Chaos Emeralds

Collecting the seven Chaos Emeralds is frequently an objective to finish a Sonic game.

The Chaos Emeralds are a collection of mystical gemstones that appear as major plot elements throughout the Sonic games (and in most other continuities too). Even individually, these strange jewels can channel miraculous powers unmatched by almost anything in the universe; enabling their possessor to manipulate time and space, as well as unleash incredible destructive forces. With all seven, Sonic can transform.

General

The Emeralds' awesome abilities inevitably mean that they are coveted by every supervillain on Sonic's world (and beyond), so a great many of Sonic's adventures involve keeping them out of the pudgy hands of Dr. Eggman. Even discounting their supernatural powers, the Chaos Emeralds' glittering beauty (and cash equivalent value) makes them top targets for the more financially-motivated characters as well; namely Fang the Sniper and Rouge the Bat.

Chronologically, the Chaos Emerald's first appearance in the series was at the Mystic Ruins emerald shrine, during the time of Tikal and Pachacamac. They were originally known as only "the Seven Emeralds" that could grant wishes. The Emeralds earned their "chaos" name on account of the destruction and mayhem they brought to the Knuckles Clan. Their backstory after that event is inconsistent and varies between games, but usually involve them resting on islands. In modern times, the Emeralds can be found in a variety of different places, but usually located in a Special Stage - bizarre pocket dimensions that the gems seem to weave around themselves.

The number, color, and shape of the Emeralds were at first inconsistent between games, but from Sonic 3 onward, they were 'finalized' as being 7 brilliant cut gemstones, colored red, green, blue, cyan, purple, yellow, and grey.

Console games

Sonic 1

Sonic 1: Got them all!

First introduced in Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Mega Drive, 6 Chaos Emeralds were located in the 2D rotating Secret Zone. The US manual states:

“	Chaos Emeralds: These come in six different colors: yellow, pink, blue, green, red and white. You'll find one in each Secret Zone. Collect all of these!	„
— Sonic 1 US manualMedia:Sonic1 MD US manual.pdf

Obtaining all 6 Emeralds was necessary to obtain the "Good Ending". Their purpose was not explained during the game, as Super transformation was not implemented in this game.

Sonic 2

Sonic 2: Got them all!

Sonic 2 for the Mega Drive was the first game to feature 7 Chaos Emeralds. This number has been used by the majority of the games since. They appear different, however: They now have 6, rather than 8, sides (from the 2D viewpoint of the player). The 7th Emerald was given the color purple. The others are the same color as the ones in Sonic 1 (see above), with the exception of the blue Emerald, which is now a lighter color.

In this game, the Emeralds are central to the plot: Eggman has taken control of much of the island, and Sonic must obtain them before he does. Sonic and/or Tails must go through a pseudo-3D half-pipe Special Stage to get them this time.

This time, getting all 7 Emeralds not only unlocks the "Good Ending", but it also enables Sonic to transform into Super Sonic, who has been featured in many games, and virtually all other Sonic-related media since then. Tails is unable to transform.

Knuckles can use the 7 Emeralds to transform into Super Knuckles in Knuckles in Sonic 2.

Sonic 3 & Knuckles

Sonic 3: Got them all!

A direct sequel to Sonic 2, this Mega Drive game once again has the Chaos Emeralds at the center of its plot. Interestingly, the Emeralds have changed color and shape once again, even though they are stated to be the same Emeralds as those in Sonic 2.

Sonic and Tails, with the 7 Emeralds from the end of Sonic 2, come to Angel Island when they see Eggman has crash landed there. Eggman tricks resident echidna Knuckles into stealing the Emeralds from Super Sonic. Knuckles steals and then hides the Emeralds in 7 pseudo-3D Special Stages, which rotate when you turn. You must collect all the Blue Spheres located in the stage to earn the Emerald.

Upon obtaining all 7, Sonic may transform into Super Sonic, as in Sonic 2, while Tails again cannot transform. Knuckles can also transform into Super Knuckles upon obtaining all 7 Emeralds.

