I just came back from Soleanna, it was rubbish. Time to go to Little Planet.

[Dr. Crusher]

Now it's time to talk about something completely minor that's barely worth making a topic about, and believe it or not, it's not about voices. No, it's about the locale.

There's no real way to over-detail this simplistic question, so I'll cut to the chase: Do you care about where Sonic and Co. travel to? Or to be more specific, does it matter to you whether or not they explain where each of the games take place in? For instance, S3&K in Angel Island, Little Planet in CD, the Amazing Intersteller Amusement Park in Colours, as opposed to games like Heroes in which there's a bunch of places you go through and that's it.

Personally, I do - not just for Sonic mind you, for games in general. Games that only have levels without elaborating on exactly what island/kingdom/planet/dimension/whatever is is you're making a detour always irritated me. Not because of continuity reasons or anything like that, rather it's more so that the world actually feels like a world and not, well, a bunch of conveniently-placed areas.

[The Weeb with No Name]

In generations, it would have been nice if the characters referenced more about the zones and bosses that Sonic and Sonic faced. At the very least they acknowledge them, so that's cool.

Edited November 3, 2011 by Jayhawker30

[JezMM]

I don't NEED it but yes I like to build up an image of Sonic's World in my head too.

For example I like to imagine Shamar and Empire City are rather close to San Francisco and the "Desert Area" from Sonic Adventure 2 because they are both games that feature those sorta locales close together on the map. That sort of stuff is fun to theorise about, but it's even nicer when confirmed.

[Nepenthe]

It doesn't bother me at all, usually because the overarching world and the orientation of the stages between one another is completely irrelevant to the game in general. Nothing about Heroes would've changed significantly or at all if Sonic Team bothered mentioning that every stage was actually its own island in an archipelago, (although that does sound cool). Besides, world maps between the games change constantly, destroying any meaningful ability to plot them all accordingly anyway.

[Your Vest Friend]

A thing about Heroes that people forget is that the stages aren't actually travelled between from A to B, per se. The first three zones alone are actually two days worth of travel for Sonic and co, so it's likely that it takes place all over the world (given that Sonic can travel pretty far in two days...).

[Nepenthe]

While Sonic (and Shadow) can travel that far within a short span of time, that says nothing about the rest of the cast. They'd not only have to keep up with him in order for their campaigns to play out linearly, happen within a short span of time between one another, and allow them all to meet at the end of the deadline, but they'd also have to intersect him in order to surprise him with rival encounters. I doubt very much that Team Rose can out-book Sonic and co., so it seems more likely that Heroes' locations are actually pretty close to one another.

And what of oceans? Team Sonic has the Tornado and Team Dark Chaos Control. But all Team Rose has is a parasol and a boat of a cat, and Team Chaotix can't even afford the rent for their little shanty much less international transportation.

Edited November 3, 2011 by Nepenthe

[Your Vest Friend]

In Heroes, everyone could run at near Sonic speed as long as they were in Speed formation. :/

[Nepenthe]

I'm approaching the situation from a more canon sense. Yes, for gameplay purposes, the speed characters have roughly the same speed, but realistically, Sonic and perhaps Shadow's teams would logically outpace everyone else.

That also doesn't explain the ocean problem either way you look at it. The characters can't even touch water in that game. =P

[Nitwit_Speed]

I like having that kind of knowledge canon because i like it when stuff makes sense and everything connects. It adds to the lore of the world and makes it more "realistic" in such a way that you could insert fan characters yourself which adds to the immersion. If nothing makes sense, it's just a game. With canon comes immersion.

Edited November 3, 2011 by firelord767

[Sparky]

Everyone is fast, But Sonic (And Shadow) Is faster.

ON-TOPIC: I like to imagine that Places like Central City, Empire City, Spagonia, Mystic Ruins, and Chun-Nan are in the same place as where there real-world counterpart would be (San Fransisco, New York, Europe, Mayan ruins, China)

And South/Westside/Angel Island are all around the Pacific Ocean. (Except AI Sometime floats towards the Main land)

My vision of Sonics World is a Mix between the Games and the Comics. Mainly the continent names (Northamer, Soumerca, Eurish, Efrica, Yurashia, etc)

[Rusty Spy]

does it matter to you whether or not they explain where each of the games take place in?

Definitely. It's one of the reasons why I like S3&K over Sonic 2, and why games like SA1 and 2 were more memorable than, say Colors, or even Sonic 1. Giving a defined setting makes the game more immersive and adds an air of atmosphere.

[Sparky]

Definitely. It's one of the reasons why I like S3&K over Sonic 2, and why games like SA1 and 2 were more memorable than, say Colors, or even Sonic 1. Giving a defined setting makes the game more immersive and adds an air of atmosphere.