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Seven seas in hand
Speed of sound through sands
All our hopes and plans,
In one single hand!
— "Seven Rings in Hand"

Sonic and the Secret Rings is Sonic the Hedgehog's debut on the Nintendo Wii and the first installment in the Sonic Storybook Series. It is based off the Arabian Nights.

One day, Sonic, while napping, accidentially summons a genie by the name of Shahra, in which he learns of a powerful threat known as Erazor Djinn that plans on absorbing the book of the 1001 nights, causing its world and pages to disappear and that if not stopped, would wreck havoc onto the real world. Sonic being the good guy he is, decides to go right into the pages of the 1001 nights in order to stop the genie, however, things get complicated as Erazor Djinn shoots an flaming arrow into his chest with the intent on it killing him, stating that he'll only remove the curse if Sonic finds the 7 world rings, which make up the heart of the stories. With both the 1001 nights and now Sonic's life at stake, it is up to Sonic and Shahra to travel across the 1001 nights, find the seven world rings and put an end to Erazor Djinn's plans, encountering some familiar, yet different faces along the way.

The game, being one of the earliest Nintendo Wii games, makes a lot of use of the Wii's motion controls, requiring you to use the move the Wiimote in order to control Sonic through a series of linear on-rail levels.

In addition to his normal moves, Sonic can also equip some of up to 104 additional skills to upgrade his options, ranging from defensive, offensive and movement skills, with the player having to decide what would be best for the specific mission at hand.

Sonic also has a gauge he can fill up called a soul gauge. If the gauge is filled up, can provide two options. Speed break, which increases Sonic's speed and makes him invincible (acting similarly to the boost mechanic introduced in Sonic Rush, which became standardized beginning with Sonic Unleashed) and Time break, which will slow down time for a few seconds, giving Sonic more time to aim at enemies and evade around obstacles, while also exposing certain elements that are otherwise invisible.

The game also incorporates an RPG-like experience point and leveling up system, where you can level up and upgrade your ring cap and soul gauge, as well as expand your skill set, by completing missions, using certain skills and collecting Fire Souls, this game's collectible rings.

Beyond leveling up, Fire Souls can also be used to unlock mini games, characters and other featurs in a optional multiplayer mode called "Party Mode", where you can play up to forty Arabian-nights themed mini games with Sonic and his friends.

The game was released exclusively on the Wii on February 20th, 2007 in North America, March 2nd, 2007 in Europe, March 8th, 2007 in Austraila and March 15th in Japan.

Two years later, a Spiritual Successor to the game, titled Sonic and the Black Knight, would be released, also exclusively for the Wii.

Make tropes reborn:

