Chaos Emerald

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For other uses, see Chaos Emerald (disambiguation).

The servers are the seven Chaos. Chaos is power, power is enriched by the heart. The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos.

— Knuckles the Echidna, Sonic Adventure 2

The Chaos Emeralds (カオスエメラルド, Kaosu Emerarudo^?) are objects that appear in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. They are a septet of ancient gemstones tied to the Master Emerald that possess unlimited power.^[1]^[2] Those who hold them can use them to cause miracles^[2] and other feats, such as warping space and time and powering machines. Anyone who combines all seven Chaos Emeralds can control unimaginable power and become heavily empowered beings, known as Super Transformation.^[3] Even when not including their mystical powers, the Chaos Emeralds' monetary value and beauty make them prime targets of treasure hunters who seek to make a fortune.

The Chaos Emeralds have observed numerous joys and sorrows since ancient times,^[1] being the center of countless world-threatening conflicts and targeted by multiple factions on Earth and beyond, who seek them for their near-limitless powers. In the hands of villains, they have been used for doomsday weapons and schemes for world domination, and in the hands of heroes, they have been used to save the world. Over time, the Emeralds have been gathered multiple times, though they tend to scatter themselves after each usage and reset the hunt for them.^[2]

Concept and creation[edit | edit source]

It is unknown how Chaos Emeralds came to be during the development of Sonic the Hedgehog (1991). They were, however, firmly established behind scenes for Sega of America to accurately name and implement them with narrative importance in their Sonic Bible for Sonic 1's release while creating changes, such as altering Dr. Eggman's name into Dr. Robotnik, the Egg Mobile to Egg-O-Matic and converting the captured Animals from species to individuals, ex. Sally Acorn.

Sonic Team would give the Chaos Emeralds greater importance themselves as the games went on, such as the introduction of Super transformations. Throughout the various Sonic medias under Sega’s oversight and lack there of, the Chaos Emeralds have consistently served as a motivation and spectacle for the plot.

Gameplay[edit | edit source]

In the early 2D games of the Sonic the Hedgehog series, the Chaos Emeralds were closer to "bonus" items and did not have a direct impact on the plot. Obtaining them all through Special Stages will give the games' good ending, but since Sonic Adventure, the gems have become significantly more important, and that trend has continued throughout most later games. More often than not, the player is required to obtain the seven Chaos Emeralds to fully complete the games' story.

In Sonic Superstars, the Chaos Emeralds are used to aid in regular gameplay. This can range from seeing hidden platforms or items to giving the players an extra attack. When all seven are retrieved, the players have the option to become super at any time, as long as they have at least 50 rings.

Description[edit | edit source]

Appearance[edit | edit source]

The Chaos Emeralds have been given various depictions over the course of history, differing in size, coloration, and cut between incidents early on. Currently, however, they have consistently been depicted as palm-sized and brilliant-cut gemstones in the following colors – green, red, blue, yellow, purple, cyan and white.

Powers and traits[edit | edit source]

Said to hold enough power to let their user control the whole world^[4] and possibly even the entire universe,^[5] each of the Chaos Emeralds is said to possess mystical properties^[6] and contain unlimited,^[6] amounts of Chaos Emerald energy that is said to give energy to all things.^[7]^[8] Even alone, their power is unmatched by pretty much anything else in the entire multiverse, except by the Power of the Stars,^[9] the Master Emerald and the Phantom Ruby;^[10] just one Emerald can grant access to unlimited power^[11] and radiates enough energy to repel the incomplete Time Eater, power an entire Gaia Temple and destabilize the crust of a planet.^[12] The Chaos Emeralds also amplify their own power the more of them there are used in the process.^[13] This is mainly demonstrated with the Eclipse Cannon: with five Emeralds it could destroy a large city; with six, it could blow up half of the moon; and with all seven it could destroy planets and pierce stars. It is said that those who find all seven Chaos Emeralds will command limitless power and be granted unlimited energy.^[6]^[14]^[15]

Each Chaos Emerald has the ability to respond to thoughts and transform them into power in order to create miracles;^[2]^[16] by "sensing" people's thoughts, the Chaos Emeralds can generate the energy they contain which make them everlasting sources of energy. By focusing one's thoughts, the Emeralds can even bend reality to achieve certain feats,^[17] such as showing fabricated visions, performing rituals, reviving the recently deceased, cause flora to bloom over a large area,^[18] reverse the pollution of an entire island,^[19] shut down facilities,^[19] and even make the Emeralds themselves move on their own.

