Summary
- Sega’s official Sonic timeline clarifies game continuity.
- The timeline starts with prehistoric events and goes through classic games to the modern era.
- Future Sonic games are likely to build on existing lore.
Sega has shared an official timeline for the Sonic the Hedgehog series that chronicles the order in which certain games take place. The Sonic franchise has been around for over three decades as of this writing and has been home to various mainline games, spin-offs, and adaptations in other media. Not all of these tie-ins take place in the same continuity, and the placement of certain titles like Sonic CD has caused much confusion and debate among gamers.
Many of these issues have only intensified after 2022’s Sonic Frontiers, which established an official backstory for classic elements like the seven Chaos Emeralds and featured plenty of references to past titles like the equally lore-heavy Sonic Adventure duology. Other games like Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 and Sonic Generations have dealt with time travel and alternate timelines, muddying the game continuity even further. Luckily, Sega has been making efforts to clear the air about the Sonic universe in recent years, and now fans have an official timeline to answer some of their most burning questions.
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This timeline can be found on the official Sonic the Hedgehog website, and it chronicles the history of the series from prehistoric times to the altered future presented by Sonic the Hedgehog 2006. The first chronicled event is the birth of the cosmic beings Light Gaia and Dark Gaia from 2008’s Sonic Unleashed (or Sonic World Adventure as it is called in Japan), followed by the arrival of the Ancients from Sonic Frontiers. Other prehistoric events include the rampages of Dark Gaia, the arrival of the Babylon Rogues’ ancestors from space, and the fall of the Echidna Tribe as detailed in the original Sonic Adventure.
Official Sonic Timeline Chronicles the Games’ History
The Sonic timeline moves on to more recent historical events like the plight of Professor Gerald Robotnik and the ARK from Sonic Adventure 2 and experiments that led to the creation of Sonic Adventure 2006 villain Solaris before finally leading into the era of the classic Sonic the Hedgehog games with the 1991 original. It is then finally confirmed that Sonic CD indeed takes place before Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and the rest of the old 2D games, with the 2017 throwback Sonic Maina and 2023’s Sonic Superstars being slotted in before the Modern Era that begins with Sonic the Hedgehog 4.
The rest of the Modern Era Sonic games are more or less placed in order of release, with spin-offs like Mario Party clone Sonic Shuffle and Sonic Riders racing series being slotted in as well. Not every Sonic the Hedgehog game is included in this timeline, but it does answer many fan questions about where certain games fit. Future Sonic the Hedgehog titles will likely build on this timeline by adding new lore and characters to the already massive franchise.
Sonic the Hedgehog is a prolific game franchise that started life on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. Covering both 2D and 3D iterations through the generations, Sonic is known for speedy movements and interesting platforming mechanics.