Super Emeralds

Main article: Super Emeralds

Knuckles got them all!

Sonic, Tails and Knuckles are later given access to the Hidden Palace Zone. Upon entering the zone with all 7 Chaos Emeralds, the 7 gems will fly up and power up into 7 larger Super Emeralds. The Hidden Palace also contains the Master Emerald. The new Super Emeralds are located in 7 new Special Stages.

Upon obtaining all 7 Super Emeralds, Sonic can transform into Hyper Sonic, Tails into Super Tails, and Knuckles into Hyper Knuckles.

Sonic Spinball

Sonic Spinball: Emerald Power!

Both the Mega Drive version and Game Gear/Master System versions of Sonic Spinball feature a record total of 16 Chaos Emeralds. They are scattered across the levels in the game, and require doing certain precision pinball tricks to obtain. They are all blue, and are similarly shaped to the Emeralds in Sonic 2 (see above).

As with most other games, the Emeralds are central to the plot. The US Mega Drive manual states:

“	THE CHAOS EMERALDS Chaos Emeralds stabilize the Mt. Mobius volcano on which the Veg-O-Fortress stands. Without the Emeralds, a massive eruption would blow the Fortress to pieces! You must spin, bounce and bump through the Pinball Machines to snatch all the Chaos Emeralds on each of four levels. When you've collected all the Emeralds, the Veg-O-Fortress will explode!	„
— Sonic Spinball US manualMedia:SonicSpinball MD US manual.pdf

The... excessive quantity of these Spinball emeralds, along with their uniform blue colouration, and apparent absence of an associated Super transformation, leads some fans to speculate that these shouldn't be considered real Chaos Emeralds at all. It's also interesting to note that Sonic Spinball is actually set in the Archie Sonic the Hedgehog comic's world of Mobius, which could explain the overabundance of Chaos Emeralds in Sonic Spinball; in the comics of the day the Chaos Emeralds were incredibly numerous and all green colored (Why they are blue in Spinball is a mystery).

Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island

Sonic Got All The Chaos Emeralds

Collecting the 7 Chaos Emeralds in Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island allows Sonic to fight the final boss and see the good ending. In the Mega Drive version, the Emeralds take on a cuboid shape with a circular depression in one of the facets. In the Saturn and PC versions, their appearance was changed to the brilliant cut shape they take on today. Sonic collected the Emeralds by bringing 50 or more rings to Tails or Knuckles, who were hidden in most levels. Sonic would then be transported to a special stage. The Mega Drive version special stages involved Sonic running along a long bridge, collecting rings and avoiding mines. The Saturn and PC versions both contained full 3D half-pipe special stages similar to those in Sonic 2, where Sonic had to once again collect rings and avoid mines.

Sonic R

The Chaos Emeralds are scattered throughout four of the five race tracks in Sonic R, and all of them are locked behind Ring Gates that require 50 Rings to open. However, simply collecting the Emeralds is not enough, as the player must also win the race in order to keep them. If the player finishes in second or worse, they will lose the Emerald(s) they just collected, and must replay the race and collect them again. Collecting all seven unlocks Super Sonic as a playable character. The US Sega Saturn manual states:

“	Chaos Emeralds: And what would a Sonic game be without Chaos Emeralds? Race around the tracks to find the Emeralds, but only the best racers can keep them.	„
— Sonic R US Saturn manualMedia:Sonic R Sega Saturn US Manual.pdf

Sonic Adventure

A Chaos Emerald, as it appears in Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut.

In Sonic Adventure, the Chaos Emeralds were collected by Dr. Eggman to feed Chaos, the "God Of Destruction". Chaos would power up greatly and change form when being fed a Chaos Emerald and when he has been fed all 7, he could become powerful enough to destroy the world. With the Chaos' power, Eggman would create his dream-city: "Eggmanland". Chaos eventually betrayed Eggman and collected the Emeralds on his own, transforming into Perfect Chaos and destroying Station Square. He drained the emeralds using his anger and sadness, which caused the emeralds to turn grey. Despite this, Sonic was still able to transform into Super Sonic by drawing out power using the trust he had with his friends and defeat Perfect Chaos.