Sonic the Hedgehog's Super State, a form granted by the Chaos Emeralds, as seen in *Sonic Frontiers*.

The Chaos Emeralds' power can be harnessed with or without physical contact, and can be done so over great distances. When harnessed by living beings, they allow different chaos powers, such as Chaos Control, and can occasionally enhance the wielder's abilities. Harnessing all seven Chaos Emeralds will bestow a person with a Super Transformation, a highly powerful form that grants flight, invulnerability, different chaos powers, and increased innate talents. Additionally, a Super State user can transfer their power to others to bestow them with a Super State of their own. However, Super States generally do not last long, as they consume tremendous amounts of energy.^[20] The Emeralds' power can also be harnessed by machinery, such as the Eclipse Cannon, for the purpose of powering them. Potentially, their power can be used to create fearsome nuclear bombs and laser weapons.^[21]

The type of Chaos Emerald energy that the Emeralds produce is influenced by thoughts. Positive thoughts, such as friendship and caring, generate positive energies; while negative ones, such as anger and hatred, generate negative energies.^[22]^[23] If the Chaos Emeralds are either absent of their negative energies or all of their energies, they become inert and lose their lustre. The known ways for restoring them from this state include people's thoughts,^[23] the Gaia Temples and/or their connection to their planet's power,^[24]^[25] through exposure to the Sol Emeralds,^[26] and letting them reabsorb their drained energy. The Chaos Emeralds also have the potential to be enhanced.

Like the Master Emerald, the Chaos Emeralds appear to possess some form of sentience and self-awareness; during the Jeweled Scepter incident for example, they remained stable in spite of the conditions in an attempt to help Sonic and Tails get home from the Sol Dimension.^[27] Supposedly, this sentience also explains the Emeralds' tendency to show up wherever and whenever they are most needed,^[28]^[29] and allows them to use their own power themselves to perform impressive feats such as holding an island in the ocean.^[30]

The Chaos Emeralds are linked to each other and act like magnets that can attract each other. This for example allowed Tails to pinpoint Eggman's location on the Space Colony ARK because he had the rest of the Chaos Emeralds in his possession.^[31] The Chaos Emeralds are likewise linked to the Sol Emeralds, their inter-dimensional counterparts from the Sol Dimension, with the two sets of Emeralds having been described as the North and South on a magnet.^[27]^[32] This makes both sets of Emeralds capable of attracting and repelling each other.^[27]^[32] Also, when in close proximity, the two sets of Emeralds call out to each other,^[32] which will generate power of cataclysmic proportions unless those wielding the Emeralds knows how to use them or the Emeralds will themselves to remain stable.^[27]^[32]^[33]

When all seven Chaos Emeralds are used together, their power will be used up, and they will scatter to all corners of the Earth.^[2] They also quite often end up in Special Stages, which are strange alternate dimensions. In general, though, they tend to land in places away from the public eye in an inert and lusterless state, where they can allow themselves to slowly regain their power.^[2]

As demonstrated during the Silver Castle incident and the Emerl incident, the Chaos Emeralds are not indestructible, and can be shattered into Emerald Shards that retain the Chaos Emeralds' energies. However, like the Master Emerald, they can be repaired if all their shards are brought back together again.

As seen during the Northstar Islands incident, the Chaos Emeralds have other powers that allows the user to perform near impossible actions such as becoming water. However, these powers can only be unlocked in places with special energy supplies, such as the Northstar Islands.

Background[edit | edit source]

Arriving on Earth[edit | edit source]

The purple Chaos Emerald and the Ancients, from *Sonic Frontiers*.

