History Headscratchers / Sonic3AndKnuckles

* Why is there a carnival zone on Angel Island of all places?? Did Robotnik have time to just build one? That always bugged me, the rest of the zones made relative sense in one way or another (despite, you know, radically different climates being right next to each other on a floating island).
** I'd guess it was one of the most recent things that the Echidna civilization built before they disappeared. Knuckles maintained it because he was all alone on the island; the carnival and its maintenance were his only sources of amusement.

*** Spring Yard Zone appears to be explained in that Sonic The Hedgehog's zones are arranged incorrectly - the original game's level select screen has them in a different arrangement of ''Green Hill > Labyrinth > Marble > Starlight > Spring Yard > Scrap Brain'', which seems to show the stages becoming less rural and more industrialised as they progress, matching the theme of getting closer to Robotnik's main base. This was better enacted in Sonic 2, minus the placement of Chemical Plant and Casino Night Zone.

*** My bet is that Eggman built it too, but only because [[ManChild Eggman seems like the kind of guy who'd divert time and resources from his world-conquering agenda to build a gigantic theme park for his enjoyment]].
*** That's the most likely explanation. It wouldn't be the only time he has built something like that. ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'', ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'', and ''VideoGame/SonicColors'', anyone?

*** I just realized this could also tie in to VideoGame/KnucklesChaotix's Carnival Island, explaining Knuckles presence there and why there are do-dads so similar in function to the emeralds, the Chaos Rings, on what is apparently an unrelated landmass to the home of the Master Emerald.

*** Nah, it was most likely built by humans, along with the Sandopolis pyramids, whose walls feature carvings with human figures. Technically it was never stated that the Knuckles Clan were the only beings on Angel Island -- only that by Knuckles' time he was the only inhabitant left. There might have been human civilizations that lived there in the past but died out. Or alternatively, Marble Garden and Sandopolis might have been built before Angel Island came to be.

*** Knuckles might have hidden the Chaos Emeralds in the previous two games, hiding them in different areas of the Special Zone each time to make them harder to find. Each of the islands in the previous Sonic games could lead to different areas in the Special Zone (e.g. South Island (Sonic 1) leads to the rotating maze areas, and West Side Island (Sonic 2) leads to the halfpipes) and Angel island happens to lead to the giant sphere area. The reason Giant Rings are even more common could be the high levels of Chaos Energy from the Master Emerald and the Super Emeralds. Knuckles could've also found the Chaos Emeralds at some point before Sonic 1 and after they scattered at the end of said game.
** Maybe being guardian of the Master Emerald just let's him do h4x shit like that? For all we know, canceling a Chaos Emerald-induced SuperMode is part of that power set, like sensing Emeralds - not like he's ever had occasion to do it again.

*** Until you brought up the boulder, I assumed [[GroinAttack Knuckles struck Sonic in the family Chaos Emeralds.]] Hey, just because he's super doesn't mean he lacks many weaknesses (aside from falling in pits, getting crushed or running out of time)

* VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles had Knuckles going through Sonic's Angel Island Act 1. Since his story takes place right after Sonic's, wouldn't it still be recovering from the fire?

* Why did Angel Island fall from the sky in [[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Sonic 3]] anyway? The Master Emerald was still in Hidden Palace at that time.

*** Yeah, Sonic 3's backstory stated that the Death Egg knocked Angel Island into the sea, and its weight has been actively pushing the island downwards since then. As the game shows, the Master Emerald's power is capable of levitating Angel Island OR the Death Egg, not BOTH at once.
* Why did they show the Death Egg getting destroyed in the Sonic 3 ending? They already knew that that story would be continued in Sonic & Knuckles. Granted, S3&K alters that cutscene to show the Death Egg falling rather than exploding, removing any continuity problems. But still, why wasn't the Sonic 3 version like that? For people that play the game without Lock-on, the Death Egg's presence in S&K will make no sense.
** To make Sonic 3 seem more like a complete game for those that were unaware of S+K or couldn't buy it. And to be fair, the continuity of the games was extremely loose at the time, meaning it was hardly that big a deal.
* So why exactly is Knuckles' story never even so much as mentioned in the Japanese material that details this game's plot?
** I get that even back then Sonic was still a bit more story-driven than Mario platformers or others at the time, but it seems kind of glaring that they would go through all the trouble of still making Knuckles playable as they intended when the game was intended to be on one cartridge, even going so far as creating a cutscene for the stand alone Sonic & Knuckles cartridge, and then not even mention his plot even once. Yes, the setup is basic and easy to get, but so is pretty much the Sonic games that came before it and even in-game Sonic's story is pretty basic when you start as well, but that still didn't stop me from taking a look at the Japanese material for the stories which still give a very detailed plot to the games despite the setup for these plots being basic and easy to get. I get that out of the classics Sonic 3 & Knuckles probably has the most going on for it in terms of story, but I wouldn't exactly say there's much you can spoil, as despite being the most plot-driven of the classic Sonic games we pretty much know Sonic's going to win in the end anyway. And even if it is the most plot-driven compared to other Sonic games that were released later on it's still light as most of Sonic's games back then were, and even if it was to leave out spoilers, well simply having Knuckles playable right off the bat kind of gives away some stuff in the little story they do have. Not to mention it kind of didn't make things at the end for me clear until at least watching Cybershell's finale for his Knuckles playthrough, I didn't know the Master Emerald had been stolen by Eggrobo and Mecha Sonic, mostly because I found it slightly hard to notice Angel Island falling in the background and nothing in the canon material was mentioning that it was stolen or that the Island was slowly falling. It didn't fall quite quick enough for me to pick up on that, not to mention the cutscene at the beginning shows nothing more than the Eggrobo trying to blow Knuckles up with a bomb and there's nothing that states at any point Knuckles was going to Sky Sanctuary to get back the Master Emerald. The American manual and story mentions some of this and despite the fact they get it wrong by stating it happens at the same time as Sonic's adventure, it's at least ''something''. I could understand it if Knuckles' story was basically like Tails where it's just Sonic's story with Knuckles, but his is different enough to warrant calling it a different adventure than Sonic's story. I kind of don't get why no actual canon material from the actual Japanese story doesn't at least mention some of Knuckles' story.

