It only "doesn't" matter what things are canon when someone says..."the only things that are canon are"
Otherwise it matters constantly.
The games specifically don't matter because they still have yet to re-establish a setting.
Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie. Check out my art if you notice.I see canon in Sonic as the same thing as canon in Mario, in that it really doesn't matter beyond Easter Eggs.
I feel like some fans want Sonic canon to be more like Kirby canon, where there's secretly an intricate web of connections and lore hidden beneath the surface.
Edited by PushoverMediaCritic on Jun 11th 2024 at 10:21:43 AM
That works for Kirby in more of serendipitous manner as it was a lot less big on connecting games together in the beginning of the series life, in comparison sonic fans want a interconnected series front and center with a lot of character development to be had as well.
After 10 year plus years I have the confidence to be here. My one and only Fate servent.In most cases, no, I don't think there's a canon for Sonic games. There's ones that get referenced as having happened, but that's usually it.
Shadow the Hedgehog was a little different in that it was kind of built off of the previous two games and is more story heavy, but its more an exception then the rule.
And there's a few other exceptions here and there, but mostly it doesn't matter.
I mean, Sonic isn't a series with Negative Continuity. It's just a series with entirely episodic stories that can, but don't always, have a direct connection to one another.
There really shouldn't be any confusion as to what's canon and what isn't. At the end of the day, it's the same as any other episodic series: just "anything that's officially released, minus the things WOG says are no longer in continuity."
Edited by KnownUnknown on Jun 11th 2024 at 11:27:37 AM
The fact that there's a No Origin Stories Allowed for Sonic made me decide not to give my OCs any origin stories either. So thanks Sonic, for saving me the stress.
It always seemed to me like all the debates about canon were just a way so people don't have to think about the stuff they don't like.
Conversely, all the pushing for IDW being canon is the opposite. Canon is viewed as the highest reward a piece of art can get for some reason.
You see this a lot in Star Wars circles too for very similar reasons.
IIRC, IDW is considered canon because Sonic Team or acceptably affiliated parties keeps saying in official capacity that it's canon (without the awkward "sure whatever it's canon, but we don't intend to ever acknowledge it so stop asking" vibe you got with Prime) rather than just because people want it to be canon.
Edited by KnownUnknown on Jun 11th 2024 at 11:32:21 AM
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I think I can see what. Both because if the origin of the word (canon originally refered to scriptures that were considered the true legitimate sequence of events, as opposed to apocrypha) and because canonicity means a slightly higher chance I'd seeing fan favorites in official media more often (in this case, The Diamond Cutters, Belle, Surge, etc) or win debates.
Of course that depends on the work in question. Star Wars did legitimately make several details and characters from spinoffs canon in the sense that they made appearances in official media. With the Clone Wars cartoon being the biggest winner by both dodging the spring cleaning with Legends, and also having two sequels (Rebels and Ashoka) and Ashoka getting a cameo in one of the sequel firms iirc.
Sonic in contrast? Well let's be frank. Sally and co never appeared in the games. Neither did Cosmo or any if the Archie characters. Sticks only appeared in the boom games and some spinoffs. And IDW's only references or crossovers were in either gacha runners or in easily edited voicelines. Not exactly what fans have in mind here (latter also applies to Sticks).
Part of this is due to a presumed disregard for anything that isn't sonic team's own ideas, which encompasses anything American in origin, as well as the X anime, the ova, and the comics. Thus it can be argued that those works were "canon" in name only.
Some of the media seemed aware of it enough given that 06 and Prime both ended in ways that made it irrelevant and thus unnecessary to reference. Only Generations bothered to use 06 content and that was only Crisis City.
Edited by MorningStar1337 on Jun 11th 2024 at 11:50:20 AM
Interview with Sonic Stadium and Iizuka
Key points:
- Terios' addition as a skin was inspired by Superstar including the Rabbit skin
- Shadow Generations will have one 3D and 2D act each stage
- Each level in the game is built around Shadow's new powers and using chaos control
- Ian Flynn is writing the Shadow Generations content
- Frontiers, Superstars, and Shadow Generations were all concurrently developed around the same time
- Shadow Generations uses like a few different versions of the Hedgehog Engine
- Iizuka praises the IDW Characters and hopes to get a chance to have them appear in a game
- The Embedded Precursor version of Sonic 1 is removed, but Casino Nights is in at the start
>Ian Flynn
Good! Great! Awesome! OUTSTANDING! AMAZING!!!
"That we continue to persist at all is a testament to our faith in one another."...okay so while people were praising that "no 2D section" aspect of the Ark level, what we saw in the trailer of Kingdom Valley was very obviously 2D.
So he'll still have 2D levels, but...most likely there won't be any in the 3D stages.
Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie. Check out my art if you notice.I take Sonic canon the same way I take comic book canon.
Which entries are canon? Whichever ones are relevant to the current story being told.
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
That's the best way to look at it. Everything (except for things like the Archie comics that are explicitly in a separate continuity) is canon, nothing (except maybe the main games) is canon. If a new game wants to use some obscure plot details from a single-stip comic released a decade ago, they will, and if they want to completely contradict it, then they will.
I also look at it like that. The approach I mention is what I apply to the main universe, and then anything that doesn't fit into that is counted as part of the multiverse.
Edited by king15 on Jun 11th 2024 at 8:50:35 AM
Don't let Penders hear you say that. He probably thinks he owns the concept of a Sonic-focused multiverse.
IDW is already referenced in Frontiers, and three (4) of its characters are in games by this point.
The reason why it can be taken as canon mostly has to do with the staff working on them. Flynn is there, so of course he will push for IDW.
Maekawa kind of did this before, only that he pushed for Knuckles being considered a treasure hunter, a job that doesn't make sense outside of the OVA continuity. At least IDW doesn't require a lot of continuity beyond the Continuity Snarl of what the hell was Zavok doing in Team Sonic Racing.
To win, you need to adapt, and to adapt, you need to be able to laugh away all the restraints. Everything holding you back.I'm not sure why Shadow Generations has 2-D acts, since that's never really been a big Shadow thing. But I guess its what they know. As long as the game's fun, I have no complaint.
And I think Sonic Generations did do some genuinely cool stuff with its 2-d levels to be fair. Its take on the City Escape truck was fun. Using 2-d to turn Seaside Hill into the game's version of Labyrinth Zone made sense. Hah! And the tornado in Crisis City stealing the goal post was genius, loved it!
If some of the creatives of the original Generations really have been brought on for this, hopefully there's a lot of cool stage design choices this time around as well.
I wonder if Shadow Generations will still have a similar structure to Challenge Acts as Sonic Generations, if they are still a thing here?
Edited by diddyknux on Jun 11th 2024 at 4:37:43 AM
Here. On this forum. Just a few posts above. Linked by taotruths.
Quoting taotruths:
Key points:
Terios' addition as a skin was inspired by Superstar including the Rabbit skin
Shadow Generations will have one 3D and 2D act each stage
Each level in the game is built around Shadow's new powers and using chaos control
Ian Flynn is writing the Shadow Generations content
Frontiers, Superstars, and Shadow Generations were all concurrently developed around the same time
Shadow Generations uses like a few different versions of the Hedgehog Engine
Iizuka praises the IDW Characters and hopes to get a chance to have them appear in a game
The Embedded Precursor version of Sonic 1 is removed, but Casino Nights is in at the start

I have to ask: does it even matter what's canon?
Would any of us not have bought Colors, Generations, or Frontiers if we saw a Twitter post that said those games didn't happen?