The Chaos Emeralds in the Sonic the Hedgehog series have always been mystical gemstones that offer unlimited power to those who have them. In many games, these Emeralds are plot-driven or bonus collectibles that could even lead to the true ending of games like Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Sonic Superstars is no different. Just like the many other Classic Sonic games that came before it, Superstars sees players collecting all seven Chaos Emeralds throughout their journey, but this time, there's a bit of a twist to the tried and true formula.

In Sonic Superstars, the Chaos Emeralds have special powers associated with them that players can use to access new routes and areas, as well as get the upper hand against bosses. These powers are unique to each individual Emerald, and have a variety of effects such as the blue Emerald's "Avatar" ability creating numerous clones of the user, the green Emerald's "Ivy" power that causes plants to grow to reach higher platforms, and more. As interesting as these abilities are, though, they pose a challenge to future games after Superstars that can't be ignored.

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How the Sonic the Hedgehog Series is Stabilizing Its Lore

Superstars has decided to add onto the already limitless power of the Chaos Emeralds while the entire Sonic franchise is currently restructuring its lore. Sonic Frontiers in particular led this charge single-handedly with a hard-hitting story full of references that helped players understand what happened in Sonic's world and when, while also solidifying the core cast. Frontiers also went into the origin of the Chaos Emeralds, answering questions that had lingered in the series for decades. All in all, for a game that was made to bring out a new era of the blue blur, Sonic Frontiers hit hard and fast on its lore.

After Sonic Frontiers' launch, there's been a notable shift throughout many aspects of the franchise. Characters such as Amy have been subtly re-tooled to fit the modern direction of the series, current media projects such as the IDW comics and Sonic Prime have been looked after carefully to make them feel like they take place in the same universe, and there's been a rather strong emphasis on Sonic and his friends in other projects. Sonic Superstars may quickly put a hole in the recent cohesion.

Why Games After Sonic Superstars Can't Throw Its Power-Ups Under the Rug

Just short of releasing an entire year after Sonic Frontiers, a game that gave Sonic enthusiasts the origin of the Chaos Emeralds, Superstars is changing the Emeralds yet again. With Sonic lore being adjusted in real-time, there is an unspoken demand and expectation that SonicSuperstars' new Chaos Emerald powers shouldn't be a one-time deal without any proper explanation. While the artifacts are called the Chaos emeralds for a reason, that isn't enough of a reason for the powers dedicated to each gem to vanish without a trace after Superstars.

It may be hard to picture Sonic Team and Arzest managing to fit in an explanation to these abilities in a game with no dialogue, but there certainly are ways to do so. These powers could tie into something specific on the North Star Islands, the main setting for Sonic Superstars. There could be cutscenes that show something new awakening in the Emeralds and then fading away at the end of the game. Alternatively, these powers could simply be added into general Sonic lore and appear in future games as if they had been here the entire time as they should be, maybe beginning with the sequel to Sonic Frontiers.

Sonic Superstars will release on October 17 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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