Clearing up the confusion in the fanbase regarding Sonic 06
For years in the English speaking Sonic fandom thereās been tons of confusion regarding 06ā²s place in the series, and collectively everyone seems to have come to the opinion that 06 isnāt canon so we must disregard it.
But I have some news for you;Ā
06 is most definitely canon in the mainline series of games, and Shiro Maekawa confirmed it.
I specifically saidĀ āEnglish speaking Sonic fandomā there, because the Japanese fanbase have always considered 06 canon in the mainline series, unlike the west.
āBut it retconned itself, it erased itself from canon!ā
First, we must discuss the very definition of whatĀ āretconā means.
āRetroactive continuity, (or retcon for short)Ā is a literary device in which established facts in a fictional work are adjusted, ignored, or contradicted by a subsequently published work which breaks continuity with the former.ā
In Sonic 06ā²s case, sure, the timeline was erased. However, the events must have had to happen in the first place for them to even have been erased.Ā This does not make itĀ ānon canonā, the creators have never saidĀ āplease disregard this entry from the seriesā. In fact, if youāve been paying attention, Sonic 06 is one of the most referenced games in the entire series.
But before I get in to that, I want to talk about something that happened recently. Shiro Maekawa (a past main writer for the Sonic series) recently held a Q&A livestream, however he answered a few questions directly on twitter with Japanese fans. I already translated these on twitter but I wanted to share them here too;
Manaita: āAs Maekawa-san is Blazeās creator, I think itād be interesting to hear about how Rush and 06 fit together (chronologically).ā
Maekawa:Ā āNo no, Blazeās creator is Nishiyama-san who wrote Sonic Adventure 1ās story*~.Ā
The truth is, when writing Sonic 06 we wanted to add the sense of a connection between Sonic Rush and Sonic 06, but I donāt think thatās ever been officially stated.ā
(*He said Nishiyama actually wrote the scenario for SA1, but it was easier on twitter to translate it as story because character space is limited).
If youāre unsure what Maekawa is referring to here, itās this;
That different dimension Blaze gets sealed to? You guessed it. Itās the Sol Dimension.
In other words; he just said Blaze originally came from the future.Ā
(Manaita replied to Maekawa confirming thisĀ https://twitter.com/mana_ita/status/1010665857536614400Ā saying this is what she always believed, that Rush/06 were written intentionally with a connection to each other).
This actually makes perfect sense because when the timeline is reset Blaze does not come back (even though she should) and she does not recognise Sonic in 06, nor does Sonic recognise her.
(Before someone saysĀ ābut she mentions blue hedgehog!ā thatās a translation error. The word forĀ āBlueā in Japanese can also meanĀ āNaiveā; yes, when she ponders overĀ āthe blue hedgehog is the Iblis Triggerā, sheās actuallyĀ ponderingĀ āthe NAIVE hedgehog is the Iblis Triggerā. Itās supposed to be a clever play on words and how itās foreshadowing that Silver is going to be the one who will cause the ruination of the future. In this instance she is alwaysĀ talking about Silver, but this got lost in translation and they decided to translate it literally which caused a lot of confusion).
I came to this conclusion myself years ago as itās the only way things can make any sense. My Timeline is a bit outdated but for now I think itāll suffice to give the general idea of how It works;
Another interesting thing to note is; did you know that depending on which region youāre in, Silver actually debuted in Sonic Rivals, NOTĀ Sonic 06?
These games came out within extremely close proximity to each other, which means that they were written at the same time.
You want to know something very interesting about that fact? Eggman Nega is Silverās antagonist in Sonic Rivals and stated as being Eggmanās descendant.
That, and? Iblis is also in Sonic Rivals (as Ifrit);
Meanwhile, in Sonic Rushās case, Blaze was not in any original promotion of it while it was in beta asĀ āSonic DSā.Ā I was reading gaming magazines religiously at this time and was eagerly awaiting this game, but she was not there during this stage at all. In fact it seems that she was added to Rush later on. Sonic 06 and Sonic Rush were also being shown off together at a games expo in 2005; this means Sonic Rush, Sonic 06 andĀ Sonic Rivals were all being produced at very close proximity to each other.
