WARNING: This article contains late-game spoilers for Sonic Frontiers.Throughout Sonic Frontiers' marketing, the Ancients were hardly mentioned or explained at all, but in the full game, the entire plot revolves around the story behind them. The simple answer is that the Ancients were the civilization that used to call the Starfall Islands home, but as Sonic grows closer to saving Tails, Knuckles, and Amy, things get more complicated and out of this world. They may have built the titans that Super Sonic fights, but their very existence changes Sonic lore.
When fans first heard about the Ancients, likely from a trailer or the Sonic Frontiers Prologue: Convergence comic, all fans were given was their name and that their power could be found on these mysterious islands. However, the Ancients and their technology are revealed at the very start of the game as a civilization that fell to some kind of war. Other islands have broken defense systems and self-defense cannons as part of their scenery while Sonic is getting visions of some kind of last stand. The Ancients are crucial to the history of Sonic's world.
Sonic Frontiers: Who are the Ancients?
The Ancients are a civilization that predate the ancient echidna tribes that Knuckles comes from. This was foreshadowed by the Sonic Frontiers Prologue: Divergence short, but they're also from another planet that was destroyed in a great war. They came to Sonic's world as a way to escape from the war, long before the main cast were born. Their attacker followed them to their new planet and decimated their population, but not before the Ancients managed to seal it away.
What's even more shocking is that they're not the only things from space. Sonic Frontiers reveals that the Ancients were the ones who brought the Chaos Emeralds with them to the world Sonic and friends call home. The only natural Emerald to Sonic's world was the Master Emerald, which is so strong that it was able to affect and call the Chaos Emeralds to it beyond the planet's atmosphere. As a result of being pulled into the planet by the Master Emerald, the Ancients decided to settle there, and they unfortunately died there.
What the Egg Memos Say About the Ancients
If fans purchase the Egg Memos from Big the Cat's fishing spots, they'll learn more about the Ancients. Dr. Eggman says in his audio log that they predate every other known civilization in Sonic, such as the Black Arms and the Babylonians. Many Egg Memos feature the Doctor musing about traits he's learned about the lost civilization, including just what the connection between the Koco and the Ancients is.
The most interesting detail is how Dr. Eggman confirms something fans may have already been wondering. The Ancients may remind fans of a water-like creature from a previous Sonic game, and the audio logs confirm it. The Ancients were distant relatives of Chaos, The God of Destruction that had power over the Chaos Emeralds. This is most likely a big deal to series loyalists as Chaos' existence was never fully explained, and it ends the long-winded fan debate on if Chaos is a mutated Chao or not once and for all.
With this backstory for the Ancients, many aspects of the Sonic series have been recontextualized. Just as the Prologue: Divergence short implied, the echidna tribe really did take a power that wasn't theirs. Not even the Master Emerald was theirs, as the gemstone was merely sitting in the ground unclaimed when the Ancients arrived. This makes Perfect Chaos' attack on the Echidna tribe much more understandable and sad. It also gives Knuckles and Chaos some common ground.
Some fans may not be happy about these new revelations, as once again an ancient civilization in the Sonic series has turned out to be extraterrestrial. Not only does this series have the Black Arms, but the ancient Babylonians were made into aliens in Zero Gravity, and now the Chaos Emeralds themselves are extraterrestrial as well. It seems the only things natural to the planet are Sonic and his friends. In that regard, this reveal may be disappointing to some fans, but maybe the way it changes the overall series lore can make up for it.
Sonic Frontiers is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
