Plot and Story Speculation Thread

[Indigo Rush]

 

So Sonic Boom, for better or for worse, is setting an unprecedented... precedent... by giving the series a totally new and separate game canon. As such, a lot of story elements and plot threads have been eliminated. Now, whether or not this is a good thing IS NOT THE POINT OF THIS TOPIC.

 

Right now, we'll be discussing potential avenues for developing the series' canon and mythos through this brand new initiative. Being Sonic fans, we should be more than capable of meticulously pulling apart every single minute detail possible out of a simple trailer as well as a plethora of screenshots and concept art.

 

 

Here's the trailer in case you missed it:

 

 

Now let's look. Here's something!

 

This image right here:

 

 

 

Lets start with this image. We have a giant stone echidna statue shown briefly in the trailer for the game. Meanwhile, we hear Sonic ask, "What is this place?"

 

And a new voice we haven't heard from, possibly Knuckles' voice, says.. 

 

"...this is paradise."

 

Just before we hear him say this, the trailer caption claims that this is "An Ancient Land Discovered."  Hmm.

 

Now, let's assume that Knuckles' voice actor has changed, and this is indeed him speaking. Sonic and co. have fallen into a new realm that Knuckles seems to know about, hence the giant echidna statue and him calling this "paradise" in a rather nostalgic and almost tourguide-esque inflection.

 

So, from this, we could gather that Knuckles' *new* backstory may be explained to some effect in this game. Maybe this game is where Sonic meets Knuckles for the first time, even. It's difficult to tell with the amount we're given, but right now this is the best we've got.

 

Does anybody else have any thoughts about this? Have you noticed anything else from the trailer? Please share what you know! We're here to speculate.

 

And again, we're not going to talk about why the reboot is or is not a good thing. Let's try and keep this topic as clean and friendly as possible, alright? Alright. Viva la Sonic Boom, amigos.

 

 

EDIT: Changed the details, since this is NOT a re-boot, but in fact a new sub-series with a separate canon. 

Edited February 6, 2014 by Indigo Rush

[Diogenes]

I'm not convinced it's an echidna statue. It's hard to tell so I could be wrong, but to me the top of the head looks more hedgehog spine than echidna dread to me.

[Blue Wisp]

Actually uh the head of that statue looks more like a Predator to me...

[Soniman]

Actually uh the head of that statue looks more like a Predator to me...

 

.....which in turns looks like Kncukles, lol

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

I'm hoping that there is something for Knuckles in this.

 

It'll certainly show that SoA is really listening to us on this character.

[Blue Wisp]

.....which in turns looks like Kncukles, lol

Knuckles was a Predator all along? You're onto something Soniman.

[Amalgamous]

We saw Tails with that electric whip thing in the TV trailer. I'm wondering if all the exposition on character powers and whatnot will be reserved for the show, with simple explanations for the ingame tutorial.

And slightly more relevant: does anyone else think the game will have an "Everything's trying to kill you" vibe? The screenshot thread has Amy fighting something in a forest in one shot and a weird looking scarecrow in another...

[VO.SUPER]

Edit: whoops. Ignore.

[SolidSurgeTT]

I would say this is like the "Ultimate universe" of Sonic games but I think Archie already sort of did that.

 

...

 

Eh, I still want to go with it. Archie never managed to do a game based on its universe (the SatAM cartoon tried but it was canned).

[Fletch]

So far we know that this is a prequel story to the TV series, but also in an interview, I found this quote to be very interesting. 

 

 

 

"Speed is an important aspect of it, but exploration, combat and the strong narrative of the storyline are very big aspects of the game, more so than I would say in the past. So again, we wanted a strong storyline and art design that Western audiences can resonate a little bit better with the synergistic relation for all of us at Sega of America is why we drove toward a Western developer across the board."

 

I really do think this should probably give some of us here a bit more hope when it comes down to the story in this game, whatever it'll end up being. 

 

Now, based off what we seen in the trailer with the giant statue? I'm going to guess that maybe we'll learn about an ancient tribe that use to live on a specific island and whatnot. Not really enough information for me to try and form a full story theory (not even sure if key Sonic items such as the Chaos Emeralds will exist in the Boom universe). Here's hoping more story information is released soon!

 

Edit: It's also worth noting that Sonic Boom is made for the western audience, so maybe we could get a story that will fit many Western tastes? 

 

Here is also the interview where I got that quote from. http://www.polygon.com/2014/2/6/5387184/why-sega-handed-sonic-over-to-western-studios-and-gave-him-a-scarf

 

Edit 2: Another quote!

 

 

Sonic Boom will also emphasize cooperation among the characters, offering two to four-player co-op against a new enemy that is "darker and more foreboding than Eggman is."

 

Hmm... A darker and more foreboding enemy than Eggman? 

[Johnny Boy]

So Eggman's gonna get upstaged again? Damn it. Hopefully they pull a Lost World on this one and have him be the final boss.

[Octarine]

I guess it makes more sense here than anywhere, since Eggman still has to be the comedy bad guy who can audition for Tails' job in the TV series. I know it's been said that the show won't really have any continuity, but they could also want to establish a "dark" villain sort of like Adventure Time's Lich who they can pull out whenever they want to do a more serious episode.

