the forge) or Athena Island (named after the goddess of wisdom, knowledge, the arts and war in defense).
    • Alternatively, it may be an aerial structure, akin to Sky Sanctuary or Sky Babylon. Possible other name in this case: Hermes Island (named after the messenger of the gods, representing thieves, trade, travel, trickery and athletics).
  • An icy or tundra island. As a Hailfire Peaks variant, the island may also be next to a Lethal Lava Land surrounding a volcano. Possible name: Hades Island (named after, you guessed it, the ruler of the Underworld, who was actually a rather decent guy despite often being feared of by the Greeks) or even Persephone Island (named after Hades' queen, the goddess indirectly responsible for the changing of seasons by traveling to and from the Underworld every six months).
  • And of course the obvious one, a partially sunken island called Poseidon Island.
  • Confirmed. Rhea and Ouranos. The latter of which is actually the original name for the guy that the above troper said wouldn't be allowed to fly at Sega!

Cyberspace will take level designs or themes from the memories of other characters, not just Sonic.
We already know that the Cyberspace levels we've seen so far borrow themes and level designs from levels in previous Sonic games, as a way of calling back to Sonic's memories. However, Cyberspace could also pull from the memories of Tails, Knuckles, Amy, or even Eggman- so we could see level designs or themes borrowed from the mech, treasure hunting, or escaping-from-Zero stages in the Adventure series.
  • If this ends up being the case, we might also see Sage's backstory conveyed partially or entirely by means of Cyberspace levels. Later on in the game, possibly on the fourth or fifth island, we'll end up seeing levels with completely new level designs- and Sonic and co. will realize that it's not their memories that Cyberspace is pulling from anymore...

They will be more than five main areas.
  • The game's listing specifically states there are "five massive overworld islands", so there will be at least one open zone area that isn't an island. Most likely it will be the final area.
  • Jossed. There's only the five islands. Well, four in fact.

The ancients' appearances will be a major plot twist.
  • The trailers and promotional material keep mentioning the ancients of the Starfall Islands, but we have yet to see what they look like. This is because part of their physical appearance is key to the game's plot.
  • Confirmed. They're the ancestors of Chaos, and they look the part.

Tails is in a predicament similar to Amy.
  • The footage of Ares Island shows Sonic collecting orange medals that are similar to the pink hearts. The heart symbolizes love and shares a color with Amy. It stands to reason that the medal symbolizes respect and shares a color with Tails, suggesting the medals are used to rescue him.
    • NM: Partially jossed. As said by journalist and those that played the press exclusive demo, Ares Island is where Knuckles is contained. Though that doesn't really disprove Tails being in the same predicament; it's a borderline certainty at this point with Amy (who was with Sonic and Tails when they got sucked into Cyber Space), Eggman (who was on the island and presumably woke Sage up), and Knuckles (who was on Angel Island) all being trapped in Cyber Space.
      • Tails is indeed in the exact same predicament as Amy. Knuckles too.

Sonic will learn Shock and Awe abilities as a reference to the movies.
Bonus points if the moves have “Surge” in their names.
  • Confirmed! He has a long ranged electric stomp attack seemingly for crowd control.

Amy and Knuckles will be freed easily, because they are low-priority targets, while Sonic, Tails and Eggman are of higher priority.
The villain(s) need(s) Tails and Eggman for their intelligence, and thus keep(s) them as far out of Sonic's reach as possible. Sonic may even have to Beat the Curse out of Them late in the story.
  • Jossed on the Tails side of things, he's on Chaos Island in the exact same predicament as Amy and Knuckles were on Kronos and Ares Island respectively.

Areas from games outside the mainline ones or with retconned events might be featured
Given that we see the Chaos Emeralds in an overview video, and those are famed for their reality-warping powers, we might get to see places from the Boom games, 2006 locations or even the incoming Sonic Prime show, with Sonic expressing confusion that the cyberspace is using memories from places he's never been to (or at least doesn't recall going to).

There will be at least one Disney Death in the story.
Considering the game is aiming for the Darker and Edgier feeling, but Sonic Team obviously wouldn't have the guts to kill off a recurring character (not to mention the likely fandom outrage if they had), Flynn will limit himself to this.
  • Confirmed. Twice, even! Though the second time it does not happen to a recurring character (at least, not recurring yet seeing as this is her debut.)

The events of the game are caused because Sage feels Sonic needs to become stronger.
  • The Ancients were Benevolent Precursors who created Sonic as a natural defense system for the planet, being able to protect it from threats such as Eggman. Sage was also created in the event that Sonic was too weak to handle a threat. Because of the events of Sonic Forces, Sage feels that Sonic needs to become stronger and sends him and his friends to the Starfall Islands. There, Sonic becomes stronger thanks to his new abilities. Sonic’s friends were captured as a means of motivating him.

Alternatively to the WMG above, the events of the game are due to Sage not thinking Sonic's strong enough.

