I read a hilarious effort to put all the Mario games in a
chronological timeline. While Sonic games aren't that
clear cut, sometimes it seems like certain games come after others. Well, I put
in the effort to drop EVERY non-paper Sonic title into
a timeline. It's retarded as hell and not serious but give
it a read. If you think anything is certainly wrong with this order let me
know. There are a number of games like Sonic Eraser where point in time simply
can't be determined. While I include games where Sonic himself makes an
appearance, I did not include those where he appears as merchandise. If I
missed any video games or cartoons let me know, but I'm not touching any
written or drawn publications.
From earliest to latest chronologically:
A young Sonic travels his home land and frees the local animals from Dr. Robotnik and destroys his ultimate creation, the Scrap
Brain. Sonic stumbles upon the Chaos Emeralds and learns to keep them out of
Dr. Robotnik's hands, even though he doesn't know
their true power. (Sonic the Hedgehog (Both 8-bit and 16-bit))
Sonic enters a labyrinth of Dr. Robotnik's creation
in which his speed is lost. Sonic challenges and defeats the labyrinth. (Sonic
Labyrinth)
In a hall of mosaic tiles, Sonic must face off in a challenge of both body and
mind against a mirror image of himself. (Sonic Eraser)
Dr. Robotnik builds and island base. Sonic arrives
with two companions who are Sonic's perfect match in
speed, clothing, and technique. Sonic destroys the island, and his two companions
mysteriously disappear making Sonic presumably the fastest thing left alive. (SegaSonic Arcade)
Sonic discovers a small planet where time changes. He saves a young Amy Rose
who develops a crush on him. He drives Metal Sonic and Dr. Robotnik
off the planet and restores peace on it. (Sonic CD)
Tails grows up and develops an interest in mechanics and aeronautics. He also
develops a hatred for Dr. Robotnik. (Tails'
Adventures, Tails' Skypatrol, Tails and the Music
Maker)
Dr. Robotnik begins building a new robotic force and
several factories. He and his robots discover magical beans which become a
popular meal. (Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine)
Sonic meets Tails. They become fast friends. (Sonic
the Hedgehog 2 (Gamegear))
Sonic and Tails enjoy a relatively peaceful life. They have several spats with
Dr Robotnik who seems to be biding his time for any
major evil schemes. (Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog)
Sonic enters Dr. Robotnik's pinball machine-like base
where several friendly animals are held captive. (Sonic Spinball)
Sonic and Tails join a group of peaceful reformists who Sonic recently rescued.
They live in the forest and peacefully fight for freedom against Dr. Robotnik through protests and eventually guerilla warfare.
The efforts are futile and Sonic and Tails realize to take up arms in direct
opposition. (Sonic the Hedgehog (Saturday Morning Cartoon))
Dr. Robotnik acquires a chaos emerald and creates
powerful weapons with it. Sonic and Tails end his budding plans for world
domination. (Sonic Chaos, aka Sonic & Tails)
Sonic and Tails destroy Dr. Robotnik's life work, the
Death Egg. They destroy Silver Sonic and the Death Egg. Sonic collects the
seventh Chaos Emerald and learns to use their power. He keeps them with him
rather than allowing them to wander free. (Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (
Sonic and Tails go exploring strange lands traveling on the Tornado. (Crusader
of Centy, Wacky Worlds)
Sonic and Tails discover an island with strange ruins where rings are plentiful
and have odd effects when held. (Sonic Crackers)
Sonic arrives at
Sonic discovers the Super Emeralds which Knuckles was trying to conceal. Knuckles continues to work with Robotnik
and fight Sonic. In a twist, the Death Egg is still intact ready to launch and Robotnik betrays Knuckles by stealing the Master Emerald. Knuckles assists Sonic and Tails in getting to the Death Egg
in the upper atmosphere via Sky Sanctuary. Sonic fights off Mecha
Sonic and using the Super Emeralds defeats Dr. Robotnik
and returns the Master Emerald to the
The remaining robots on
Dr. Robotnik is discovered once again making robots
out of small animals on an island. Tails and Knuckles accompany Sonic for
transportation and to search for the Chaos Emeralds which have appeared. While
Knuckles is more knowledgeable about the Chaos Emeralds, he concedes collecting
and using them to Sonic which is a habit that sticks with him. (Sonic 3D Blast)
While vacationing with Tails, Sonic discovers the first incarnation of Eggmanland under construction. Sonic,
Tails, and Knuckles work together to fight an upgraded Metal Sonic and stop Dr Robotnik's plans. (Sonic the Hedgehog, Original
Video Animation)
Dr. Robotnik tries creating a weapon with the Chaos
Emeralds. This does not go well and the Chaos Emeralds are scattered. Sonic,
and Tails must keep them away from Dr. Robotnik and a
treasure hunter. A mislead Knuckles joins the fray as well. (Sonic Triple
Trouble aka Sonic & Tails 2)
The Emeralds are discovered in another location. Sonic and Knuckles set out to
protect them. Tails spends time away from Sonic building his grand workshop.
