Sonic Superstars is Likely Going to Give Its Fans Homework

Summary

Sonic Superstars introduces new powers to the Chaos Emeralds and brings in various story elements, but fails to deliver on them in the actual game.
The lack of explanation for important plot points and features in Sonic Superstars is significant, especially considering the new initiative to codify Sonic lore.
Further information about Sonic Superstars and the unanswered questions may come through sources like TailsTube, IDW comics, or future Sonic titles.

In the latest Sonic game, Sonic Superstars, the titular hedgehog and his group of friends visit the Northstar Islands and end up having to save the locale from the evil Dr. Eggman, who aims to turn it into a mecha corps. Along the way, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy will free gigantic animals that call the islands home and will traverse stages such as a sandy desert, a vast digital landscape, snowy forests, and more.

Sonic Superstars goes out of its way to make the adventure rather interesting, from covering the islands with plenty of ruins of an ancient civilization, giving characters each turn to shine in designated Character Acts, and even introducing new powers to the Chaos Emeralds. Sonic Superstars' prologue animation, if not the designated Emerald-specific power-ups on their own, almost demands Superstars to deliver on all the story elements it introduces, but in the actual game itself, it doesn't deliver on any of them beyond Trip and Fang; leaving other Sonic projects to pick up the slack.

Why Fans Should Keep an Eye Out for More Information about Sonic Superstars' Lore

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While not everything shown in Sonic Superstars needs to be explained, a majority of its important plot points and features do. Superstars features a number of regularly returning Sonic tropes such as Dr. Eggman taking advantage of an ancient civilization's technology, the mythical Chaos Emeralds, and even time manipulation. However, players don't learn what the ancient civilization is about, how Trip is connected to them, how the time manipulation aspect in Sonic Superstars works, or even why the Chaos Emeralds suddenly have Emerald-specific powers.

The lack of explaining such important plot and gameplay elements wouldn't have mattered much if it wasn't for the fact that Sonic Frontiers had begun a new initiative to codify Sonic lore, an internal movement by Sega in which Fang the Hunter is a walking example of. Just giving the Emeralds unique powers in Sonic Superstars is an important new addition that has to be explained and handled properly, and if the new approach to the series' lore wishes to hold any weight, then these elements have to be explained eventually for them to make sense.

Where Fans Can Expect Further Information About Sonic Superstars

As Sonic comic writer Ian Flynn has already helped answer who Fang the Hunter is after years of confusion and lack of clarification from Sega, It's hard to imagine that he wouldn't do his best to explain the important things left out of Sonic Superstars in some way. One big way that these explanations can come around is through TailsTube, a series of short-form videos posted on social media that have been used to codify Sonic lore.

One other option would be for these answers to be provided in some sort of comic by IDW, such as a Classic Sonic miniseries. However, as one such miniseries was announced a few days ago that takes place before Sonic Superstars, this option feels rather unlikely. There are plenty of other less-explored avenues that could explain what was left out of the latest 2D Sonic game, but even Flynn's own BumbleKast show could give some insight.

Players could even be waiting as long as the next Sonic title to find out what the ancient civilization of the Northstar Islands was like, which could be a rather lengthy wait considering how Sonic Frontiers had a five-year wait after Sonic Forces. Regardless, there's a precedent set that these new bits of series lore will need to be explained, especially if Sega wishes to keep the same story-telling standards set by Sonic Frontiers with Trip the Sungazer's future appearances, or even the Chaos Emeralds themselves.