  • To add a somewhat different spin onto the immediate above WMG, the event that lead to the Starfall Islands current state was one such event Sonic was too weak to stop. So Sage sealed what caused it away into Cyberspace, deploying the Titans to ensure it stayed sealed, while Sonic was wisked away to the present by the Chaos Emeralds and the gems removed from the islands. Sage is adamant about Sonic leaving because she thinks that Sonic's not strong enough, but doesn't get why he persists in continuing when he's outclassed. Completely unaware of his growth as a hero over the years, and only sealing Amy and Tails away due to thinking they're intruders like Eggman. Knuckles was brought to the Starfall Islands and sealed in Cyberspace by Sage to retrieve the Master Emerald, use it to stow away the Chaos Emeralds, and keep what she sealed from getting either of them or out.
    • If the Starfall Islands are OLDER than the Knuckles Clan, which is very likely, then this event is what led to the creation of the Master Emerald; to ensure the Emeralds could be stopped if used for evil or brought back to the Starfall Islands before Sonic was strong enough. Unfortunately, if true, they didn't take into account someone finding the Emeralds, or where they hid them being raised into the sky and attacked.
      • Or, conversely, the Master Emerald was already made and both it and the Chaos Emeralds were hidden off-isle after Sonic was displaced to the present, leading to the whole thing with the Knuckles Clan. Either way works.
  • TL;DR (if the above is somehow a bit confusing): Sage took the Chaos and Master Emeralds, and tried to seal everyone in Cyberspace when they arrived, due to thinking Sonic's still not strong enough even long after his failure in the past.

Sonic's red arm is some sort of affliction caused by being in Cyberspace for too long.
  • If it goes too far, Sonic will be irreversibly changed into a digital construct and be stuck in Cyberspace. This also explains why Sage wants him off the islands — she doesn't want him to be hurt. She knows that if she explained the situation to Sonic he wouldn't hesitate to continue to save his friends anyways, so instead she is trying to get him off the islands by force.
    • NM: Considering Sonic's able to go to and from Cyber Space like Sage seems to be able to, while the others (Amy, Knuckles, Tails, and Eggman) have been outright trapped and contained in Cyber Space for just as long as, if not longer than in the case of Knuckles and Eggman, Sonic himself. I doubt this is the case. Sonic seems to be the only one in real danger from it due to his affliction seeming to actively help ("give him a boost" in his words) and harm him (as seen in the Story Trailer). Whereas everyone else, minus Sage the only other character physically affected by it, seems to suffer nothing from it.
      • NM: Plus, as footage from Gamescom reveals, after Sonic frees one of his friends from their cages the red energy goes into him. While the others remain as digital ghosts of sorts still trapped in Cyber Space. Such a stark difference between how Sonic is affected by Cyber Space and the others are affected by Cyber Space really can't be chalked up to just him being The Protagonist.

The purple-haired woman shown during the first TailsTube Episode is Sage's Creator.
  • Based on Ian Flynn's #KnowingSmile comment, which usually is reserved for things he's not allowed to talk about yet, there's a likely chance if it's not for the IDW Comic run, it's for this game.
  • Sage has been the first human-esque character to be introduced to the series ever since Sonic and the Black Knight, and if this woman is somehow involved, it explains her human-like appearance. She was originally doing experimentation on the Starfall Islands before she disappeared.
  • This woman might not necessarily be her creator either, and was a scientist who was involved in her creation/maintenance.
  • It's also possible that this woman could be the older woman's voice that Sonic hears at the beginning of the game, telling him to destroy the titans.
    • All of these are jossed. Sage's creator is in fact Eggman.

Sonic will have a Protagonist Journey to Villain.
  • Sonic's character development would result in him growing desperate to save his friends in this strange new world, turning evil in the process with Sage being a Hero Antagonist with good intentions.
  • Semi-Jossed. Sonic's actions do inadvertently cause the Big Bad to get released, but he quickly decides to fix situation.

Where is Eggman?
As of the Direct on September 13th, which had a trailer in the Japanese version, we still have not actually seen Eggman anywhere in the game. We've seen one of his bases, but neither hide nor hair of the doctor. It's possible Sage has something to do with him not being around, but it still begs the question of where he is.
  • NM: Gameinformer magazine and Gamescom demo footage reveal that he's trapped in Cyber Space like Amy, Tails, and Knuckles.

Sonic will gain an alternate final form for this game, similar to the Storybook releases.
With Super Sonic seeming to be a part of the standard game in the TGS trailer, the idea that it’ll be used again for the standard true ending sequence is unlikely. The story reveal trailer seems to hint that we could be seeing at least SOME kind of different transformation for Sonic with the dark red corruption, which may lead to Sonic being able to use it to his advantage by the end of the game.
  • Jossed. Sonic does get corrupted, but he doesn't get a new Super Form out of it. Super Sonic is used for the finale.
    • The final DLC twists this a bit, as he gets an enhanced Super Form for the final boss of that.

Infinite will return.
And hopefully as a much more well-written character that's more fleshed-out than he was in Forces and finally takes the role as the true Big Bad and not a superpowered lackey to Eggman. Besides, the setting of a digital, cyberspace world with antagonists that are glitchy and red seems perfect for him. Plus, there are several indications that he's going to return. As mentioned, the robots in the game are glitchy and red, alongside Sage herself. Glitchy red and other virtual-like particles are heavily associated with the game since the first teaser for it dropped in 2021, and Infinite's character is constantly surrounded by them.