 

Whether the Chaos Emeralds or Super Sonic will be a thing in Boom, the game or the cartoon, is an interesting question. I guess it could go either way, but I'd be surprised if playable-outside-the-final-boss Super Sonic like we've gotten a lot recently happened. That'd kind of mess up the co-op focus unless it was handled in a radically different way.

[Uraraka]

If this Game is about the history of Knuckles, and Knuckles is presented as well as the rest of the cast as a suitable and honorable personality, i see potential for this game. I like how there is multiple characters to be, and the thing is , you can be Amy. a first since Adventure!

  I think that the story could very well revolve around Knuckles' history.  that would be a very awesome thing!. What if this game is about what happened to the Echidnas after the Tikal event in SA? I was always curious of that...Maybe Knuckles childhood/background will be discovered. Perhaps there will be tie ins with other Character's background and history as well.   This may be the Game Knuckles fans ave been begging for, or It could be the one that Knuckles fans are waiting to burn... we will have to see.

  on behalf of the other characters, there must be some plot that causes this history to effect them. perhaps a ancient prophecy is coming to pass? Amy was wondering if Sonic could actually give her a chaos emerald as a gift (please, no..that is pathetic!) Tails needs some kind of energy for a weapon to keep Eggman at bay? it could really go anywhere at this Point. i do hope, however, where ever it goes, it goes in a Good direction. .

  sorry I hope that is not a good or bad post thing. tried to think of plot theories.. I may think of more .

 

 

and yeah.. I sure HOPE that is Knuckles' voice. It's awesome!

[JaidynReiman]

Um... you can't hear Knuckles voice throughout the trailer? Nobody realizes that the "This is paradise" line is CLEARLY Kirk Thornton's Shadow voice?

 

Granted, Shadow hasn't appeared much lately, but I could CLEARLY recognize that it was Shadow in that line. Knuckles speaks right at the beginning (before the "This is paradise" line) and you can hear his same VA from the main games throughout the trailer.

 

Here, a comparison of Shadow's VA's:

 

Looks like I'm going to have to make a comparison video comparing these to the "This is paradise" line...

[kalion]

We saw Tails with that electric whip thing in the TV trailer. I'm wondering if all the exposition on character powers and whatnot will be reserved for the show, with simple explanations for the ingame tutorial.

And slightly more relevant: does anyone else think the game will have an "Everything's trying to kill you" vibe? The screenshot thread has Amy fighting something in a forest in one shot and a weird looking scarecrow in another...

 The electric cord is a tool all the characters carry and seems to be a "thing" in their univers as evidenced by the screenshot of amy and sonic using it and word from the producers in a kotaku article.

[Fletch]

If what you said is true, then I wonder if that voice belongs to the main villain of the game. Maybe Kirk Thornton will be his/her voice actor? 

 

Hmm... So much speculations... Not enough information...

[JaidynReiman]

Its very hard to tell. I listened to it once again and now it doesn't quite sound exactly the same as Shadow as when I first thought, but it still sounds very similar. I doubt its the main antagonist, though.

[Octarine]

I don't hear it, but I'm hardly an expert on that subject. I guess it could be Kirk Thornton voicing another character, but I'd be really surprised if Shadow showed up in any capacity.

 

...I'd love to see what kind of silly new backstory they'd give him in this continuity, though. "Magic half-alien cure for Space AIDS" is tough to top.

[JaidynReiman]

It honestly sounded just like Shadow to me, which didn't make much sense, he's not even in the trailer. I did start to notice it didn't sound quite the same, though, after I directly compared Kirk Thornton from Sonic Free Riders to this guy. I don't even think its Kirk Thornton anymore, but it sounded pretty damn close the first time I heard it.

 

That said I could see him appearing (not necessarily in the game) as a recurring rival/antagonist. They don't need to bring up his backstory.

[Emerald Chaos]

Still convinced the first line in the trailer is said by Travis Willingham rather than Roger Craig Smith. The tone and way he emphasis his words doesn't sound like Roger Craig Smith's Sonic to me. I mean, nothing like it. 

The second voice actor sounds nothing like him too. I'm gonna work on the assumption that it's Knuckles having a dialogue with the game's antagonist (who may or may not be an echidna?). 

[Celestia]

Still convinced the first line in the trailer is said by Travis Willingham rather than Roger Craig Smith. The tone and way he emphasis his words doesn't sound like Roger Craig Smith's Sonic to me. I mean, nothing like it. 

It could be RCS voicing a different character, tho'.

 

Anyway, I'm just confused by that...snake...tentacle? thing seen at the end of the game's trailer. It doesn't strike me as an Eggman creation. Ancient technology of some kind? Perhaps related to echidnas, assuming that statue is an echidna (it's hard to tell).

[Ryusuke]

It sounds like Roger is the first one talking, and Travis using a different voice for Knuckles.

[Red Hot Jack]

I would like if the movie was a tv special before the show and an adaption of the game. Or the first episodes could be about this plot, the way MLP does.

[Indigo Rush]

The developers mentioned that Sonic Boom would feature a menacing villain that's more foreboding than Dr. Egghead...er, Eggman. Perhaps that huge robot worm at the end is the bigger baddie? Or at the very least on his side?

[Mauro Fonseca]

>tfw they literally remake Sonic X-Treme with Amy as Tiara

>tfw the story will be Eggman releases seven chaotic gods and tricks Sonic and friends to stop them