Some Wikipedia articles need sources, and I'd like to re-verify what the Japanese manual had said on how Tails and Sonic met (I know for a fact the American manual had a different story, making no mention of the Tornado). I KNOW we had a giant topic on all this a while ago ("Chaos Emerald theories" or somesuch), but that kinda died off when we nixed the stickies.
Also, I thought big smile had a website full of this stuff, but I can't find it right now...
Okay, from now on all theories involving the Chaos Emeralds go here.
To kick it off, I bring you (for the first time at this forum), my holy scriptures: The Sonic Japanese manual backstory translations, courtesy of Mary Yamasaki and Dave Bulmer. Just to note, I've taken the liberty of making (massive) grammatical corrections to the Sonic 1 manual:
Sonic the Hedgehog:
The malevolent yet gifted scientist, Dr. Eggman, prepares his evil intentions once again:
"Sonic... This impertinent, this contrary hedgehog," said Eggman, "he's always there to bring annihilation to my grand schemes! But this time, I WILL crush him using my extreme intellect! HA HA HA HA HA!"
South Island is home to many treasures, jewels and ancient ruins. But most notable of these are the "Chaos Emeralds", which rest somewhere deep within the island. These stones supply all life with amazing power. On the other hand, this power can also be used to create nuclear weapons, and deadly laser radii, should they fall in the hands of those that don't understand their power.
Since South Island is constantly drifting throughout the ocean, it has formed an interdimensional torsion in which the Chaos Emeralds wander endlessly.
One day, something horrible arrived on the island. Dr. Eggman and his army had come!
"Ha ha! Even though it is necessary to search and transport every particle of this island, I will have the Chaos Emeralds!!".
He then undertook the development of an enormous fortress in an angle of the island.
"Eggman? Oh no, not again!!!" said Sonic. Having heard rumors circulating from South Island, Sonic quickly ran there to investigate. Dr. Eggman views Sonic as his deadly enemy, but Sonic on the other hand does not really see much threat in his adversary. However, when Sonic arrived on South Island, a strange spectacle was held before him.
"Look Sonic," said Eggman, "this time the situation is totally different! ALL the animals of South Island have been transformed into robots!"
"E... everybody?!"
"Your friends are henceforth under my control. The entire island has now become your enemy! Bwa ha ha ha ha ha... This time, the whole world will be mine!"
Things are difficult, but you must go for it! As Sonic the Hedgehog, everybody awaits your help...
Sonic the Hedgehog 2:
Sonic the Hedgehog is always searching for new adventure in his life. Today, luck was on his side; Sonic had discovered a beautiful, lush island, rich with greenery and pleasing to the senses.
"All right!" Sonic thought to himself. "I'll rest here for a while."
The white smoke escaping from Sonic's plane "The Tornado" drew a long arch in the sky, its shadow stretching out over the length of the island.
The legend of Westside Island, the Island of Illusion, tells that many years ago, a people here based the development of their civilization on a collection of strange stones, and employed their greatest philosophers to theorize on their true power. In order to gain these powers, some attempted to channel the energy of the stones for their own evil intents. These attempts, however, came to naught.
Since, the legends tell that the stones have been sealed by the gods somewhere on this island.*
Days passed since Sonic landed on the island. One day, while Sonic explored a region of the island, he noticed that he was being watched by someone behind him. He turned around and saw that a small fox had been secretly following him. Seeing Sonic's face, the startled fox shyly hid in the shade of a coconut tree. Ignoring the fox, Sonic began to run. But the fox, seeing him leaving, started running after him with all his strength.
Seeing the determination on his face, Sonic changed his mind about the little fox. "I may as well let him follow me," he said to himself, and stopped running. He decided to make friends with the young fox.
Miles Prower, the small fox, sported two bushy tails instead of one. For this reason, the animals of Westside Island nicknamed him "Tails". Miles was happy with his life, but after meeting Sonic his view changed. He made a decision to improve his skills, and so he began to hang around Sonic all day long.
One early afternoon, Miles discovered a superb plane resting on the beach; he rushed to get a closer look at it. The curving outline of the plane's sleek, streamlined body impressed him. It was just the kind of vehicle Miles liked. He strolled towards the front of the plane, admiring its impressive fuselage. He stopped as he saw Sonic asleep in the cockpit. He quickly scampered back to the rear, hoping not to wake him.
Suddenly, Miles saw a brief flash of light coming from the direction of the nearby woods. Without any further warning, rumbling explosions and columns of flame rose above the trees, scattering stones, leaves and branches in all directions. Miles watched in terror as the spectacle unfolded before his eyes. From within the burning red forest, an army of robots marched forth, cluttering the earth.