Each of the seven Chaos Emeralds were scattered throughout the story and ultimately end up in the possession of Chaos. As follows:

1. Purple Chaos Emerald — Found by Tails prior to the events of the game to test a prototype plane. Taken by Eggman after the Egg Hornet fight.
2. Blue Chaos Emerald — Found by Sonic and Tails in Windy Valley. Taken by Eggman after the fight between Sonic/Tails and Knuckles.
3. Grey Chaos Emerald — Found by Sonic and Tails in Casinopolis. Taken by Eggman immediately afterwards.
4. Green Chaos Emerald — Found by Sonic and Tails in Ice Cap. Taken by Eggman after the fight between Sonic/Tails and Knuckles.
5. Yellow Chaos Emerald — Big the Cat's lucky charm. Swallowed by Froggy, then absorbed by Chaos.
6. Cyan Chaos Emerald — Held in Birdie's possession. Taken by Eggman after getting his hands on the bird.
7. Red Chaos Emerald — Found by Tails in the Mystic Ruins jungle area and used for the Tornado II. Taken by Chaos in Super Sonic's story.

Sonic Adventure 2

In Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic and Shadow had the ability to use the Chaos Emeralds to perform "Chaos Control" and alter time and space to teleport or freeze time. Shadow collected the Emeralds for Dr. Eggman to power the Eclipse Cannon aboard the ARK. When all seven were inserted, the Biolizard took over the station. It became FinalHazard, and then Sonic and Shadow had to team up and use the Chaos Emeralds to become Super Sonic and Super Shadow and defeat FinalHazard. Shadow eventually used a superpowered Chaos Control to return the ARK back into orbit.

Since the collection of the Chaos Emeralds is part of the plot, their locations vary once again. As follows:

1. Purple Chaos Emerald — One of the Emeralds being held in the Security Hall which gets stolen by Rouge.
2. Blue Chaos Emerald — Stolen by Rouge at some point, then presented to Eggman on the ARK as a security of her bargain to help him.
3. Grey Chaos Emerald — Owned by Eggman at the beginning of the game, which he uses to unlock Shadow.
4. Green Chaos Emerald — Stolen by Shadow from the federal reserve bank shortly after his release.
5. Yellow Chaos Emerald — Gifted to Tails after he saves Station Square in Sonic Adventure. He makes a fake copy of the Emerald, and later he and Sonic try and dupe Eggman with it. Eggman sees past the scheme and fights Tails for the real one, losing but stealing it afterward anyway to put into the Eclipse Cannon.
6. Cyan Chaos Emerald — One of the Emeralds being held in the Security Hall which gets stolen by Rouge.
7. Red Chaos Emerald — One of the Emeralds being held in the Security Hall which gets stolen by Rouge.

Sonic Heroes

In Sonic Heroes, the Special Stages returned and collecting all the Emeralds and completing all 4 team's stories unlocked the last story against Metal Sonic, who used the numerous character's data to become a dragon beast in the fight Metal Madness. In the final fight, Sonic becomes Super, and transforms Tails and Knuckles to become Team Super to defeat Metal Overlord.

Shadow the Hedgehog

In Shadow the Hedgehog, the Chaos Emeralds become story elements once again, but this time Shadow is trying to find the Emeralds to discover his past. The first Chaos Emerald is collected early into Westopolis, whereas all the others are collected at the end of every stage visited in a story path. In the end, it turns out that Black Doom was using him to get the Emeralds so he could use Chaos Control on the Black Comet to get it to the planet's surface. Shadow then goes Super to stop him and destroy the Black Comet.