In addition, there is are very clear, possibly deliberate visual similarities between Sage and Infinite, both coloured in black, white and red and having one eye covered (conveniently the same eye as well). Sage could also work into how Infinite returns. Infinite, laying dormant in the Phantom Ruby, could've attached himself to the Sage A.I. developed by Eggman to manifest a digital minion for him to use. Regardless if Sage is aware that she's working with Infinite or not, Infinite could very well be using her as a pawn to work towards his freedom and regaining his power. Alternatively, there's also the possibility that Sage is Infinite himself in a disguise. Sage's goals into driving Sonic away from Starfall Islands also makes sense if Sage is Infinite or related to him: he doesn't want Sonic to discover what he's doing and ruin his schemes again, and so, is doing everything in his power to keep his true machinations behind the curtains.

And in regards to Iizuka stating that they have no connection, it could very well just be a red herring. It's not a far-fetched assumption to say that the statement was made to quell discussion in order to reveal Infinite as the Big Bad in the final release.

  • Jossed. While he does get namedropped by Tails, Infinite does not appear.

Sage's initial appearance is a Sleep-Mode Size
  • Either she'll shift into an adult battle form or upload herself into a Mother Titan Unit which will probably be a Colossus Climb. Even if this gets jossed, there's no way Sage will be a pushover.

The game will cap off with a trip to the final frontier.
This series is already famous for it, after all, and with Cyber Space and all their other advanced technology, what's to say the ancients couldn't at least find a way to get into outer space?
  • Confirmed!

Memory Tokens for other characters
Amy's memory token is a pink heart, Knuckles' memory token is a gold medal. Here's some suggestions for other characters' memory tokens:
  • Tails: Propeller
  • Eggman: Egg
  • Big: Fishing rod or frog
  • Sonic himself: Blue symbol that resembles the symbol found in the initial reveal trailer
  • Tails' memory token is Jossed, according to the preview of Chaos Island, it's a yellow wrench. The latter three are also Jossed.

The ancients will be revealed to have created the Chaos Emeralds.
In Divergence, Knuckles questions who built the Master Emerald shrine and it is shown the technology of the Starfall Islands exists on Angel Island, at least in Sky Sanctuary. It will be revealed the ancients created the Master Emerald shrine to better harness the powers of their newly created Chaos Emeralds, with Sky Sanctuary serving as a research center or military fort.
  • Semi-Confirmed. While the ancients are the ones responsible for bringing the Chaos Emeralds to Sonic's world, it is never specified whether they actually created them as its only stated that the Emeralds are "from their homeworld." The game seems to imply that the Chaos Emeralds are actually either made from, or are, the equivalent of the Master Emerald for the Ancients' homeworld, seeing as they were drawn to the Master Emerald of Sonic's world.

Knuckles will get some sort of Character Development during the game.
In TailsTube, he is quite unusually cold towards Sonic (not that they've ever been besties in canon, but not to this level), and in Divergence, he makes a point about being a loner several times. It's likely that he'll start to appreciate Sonic more after he rescues him, and eventually warm up to the rest of the gang.
  • Semi-Confirmed. Knuckles does get a little bit of character development, but it has nothing to do with his relationship with Sonic, and the two remain Vitriolic Best Buds.

Eggman will show genuine kindness toward Sage, and not just treat her as an expendable minion.
Two things. Kishimoto said in a prerelease comment that Eggman will be written as a "flesh and blood human being in the story." About a week before the game's release, Ian Flynn commented on the BumbleKast that he wonders what it would be like for Eggman to actually take pride in his creations gaining independence - before theatrically sighing, and saying he'd like to see that "one day." Combined, these feel like hints that Eggman's relationship with Sage will be more complicated than a simple villain and henchman. They'll show genuine concern and compassion for each other, and perhaps have a parent-and-child dynamic.
  • Confirmed. Eggman and Sage even refer to each other as "father" and "daughter" respectively.

    Post-Release 
The next game won't feature Tails, Amy, or Knuckles.
Their character arcs all end with Sonic's friends deciding to take a break from adventuring with the blue hedgehog and do their own thing. While it's unlikely they'll be gone for GOOD, having them in the next game would undercut this development.
  • Such a temporary trimming of the cast would give other characters like Team Dark, the Chaotix, or Silver and Blaze a chance to star alongside Sonic without overcrowding the game as much, which has been a complaint against entries such as Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).
  • Alternatively, they will each have their own spin-off games focusing on each of them going on their solo adventures. What's not stopping Sega from having a Knuckles brawler-type game or a Tails exploration game?
  • Semi-jossed, as the next released Sonic Game: The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog which takes place after Frontiers if Sage's presence is any indication has Amy, Knuckles, and Tails all present. Only semi-jossed however, because the game's a small free-to-play one released for April Fools day whose canonicity is ambiguous and excused by it being Amy's birthday.
    • Later fully jossed, as the next official, proper Sonic game, that being Sonic Superstars, features all three of them alongside Sonic. That one is justified, though, in that the game takes place back in Classic Sonic's time, long before the events of this game.
    • Jossed again with the Apple Arcade-exclusive Sonic Dream Team, which features Tails, Knuckles and Amy as playable characters alongside Cream and Rouge.

