what about the cut scene in shadow, where the eclipse cannon shot at the presidents mansion. that would be similar to the movie Independence day

As I've already mentioned in the 'Sonic Fffffs' thread, there are numerous similarities between Shadow and Mewtwo. In fact, some of the similarities are so striking IMO that it leads me to believe that Shadow was at least partially inspired by Mewtwo (well, the anime version of Mewtwo in any case). Anyway, I'm not gonna type out all of those similarities I've mentioned all over again. So instead, I'll just copy and paste what I said about this in the 'Sonic Fffffs' thread:

"Shadow is basically another version of Mewtwo. The similarities between them are numerous. First of all, both Shadow and Mewtwo are associated with a yasashi girl ('yasashi' refers to a category of characters who are generally pure-hearted, without even a hint of evil and malice, innocent, naïve and cheerful). Both of the names of these yasashi girls (ie. Maria and Amber) have 5 letters in them, though that's almost definitely just coincidental. Anyway, Amber died and Dr. Fuji's research was about cloning his deceased daughter so that he could try to bring her back to life in one way or another. Similarly, Maria had a life-threatening disease which Dr. Gerald was attempting to cure. Both Shadow and Mewtwo were genetically engineered not only to become the 'Ultimate Lifeform' and the 'Ultimate Pokémon' respectively, but also to save the life of the yasashi girls in question. The yasashi girls and the genetic experiments became best friends with each other. Both Maria and Ambertwo ended up dying, which devastated Shadow and Mewtwo respectively. Both Shadow and Mewtwo are often distrusting of others, but still have some heroic qualities to them. Both Shadow and Mewtwo have a prototype which predates their own existence; Biolizard for Shadow and Mew for Mewtwo. Both Shadow and Mewtwo have 6 letters and at least one 'w' in their names, though this doesn't seem to be significant (I just felt like mentioning it anyway! lol). Both Shadow and Mewtwo were manipulated by a villainous character; Dr. Eggman in Shadow's case and Giovanni in Mewtwo's case. Mewtwo even has a move in Super Smash Bros. Melee called 'Shadow Ball'. I don't care if that's just another coincidence! So anyway, there you have it!

Shadow = The Sonicverse's Mewtwo

Mewtwo = The Pokéverse's Shadow"

The part in the Sonic Adventure level Lost World where Sonic is chased by a boulder is an obvious Indiana Jones reference... the second film i think (yeah i am not much of an Indy fan, completely overrated imo). Ironically they did that in the Archie Sonic comic first except even more shamelessly (#67).

Egg Emperor from Sonic Heroes is a homage to Char's Sazabi from the Gundam film Char's Counterattack. And i think Metal Overlord (pre-flight) is a homage to Godzilla, or Mecha Godzilla. Perfect Chaos from Sonic Adventure is also a Godzilla homage.

Aso there's an Ark level in Shadow the Hedgehog where Shadow is flying one of those Black Doom birds for almost the entire level - I believe SEGA fully intended for it to be a homage to Panzer Dragoon. But i am unable to find my copy of Shadow so i cant name the level from my repressed memories, but someone else should know.

Oh i almost forgot. I mentioned this in the Sonic Unleashed thread when it first came out, although nobody commented or didn't care; But the final fight against Eggman is almost definitely a reference to the final boss Olga Flow in Phantasy Star Online: Episode II, the music even sounds like something out of PSO. Check it out for yourselves.
Sonic Unleashed: Egg Dragoon
Phantasy Star Online Episode 2: Olga Flow
Also if i may sound like a total nerd, the wings of light Eggman activates halfway through on the Egg Dragoon are definitely another Gundam reference. The wings of light effect was first used in Victory Gundam, but it's been used again since then, more recently with the Destiny and Strike-Freedom Gundams.

Well there is the Zelda Series...

Rush Adventure = Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass; travelling from island to island via boat, by tracing your route via stylus.

Unleashed = Twilight Princess; Wolf transformations.

I assume as I have yet to play it;

Sonic Black night = Link to the Past (or various others.) I assume there is a sword in the stone at some point.

Also Tikal is a place in Central America (I think?). A quick image search will show you the inspiration.

San Fransisco inspires the Sonic Adventure 2 map I believe.