Sonic Riders

In Sonic Riders, the Chaos Emeralds are hunted down not only by Team Sonic, but also the Babylon Rogues, who worked with Dr. Eggman to gather all seven Chaos Emeralds and use them to find Babylon Garden. One Emerald, which lay in Metal City, was eventually stolen by the Babylon Rogues. Team Sonic tried to stop them, but failed. To get the other Emeralds together, Eggman hosted the EX World Grand Prix, whose contestants had to pay an entrance free of one Chaos Emerald, with the winner having the right to claim all seven. With Sonic, Sonic's friends, and the Babylon Rogues joining the competition, all seven Chaos Emeralds were eventually brought together. When Jet "won" the final race against Sonic, he claimed the seven Chaos Emeralds and used them to power the Key to Babylon Garden, raising it from Sand Ruins.

The player can also unlock the Chaos Emeralds as a Board-type Extreme Gear that can only be used by Sonic. When using this Extreme Gear, Sonic starts the race with 30 Rings and transforms into Super Sonic, giving him the abilities of all three types (Speed, Fly and Power). The Chaos Emeralds do not factor into the stories for the sequels, Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity and Sonic Free Riders, but they can still be obtained as Extreme Gear.

Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)

In Sonic 06, the Chaos Emeralds are shown to not only be able to warp time and space in the present, but they can warp through time and space to different time periods altogether. This happens with numerous characters at many points throughout the game, using the power of the Emeralds to warp to different areas across the time stream. The Emeralds are shown here to also have the power to revive, as Sonic is revived from death using the power of the Emeralds. By the end of the game, the final boss Solaris exists in all three time periods simultaneously, and Super Sonic, Super Shadow, and now Super Silver have to be in the past, present and future at the same time to fight it. All this never truly happened however, as all this is erased from the timeline at the end of the game.

Sonic Unleashed

In Sonic Unleashed, it is learned that the Chaos Emeralds have the power to keep the planet together in one piece. At the start of the game, Eggman lures Super Sonic into a trap and uses the power of the Chaos Emeralds to power his Chaos Energy Cannon, shattering the world into multiple fragments and releasing Dark Gaia, and of course, draining the Emeralds of their power in the process.

By restoring the Emeralds to their own altars in each Gaia Temple, the Emerald restores its energy and reconnects a chunk of the planet. Sonic later uses the Emeralds to go Super and defeat Perfect Dark Gaia.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 returns to the Giant Rings to open the Special Stages. The Special Stages in Episode I, like Sonic 1, are spinning mazes which the player needs to navigate to earn the Chaos Emeralds, while the Special Stages in Episode II are half-pipes which the player needs to collect rings like in Sonic 2. Getting all the Emeralds allows the player to be Super in the main stages, and unlocks the true endings after beating both episodes.

Sonic Colours

In Sonic Colours, the Chaos Emeralds are unlocked outside of the main story, the first time it can be done in a 3D Sonic game. They are unlocked by earning Red Star Rings in the main stages, which will unlock new stages in Game Land. Beating all stages in each section of Game Land (1-1, 1-2, and 1-3 as an example) will earn the player a Chaos Emerald. Getting all 7 Emeralds will unlock a Mode in the Options Menu to play as Super Sonic in the main stages (if you play in Super Sonic mode you can't use the Colour Power of the Wisps).

In the Nintendo DS version, the player has to collect the Chaos Emeralds in Special Stages in order to unlock the final showdown with the Nega-Mother Wisp.

Sonic Generations

Sonic Generations returns to the 3D games' formula with the Emeralds as a plot device. Classic and Modern Sonic collect the emeralds from each boss and the three rival battles. One emerald is obtained in the overworld after all the levels are beaten. At the end of the game, both Classic and Modern Sonic transform into their Super forms and battle against the Time Eater. In the Nintendo 3DS version, they are obtained in Special Stages.

Sonic Lost World

Like in Sonic Colors, the Chaos Emeralds do not factor into the main story in Sonic Lost World, and simply serve as bonus collectables. Collecting all the Red Star Rings in a world in the Wii U/PC version will earn the player a Chaos Emerald, whereas the Nintendo 3DS version requires the player to earn them in Special Stages. Getting all 7 Emeralds will allow the player to become Super Sonic in most zones.