  • Adaptational Heroism: As the resident stand-in for King Shahryar, Dr. Eggman is not so much evil as a petty Jerkass, even serving as a minor ally to Sonic's quest at one point.
  • Adaptational Villainy: The Genie of the Lamp is a villain in this game.
  • Aquatic Sauropods: The Apatosaurus in Dinosaur Jungle are shown up to their armpits in water.
  • "Arabian Nights" Days: It is an adaptation of 1001 Nights, after all.
  • Arrows on Fire: The curse Erazor places on Sonic takes the form of a flaming arrow embedded in his chest.
  • Artistic License – Paleontology: All of the dinosaurs in Dinosaur Jungle possess horns and spikes, even the ones that are not supposed to have them. In the case of the Triceratops, it has an extra horn protruding from each cheek. That said, they are pretty decent in anatomy for the most part, aside from theropods having the usual pronated hands.
  • Asshole Victim: Erazor Djinn gets painfully humiliated by Sonic, sealed in his lamp forever, and then gets destroyed for good when his lamp is thrown into lava. In any other context, this would be shockingly cruel for Sonic, especially since he had previously shown mercy and compassion to the similarly mistreated villain Chaos. But Erazor Djinn has no desire to change his evil ways, so after all the hell he put Sonic, Shahra, and the rest of the Arabian Nights through, he truly deserved that fate.
  • Barefoot Cartoon Animal: Darkspine Sonic, where after transforming with the power of the World Rings, he ditches his shoes and gloves.
  • Because You Were Nice to Me: This was likely the reason why Shahra sacrificed herself for Sonic's sake and did not jump to Erazor's defense whilst he was dooming him to his eternal prison. Sonic was probably the first master who treated her with genuine kindness and concern, who didn't disrespect her or treat her like magical property who can fulfill his wildest dreams.
  • Bilingual Bonus: Erazor Djinn's transformed state, Alf Layla wa-Layla is part of the Arabic name for the 1001 Nights (Kitab Alf layla wa-layla). Given a bit of a Lampshade Hanging by Erazor during the transformation, as he shouts, "I AM the Arabian Nights!"
  • Bleak Level: Skeleton Dome.
  • Body Horror: The horrifyingly painful transformation Erazor goes through when he absorbs the World Rings.
  • Book Ends: Sonic's first and last wishes in the story are for handkerchiefs.
  • Bottomless Pits: Levitated Ruin appears to consist of mostly this, but it's actually pretty hard to fall off due to invisible walls. Oh, you can lose rings alright...
  • Catching Some Z's: Sonic's snoring is subtitled as Z's.
  • Chekhov's Gun: The item Shahra gives Sonic after gaining the World Ring in Levitated Ruin turns out to be Erazor's lamp, which he turns on him in the ending.
  • Clipped-Wing Angel: Although neither are depicted as weak, both Alf Layla Wa Layla and Darkspine Sonic are this in the grand scheme due to neither of them actually utilizing all of the World Rings properly. Erazor tries to use them without actually having done the ritual correctly and ends up malformed and grotesque. Darkspine Sonic, on the other hand, was formed using only the rings of Rage, Hatred, and Sorrow combined with Shahara's residual power. While Sonic is able to pull it off well enough to get the job done, Erazor almost immediately goes into Super-Power Meltdown.
    Sonic: You're just some... incomplete monster...
  • Continuity Cameo: Big the Cat can be spotted in all of the levels in the game. To trigger his appearance, you have to stand still in a specific spot on the level for a couple of seconds. You also get a page of his diary whenever you do so.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: Darkspine Sonic, the form Sonic takes after unintentionally absorbing the World Rings of Sadness, Rage, and Hatred. Whilst his appearance gives off vibes of great evil (Purple-Indigo color scheme, No Mouth, blank pupil-less Glowing Eyes of Doom), this definitely isn't the case regarding his personality and actions. Whilst undoubtedly vicious, Darkspine acts entirely in the interests of the Arabian Nights and even seems to be insecure as he begs for Shahra's power and calls out to her during the battle against Alf Layla Wa-Layla. He's just focused all that negative emotion squarely on Erazor's head.
  • Defiant to the End: Erazor's attitude even as he is being sucked into his lamp for eternity is to try and talk Shahra into stopping Sonic, and he even insults Sonic by calling him a dirty rat. He even boasts about how the world belongs to him.
  • Died in Your Arms Tonight: Shahra dies in Sonic's arms after taking the bullet for him. She gets better.
  • Does This Remind You of Anything?: Erazor Djinn acts like a domestic abuser towards Shahra. Him begging for Shahra to save him at the end sounds a lot like an abusive boyfriend desperately trying to convince his girlfriend not to leave or call the cops.
    Erazor Djinn: Shahra! I know you're there! Please, stop him! We can start over! The two of us! I swear! I swear it!
  • Don't Call Me "Sir": Sonic will not be addressed as 'Master'.