And, whatās interesting about this is; while people presumed that Eggman Nega is a native to the Sol Dimension (and Eggmanās counterpart), Sonic RushĀ never ever says Eggman Nega is from the Sol Dimension, ever.Ā It says Blaze and Nega have been fighting a long time, but thatās all.
In other wordsā¦ These three games had stories that were planned to fit this way from the very beginning.
Something else of interest to note, when Blaze is gettingĀ āsealed to a different dimensionā in 06 while using the Chaos Emeralds, for a split second something happens;
Yes, she becomes Burning Blaze before fading away!
The fact Blaze/the Sol Dimension exist and Maekawa confirmed that Blaze came from the future firstĀ meanĀ that they are evidence of that timeline once existing; ergo, 06 isĀ canon.
Now now, you might be thinkingĀ āwhy would this plot exist, only for it to not be addressed afterwards?ā
I remember watching an interview many years ago when one of the developers of 06 said something along the lines ofĀ āwe named SilverĀ āSilverā so that when we made aĀ āSilver the Hedgehogā game, it would line up in store shelves beside the rest of the Sonic seriesā.
The mainline title before 06 wasĀ āShadow the Hedgehogā. 06 was branded asĀ āSonic the Hedgehogā. My speculation? This was possibly going to be aĀ plot point that was explored in aĀ āSilver the Hedgehogā game they wanted to produce. However due to the failure of 06, the direction of the series changed and they decided to completely take focus off any of Sonicās extra cast so this never came to fruition.
This is also probably why Silver and Blaze have been together in pretty much every game and appearance since (even in SATBK, Galahad is not in the story mode yet is still listed as Percivalās close companion!).
You might also be interested to know about Silver and Blazeās continuous matching sets on Sonic Channel (where they share a similar pose), something thatās exclusive to just them.
but see this last one here?
It specifically references Sonic 06 as well.
Blaze is making the shape of a maple leaf with her flames, which is what silverās quill style is based on.
Silver is throwing a Tanzaku in the air, referencing the Tanabata festival.
And what is Tanabata? To put it simply, Tanabata festival is a Japanese summer holiday which revolves around the famous story of lonely Princess Orihime and Hikoboshi, two lovers who get separated across space on opposite ends of the milky way and canāt see each other anymore.
During Tanabata we hope that they will be able to see each other again.
ā¦ now, that sounds awfully familiar, doesnāt it?
In other words, I donāt believe Sonic Team have forgotten about this plot point at all. I canāt say I know what they are planning to do, but itās not something theyāve abandoned either it seems. Itās hard to say what with the complete lack of attention theyāve been paying to anyone except Sonic for the last decade (Forces aside).
Which brings me to my next point; 06 being referenced in other games.
If youād been paying attention, 06 has always been referenced.
Sonic and the Secret Rings talks about Iblis;
(should be noted that in Japanese, Silver saysĀ āwhy does it feel like this isnāt the first time you and I have fought togetherā)
And Iām sure I donāt need to mention Sonic Generations, where Blaze says she remembers Crisis City;Ā "I never thought Iād find myself in Crisis City again. This world is full of surprises", and Iāve already mentioned the reference to partnership between Galahad and Percival in SATBK.
Silver also talks about theĀ āéē©ŗ (blue sky)ā, itās a phrase that comes up in his dialogue often
You know what this is referring to?
(Sonic Forcesā original script also had Mephiles in it, and according to Maekawa? He thinks the reason Blaze isnāt in Sonic Forces is because itās related to the ending of 06;Ā https://twitter.com/SonicJPNews/status/930896302325592064
https://twitter.com/SonicJPNews/status/930897199407554561Ā )
At this point, itās a little delusional to keep insisting 06 is not a canon game in the series. Everything points to the exact opposite, that it very much isĀ part of the mainline. Iāve always thought it was very strange how the western fandom has been in collective denial regarding itās canon status while the JP fandom have never doubted itās inclusion (and hand waves everything about it as āthatās just a reference!ā when it continuously happens again and again).
Anyway! I hope this info has educated you some. Iāve had these thoughts for a long time now, but have been discouraged from discussing it as every attempt is met withĀ ābut itās not canon, shut up about itā. I felt now with Maekawaās confirmation, people might be more willing to actually see whatās been right in front of them the entire time.
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