Other characters will be name-dropped in a future mainline game.
  • Since Tangle the Lemur and Sticks the Badger have been namedropped, this opens up a door to many possible characters not originating from the main games to be similarly namedropped in a future game. Place your bets.
    • Sally Acorn: She has been a major ally in both Sonic SatAM and the Archie comics, and she's a smart, strong-willed princess. Plus, her fans have been rallying for Sally to be acknowledged by Sega for years.
      • It's possible, but Ian Flynn has noted that they've been trying to get Sega to budge on her and the Freedom Fighters for a while and haven't gotten much of anywhere; so if she does return with the others, it's not until a while down the road.
    • Whisper the Wolf: Since Tangle has been mentioned, it's very likely for her lifetime partner Whisper to be similarly namedropped as well.
    • Dr. Starline: A very popular villain who might be another chance for Sonic and Eggman to form an Enemy Mine.
    • Tekno The Canary: Amy's clever friend and inventor of Megatal, the world's strongest metal.
      • This one will likely have to also be pre-emptively jossed; if the IDW team is struggling to even get the Freedom Fighters through Sega, it'll be a cold day in hell before a member of the Fleetway Freedom Fighters characters like Tekno gets through. Plus, add in that Tails already fills the "clever inventor" niche and her odds just get even worse.
    • Dr. Zachary: An evil Echina scientist with white fur, who is Knuckles arch enemy. Dr. Zachary has had expies in Ix, Dr. Starline and Dr. Finitevus.
      • Gonna have to pre-emptively joss this one. Sega doesn't want to touch echidnas other than Knuckles even with a ten-foot pole because of the whole Ken Penders debacle.
    • Manic and Sonia: Due to originally being Sonic's siblings from the very source they originated from, they would likely be retconned to be either distant relatives of Sonic or not having a connection to him at all.
    • The Sonic's friends from Stay Sonic: Tux the Penguin, Joe Sushi the Walrus, Johnny Lightfoot the Rabbit, Sally Acorn the Squirrel, Porker Lewis the Pig, Chirps the Chicken and Flicky the Bluebird.

Eggman's relationship with Sage isn't just born out of her being like a daughter to the doctor
  • Eggman's happy he finally has a minion that isn't a complete moron or The Starscream.
    • Likely jossed, given the fondness in his statements relating to her towards the end of the game.

With Tails, Knuckles and Amy gone, they'll be temporarily filled in by other characters who have been Out of Focus for years
  • Given Sonic's massive cast of characters, the possibilities are endless. And since Tangle was name-dropped, we could even include characters from outside the games as well.

Sage will be the third member of Team Eggman instead of Zavok in the next Team Sonic Racing title.
  • Now that Sage has been introduced as a new addition to the Eggman Empire, fulfilling the role of Eggman's daughter, she will be playable in kart-racing spinoffs alongside her father and Metal Sonic.
    • Eggman would probably have to change to a Power type. Metal Sonic must still be a Speed type, and Sage wouldn't make sense as a Power type so she would be Technical.
      • Eggman is a Power type.

A future game's plot will go further into the relationship of the Chaos and Master Emeralds, and may even bring back Hyper Sonic
  • While Frontiers answers a few questions regarding the origins of the Chaos Emeralds, it also makes their seemingly close relationship with the Master Emerald even more vague considering that they seems to originate from different planets entirely. A game explaining what their deal is and why the Master Emerald seemed to be calling them to Earth seems like a given at this point, and assuming THE END holds grudges and wants to come back for round 2, it would be the perfect opportunity to bring back the long-lost Hyper transformation.
    • Likely Jossed; Sega and Sonic Team shot down Ian when he proposed bringing Hyper Sonic back for Frontiers due to wanting to avoid falling into the DBZ trap of introducing "better" versions of Super Sonic that render that form obsolete and causing power creep.

THE END will appear in a future game in a Mobian body and a new name
  • Maybe going as far as using Infinite’s body as a vessel.
    • Would be rather ironic if that were the case, given Infinite's name is the polar opposite of THE END.

THE END isn't a new villain
  • THE END consume worlds, and consume Cyber Space space and time, just like Solaris consumes time and space. THE END is Solaris.
    • Impossible. Solaris was erased from the timeline. And even if he wasn't, THE END is clearly far older than Solaris as it came to Sonic's planet when it was still populated by the Ancients. Solaris was created much later in history as part of the Solaris Project when Elise was a child. Also, Solaris wants to destroy all of time and space, while THE END from what we know, only consumes planets and stars, seemingly one at a time.
      • Alternatively, like how Ian Flynn theorized the Time Eater was the remnants of Mephiles, THE END is the remnants of Iblis, having been flung back in time and given long enough time to develop its own personality separate from Mephiles.
      • Unlikely since the Ifrit from Sonic Rivals 2 works better as Iblis' remnant than THE END would.

All the Monster of the Week final bosses in previous games are incarnations or contain a fragment of THE END's power.
  • THE END seems like a similar type of being to Void, a god-like entity who could reincarnate into other forms and may have connections to every non-Eggman final boss in the series, similarly to how Void may have connections to Dark Matter and its brethren. Both characters are named after death related terms, were sealed away by an ancient civilization, are spherical, use Bullet Hell attacks, and are the True Final Boss of their respective games fought only on the hardest difficulty of their respective games.
    • If not Void, then THE END does share a few similarities with Unicron in that both characters are the Big Bad of their stories, are giant moon shaped creatures who devour planets and are unable to be defeated through regular means.

Someone at Sonic Team will make a proper Spiritual Successor to Ikaruga.
  • There seems to be a big Ikaruga fan on the development team with a hell of a lot of pull considering the True Final Boss uses this gameplay style.