Miles watched, stunned, as the explosions continued. But even Miles in his fear did not realise the full scope of the situation. Sonic watched the burning forest with anger in his eyes.
"Eggman..." Sonic breathed, remembering his arch-enemy with contempt. He jumped down onto the beach and gazed up at the wood beyond. Something was beginning. Having fainted for a few seconds, Miles collected himself and ran to catch up with Sonic.
"Da-Ha ha ha ha!!" The loud laughter echoed around the wood; Doctor Eggman was nearby.
"Finally, my plan is underway! The CHAOS EMERALDS sleep somewhere on Westside Island, the Island of Illusion, so it will be easy to expel my adversary Sonic! Soon, my supreme weapon, The Death Egg, will be launched into space. Just you wait, Sonic! This time, THIS time I will gather the Chaos Emeralds, and with their power I will defeat you! Thus, I, Dr. Eggman, shall become master of this world! Daa-HA HA HA!!"
The players are set, the adventure and emotion now begin. Let's go!
Sonic the Hedgehog 3:
In his previous adventure, Sonic destroyed Dr. Eggman's base, the Death Egg; now the debris has started its fall to Earth. And right in the path of the falling base floats a giant cloud-like mass. The giant shadow of Death
Egg hides the cloud... Towering mountains, a gigantic forest... the cloud is none other than the
legendary floating island**, suspended in the sky.
The Death Egg became a fireball and hit the floating island; mountains were destroyed, the forests decimated...
This disastrous event greatly alters the island's path, forcing it towards the Earth.
The island crashes into the sea surface. The impact creates a gigantic wave, but the island doesn't sink.
The floating island now sits on the sea surface as if nothing happened.
Many days pass...
On an island far from where the floating island hit the sea surface, Tails, a two-tailed fox, read a strong Chaos Emerald reaction on the Jewel Reader, a machine he has developed.
"Maybe this has something to do with that big wave I saw a few days ago..." he said.
Thinking there may be trouble, he decided to consult with Sonic.
At the same moment, while relaxing on the beach, Sonic found a small ring washed up on shore. Sonic looked at the ring carefully, and noticed some ancient characters carved on it.
The ring reminded Sonic of a legend he once heard about a "mystery island."
In an ancient time, the "mystery island" was part of the main continent. A people with an extraordinary culture inhabited it. That civilization had built a peaceful and happy society using the energy of something they called "The Mighty Stone". But at a certain point, a faction of dark-minded elders tried to steal the energy of the stone, and by accident made that energy explode.
The civilization was wiped out in a second, erased from history. Time passed, and a god descended from the sky to the newly created "mystery island". The sky god restored part of the civilization to the island, and threw the "Mighty Stone" into the open sky...
A ring washed up on the shore - the legend of the "mystery island" - Sonic, feeling his excitement build, made his preparations for another adventure.
Dr. Eggman, who managed to escape from the Death Egg before it fell, had heard that Chaos Emeralds are supposedly buried on the floating island. From the crevice created by the fall of the base, a massive presence of Chaos Emeralds is detected.
"If their energy could be utilized", Dr. Eggman
thought, "the Death Egg may be able to fly into orbit again."
Dr. Eggman then quickly built a base on the floating island to harvest the Emeralds. He kidnapped animals and transformed them into robots, and changed the island's environment into a nightmare with his new Environment-Control Machine.
"Yes! Even if Sonic comes to the island, it will be too late! This time the Emeralds are mine!".
The actors and the stage are now ready; here starts Sonic the Hedgehog's newest adventure.
Guardian of the "Floating Island."
(Translated by Michael "G. Silver" Stearns)
That day, as he always seemed to, he was making his patrol around the alter on the island. Protecting the 7 Chaos Emeralds who sleep and control the power of the "Pillar" is the mission he has been charged with.
His name, Knuckles the Echidna. But to inhabitants of the island, he is an echidna called "Knuckle." Born and raised on the island, all of nature and the animals who live in it are his friends. And that which protects his friends is none other than the Chaos Emerald's crystaline "Pillar."
Suddenly something awoke.
Just as he was verifying that that not one Chaos Emerald was out of place, the Chaos Emerald right before his eyes rose (? weird translation) and a strange vibration started.
Knuckles was confused by this phenomenon, which had never occured before. In the blink of an eye, violent shaking occured within the Chaos Emeralds. Then, as the shaking reached its climax, a "kiiiin" sound was heard along with a brilliant flash. The next thing Knuckles remembered was his own body, seeming to be lightly floating, and at that moment he was interrupted.