Sonic Mania

Sonic Mania: Got them all!

As a return to the classic 2D formula, the Chaos Emeralds factor into the plot of Sonic Mania and are collectable in Special Stages. Sonic and Knuckles can access their super forms as normal, but this time, Tails can turn into Super Tails with just the Chaos Emeralds. Mighty and Ray can also use the Emeralds to become Super Mighty and Super Ray respectively.

Handheld games

Numerous handheld Sonic games contain or reference the Chaos Emeralds in some form.

The 8-bit handheld Sonic games, all released for the Sega Game Gear (with some also released on the Master System) generally had 6 Chaos Emeralds, with varying colors and ways to obtain them. The games revealed little to nothing about the emeralds, most centering around classic Sonic gameplay combined with new features and gimmicks. None of the Game Gear titles included any form of super transformation.

Sonic 1 8-bit

Sonic, about to collect a Chaos Emerald in Sonic 1 (8-bit)'s Jungle Zone.

The Game Gear and Master System versions of Sonic 1 had the Emeralds scattered in certain acts of each zone; the Bonus Stage of the game was used to obtain rings, score, and continues. All 6 Emeralds are light blue in this game, due to hardware limitations. If all of the Emeralds are collected, Sonic holds them up at the end of the game, where they circle around the island clearing it of all of Eggman's pollution. The manual states:

“	Chaos Emeralds: These appear in every zone. Collect all six and see the real ending!	„
— Sonic 1 US Game Gear manualMedia:Sonic1 GG US manual.pdf

Sonic 2 8-bit

Sonic, about to collect the red Chaos Emerald in Sonic 2 (8-bit)'s Gimmick Mountain Zone.

The Game Gear and Master System versions of Sonic 2 are similar to Sonic 1: There are only 6 Emeralds, they are all different colors though, and are hidden in the zones. Collecting them all allows access to the last level, Crystal Egg Zone. The manual states:

“	Chaos Emerald: Search for these in the Zones. Collect all six to rescue Tails and see the real ending!	„
— Sonic 2 US Game Gear manualMedia:Sonic2 GG US manual.pdf

Sonic Chaos

Sonic, about to collect the yellow Chaos Emerald at the end of a special stage in Sonic Chaos.

From Sonic Chaos and beyond, the Emeralds would be found in special stages like in the 16-bit games. Once Sonic collects 100 rings in a stage, he is automatically sent to the special stage, as opposed to getting an extra life (once Sonic has all the Chaos Emeralds, though, collecting 100 rings will achieve the classic effect). Once inside, Sonic must find and collect the Chaos Emerald hidden somewhere in the stage, and may obtain rings along the way. Tails cannot enter the special stage, and hence cannot collect any Chaos Emeralds (he merely gets a 1-up when he collects 100 rings). Eggman holds the 6th and final emerald, and obtaining all 6 leads to the Good Ending.

Sonic Triple Trouble

Sonic, about to collect the blue Chaos Emerald at the end of a special stage in Sonic Triple Trouble.

Like its predecessor Sonic Chaos, Sonic Triple Trouble has 6 Chaos Emeralds, the first five hidden in the special stage, with the final one held by Eggman. Special stages alternate between a platforming stage and an airplane stage. At the end of either, you are warped to an arena where you must defeat Nack to obtain the emerald.

Sonic Drift series

Sonic Drift uses the Chaos Emeralds to denote the difficulty of the Chaos Grand Prix racing competitions. They are Green, Yellow, and Red, in order from easiest to hardest. The sequel, Sonic Drift 2, uses them in the same manner, except they are Purple, White, and Blue. They appear similar to the Emeralds from Sonic 2 and even moreso to Sonic Spinball.

Sonic Labyrinth

In Sonic Labyrinth Sonic is awarded a Chaos Emerald upon successful completion of each of the first 5 stages of the game. The 6th emerald is hidden within a special stage accessed in Labyrinth of the Sea, Act 3. Obtaining all 6 Emeralds unlocks the Good Ending.