THE END will become a somewhat recurring antagonist.
Due to the implication that their moon form is but one of many forms they have. They might return in a new and more conspicuous form to subtly antagonize Sonic before trying to destroy him. Since they seem to be a big proponent of inevitably and certainty, and Sonic has proven to be a living middle finger to both, it would make sense for it to be a subtle and manipulative foe outright gunning for Sonic to break him for his defiance against them.
  • Quote: "I am imminent, I cannot be denied. You strike this incarnation with all your might, it changes nothing. You are not brave, you are not victorious, no matter what form I take. THE END comes for you all!"

The Phantom Ruby, Warp Topaz, Paradox Prism, and any other assorted gem like them are all THE END's equivalent to the Chaos Emeralds.
Each is somewhat tangentially related to nothingness, order, and inexistence.
  • Phantom Ruby: Unreal illusions able to be manifest from nothing. Can open a void into Null Space with enough power.
  • Warp Topaz: Instantly connect two places by opening a portal between them, rendering distance nothing. Can warp one between dimensions with enough power.
  • Paradox Prism: Paradoxes are contradictory things that shouldn't exist yet do. Much like a living/existing incarnation of inexistence and nothingness like THE END. Can shatter an entire universe into splinters of itself that wouldn't normally exist otherwise.

Hyper Sonic was supposed to fight the final boss.
With how many callbacks to previous games, and a lot of lore regarding the Chaos Emeralds being brought up, and Super Sonic being a necessary in this game to fight the bosses, and the concept of Sonic's powers not being strong enough to easily get through the obstacles ahead of him, Hyper and the Super Emeralds being needed to defeat a being like THE END is not entirely out of the question, but Sega doesn't want to do power tiers like in Dragon Ball Z, so the fight was retooled to have Super Sonic, even if the color swapping mechanic would fit the color changing Hyper form better.
  • Indeed. If this had been true, at the point where Sage says "Not even Super Sonic will be able to stop [THE END]", Sonic would say that maybe Hyper Sonic could. Sonic would travel to Angel Island via the same portal that Knuckles used to reach the Starfall Islands, and then he would travel to the seven shrines that hold the Super Emeralds one by one (in the same vein of him climbing the six towers on Rhea Island). Once all seven were collected, Sonic would return to the Starfall Islands with the emeralds, become Hyper Sonic, and defeat THE END once and for all.
  • Ian Flynn has stated on the BumbleKast that Hyper Sonic returning was something he had proposed while writing the story, but Sega/Sonic Team shot it down to avoid falling into the DBZ trap of adding stronger and stronger forms to justify stronger and stronger bosses until the power creep grows out of hand and completely devalues Super Sonic.
    • While Hyper Sonic isn't in the final DLC, there is a powered up Super Sonic form which is used in the final fight.

If the WMG above about Sonic's friends getting spin-off games is true, Tails will have to deal with the return of an enemy from the past.
The enemy will be either Witchcart or Battle Kukku, maybe even both. Considering Witchcart is going to appear soon in IDW comics (even if only in the "Classic" universe), this isn't too far-fetched.

The next mainline game will take Sonic into outer space.
Considering both the Chaos Emeralds and THE END have extraterrestrial origin, it only makes sense to further explore their nature by setting the sequel on a different planet(s). Chances are we'll get to revisit Planet Wisp, see the Babylonians' homeworld, whatever remains of the Ancients' planet, and as a bonus for the #SaveCosmo team, maybe even Green Gate.

Time Eater was an incarnation of THE END.
  • Both are purple abominations from outer space that can mess with reality, seeking to consume. Maybe the Time Eater was a lingering sliver of its power leftover from its conquest in space, strong enough to wreak havoc but not intelligent enough to resist Dr. Eggman's control back in Generations.
    • Except THE END is smarter than the Time Eater ever was? I'm gonna say this is as impossible as it is for THE END to be Solaris.
      • Counterpoint: they never said Time Eater had THE END's intelligence. Iblis is another example of a brutish monster born from an intelligent being.

The Special Stages from Previous Games Took Place in Cyberspace.

  • That seems like a pretty good possibility, especially considering how Sonic had to traverse Cyber Space in order to obtain six of the emeralds on each island. Maybe Cyber Space also doubles as a sort of safe for the Chaos Emeralds, along with a prison for THE END.

THE END is the greater scope villain behind both Adventure games and the Shadow The Hedgehog game.
THE END has consumed planets among which are the Ancients' homeworld and they also consumed the Black Arms' homeworld, forcing the Black Arms to flee on the Black Comet.
  • Unconfirmed in relation to Shadow, but the mere fact that THE END is responsible for the Chaos Emeralds being brought to Earth in the first place already confirms that it's a Greater-Scope Villain for the Adventure games. Doubly so for the first one, since Chaos is a mutated descendant of the Ancients and one of the last clear remnants of their kind after THE END wiped most of them out.

The Purple Haired Woman from the first Tails Tube episode, you know the one that isn't actually in any prior Sonic Unleashed concept art available before then, is an incarnation of THE END.
  • Purple hair, purple moon, popping up out of nowhere, and Ian Flynn DID use #Knowing Smile in regard to her.

