Top 5 ‘Star Wars’ References In The Sonic Franchise
Image Source: GameSpot
The world-renowned Sonic the Hedgehog franchise has been known for its mild “borrowing” from various franchises. One that is commonly cited is the Super Sonic transformation and seven chaos emeralds being inspired by the Dragon Ball franchise. However, did you know that there are small little easter eggs to Star Wars? Let's look at the top five Star Wars references within the Sonic franchise.
5. The Death Egg
Image Source: Alaska-Pollock on Deviant Art
Let's get the most obvious one out of the way. The Death Egg, Dr. Eggman's base in various titles, is a clear nod to the Death Star from Star Wars: A New Hope. The base made its first appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Genesis/MegaDrive and has appeared in several other titles and media (including both the IDW and Archie comics). Though not able to destroy a planet, its accompanying stage is often among the hardest in the game. The base even had a mark two, and, similar to the Death Star II, it is attached to a forest planet called the Little Planet.
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4. The Eclipse Cannon (Space Colony ARK)
Image Source: YouTube
Though the Death Egg might not be able to destroy an entire planet, this next reference certainly can! The Eclipse Cannon, which made its first appearance in Sonic Adventure 2, is a weapon of ultimate destruction onboard the Space Colony ARK. It was created by Dr. Eggman's grandfather, Professor Gerald Robotnik, as a means of defense against the Black Arms aliens. However, it was secretly modified by Gerald after his granddaughter, Maria Robotnik's, murder as a means to avenge her death by destroying the Earth. With the power of the seven chaos emeralds, it can destroy an entire planet. Eggman demonstrates it once it is powered by six of the emeralds by firing its laser, giving the public 24 hours to give him the remaining emerald and submit to his rule before it is fired on the city, wiping it out. Sonic used this time to penetrate the ARK and stop the Cannon from firing.
3. That Time In Sonic X Where They Ran Through The Set of Star Wars
Image Source: Personal Screenshot from episode 23 of Sonic X
The references even extend to other media in which the blue blur has appeared, including the anime Sonic X. In episode 23 of the series (titled "Mayhem! 6 Chaos Emeralds” in the original Japanese version and “Emerald Anniversary” in English), Sonic, Chris, and the others are led to the backlot of a film company where Lindsey Thorndyke (Chris Thorndyke’s mother) is on set filming. Nelson Thorndyke (Lindsey’s husband and Chris’ father) intends to disguise himself as one of her co-stars during a romantic scene to present her with an anniversary gift: a chaos emerald. However, chaos ensues, the emerald falls out of his grasp, and there is a chase scene with Dr. Eggman (who had gone to the film set in search of the emerald), Bocoe and Decoe (Eggman’s robotic lackeys), and Sonic and co in which they run through sets of various films in search of the emerald. One of these sets is a reference to none other than Star Wars: A New Hope, with the scene opening with a pan across a star destroyer and concluding with Knuckles and Decoe running and jumping over a model of the Death Star.
2. Nicolette The Weasel Owns The Millenium Falcon In The Archie Sonic The Hedgehog Comics
Image Source: Twitter
The Sonic the Hedgehog Archie comics were filled with wacky pop culture references, including Star Wars references. While most things on this list were nods or clever references to the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, this almost seems like straight plagiarism. Nicolette the Weasel, the twin sister of Nack the Weasel, is a vicious bounty hunter that is just as competent as her brother, who is also a bounty hunter. Furthermore, she is shown to straight up own the Millenium Falcon and states she got it from an old boyfriend, leading to some interesting implications. This is not the only time that Archie has used Star Wars vehicles on the pages of the Sonic comics. It happened so much that YouTuber sonictoast made a whole video detailing references to Sonic in the Archie comics.
1. Chao In Space
Image Source: Sonic News Network
Chao in Space’s origins date back to the poster’s first appearance in the Dreamcast title Sonic Adventure. It was presented as an in-universe science fiction movie featuring the cute creatures that the player can take care of known as chao. The second fictional film’s title, Chao in Space 2: Perfect Chaos Strikes Back, is a reference to Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. However, the references become more explicit in Tysone Hesse-helmed 2019 animated short titled “Chao in Space.” For starters, in the space battle dream sequence that takes up the majority of the short, the neutral chao is seen in a vehicle that is incredibly similar to an X-Wing. The chao in the dream sequence themselves also have names that reference Star Wars, with the neutral chao being called Chaobi (a reference to Obi-Wan Kenobi), the dark chao being called Darkth Chao (a reference to Darth Vader), and the other two chao being called Biggschao and Chaowedge (references to Biggs and Wedge from Star Wars: A New Hope). The latter two chao even act like their namesake as they ride alongside Chaobi just like Biggs and Wedge rode alongside Luke Skywalker as part of Red Squadron. The short is a love letter to the posters found in the Adventure titles and a love letter to the films that inspired them.
What do you think of our list? While those were only five references spotted in the franchise, the franchise is teeming with little nods to not only Star Wars but also other aspects of pop culture. See if you can spot any next time you’re speeding through one of the blue blur’s iconic titles!
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