Tails Adventures

In Tails Adventures for the Game Gear, there are 6 Chaos Emeralds, scattered throughout the levels. They are colored, in order of appearance, red, green, purple, white, blue, and yellow. Each increases the player's maximum Ring capacity by 10 and slightly increases the amount of time Tails can fly before getting tired. When all 6 are obtained, the maximum ring capacity goes up to 99.

Sonic Blast

The 5 Chaos Emeralds in Sonic Blast are obtained in a mixture of older games: enter the Giant Ring in the stage (as in Sonic 3) and collect enough rings (as in Sonic 2). However, you are only allowed to enter a single stage per level; if you enter another Giant Ring, you'll be taken to the same stage only able to win an extra life. The manual states:

“	Chaos Emeralds/Big Rings: Dr. Robotnik wants to use the power of the Chaos Emeralds to gain control over the world. The only way to stop him is by getting to the emeralds first! Keep an eye out for Big Rings, the entrances to the Bonus stage.	„
— Sonic Blast US Game Gear manual

If all 5 are obtained, Sonic or Knuckles gets to fight an extra final boss and see the Good Ending.

Sonic Pocket Adventure

In Sonic Pocket Adventure, Sonic goes to the Special Stages and collects six of the seven Emeralds. The seventh Emerald is held in Knuckles' possession, which is then stolen by Eggman and used to power his final machine in Last Utopia Zone. In order to claim the seventh Emerald, Sonic must repeatedly jump on the Emerald until it is dislodged from the mech. By collecting them all, he can go to the final zone, Chaotic Space Zone.

Sonic Advance series

In the three Sonic Advance games, the seven Chaos Emeralds are all hidden in special stages. Collecting all seven unlocks an "Extra Zone" where Sonic transforms into Super Sonic and battles a final boss. In the first and third games, the Chaos Emeralds are shared across all characters; however in the second game requires the player to obtain the Emeralds seperately for each character. It is only necessary for Sonic to collect all the Chaos Emeralds in order to access True Area 53, but clearing the game and collecting all the Emeralds with each character will unlock extra features like the Tiny Chao Garden.

Sonic Battle

In Sonic Battle, Emerl, the legendary Gizoid, draws his power from Chaos Emeralds. As he gains more and more Emeralds, his speech and personality become more and more developed and his battle abilities grow stronger and stronger. This is also reflected in gameplay, as Emerl gains 10 Skill Points whenever he acquires an Emerald in the story. Three of the Chaos Emeralds had been crushed into five pieces each by Eggman, and these pieces were given to his E-121 Phi robots in order to track down the rest. One Emerald was in Knuckles' possession, another in Shadow's, and one was in a jewelry shop in Emerald Town.

As soon as Emerl collects the final Chaos Emerald from Shadow, he reverts to his true nature, but Shadow resets him with Professor Gerald's secret keywords: "Bring hope to humanity". In the end, when Sonic had no choice but to defeat Emerl, the Gizoid self-destructed, releasing the Chaos Emeralds in shards.

Sonic Rush series

Chaos Emeralds are also featured in the Sonic Rush and its sequel Sonic Rush Adventure. In Sonic Rush, Sonic had to collect the Chaos Emeralds from Special Stages as usual, but Blaze collected their inter-dimensional counterparts, the Sol Emeralds, from defeating bosses. When both sets of Emeralds are completed, Exception is unlocked.

In Sonic Rush Adventure, the Chaos Emeralds are scattered across the Sol Dimension after Sonic and Tails somehow end up stranded in the parallel world. The Chaos Emeralds can be found while sailing, and the player must beat Johnny in a race in order to claim each Emerald. When collected along with the Sol Emeralds, Deep Core opens. After clearing Deep Core, Tails creates the SS Tornado EX, a vehicle that harnesses both the Chaos and Sol Emeralds to allow him and Sonic to return home.