The Big The Cat that we see in the game isn’t actually the real Big, just a cyber-space copy of him based on the real Big from Sonic’s memories.
  • The fishing spots are in cyber space. All the zones we see in cyber space are generated from Sonic’s memories, so the same must logically apply to those fishing spots. And it could apply to Big too. This is supported and implied by a number of things in the game: First, we don’t know how Big got trapped in cyber space (both Sonic and Big lampshade it themselves). Second, unlike Amy, Knuckles and Tails, we never have to rescue him either through any means. Third, Big never leaves the fishing spots at all. Fourth, Froggy is nowhere to be seen, which is odd, since Froggy is Big’s best friend and they’re almost always seen together. And five, the heroes never really show any concerns or ask any questions about Big being in cyber space, even at the end, which may imply that they know, or at least suspect, that he’s not the real Big.

Eggman bringing Sage back in the post credits scene also brought THE END back, somehow.
  • While Sonic and Sage did succed in stopping THE END, they didn't truly destroy it. Instead, it's merely in a weakened state, unable to sustain it's true form, and when Sage was revived it came with her. There are two ways this could be:
  • Either way, the goal would be to stick by Eggman's side until he gets his hand on some power source that can allow THE END to come back in full force - such as the Chaos Emeralds or Master Emerald.

THE END will come back in a new form in the story DLC.
  • Possibly it's true form, but who knows?
  • Not it's true form, but it does take over and transform SUPREME for the final boss.

The structuring of the DLC
  • Part 1 will almost certainly be released in early 2023, since it introduces the least amount of new content. Part 2 will likely be released around June 2023, since part of it includes a Birthday Episode for Sonic, who debuted on June 23. Part 3 will probably be released in late 2023; it has the most new content, so it would take longer to develop. It may even be released on the game's first anniversary.

THE END's true motivation was to go after the Chaos Emeralds.
  • It's shown that instead of leaving the surviving Ancients to their devices, THE END followed them to Earth to finish off wiping them out. Not only could this be it wanting to finish wiping them out as to finish what it started, but given that the Ancients had the Chaos Emeralds with them and brought them to Earth, it's possible that THE END's true goal was to locate the Chaos Emeralds and either destroy them so nothing compared to its power could stand in the way of its goals, or to utilise them in becoming more powerful and speed up the process of wiping out all of existence. All the planets, worlds, dimensions, stars and lives its taken along the way were done due to both their destruction being THE END's main goal, but also because they didn't have the Chaos Emeralds and thus, served no purpose to THE END.

THE END's moon form wasn't due to it transforming. Rather, it possessed the Earth's second moon.
In some Sonic games, Sonic Advance 3 and Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, a smaller planetoid can be seen next to the moon in the sky. While it may be Little Planet or even the ARK, it's still possible that the Earth in Sonic's world has two moons...or had, now that THE END went boom along with it. THE END also possessed the Ancients' planet's satellite in the past. In fact, "Moon II" could actually be it, due to the Ancients finding a way to both evict the villain from it and keep the planetoid in a stable orbit over the Earth without disrupting the tides.
  • Jossed. THE END appears in the form of the moon because it takes on the form that the perceived views as death. The player sees it as the moon because the moon represents death in mythology. It's likely Sonic and Sage each see it as something completely different from us.

The 3rd update DLC will show what Tails, Amy, and Knuckles were doing behind the scenes.
Specifically while Sonic was exploring Ouranos Island, battling The SUPREME, and battling THE END.
  • Jossed - it turns out to be an alternative route for the final island.

THE END is a Knight Templar.
  • At some point in THE END's past, it began to see the universe through an extremely nihilistic and negative lens. It saw the universe as the "teaming chaos of creation" it refers to it as in the final battle, viewing it as a jumbled, cluttered mess of unpredictable chaos. THE END took it upon itself to bring "order" and "neutrality" to the universe by erasing everything in existence reverting it to nothing, and to start its quest, it began destroying worlds, dimensions, stars and countless races.

Future appearances of Sage will make her a Friendly Enemy to Sonic and his friends.
  • With Sage seemingly coming back thanks to Eggman's efforts in The Stinger, any time Sonic comes to blows with him he'll eventually have to take on Sage, who is piloting a boss fight. Sonic will obviously try to get Sage to stand down as they became better acquainted during the events of Frontiers, but Sage is more interested in helping out her father. Sonic holds no ill-will over her choice, but is still determined to stop them regardless.
  • Pre-fight and post-fight Boss Banter will also be similarly friendly, with Sonic and Sage seeing each other as a Worthy Opponent. Sage might even hang out with Sonic whenever she isn't helping out her dad.

Gamma will appear in the DLC.
  • Gamma/The Pink Flicky will return with Beta/The White Flicky and the Blue Flicky to help Amy out.
    • They would only come back in Flicky form. Not as robots.
      • Jossed. They're nowhere to be seen.

Along with the Chao and Chaos, the Ancients are also distant ancestors of all of the anthropromoporphized characters in the franchise
  • They all seem to have similar spine-like appendages on their heads like the "Hedgehogs" and "Echidnas", the latter of which had resided on Angel Island, where the Ancients have resided, for centuries. By extension, considering the fact the Ancients turned into Chao via the Master Emerald, and the Chao seem to change in appearance when giving them animal friends in the Chao Gardens of Sonic Adventures 1 and 2, there's a bit of a possiblity the Ancients might have a similar ability by interacting with the Earth's fauna.

THE END is a sentient Foil and Evil Counterpart to the Chaos Emeralds.
When you pay attention to it's lines, THE END sees creation and life itself as chaotic and views destroying them as bringing them to order. So essentially, the Chaos Emeralds and THE END represent the battle of Order Versus Chaos. But unlike usual examples, Order Is Not Good whereas chaos is viewed as benevolent. When the Ancients left their ruined planet and took the Chaos Emeralds with them, THE END wasn't chasing after them. It was chasing after the Chaos Emeralds to destroy them, and everything they represent whom it despises.