(Sonic Blast)
Sonic discovers he has some kin alive and may be the descendant of royalty.
With his two supposed siblings Sonic starts a band which receives terrible
reviews. After searching for their parents, it becomes apparent that they are
no longer alive and the two other hedgehogs may not in fact be related to
Sonic. Sonic leaves the band and cut ties with the two hedgehogs forever.
(Sonic Underground)
A professor and his daughter inform Sonic of the six rings of order, and tell
him Dr. Robotnik may be after their power. It turned
out, there were no such things as these rings or even a plot from Dr. Robotnik. In the location specified there were merely some
boring fields. (Sonic X-treme)
Sonic begins hitting puberty. Sonic revisits several old islands that have
sentimental value to him. (Sonic Pocket Adventure, Sonic Jam)
The Chaos Emeralds no longer return to the special stages and just end up
somewhere in the world. Dr. Robotnik learns the
legend of Chaos, an ancient protector of the Chaos Emeralds sealed inside the
Master Emerald. He shatters the master Emerald in order to use a misguided
Chaos to collect the Chaos Emeralds.
All parties involved fall in love with small Chao
animals and sometimes raise them as pets. (Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, Chao Adventure, Chao Adventure 2,
Tiny
Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy get caught in a dream world. They risk their
lives playing party games and ultimately save the dream world and escape.
(Sonic Shuffle)
Dr. Robotnik discovers and unleashes the first Shadow
the Hedgehog. Technological developments lead to chaos drives being used to
power machinery. The military begins to pursue sonic, mistaking him for Shadow.
Tails and Amy help rescue Sonic. Knuckles shatters the Master Emerald to
prevent it from being stolen and races with a master thief to reclaim them. Dr.
Robotnik gains control of a space colony in attempts
for world domination, but his plan ultimately backfires and causes the colony
to descend towards the planet. Sonic and Shadow work together to destroy the
prototype of the ultimate life form, the Biolizard.
Sonic dons new footwear and gains a sudden interest in grinding and performing
aerial tricks. (Sonic Adventure 2)
The Chaos Emeralds return to the special stages. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and
Amy work together to stop Dr. Robotnik's plans for
world domination and liberate countless animals he has made into robots. The
adventure resembles one from Sonic's younger days.
(Sonic Advance)
Sonic trains himself and focuses on his running. With the help of tricks, he
and his friends first break the sound barrier. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy
meet and befriend Cream the Rabbit, who can run at an impressive speed, fly,
and attack with a vicious fighting Chao named Cheese.
The five of them rescue Cream's mom from Dr. Robotnik
and once again put an end to his scheme. (Sonic Advance 2)
Sonic and friends try to relax in a small town. Dr. Robotnik
unearths and ancient fighting machine, which Sonic names Emerl.
Emerl learns unrivaled fighting techniques by
studying closely with Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, Rouge, and a Shadow. Emerl absorbs pieces of Chaos Emeralds which summons a
weakened Chaos, signaling danger for the Chaos Emeralds. Emerl
is overloaded with energy by Dr. Robotnik and becomes
evil. Sonic defeats this Emerl who returns to a
weakened state. (Sonic
Dr. Robotnik discovers a new technology which allows
him to power Robots with a single ring rather than a small animal. Dr. Robotnik uses this energy source and revives his plans to
construct Eggmanland. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy,
and Cream start focusing on training team work instead of speed. Emerl carries out Dr. Robotnik's
orders and is used to fight Sonic, but this partnership ultimately backfires on
Dr. Robotnik. Emerl is
defeated by Sonic and domesticated by Tails to serve Cream's family. (Sonic
Advance 3)
A strange woman from a parallel dimension reveals the Sol Emeralds to Sonic.
Together, they work to save Sonic's world. Sonic uses
his recently acquired faster-than-sound speeds to make up for his solo effort.
(Sonic Rush)
Sonic travels to Blaze's world and returns the favor in full. Tails accompanies
him as a personal engineer and becomes a professional at making large scale
vehicles. (Sonic Rush Adventure)
Dr. Robotnik takes some of Sonic's
friends into space. Tails creates a spaceship for him to travel battle Dr. Robotnik. (SegaSonic Cosmo
Fighter)
Dr. Robotnik once again tries to take over the world,
but in truth is really being held captive by a recently repaired and updated
Metal Sonic who is acting as Dr. Robotnik. Using team
work Sonic and company defeat Metal Sonic and rescue Dr. Robotnik.
A Shadow and Omega disappear with the body of Metal Sonic. A fledgling
detective agency composed of Espio, Vector, and Charmy is on one of their earliest missions. Charmy and Vector behave relatively young. (Sonic Heroes)
The Chaos Emeralds once again stop returning to special stages and wind up
somewhere in the world. A Shadow goes on a large adventure of self-searching.