*** The point is that a cylinder isn't a barrel unless it's a container of some sort.

** When we first see him in MHZ, he's emerging out of a Giant Ring. He probably used a Giant Ring near the lake to warp to Hidden Palace and then to Mushroom Hill.
* Something I mentioned under RealismInducedHorror: we never see Angel Island zone again after the beginning. Are we meant to assume the whole place just burned down?
** You do see Angel Island Zone again: At the very end, when Knuckles is seeing Sonic and Tails off. Accordingly, all of the background vegetation is gone and a clear sky is visible... so it's likely that most of Angel Island Zone did burn down. (Not all of it, since Knuckle's Angel Island Zone still has a jungle background.)

** Sparkling gems, just like the ones in Sonic 2's scrapped Hidden Palace (which seems to have inspired both LRZ and this game's HPZ). Likely meant to tie in with HPZ's concept as the Chaos Emeralds' place of origin.

** Lots of real life ancient murals use similar drawings to convey events or stories. Kind of hard to be super clear with stylized drawings. Also, prophecies in fiction tend to depict visions of the future. For all we know, all the ancients saw was a vision of the battle between Super Sonic and Eggman for the Master Emerald without any context.

* InvisibleWall aside, why can't Sonic just...I dunno...attack Knuckles when they meet in Carnival Night? He's faster, he can just get in there and give him a good tonking before he hits that switch then runs away. There wasn't a separation between them, unlike their previous encounters.

** The simplest hypothesis would be that said InvisibleWall is indeed an invisible forcefield that Knuckles put up just to {{Troll blow a raspberry}} at Sonic and/or Tails so that he could flood the zone and make good his escape before they could try to stop him.

** Eggman reaches the ship just as Sonic trashes his Eggmobile and boards it as the Death Egg explodes, then takes advantage of the situation to grab the ME and run off. Because of course he'd take what little victory he can get.
* InvisibleWall aside, why can't Sonic just...I dunno...attack Knuckles when they meet in Carnvial Night? He's faster, he can just get in there and give him a good tonking before he hits that switch then runs away. There wasn't a separation between them, unlike their previous encounters.

*** Nah, it was most likely built by humans, along with the Sandopolis pyramids, whose walls feature carvings with human figures. It was never stated that the Knuckles clan were the only beings in Angel Island, only that by Knuckles' he was the only inhabitant on the island, so there might have been human civilizations that lived there in the past but became extinct. Or alternatively, Marble Garden and Sandopolis may have been built before Angel Island came to be.

* When the Angel Island Zone miniboss first attacks, we see dozens to hundreds of other such robots in the background. [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse where did they all go afterward?]] You'd think a bunch of fire-spewing robots would come in handy in the Ice Cap Zone, so why did Eggman apparently just abandon all of them as soon as they were done torching the Angel Island Zone.

* InvisibleWall aside, why can't Sonic just...I dunno...attack Knuckles when they meet in Carnvial Night? He's faster, he can just get in there and give him a good tonking before he hits that switch then runs away. There wasn't a separation between them, unlike their previous encounters.

*** Nah, it was most likely built by humans, along with the Sandopolis pyramids, whose walls feature carvings with human figures. It was never stated that the Knuckles clan were the only beings in Angel Island, so there might have been human civilizations that lived there in the past but became extinct. Or alternatively, Marble Garden and Sandopolis may have been built before Angel Island came to be.

* What the heck is in that giant mech's eye, [[[[http://www.theghz.com/sonic/s&k/s&k_29.gif shown from the front]] during the second to final battle in ''Sonic & Knuckles''?

* InvisibleWall aside, why can't Sonic just...I dunno...attack Knuckles when they meet in Carnvial Night? He's faster, he can just get in there and give him a good tonking before he hits that switch then runs away.

** Eggman reaches the ship just as Sonic trashes his Eggmobile and boards it as the Death Egg explodes, then takes advantage of the situation to grab the ME and run off. Because of course he'd take what little victory he can get.