Tens of thousands of years ago, a technologically superior race called the Ancients fled their home planet in the wake of the destruction caused by an almighty entity known only as The End, bringing with them seven powerful gems as a power source for the Chaos Engines to ferry the species to safety. As their spacecraft passed by the Earth, the seven emeralds they possessed resonated with the power of the Master Emerald on the surface of the planet and overrode their navigation systems, causing the Ancients to land on the planet, which they decided to make their new home.

Colonizing the Starfall Islands, the Ancients used the Emeralds' power to create Cyber Space, a digital dimension to inscribe their knowledge and the essence of their soul for safekeeping, and the Titans, mechanized beasts with which they would use to battle The End. Although the advent of The End destroyed their civilization, the Elder Ancient had devised a contingency plan: a group of Ancient survivors would take the Emeralds and unite them with the Master Emerald at what would later become Angel Island. Their journey would ultimately lead to the creation of the Altar of Emerald, and the Ancients themselves would later evolve to become the Chao that accompanied it. One Chao would then become mutated by the energy of the Master Emerald, thus becoming the water being, Chaos.

Later History[edit | edit source]

Throughout history, civilizations have sought to harness the Chaos Emeralds' power: according to legend, the ancient civilization on West Side Island used the Chaos Emeralds for the advancement of their society and achieved great prosperity.^[34] Other civilizations that knew about the Emeralds included the Babylonians and the Black Arms, the latter whom have visited Earth at least 2,000 years ago. The Emeralds also have a connection to the Gaia Temples which are more or less than ten thousands of years old. Numerous other locations are said to have held the Chaos Emeralds at one point, some of which claim to have done so since ancient times, including Cocoa Island,^[35] Angel Island,^[36] Flicky Island,^[37] West Side Island,^[34] and South Island.^[7] It is unknown how valid these legends are, given how some contradict others regarding the Emeralds' resting place, although this might be due to the Emeralds' tendency to appear wherever they are needed.

According to one legend, West Side Island's prosperity lead to avarice over the course of a single night when some people wanted the Emeralds for evil, sparking a conflict so great that the gods had to intervene and seal the Chaos Emeralds on the island.^[34] The same legend states that the gods created the Master Emerald to balance out the Chaos Emeralds' power and equipped the gem with the ability to nullify and control them, although this is dubious due to the Master Emerald's presence on Earth during the Chaos Emeralds' arrival on the planet. An ancient mantra associated with the Emeralds eventually arose, explaining their connection and abilities.

The Knuckles Clan and Chaos[edit | edit source]

The Chaos Emeralds at the Altar of Emerald about 3000 years ago, from *Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut*.

Over 3,000 years prior to the Chaos incident, the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald resided in the Altar of Emerald, a shrine in the outskirts of the Mystic Ruins. There, each Emerald rested on one of seven stone pillars that surrounded the Master Emerald which lay in the center of the altar. Back then, the Emeralds were known only as "the Seven Emeralds" or "the Seven Chaos" that could grant wishes.^[38] In that shrine resided a colony of Chao. These peaceful creatures and their shrine were protected by the water-based deity Chaos, the guardian god of the Chao.^[39]

Around 3,000 years ago, the ancient echidna civilization, the Knuckles Clan, knew of the Chaos Emeralds and their supposed sacred power.^[40] Around this time, Tikal, the daughter of Chief Pachacamac of the Knuckles Clan and a friend to the Chao and Chaos, was allowed into the shrine where she could behold the Chaos Emeralds.