I can really recall the scene, but I assume that the Eclipse Cannon destroying, (I think..?) Capitol City in Shadow would be inspired by Independance Day. (Edit; I should read the thread. How did I miss the first reply?)

Michael Jackson's involvment in Sonic3 would probably fit in this topic.

I seem to remember Boxercise being a popular real life fad for women, not just pink hedgehogs, wanting to get fit around the time I was playing Battle.

Do soap shoes count?

Amy's Piko Piko hammer must have some root in some form of 'pop culture'.

Also would the whole Nature vs Industrial themes of the first game be relevant?

The Zelda ones there SO don't count as they are all just taking from existing mythology. I don't think it needs to be stated that Sonic & The Black Knight is based on Arthurian legend (as all sword in the stone/excallibur references are), the Man > Wolf thing is just the theme of werewolves and both SRA and Wind Waker have heavily based Pirate themes.

On the flip side, "Central City" from SA2 is indeed San Francisco.

Anywho. I'm intrigued by Rishi's contribution there. I've seen the extended cut of Pokémon: The First Movie, so I'm aware of the Amber backstory which was criminally removed from the theatrical cut. Spelling it out like that really does make the two characters seem far more similar than I would have accepted from just reading "Shadow is like Mewtwo". I doubt it was intentional, but dang if it isn't eerie.

Sega... Why'd you have to go and sully the good name of PSO by associating it in any way, shape or form with Unleashed? =(

Another link to Dragonball I always noticed was Knuckles and Piccolo/Kami; both are guardians living on a floating island in near solitude, both are seemingly members of long lost races, both have a strong link to the seven powerful jewels of their worlds, and both started out as an enemy to the heroes before becoming an ally.

Now, there are enough differences to claim coincidence on this'n I think, but I think it's a pretty cool parallel.

Also Tikal is a place in Central America (I think?). A quick image search will show you the inspiration.

Yep, both Tikal and Pachacamac are named after Central and South American locations (and the god Pacha Kamaq). Simply amazing places - like you said, an image search yields some beautiful photographs. I'd love to be able visit these places someday. Take a look here to see the various locations SA1's stages are influenced by. I can't find the link, but I have read a similar article that goes into detail on SA2's "around SanFran" locations (Prison Island = alcatraz, Green Forest = Redwoods... I forget what the Wild Canyon/Pumpkin Hill area was, but it was the canyon/mountain area closest to San Fransisco). I researched Imperator Ix's name (he's from Chronicles for those who aren't aware) but found no location named Ix (though apparently it is the Mayan word for Jaguar, and is often part of the names of various godesses).

When Shadow was first unveiled I was positive he was based on DragonBall GT's level 4 Super Saiyan (or Saiya-jin, if your prefer. I'll shorten it to the ol' SSJ4). Instead of the Ultimate Life Form, an early trailer labelled him 'The Ultimate Hedgehog' (and thus I thought he'd have incredible power rivalling Super Sonic). Take a look at this picture and hopefully you'll see why. Shadow has the same upward-pointing quills that Super Sonic does but in black, and SSJ4's hair is Super Saiyan-esque without being the usual golden yellow. SSJ4 sports the same red eye markings Shadow does. Shadow reverses SSJ4's 'bare patch of skin on chest surrounded by fur' but keeps the same general shape. Additionally, Shadow leaves a yellow, Super Sonic-esque trail during his spin dash. I'm not sure if I still believe that SSJ4 is the inspiration for Shadow, but you can probably see why it seems possible.

While I agree with Craig that Sonic's more recent titles aren't directly influenced by other popular games, I do think that they may have taken advantage of the popularity of various themes. I'm not sure I'd say Espio became a ninja due to the popularity of Naruto, but Pirates of the Caribbean and One Piece making pirates interesting again to kids could have something to do with the decision for Sonic to take to the seas in Rush Adventure. Shadow the Hedgehog seems to have been inspired by various hollywood sci fi action films (Matrix sequels, War of the Worlds remake - the red slime and fruit just reminds me of the red weed)... more likely coincidental in going for a more 'mature' style though I guess.