  • Eternal Engine: Evil Foundry.
  • Extreme Mêlée Revenge: Darkspine Sonic does this to Alf Layla wa-Layla after seeing his only companion in the entire game get temporarily killed. He beats the crap out of Alf Layla furiously with his bare hands.
  • Evil Laugh: When Erazor is bragging to Sonic about how he is immortal and can't be truly defeated, he gives a straight "Mua ha ha ha ha!" laugh before he finds out that Sonic is holding his lamp.
  • Evil Sounds Raspy: Subverted. Darkspine Sonic has a very sinister angry growl, courtesy of Jason Griffith doing a harsher and gruffer voice than usual in the English dubs. That said, despite its evil appearance and how he's using the negative emotions embodied by the World Rings, Sonic doesn't become evil.
  • Fate Worse than Death: Sonic wishes for Erazor to be sealed in the lamp for the rest of time, and then he drops the lamp into the furnace. It's unknown whether the lamp survived or not — or if it took Erazor with it if it didn't.
  • Final Boss, New Dimension: The fight against Alf-Layla-wa-Layla takes place in a giant black void. Considering that at this point, all but the last few pages of the Arabian Nights have been sucked dry, this makes sense.
  • Fire of Comfort: Sonic's (Presumed) house has a pretty comfortable-looking fireplace.
  • Fog Feet: Shahra appears like this for most of the opening cutscene.
  • Gangplank Galleon: Pirate Storm.
  • Gender Flip: The Genie of the Ring is female in this game. Both genies in the original Aladdin story are male.
  • Genie in a Bottle: Erazor and Shahra are the genies of the Lamp and Ring, respectively, from Aladdin. However, Erazor ain't no Robin Williams Disney Genie, that's for sure.
  • Gentle Giant Sauropod: The Apatosaurus in Dinosaur Jungle are completely harmless and allow Sonic to run along their backs.
  • The Gloves Come Off: Darkspine Sonic's entire attitude when it comes to fighting Alf Layla Wa-Layla. Not only does he look like Shadow with his quills down, not only does he kick a giant blue ball of Arabian Nights back at his opponent, not only does he pummel the transformed Djinn in the protruding heart with his bare hands, but he does not wear gloves.
  • Glowing Eyelights of Undeath: King Solomon's eyes appear like this.
  • Good Is Not Soft: Sonic painfully inflicting wishes upon Erazor, as well as sealing him away in his lamp forever, would come off as chilling (especially in comparison to his treatment of Chaos) if Erazor hadn't been established as a truly evil being throughout the game.
  • Good Morning, Crono: Happens at the beginning with Shara trying to wake up Sonic. Give the poor guy credit, though; it was 2:55 in the morning!
  • Hate Sink: Erazor Djinn is a power-hungry, unempathetic, and purely self-serving douchebag who has nothing remotely sympathetic or likable going for him (aside from a Freudian Excuse of being mistreated in the past, which in no way justifies his current behavior), and he acts extremely arrogant and haughty towards everyone around him. He treats Shahra like dirt and after her sacrifice, he has the gall to mock her as being weak. And to say nothing of how he puts Sonic's life on the line to further his own ends, and talks down to him and insults him as being a rat. You won't so much as shed a tear for him when Sonic seals him in the lamp forever and destroys it.
  • Heartbeat Soundtrack: Plays whenever Time Break is used.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Shahra dies saving Sonic from being killed by Erazor. Fortunately, she gets better.
  • I Am Not Weasel: Sonic really doesn't like it when Erazor calls him a rat.
  • Incendiary Exponent: Sonic is literally on fire throughout pretty much the entirety of the game due to the Flame Arrow sticking out of his chest.
  • Imperfect Ritual: Erazor Djinn's ultimate plan to get control of the seven World Rings involved sacrificing Sonic, who he had coerced into collecting the rings using a life-draining curse, as he can't use their true power as long as their collector is alive. When Shahra takes the bullet for Sonic, Erazor decides to settle for Shahra's sacrifice instead. This bites him in the ass; not only does he become a deformed Eldritch Abomination without full mastery of the Rings, but a rip-roaringly pissed Sonic steals three of the Rings from him, using them to power up and rip Erazor a new one.
  • Insistent Terminology: Justified: Sonic is most certainly not a rat, regardless of what Erazor might say. This turns into an epic Shut Up, Hannibal! when he's sealing Erazor away.
    Erazor: I cannot be denied by that filthy rat! WHYYYYYYYYYYYY?!?!
    Sonic: (flips open the lamp to let Erazor in) I told you, I'm not a rat! (closes lamp and raises tip, revealing flame on the end) I'm a HEDGEHOG! (blows out flame)
  • Instant Waking Skills: Sonic in the opening cutscene, though the shock of seeing Shahra for the first time may have contributed to his sudden wakefulness.
  • Jackass Genie: Erazor Djinn. However, as shown by what happens to him when Sonic forces him to grant his wishes, he can't seem to act against the spirit of the wishes or twist them into something worse.