Sonic Rivals series

In the first Sonic Rivals game, the Chaos Emeralds were merely collectible cards that can be unlocked by completing all of the challenges for each zone, and serve no purpose in the story. In Sonic Rivals 2, they were targeted by Dr. Eggman Nega, who needed them to open a portal to Chaotic Inferno Zone and unleash the Ifrit upon Sonic's world.

To gather the Chaos Emeralds for him, Eggman Nega hired Rouge to search for them, albeit without revealing his identity or plans for the Emeralds. Learning of Eggman Nega's plans, Dr. Eggman sent Metal Sonic (who was holding the green Chaos Emerald inside him) out to recruit Shadow and help him stop Eggman Nega. Under Nega's orders, Rouge manages to collect six of the Emeralds, but refuses to hand them over after finding out about her client's identity, though Metal Sonic shows up, allowing the dimensional portal to open. When the Ifrit is stopped from being released, the six Chaos Emeralds Rouge had were seemingly lost, while the seventh was used by Shadow to warp himself and Metal Sonic out of the Ifrit's dimension via Chaos Control.

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood

In Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, the Chaos Emeralds were targeted by the Nocturnus Clan in their attempt to sieze the Master Emerald and use it to escape from the Twilight Cage. After six of the Chaos Emeralds had been stolen by the Nocturnus Clan, Knuckles and Tails set a trap for the thieves to protect the last Emerald. However, the Nocturnus overcame the trap and got away with both Knuckles and the Chaos Emerald. All seven Chaos Emeralds were then used by Imperator Ix, the leader of the Nocturnus Clan, to draw Angel Island and the Master Emerald to his clan's base of operations.

Ix would then distribute the Chaos Emeralds to the various races across the Twilight Cage. One went to the Kron, one went to the N'rrgal, one went to the Zoah, two were given to the Voxai, and the last two were left with Nocturne's two Gizoid prefects, Scylla and Charyb. The Kron's Emerald was used to power the Nocturnus Clan's weapons factory, the N'rrgal and Zoah treated the Emeralds as weapons against each other, and the Voxai Overmind infused their Emeralds with their psychic power and used the gems to mind control their people. The heroes settled the conflicts going on between each of the races in the Twilight Cage and were given their Chaos Emeralds as rewards, and the last two were acquired by defeating the prefects in battle. Sonic then uses the Chaos Emeralds to duel Super Ix.

Other games

Sonic CD featured the Time Stones as a power item, rather than the Emeralds. Likewise, Chaotix had the Chaos Rings.

Sonic the Fighters

In Sonic the Fighters, every fighter possesses a Chaos Emerald, and the player earns one for defeating each opponent. For some unexplained reason, there is an eighth Chaos Emerald in the game. Regardless, all eight Emeralds are required for the Lunar Fox, a single-seat spaceship Tails had invented, to go to the Death Egg II. Just before the final battle with Eggman, the Chaos Emeralds circle around the player's character, granting Hyper Mode.

Comics

Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic

The Chaos Emeralds are mentioned in Volume 1 of the Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic. According to Dr. Eggman, the Chaos Emeralds contain unfathomable energy and nobody has ever been able to find one before. With one of them, he'll be able to boil world's largest egg in the world's largest pot, which he has been dreaming of doing since he was a child. One of Eggman's robots detects a Chaos Emerald from north west of South Island, in Green Hill Zone. The Chaos Emerald is never mentioned in later volumes.

Sonic the Comic

The Chaos Emeralds, as they appear in Issue #101.

In the UK's Sonic the Comic, the Chaos Emeralds were originally green Raw Emeralds from the Sacred Emerald Mine of the ancient Echidnas, but were infused with chaos energy by the Drakon Empire in the distant past. When brought together outside of certain stabilizing conditions (e.g. extreme cold), the Chaos Emeralds generate a chain reaction of chaos energy and warp to the Special Zone.

