What is going on with the Baku Baku in Lost World?

[Plasme]

Sonic's had some weird shit in his games, but everything pales in comparison with the Baku Baku.

That's what they are called in the game files. Just what in the fuck are these things and why are they even in the game? I get that the Hidden World is supposed to contain fun, bonus content, but there's something so weird and baffling about them, especially since they have no context in the game and appear for absolutely no reason. It doesn't help that they are technically the last enemies in the game and end the Hidden World.

Do we have any information on what they are? I find it weird the way the Sonic CD creepy face easter egg is so popular, yet this, which is far more weird and mysterious, is hardly commented upon. They are clearly a joke on Pac Man, but that makes it even weirder. Like, why?

This has bothered me ever since I played Lost World in 2013.

[Multikaris]

There's also those square things in a previous level there (though they may be construed as Badniks), which also don't show up anywhere else. I think the reason people don't really care about these is because unlike Sonic CD, the whole of Lost World is zany and saccharine.

[DabigRG]

To paraphrase a short man, "What the fuck is a Baku baku?"

 

[Diogenes]

Does anything need to be going on with it? It's a fuzzy alien pac-man doing what fuzzy alien pac-mans do. The hidden stages aren't trying to be canon or establish lore or whatever, they're just playing with weird gimmicks for the sake of some bonus content.

[DabigRG]

35 minutes ago, Miragnarok said:

There's also those square things in a previous level there (though they may be construed as Badniks), which also don't show up anywhere else. I think the reason people don't really care about these is because unlike Sonic CD, the whole of Lost World is zany and saccharine.

The whole? Zany and saccharine?

I think its because Lost World isn't just some distinctly weird offshoot.

[Plasme]

7 minutes ago, Diogenes said:

Does anything need to be going on with it? It's a fuzzy alien pac-man doing what fuzzy alien pac-mans do. The hidden stages aren't trying to be canon or establish lore or whatever, they're just playing with weird gimmicks for the sake of some bonus content.

It's very weird and out of place, even for the Hidden World.

[StaticMania]

The mechanics are all out there...but in a normal level it'd just a rolling furry Pac-man.

Is not that weird.

[Diogenes]

10 minutes ago, Plasme said:

It's very weird and out of place, even for the Hidden World.

I mean even if you take it as entirely "canon" it's...just a weird monster. Sonic's fought weird monsters. Water spirits, genetic experiments, evil aliens, fire demons, genies, phantom knights, nightmare monsters, the deadly six themselves, etc. What actually sets this one so far apart from them?

 

[Tracker_TD]

Deep Cuts. 

Joking aside yeah it's just... a thing that's there for content. It's weird but honestly given it actually differentiates the 'Lost World' from Sonic's world unlike the rest of the game, I think it's fine. Hidden World in general is pretty weird compared to the rest of the game. 

[blueblur98]

someone at sonic team had a wild LSD trip and burst into the office the next day and said "guys, i have the craziest idea!"

[Eurisko]

I love that level. Those furry things remind me of tribbles from Star Trek.

[Badnik Zero]

The baku have patterns like a calico cat. Truly they are an ill portent for our hero Sonic.

As we know from the Egyptians, cats are the protectors of the gods. The god of nightmares, Wizeman, appears in subsequent levels.

Evil gods are sometimes described as demons. In the New Testament, Mark 5:1, a legion of demons are purged from a man who lives among the dead. Clearly, the Baku-calico is akin to this foul manifestation. When struck by spiked balls, the Baku spews small animals.

What is the connection between the animals and the Baku?

The name Baku derives from the word "baga" in Persian, and "bhaga" in Sanskrit meaning god. Baku is the city in Azerbaijan that is the site of an old Zoroastrian temple. The element of fire, important to Zoroastrians, is also the element of the soul. We have established that Hidden World is the domain of the gods.

As follows that logic, the Hidden World is also the domain of souls.

All this leads to one obvious explanation. The Baku-calico are the accumulation of all the souls, of all flickies and woodland creatures Sonic could not save. Confused in the afterlife, they bind together into balls of misery and regret, forgetting that they are either robot or living, with a singular desire to consume.

The Baku are also well known by occult writer Stephen King, as evinced in his 1995 television documentary, The Langoliers.

 

[DabigRG]

23 minutes ago, Badnik Zero said:

The baku have patterns like a calico cat. Truly they are an ill portent for our hero Sonic.

As we know from the Egyptians, cats are the protectors of the gods. The god of nightmares, Wizeman, appears in subsequent levels.

Evil gods are sometimes described as demons. In the New Testament, Mark 5:1, a legion of demons are purged from a man who lives among the dead. Clearly, the Baku-calico is akin to this foul manifestation. When struck by spiked balls, the Baku spews small animals.

What is the connection between the animals and the Baku?

The name Baku derives from the word "baga" in Persian, and "bhaga" in Sanskrit meaning god. Baku is the city in Azerbaijan that is the site of an old Zoroastrian temple. The element of fire, important to Zoroastrians, is also the element of the soul. We have established that Hidden World is the domain of the gods.

As follows that logic, the Hidden World is also the domain of souls.

All this leads to one obvious explanation. The Baku-calico are the accumulation of all the souls, of all flickies and woodland creatures Sonic could not save. Confused in the afterlife, they bind together into balls of misery and regret, forgetting that they are either robot or living, with a singular desire to consume.

 

I thought you were gonna say they protect the Zeti for a second.

 

23 minutes ago, Badnik Zero said:

 

The Baku are also well known by occult writer Stephen King, as evinced in his 1995 television documentary, The Langoliers.

 

Holy shit....

[Multikaris]

45 minutes ago, Badnik Zero said:

The baku have patterns like a calico cat. Truly they are an ill portent for our hero Sonic.

As we know from the Egyptians, cats are the protectors of the gods. The god of nightmares, Wizeman, appears in subsequent levels.

Evil gods are sometimes described as demons. In the New Testament, Mark 5:1, a legion of demons are purged from a man who lives among the dead. Clearly, the Baku-calico is akin to this foul manifestation. When struck by spiked balls, the Baku spews small animals.

What is the connection between the animals and the Baku?

The name Baku derives from the word "baga" in Persian, and "bhaga" in Sanskrit meaning god. Baku is the city in Azerbaijan that is the site of an old Zoroastrian temple. The element of fire, important to Zoroastrians, is also the element of the soul. We have established that Hidden World is the domain of the gods.

As follows that logic, the Hidden World is also the domain of souls.

All this leads to one obvious explanation. The Baku-calico are the accumulation of all the souls, of all flickies and woodland creatures Sonic could not save. Confused in the afterlife, they bind together into balls of misery and regret, forgetting that they are either robot or living, with a singular desire to consume.

The Baku are also well known by occult writer Stephen King, as evinced in his 1995 television documentary, The Langoliers.

 

I will accept this explanation for these events.

[Pengi]

Baku baku basically translates to "chomp chomp".

[DabigRG]

4 hours ago, Pengi said:

Baku baku basically translates to "chomp chomp".

I thought that was paku paku?

....

Waitaminute...

[Darth InVaders]

Just some inhabitant of Lost Hex like the Zeti, they are clearly just doing their thing not much to think about. What's the big deal? I kinda like how they are like furry Pac-Man / Chain Chomp parodies similar to how the Zeti are a riff on Yeti and other magical creatures.