Again, I'm pretty sure it's coincidental (especially as the numbers don't match up), but the five E-100s in SA1 are the same colors as those of Evangelion units (E-101 Beta/EVA-03 = black, E-102 Gamma/EVA-02 = red, E-103 Delta/EVA-00' Kai = blue, E-104 Epsilon/EVA-00 original = ochre, E-105 Zeta/EVA-01 = purple).

Now, there are enough differences to claim coincidence on this'n I think, but I think it's a pretty cool parallel.

Nah, with Yuji Naka apparently being a self-confessed DB/Z/GT fan, I think the similarities that Knux has to Kami/Piccolo are intentional. Both have very similar personalities as well.

I believe the Werehog is reference to Nightmare Luffy from One Piece. Their physique is pretty similar.
Tails of course is based on a kitsune from japanese mythology. I think Rouge was inspired by Catwoman. You can find some more Sonic's pop-culture references here.

Both South Island and Angel Island are names of actual islands.

In Sonic X, after Perfect Chaos attacked SS, the President is busy signing papers. His signature was 'Micheal R.' Who is most likely a nod from Micheal Reagan, Ronald Reagan's son.

I used to live in the South Island. Ugh, it's like Lost - desperately wanted to leave and now I HAVE TO GO BAAACK!! I really miss it.

Aw South Island is a nice place, i used to have family down there. But i can understand it can get boring, i mean there's nothing much there. Funny i never made the connection to Sonic the hedgehog before.

And yeah it is a bit like Lost, we called people on the south island 'the others'. =P

I was always under the impression that Angel Island is also a reference to the flying island of Leputa from Gulliver's Travels. I think it even used a magnetic boulder to float, like the Master Emerald.

Also Tikal is a place in Central America (I think?). A quick image search will show you the inspiration.

Yep, both Tikal and Pachacamac are named after Central and South American locations (and the god Pacha Kamaq). Simply amazing places - like you said, an image search yields some beautiful photographs. I'd love to be able visit these places someday. Take a look here to see the various locations SA1's stages are influenced by. I can't find the link, but I have read a similar article that goes into detail on SA2's "around SanFran" locations (Prison Island = alcatraz, Green Forest = Redwoods... I forget what the Wild Canyon/Pumpkin Hill area was, but it was the canyon/mountain area closest to San Fransisco). I researched Imperator Ix's name (he's from Chronicles for those who aren't aware) but found no location named Ix (though apparently it is the Mayan word for Jaguar, and is often part of the names of various godesses).

When Shadow was first unveiled I was positive he was based on DragonBall GT's level 4 Super Saiyan (or Saiya-jin, if your prefer. I'll shorten it to the ol' SSJ4). Instead of the Ultimate Life Form, an early trailer labelled him 'The Ultimate Hedgehog' (and thus I thought he'd have incredible power rivalling Super Sonic). Take a look at this picture and hopefully you'll see why. Shadow has the same upward-pointing quills that Super Sonic does but in black, and SSJ4's hair is Super Saiyan-esque without being the usual golden yellow. SSJ4 sports the same red eye markings Shadow does. Shadow reverses SSJ4's 'bare patch of skin on chest surrounded by fur' but keeps the same general shape. Additionally, Shadow leaves a yellow, Super Sonic-esque trail during his spin dash. I'm not sure if I still believe that SSJ4 is the inspiration for Shadow, but you can probably see why it seems possible.

While I agree with Craig that Sonic's more recent titles aren't directly influenced by other popular games, I do think that they may have taken advantage of the popularity of various themes. I'm not sure I'd say Espio became a ninja due to the popularity of Naruto, but Pirates of the Caribbean and One Piece making pirates interesting again to kids could have something to do with the decision for Sonic to take to the seas in Rush Adventure. Shadow the Hedgehog seems to have been inspired by various hollywood sci fi action films (Matrix sequels, War of the Worlds remake - the red slime and fruit just reminds me of the red weed)... more likely coincidental in going for a more 'mature' style though I guess.

Again, I'm pretty sure it's coincidental (especially as the numbers don't match up), but the five E-100s in SA1 are the same colors as those of Evangelion units (E-101 Beta/EVA-03 = black, E-102 Gamma/EVA-02 = red, E-103 Delta/EVA-00' Kai = blue, E-104 Epsilon/EVA-00 original = ochre, E-105 Zeta/EVA-01 = purple).