When Knuckles regained consciousness, he found his body thrown outside of the altar. He slowly go up, and what entered his eyes as he looked around was the Chaos Emerald altar--partially destroyed. In a flurry, Knuckles flew into the altar. However, in place of the emerald that should have been there, were fragments left of what had dissappeared...
In a daze, Knuckles left the altar. He gazed off into the distance, powerless... it seemed like a peculiar thing had appeared around the lake. The sight of the giant, round, egg-like body that Knuckles beheld sent a shiver down his spine.*
"That big egg is the dragon in the legend's...."
That egg appeared in the legend depicted in the Chaos Emerald altar--there was no doubt that it was the egg which would bring disaster to the island.
Some days later, Knuckles was partolling the altar of the island's seven Chaos Emeralds, but all traces of the Emeralds had vanished. While in his relentless investigation of the island, Knuckles encountered an unfamiliar man in the woods.
The man called himself Dr. Eggman, and already knew Knuckles was the guardian of the Chaos Emeralds. He said to Knuckles:
"I am a scientist who came here to stop (?) that egg. Uumu, since you are the Chaos Emeralds' guardian I knew I had to inform you. The truth is, there is an evil hedgehog namd Sonic that has been interfering in my research, he is the one who has stolen this island's Chaos Emeralds."
"The Chaos Emeralds were stolen....!"
With Dr. Eggman's ingenus lies, Knuckles was very easily tricked. That is how Knuckles' challenge to Sonic was started.
Chaotix
(Note: I'm not even going to TRY to correct the grammar in this one, but Green Gibbon!'s summary is probably the most coherent.)
An island afloat somewhere in the world.
A few months have passed since that incident which brought the island
within a close brush of the ocean surface.
Then a surge activity deep in the seabed of the Southern Oceans,
and an island suddenly appeared out of it .
This was the resulting aftemath of tectonic activity stimulated
by the Master Emerald Pillar on the levitating island.
What's more, the island began to alter its shape with incredible speed.
The Pillar's energy was changing the island from a mere hunk of rock to
a lush tropical eden.
"There's gotta be something on that
island..."
Knuckle, the guardian of the Master Emerald Pillar is irked with questions
about the
sudden and ever-ongoing change that the island is experiencing.
Could it be that the remnants of the legendary civilization that perished in
the distant past,
when the Powerstone ran amuck?
"Something must be amplifying the power of the Pillar."
This was the thought that occurred to Knuckle. Duty-bound to his
role as Guardian, he heads for the island alone.
But he was not alone.
The very same thought had occured to the notorious scientific genius,
Dr. Eggman, who was already there investigating the island.
There, Eggman found a small ring engraved with ancient text.
Now he knew the island was indeed part of the lost civilization.
He also finds another ring identical to the super ring on the
levitating island.
And it turned out to be a very special ring, one used in antiquity before
the legendary civilization was lost.
"With this, I can real the Master Emerald once
again"
Eggman is elated by the discovery. However, the Powerstone which
the special ring could [control] had already been removed to the levitating
island
by the gods descended from heaven.
But the strange dimensional space created by the special ring is filled up
with the Pillar's energy, forming a ring-shaped crystal called the Chaos
Ring.
"If I uncover the secrets of the special ring, I'll have the secrets to the
rings
Sonic and his [pesky] gang. And I'll have the power to summon the
Master Emerald!"
With this scheme in mind, Eggman quickly builds a fortress on the island.
The resort he has dubbed "Newtrogic High Zone" is aswirl with Eggman's
evil plan.
When Knunckle arrived, it was alreadey too late. Eggman had succeeded in
crystallizing the energy. He named the artificial ring the Dark Ring.
And he was on his way to developing the Ring Power, which would
produce time-dimentional connections between different rings.
"Once I have this, they'll be able to do nothing. No one will get in my
way,
and the world will at last be mine!"
Eggman was now well on his way to realizing his ambitions.
-------------
* This is according to LEGEND. In order to bridge the storylines of Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 based on what we know, a more logical explanation would be that these "gods" hid the Emeralds on South Island. Of course, the "gods" are according to legend as well...
** "floating island" was stated as a description, not as the name of the island
Though there are lots of theories as to why there were two sets of Emeralds, but it's probably easier just to disregard Angel Island's "set". For that matter, the S&K storyline seemed to disregard them anyway.
*This is, of course, referring to the Death Egg
This isn't from the topic you referenced, but it IS from an editorial on this site. Kudos go tho the author (I couldn't find his/her name). Can anyone figure it out for me so I can PROPERLY reference it and not be a plagiarist?
That's what I was looking for. Thanks muchly, this should help the article become a Featured one. You know, the ones that show up on the front page and everything.
Hrmm, VERY different from when I last looked at it...