Sonic saw THE END as someone who killed/was close to killing him before.
Notice how Sonic referred to the entity as "he" despite every other instance referring to it as genderless. Plus, you'd think he'd assume it to be female given that it used a feminine voice to speak to him through Cyberspace. When going back to Word of God saying that THE END takes on the form that the perceiver views as death itself, it means the moon form is only what the player saw, meaning that Sonic saw something completely different. Whatever Sonic saw must've been masculine looking, thus being why he thought it was male. My guess is that he either saw Mephiles or Alf Layla wa-Layla, since those are the two closest instances that he came to death. You could argue that it couldn't possibly be Mephiles due to him being Ret-Gone from existence, but the Japanese script of Team Sonic Racing shows that Sonic somehow does remember Solaris. Besides, Mephiles is a much more recognizable character than Erazor Djinn, so him being what Sonic saw during the fight would feel more climactic.

THE END more than likely exists as more than just the entity that was released from Cyber Space.
This is considering the fact that the entity itself is meant to be a Lovecraftian representation of finality and order in the universe, a force that's imminent to all. The entity that was released from Cyber Space is probably only just a fraction of it, and is ust the fate designated to the Ancient's society specifically. What you were really fighting in space was the pain and toil that the Ancients had suffered when their civilization was falling apart, as you had to help many of the Koco fulfill their deepest desires while they were still Ancients.

Sage is a combination of the esscence of the Chaos Emeralds and the AI that Eggman created, and is an incarnation of birth and life, as well as THE END's opposite counterpart.
Considering how both THE END and Sage are essentially archrivals, and how Sage's blow into THE END's moon incarnation was enough to prevent utter destruction of the universe, it's not that far-fetched to think that she's essentially the opposite counterpart of THE END, being a representation of life and chaos, as a opposed to THE END representing death and order. Plus, much of Sage's actions was a result of the programming set by the Ancients, made as an opposition to THE END. This could also explain why she appears as a little girl. Perhaps, just like with THE END, which appears as what one perceives death to look like, Sage appears as what one perceives birth to look like, in Sage's case, she appears as a baby/young girl to the viewers, but she may appear as something entirely different to other characters.

  • Word of God from Morio Kishimoto further supports this, as he states that Sage was based off of a rabbit from Eastern Folklore, where it becomes a part of the moon as a result of its heroic sacrifice. The rabbit in the folktale is meant to be a representation of life as opposed to the moon being a representation of death. He also states that the symbol that the souls of the Ancients go to once they finally rest in peace was meant to represent Sage's soul.

Sonic and Sage are why we get involved in THE END's perception nonsense.
...allow us to clarify. THE END has no true form and instead appears as the viewer's perception of death. The purple moon is how we, as the player, see it due to mythology and such. However, such perception-bending shenanigans don't typically affect the player, as the main protagonist is usually also the POV character and we typically see such entities the way they see them. Perhaps the reason why we saw THE END the way we did was because Sonic and Sage were observing it together and were the POV in equal measure, thus forcing its appearance to be based on a more solitary observer in us? It would also make possible boss fight reworks pretty sweet, as we switch between playing as Sonic and the Sage-piloted SUPREME while THE END changes forms in accordance.

The Sol Emeralds are tied to THE END in the same way the Chaos Emeralds are.
Since THE END can "tear down the walls between dimensions", it is a threat to the Sol Dimension as well. Whose to say it didn't cause the same problems to whatever civilization created/owned the Sol Emeralds, thus bringing them to Blaze's home planet? Either this, or THE END has its own Sol Dimension counterpart.
  • Considering the fact that the Sol Emeralds grant Blaze, the guardian of her dimension, fire-based abilities, it doesn't seem that far-off to beleive that they are actually connected in some way to Solaris, the literal Sun God, who for all we know is just that dimension's counterpart of Chaos. Maybe THE END, a being that's been established to constantly jump through dimensions, and has destructive properties similar to Solaris, has some connection to that to?
  • Except...how is Solaris the counterpart of Chaos in Blaze's dimension? Chaos is a mutated Chao who draws power from the Chaos Emeralds, Solaris is a being that trascends time and space without help from any items (although it seems that at least one Chaos Emerald was needed to fuse Mephiles and Iblis into it, but they weren't its "base" form). Not to mention Solaris was never shown interacting with Blaze's dimension or anything from it (other than Blaze herself).

THE END will give a boast that reveals its connection to past games.
It will say;
I may seem like something brand new to you, mortal. But we've met before... in a way. I've had many names and many forms, the Phantom Ruby, Time Eater, Ifrit, Mephiles The Dark, Iblis, Solaris, Dark Gaia, Alf-Layla Wa-Layla, The Dark Queen, the list goes on. But most of all, I am... THE END.
However it will deliberately be left unknown if THE END was telling the truth or just saying another lie.
  • Jossed. THE END says nothing of the sort and gives no further clues as to who or what it truly is.