Six of the Chaos Emeralds were brought to Mobius in the distant past, and subsequently used by Dr. Ovi Kintobor in an attempt to rid Mobius of evil with his Retro-Orbital Chaos Compressor (ROCC). An accident involving the Emeralds and the ROCC transformed Kintobor into the evil Doctor Ivo Robotnik.

The Emeralds were gathered by Sonic and protected from Robotnik, but were eventually returned to the Floating Island and placed in the care of Knuckles, the appointed Guardian of the Chaos Emeralds. The Master Emerald, rather than being a gem separate from the Chaos Emeralds, is simply the Green Emerald in this continuity, which is larger and more powerful than the others. The role of the controller emerald is given to the Grey Emerald.

Archie comics

In Archie Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog and its spin-offs, the Chaos Emeralds were originally said to physical embodiments of the "Chaos Force", the all-encompassing force of the universe, and were much more numerous. A seemingly rare mineral, they could be found all across the universe, each coming in a different color depending on the celestial body.

The central planet in the comics' storyline, Mobius, was given its supplies of green Chaos Emeralds during the mysterious event known as the Coming of the Chaos Emeralds. Their power were harnessed to revolutionize the world and gave as well rise to various villains and demi-gods, such as Mammoth Mogul and the Ancient Walkers. For ages, the Chaos Emeralds were a focus of much conflict on Mobius. All the Chaos Emeralds in the universe were eventually brought to Mobius by the villain A.D.A.M., but Super Shadow and Turbo Tails managed to send them all into the Special Zone. There, the Zone's new ruler, Feist fused all of them into the seven differently colored jewels which he would hand out to those who could complete his challenges.

Dr. Eggman and Dr. Wily later used the Chaos Emeralds to reshape reality with the Super Genesis Wave, and though Sonic and Mega Man stopped them, Sonic's multiverse was left heavily altered. In this new reality, the Chaos Emeralds and their background were changed to be identical to their game series counterparts.

IDW comics

The Chaos Emeralds in IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog comic series are identical to their game series counterparts. The first time the Emeralds are seen in the comic, they are presented to Eggman by Dr. Starline as his "apprenticeship application".

Television shows

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog

Robotnik's chart of the four Chaos Emeralds.

In Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, there are only four Chaos Emeralds. Unlike the game continuity, each of the Emeralds provide their user with a different power. From top left on the image to the right:

• Invisibility: Grants the holder invisibility.
• Invincibility: Grants the holder invincibility and superhuman strength.
• Immortality: Grants the holder immortality and invulnerability.
• "The power of life itself": The ability to bring objects, particularly inanimate objects and Robotnik's robots, to life, or take it away.

For some reason, each of these Emeralds only exist in the past, hence Robotnik and Sonic had to travel back in time to collect them. When Robotnik used all four Emeralds at the same time, he transformed into the Supreme High Robotnik, growing to gigantic proportions and granted god-like powers. However, despite his transformation, he is defeated by numerous temporal clones of Sonic and Tails.

Sonic Underground

Chaos Emeralds in Sonic Underground are green stones filled with unlimited energy. There is no limit to the number of emeralds, but they are very rare - only two chaos emeralds made appearances through its entire 40-episode run. Knuckles the Echidna uses a Chaos Emerald to make the Floating Island float, which Sleet and Dingo attempted to steal for Robotnik. The other Chaos Emerald was found by Dr. Robotnik and used to power his flying fortress.

Sonic X

The Chaos Emeralds in Sonic X are more like their game series counterparts as powerful objects sought after by all parties. Originating from Sonic's world, the Chaos Emeralds came to Earth during a massive Chaos Control amidst a battle between Sonic and Dr. Eggman. There, they were sought by Sonic and his friends to return home while Eggman sought them for various plots to conquer the planet. Eventually though, the Chaos Emeralds returned to the world from whence they when Sonic used them to go home. Six months later, the Chaos Emeralds were targeted by the Metarex, an alien race of cyborgs bent on universal domination, but Sonic and his allies managed to secure them and use them to stop the Metarex.