Why Fans Are Excited About This Sonic Theory
With Roger Craig Smith back in the fold and Sonic's main voice returning for the next adventure, everything seemed at peace in the world of "Sonic the Hedgehog." However, Sega is shaking things up with a cryptic announcement for a new game in the series, sending fans into a frenzy of speculation online.
At the end of its recent Sonic Central livestream, Sega unveiled a trailer for a new game made by Sonic Team, which will release in 2022. The trailer doesn't offer much in the way of information. Instead, it simply shows the titular Blue Blur whizzing through an unnamed location, drawing a strange pattern with his footsteps. The trailer doesn't offer a title for the game or any information about the plot, but fans have their own theories.
Redditors speculated that the pattern Sonic scrawls out in the trailer is in fact a visual representation of the Mystic Ruins, a location from 1998's "Sonic Adventure." While some were quick to chime in, calling this assumption a "stretch," others said they wanted to believe.
A botched press release may reveal the truth
Not everyone on the r/SonicTheHedgehog subreddit was so willing to accept the theory. One fan immediately pointed out that metadata for the trailer indicates that the game will be "Sonic Rangers," not "Sonic Adventure." Unfortunately, a mix-up at Sega HQ supports this theory. As reported by Eurogamer, Sega accidentally sent out a press release that promised information about "Sonic Colors" and "Sonic Rangers," later amending the announcement to explain "Rangers" wasn't meant to be included in the release.
While there are some similarities between the outline of the Mystic Ruins map and the symbol in the new "Sonic" trailer, fans might simply be reaching to see what they want to see. After all, the "Sonic Adventure" games remain beloved by the fanbase, despite their age.
The "Sonic" franchise has a confusing timeline and more games than you can throw a ring at, but fans still yearn for a follow up to the "Sonic Adventure" subseries. Even if the new game from Team Sonic turns out to be something different from "Sonic Adventure," there's still lots of exciting "Sonic" content coming fans' way. The animated "Sonic Prime" is still in development at Netflix, and the second "Sonic the Hedgehog" movie has just wrapped production. There's always something coming down the halfpipe for "Sonic" fans, even if it's not what they originally wanted.