As the Knuckles Clan thirsted for power and conquest, Chief Pachacamac and his followers launched a raid on the altar to take the Emeralds and gain undisputed power. Tikal and the Chao stood between them however, with the former begging her father to leave the creatures and the Emeralds alone. However, her pleas fell on deaf ears, and the men trampled through Tikal and the Chao alike in the process, prompting Chaos to appear. In a fit of rage over the harm brought to his friends, he used the Chaos Emeralds to become Perfect Chaos and wiped out the clan's civilization in vengeance, before he was sealed in the Master Emerald by Tikal. After this event, the Emeralds went missing and were dubbed the "Chaos Emeralds" due to their association with Chaos.^[39]

Professor Gerald and the ARK[edit | edit source]

Over fifty years prior to the present day, the Chaos Emeralds were researched by Professor Gerald Robotnik onboard the Space Colony ARK as a part of Project Shadow. These research results led to the creation of the Chaos Drives, small capsules containing Chaos Emerald energy.^[41] During the experimentations on the Chaos Emeralds, Prof. Gerald also discovered that the Gizoid he had discovered reacted to the Emeralds.^[42] After a Chaos Emerald got installed into the Gizoid however, the robot went on a rampage that destroyed most of the ARK before it was subdued.^[43]

Artificial Emeralds[edit | edit source]

Main article: Fake Emerald

It is possible to create synthetic Chaos Emeralds with the same wavelength and properties as the originals, but with less power as demonstrated by Tails. In addition, these fake Emeralds can be used to sabotage devices that require Chaos Emeralds to power them. Also, because it had the same wavelength and properties as the originals, fake Emeralds also allow the user to access chaos powers just as a genuine Chaos Emerald would, like Chaos Control, albeit at a limited degree.

Number of Emeralds[edit | edit source]

The Chaos Emeralds, from *Sonic the Hedgehog*, when there were only six rather than seven

In the very first game of the series, Sonic the Hedgehog, there were originally six Chaos Emeralds. This was also true for the Sega Game Gear/Master System games Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic Chaos, Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble, Sonic Drift 2, and Tails' Skypatrol. The number was extended to seven Emeralds in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Genesis/Mega Drive, and that number has been consistent ever since, with only a few exceptions, such as most other 8-bit titles. In the transition scene between Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic CD in Sonic Origins, it was shown that the seventh emerald (the cyan one) had been hidden underneath the ocean and only revealed itself after they left upon Sonic's usage of them restoring nature to South Island.

Sonic Spinball and its 8-bit counterpart featured sixteen Emeralds, all the same shade of blue.

In the arcade game Sonic the Fighters, in order to travel to the Death Egg II, the player must collect all the Chaos Emeralds. Each character held an Emerald in the "story mode," and to get another one from a different character, they must be defeated in a fight. However, instead of the traditional seven Emeralds, there are eight. The widely accepted reason for this is because there are eight fighters, and so, Sega added an extra Chaos Emerald. Some fans believe that this eighth Emerald is fake, but it is usually treated as a gameplay device rather than a significant plot element.

The Sonic the Hedgehog: Fang the Hunter comic miniseries later retcons a part of the story plot of Sonic the Fighters, implying that no eighth Chaos Emerald was present during it. The series also establishes that an "eighth Chaos Emerald" spoke of in legends is actually the Warp Topaz.^[44]

Colors[edit | edit source]

The seven Chaos Emeralds, from *Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I*.

In the original Sonic the Hedgehog, the six Chaos Emeralds were blue, green, yellow, red, pink, and silver. A seventh, purple Emerald then appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. In Sonic 3 & Knuckles, the pink Emerald was replaced with a cyan one. In Sonic the Fighters, there were eight emeralds, one for each playable character: Sonic (blue), Tails (orange), Knuckles (red), Amy (pink), Bean (green), Bark (yellow), Fang (darker purple), and Espio (violet). The orange emerald was colored yellow again in Sonic Adventure, and the colors of the Emeralds have remained constant ever since, as red, blue, yellow, green, gray, cyan and purple. The white Emerald often appears gray, and Sonic R had both a yellow and an orange Emerald instead of a blue/cyan one (the Chaos Emerald was blue in the racing course it was found in, but the screen after the race shows it as cyan). Strangely in Sonic Jump, the cyan Chaos Emerald was replaced by a black one.

Certain games have used their own unique colors for the Chaos Emeralds - they are light blue in the 8-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog, blue in Sonic Spinball, and green in Sonic Battle. In Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, the Emeralds were red, light blue, teal, magenta, yellow, orange, and purple.