Pachacamac is, in real life, an archeological site in southeast Lima, Peru.
Tikal, I believe, is a Mayan urbal center located in today's Guatemala.

Well lets see....

The Culture of the Knucles Tribe from SA 1 could be considered simillar to that of the Myans or the aztecs, & Chaos was sort of a watery Quetoqwatel/Godzilla

Sonic 06 had some Biblical type insperations with the whole Apoclyptic fututre, Iblis , & Mephilis (wich is anothor name for devil) not to meniton elise is your sterotypical RPG/FF damsel in distress! & silver=trunks ripoff!

SA2 : Rouge is your typical seductive criminal type, The Ark reminds me of some space station i saw in an old sci-fi movie. Shadow obviously inspired by characters like Mewtwo, Vegeta & Darth Vader. & of course G.U.N. remindes me of S.H.E.I.L.D. from the marvel universe.

and of course lots of the sonic games have had levels inspired by ancient cultures such as egypt rome. atlantis, etc.

and finally blaze's world is somewhar POTC ish, & Blaze here self seems to be the sterotypical doesn't want to get close to others because she might hurt (or in her case burn them) anime hero/heroine. & its obviious that marine is the Sonic U's meg, I kid of course marines awsome!.

Well there is the Zelda Series...

Rush Adventure = Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass; travelling from island to island via boat, by tracing your route via stylus.

Unleashed = Twilight Princess; Wolf transformations.

I assume as I have yet to play it;

Sonic Black night = Link to the Past (or various others.) I assume there is a sword in the stone at some point.

No don't be stupid.

Many games make you travel from islands to islands by boat. Sonic doesn't transform into a wolf.

He just becomes a monstrous, larger version of himself who just howls. And for goodness' sake, Twilight Princess already copied animal transformation

And Sonic with a sword doesn't mean jack

*drops dead from awesome at your sig*

Does anyone else here besides myself think that the design for Rotom was inspired by Sonic Team's chao design?

=

I don't know Rishi. However, I don't think chao inspired null pictures.

However, I don't think chao inspired null pictures.

It's a pic of Rotom and it works fine for me.

Weird, in my end it's broken.

Weird, in my end it's broken.

I've just edited that post, it should now hopefully work for you.

It works for me.

Also, Amy's a fangirl.

I'll ring off some others... er, Sakura Kasugano, Sakura Haruno(To Sasuke), Pucca, Gary`s cheerleaders and That Yu-Gi-Oh Guy`s cheerleaders.

It works for me.

Also, Amy's a fangirl.

I'll ring off some others... er, Sakura Kasugano, Sakura Haruno(To Sasuke), Pucca, Gary`s cheerleaders and That Yu-Gi-Oh Guy`s cheerleaders.

Yeah, what you said is true, but 'fangirl' is a type of stock character. It isn't a DIRECT reference or inspiration specifically extracted from pop culture, like Super Sonic (DBZ) and the Death Egg (Star Wars). Oh, and:

@ Sakura Kasugano the Ryu fangirl

Lucky Ryu.....

Don't forget Robotnik's reference to Roosevelt! Not Franklin D., Teddy. The cute one with polio.

When I saw the opening animation for Unleashed, I saw a destinct similarity between Dark Gaia and the Nightwalker thing from Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke. It's just the way they looked side on and the way Dark Gaia lurches up from the planet's core. Am I just being silly or did anything else think that?

Also, does anyone see any similarity between Rouge and Fujiko from Lupin III? Y'know, they're both thieves. Sexy ones too. And they don't mind flirting to get their hands on a pretty jewel (although I guess that one's a tad generic).

I could have sworn Mobius was the god of sleep.... but wiki says its "Morpheus". Oh well, would have been cool if the planet was named after that.... :S

Mobius is the single-sided, single-edged shape created when you take a strip of paper, give it a half-twist, and join the ends.

Though, Mobius and Morpheus are similar in pronunciation, so the confusion is understandable.

Though, Mobius and Morpheus are similar in pronunciation, so the confusion is understandable.

Is is though? Is it really?

Uhh, yes...

The name Flicky from Sonic 3D Blast and other games is taken from an earlier (MUCH EARLIER) SEGA game called "Flicky".