  • Justified Tutorial: Almost all of the "Lost Prologue" missions.
  • Kick the Dog: Erazor's mocking of Shahra as a "mere Genie of the Ring" moments after murdering her.
  • Large Ham: Erazor. And what a ham it is.
  • Lethal Lava Land: Evil Foundry.
  • Levels Take Flight: Levitated Ruin is set on a flock of rukhs. The stage gets its name because they carry the ruins of small cities on their backs.
  • Light Is Not Good: Alf Layla wa-Laylanote  was formed by Erazor harnessing the power of the World Rings of Prayer, Joy, Pleasure, and Wishes.
  • Literal Genie: Shahra is actually this, as shown by Sonic's first and third wish.
  • MacGuffin Delivery Service: Justified: the one who gathers the World Rings is the one who needs to be sacrificed for someone to get control over them, so Erazor had to have someone else gather them for him. When he sacrifices Shahra by mistake, it results in an incomplete transformation.
  • Magic Carpet: Used by Sonic and Shahra in several cutscenes, as well as in one part of Night Palace's first mission.
  • Marked Change: Darkspine Sonic.
  • Meaningful Echo: Sonic's last wish of handkerchiefs for Shahra is a throwback to his very first wish.
  • Medieval Prehistory: The Arabian Nights-themed world also has a dinosaur-inhabited jungle.
  • Mineral MacGuffin: The World Rings.
  • Morton's Fork: Basically, no matter what Sonic does, he'll lose. Either he gives the World Rings to Erazor hoping to have his flame arrow removed whilst juggling with the idea that Erazor will use him as a sacrifice to gain true control of the Rings, or he doesn't and the flame arrow kills him anyway. Lucky that Shahra threw a wrench into his works via self-sacrifice, preventing Erazor from gaining true control of the World Rings and bringing about a series of events that ultimately worked in Sonic's favor.
  • Mundane Wish: Sonic's first wish after being asked what he wants by Shahra? Handkerchiefs. Though to be fair, he was in desperate need of some at the time because of a sneezing fit caused by a cold he had come down with a day before.
  • My Significance Sense Is Tingling/Spider-Sense: In the first mission of Dinosaur Jungle, Sonic remarks that his quills are starting to "tingle" before a T-rex smashes through a rock wall to attack him.
  • Named by the Adaptation: The Genie of the Lamp is named "Erazor" and the Genie of the Ring is named "Shahra". They are unnamed in the original Aladdin.
  • Nintendo Hard: The later missions are all insanely hard, and mostly consist of the Avoid the Pearls/No Damage/X Ring Chain variety with crazy obstacles. They're optional, though.
  • Oh, Crap!: Erazor when he realizes that Sonic has his lamp and thus can force him to grant him three wishes.
  • One-Winged Angel: Erazor has a rare not-quite-according-to-plan version happen to himself when he absorbs the World rings.
  • Open Sesame: Sonic tries uttering this at the World Ring door. It doesn't work.
  • Opportunistic Bastard: Erazor meant to shoot Shahra with the flame arrow, but Sonic took the bullet and was inflicted with a life-draining curse. Using it to his advantage, Erazor coerces Sonic into gathering the World Rings for him in exchange for having it removed.
  • Our Genies Are Different: Shahra, Erazor, and the other Djinn.
  • Painful Transformation: Judging by the sounds of Sonic and Erazor's screams mid-transformation, as well as the straight-up Body Horror Erazor experiences, achieving the World Rings' version of a Super Mode is not a pleasant experience (granted, neither of them were using the World Rings' power correctly, due to Shahra interfering in the ritual to activate their power).
  • Pay Evil unto Evil: After Erazor Djinn spends the entirety of the game destroying his world, tormenting Sonic, and eventually killing Shahra, Sonic returns the favor by first delivering a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown, then forcing Erazor to undo his atrocities through a series of humiliating wishes, before finally trapping him back inside the lamp in agonizing fashion while Erazor begs for mercy… and then Sonic drops the lamp in lava just to be safe.
  • Perfect Health: Sonic's cold seems to disappear after the first cutscene.
  • Pinky Swear: Sonic does this with Shahra, promising that he'll have her smiling by the end of their adventure.
  • Portal Book: At the beginning, Shahra brings up a magic carpet for Sonic to ride and send him into the world of Arabian Nights through the book he was reading.
  • Power Makes Your Hair Grow: Darkspine Sonic has quite long, downward-pointing quills.
  • The Power of Hate: One of the World Rings Darkspine Sonic used to transform was the Green one, which contains hatred. Therefore, Darkspine is effectively powered by hatred. Considering Erazor just murdered Shahra, Sonic's got plenty of that.
  • Punny Name: Erazor Djinn, who uses a giant straight razor as a sword.
    • Erazor = Eraser; he wants to erase the stories of the Arabian Nights.