** This was answered by Sonic Channel: Knuckles was able to hurt Super Sonic thanks to a combination of using a surprise attack and his incredibly strength.

* Why does The Doomsday Zone happen? Eggman has lost the Death Egg by that point and Sonic even managed to reclaim the Master Emerald before Eggman runs off with it as the Death Egg collapses. Yet suddenly by the next stage Eggman has managed to recapture the Master Emerald in a better ship than he was trying to escape in originally and Super Sonic has to chase him through space to reclaim it again. Is it just Eggman trying to seize victory at all costs, even though he can't really make use of the Master Emerald anymore without the Death Egg?[[note]]I would also ask how Eggman even got a ship that he could steal the Master Emerald with if Sonic so thoroughly thrashed him at the end of Death Egg but it is Eggman so I guess he could pull it off.[/note]]
** Eggman reaches the ship just as Sonic trashes his Eggmobile and boards it as the Death Egg explodes, then takes advantage of the situation to grab the ME and run off. Because of course he'd take what little victory he can get.[

* Why does The Doomsday Zone happen? Eggman has lost the Death Egg by that point and Sonic even managed to reclaim the Master Emerald before Eggman runs off with it as the Death Egg collapses. Yet suddenly by the next stage Eggman has managed to recapture the Master Emerald in a better ship than he was trying to escape in originally and Super Sonic has to chase him through space to reclaim it again. Is it just Eggman trying to seize victory at all costs, even though he can't really make use of the Master Emerald anymore without the Death Egg?[[note]]I would also ask how Eggman even got a ship that he could steal the Master Emerald with if Sonic so thoroughly thrashed him at the end of Death Egg but it is Eggman so I guess he could pull it off.
** Eggman reaches the ship just as Sonic trashes his Eggmobile and boards it as the Death Egg explodes, then takes advantage of the situation to grab the ME and run off. Because of course he'd take what little victory he can get.[[/note]]

* Why does The Doomsday Zone happen? Eggman has lost the Death Egg by that point and Sonic even managed to reclaim the Master Emerald before Eggman runs off with it as the Death Egg collapses. Yet suddenly by the next stage Eggman has managed to recapture the Master Emerald in a better ship than he was trying to escape in originally and Super Sonic has to chase him through space to reclaim it again. Is it just Eggman trying to seize victory at all costs, even though he can't really make use of the Master Emerald anymore without the Death Egg?[[note]]I would also ask how Eggman even got a ship that he could steal the Master Emerald with if Sonic so thoroughly thrashed him at the end of Death Egg but it is Eggman so I guess he could pull it off.[[/note]]

* Why does The Doomsday Zone happen? Eggman has lost the Death Egg by that point and Sonic even managed to reclaim the Master Emerald before Eggman runs off with it as the Death Egg collapses. Yet suddenly by the next stage Eggman has managed to recapture the Master Emerald in a better ship than he was trying to escape in originally and Super Sonic has to chase him through space to reclaim it again. Is it just Eggman trying to seize victory at all costs, even though he can't really make use of the Master Emerald anymore without the Death Egg?

* Why does The Doomsday Zone happen? Eggman has lost the Death Egg by that point and Sonic even managed to reclaim the Master Emerald before Eggman runs off with it as the Death Egg collapses. Yet suddenly by the next stage Eggman has managed to recapture the Master Emerald in a better ship than he was trying to escape in originally and Super Sonic has to chase him through space to reclaim it again. Is it just Eggman trying to sieze victory at all costs, even though he can't really make use of the Master Emerald anymore without the Death Egg?

*** Adding to this, not only would ancient prophecies be cautious about using words, they may not even make sense in context at all. Messages are just easier to convey with art. Just imagine finding a bunch of random words telling you that, for example, Hitler was going to do bad stuff from before he was born. Not only is it incredibly confusing, but because it's in some alien language you can't read it.

** Maybe being guardian of the Master Emerald just let's him do h4x shit like that? For all we know, canceling a Chaos Emerald-induced SuperMode is part that power set, like sensing Emeralds - not like he's ever had occasion to do it again.

*** Adding to this, not only would ancient prophecies be cautious about using words, they may not even make sense in context at all. Messages are just easier to convey with art. Just imagine finding a bunch of random words telling you that, for example, Hitler was going to do bad stuff from before he was born. Not only is it incredibly confusing, but it's in some weird language that you can't understand.

*** Adding to this, not only would ancient prophecies be cautious about using words, they may not even make sense in context at all. Messages are just easier to convey with art. Just imagine finding a bunch of random words telling you that, for example, Hitler was going to do bad stuff. Not only is it incredibly confusing, but it's in some weird language that you can't understand.

*** Adding to this, not only would ancient prophecies be cautious about using words, they may not even make sense in context at all. Messages are just easier to convey with art.

** Lots of real life ancient murals use similar drawings to convey events or stories. Kind of hard to super clear with stylized drawings. Also, prophecies in fiction tend to depict visions of the future. For all we know, all the ancients saw was a vision of the battle between Super Sonic and Eggman for the Master Emerald without any context.