He works with the military and discovers his creation was influenced by
extraterrestrial life forms. (Shadow the Hedgehog)
Sonic and company go on a huge quest which is ultimately undone. However, Blaze
the Cat and Silver the Hedgehog remain in Sonic's
world. (Sonic the Hedgehog (PS3/360))
Sonic and his rivals have a friendly competition and trade cards. Dr. Robotnik tries to take advantage of the situation, but
ultimately fails. Metal Sonic is under heavy maintenance and is increasing in
power. (Sonic Rivals)
Sonic and his rivals once again gather for a friendly competition and card
trading, this time with Silver, Rouge, Espio, and
Blaze joining the fray. Dr. Robotnik once again tries
and fails to take advantage of the situation. Metal Sonic is once again tame
and works for Dr. Robotnik. In the end, Metal Sonic
3.0 is created by a partnership with Eggman Nega. (Sonic Rivals 2)
Sonic is sucked into a story book or two and relives classic mythic tales.
(Sonic and the Secret Rings, Sonic and the Black Knight)
Sonic and a large group of his associates are teleported to another world.
(Sonic X)
Sonic takes an interest in the world's strange sporting events. (Sports Talk
Baseball)
Sonic competes in the Olympic Games before returning to his home world. (Mario
& Sonic at the Olympic Games Beijing 2008, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic
Winter Games Vancouver 2010)
Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles are accosted by the Babylon Rouges. Tails constructs
boards for everyone to enter a race. (Sonic Riders)
Robots are up to no good. The only logical thing to do is to keep flying board
racing. (Sonic Riders Zero Gravity)
After destroying the Egg Carrier, Dr. Robotnik is
presumed dead. A large cult appears to have kidnapped Knuckles. A large group
forms and eventually even Dr. Robotnik resurfaces to
launch an attack against the Marauders. The heroes are tricked by Dr. Robotnik and he escapes. The Marauders are defeated, but in
the meantime Dr. Robotnik has begun rebuilding his
empire significantly. (Sonic Chronicles the Dark Brotherhood)
Dr. Robotnik develops a ray which corrupts the power
of the Chaos Emeralds. He uses this on super Sonic to free a beast named Dark
Gaia from the planet. In the process Sonic is granted lycanthropy. Upon this
success, Dr. Robotnik begins constructing Eggmanland for a third time. Sonic travels the world
repairing the Chaos Emeralds and is assisted by some of his friends. By day he
relies on his speed, which is at the fastest in his life, and by night he is
granted unnatural power. In the end, he stops Dr. Robotnik's
plans and is cured. Tails takes him away. (Sonic Unleashed)
Sonic dedicates his time to a series of community and charity fundraisers. He
invites several acquaintances, who arrive with varying attendance. Dr. Robotnik and Sonic are on somewhat better terms and his
aspirations of world domination seem to have died down. (Sonic Drift, Sonic
Drift 2, Sonic R, Sonic the Hedgehog's Game World, Sonic Pinball Party, Sega
Super Star Tennis, Sega Superstars, Sonic Championship)
Sonic opens up a school for mentally disabled children. (Sonic's
Schoolhouse)
Sonic begins a noble but dangerous career in crime fighting. (Waku Waku Sonic Patrol Car)
Far in the future Sonic is no where to be seen and is rumored to be dead. A now
insane Dr. Robotnik is unsure how to function without
his rival. In his madness, he constructs a giant theme park on an island where
rings have strange powers. Using these rings he not only powers robots as he
had previously done, but also boss machines. Metal Sonic 3.0 runs rampant and
acts largely on its own accord. Espio is captured but
rescued by a faded Knuckles. Together they master Dr. Robotnik's combi catcher and
rescue the remaining members of the veteran Chaotix
detective agency and two rebellious mechanic robots. Also mysteriously in the combi catcher is Mighty armadillo who has not appeared for
many years and has the exact same technique as the now missing Sonic. Charmy is nearing the end of his life span and Vector has
matured considerably. In his insanity Dr. Robotnik
tries to power Metal Sonic with a special stage ring. The result predictably
backfires and a power that can destroy the world is again awakened in the very
same style it was in Sonic Heroes. Knuckles and company find the island's holy
rings and use them to stop Metal Sonic, saving both the island and the world.
(Knuckles’ Chaotix)
In a world Sonic had once visited, a figurine is made in Sonic's
honor. This figure is given life and is made to fight other figures. Sonic in
particular is not revived until other live figurines reach the end of the
world, where he joins in the final assault against Tabu.
(Super Smash Bros. Brawl)
~~~~~
Note 1: Games such as Shenmue and Gale Racer are not in the timeline as he only appeared in those games as merchandise.
Note 2: Amy Rose’s clothing does not indicate her age. They indicate the character artist who was in charge when the game was developed. =P
Note 3: No comics or non-video games are not included.