Tails, Knuckles, and Amy will have their own set of skill trees.
Since they are likely to be playable in the third upcoming update, it seems really out of place for them to be reusing Sonic's skill tree and would come off as lazy. So as a counterpoint, each of these characters will have their own skill trees and have their own unique skills upon leveling up. Such as Tails' rapid tail spin, Knuckles' digging ability, and Amy's tornado hammer.
  • Confirmed, though there are a few common themes- all of them have a Spin Dash, a Stomp-type move and their own equivalent of Sonic's Power Boost state.

Tails, Knuckles, and Amy will fight THE END in the DLC.
The battle will involve switching characters. To tie into Word of God on how everyone perceives it differently, THE END will change forms depending on who's being controlled at the moment.
  • So, does that mean Tails will see it as, say, either the Battle Kukkus' flying fortress or Infinite, Knuckles as Perfect Chaos, and Amy as...um...good old Grim Reaper perhaps (sorry, no idea which enemy from game would feel personal enough for Amy to see as death, but it's definetily not ZERO)?
    • I mean, Metal Overlord seems like an obvious choice for Amy, given her and Metal are tied together through their first meeting with Sonic.
    • Jossed. Sonic fights THE END alone. They do help protect Eggman though.

The third DLC won't be released in September 2023
The first DLC released in March 2023, and the second released in June 2023, three months later. Though there is a bit of buzz about the third one releasing three months after that, since the update will add new characters and a new story, it will probably take quite a bit longer to come out, since an entirely new story with new playable characters would be a lot more work than a few new challenges and bonus features. As such, a more reasonable release date for the third DLC would be in November, on the game's one year anniversary.

Part of the "new story" for the third DLC will involve the original plan for the game's climax
Sonic Frontiers was a mild case of Christmas Rushed; while nowhere near as bad as previous titles, the last two islands and Final Boss are noticeably weaker than the rest of the game because of time constraints. As mentioned under What Could Have Been, the game was supposed to have a different, more elaborate climax. With the second DLC patching up Cyberspace (previously one of the weaker parts of the game due to its repetitiveness and physics) and making it more fun, the third DLC could include the climactic story the developers wanted to include to begin with (including Sonic and Sage travelling into the Ark of the Ancients for the last Chaos Emerald and a proper boss fight with THE END). For the best of both worlds, this new extended ending would be featured in New Game Plus, while a first playthrough of the game would retain the original ending.
  • More or less confirmed, although the player can access Another Story via a ring gate even in the normal playthrough.

Super Sonic's cyan eyes are NOT an indicator of a new form.
Think about it. The reason why Sage was able to turn white and cyan instead of her usual black and red was because of sympathy. Super Sonic's eyes being cyan instead of red is a whole different story. In the past, he was able to gain his super form from the positive energy of the Chaos Emeralds (as proven in Sonic Adventure's climax), and gained red eyes instead of the usual green. From what we've seen in the trailer of The Final Horizon, Sonic turned himself Super, but he has cyan eyes instead of red. Long story short, it's not really a new form, but rather a new phase for Super Sonic himself as a whole. However, time will tell whether this would be linked to Super Sonic gaining sympathy in the same vein as Sage did.
  • JOSSED! SUPER DUPER JOSSED!
    • Not quite. Super Sonic 2 is more or less an evolution of the original Super Sonic. He has more powerful attacks and faster reflexes, which he uses to ultimately defeat THE END once and for all. Super Sonic Cyber on the other hand, is achieved by fully giving in to his cyber corruption while in his Super Sonic 2 state.

This game takes place after the events of Sonic Prime.
While on Chaos Island, Tails briefly mentions seeing another version of himself, calling him "just a follower" who couldn't think or act on his own. While we never get to see it in the game proper (unless it happens to be the shadowy Tails the player races against in the DLC), this cynical and critical description of another Tails sounds similar to how Nine was for the majority of the show. Given animals, enemies and even friends such as Big can be seen in Cyberspace, it's possible that Nine was pulled out of Sonic's memories and recreated to discourage Tails. It helps that Sonic might recall Nine was hostile to the kind of person Tails was while they were in Ghost Hill, which THE END could take inspiration from.

A potential Team Dark spin off game will take place around the same time as Frontiers.
The game's story could revolve around a rogue extremist GUN branch having stolen Gerald's old journals and research notes for the purpose of creating their own ultimate life form to act as their personal superweapon. Being disturbed by the potentially catastrophic consequences such a project would unleash on the world, the Commander dispatches Shadow, Rouge and Omega on a mission to stop the rogue branch at all costs.
  • Shadow would play similar to the likes of Generations and Forces with the addition of his Chaos powers to differentiate him from Sonic. For example, the homing attack would be swapped out for the Chaos Snap, the Chaos Blast acts as a screen clearing attack,etc. His stages would revolve around getting to the goal ring in time through a variety of high speed platforming levels. (With fully original locations)
  • Rouge plays pretty much as how she did in Adventure 2 with her bombs returning from 06. Like Adventure 2, Rouge's levels would mainly based off of her treasure hunting levels from that game in where you have to find three important objects to complete the stage. However, her radar is retooled to be like the radar from the original Sonic Adventure game so the player can hunt for the objects in any order they want.
  • Omega's gameplay is a mixture between Gamma and the Mech levels from the Adventure games and the Werehog's melee combat from Unleashed. As the muscle of the trio, Omega is much slower than Rouge and Shadow but more than makes up for it with his wide arsenal of deadly weaponry capable of reducing enemies to scrap within minutes. His levels are mainly based around platforming, combat and exploration.

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