  • Prehistoria: Dinosaur Jungle is a level with a jungle and dinosaurs.
  • Roc Birds: The Rukhs double as a sky-based sort of Turtle Island in that a civilization had been built on the backs of a flock of Rukhs in the past, each of them carrying roughly a city block's worth. Appropriately, they are found only in the stage known as Levitated Ruin.
  • RPG Elements
  • Save Both Worlds: The point of the plot. If the Erazor Djinn successfully gets the World Rings, he'll be able to destroy the Arabian Nights and escape into Sonic's world to wreak havoc there.
  • Sealed Evil in a Can: Erazor was sealed inside his lamp by King Solomon some time before the story starts. He manages to escape after granting the wishes of one thousand people, just to cause even more mayhem. Sonic manages to reseal him inside his lamp and finish him off once and for all.
  • Series Continuity Error: A completely self-contained example. In one scene, Sonic says he is the only one who can touch the World Rings, and he bets he can do so because he is not from the world of the Arabian Nights. Except that earlier, Sinbad said the pirates stole the World Ring he uses that control the storms, meaning Sonic's reasoning don't really hold much weight.
  • Shifting Sand Land: Sand Oasis.
  • Ship Tease: A bit between Sinbad and Shahra in The Secret Rings as she and Sonic attempt to free him from his captivity. He chuckles nervously around her.
  • Social Ornithopod: Dinosaur Jungle features a Parasaurolophus and its young drinking from a river in a cave.
  • Super Mode: Darkspine Sonic, a result of Sonic absorbing the green, red, and purple World Rings to fight the mutated Erazor.
  • Taking the Bullet: Used twice throughout the story:
    • After the initial Lost Prologue missions, where Sonic takes a flaming arrow to the chest for Shahra.
    • Right before the final fight, where Shahra takes a fatal blow from Erazor's sword to protect Sonic.
  • Targeted Human Sacrifice: As the one who collected all seven World Rings, Sonic was meant to be sacrificed for Erazor to gain control over them. When he kills Shahra instead, he does get their power, but he's stated in-game as being incomplete.
  • Temper-Ceratops: Dinosaur Jungle starts with Sonic instantly getting chased by a herd of Triceratops. Lampshaded by Sonic and Shahra who have no idea why the ceratopsians are so angry.
  • Terrifying Tyrannosaur: In his first visit to Dinosaur Jungle, Sonic has to get pass a Tyrannosaurus trying to eat him.
  • Terror-dactyl: King Shahryar gets carried off by a Pteranodon, prompting Sonic to go after them into Dinosaur Jungle (reluctantly, since Shahryar looks like Eggman). The Pteranodon itself is fairly accurate compared to most examples, other than its larger size. Particularly, it carries off Shahryar with its beak instead of its feet.
  • Thematic Sequel Logo Change: The "O" in the logo has a yellow flame to reflect the greater emphasis on the omnipresent Rings in the game, such as the World Rings, this game's Suspiciously Similar Substitute to the Chaos Emeralds in the main series.
  • Tough Armored Dinosaur: Averted with the Stegosaurus in Dinosaur Jungle which only serves as a background animal. It doesn't even mind Big standing between its legs.
  • Villainous Breakdown: Erazor is reduced to pathetically begging and screaming when Sonic is permanently sealing him inside his lamp.
    Erazor: Shahra, I know you're there! Please, stop him! We can start over, the two of us! I swear! I swear it! The world is mine! I cannot be denied by that filthy rat! WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!?!
  • Voice of the Legion: When Erazor Djinn uses the World Rings to transform into Alf-Layla wa-Layla, he speaks in a more high-pitched and distorted voice.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: After the final boss, the flaming arrow on Sonic's chest just disappears without explanation. Presumably, absorbing the power of three of the World Rings and effectively becoming a limited Reality Warper just took care of the problem.
  • Working Through the Cold: Sonic has a cold at the beginning of the story, but it doesn't stop him from going on an adventure to save the Arabian Nights storybook.
  • The Worsening Curse Mark: The size of the flame on Sonic's chest is directly proportionate to how much time he has left until it extinguishes along with his life force. Near the end of the game, it is tiny.
  • Wreathed in Flames: Two words: Speed Break.
  • Your Days Are Numbered: Sonic's predicament upon being struck by the flame arrow. The flame it leaves shows how much time he has left as it drains his life force.

Only time will tell if it's meant to be
I'm yours alone, even if you're not with me
You will always be, be why I breathe
Wish tomorrow would be that day that
Comes to make it up to you
For all I never did
Let me make it up to you
Love is worth a chance

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Erazor Djinn

He's reduced to begging Shahra to help him when he's being forcibly sealed into his lamp.

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