On the whole subject of Shadow being inspired by Mewtwo. No chance. Shadow's formula is one big walking cliche that has been done to death long before his character was created. Granted, as someone who didn't realize this in his youth, I found his character interesting in Sonic Adventure 2. And quickly grew sick of him when he essentially took the main character spotlight, and was seen in Sonic X laying waste to all my beloved Sonic characters that I grew up with. It was like seeing Robin defeat Batman, and then them making up, never getting to see Batman at least punch Robin back.

Yeah, as for references, well. One thing I noticed being very blatant, that really bugged me, in SA2, was that the whole "City Escape" level was inspired by the ever-so-hip-and-trendy Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series. Come on? Grinding down city part rails to softcore punk rock? *gag*

On the whole subject of Shadow being inspired by Mewtwo. No chance.

What do you mean 'no chance'? There are some striking similarities between them.

Well, yeah theres a possibility, but Shadow ACTUALLY being based off of Mewto directly is highly unlikely.

Sonic has been doing extreme sports since day 1. Acrobatics, running through loops and corkscrews, snow and sand boarding, running on water, just to name a few such stunts.

On the whole subject of Shadow being inspired by Mewtwo. No chance.

What do you mean 'no chance'? There are some striking similarities between them.

Shadow: Forced to be in suspended animation thanks to the government

Mewtwo: Willfully ran into a cave and hide

And I know you're gonna pull, "I'm talking about anime Mewtwo"

Shadow: Is pissed off at humans for shooting his only friend

Mewtwo: Is pissed off at humans for viewing him only as a weapon

I have never really done much with the Pokemon series, so what happens between Mewtwo and Shadow I have no idea of. But from what I've read, I've made my point.

What point? That you claim two characters are similar despite you just admitting you have no grasp of one of the character's franchise?

No, I claim that the type of character Shadow and Mewtwo are, are cliches, and that the likelyhood of Shadow being based DIRECTLY off of Mewtwo is highly unlikely.

Lol I was going to say Sonic was based off Santa Clause. But everyones already seen that video

Craig Bayfield wrote:

---

Given I just explained the DBZ/Sonic thing in another thread, I thought this would be a good source of discussion.

The Sonic series has stolen and homaged ideas from many other sources over the years. DBZ is the most cited one as the Super Sonic, 7 Emeralds

i would say sonic is a clear steal of micky mouse. eggman's clothes with the buttons and the fact everyone wears white gloves just like in micky's world. but let's face it, even if i am a disney fan, sonic done a better job. it's a just steal

Craig Bayfield wrote:

---

Given I just explained the DBZ/Sonic thing in another thread, I thought this would be a good source of discussion.

The Sonic series has stolen and homaged ideas from many other sources over the years. DBZ is the most cited one as the Super Sonic, 7 Emeralds

i would say sonic is a clear steal of micky mouse. eggman's clothes with the buttons and the fact everyone wears white gloves just like in micky's world. but let's face it, even if i am a disney fan, sonic done a better job. it's a just steal

I got there first on that front Sonicsfan n__n

Speakin of Dragon Ball, I recently remembered a more recent Sonic/DB "homage" in Erazor Djinn in Secret rings and his likeness to Majin Buu.
Also, sinceYuji Naka started the whole DB reference thing, and since he's now left Sonic Team, is this the last we'll see of these one-sided crossovers? Will they continue the trend without him? Or will a fresh-faced newbie start loading Sonic with new popular manga references, like Naruto or Fullmetal Alchemist? Anyone hoping to see a future Sonic game where Knuckles unleashes Bankai?

hey blue your drawing explains it all too well

i think it's not just sonic, a lot of games, movies and cartoons are starting to steal ideas from the past.... i guess everyone stopped being original.
sonic even steals from it's own games, rush felt like a repeat of the classic 91 sonic only the songs were changed. sonic heroes was sonic adventure one on full speed mode... and for some reason playing "Shadow the Hedgehog" reminded me of half life, espacially the ending levels, so i guess even without yuji sega will continue to steal ideas for sonic games

the question is, who will it copy?

I would say that Majin Buu and Erazor Djinn are more a homage to the Djinn of Arabic/Islamic Mythology than Erazor Djinn being a direct homage to Majin Buu.