The Sonic movies have steadily introduced more elements from the games, and the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 4 looks like it is going to push that even further. The movie is going to introduce Metal Sonic and Amy Rose, both of whom first debuted in Sonic CD, one of the very first entries in the video game series.
While the Sonic movies have deviated very heavily from the games, they have clearly been embracing more of the source material’s stories in the recent installments. The first film was barely a Sonic movie, the second introduced more game elements, and Sonic 3 was a relatively close adaptation of the game Sonic Adventure 2.
While the fourth movie probably won’t be a direct adaptation of Sonic CD, it has the perfect opportunity to introduce an element that was very prevalent in the classic games. The filmmakers seem to want to go all-in on the uniquely Sonic elements of the franchise, and this upcoming sequel can push that idea even farther.
Sonic 4 Should Reference The Video Games’ Multiple Endings
One defining feature of the Sonic series that has been lost in recent years was the idea of multiple endings depending on what the player accomplished over the course of the game. They were very simple, just consisting of a short scene showing either a happy ending if you did well, or a more negative one if you didn’t.
In the game, the ending depended on how many of Sonic CD‘s Time Stones the player gathered. Getting them all showed a good ending, where the main location, Little Planet, was restored to life, while failing to find all of them left the planet in ruins, alongside the text “Try Again,” which would continue to appear during the games’ bad endings.
The first mainline Sonic game to not feature multiple endings was Sonic Adventure in 1998, which was also the first 3D game in the series.
With Sonic 4 referencing Sonic CD, at least in the characters it is introducing, now would be a perfect time to pay homage to this aspect of the video games. Sonic CD was only the second game in the series, and now, the franchise is willing to delve into more concepts from the source material, giving Sonic 4 a great opportunity to capitalize on.
This could come about in any number of ways, but the easiest would be for Sonic to seemingly lose somehow, before he is given some opportunity to try again and succeed. If Sonic the Hedgehog 4 does end up including time travel, which has been heavily theorized, it would make this Easter egg even easier to introduce, as Sonic could literally try again.
